Chapter 2 Alchemist (Part 1)_1

Ah Dai was taken aback, lifting his head unconsciously. Once again, he set eyes on the old man's wrinkled face. The man's expression was unreadable, eyes locked onto him. "Wha... what did you ask?"

The old man's brow furrowed slightly. A foolish lad, he thought, but perhaps that made him a suitable fit. "I was asking you earlier, have you never had a full meal?"

Ah Dai nodded, sensing no malice from the old man, his courage grew a smidgen. "Yes… yes, I know you must be furious. If you're not going to hit me, may I go?" Though this thieving attempt failed, the day was long and he saw more opportunities ahead. Ah Dai never lost spirit over a single failure. For the love of his beloved steamed buns, he decided he must continue trying to be the best thief he could be.

The old man tugged up the corners of his mouth slightly. "Did I say I won't hit you? You stole my money bag. It would be quite normal of me to smack you, wouldn't it?"

Ah Dai's briefly relaxed face fell again, he reverted to his initial position of holding his head in his hands. Lowering his head, he pleaded, "Then… then, could you please not hit my hands?"

The old man quirked an eyebrow, asking rather surprised. "Why?"

Ah Dai whispered, "Because… because I need to steal again, and if my hands are injured, I couldn't steal anything. If I couldn't steal, I wouldn't have buns to eat, and Uncle Li would hit me."

"Stealing? Uncle Li?" The old man paused for a moment, quickly understanding that 'stealing' referred to his thieving attempts and 'Uncle Li' was the leader of the young thief standing in front of him. A sense of amusement grew in his heart. A tiny thief caught red-handed, and asking not to be hit on the hands. This lad was indeed as naive as he could be!

"Hitting you would be the lightest punishment. With my status, even if I killed you, no one would trouble me. Do you believe that?"

Ah Dai was taken aback, "Kill me? If you kill me, wouldn't I be dead? Can you please explain to me what it feels like to die? Does it hurt a lot? There wouldn't be any buns to eat after death, right?"

The old man suddenly found that conversing with this naïve lad was rather enlightening. But, little did the old man suspect that this skinny boy, asking about death at the moment, would grow up after a decade to become the infamous "Grim Reaper" across the continent, the very harbinger of death.

"Do you want to have a full meal?" The old man decided not to beat around the bush with Ah Dai and went straight to the point.

Upon mentioning food, Ah Dai perked up instantly. The steamed bun he had eaten in the morning had long been burnt off by his heated activities in the cold weather. His stomach rumbled, and he looked up at the old man with a yearning expression, "I would! I want to eat my fill the most. Could you... could you please give me one of those purple coins? One would be enough." Just the thought of a chicken drumstick caused saliva to trickle from the corner of Ah Dai's mouth.

The old man replied, "I won't give you any money, but if you want to eat your fill, follow me. I promise, you won't go hungry, and I won't hit you."

Ah Dai's eyes lit up. His morning wish to be taken away like the young girls has finally come true. He cautiously asked, "Really, can I really have enough to eat?"

The old man nodded and said, "You can make any other requests, I'll try my best to fulfill them. But remember, once you leave with me, we might not be coming back for a long time. Make up your mind properly." He didn't want to bring a child home only to have him crying and making a fuss every day. If that happened, he might have to kill the lad and look for another one.

Ah Dai shook his head and said, "I am willing to go with you, as long as I can eat my fill, I have no other requests."

The old man nodded in approval and said, "Following me involves work, are you scared of hard work?"

"Work? What kind of work?" Ah Dai murmured.

The old man said, "It's definitely better than remaining a thief, and at least, I won't hit you, right? I can teach you anything you don't know."

Ah Dai lowered his head and said, "But... but... I'm very stupid. They all say I'm silly. Will I be able to learn?"

The old man said impatiently, "If I say you can learn, then you can learn. Follow me." And with that, he turned around and started walking down the alley.

Ah Dai quickly followed the old man and they didn't walk far before the old man suddenly stopped. Unaware, Ah Dai ran into him from behind. "Ouch!" He cried out in pain, clutching his nose and looking at the old man in confusion.

The old man turned around and asked, "What's your name?"

Ah Dai said, "My name is Ah Dai."

The old man taunted, "Ah Dai? You certainly live up to your name! Remember, my name is Goris. I am an alchemist, and from now on, you are my apprentice."

Ah Dai nodded repeatedly, afraid he might forget, and started repeating to himself, "Golis, Golis, …"

The old man's voice rose, "My name is Goris, not 'Goris Dead.' Make sure to remember it correctly. From now on, you should call me 'teacher'."

"Oh, oh, I understand, tea-, teacher. But, what does 'teacher' mean?"

Goris felt utterly defeated by the youngster, explaining reluctantly, "A teacher is someone who instructs you." After finishing, he turned and walked out of the alley. The name 'Goris', even if heard by the chairman of the Alchemist Guild, would bring about an expression of respect. After all, despite his volatile temper, he was one of the few master alchemists.

Ah Dai suddenly thought of Uncle Li's reaction when the girl left yesterday and hurried to catch up, saying, "Teacher, could you come with me to say goodbye to Uncle Li? He has given me food for so long. I have to say goodbye to him before I leave, otherwise, he will be angry."

