The most shameless alchemist in history

It's clear she lives alone, but the room is very cozy and lovely, with fresh flowers everywhere, still covered in dew, obviously picked by her early that morning.

“This is my friend, that guy isn’t. If you kick him out, I’ll support you wholeheartedly.” Eun pointed to Dure and Lance, whom he had already introduced to Talina.

"Tch, as if nobody wants to be your friend." Lance didn't give him a friendly look; he and Eun were probably just naturally incompatible.

"It's rare to see you joking around like this, Eun," Tarina said with a gentle smile, knowing Eun well.

"That's because the boss is there, it has nothing to do with this annoying guy," Eun stated solemnly.

"Did Mr. Tucker leave last night? We've come at a really bad time. If we had come a day earlier..." Dure hadn't expected to run into Tucker's funeral today, even though only Talina was there to see him off.

He had originally wanted to meet the alchemist, but now he had no chance.

"It's really infuriating. If Uncle Tucker could have waited one more day, at least he could have seen his things." Ewan's words were also filled with regret. He had a good impression of the man named Tucker, and in fact, the two got along quite well.

"So Eun, what brings you here today with two friends? Where have you been lately? Everyone's worried about you. And I heard something happened at Maple Tower yesterday. Could it be related to you?" Talina asked Eun about his purpose.

Although the slums and the bustling city are two completely different worlds, there is actually not much distance between them. She had heard about what happened last night from her neighbors early this morning. After all, the commotion caused by the jade auction house was huge, and she couldn't possibly have missed it.

253 Ominous Object

Dure had originally thought he would be able to meet the alchemist Eun had mentioned, but he was surprised by the outcome. This left him somewhat disappointed, but he still had to do what he had decided to do. Soon, Eun explained his purpose to Talina: they had come to return the cursed bracelet.

Meanwhile, during this time, Dure also learned that Eun grew up in the nearby neighborhood. He was still young and didn't have any special skills, but he was quite talented at stealing. He was often scolded by the old people in the neighborhood for this, but it was also Eun's only skill for making a living.

Furthermore, Eun never preyed on the poor; he dreamed of becoming the great chivalrous thief in novels and biographies. The old folks could only sigh and tacitly accept his incorrigible ways. In the days leading up to the incident, Eun deliberately left for a few days to avoid suspicion and prevent the people at the jade auction house from noticing him.

Otherwise, if a teenager from the slums suddenly appeared at an auction, and coincidentally something was stolen from the auction house, it would be hard not to suspect him. But if he had left for a while, it would have been a different story. However, he did not expect that something would happen in the last few days.

“I see, Mr. Dure, Mr. Lance, I understand why you’ve come, but the bracelet originally belonged to Mr. Tucker, and now that he’s gone, I can’t accept it.” After listening to Eun’s explanation, Talina finally understood why Dure had come to see her.

Although she gave Dure a grateful look, she still shook her head and refused to accept the cursed bracelet, which surprised Eun.

“Talina, you took care of Mr. Tucker during the last period of his life. Now that he’s gone, his remains should be yours. You can keep them as a memento.” Eun persuaded Talina to accept them, because she was currently the most qualified person to wield the cursed bracelet.

“I’m not taking care of Mr. Tucker because I want anything from him. Besides, the cursed bracelet has already brought him misfortune. He’s said before that it’s an ominous object that brings curses. Eun, you really didn’t have to take such a big risk to steal it.”

Talina gently shook her head, still indicating her refusal, an attitude that greatly surprised Eun.

“But these were taken from Mr. Tucker by those robbers. They belong to Mr. Tucker, and now that he’s gone, they can only belong to you. If you don’t accept them, who else can you give them to?” Eun was getting anxious. If Talina didn’t accept them, it would mean that all his previous efforts had been in vain.

“Eun, I know this is all out of your good intentions, but after what happened yesterday, I heard that the auction house is searching everywhere for it. It's dangerous for whoever keeps it, so let's give this unfortunate item to them to avoid any conflict.”

