Stingy

Fele led his men away, coming in with great fanfare and leaving with great fanfare, as if nothing had happened here at all.

Harley stood at the doorway, watching Fele depart, feeling faintly baffled. Dole had offended that little thug, and the bastard could certainly stir up trouble—he had even dared to bribe the city guards.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to the somewhat uneasy Dole and said in a deep voice, "You don't need to worry about this for now. As long as you stay here, no one can touch you. I know you live in the slums. If you can, move over here and rent somewhere nearby. You earn twenty silver coins a month now—enough to rent a better place."

Although Duomeng City was merely an ordinary small city, it lay against the mountains and mines, so the average standard of living was not low.

Anyone could live in the slums, and it cost nothing. For most poor people with unstable incomes, it was the best option. But outside the slums, where ordinary commoners lived, things were different. Rental homes were not cheap; even the lowest rent was three or four silver coins a month. A slightly better place could cost dozens of silver coins monthly, and that was only for an ordinary single room. Renting an entire small courtyard was even more exorbitant.

In the past, Dole would not even have dared dream of renting a house. Now, he could at least consider it, but he did not want to rent one of those single rooms shared by many people. Safety might be guaranteed, but he still had plenty of wizard experiments he could not let others see. He could only rent a detached courtyard or a small private yard, and that was far beyond what he could afford.

Thus, a little awkwardly, he said, "I don't want to rent a place yet. How about I just sleep outside?" He pointed beyond the blacksmith shop.

Harley's mouth twitched. How miserly was this kid? He earned twenty silver coins a month and still did not want to rent a room?

He waved a hand. "Suit yourself. As long as you aren't afraid of the cold."

It had been a little over a month since spring began, and the nights were still quite cold. This was a mountainous region, where temperatures were another three or four degrees lower than outside. Without a house to block the wind, it simply would not do.

Dole glanced beside the forge. It was open on all four sides, without even the slightest shelter. Without the furnace burning, it would definitely be freezing at night. Forget it. He might as well return to the slums, save up honestly, and wait until his spiritual power reached the apprentice stage.

Naluye's Legendary Road recorded that once wizards entered the apprentice stage, they could concoct many kinds of potions. As long as he could casually brew even one of them, he could change his current fate and set foot on the legendary road. No—set foot on the road of never lacking money.

Naluye had been a great figure. Though Dole believed he could not become someone like Naluye, escaping his current circumstances would be easy enough.

Damn Aoduo, damn city guards! Dole firmly remembered Fele. Sooner or later, scum like him, who treated others as nothing for a bit of money, would meet retribution.

There was much work that day, and it was dreary, but Dole still completed it earnestly while learning how to forge all kinds of weapons. This was currently his source of income. There was no need to slack off at work because others were giving him a hard time.

Soon, the day ended, and it was time to get off work.

Before leaving, Verek told Dole that he was now a contracted blacksmith, a first-rank blacksmith. His status had changed; he was no longer a pauper. Dole needed to adjust his mindset and properly study forging. That Aoduo was merely a little thug, nothing more.

Dole shrugged.

He left the blacksmith shop and headed for the slums, but soon noticed that something was off. It seemed someone was watching him.

He swiftly entered the slums and slipped into their maze of interconnected passageways, using them to hide himself.

After he left, Aoduo's men came chasing after him, but Dole had already vanished without a trace.

At the intersection, Aoduo viciously hurled the hat in his hand onto the ground. "That damned little bastard runs pretty fast. But he still lives in the slums. We'll keep looking for him tomorrow."

The thug beside him nodded just as viciously. They had already heard about their boss going to make trouble today. Dole had refused to give even Lord Fele, a city guard, any face. He truly had turned the heavens upside down.

"He's only one man. We can't deal with him in the blacksmith shop, but outside, as long as we catch him, we can handle him."

"Right. Catch him, break his legs, and throw him into the mountains to feed the beasts."

Hearing this, the anger in Aoduo's heart gradually eased somewhat. He had paid such a great price this time, yet had still failed to do anything to Dole. His heart was practically bleeding. But Lord Fele had lost face this time and had marked Dole down. So long as Dole left the city in the future, Fele would be able to find ways to keep making things difficult for him.

"Keep watching him tomorrow. We'll catch him eventually. We asked around—he earns twenty silver coins a month. As long as we catch him, there'll be enough for the brothers to eat and drink like kings." Aoduo encouraged himself and glanced around.

No one in the slums dared look at them. The surroundings were a chaotic mess, and evening was drawing near. He prepared to head back. He happened to be drinking with several important people later, so he could go build some connections. He was grown now, and his father had already paved the way for him. There was no reason not to make use of those connections.

Back in his room, Dole let out a breath and stroked Dog Aoduo's head, his expression somewhat grave.

After playing with Dog Aoduo's head for a while and scratching him for a bit, Dole sat on the bed and began practicing his meditation method. As for basic boxing and stance training, he had already labored all day at the blacksmith shop, and practicing the basic hammer technique was enough. There was no need for extra training at night. A person had to learn how to rest.

He quickly entered a meditative state and began visualizing the second copper coin.

Perhaps because his emotions had fluctuated too greatly today, his spiritual power had increased slightly. The second copper coin grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, representing a modest increase in his spiritual power.

However, this rapid growth was only temporary. The farther it went, the slower it became, until it gradually stopped. Soon, Dole felt drowsiness wash over him and fell into a deep sleep.

Dog Aoduo raised his head and sprayed a mouthful of seven-colored light onto Dole's body. Then he shook himself and sauntered out through the main entrance. Dole had looked wrong when he came back today. Something had probably happened. This fellow was a stuffy gourd—he never told him anything, nor did he ever mutter to himself.

Fine. Tomorrow, he would follow him to the blacksmith shop and take a look. With Dog Aoduo helping condition his body every day, Dole should have been living quite comfortably at the blacksmith shop.

Unfortunately, the fellow was too poor. If he had alchemical potions to assist him, he should reach intermediate warrior apprentice very quickly. As things stood, it was still too slow. Though for an ordinary person, this speed was already quite fast.

Dog Aoduo was only responsible for the broad direction of things. He could not be bothered with trivial matters. After all, Dole needed to grow and gain sufficient experience, rather than live beneath his wings.

He soon arrived at yesterday's old spot in the mountains. He changed locations and continued absorbing the energy underground.

Though it was only a small mineral vein, it was enough for him to absorb for many days. By now, he had gradually recovered a tenth of his strength. Dog Aoduo was in no hurry. Slowly did it.

Dole had been living very uncomfortably these past few days. Not only was he exhausted from working during the day, but at night he had to outwit Aoduo's underlings. The slums truly were a lawless place beyond anyone's control. Even patrolling soldiers and peace officers never went there. In that place, Aoduo was utterly lawless.

It was maddening.

Aoduo was hateful, but once Dole entered the slums, it was Aoduo's territory. For three consecutive days, they had failed to catch him. Meanwhile, Dole had already visualized a rough outline of his second copper coin. Now he only needed to add the details. Yet even so, he did not feel that his spiritual power had improved much.