Goris thought for a while, nodded, and said, "Alright, lead the way." Originally, he didn't need to go with Ah Dai, but for his own plans, he must make Ah Dai wholeheartedly follow him, so he agreed to Ah Dai's foolish proposal.

Ah Dai led the way, taking Goris through twists and turns to the corner of the southern city where he had lived for over a year. At this time, most of the children had been sent out to work by Uncle Li, and no noise was heard. Goris frowned, saying, "Is it here?"

Ah Dai nodded and carefully pushed open the not-so- sturdy wooden door, walking in first.

Uncle Li was in the room, drinking from a jug of wine. Since Ah Dai's fish-catching skills had improved significantly, his income had gradually increased, and he no longer had to go out to hustle. He was fantasizing about saving up some money in the next few years so he could have a more comfortable life - even marry a woman, allowing him to finally enjoy being a lord without having to vent in that broken kiln. As he indulged in his daydream with his eyes closed, affected by the alcohol, the door suddenly opened, and Ah Dai's small figure appeared in front of him.

"Huh? Why are you back so soon, how many fish did you catch?"

Ah Dai said fearfully, "Uncle Li, I, I didn't catch any fish."

Hearing that Ah Dai had returned empty-handed, Uncle Li's voice instantly sharpened, his eyes wide open, "No fish? No fish and you come back? Your skin is getting tight, isn't it?"

Ah Dai trembled, stammering, "I, I, am here to bid you farewell."

Uncle Li was startled, jumping out of bed, "You want to leave? After eating my food for so long, you just want to run off, growing wings? Right?" How could he let his money tree go? He didn't mind when the girl left, even if she had stayed, she wouldn't have been able to catch any fish and would have only been a waste of food. Even selling her to slave traders wouldn't have brought in much money. But Ah Dai was different, now almost half of the income was brought by Ah Dai, he would never let his money tree leave. Uncle Li tried to soften his voice as much as possible, "Are you hungry again? I will give you another steamed bun to eat, then you go and catch fish for me obediently. Don't harbor any bad thoughts, otherwise…" He waved his fists threateningly at Ah Dai.

Years of oppression made Ah Dai instinctively want to withdraw. The chance to eat another steamed bun was a good thing after all! He was hesitating and unsure of what to say, when Goris' voice rang out, "Otherwise, what could you do to him?" Along with footsteps, Goris' tall figure appeared next to Ah Dai. Uncle Li in front of him appeared so obscene and insignificant.

"Who, who are you?" Uncle Li asked in a suppressed rage.

Goris said lightly, "Who I am is none of your business. Ah Dai and I are here to tell you, I am taking him away. From now on, he will no longer be a petty thief under you."

Uncle Li's heart began to chill. In front of this man with an unclear face, it felt as if an invisible pressure made him gasp for breath. But benefits were more important after all, so he plucked up his courage and said, "No, you can't take him away. No wonder he dares to leave me, he has found himself a backer. I will beat you to death." With that, he threw a punch towards Ah Dai's chest.

Ah Dai instinctively bent over, awaiting the arrival of pain. But after a while, there was no movement. Ah Dai opened his eyes, just in time to see that Uncle Li's fist had not hit him. Instead, it was stopped mid-air, held back by a thin hand. Cold sweat trickled from Uncle Li's forehead.

"I said, he is my apprentice now, you no longer have the right to hit him." Goris easily pushed Uncle Li to the side. He was not as physically weak as ordinary magicians. Although he didn't practice martial arts, a character like Uncle Li was beneath his notice.

Uncle Li covered his wrist and cursed, "You, you bastard, are you trying to snatch people?"

Goris sneered, "Scum like you should have been punished by the Sky God a long time ago. If you persist, I will send you to hell." Saying that, he extended the hand that had just grabbed Uncle Li's wrist. A string of strange spells came out from under his cloak, and a black flame suddenly appeared in Goris' palm. The flame flickered with an enchanting glow, and with a casual flick of his wrist, the black flame turned into a line of fire, falling on the room's only three-legged wooden table. Without any noise, without any trace of burning, the table vanished into thin air, not leaving even a bit of ashes behind. There was just a faint unpleasant smell remaining in the air.

Ah Dai and Uncle Li were both dumbstruck, Ah Dai said, "Teacher, are you doing a magic trick? How come the table is gone?"

Goris looked at him and said, "This is not a magic trick, it's magic." If any middle-level or above mage saw the scene just now, they would be shocked to find that the fire Goris used was a fusion magic combining dark magic and fire system magic.

Uncle Li's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, "You, you, you are a magician. Mr. Magician, don't, don't kill me." He very clearly knew that if the man in front of him wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as crushing an ant. Nobody would care about the life and death of a petty thief. Besides, apart from the Holy Church and the Federation, magicians in any country, as long as they didn't kill nobles, had certain pardoning rights. No one would want to offend them.

Goris turned to Ah Dai, "I have already explained, let's go."

Ah Dai looked at Uncle Li, who was sitting on the ground with a pale face, not uttering a sound. After all, compared to money, life seemed to be more important.