Ling Luochen

Ji Xuan stood not far away, watching this scene with great interest.

When he caught a glimpse of the cold, delicate profile faintly visible beneath the black-robed woman's hood, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

Ling Luochen?

A proud daughter of the Shrek Academy inner court and one of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Why would she be here?

And judging by the looks of it, she seemed to be in a hurry to leave Shrek City.

Seeing the soul power fluctuations on Ling Luochen growing stronger, as if she were about to strike at any second, Ji Xuan knew he could no longer just watch the show.

Allowing a powerhouse at the Soul King level to start a fight inside the city was certainly not a good thing.

He walked over slowly, positioning himself between Ling Luochen and the leader of the caravan.

"Excuse me, sir, are you heading to the northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire?"

His calm voice caused the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere to pause.

The caravan leader heard the voice and turned his head to size up Ji Xuan.

Seeing that he was wearing ordinary gray cloth clothes and lacked any insignia from Shrek Academy, the leader immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, we are! Are you looking for a ride, little brother?"

The leader's attitude was clearly much better than it had been toward Ling Luochen.

After all, this seemingly unremarkable youth was much easier to get along with than the mysterious woman beside him who kept radiating soul power pressure at the slightest provocation.

"Indeed."

Ji Xuan nodded, then quietly activated the soul skill he had just acquired.

First Soul Skill: [Kyōka Suigetsu]!

An extremely subtle black light flashed behind him, moving so fast it was almost impossible to capture.

The next second, he took a bulging money pouch from his robes.

Ji Xuan handed the pouch to the caravan leader and said:

"This is my fare."

The leader took the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and immediately beamed with joy.

"Enough, enough! This is definitely enough!"

Ji Xuan glanced over as if by accident and asked:

"By the way, is this young lady also heading to the northern border?"

"Yes, she is also going to the north, but..."

The leader looked at Ling Luochen with a troubled expression.

"I'll pay her fare as well."

Ji Xuan took another money pouch from his robes and tossed it to the caravan leader.

"This..."

Ling Luochen suddenly raised her head.

A trace of surprise and confusion flashed in her beautiful eyes beneath the hood.

Why would this seemingly unremarkable youth want to help her?

The caravan leader weighed the second pouch and nodded with satisfaction:

"Fine! Since you're so generous, little brother, then you can both come along!"

"However, we are a cargo caravan, so we can only let you sit in the last carriage and squeeze in with the goods. You don't mind, do you?"

Ji Xuan shrugged indifferently:

"No problem."

"What? You want me to share a carriage with cargo?"

Ling Luochen's voice turned cold instantly, carrying a note of incredulous anger.

As a proud daughter of heaven, when had she ever suffered such grievances?

To make her squeeze in with those filthy goods.

This was simply a massive insult to her!

"Young lady, we are a cargo caravan, not a specialized passenger carriage."

The caravan leader ignored her protest entirely, turned around, and walked away while urging his men:

"Brothers, pack up! Get ready to move out! We need to reach the next post station before dark!"

Ling Luochen grew anxious and hurriedly turned to look at Ji Xuan, hoping he would put in a word for her.

After all, since he was the one who paid, the caravan leader would likely give him some face.

However, when she turned her head, she only saw Ji Xuan's back.

He had already jumped onto the last carriage without a moment's hesitation.

He found a comfortable spot amidst a pile of cargo and closed his eyes to rest.

He had absolutely no intention of standing up for her.

"You...!"

Ling Luochen stomped her foot in anger, gritting her teeth.

From the time she was a child until now, when had she ever been treated with such cold indifference?

No matter where she went, countless people would surround her, fawning over her in every way possible.

Yet this guy, despite having paid for her, turned a blind eye to her predicament!

It was simply... simply...

The caravan had already begun to move slowly.

Ling Luochen gritted her teeth, and in the end, she reluctantly followed.

She couldn't just be left behind here.

She took a deep breath and, under the mocking gaze of the caravan leader, jumped onto the last carriage in a somewhat disheveled manner.

Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was awkward to the extreme.

Ling Luochen frowned and used her soul power to carefully sweep a spot, ensuring there was no dust or grime.

Then, she activated her martial soul, and a thin layer of ice condensed over the area, completely isolating her from the "filthy" cargo.

Only after finishing all this did she carefully sit down, trying her best to maintain an elegant posture.

Even in such harsh conditions, she could not lose the poise of a genius.

As for Ji Xuan, he was lying casually on a pile of parcels.

With his hands behind his head and his eyes closed, he looked completely at ease.

Between the two of them lay an entire carriage of cargo, yet it felt as if there were an invisible chasm separating them.

Ling Luochen secretly sized up the youth who had suddenly appeared to help her out of a tight spot.

He did not look very old, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, with delicate features that were not particularly striking.

He wore the most ordinary gray cloth clothes, looking just like a commoner's son.

But the composed manner he had displayed earlier, and that sense of calm as if everything were under his control, made her feel that he was somewhat unusual.

Most importantly, why did he help her?

In this world, there was no such thing as kindness without a reason.

Especially toward a stranger like her who was hiding her identity.

Could he have recognized her?

Thinking of this, Ling Luochen subconsciously pulled her hood lower, a wave of unease rising in her heart.

The caravan bumped along the rugged road.

The sun set, and the sky began to darken.

Ling Luochen sat on her block of ice; although her body didn't feel the bumps, her heart grew increasingly restless.

From the time she was a child, when had she ever traveled alone?

This unfamiliar environment made her feel an unprecedented sense of discomfort.

What made her even more depressed was this:

The guy who had helped her hadn't said a single word since getting on the carriage, treating her completely like air.

This feeling of being ignored made her extremely unhappy.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Inside the carriage, there was nothing but the sound of wheels grinding against the ground and the slight clatter of cargo.

Finally, Ling Luochen could no longer hold it in.

She gave a light cough and said in as calm a tone as possible:

"Just now... thank you."

For someone as proud as her, those three words were not easy to say.

But since she had received his favor, she still had to maintain basic courtesy.

However.

The only response she received was the creaking of wheels rolling over the ground and the chirping of birds in the distance.

Ling Luochen looked up, puzzled.

Only to find that Ji Xuan was still maintaining his previous posture, his eyes tightly shut and his breathing steady.

He had actually fallen asleep!

"You...!"

Ling Luochen was instantly so angry that she gritted her teeth.

She had finally lowered her pride to offer her thanks, and this guy had actually fallen asleep?

How much disregard and contempt was this showing toward her?

From the time she was a child until now, when had she ever been treated like this?

Ling Luochen took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the fury in her heart.

Forget it, there was no point in lowering herself to the level of such a person.

(Another image of Ling Luochen)