Doppelganger Recruits Minions

"Master, Chen Fan returned last night to report. He has already revealed his Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation and is now an Inner Disciple of the Qingyun Sect. However, the 'miraculous encounter' he fabricated to cover up his cultivation seems to have aroused the covetousness of others. Still, everything remains under his control for now."

"Hmm, understood." Chen Ze did not pay much mind to Chen Fan's affairs. Arranging for him to join the Qingyun Sect had been a casual decision; what he managed to achieve there was of little consequence.

"Ling'er, how is that little tune coming along?" Hearing Chen Ze's question, Zhao Ling'er felt a bit embarrassed. Her face flushed, and she stammered, "I... I think I've learned it!"

"Is that so? Then sing it for me." Chen Ze, who had been lounging lazily in his recliner, suddenly grew interested.

"This..." Zhao Ling'er still felt a bit inhibited. After all, girls were naturally shy, and the prospect of performing in front of someone made her feel even more reserved.

"It's fine, it's just the two of us here. If you don't sing it well, I'll just teach you again."

"Yes."

Zhao Ling'er began to sing, though her voice was quite soft. "The tip of the peach leaf is sharp, the willow leaves shade the sky..."

"It's alright, sing louder. You're doing very well." Chen Ze wasn't just comforting her; Zhao Ling'er truly had a lovely voice.

Zhao Ling'er nodded and started over. "The tip of the peach leaf is sharp, the willow leaves shade the sky. Listen closely, good sir, to what I have to say. This story takes place at the Jingxi Indigo Factory; at the Indigo Factory Firearm Battalion, there lived a Song the Third..."

As Zhao Ling'er sang, Chen Ze tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair, nodding occasionally as if keeping time for her. Once she finished the song, she looked up at Chen Ze with a shy expression.

"Bravo." Chen Ze clapped to show his appreciation. "See? You sang that beautifully. Keep singing like that in the future. Come, come, let me teach you two new tunes."

Chen Ze felt incredibly fortunate that he had taught Zhao Ling'er to sing these little ditties. Even in Wannan City, where there were no pleasure houses to listen to music, he could still enjoy Zhao Ling'er's melodious voice while lounging at home.

Zhao Ling'er looked at him in surprise. "Ah? Are we learning more today, Master? Aren't we supposed to go to the new shop? We haven't even handled the signage or the renovations you mentioned."

Chen Ze seemed to recall something then and slapped his thigh. "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten. Very well, let's go to the shop and get things settled first, then we can come back and continue."

He should have hired people to renovate the shop yesterday, but after running into Steward Lin, he had been so preoccupied with dealing with that matter that he had completely forgotten about the shop. Chen Ze stood up and headed toward the exit of the estate. He couldn't wait to get the shop's renovations arranged so he could return as quickly as possible to teach Zhao Ling'er new songs.

"Master, slow down, wait for me!" Zhao Ling'er couldn't understand why Chen Ze had suddenly become so energetic.

"Hurry up, there's still so much to do."

"Master, please, slow down."

Far away at the border of the Dagan Dynasty, Zhao Yun was staring in bewilderment at the hundred or so people trailing behind him. "Haven't I made it clear enough already? You are free now. You can go wherever you want; there is no need to follow me like this." Zhao Yun looked at the crowd with a sense of helplessness.

One of the hundred people stepped forward and said, "Benefactor, our lives were saved by you. We must repay you; please, just let us follow by your side!"

As soon as he finished, another person from the crowd spoke up. "That's right! Benefactor, you brought us here, but we are strangers to this place and have nowhere else to go. Just let us stay with you!"

"Benefactor, you pulled us from the depths of misery; you can't just abandon us here to fend for ourselves."

Zhao Yun felt an endless sense of frustration. Chen Ze's mission for him was to travel and gain experience. He had already planned to visit various cultivation sects, explore the Monster Forest, and traverse the entire Dagan Dynasty, recording everything he saw—he knew Chen Ze enjoyed hearing such tales. However, he never expected that these hundred-plus miners he had rescued from the Mysterious Iron Ore mine would refuse to leave, as if they had latched onto him for good.

"This..." Zhao Yun was at a loss for what to do with them. Just then, one of the men who had spoken earlier suddenly knelt down. Seeing this, the rest of the crowd seemed to understand, and they followed suit. In an instant, over a hundred people were kneeling neatly before Zhao Yun.

"Benefactor, please, just take us in!"

"From now on, we will surely follow our benefactor's lead and look to you as our guiding star."

"Benefactor, if you do not agree, we shall remain kneeling here indefinitely."

Zhao Yun found himself in an even more difficult position.

If Chen Ze were here, he would surely have cursed them out loud.

"You bastards, this is nothing but blatant moral kidnapping, but since I have no morals, I am not afraid of your kidnapping." After saying that, Chen Ze would certainly have turned on his heel and walked away.

But the one facing these miners now was Zhao Yun, not Chen Ze.

Although he possessed wisdom equal to Chen Ze's, he lacked the experiences of Chen Ze's past life.

"Get up first and allow me to consider this."

"No, if our benefactor does not agree, we will remain kneeling."

"That's right, we will not rise."

The voices of these hundred-plus people rose and fell, making Zhao Yun even more distressed.

Helpless, Zhao Yun said with a serious expression, "Fine, since you are determined to follow me, I have three conditions. If you can agree to these three, I will allow you to follow me from now on."

Seeing signs that Zhao Yun was relenting, the hundred-plus people hurriedly pricked up their ears to listen.

"Please speak, Benefactor. Never mind three conditions—even if it were a hundred, we would agree to them all."

Zhao Yun had originally intended to set three conditions to make them retreat in the face of difficulty, but he had not expected these people to be so stubborn.

Zhao Yun pondered to himself, It seems I must make the difficulty of these three conditions much greater.

"Get up first, then I will state the three conditions."

The hundred-plus people exchanged glances, but not a single one stood up.

Seeing this, Zhao Yun felt a touch of annoyance. "If you continue like this, I shall not bother stating my three conditions at all."

Hearing Zhao Yun say this, the man who had led the kneeling earlier hurriedly led the way in standing up.

He was terrified that if Zhao Yun became displeased, he would abandon them and leave.

Seeing that everyone had stood up, Zhao Yun finally spoke: "My first condition is this: I agree to let you follow me, but you must resolve your own daily needs for food, drink, housing, and travel. I will not be responsible for you."

The hundred-plus people exchanged glances once more, feeling somewhat bewildered by this first condition Zhao Yun had proposed.

Everyone spoke in unison, "No problem."

They had never intended to rely on Zhao Yun to provide for their daily needs.

They all had hands and feet, and they possessed cultivation to boot.

They had endured such bitter days in the Mine Tunnel before; now, the matter of food, drink, and shelter could not possibly stump them.

Their thoughts were actually quite simple: they were single-mindedly looking for an opportunity to repay the debt of gratitude they owed Zhao Yun for saving their lives.