The Death of Fele

Fele's Death

"The medicinal ingredients are packed. Four gold coins remain." Old Mi's expression was delighted as the transaction went through. He could earn at least two gold coins from this deal. Two gold coins might be nothing to a wizard, but to him, they were still worth pursuing.

Dole gave a grunt, wrapped up the goods, slung them over his back, and said, "I'll come once every month from now on."

Hearing that, Old Mi breathed a sigh of relief and became even more enthusiastic. "It would be my honor. Your mental-power potions are excellent and very pure. The customers love them."

Dole shook the bundle and said, "The strength potions are decent too, but the agility potions are a little lacking. If I had the relevant formula, I wouldn't need to use the ones they provide."

In truth, Dole did have one. He was merely hiding his talents.

Old Mi nodded. "Many apprentices only master one kind. Learning another is extremely difficult. Still, being able to exchange what one has for what one lacks is quite good."

Once the transaction was complete, Dole left the apothecary, quickly returned to his room, entered the alchemy chamber, and prepared to formulate a custom potion specifically for Fele.

He had bought some of that medicine as well, intending to add a little something extra to it.

He steadied himself, his expression thoughtful. Even now, he remembered how Fele had come that day—lofty and overbearing, holding the power of life and death in his hands. That gaze, as though he were looking at a dead man... Dole deeply hated that look. It had already become a nightmare that haunted his sleep.

For a mage, clarity of mind was crucial to the cultivation of mental power. Yet Fele, Carmen, and Dis were like three great mountains barring his path, filling him with resentment and fury and slowing the growth of his mental power.

Therefore, they had to die.

Aoduo and his son were already dead, and Dole's mental power had cleared once; that night, he had gained two copper coins. If these three died as well, Dole's strength should rise dramatically. Whether to banish his nightmares or to set his mind at ease, these three pieces of scum had to die.

When they treated him like an ant, they could not blame him for treating them like ants as well.

After spending some time mixing the poison into the drug, everything was ready. He did not feel the slightest panic. On the contrary, he was remarkably calm.

Time passed, and the fourth night arrived. This time, Dole wore the face of a young master and went to the military district tavern to drink while Fele was on duty.

By ten that night, Fele still had not appeared. Dole silently cursed his luck and slipped into the northern district, only to discover that the man was not home either.

Where had he gone? Dole decided to stake the place out.

Patrols in the northern district were extremely dense. Dole had spent over half his savings on a set of very expensive clothes, so he would not be questioned while walking the streets. Had he been an ordinary commoner dressed in plain clothes, he would likely have been interrogated at once—or hauled away and given a vicious beating.

He still had some lingering trauma regarding the police station.

At night, he hid motionlessly in a tree outside, even suppressing the circulation of his blood and qi to the utmost.

At ten, a clatter of hoofbeats came from afar and quickly reached the mouth of the alley.

Quite a few households lived in this alley, and Dole did not know who had returned.

Soon, he saw an exquisite carriage stop at the alley entrance. Two people climbed down first, then dragged a thoroughly drunk figure down after them.

In the darkness, he could not see clearly who it was. But the drunkard babbled nonsense all the way, and Dole recognized the voice. It was Fele, the man he had been waiting for. Looking at the three of them, Dole felt neither sorrow nor joy. It seemed tonight was another wasted effort.

He remained utterly still, watching the three approach from the alley entrance.

The two men chatted and laughed as they dragged Fele along, soon arriving at Fele's doorstep.

They casually dumped him at the door, gave it a light knock, and turned to leave without waiting, seemingly unwilling to linger.

As they walked, they discussed whose daughter was pretty, whose woman had the biggest ass, whose daughter-in-law had the biggest breasts. Not a single decent word came from their mouths, their faces lewd.

Dole watched the two leave, then looked at Fele lying at his own doorstep, not quite knowing what to make of it.

Soon, the two got into the carriage and vanished from the alley entrance.

Meanwhile, Fele's home remained dark, as if no one had heard the knock.

Dole's eyes slowly lit up, and his heart began pounding. "Could this be the opportunity Heaven has given me?"

Knowing full well how important opportunities were, he quietly slipped down from the tree, crept to the doorway, pricked up his ears, and waited silently for several seconds.

There was no movement inside.

Dole lowered his head and stared deeply at Fele at his feet. He lay sprawled on the ground like a puddle of mud, his features indistinct in the darkness.

A parasite of this empire.

Without a second thought, Dole put on his gloves, rolled Fele over, then took a potion from his robes. He twisted open the bottle and slipped the stopper into his pocket.

After putting in some effort to pry Fele's mouth open, Dole expressionlessly poured every last drop of the potion down his throat. Fele accepted it all without leaving a single drop, then muttered after drinking it, "Another cup."

Dole let out a cold laugh, his eyes brimming with savage satisfaction. There won't be another cup. He gently lowered Fele back down, then pounded hard on the door before swiftly retreating into the darkness some distance away.

A moment later, light appeared inside. The door opened, and a beautiful woman, her clothes disheveled, came out and dragged Fele indoors. Only then did Dole quietly withdraw. Another knot in his heart had come undone, and his mental power felt much livelier.

After leaving the alley, Dole let out a breath. He straightened his clothes, then slowly departed the northern district as if nothing had happened.

Next would be Carmen and Dis. Only those two remained.

Dis sat in the commissioner's office, listening to the military district's report with a helpless expression.

A squad captain of the city guard had died on top of his own wife. What was there to investigate? Those damned corrupt guards were all cut from the same cloth!

"I hope the police station can take this matter over. After all, solving cases is not within our military district's purview. Although Fele did not die with much dignity, the police station still needs to investigate." The military district held a higher position than the police station, so the visitor naturally spoke with greater force.

Fele's death was far too disgraceful, so the military district had decided to give his sinful life a more respectable ending.

Moreno, the police superintendent, nodded. "Don't worry, Gray. We'll handle this matter beautifully."

Gray shrugged and nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you. A pleasure working together."

"Pleasure working with you."

Gray left quickly.

Only Dis and Superintendent Moreno remained in the office. Dis stared expressionlessly at Moreno and asked, "Superintendent, what should we do?"

Dis curled his lip. "Handle it as usual."

Dis's face twitched slightly. "I'll see to it right away." He slowly rose to his feet and walked out of the office.

Handling it as usual meant finding a scapegoat and making it look like murder! They would give Fele's family a sum in compensation, otherwise the military administration would raise objections.

Nobles all cared about keeping up appearances, especially the military administration. Corruption was rife there, yet they still needed to save face. To hell with their face.

But what had to be done still had to be done.

Dis returned to his office and called Carmen over. "The higher-ups have assigned a task. Take care of it." He tossed the documents to Carmen.

Carmen lounged about carelessly. With just one glance, he understood what was going on and chuckled. "Leave it to me."

Two days later, Dole disguised himself and quietly arrived at the entrance to the Assassin Guild's bar.

Looking at the deep black opening, he felt a little uneasy, but he still walked in. Two gold coins might be little, but even a mosquito's leg was meat. Besides, he would have to deal with them often in the future. Once his strength improved, taking on missions worth thirty or fifty gold coins—or even over a hundred—would not be difficult.

He entered the bar. It was still dim inside, with a few people scattered around beneath the murky yellow light.

He glanced at them, and they looked back at him. Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked to the counter.