Ling Feng touched his nose, glanced down at his current appearance, and saw that his clothes had turned into strips of ragged fabric that was covered in dust and sand. It was no wonder he had been mistaken for a little beggar.
Earlier, as he traveled alone through the dense forest, he hadn’t felt the need to change into clean clothes.
The girl in the carriage was named Wang Caiwei, the daughter of Wang Tianlin.
Wang Tianlin was the head of a second-tier power in Iron Wolf City. Though not famous, his family was quite wealthy. Wang Caiwei had been pampered by her father since childhood and developed a temper typical of a spoiled young lady.
Iron Wolf City, located on the border, was plagued by demonic beasts and the demon race. However, because it was closest to the Nanjiang demon domain, it attracted many martial artists, especially hunting teams. These teams often lingered in the area, hunting lower-tier demonic beasts on the outskirts of the demon domain to make a fortune.
Wang Tianlin's family had organized more than a dozen such hunting teams, which became one of the Wang family’s main sources of income.
Ling Feng, uninterested in arguing with the Wang family's young lady, smiled faintly at Wang Tianlin. “Senior Wang, since your daughter doesn’t welcome me, I’ll take my leave.”
With that, Ling Feng turned to leave. After all, he had figured out how to get to Iron Wolf City and didn’t need to travel with this caravan.
Wang Tianlin glared at his unruly daughter and reprimanded her, “Shut up! How can you speak to people like that?”
Wang Caiwei wrinkled her small nose, sulked back into the carriage, and pouted angrily.
Wang Tianlin sighed slightly. With his experience, he could tell at a glance that Ling Feng was no ordinary person. Such a genius couldn’t possibly be a little beggar.
His daughter, still naive, had judged him by his appearance, which was unwise.
He quickly mounted his horse and chased after Ling Feng. “Sorry, Little Feng. That girl’s mother passed away early, and I’ve spoiled her. She has a bit of a bad temper. Please don’t take her words to heart.”
“Senior Wang, it’s nothing. Given my current appearance, I do look like a little beggar! Hahaha...” Ling Feng stopped and chuckled.
“Although this is just the edge of the Endless Forest, it’s still extremely dangerous. Even though you have some body refinement skills, there are fourth-tier and even fifth-tier demonic beasts around. Traveling with us would be safer.”
Wang Tianlin jumped off his horse and laughed heartily.
“Well, thank you, Senior Wang.” Seeing Wang Tianlin's good intentions, Ling Feng agreed to travel with them.
“You’re welcome.” Wang Tianlin warmly brought Ling Feng back to the caravan and shouted to everyone, “Brothers, let’s take a break!”
Hearing the leader’s call to rest, the caravan’s guards dismounted and took out dry food or grabbed their wineskins. They were clearly exhausted from the long journey.
Wang Tianlin briefly introduced Ling Feng to a few of his powerful subordinates, and then pointed to a graceful figure at the front of a carriage and shook his head with a bitter smile. “This girl is Caiwei. I’ve spoiled her since she was young, and she’s quite unruly.”
Wang Tianlin smiled and called out to Wang Caiwei, saying, “Girl, come over and apologize to Little Feng.”
At that moment, Wang Caiwei, blushing, was talking to a handsome young man and looking incredibly shy and docile, a stark contrast to her usual arrogant and unruly demeanor.
Hearing her father's words, Wang Caiwei immediately looked over while slightly raising her chin. She glared provocatively at Ling Feng and snorted. "Apologize? Dream on! Kid, my father kindly took you in, so you better stay put and avoid getting eaten by a demonic beast!
"My father is just too nice. He’s always playing the good guy even when he can't protect himself well enough and now has to take in a useless burden." Wang Caiwei turned back while smiling at the handsome young man beside her. "Isn't that right, Big Brother Chen?"
The man she called Big Brother Chen was Bu Chen. He clearly enjoyed Wang Caiwei's admiration and responded proudly, "Don't worry, Caiwei. With me around, no demonic beast will get close to you."
Hearing Bu Chen's sweet words, Wang Caiwei's face flushed as her eyes sparkled with admiration and respect for him.
However, Wang Tianlin gave Bu Chen a stern look and coldly reprimanded him. "What are you standing there for? Don't you have work to do?"
Bu Chen's expression stiffened. He quickly smiled ingratiatingly at Wang Tianlin, nodded, and left Wang Caiwei's side. But as he turned, a flash of malice appeared in his eyes.
"Big Brother Chen, don't go!"
Wang Caiwei bit her lip and stamped her foot in frustration. She ran to her father, fuming, "Daddy, why are you always picking on Big Brother Chen? He's so good to me. Why won't you just let us be together?"
Wang Tianlin's expression softened slightly as he patted his daughter's shoulder and sighed. "Silly girl, you can't judge someone solely by what you see. You're still too naive. Bu Chen is slick-tongued and lazy. He shirks his work and his training. He will never amount to anything. I'm doing this for your own good!"
Wang Caiwei bit her lip and frowned, clearly not listening to a word. "Daddy, I don't care. I will marry no one but Big Brother Chen!"
Watching this scene unfold, Ling Feng couldn't help but laugh inwardly. With his keen perception, he had caught Bu Chen's malicious look.
Bu Chen was clearly not a good person, but rather the kind of ingrate people warned about.
Unfortunately for Wang Caiwei, she was completely taken in by his sweet talk.
However, this had nothing to do with Ling Feng. That spoiled young lady could use a bit of hardship.
Thinking this, a smile tugged at Ling Feng's lips.
Unluckily, Wang Caiwei noticed his smile and immediately assumed he was mocking her. Her face turned icy, and she glared at Ling Feng while shouting, "What are you laughing at, you filthy beggar? I curse you to be eaten by demonic beasts later! Hmph!"
With that, the spoiled young lady huffed, tossed her hair, and stormed back to her carriage.
Ling Feng shook his head, a slight blush on his face. He smiled faintly and said, "Senior Wang, it seems your precious daughter doesn't like me very much."
Wang Tianlin shook his head and sighed softly, "This girl doesn't understand how dangerous people's hearts can be. Never mind, in time, she will see what is genuine and what is false."