Talina's answer surprised Ewan, and not only Ewan, but even Lance was a little uneasy.

“Hey, someone took such a big risk to steal the stuff, and now you’re making him hand it over? Isn’t that a bit too much?” Lance didn’t like Eun at all; in fact, the two of them disliked each other and had a lot of conflicts. But on this matter, he still sided with Eun.

“Actually, Miss Tarina is not wrong.” Dure, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward.

"What?" Eun looked at him in confusion. In his opinion, Dure should have spoken up for him.

“I mean, the auction house is looking for the bracelet right now. They’ll definitely search everywhere, and it’s hard to guarantee they won’t find it on Miss Tarina. If that happens, then yesterday’s incident will be blamed on Miss Tarina, which would be terrible.” Dure was much calmer.

He pointed out the possible situation incisively, which stunned Ewan for a moment.

With Ewan's intelligence, he couldn't have missed this point, but his mind was preoccupied with the fact that Tucker was dead, which inevitably led to a lapse in his judgment.

"By the way, Miss Talina, did Mr. Tucker ever tell you if he has any relatives?" Dure thought for a moment and then asked Talina. He knew that now was not the time to argue, but the time to solve the problem.

“Mr. Tucker seems to have no relatives left; he’s all alone.” Tarina had spent some time with Tucker and knew about his situation.

"Oh, right, I just remembered something." Eun's eyes suddenly lit up, even though his expression had been somewhat gloomy just moments before.

"What is it?" Du Lei immediately asked.

“I remember Uncle Tucker mentioning once that he had a disciple, I think, in the Land of Wind,” Eun offered a clue.

"The Land of Wind? I've heard of it. It's a free country with endless grasslands." Lance had some impression of the Land of Wind.

“That makes things easier. Since Mr. Tucker has disciples, and he himself is an alchemist, his disciples must also be alchemists. Since the bracelet has an amplifying effect on alchemy, we can simply return it to Mr. Tucker’s disciples,” Dure suggested.

“Durey, you’re right. This will solve the problem. That’s great!” Lance excitedly agreed.

“But in this vast sea of ​​people, the Land of Wind is more than a thousand miles away from the Land of Snow, so how can we find Uncle Tak’s disciple?” Eun was somewhat worried.

"Well," Lance hesitated for a moment, he hadn't thought of that.

"As long as there's a goal, we'll definitely find it, right?" Du Lei couldn't find a better, feasible solution either.

“It seems that’s the only way for now. We absolutely cannot hand it over to those bandits.” Eun agreed with this.

“But there’s still one problem.” Ewan seemed to have thought of this.

"What's the problem?" Lance asked.

“Who would give the bracelet to Mr. Tucker’s apprentice? It’s not realistic to expect Talina to do it,” Ewan raised this crucial point. Talina was just a flower girl, and as she had said before, the cursed bracelet was an unfortunate thing, and it had already brought enough misfortune.

"Or what do you want to do?" Lance pointed at Eun.

"What are you talking about? I've never been to the Land of Wind, I've never even traveled far from home. There's no way I could do something like that," Eun quickly waved his hand.

“I have a suggestion for this problem,” Tarina suddenly said.

"Just tell me your suggestion already!" Ewan urged immediately.

At the same time, both Dure and Lance looked at Tarina, wondering what she would say.

“How about we entrust this matter to Mr. Dure? I believe he can definitely do it,” Tarina said earnestly, looking at Dure.

Ownership of 254 bracelets

Dure and Lance originally went to Maple City to resolve the issue of the cursed bracelet. Under normal circumstances, they would have simply found its original owner, Tucker, and returned it to him, which would have solved the problem. However, Tucker passed away last night, putting them in a very awkward situation.

Since Tarina was unwilling to accept the cursed bracelet, she made a new suggestion: to have Dure keep the cursed bracelet for her and return it to Tak's disciple at an appropriate time in the future. However, apart from knowing that Tak's disciple was in the Land of Wind, she had no other clues.

