Always Feeling Like Something Is Missing

After a full day of instruction, Zhao Ling'er had memorized the lyrics and melodies of every little tune Chen Ze had taught her.

For Zhao Ling'er, who was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, memorizing these lyrics and melodies was no difficult task at all.

The reason it had taken an entire day was simply because Chen Ze had dumped every song he could remember onto her all at once.

Now, Zhao Ling'er was performing for Chen Ze so he could verify the results of her learning.

As Zhao Ling'er finished a song, Chen Ze applauded excitedly, "Ling'er, you were absolutely amazing."

Praised like this by Chen Ze, Zhao Ling'er couldn't help but lower her head in shyness, "It is all thanks to Master's excellent teaching."

"Not at all, it is your own high level of comprehension."

If Zhao Ling'er's singing voice were placed in Chen Ze's original era, it could easily rival that of a top-tier star.

"Ling'er, wait a moment."

"?" Zhao Ling'er looked at Chen Ze in confusion, not understanding what he was about to do.

Chen Ze suddenly busied himself.

A moment later, a small table appeared beside his recliner, which he had carried out from the main hall.

On the small table, he set out a freshly brewed pot of tea, a plate of simple pastries, and a dish of melon seeds.

After finishing all this, Chen Ze lay back comfortably, "Alright, Ling'er, please continue."

"Ah?" Zhao Ling'er hesitated for a moment; Chen Ze's series of actions truly left her baffled.

After all, Zhao Ling'er was a doppelganger that hadn't been created for very long, so it was only natural that she didn't understand Chen Ze's behavior.

"It's fine, just keep singing."

As he spoke, Chen Ze poured himself a cup of tea, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and waited for Zhao Ling'er's performance with great interest.

He looked exactly like a spectator ready to enjoy the show.

Zhao Ling'er finally understood; Chen Ze had done all this just to make himself more comfortable while watching her perform.

Resigned, Zhao Ling'er gave a faint smile and began to sing once more.

Chen Ze smiled as he cracked melon seeds, savoring Zhao Ling'er's moving voice, "Comfortable. A scene like this must only exist in the heavens!"

However, when Zhao Ling'er reached the middle of her song, Chen Ze frowned slightly.

It feels like something is still missing.

Zhao Ling'er, who was singing with deep emotion, seemed to notice Chen Ze's furrowed brow, and a slight mistake slipped into the tune she was singing.

Zhao Ling'er caught her own error and stopped, "Master, is there something I am not doing well enough?"

Chen Ze realized his expression had been off and quickly smiled, saying, "No, you are singing very well already. It's just that I feel like something is missing."

"Missing something?" Zhao Ling'er was puzzled. She had followed every requirement Chen Ze laid out perfectly; how could anything be missing?

Just then, Chen Ze slapped his thigh as if he had realized something, "I know what's missing."

Hearing Chen Ze say this, Zhao Ling'er's eyes lit up, "Master, please tell me, I will change it immediately."

Chen Ze shook his head with a smile, "It has nothing to do with you. You are singing beautifully; it's just lacking some accompaniment."

"Accompaniment?" Zhao Ling'er did not understand what Chen Ze meant by that.

"It's the music played by instruments. But this Wannan City doesn't even have a single pleasure house, so finding a musician will likely be difficult."

Chen Ze shook his head and laughed, "Forget it, let's just sing like this for now. We can worry about accompaniment once we find a musician later."

Without accompaniment, there was nothing Chen Ze could do; he could teach Zhao Ling'er to sing, but when it came to musical instruments, he was helpless. He had never been exposed to any music theory, and even if he had an instrument, he wouldn't know how to play it.

Perhaps I can search the Myriad Things Space to see if there are any spells or magic artifacts related to musical instruments, Chen Ze pondered to himself.

And so, Zhao Ling'er continued to sing while Chen Ze listened in contentment.

The day passed by quickly.

"Alright, Ling'er, let's stop here for today."

Chen Ze called a halt to the performance. One of the characteristics of Zhao Ling'er's doppelganger form was that she would never feel tired, no matter how long she sang.

"Yes."

"With today's Mysterious Iron Ore yield, it should be enough to exchange for another doppelganger."

Don't let Chen Ze's daily appearance of idleness and leisure fool you; he still kept his priorities in mind.

"Master, I shall go and check right away."

Chen Ze stopped her with a smile, "No need, I'll go myself. You go and prepare something to eat; listening to you sing all day has actually made me a bit hungry."

"Yes."

Even if Zhao Ling'er went to the Myriad Things Space to check the quantity of Mysterious Iron Ore, Chen Ze still had to go and handle the reclamation with the Green-robed Woman.

Besides, Chen Ze had to be the one to exchange for a doppelganger, so there was no need for Zhao Ling'er to make an extra trip.

Chen Ze's thoughts stirred, and his consciousness entered the Myriad Things Space.

The Mysterious Iron Ore mined by his doppelgangers today had all been piled up within the Myriad Things Space.

Chen Ze took a rough look; he was quite at ease with the work his doppelgangers did, as the quantity of Mysterious Iron Ore only ever increased compared to the day before.

Adding today's haul, it should be enough to exchange for another doppelganger.

Chen Ze felt quite helpless; he already had 27 doppelgangers, and exchanging for a new one now required 2,800 points.

As for the Mysterious Iron Ore, although the doppelgangers all possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation and their mining speed had doubled, the loss of over a hundred miners meant the daily yield was still not as high as it had been in the past.

Currently, the ore mined by the doppelgangers, combined with what the Ye Family Members dug up, amounted to a total daily production of 7,500 kilograms, which recycled into 1,500 points.

It seems I need to speed things up for the doppelgangers.

With this thought in mind, Chen Ze's consciousness entered the Myriad Things Shop.

Seeing the Green-robed Woman, Chen Ze didn't waste any words. "Recycle all the Mysterious Iron Ore."

The Green-robed Woman's expression remained unchanged, and she did not speak.

Chen Ze was long accustomed to this and didn't mind, simply waiting quietly.

A moment later, the Green-robed Woman spoke, "Recycled 7,500 kilograms of Mysterious Iron Ore, totaling 1,500 points."

Hearing the Green-robed Woman's voice, Chen Ze merely nodded slightly; it was exactly as he had estimated.

The display showing the point total changed directly to 3,360; the points from recycling the Mysterious Iron Ore had arrived.

Chen Ze glanced at the point total. "Exchange for one doppelganger."

"Exchanging for one doppelganger consumes 2,800 points. Confirm?"

"Confirm."

The points were deducted by 2,800, leaving a balance of 560.

Seeing the remaining points, Chen Ze felt a pang of distress; two days of savings had vanished in an instant.

With the doppelganger exchange complete, a Phantom appeared before Chen Ze's eyes.

He had no heart to meticulously craft this new doppelganger, so he simply thought of a face from his memory and waited for the Phantom to solidify.

Soon, the new doppelganger solidified, and its intelligence regained clarity.

Chen Ze spoke indifferently, "From now on, you are Number 28. Go mine."

A name didn't matter to a doppelganger; it was merely a designation, so Chen Ze didn't dwell on it too much.

"Yes," Number 28 responded devoutly.