Magic Crystal Residue

Magic Crystal Residue

Beside the river, whose waters were still somewhat cold at winter's end, Dole felt little chill. Steam rose faintly from his body as he sifted through the ore, staring fixedly at the golden-yellow stones, afraid of missing even one.

As he kept sifting, Dole quickly noticed something strange: some glittering little stones always appeared in the ore sifted out last. Generally speaking, gold was dense and could not be washed away by the river, so it remained until the end. But what were these sparkling stones?

After sifting for a while, he had already thrown away many of the glittering little stones. Finally, unable to resist any longer, he picked one up and examined it in his hand.

The stone was completely white, a somewhat translucent cubic crystal that was exceptionally beautiful. Held in his hand, it seemed to seep out a faint coolness. When Dole felt that chill, his mind became much clearer. He also felt that the stone seemed familiar somehow, yet he had no idea where that sense of familiarity came from.

Having noticed this, Dole knew these glittering little stones were no ordinary things. They seemed to be something remarkable.

Since they were not metal, the mine definitely would not want them. So while picking gold ore, Dole slipped the glittering stones into his pocket, intending to take them home. He always felt their aura was familiar, but he did not know why.

Carrying that doubt with him, Dole continued working.

By the time the sun slowly passed over the mountain peak and the sky began to darken, he had collected an entire pocketful of glittering little stones.

Work was over.

He went to collect his wages from the overseer and really did receive two extra copper coins. Dole nervously looked around. That fellow Aoduo was nowhere to be seen. He had probably gone off to rob someone else and had no time to bother with this place. Dole quickly handed the extra two copper coins to Uncle Dodu.

The two exchanged glances and soon arrived at the mine entrance.

Dole passed through the inspection device anxiously. As expected, it did not sound, and he let out a breath of relief. But as soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Aoduo's group.

Seeing Dole come out, Aoduo stepped forward with a sinister look. Without a word, he shoved Dole to the ground, and several people roughly searched him.

Dole did not resist, because resistance was futile. He merely looked calmly at Aoduo, who stood to one side with an air of superiority.

Aoduo arrogantly directed his lackeys, staring at Dole with a mocking curl to his lips.

"What, not convinced? Then get up and hit me."

"You damned lowborn."

"Peh."

The kid who had shoved Dole down and taken the lead in robbing him was only fourteen, but he was big and burly. He was Aoduo's number one thug. After spitting on Dole, the group swaggered away.

Watching them leave, Dole touched his pocket. Sure enough, the two copper coins were still there, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Today, he could let Aoduo have two extra vegetable buns, and there would still be one copper coin left over. He needed to save that too.

Thinking of that, Dole felt delighted inside. Even the humiliation of being shoved down no longer filled him with much resentment.

He wiped the spit from his body and walked toward the city as if no one else existed.

Dozens of incidents like Dole's happened at the mine entrance every day. No one bothered to deal with them.

When he reached the market, Uncle Dodu was already waiting nearby. The two quietly made their exchange, then left with a mutual understanding.

He spent two copper coins on six vegetable buns. Dole immediately ate four of them, tucked the other two into his clothes, and followed the crowd back into the city. At that time, the sun was setting, the evening haze dyed the sky red, and the western sky was exceptionally beautiful.

When he returned to his little nest, Aoduo poked his head out from inside as soon as Dole entered. His dog face was full of confusion.

Seeing Aoduo like that, Dole did not fuss over it much. He placed the food balls in a battered bowl and tossed them to him, rubbed his head, then lay down on his bed. Having eaten four vegetable buns in one go today, he did not feel too tired and could stay awake a little longer. So he took all the little stones from his pocket and poured them onto the ground.

At that moment, he realized something was off about Aoduo. Aoduo had not gone to eat the vegetable buns at all. Instead, he had followed Dole over, his eyes fixed intently on the little stones in Dole's hands.

Dole smiled faintly, placed all the little stones on the ground, picked one up, and waved it before Aoduo. "What? You like these little stones too?"

This was what Hellwolf Aoduo was thinking: Damn it, there are Magic Crystals here too? What the hell? But he did not dare say it. Instead, he lightly licked Dole's hand and rubbed against him a few more times, deliberately licking a stone into his mouth.

When Dole saw Aoduo do that, his face changed drastically. He immediately panicked and lunged forward, trying to pin Aoduo down, pry open his mouth, and dig the stone out.

He was actually eating stones. Did this dog have a death wish?

After finally finding a living thing that could stay with him, Dole did not want him to die just like that.

But Aoduo clearly had no intention of letting him succeed. He ran left and right, and Dole simply could not catch him. Instead, Aoduo found chances to swallow several more stones from the ground, feeling secretly delighted.

"I haven't seen Magic Crystals in so long. Even though they're Magic Crystal residue, with these Magic Crystals, my injuries will recover quickly."

Naturally, Aoduo would not tell Dole any of this. While dodging Dole's demonic hands reaching for him, he secretly ate the Magic Crystals. Only after he had secretly eaten every last one did he shamelessly run back to Dole's side, rub against his leg, lick his hand, and wag his tail even more enthusiastically, as though asking whether there were any more stones.

Dole was already dumbfounded by then. This fellow had really swallowed them? He had even eaten them all?

And he was fine?

But seeing that Aoduo was still lively and energetic, completely unharmed and even more spirited than before, Dole could not be bothered to mourn his stones. As long as the dog was fine, that was all that mattered.

He carefully felt Aoduo over once and confirmed that he was all right. Instead, Dole became puzzled. Those stones could be eaten?

Filled with questions, Dole soon fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night.

Aoduo climbed up from the ground and staggered over. Lowering his head, he looked at Dole and released a beam of light that flew toward Dole's forehead. Then he quietly opened the door and slipped outside.

He knew where Dole worked. Inferior Magic Crystals had appeared there, so there had to be a tiny Magic Crystal Mine nearby. He needed to hurry over and absorb all the Magic Crystals, so that he could recover some of his strength.

Hellhounds were skilled in concealment, tracking, and hunting. Before long, he followed Dole's scent and quietly entered the mine. In the darkness, the gray-black figure of the Hellhound moved as though through empty space, unnoticed by any of the guards.

He arrived at the small river, the last place Dole had appeared. After taking only a slight sniff, he identified several other scents. He then followed their source and tracked them up the mountain.

The entire process was silent.

There were many stones in the mine, all of them raw ore. Every shattered rock had been piled together, and in the middle of the night, no one could tell which were ores and which were waste rocks. They were simply heaped together without anyone guarding them.

With no one around at midnight, Aoduo had far more convenience for his little operation. His main purpose in coming tonight was to find where the vein was, not to absorb it directly. There was plenty of time. No need to rush.