Personal Bodyguard

Shen Jingchuan had no choice but to let them have their way, since he had already spoken.

He extended his fingers and touched the two men's foreheads, transmitting the "Body Tempering Instruction" to them with his Divine Sense.

A flood of information rushed into my mind: how to circulate energy, how to exert force, every move was crystal clear, as if I had memorized it through hard work.

The two said in unison, "Thank you, Master, for passing on your skills!"

Shen Jingchuan said helplessly, "I've already said, you're not my disciples."

Wang Lezhi's eyes darted around, and he blinked, saying, "Isn't there another kind called Registered Disciple? We can just be nominal disciples, just in name only, it won't cause any trouble."

Yang Xiao secretly praised the girl's cleverness and quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, we'll be her Registered Disciples."

Shen Jingchuan said, "Even Registered Disciples can't act recklessly. Since you want to become disciples, you must abide by the rules I told Siqi."

The two were overjoyed and immediately kowtowed.

"We will follow Master's teachings, never deceive him, practice diligently, and never bully the weak. We have all remembered this."

Shen Jingchuan raised his palm, and a gentle Spiritual Power lifted the two of them up.

Shen Jingchuan gave them a few more instructions, explaining the precautions for the three girls' daily cultivation one by one, and they exchanged contact information.

Seeing that it was almost time, Elder Yang took his leave with them.

Once everyone left, the room became quiet. Shen Jingchuan was still worried, so he took out his phone and sent Yang Xiao a text message.

"Have you made any plans to protect Meng Ke?"

The reply came very quickly.

"Master, it seems you still miss your wife. Don't worry, we've made all the arrangements. Would you like me to tell you about the plan?"

Shen Jingchuan looked at the text message, his lips twitched, and he replied.

"No need for that. Just remember one thing: don't make her feel resentful."

"If you two ever encounter a problem you can't solve, contact me immediately."

"Okay, don't worry about it. With the two of us here, nothing will go wrong."

Shen Jingchuan put away his phone. He had already spent quite a bit of time in the modern world, and he didn't know what the situation was like in the other world.

Without further delay, he traveled back to Azure Cloud Stronghold, first visiting his father-in-law and spending some time with him.

After he came out, he summoned Little Black from his Ring, mounted the horse, spurred it, and flew straight towards the city lord's mansion in Yuxi Prefecture.

Little Black carried him and slowly descended above the City Lord's Mansion.

While the person was still in mid-air, the guards at the gate spotted them, and one of them immediately ran into the mansion to report.

As soon as Shen Jingchuan dismounted, Zhou Tong rushed out to greet him, jogging along with a broad smile on his face.

"Young Master Shen, you've finally arrived! It's been quite a while since I've seen you."

Shen Jingchuan patted him on the shoulder and said, "I was watching from afar when you were fighting the Government Army."

"Seeing that you had won, and knowing there were too many things to do in the manor, I didn't come to bother you and have been cultivating in seclusion at the mountain stronghold."

Zhou Tong nodded repeatedly, saying, "I knew it. You were worried, so you were probably watching somewhere we couldn't see you."

As they talked, the two entered the main hall and sat down as host and guest.

Shen Jingchuan picked up his teacup and asked, "What, are you the only one in the manor? Where are the others?"

Zhou Tong smiled wryly, "The chieftain has left the city; he's in the north."

"The border troops on the other side have been active lately, most likely ordered by the imperial court to attack us. The chief has gone there to organize the defense."

Shen Jingchuan raised an eyebrow and said, "If the northern border troops really make a move, isn't he afraid that the foreign tribes outside will take the opportunity to invade?"

Zhou Tong: "Right now, they probably can't afford to worry about that."

"You wouldn't believe it, but lately, besides Yuxi Prefecture, we've expanded to the surrounding prefectures, and our force has grown to nearly 300,000."

"Firstly, the weapons you provided were truly effective; secondly, the military rations were plentiful; and thirdly, our land redistribution policy meant that the people in every place we went were eagerly anticipating it."

"Many county towns, even from afar, had their city gates wide open, welcoming us in."

"A few tried to resist, but the people below wouldn't allow it, so they opened the city gates themselves. Besides, they didn't have any decent army."

"Now, the territory we occupy is too large for even two prefectures to conquer."

"Eldest Brother Lin and Second Brother Lin, one heading east and the other west, each led nearly 100,000 men, and were supported by the people everywhere."

Zhou Tong shrugged and said, "There's no one else at home, so they left me to look after the house, supply the army, and pacify the local people. I'm constantly busy."

"Thanks to my father's help, and the assistance of some scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, we barely managed to stay afloat."

Shen Jingchuan looked at him and laughed, "Look, he's already starting to take over managing the territory."

"As the Rebel Army conquers more and more territory in the future, consider this a learning experience. If one day they truly conquer the entire Great Qian and establish a new nation, you might just become the head of the civil officials."

Zhou Tong waved his hands repeatedly, his face turning red, and said, "Please don't tease me. I know my own limitations."

"I'm barely doing any business, let alone achieving any official rank; I haven't even managed to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations)."

Shen Jingchuan said solemnly, "Fame and fortune are nothing; what matters is ability."

"You started by governing one prefecture, and now you've expanded to two, three, and there will be more in the future. It's only been a short time, and you already control the territory of two prefectures."

He then changed the subject, asking, "By the way, what's the situation up north?"

Zhou Tong stopped laughing and said, "The military report just arrived yesterday; the two armies have already clashed. We don't know what will happen next."

"That place is almost a thousand li away from here. Even with an express courier service of 800 li per minute, it would still take a day and a half to get there."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingchuan sighed inwardly.

He couldn't bring any electrical-age items with him from this time travel; otherwise, drones, walkie-talkies, and telegraph machines would all be useful.

The only thing that can help now is a pair of binoculars.

As for modern weapons of mass destruction, it's not that he can't acquire them, but he doesn't dare to acquire too many.

If this stuff gets out, it will be a catastrophic disaster for the world.

Therefore, he never even taught them how to make muskets or grenades.

The two had a meal at the mansion.

Shen Jingchuan put down his chopsticks, stood up to take his leave, and said, "I'm leaving now. I'm still uneasy about the war in the north; I want to go and see for myself."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong exclaimed with delight, "That's wonderful! With you personally overseeing the battle, we're guaranteed to win!"

Shen Jingchuan shook his head and said, "I can't intervene; I'm just going to take a look."

Zhou Tong laughed and said, "Even if you do nothing, just standing there makes me feel at ease."

Shen Jingchuan said no more, walked into the courtyard, and mounted his horse.

With a soft shout, Little Black spread its wings, took off, and transformed into a black streak, rushing straight towards the direction Zhou Tong had mentioned.