He stared blankly, subconsciously lifted his head, and once again saw the old mans face full of wrinkles. The old mans face was expressionless, staring at him, "Wh-what question?"

  The old mans eyebrows slightly furrowed, thinking to himself, "So hes just a foolish kid. Being foolish is good, isnt it suitable?" "I asked you earlier, have you ever eaten your fill?"

  ADai nodded, feeling that the old man didnt seem to have any intention of hitting him. His courage grew a bit, and he said: "Yes, yes, I know you must be very angry. If you dont hit me, can I leave?" Although this attempt at fishing had failed, there was still a whole day ahead, and ADai thought he still had a chance to complete his task. He never gave up because of one failure in fishing, for the sake of his beloved mantou, he would continue to make an effort and play his role well.

  The old mans mouth twitched slightly and he said, "Did I say I wouldnt hit you? You stole my wallet, hitting you seems like the most normal thing to do."

  ADais face, which had just relaxed a bit, fell again, and he resumed his pose of holding his head in both hands, bowing his head and saying: "T-then, c-can you please not hit my hand?"

  The old man asked in surprise: "Why?"

  "Because... because I still have to hold the fish, if my hand gets hurt, I wont be able to hold the fish, and if I dont hold the fish, there will be no mantou to eat, and Uncle Li will also scold me."

  "Pulling fish? Uncle Li?" The old man just slightly hesitated for a moment, and then understood what "pulling fish" meant, and also understood that Uncle Li was the head of this silly little thief. He felt a hint of amusement in his heart, the thief was caught by the master, but actually asked him not to hit his hand, this foolish kid in front of him was really silly!

  "Im being lenient with you, given my status, even if I killed you, no one would bother me about it, believe it or not."

  "Kill me? Kill me, and Ill just die, right? What does it feel like to be dead? Can you tell me first? Is it going to hurt a lot? And after Im dead, there wont be any more mantou (steamed buns) for me to eat, will there?"

  The old man suddenly felt that talking to this silly kid made his mood much brighter. However, the old man could never have imagined that the skinny boy in front of him who asked what it was like to die would become the infamous "Grim Reaper" on the mainland years later, bringing death to others.

  "Do you want to eat your fill?" The old man decided not to drag things out with Ah-Dai any longer and got straight to the point.

  As soon as he mentioned eating, Ah-Dai suddenly came to life. The steamed bun he had eaten that morning had long been digested in the cold weather, and his stomach growled loudly. He looked up at the old man with a longing gaze: "Im thinking... I want to eat my fill! Or, or you can just give me one of those purple coins, just one will do." As soon as he thought of chicken legs, Ah-Dais saliva flowed out from the corner of his mouth.

  The old man said: "I wont give you money, but if you want to eat your fill, follow me and Ill let you eat your fill. And I wont hit you."

  Ah-Dais eyes lit up, and he carefully asked: "Really, can I really eat my fill?"

  The old man nodded and said, "If theres anything else you want to ask for, feel free to bring it up and Ill try my best to satisfy your demands. However, once we leave, it may be a very long time before we return. You need to think carefully about this." He certainly didnt want to take a child back with him only to have them cry and throw tantrums all day, and then end up killing him, only to have to come out again to find another one.

  The silly boy shook his head and said: "Im willing to follow you, as long as I can eat my fill, thats all I ask for."

  The old man nodded in satisfaction and said, "Follow me, but you have to work hard. Are you afraid of hardship?"

  "What work? What kind of work?" Ah-Dai muttered to himself.

  The old man said: "How can it be better than you being a thief? At least I wont hit you, right? If you dont know how to do it, I can teach you."

  "Ah-Dai lowered his head and said: But, but Im really stupid, they all say Im foolish, can I learn?"

  The old man said somewhat impatiently: "I said you can learn it, just follow me." After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked out of the alley.

  Ah-Dai responded with a grunt and followed the old man out, but after just a few steps, the old man suddenly stopped. Ah-Dai didnt notice and bumped into the old mans back, "Ow!" Ah-Dai cried out in pain, covering his nose with his hand, looking at the old man in confusion.

  The old man turned around and said, "Whats your name?"

  "My name is Ah Dumb."

  The old man sneered and said: "A stupid? Indeed, a person is as their name suggests! Remember, my name is Goris, I am an alchemist, from now on, you are my apprentice."

  ADai nodded, afraid he would forget, and repeated: "Die in song, die in song..."

  "The old man raised his voice: Im called Goris, not Songli Si. You remember that clearly. From now on, youll call me Teacher."

  "Oh, oh, I see, old, teacher. But what does teacher mean?"

  Goris felt that he was really defeated by this little guy, and explained helplessly: "Teacher, its the person who teaches you things." After finishing speaking, he turned his head and walked out of the alley. The name Goris, even if the president of the Alchemist Guild heard it, would reveal a respectful expression, after all, although he was unpredictable, but one of the few master-level alchemists.

  Ah-Dai suddenly thought of Lao-Lis behavior after Ya-Tou left yesterday, and hurriedly caught up with him, saying: "Teacher, can you please accompany me to say goodbye to Lao-Li? He has been feeding me mantou for such a long time, Im leaving now, I have to bid farewell to him, or he will get angry."

