Chapter 496 - 495: Tricked into 1 Kiss

She glared at Ye Feng, gritting her teeth as she cried out, "Young Master, forget the mercenary guild—even our very lives are for you! You're in danger, yet you want to cast us aside. Are we that useless in your eyes? Don't we matter to you at all?"

As Lin Peipei spoke, the rims of her eyes instantly turned bright red.

Ye Feng was stunned speechless, at a complete loss. He cleared his throat and said:

"Pei Pei, I appreciate the thought. Uh, I have to get back to the Qiao family first to treat Ling'Er. I'll come find you after I'm finished!"

With that, he turned, ready to beat a hasty retreat, but Lin Peipei stepped forward to block his path. She shook her head and said:

"You can't leave!"

Ye Feng glanced at the smirking Feng Qingwu and Mu Qingyun beside him, and his face flushed red to the tips of his ears. He stammered frantically:

"Pei Pei, we can't do... that! Anything without marriage in mind is... it's just fooling around!"

"What are you talking about!" Lin Peipei's face turned red as a beet. "I didn't stop you for... for *that*!"

"Oh? Then what is it?"

Hearing it wasn't about *that*, Ye Feng's expression immediately relaxed.

Lin Peipei shot Ye Feng a reproachful glare before finally saying:

"Do you have any idea who you were bidding against just now? And from what I know, they're already waiting for you outside the auction house, ready to take back those three medicinal herbs..."

Before Lin Peipei could finish, Old Wei beside them blustered, "Who cares who they are? The Qiao family isn't afraid of anyone! If they want to snatch something from our hands, they'd better check if they've got the guts first!"

Lin Peipei looked at Old Wei, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. "The elves of the Beast Race. Are you not afraid of them?"

"The elves of the Beast Race? What the hell are they..." Old Wei said arrogantly, but he cut himself off mid-sentence as realization dawned. He shrieked:

"Holy shit, the elves of the Beast Race!" In the next instant, his face had gone as white as a sheet.

Seeing his reaction, Ye Lingtian asked in confusion:

"The elves of the Beast Race... are they that terrifying?"

Old Wei's voice trembled as he said, "Not just terrifying. They're *exceptionally* terrifying!

The Beast Race are the natives of the Savage Lands, and they're the true titans here. You could say that all the other factions combined are no match for them.

What's even more frightening is that the Beast Race is not only massive in number, but also teeming with masters. Even the Adjudicators don't dare to provoke them lightly. In front of them, the Qiao family... we're nothing more than a joke!"

At this point, he was on the verge of tears. "If I'd known it was the elves of the Beast Race we were bidding against, I would've given up immediately! This is just asking for death! I feel like just handing the herbs over to them right now."

Beside him, Mu Qingyun looked at Old Wei. "So you're not going to cure Miss Ling'Er's illness? You're just giving up on her life?"

Old Wei grimaced. "Even if we save the Young Miss's life now, if the Beast Race really attacks, we'll all end up dead anyway!"

He turned to look at Qiao Ling'Er. Knowing he was speaking the truth, her face turned pale and she sighed.

"Forget it. If the Beast Race wants those three medicinal herbs, just give them to them. I can't be the cause of ruin for the entire Qiao family!"

Old Wei's heart was filled with pity, but he was truly at a loss. He shook his head, sighed, and said no more.

Qiao Ling'Er turned to Ye Feng, a regretful smile on her face. "Ye Feng, even though I won't be able to make a full recovery in the end, I still want to thank you. Your treatment gave me the strength to see the beauty of this world one last time. I'm already content."

Then she murmured, "I just turned twenty this year. There are so many wonderful things I haven't experienced. I want to fall madly in love, to find a husband who would dote on me, love me, and cherish me in the palm of his hand. But alas, fate won't give me that chance. I've never even tasted a sweet kiss!"

In the next moment, she looked at Ye Feng, hesitating for a long while before finally steeling her resolve. Gritting her teeth, she said with a blush:

"Ye Feng, I'll never have the chance to taste the sweetness of love... but I want to know what a sweet kiss feels like. Can you grant a dying person's last wish?"

"Me?" Ye Feng's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He quickly shook his head. "Miss Ling'Er, don't... don't be like this..."

Seeing his reaction, a bitter smile touched Qiao Ling'Er's lips.

"I was asking for too much. How could someone as lowly as me have such an extravagant hope? Please forget what I just said, I've embarrassed myself. I'm sorry."

Seeing the look of utter despair on Qiao Ling'Er's face, Ye Feng panicked and quickly cried out:

"Miss Ling'Er, you've misunderstood! That's not what I meant..."

The moment he spoke, Qiao Ling'Er's face lit up with surprise and delight. She quickly raised her head to look at Ye Feng, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Ye Feng blushed and quickly said, "Miss Ling'Er, that's not what I meant either..."

Before he could finish, Ye Lingchen, who was behind him, suddenly gave him a hard shove.

Caught completely off guard, Ye Feng staggered forward, and his lips pressed directly against Qiao Ling'Er's.

Ye Feng froze.

He whipped his head around to glare at Ye Lingtian and shouted angrily:

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

Ye Lingtian glared back at Ye Feng and roared, "The girl was ready, and you were just dilly-dallying over there! Are you a man or not?!"

Ye Feng: "..."