CHAPTER 634: CHAPTER 502: AWAKENED BY A SLAP

"Little Master!" Housekeeper Huang, fearing something might happen to Long Baobao, staggered to his feet to stop Long Baobao.

But he was old and frail, and having just kowtowed several times, he got up only to be seized by dizziness, utterly unable to stop Long Baobao in time.

In the blink of an eye, Long Baobao had already charged to the entrance of the tent, but suddenly, a wall appeared in front of him, and his little head bumped into it.

Upon closer inspection, Long Baobao realized it wasn’t a wall at all, but Emperor Di.

The huge difference in their heights allowed Emperor Di to effortlessly pick up Long Baobao.

Looking at Emperor Di’s cold face, Long Baobao’s resentment grew even stronger.

"Let go of me, you’re all bad people. What are you stopping me for? I don’t want your sympathy, I want to go back to Cang Country to save Grandpa."

Long Baobao flailed his limbs, like a little spider.

"Seek revenge? You are too weak, more likely heading to your death."

Emperor Di, with a gloomy expression, found children to be truly bothersome.

If it wasn’t for noticing that the little woman’s gaze was flickering, looking very much like she wanted to save this little ghost, he would have loved to kick this little brat out of the camp.

He had a wound on his back, picking up Long Baobao as if tossing a sandbag, and threw him into Ye Lingyue’s arms.

"Whether we keep him or not, you decide."

Ye Lingyue was slightly startled, surprised at Emperor Di.

How did he know that she wanted to help Long Baobao?

"Let go of me, she’s no good person either, you’re all just like Long Sixuan, out to harm me." Long Baobao, thrown around like a sandbag, was powerless to resist, and became even more infuriated as he gestured frantically at Ye Lingyue.

Ye Lingyue also grew somewhat irritated, and suddenly she raised her hand, a slap falling down.

Only a smack was heard, and in an instant, the tent fell into silence.

Housekeeper Huang was stunned.

The little master was the Family Head’s precious treasure; no one had ever hit him from the time he was young.

Long Baobao was also frozen.

It hurt so much!!

He pursed his lips yet stubbornly refused to cry, instead using his large, teary eyes to glower fiercely at Ye Lingyue.

"Long Baobao, let me tell you, you’re not qualified to just throw away your life! Your life isn’t even your own! Since the moment your men died one by one protecting you, since Housekeeper Huang left his home to follow you, disregarding the safety of his own family, your life hasn’t been yours. Your life is theirs, and you need to live on properly, to reclaim everything that belongs to you. This is what you owe them!" Ye Lingyue said exasperatedly, gnashing her teeth as she berated Long Baobao.

Long Baobao was silent for a long while.

Suddenly, his eyes reddened, and he burst into tears, his previously clenched fists now relaxed; he hugged Ye Lingyue’s neck and cried his heart out.

He was very scared and angry; why had his whole world collapsed in just one night?

But he couldn’t cry, he couldn’t be afraid; Grandpa was still waiting for him to return, and Grandpa Huang still needed his care.

He could not cry, this was his last cry, truly the last time.

Crying till the end, Long Baobao’s throat turned hoarse. Weeping softly, the fatigue of the night compounded by the harsh reality, he finally fell into a deep sleep. He leaned on Ye Lingyue’s shoulder, his hand refusing to let go, perhaps knowing in his heart, that this person, who had hit him for the first time, was also among the few in the world he could find solace in now.

"Miss Ye, thank you." Housekeeper Huang was also wiping away tears. The young master had been willful since childhood, and if it hadn’t been for Ye Lingyue’s bold action just now, he truly feared Long Baobao would have done something impulsive.

"Don’t thank me so soon, I haven’t agreed to help you yet. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world." Ye Lingyue was still irritated by Housekeeper Huang’s deliberate concealment.

However, she had a connection with Long Baobao.

Although she didn’t have a younger brother, Long Baobao gave her a strangely familiar feeling, as if long ago, she also had a little brother whom she loved dearly, who would cry and act spoiled in her arms after being aggrieved.

Long Baobao also taught her the refining method for the Qiankun Bag, and after pondering, Ye Lingyue was inclined to help Long Baobao. However, she was no saint, even if the team leader had unprecedentedly given her the decision-making authority over Long Baobao’s matter.

Still, if there was no benefit to be gained, it wouldn’t make sense.

Naturally, Housekeeper Huang was aware of this, and embarrassment spread across his aging face.

"I really do not have much money on me. But as long as Young Master Long gains fame at the World’s First Refining Competition, we will be able to pay the reward."

"Housekeeper Huang, at this juncture, do you still think that your young master can easily make a name for himself at the World’s First Refining Competition?" Ye Lingyue couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Were both this servant and his master from ’Tianzhen Star’? Long Sixuan spared no expense, hiring an assassin with the incredible sum of five million taels of gold to kill Long Baobao. If he were to find out that Long Baobao wasn’t dead, he would undoubtedly use every means at his disposal to continue the pursuit.

Even going so far as to leverage the Long Family’s years of reputation and status in the Artifact Refining World to obstruct Long Baobao’s participation in the World’s First Refining Competition.

Ye Lingyue was certain that even if Long Baobao safely reached Sifang City, the entry submitted for the preliminary round might very likely be tampered with.

"Then, what should we do?" Housekeeper Huang was at a loss.

"The best course of action now," Ye Lingyue smiled, "is to let Long Baobao ’die’. Five million taels of gold as reward - truly a tempting price."

Upon hearing this, Housekeeper Huang’s complexion changed drastically, looking at Ye Lingyue in horror.

She couldn’t possibly be harboring greedy thoughts, planning to exchange the young master’s head for...

"Ladies and gentlemen, for this mission, Emperor’s Slaughter and Blood Drink have failed to escort. The Long Family’s young master tragically encountered an ambush mid-journey, Housekeeper Huang sacrificed his life for his master. Everyone has got this memorised, right?" Ye Lingyue smiled coyly, glancing at the crowd.

"Understood, Young Master Long is so pitiful, dying so young." Lan Cai’er, who understood Ye Lingyue best, could tell from her expression that her sister must have had some cunning plan.

Looking at Di Hesha, what Ye Lingyue said was also what they had already planned in their minds.

As for the members of "Blood Drink," Dao Ge Song Jingyun kept silent.

They were all intelligent, and within a moment, they understood Ye Lingyue was planning to spread false news of Long Baobao’s death to put Long Sixuan at ease.

But if so, wouldn’t Blood Drink unwaveringly bear the evil reputation of failing their mission?

As for Emperor’s Slaughter, although their reputation would be tarnished for a short while, as long as Long Baobao truly made a name for himself at the World’s First Forging Competition in the future, Emperor’s Slaughter would eventually reap benefits.

Naturally, the Xia Family’s Three Sisters and Hong Yulang, and others were not pleased.

"From today onwards, Long Baobao is already dead. No one is allowed to speak carelessly, or else, it will be equivalent to betraying ’Blood Drink’." Bo Qing spoke indifferently.

Once Bo Qing’s words were out, no one from "Blood Drink" dared to oppose anymore.