  Georis thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Okay, lead the way." Originally, he didnt need to go with Ah Dumb, but in order to carry out his own plan, he had to make Ah Dumb follow him wholeheartedly, so he agreed to Ah Dumbs extremely foolish proposal.

  Ah-Dai led the way in front, winding and turning, bringing Gori to the southern corner of the city, outside the broken house 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 there was no noise coming from inside. Gori furrowed his brow and said, "Is it really here?"

  Ah-Dai nodded and carefully pushed open the somewhat flimsy wooden door, stepping inside first.

  Uncle Li was in his room hugging a wine jug, drinking small wine. Since Ah Diaos fishing skills had improved, his income had also increased gradually, and he no longer needed to go out and work hard himself. He was fantasizing that with a few more years of saving money, he could live a more comfortable life, even marry a woman back home, and properly become a big shot, no longer needing to go to that broken cave to vent. With his eyes closed in the wines haze, making daydreams, the door suddenly opened, and Ah Diaos thin figure appeared before him.

  "Huh? Youre back so soon, did you catch a few fish?"

  "Ah-Dai said with some fear: Uncle Li, I, I didnt catch any fish."

  As soon as Lao Li heard that Ah Diao didnt bring back any results, his voice suddenly became sharp and fierce, "Didnt catch any fish? What did you come back for if you didnt catch any fish? Is your skin getting thicker?"

  ADais body trembled, and he muttered: "I... I came back to bid you farewell."

  Li Shu was shocked and jumped off the bed with a loud noise, "You want to leave? After eating my food for so long, you think you can just leave like that? Have your wings grown hard?" He couldnt bear to let his cash cow leave. If Ya Tou left, he wouldnt be heartbroken, even if she stayed, she would only waste food and wouldnt bring in much money even if sold to a slave trader. But Ah Dai was different, now almost half of the income came from Ah Dai, so he wouldnt let his cash cow leave. Li Shu tried to control his voice to be softer, "Are you hungry again? Ill give you another bun to eat, then go catch fish for me obediently, dont have any crooked thoughts, otherwise..." He shook his fist and glared at Ah Dai threateningly.

  The prolonged intimidation made Ah-Dai unconsciously want to retreat, and being able to eat another mantou was a good thing! He was hesitating about what to say when Goriss voice rang out, "Otherwise, what can you do to him?" Along with the sound of footsteps, Goriss tall figure appeared beside Ah-Dai, and Li Shu in front of him looked so despicable and insignificant.

  "Who are you?" asked Li Shu with a stern expression.

  "Mind your own business who I am," Goris said calmly. "Im here with Ah-Dai just to tell you that Im taking him away, and from now on, hes no longer a little thief under your control."

  Luis heart felt a chill, and in front of this person whose face he couldnt see clearly, there seemed to be an invisible pressure that made him breathless. But benefits were after all the most important thing, so he plucked up his courage and said: "No way, you cant take him away! No wonder he dared to leave me, it turns out hes found a backer. Ill beat you to death!" As he spoke, he threw a punch at Ah-Dais chest.

  ADais body involuntarily tensed up, waiting for the pain to arrive, but half a day passed without any movement. ADai opened his eyes and only then discovered that Uncle Lis fist had not hit him, but was suspended in mid-air, grasped by a withered hand on his wrist, cold sweat dripping down from Uncle Lis forehead.

  "Ive told you, hes my apprentice now. You have no right to hit him again." Goris casually pushed Lei aside with one hand, his body not as fragile as that of an ordinary magician, although he didnt know any martial arts, but someone like Lei was still beneath him.

  Luis uncle covered his wrist and cursed: "You, you bastard, do you want to rob people?"

  Gorath sneered, saying: "A scum like you should have been punished by the gods long ago. If you continue to entangle me, I will send you to hell." As he spoke, he stretched out his right hand, which had just grasped Lai Shu, and a few obscure curses came from within his cloak. A black flame suddenly appeared in Goraths palm, flashing with an eerie glow. With a casual flick of his wrist, the black flame transformed into a thread of fire that fell onto the only three-legged wooden table in the room. Without any sound or sign of burning, the wooden table vanished into thin air, leaving not even a speck of ash behind. The air was left with only a faint, unpleasant smell.

  Ah-Dai and Li-Shu were both stunned. Ah-Dai said: "Teacher, are you performing magic? How did the table disappear?"

  Goris glanced at him and said, "This is not magic, its called sorcery." If any intermediate or higher-level magician had seen the scene just now, they would have been surprised to find that the flame used by Goris was a fusion of dark magic and fire magic.

  Luis teeth kept chattering, "Y-you, youre a magician. Great Magician, p-please dont kill me." He was well aware that for someone like him, a small fry, if the person in front of him wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as crushing an ant, and no one would care about the life or death of a petty thief. Moreover, except for the Sacred Court and the Sordevian Federation, magicians had a certain right to pardon in any country, as long as they didnt kill nobles. No one wanted to offend them.

  Ge Rui turned his head and said to Ah Dai: "Ive already given instructions, lets go."

  Ah-Dai looked at Uncle Li, who sat silently with a pale face, after all, life seemed more important than money.