Chapter 23: The Beast

Even though He Tiantian and Wang Xingyu agreed quite readily, Lin Feng still hesitated.

He Tiantian felt speechless, silently lamenting, "We're already in this state, why won't you just help us out?" Wang Xingyu, on the other hand, felt a pang of worry, wondering if Lin Feng possessed mind-reading abilities and knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Woo... meow, meow..."

Just then, a sound erupted from the depths of the jungle—a noise that sounded like the low growl of a dog, yet also like the cry of a cat.

Oh no!

Lin Feng’s brow furrowed tightly, filled with intense anxiety. His extensive wilderness survival experience told him this was neither a dog nor a cat; it was the sound of a leopard.

A leopard! There was a leopard in the jungle! If Qin Meng were unlucky enough to run into it, she would be doomed.

Upon hearing the sound, Cheng Xiangyu screamed in terror, "Oh no! That’s a leopard’s cry! There’s a leopard in the jungle!"

"Huh?" He Tiantian gasped, shaking her head repeatedly. "Sister Cheng, that sound clearly resembles a dog or a cat. There shouldn't be a leopard, right?"

Cheng Xiangyu replied, "Even if it really is a cat or a dog, on this deserted island, those are feral animals—beasts that are not easy to deal with."

He Tiantian was left speechless, her face growing even paler with fear.

Wang Xingyu was equally terrified, his heart racing with urgency. "Brother Lin, Brother Feng, please save me! I’ll listen to everything you say, I promise!"

He Tiantian followed suit, pleading, "Lin Feng, please save me!"

"Fine, I’ll get you out," Lin Feng said. He agreed to save them only because he was suddenly deeply concerned about Qin Meng encountering wild beasts. As He Tiantian had noted, he was alone; between searching for food and building a shelter, he truly lacked the time and energy to track down Qin Meng. He needed help.

Lin Feng asked Cheng Xiangyu to hand him a tree branch. He extended it into the pool, letting He Tiantian and then Wang Xingyu grab hold so he could pull them out.

"You damaged the pool, causing a massive loss of freshwater," he told them. "Now, I need you to repair the breach so the pool can collect more water."

By giving them tasks immediately after saving them, he wanted to see if they would truly obey him, which would help him decide whether to keep them in his group.

"Alright!" He Tiantian replied, immediately running to the downstream side of the pool to fill the gap with the mud Wang Xingyu had dug up.

Wang Xingyu, however, stood there, not moving an inch.

Seeing this, Lin Feng huffed, "Why aren't you working?"

"I’m doing it, I’m doing it!" Wang Xingyu replied with a smirk.

However, just as Lin Feng thought he was going to work, Wang Xingyu suddenly shoved him with all his might. Lin Feng, caught completely off guard, was pushed hard. Since the edge of the pool was slippery, Lin Feng lost his footing and plunged headfirst into the water.

"Ah?"

"What are you doing?"

He Tiantian and Cheng Xiangyu watched in shock, letting out sharp cries. Neither of them had expected Wang Xingyu to return evil for good, harming the man who had just saved him.

"Damn it! I just pulled you out, and you push me in? Are you even human?" Lin Feng roared from the pool, fuming with rage.

Wang Xingyu scoffed, "Damn you. I don't care that I had to beg you repeatedly to get you to save me, but you actually expected me to listen to everything you say? You’re just a bottom-tier waiter. Do you really think you’re worthy of ordering me around?"

Fearing that Lin Feng would retaliate if he climbed out, he looked at the two women and said coldly, "You two, come back to the shelter with me. Don't you dare save him, or I’ll make you wish you were dead."

He Tiantian was willing to work, but she didn’t care for taking orders from Lin Feng, and she felt bitter that he had been so reluctant to save them earlier. More importantly, she wouldn’t dare offend the son of the City Lord for the sake of an ordinary man like Lin Feng.

She immediately abandoned the idea of helping him, stopped patching the pool, and stood up. "Don't worry, Young Master Wang, I won't save him. I’ll listen to you."

Cheng Xiangyu wanted to help, but with her injured leg and her lack of strength as a frail woman, she couldn't pull the sturdy Lin Feng out. She tried to persuade him instead: "Young Master Wang, I know Lin Feng was wrong to be difficult earlier, but he did save you! Besides, he’s a doctor and is very capable; we need him to survive better. Please, just pull him out."

Wang Xingyu thought this made sense, but he feared Lin Feng’s retaliation. He looked down at Lin Feng and said, "Beg me. If you beg me humbly and repeatedly, I’ll pull you out."

He wore a triumphant smile, thinking, *Lin Feng, weren't you being arrogant before? You wouldn't save me even when I begged you. Tables have turned; now it's your turn to beg.*

However, Lin Feng did not grant his wish. "Beg you? In your dreams!"

Lin Feng didn't believe Wang Xingyu would actually save him anyway; he was just being toyed with and humiliated. He had observed the pool—it was about 1.3 meters deep. For He Tiantian and Wang Xingyu, who were under 1.7 meters tall, it would be difficult to climb out, but at over 1.85 meters with long limbs, he could definitely manage. He only pretended to be stuck because he was worried that if Wang Xingyu feared retaliation, he would prevent him from climbing out.

Hearing Lin Feng’s refusal, Wang Xingyu looked at Cheng Xiangyu. "You heard him. It’s not that I don't want to save him; he simply refuses to cooperate."

Cheng Xiangyu frowned, frustrated by Lin Feng’s stubbornness. "Lin Feng, just swallow your pride and apologize to Young Master Wang for your behavior!"

He Tiantian added, "Yes, Lin Feng, just apologize quickly, otherwise we can't possibly save you."

Lin Feng simply huffed, "Get lost!" He had done nothing wrong; why should he apologize?

The two women were speechless. Wang Xingyu said, "Lin Feng, since you want to die, I’ll grant your wish." With that, he turned and walked away.

He had considered using a branch to hit Lin Feng, but feared being pulled into the pool himself. He thought about throwing mud or rocks, but worried that filling the pool might inadvertently give Lin Feng a way to climb out.

Cheng Xiangyu wanted to ask He Tiantian for help, but she feared offending Wang Xingyu. Besides, He Tiantian might not agree, and even if she did, two women—one injured and one ill—could hardly pull a grown man like Lin Feng out. She sighed helplessly at him. "Sigh, why are you so unwilling to just swallow your pride?"

She turned to He Tiantian. "Help me up, let’s go."

"Alright!" He Tiantian replied, helping Cheng Xiangyu walk away.

Lin Feng was left alone in the pool. Watching Wang Xingyu’s retreating back, he clenched his fists in hatred, swearing that if he ever got the chance, he would kill him—regardless of whether he was the City Lord’s son or not.