"It seemed I should go out less in the future. Every time I went out, someone followed me. From now on, I should let my Doppelganger handle everything. Staying home was quite nice."
Chen Ze felt that whenever he went out, something was bound to happen.
"Master, where are we going?"
"To take a look at where I used to live, and deal with the tail while we're at it."
As they slowly entered the familiar alleyway, Chen Ze and Doppelganger Zhao Ling'er completely concealed their auras.
"Master, they're speeding up."
"Mm, then let's wait for them!"
Chen Ze simply stopped and waited for the people behind him.
The three men who had followed them all the way from Tongfu Restaurant had initially only noticed Zhao Ling'er's beauty and decided to follow her to see which family she came from.
Most importantly, they could not sense any cultivation from either Chen Ze or Zhao Ling'er, which was why they had dared to keep following them.
But the farther they followed, the more delighted they became. They had not expected Chen Ze and Zhao Ling'er to walk all the way to the Commoner District.
Heaven truly favored them. An unintentional act had actually led them to such a beautiful woman.
They had already regarded Zhao Ling'er as something in their bag.
Mortals were no more than ants in their eyes.
However, when they saw Chen Ze and Zhao Ling'er suddenly stop, they hesitated.
Have we been discovered? That shouldn't be possible. How could two mortals notice us following them?
Yet Chen Ze and Zhao Ling'er really had stopped ahead of them.
For a moment, they did not dare act rashly.
When Chen Ze saw that he had stopped, yet those people following them still did not dare come forward,
"Looks like I underestimated them. There really aren't many fools among those who can cultivate immortality."
"Master, let me go!"
Chen Ze glanced at Zhao Ling'er and suddenly realized that he seemed to have forgotten that Zhao Ling'er was also a Doppelganger.
Doppelganger Zhao Ling'er possessed the same cultivation and strength as him. Whatever he knew, Zhao Ling'er knew as well.
Chen Ze smiled helplessly and nodded. "Go ahead!"
"Master, should I take them alive, or deal with them directly?"
"Deal with them directly. I'll wait for you at the house I used to rent."
"Yes, Master."
Chen Ze started walking forward again, but Zhao Ling'er's figure had already vanished.
"Big Brother, that kid has started walking again. Looks like we were overthinking it."
"No, it seems one person is missing?"
"?"
"That woman is gone. Only that kid is walking forward."
The three men looked toward Chen Ze in astonishment. Zhao Ling'er was nowhere to be seen; all they could see was Chen Ze's back.
Just then, a clear, beautiful voice entered their ears. "Are you looking for me?"
The three were startled. The voice seemed to have come from behind them.
"Could it be...?"
They turned around in shock, only to find the beautiful face that had led them all the way here appearing right before their eyes.
"When did you get behind us?" the leader of the three asked in terror.
"Just now." Zhao Ling'er asked curiously again, "You followed us. Is there something you want?"
"We..." The three men stammered, unsure how to begin. By now, they understood that they had misjudged their targets.
They had never expected that the two people they had followed for so long had concealed their cultivation.
"I'll say it for you. You were bewitched by beauty, weren't you?"
The three men already understood the situation and hurriedly waved their hands. "No, no, we were just passing by."
"Hehe. Since you harbored thoughts you should not have had, you should pay the price for your actions."
Doppelganger Zhao Ling'er had no intention of wasting any more words. An Azure Cloud Sword had already appeared in her hand.
"Profound rank?"
The moment they saw the Azure Cloud Sword, the three knew they were finished. Someone who could casually produce a Profound-rank Magic Artifact was certainly someone they could not afford to provoke.
"Spare us, Fellow Daoist!"
"You talk too much."
Zhao Ling'er swung her Azure Cloud Sword, unleashing the Thirteen Swords of Star Movement.
Zhao Ling'er's figure disappeared. When she reappeared, she was already behind the three men.
The three were still wondering where Zhao Ling'er had gone when they felt a chill at their necks.
Then pain shot through their necks, and all three raised their hands to clutch them.
No matter how tightly they pressed, they could not stop the blood from spraying through their fingers.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The three men collapsed in response.
In an instant, Zhao Ling'er had used a single move of the Thirteen Swords of Star Movement—Move Stars—to finish all three.
After glancing at the three bodies on the ground, Zhao Ling'er collected their belongings.
She tossed three Fireballs onto them, and before long, the three turned into drifting ash.
After cleaning up the traces of the battle and confirming that nothing had been left behind, Zhao Ling'er headed toward Chen Ze.
The whole process was far too familiar. Wasn't this exactly how Chen Ze dealt with his enemies every time?
Chen Ze had not expected that every one of his Doppelgangers had perfectly inherited his methods.
Chen Ze stood in the courtyard of the house where he used to live. "Taken care of?"
Zhao Ling'er, who had arrived at his side, replied, "Taken care of."
"Mm, then let's go back."
"Master, aren't we going inside to take a look?" Doppelganger Zhao Ling'er saw that Chen Ze was only standing in the courtyard and had not gone into the house.
"There's nothing worth seeing."
With that, Chen Ze walked out of the courtyard without looking back.
Doppelganger Zhao Ling'er did not understand what Chen Ze was thinking. She merely followed silently behind him.
She was only a Doppelganger. She did not need to guess Chen Ze's thoughts; she only needed to remain loyal to him.
On the way back to the residence, Chen Ze did not speak. When they neared the gates, he suddenly said, "Ling'er, what do you think about opening a shop here in Wannan City?"
"Ling'er will follow whatever Master decides."
"I still want to hear your opinion. Help me analyze it.
"Always staying inside the residence feels rather dull. It would be better to find something to do.
"Besides, opening a shop would let us earn Spirit Stones.
"When I was wandering around outside today, I noticed that the goods in the Myriad Things Shop seemed to have price differences compared with the things sold in outside shops.
"The items in the Myriad Things Shop are valued according to their cost.
"But the prices of goods in outside shops are set according to their scarcity.
"Even the thirty-year Spirit Herbs in the Spirit Field have a thirty percent price difference compared to those sold outside, not to mention other things.
"Furthermore, the Myriad Things Shop has everything one could want. As long as one has Spirit Stones, anything can be exchanged for.
"Tell me, isn't it necessary for us to open a shop? We just happen to be short on Spirit Stones right now."
Chen Ze voiced all the thoughts in his heart, and he had already carried out a whole series of analyses himself.
"Master's idea is very good, but if we open a shop that sells everything, would that affect the interests of those Lineages?
"Also, if we do not need to restock for a long time, it will inevitably arouse some people's suspicions."
Although she thought Chen Ze's idea was excellent, Zhao Ling'er still voiced her concerns.
"The matter of supply is easy to solve. The shop we open will not only sell goods.
"We will also buy back items, so there will be no need to worry about supplies.
"As for the interests of those Lineages, that is nothing. As long as we let them see our strength, they will not dare do anything.
"This world is like this: the weak are meat for the strong.
"Besides, we will only be opening one shop. We will not be taking too much of their profit.
"And opening a shop in Wannan City requires the City Lord's Mansion's approval. Once all the procedures are handled, we will also receive the City Lord's Mansion's protection."
Seeing that Doppelganger Zhao Ling'er had no further objections, Chen Ze smiled again. "It's still too early to think about opening a shop. We're still short on quite a few Spirit Stones."
"Come on, let's go in. Ling'er, go make some food. The food outside still isn't as tasty as yours."
Zhao Ling'er giggled. "All right, Master. Ling'er will go prepare it right away."
Before you continue