The Wager

"Goodbye, Sister. I'm leaving first!"

With the cloth bundle in hand, Yao Feng hurried away. Seeing Zhou Tong struggling to hold back his laughter beside him, he rolled his eyes helplessly and said irritably,

"If you want to laugh, then laugh!"

"No, no, Young Master, I don't want to laugh at all. I just didn't expect Young Master to have such a talent."

Looking at Old Zhou, whose eyes were full of amusement even as he spoke with a straight face, Yao Feng's eye twitched.

"If I had money, would I need to do this?"

The few medicinal herbs he had bought at the auction had each cost over two hundred thousand. He only had a few tens of thousands left, so of course he had to spend carefully. What he had not expected was that this trick would work so well. It seemed he could make a living off his face too—an experience he had never had before.

"Yao Feng!"

A voice filled with chill rang out from behind him. Yao Feng turned around and saw the furious Leilei, the grim-faced Liu Ling, and behind them, the snakewoman girl with shackles on her hands and feet, her face filled with terror.

Yao Feng sneered and said,

"What is it, Young Master Lei, Young Master Liu?"

"You dared to cheat me?"

"Heh, I merely did what you wanted to do. How was that cheating?"

Just as Leilei was about to retort, Liu Ling grabbed him and stepped forward himself. Looking at the young boy before him, who had managed to outplay them, he revealed a strange smile.

"I saw Brother Yao Feng bid for quite a few medicinal herbs earlier. I presume they're for alchemy. How about you and I have a wager?"

"What kind of wager?"

Looking into Liu Ling's narrow eyes, Yao Feng knew the fellow was up to no good. Still, he was curious about what Liu Ling intended. Liu Ling was proudest of his alchemy skills, so it was surely related to that.

"Heh, since Brother Yao Feng also passed the alchemist examination, how about we compete in pill refinement? Of course, I won't take advantage of you. We'll both refine a first-grade pill, and the winner will be decided by the pill's quality and the time taken to refine it. What do you say?"

"Sure. What's the stake?"

Yao Feng sneered inwardly. As expected, Liu Ling had no good intentions. If Yao Feng were merely a Grade Alchemist, he would undoubtedly lose this wager. With Liu Ling's strength as a Second Grade Alchemist, refining a high-quality first-grade pill was entirely possible. Unfortunately for him, Yao Feng was also a Second Grade Alchemist, and his ability was infinitely close to the third grade.

"The stake will be this snakewoman. If I lose, she belongs to Brother Yao Feng. But if you lose, you'll have to give me your alchemist's robe. So, do you dare?"

As a symbol of an alchemist's status, losing one's alchemist's robe to another person would likely be the greatest humiliation for an alchemist.

Yao Feng's gaze turned cold. He had not expected the smiling Liu Ling to be so vicious inside. Still, this saved Yao Feng another trip. He had originally planned to have Zhou Tong secretly snatch the snakewoman girl from Leilei and the others afterward. Now, it seemed there was no need to go to such trouble.

"Fine, I accept. Where will we compete?"

"You don't need to worry about that. The Mittel Auction House has a dedicated alchemy room inside. We'll go there."

Seeing Yao Feng agree to compete with Liu Ling in pill refinement, Leilei sneered inwardly. As the disciple of Alchemist King Gu He, Leilei did not believe Liu Ling could lose to some brat.

Led by Leilei, Liu Ling and Yao Feng arrived at a quiet room. Zhou Tong and the snakewoman girl remained outside the door to wait.

"There are two sets of ingredients here for refining the first-grade Qi Gathering Pill. Each person gets only one chance. If there are no objections, we'll begin now."

Yao Feng looked around the room. A Medicine Cauldron that was still somewhat warm stood in the center. This was indeed where the alchemists of the Mittel Auction House refined pills.

"Yao Feng, don't disappoint us~"

Liu Ling smiled confidently and took out a dark-red Medicine Cauldron. A pale brown flame flew from his hand and blazed within the cauldron. Taking one set of ingredients, he skillfully tossed them into the cauldron one by one and began refining and purifying them.

Yao Feng did not hesitate either. He directly took out the Medicine Cauldron he used for pill refinement in the family. Placing his palm against it, black flames instantly filled the entire cauldron. Taking the remaining set of ingredients, Yao Feng also began refining them in an orderly fashion.

Liu Ling spared a sliver of attention to watch Yao Feng. When he saw the black flames within the Medicine Cauldron, his expression changed slightly. His own flame had only been obtained after his master, Gu He, had gone through immense effort. Back when he refined that Beast Flame, even with his master Gu He giving his all beside him, he had been tortured half to death. Yet Yao Feng, so young, also possessed a Beast Flame.

Time passed bit by bit. In order to refine Qi Gathering Pills of higher quality, both Yao Feng and Liu Ling were fully focused, afraid that even the slightest mistake would ruin all their previous efforts.

Finally, Yao Feng struck the Medicine Cauldron hard with his palm. A round pill flew out, and Yao Feng caught it in one hand and placed it on his palm.

Liu Ling followed right after him. The flames within his Medicine Cauldron gradually died out, and he took out a pill and placed it on the table, casting a somewhat provocative look at Yao Feng.

Yao Feng sneered and placed his Qi Gathering Pill down as well.

"P-Pill Pattern!"

Though Leilei was an incompetent member of the Mite'er Family, he still understood the basics. Pill Patterns only appeared when a pill's purity reached an exceptionally high level. Although Liu Ling's Qi Gathering Pill also had a faint pattern on its surface, Yao Feng's Qi Gathering Pill bore a complete Pill Pattern. Which was superior was obvious at a glance.

Naturally, Liu Ling could also see the difference. Yet he still found it hard to believe. A mere brat had actually beaten him in pill refinement. If word got out, it would be an utter disgrace.

Seeing Liu Ling's expression grow increasingly grim, Yao Feng snorted and turned toward the door.

"Oh, right. I'll be taking the snakewoman with me. Thank you both."

Outside the room, Zhou Tong cast Yao Feng a curious look when he emerged. Yao Feng ignored him and walked straight to the snakewoman girl. Looking at her delicate little face, innocent yet carrying a trace of allure, her pink eyes glistening as she looked at him fearfully with a pitiful expression, Yao Feng sighed.

He reached out and shattered the shackles on her hands and feet, then said,

"You're free now. You can leave this place immediately, and I won't stop you. Of course, you can also stay by my side. Before long, I'll be heading to the Tagore Desert, and then I can send you back to the snakepeople tribe. The choice is yours."

"Old Zhou, let's go."

After calling to Zhou Tong, Yao Feng took the lead back toward the inn. Although he had saved the snakewoman girl, it was only because he could not bear to watch her become the plaything of those people. But if she wanted to go off and get herself killed, there was no need for Yao Feng to save her again.