Dure was completely unaware of this, which gave him a headache. He had not expected this development at all, and yet he was the most suitable person to keep the cursed bracelet safe, since the auction house was currently looking for the lost bracelet, whether it was Talina or Eun.

Neither of them had the ability to keep the cursed bracelet. If the people from the Jade Auction House came knocking, they would not only be unable to keep the cursed bracelet, but would also bring trouble upon themselves. Du Lei, on the other hand, was hiding in Maple Leaf Academy. He had slipped away right under the noses of the auction house people yesterday.

This cleared him of suspicion to some extent. Secondly, Maple Leaf Academy was not to be trifled with. Even the Jade Auction House would not dare to extend its reach into Maple Leaf Academy. Based on these two points, even if Du Lei did not want to accept the cursed bracelet, he had no choice, because it was the only option.

"So you just brought it back exactly as it was?" Du Lei looked at the pitch-black bracelet lying in his palm. Even though the sun was shining brightly, it seemed to absorb all the light, giving it a dark color. It was impossible to tell what material it was made of.

“Talina is right. Boss, you are the only one who can hand over the cursed bracelet to Uncle Tuck’s disciple. Although the task is a bit difficult, I believe you can definitely complete it.” Eun had a lot of confidence in Dure. By this time, they had already left the slums.

After all, if they stayed there too long and were discovered by the people at the jade auction house, it would cause Talina some trouble.

“But Dure, what if that Tucker’s disciple is no longer alive like his teacher? Don’t look at me like that. I’m just offering constructive suggestions.” Lance had barely finished speaking when he saw Eun glaring at him.

"If that really happens, then let's leave it to the family or friends of the Tucker disciples," Dure thought for a moment and gave this answer.

"Hey, Dure, are you really going to send this over there? The Land of Wind is so far away." Lance asked in surprise. If this happened to him, Lance knew he couldn't do it.

“Since I’ve already promised, of course I have to keep my word, and I’ve even accepted the gift.” Dure held the cursed bracelet in his left hand, but in his right hand he held an ancient parchment scroll, which Tark had given him. It was a relic of Tark, and Dure originally intended to give it to Tark’s disciple as well.

But Tarina told him that Tak had said his disciple was too dull to comprehend it, so he hadn't given it to his disciple. He intended to give it to someone who could understand it. Now that Tak was gone, she gave it to Dure on his behalf, as a reward for his trip to the Land of Wind.

"As for the distance, I'm currently studying at Maple Leaf Academy, so of course I don't have time to go. However, I've already spoken with Miss Talina, and I'll go to the Land of Wind after I graduate to complete this mission." Dure's words were calm, but his attitude was firm.

"That's true, but we'll talk about the future later. We'll be staying here for a long time." Lance didn't have any long-term plans. He didn't care about planning ahead at all. He was the type who only thought about what to eat for the next meal.

"By the way, is it really okay if nothing happens to Miss Talina?" Dure wasn't worried about himself. He had already gotten himself into a lot of trouble, so he didn't mind having one more problem. But Talina, an ordinary flower girl, had given him the cursed bracelet.

This made Du Lei somewhat worried that if the people from the jade auction house contacted her again, she wouldn't be so easy to deal with.

"Don't worry, even though Tarina is gentle and doesn't talk much, she's actually very smart. Besides, those people from the auction house have already angered everyone. With everyone's help, Tarina will be fine. And the cursed bracelet isn't with Tarina, so this matter has nothing to do with her anymore."

Eun indicated to Dure that there was no need to worry, as he understood this very well, and the two of them knew Talina better than Dure did.

“If that’s the case, then that would be perfect. But why is it called the Cursed Bracelet?” Dure nodded. If things went as Eun said, there would be no future problems, but he still had some doubts about the name “Cursed Bracelet.”

“Yeah, of all the names available, why choose such a creepy one? It makes you feel like something bad is going to happen. And its previous owner…” Lance chimed in, but stopped when he mentioned the previous owner, the implication being obvious.

