Dwelling

Early the next morning, the man and dog quickly disguised themselves and left the city. Then they followed the road toward Bianchi Mine. Entering the mountains through a ravine beside the mine, they soon vanished into the vast forested hills.

There were many paths into the mountains, all trodden out by hunters, herb gatherers, and even some adventurers. Their purpose was to go where no one else had gone, gather what no one else could gather, and hunt prey no one else had hunted.

The moment they entered the mountains, Bal returned to his original appearance and took the lead. Though he was still in the form of a dog, he stood over two meters tall, his fur glossy and gleaming. He looked exceptionally imposing, nothing like his former sickly self.

The disguised form was merely to keep people from taking a liking to him and trying to snatch him away, causing unnecessary trouble. Nothing more.

Dole pulled a woodcutter's machete from his clothes and followed Bal onward.

Harley impatiently arrived at the police station again. Even dressed in formal attire, his burly frame gave off a fierce, untouchable air.

When Harley arrived, an officer at the entrance promptly had someone notify Dis.

Ignoring everyone, Harley went straight into Dis's office and sat down on his own. Looking at Dis across from him, he spoke in a low but powerful voice. "Where is my man?"

Dis's expression was rather ugly. He had been the one to take the person away, and now the person had vanished. It was only natural for the other side to come looking for him—but where was he supposed to know where the boy had gone?

Impatiently, he said, "I don't know. My men are looking for him too."

Harley's mouth twitched slightly. He gave a cold snort and said, "I've already asked around. I know exactly what happened that day. You can touch anyone you want, but not my people. I'll give you three more days. If you still can't find him—or if you plan to keep dragging this out—then you can forget about keeping that chief's position of yours. You should know how many people have their eyes on that seat."

Dis's face darkened beyond measure. This Harley really had his sights set on him and refused to let go. How was he supposed to know where that damned little bastard had gone? If he knew, would things have come to this? The pressure on him these past few days had been enormous. He was just a slum rat—if he died, then he died. Yet because of this one slum rat, the connections Harley had mobilized far exceeded his imagination.

Damn it, who exactly was that guy?

Damn Sam, damn Aoduo, damn Harley, damn Fele. Why didn't they all just die?

He forced out an ugly smile, restrained his expression slightly, and rose to his feet with some stiffness. "I will. Please rest assured, I'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

Hearing this, Harley said nothing. He simply sat there and watched him.

He sat there for an entire hour.

Dis was helpless beyond words.

Just then, someone hurried in from outside. Seeing the situation inside, he went to Dis's side and whispered a few words into his ear.

Dis had initially looked stern, but then his expression abruptly changed. "Is that true?"

The man nodded repeatedly, his expression grave yet excited. "The director has summoned all the inspectors to a meeting to discuss this. If it's true, then Duomeng City will become even more sought-after."

Dis's heart could not calm for a long while.

"The Ability Society discovered a magic crystal mine. This is a major event. And the crystal mine is on an unclaimed mountain—if someone gets there first and occupies it, that would be no small matter. But with the Ability Society's methods, no one would dare claim it privately. That would be courting death."

"I understand. Go on ahead. I'll be there shortly." He calmly dismissed the man, then forced out another ugly smile and said to Harley, "Please sit tight. I have something to take care of." With that, he hurriedly slipped away.

Naturally, Dole had no idea that after discovering the magic crystal mine, the Ability Society had mobilized all the forces of the police station, the Public Security Administration, and the military department. They spread across every mountain surrounding the mine, mapping out roads. They planned to carve roads directly through the mountains. At the same time, they sent word to the branch office in Chris County that a magic crystal mine had been found here. Though it currently appeared to be a small vein, a small vein was still a vein.

The moment news of the magic crystal mine spread, every family apart from the Ability Society was shocked. One after another, they sought cooperation with the Ability Society, preparing to develop the vein.

The Ability Society was formidable, certainly, but they were only a group of physically frail mages. Mining ore still required an enormous amount of manpower—ordinary manpower.

Cutting roads through the mountains, building bridges, and laying groundworks all required vast manpower and material resources. Nearly every family wanted a share of the pie in this matter.

By then, Dole and Bal had already reached the mountains. Far from the previous mineral vein, they prepared to settle down on another mountain.

The weather was poor that day. They had only just entered the mountains when a cold wind blew out from the depths of the range. The temperature plummeted, mist thickened among the hills, and slowly gathered into clouds. Rain was about to fall.

Following the valley, the man and dog found a cliff and headed toward it. Before long, rain began to fall from the sky.

Fortunately, they soon found a shallow cave in the cliff beside them, enough to shelter them from wind and rain.

This was the first rain since spring began. The forests below the mountains had long since grown lush and green, while even the colder places higher up had already turned verdant. Yet not a drop of rain had fallen. This shower brought a touch of coolness to the dry climate.

Bal was not satisfied with this place. It was too low. But with the rain falling, Dole could not move around easily, so they could only make do here for now.

The cave was not deep. It extended perhaps several dozen meters inward and was not very large, but it was more than enough room for Dole to move about.

After tidying the inside, the man and dog sat at the cave entrance, idly watching the drizzle continuously drip outside. Before long, Dole could no longer sit still. He got to his feet and began practicing his fist techniques and swordsmanship.

He had no sword in hand, but using the machete as a sword worked well enough.

Bal glanced at Dole, then lowered his head and turned his gaze outside again.

After practicing for a while, Dole grew tired. Only then did he enter the cave, open his bundle and box, light a candle, and prepare to read before studying some potioncraft.

Now that he had the tools and some medicinal ingredients, all that remained was practice. The conditions were a little poor, but conditions were still conditions.

A moment later, he stood the box upright and took out all sorts of things.

Alcohol, an alcohol lamp, beakers, an ordinary medicine pot—he would need all of them. The initial stages of refining medicine were very crude; only later did the process gradually become more meticulous. A pot was still essential.

Bringing all these things up here had caused him no small amount of hardship along the way.

He looked over everything. Right, he was still short on firewood.

And now it was raining...

Forget it. Tomorrow, then. Today, he would meditate.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Dole and Bal made a circuit through the surrounding mountains and finally found a place to settle on a nearby peak. This was entirely mountainous terrain, with mountains stretching endlessly in every direction. Finding a place where they could rest was already no easy feat.

At the mountaintop stood a huge jutting boulder. Beneath it was a broad stretch of flat rock, recessed inward, about five meters from side to side. If they blocked off both ends with stones, it would make a perfect natural nest.

Dole decided to make his home here.

In Bal's words, with him around, ordinary Demonic Beasts would not come near. The only thing to fear was the Ability Society expanding its search radius. They already knew that someone had once stayed in the mountains.

Dole was afraid too, but fear was useless at a time like this. At worst, Bal could take him out of Duomeng City, and they could return for revenge after a few decades.

The Ability Society was the Empire's official magic organization. Duomeng City's Ability Society branch was not inside the city, but in a mountain outside it. A broad road ran all the way there from the north of the city.