A month later, within a merchant caravan on a long journey.
The caravan had neither too many nor too few people, roughly over two hundred in all. Martial artists made up the larger half, while ordinary mortals accounted for the smaller half. Their strengths varied greatly; the strongest possessed roughly True Martial Realm cultivation, while the weakest had merely reached the Body Refining Realm.
"Second Young Master, you're far too softhearted. Our Lingnan Merchant Association already suffered grievous losses from the last upheaval, and the association leader perished. Transporting goods to Changfeng County this time is already an enormous risk; who knows what trouble we might run into halfway there? Yet here you are—some young man casually shows up, asks to travel with the caravan to Changfeng County, and you simply agree." An armored man who looked like a guard could not help nagging.
The one receiving his impatient words was a youth of around fifteen or sixteen. His martial cultivation had reached the Spiritual Martial Realm, making him a fairly decent genius.
The youth was named Zhang Yonglin. Listening to the guard team leader, he said kindly, "I think Brother Yang seems like a good person. He's traveling with the caravan and has paid quite a few spirit stones, so there shouldn't be any issue. Uncle Han, don't overthink things!"
"I'm overthinking?" Han Zheng gritted his teeth. "Young Master, people's hearts are sinister and treacherous—you simply don't understand. That kid definitely has a problem."
His concerns were not unreasonable. In this wilderness, a young man had suddenly appeared and asked to travel with the group. Moreover, he spent lavishly, producing a top-grade spirit stone in one go as payment for accompanying the caravan. How could that not arouse suspicion?
His young master might be kindhearted, but he would not