The previous owner of the cursed bracelet died because of it, and Lance felt a little guilty about it.

"Well, I guess it's because they think this name will sound more imposing. Boss, you're not going to back down because of this, are you?" Eun scratched his head. He was a complete novice when it came to alchemy, and he didn't even understand the concept of alchemical amplification.

"It's not that bad, but it just feels a bit unsettling. Never mind, let's go back." Du Lei thought for a moment, then gently shook his head and put away the cursed bracelet. Regardless of whether it would really bring a curse or misfortune, since he had chosen to accept it, he wouldn't give it up.

"Sigh, are we going back already? We've come all this way to the city, shouldn't we at least have something good to eat?" Lance looked at the various delicacies on the street and recalled the monotonous food in the academy cafeteria; his mouth was practically watering.

"While I agree with your opinion, do you have money?" Dure asked casually, leaving Lance speechless.

"Well, oh right, we have crystal cards." Lance pulled two crystal cards out of his pocket.

“Crystal cards can be used in the academy, but only silver coins circulate here,” Du Lei shook his head, pointing out the crux of the problem.

"Sigh, can't I eat? But I'm starving." Lance rubbed his stomach. He had come to the city early this morning and walked a long way, so he was already very hungry.

“Okay, boss, I’ll treat you to dinner today.” Eun pointed to the restaurant ahead, gesturing for Dure and the other man to follow him.

"Where did you get the money to pay this guy? You didn't steal it again, did you?" Lance looked him over suspiciously.

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm a chivalrous thief who only steals from the rich. Besides, I have a job and I can earn money," Eun said, somewhat angrily and righteously.

"Is that really true? It seems a bit suspicious." Lance still didn't quite believe him.

“Since you don’t believe me, then boss, let’s go eat, you just watch from the side. Let’s go.” Eun pushed Dure forward.

Du Lei still hesitated a bit.

"We don't have this or that, let's go, let's make that dim-witted guy drool." Eun was full of resentment towards Lance.

"Hey, Dure, you two, wait for me! Don't be so disloyal, wait for me!" Lance couldn't stand still after seeing Dure and Eun enter the restaurant, so he immediately chased after them. There were many pedestrians coming and going on the street.

Their figures quickly disappeared into the crowd.

255 Alchemy Preparation

For Dure, the saga surrounding the cursed bracelet has temporarily come to an end. Although the jade auction house is currently searching for the cursed bracelet, and the theft of this item, which should have been the grand finale of the auction, has caused a lot of trouble, the way they obtained the bracelet was illegitimate in the first place.

The trouble they brought upon themselves was their own doing and they deserved no sympathy. As for the whereabouts of the cursed bracelet, they could not trace it back to Maple Leaf Academy no matter what. Du Lei had reason to believe that he would be the custodian of the bracelet for a considerable period of time.

As for when he would find Tucker's disciple, whose name he didn't even know, and hand him the cursed bracelet, Dure had no idea. Fortunately, he was still young. After his study period at Maple Leaf Academy was over, he would travel to various parts of the continent, and the Wind Kingdom was just one of his stops.

After having a hearty meal with Lance and Eun at a restaurant in Maple City, he and Lance chose to return to Maple Leaf Academy. As for Eun, he stayed behind to do some cleanup work, which meant dropping a few smokescreens on the Emerald Auction House to mislead them in their search.

This was Dure's advice to him. No matter how much Eun believed that the auction house wouldn't trace it back to Talina, a necessary precaution was still needed. Only by diverting the Jade Auction House's attention elsewhere, such as Frost City, could Talina's safety be guaranteed.

Because it was the weekend, the academy was somewhat deserted, as many students had gone to Maple City to go shopping together. Of course, another reason was that too many things had happened at Maple Leaf Academy recently, and staying at the academy for too long was too oppressive.

In less than a week, an earthquake and a fire occurred one after another, with various rumors circulating, causing widespread panic. When Dure and Lance returned to the academy, they saw that the site of the fire from the previous night had been cordoned off and guarded by people outside.