Chapter 107: Meeting Mage Xiaolei Again

The Apprentice Dormitory level was also quite quiet at this time, with only some sounds of water coming from the direction of the laundry room, as well as the voices of apprentices talking. Here, at least, one would not be punished by the Tower Spirit for speaking loudly.

Xia Duo crouched down and patted Aideliqi on the shoulder; he did not know what to say either, so he could only use this form to offer a little comfort.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but Aideliqi's crying finally subsided a little, leaving only intermittent sobs. Only then did he realize that he had lost face in front of an outsider again.

"Xia Duo, sorry, for letting you see me like this."

"It's fine, everyone has their own difficulties, no one is an exception. Don't worry, I won't laugh at you."

Xia Duo made a small joke, which allowed Aideliqi's state of mind to calm down a little, and he stood up slowly while leaning against the wall of the Elevator.

"Thank you, Xia Duo."

"No need to thank me, wipe your face first."

Upon hearing this, Aideliqi hurriedly wiped his face messily with his sleeve, and finally said with some embarrassment, "I don't know why I suddenly became like this, I'm very sorry for wasting your time."

Just as Xia Duo was about to speak, the Tower Spirit's mechanical and hollow voice suddenly sounded, "Apprentice Xia Duo, Apprentice Aideliqi, Elevator usage time exceeded. Please go to the Material Requisition Office within three days to pay the fine: 5 Gold Coins."

*Cough—*

Xia Duo almost spat out a mouthful of old blood; so the Elevator actually had usage restrictions! Aideliqi was also somewhat surprised and hurriedly apologized again. This was already the umpteenth time he had apologized today.

"Let's get out of the Elevator first," Xia Duo said. He was a bit afraid of this money-grubbing Tower Spirit; if he exceeded the time again next time, would it charge even more money?

The two were just about to step out of the Elevator when a figure suddenly appeared in front of them. Xia Duo was just thinking that this person looked familiar when Aideliqi called out, "Uncle Xiaolei! Why are you here?"

That person turned his head, and it was indeed Mage Xiaolei, whom Xia Duo had seen twice before. He muttered in his heart about why everything was happening today! However, the necessary etiquette still had to be observed—

"Lord Xiaolei!"

"Apprentice Xia Duo, Aideliqi, how did you two end up together?" Xiaolei's gaze swept over Xia Duo and quickly landed on Aideliqi's face.

"Your eyes are red, is someone bullying you? Tell your uncle quickly." As he spoke, he turned his head and stared fixedly at Xia Duo, "Was it you?"

Xia Duo hurriedly shook his head. It was clear at a glance that their relationship was not simple, so how could he dare to admit it? Aideliqi also did not want the embarrassing matter to be mentioned again, so he hurriedly pulled Mage Xiaolei and changed the subject:

"I'm fine, Uncle Xiaolei, you haven't said yet, why are you here?"

Xiaolei looked at Xia Duo again, "I came to find him."

"Find Xia Duo?" Aideliqi looked blank. In his impression, his uncle had always been unapproachable; why would he come to find Xia Duo? So he asked, "Uncle, do you know each other?"

"You could say we know each other; I have something to discuss with him."

Xiaolei looked at Xia Duo, his expression somewhat complex, "During the lord's banquet yesterday, my behavior might have caused you to misunderstand. Since you are close with Aideliqi, I will just say it directly: I want to buy the Magic Item you have on you."

"Yesterday? Banquet?" Aideliqi immediately reacted, "Uncle Xiaolei, are you trying to force Xia Duo to hand over the Magic Item? No wonder he wanted to sell the Magic Item today. I was just saying, what apprentice would sell a Magic Item so easily?"

*Cough—*

Hearing this, Xia Duo hurriedly interrupted Aideliqi's words, "Aideliqi, you misunderstood. Lord Xiaolei did not force me to hand over the Magic Item, and he didn't even mention the Magic Item."

It wasn't just Aideliqi who misunderstood; Xia Duo had also misunderstood somewhat. It was just that at the time, Xiaolei wanted to invite Xia Duo to join his Research Lab, which made Xia Duo somewhat uneasy, and that was why he decided to sell the Magic Item immediately.

In fact, apart from the wolf statue he kept, he had originally planned to sell that necklace in the near future.

"Aide, my little Aide, did Uncle dote on you for nothing when you were young? Is that how you see your uncle?"

Mage Xiaolei pretended to be aggrieved and sad, making Aideliqi somewhat at a loss. Just as he was about to apologize, Xiaolei said again, "Don't be so nervous, I was just joking with you."

Aideliqi was both ashamed and annoyed and turned to enter the Elevator, only to be grabbed by Xiaolei, "Alright, it's Uncle's fault, I'll give you a little toy."

As he spoke, Xiaolei took a half-foot-tall small puppet out of his Dimensional Bag and placed it in Aideliqi's hand, "Press the puppet's head and try!"

Aideliqi did not understand, but he tried pressing it. The moment he pressed it, the small puppet in his hand struggled and even let out bursts of childish cries:

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Aideliqi was so startled that his hand shook, and the small puppet fell to the ground. However, the fall did not seem to cause it any damage, and it stood up, swaying.

Next, the small puppet walked to Mage Xiaolei's side and pushed Xiaolei's lower leg, but Xiaolei ignored it. The small puppet then came to Xia Duo's side and pushed Xia Duo's lower leg.

Xia Duo also ignored it. Finally, the small puppet swayed over to Aideliqi's side, but instead of pushing his leg, it sat on the ground and began to wail.

It really looked a bit like the way Aideliqi had just been crying.

Aideliqi was stunned by this performance of the small puppet. He couldn't even care that the small puppet was still crying and hurriedly asked his uncle, "What is going on? Is it a new life?"

"Of course! This is a life created by me—the future Archmage Xiaolei."

Mage Xiaolei looked proud, but this pride did not last for a few seconds before thick smoke accompanied by a burnt smell rose from the ground. Aideliqi was so frightened that he jumped back two steps.

And Mage Xiaolei let out a strange cry, "Ah—my Puppet No. 21!"

Xia Duo looked down; at this moment, the puppet had already fallen to the ground, and thick smoke was rising from its body. Mage Xiaolei grabbed the small puppet and put it into his Dimensional Bag, then dispersed the smoke and the burnt smell.

Pretending as if nothing had happened, he looked at Xia Duo with a straight face, "Apprentice, is the Magic Item you have on you still for sale?"

Xia Duo was stunned for a moment and hurriedly said, "It is not for sale, but I can lend it to Lord Xiaolei for research, provided that I share a portion of the research results."

"Hehe, little apprentice, you really dare to think. But I agree, though if you can't understand the research results, that's none of my business."

"No problem, thank you Lord Xiaolei."

"Mm. Bring the item here!"

Xia Duo had just taken out the Forest Wolf Statue when it was snatched away by Xiaolei, "It's this. I felt yesterday that this thing would be helpful to my research, and now it seems it really is not bad. It turns out to be an unfinished Transformation Totem."

Just after finishing his sentence, as if he had thought of something, before Xia Duo and Aideliqi could react, he jumped into the Elevator in one step and then quickly closed the door, leaving behind only a slightly distorted voice.

"My little Aide, Uncle has something to do, so I'm leaving first. Next time I will definitely give you a better toy."

"..."

(End of chapter)