Inside a tent, Zhen Jin and Zi Di had a whispered quarrel.
“Tell me the truth my beautiful and adorable fiancée, has the body double touched you?” Zhen Jin narrowed his eyes and rigidly gazed at Zi Di, a dangerous aura emitting all over his body.
Zi Di scowled and shook her head, she looked at Zhen Jin with incredulity: “What are you suspecting your Lordship? Of course not!”
“No, please wait.” Zi Di extended her palm and pressed down, “This isn’t crucial. I believe your Lordship has secretly come over to discuss the blue dog fox wolves and magic beast corps. This is our most pressing concern!”
“Of course, I am concerned about that, however I also care about my fiancé!” Zhen Jin glared, showing his fury, “Especially when another man holds my fiancé’s hand in front of me! I haven’t even held your hand yet.”
Saying this, Zhen Jin reached out and grabbed Zi Di’s hand.
Zi Di immediately withdrew her hand, causing Zhen Jin to grasp empty air.
Just as Zhen Jin was about to get angry, the body double’s voice came from outside the tent: “Zi Di, are you sleeping?”
Zhen Jin was startled.
“Quick, hide now.” Zi Di also stood up panic-stricken, she silently opened her mouth and gestured to convey her thoughts.
Fortunately, Zi Di’s tent had many furnishings, allowing Zhen Jin to promptly hide in some nook.
“I’m still awake, my Lord. Please come in.” After deeply breathing a few times, Zi Di spoke with a tranquil voice.
The body double lifted the flap and entered.
Zi Di was wearing her hooded magic gown, the spacious magic gown made the girl appear more petite and pitiful.
Seeing Zi Di’s appearance, the body double sighed as he walked over to Zi Di and hugged her.
Zi Di’s body slightly trembled, but she did not resist.
In the dim nook, Zhen Jin secretly saw this, he immediately glared in anger with bloodshot eyes, and nearly jumped out.
“What are you afraid of?” The body double quietly comforted.
He understood that the blue dog fox wolf had been an immense psychological shadow over Zi Di.
“With your Lordship here, I am unafraid.” Zi Di softly replied.
“Yes, I will always be by your side. The first blue dog fox wolf died under my foot and the second one is dead too. The third and the fourth, even if more appear, as long as you have me, none of them will harm you. I guarantee you!” The youngster consoled.
Zi Di raised her head up in Zhen Jin’s chest: “Lord Zhen Jin, I trust you.”
As if sensing something, the girl’s expression became peculiar.
“Dammit, dammit!” Zhen Jin gnashed his teeth in the darkness, after a few laborious breaths, his mind already smashed the body double more than a dozen times.
“Oh, right. The main reason I found you was because of some blood.” The body double smiled at Zi Di.
“I need you to do something covertly.”
“Don’t tell anyone else about the outcome.”
“Eh?!” The hiding Zhen Jin only felt anger constantly rushing from his stomach to his head.
“What are you up to!?”
“Dammit, this is too daring! You are only a body double; you are a fake!!!”
“You dare……you actually dared to lust after things that don’t belong to you!”
Zi Di embraced the body double, her face appeared to blush: “My Lord, what……do you want to do?”
Upon seeing this passion, Zhen Jin’s pupils immediately shrunk, and he felt unprecedented humiliation: “This girl……this girl!!”
Ever since he met Zi Di, he had never seen her show such breathtaking bashfulness. What’s worse, his fiancé revealed her torment and bashfulness in the arms of another man!
“Don’t misunderstand me, I am referring to……” The body double’s words were interrupted by Zi Di.
“My Lord, your nose is bleeding.”
“Ah.” The body double also felt the blood flowing down as he said with extreme awkwardness, “Listen to me Zi Di, it is not the thing you are thinking of.”
Zhen Jin felt himself burst with rage!
“Burning anger! All from a bleeding nose. Wretched thing, wait until the whole truth is revealed, I will castrate you!!” Zhen Jin madly roared in his heart.
After the body double left, Zhen Jin immediately jumped out and pointed at Zi Di, his body shivering all over: “You! You just said he didn’t do anything to you! Speak, tell the truth, don’t hide anything from me!”
“I told you the truth!” Zi Di tensely said, feeling wronged, “My Lord, why don’t you believe me?”
“Why don’t I believe you?! Ah? You just threw yourself into another man’s arms!” Zhen Jin shouted.
“Whisper, do you want him to hear? He is a silver level cultivator; his hearing is keener than ours.” Zi Di prompt warned.
Zhen Jin immediately lowered his voice.
After a moment, he felt wrong and even more humiliation.
“I am your fiancé, I am the real Zhen Jin, yet now I have to speak to you in secret, so that fake doesn’t find out?!”
“My Lord, great plans can be ruined by just a touch of impatience! Do you think I want to do this? Do you think I want to spoil myself and play along with the body double? Isn’t this all for the sake of our safety and plans?!” Zi Di’s
Zhen Jin was sluggish.
Zi Di continued: “If the body double discovered the truth, what do you think will happen? Do you know our current strength? Can we control him?”
“We can’t!”
“Not only that, we also have to rely on him to cope with Zong Ge and the blue dog fox wolf magic beast corps!”
“Allow him to think he is your Lordship, allow him to do his utmost for us, allow him to risk traveling through the forest, and allow him to fight on the frontlines while your Lordship stays safely in the rear, wouldn't all of his accomplishments and reputation belong to your Lordship?”
Zhen Jin could not retort, he lowered his head and placed his hands on his hips, his mouth constantly gasped as his malevolent expression flashed between anger and hesitation.
Zi Di continued: “If he discovers he is a fake, what do you think he will do?”
“My Lord, do you think he will accept the truth?”
“After he discovers your Lordship’s identity, wouldn’t he kill and replace you?”
Zhen Jin’s body immediately trembled, fear filled his eyes: “Zi, Zi Di, you are correct. This island is dangerous, Zong Ge is dangerous, but he is even more dangerous.”
“Cover up the truth! We must continue hiding this!”
Zi Di coughed: “Your Lordship has proven himself; you did not disappoint me. Outsiders do not know the burdens victors carry, others cannot bear this pressure, yet your Lordship has. We will succeed, we will leave this place, we will become White Sands City’s Lords, in the end the body double is only a body double, and one day in the future, he will disappear with no one noticing. Without anyone knowing of this, nothing will happen. People will only praise you and admire the accomplishments you’ve obtained.
“Your right.” Zhen Jin nodded repeatedly, soon remorse appeared on his face, “I’ve wronged you my fiancé. My attitude was a bit aggressive.”
“My Lord, it is good you understand me. Everything I have done is for the sake of our plans, safety, and future!”
Zhen Jin nodded: “That’s right, everything is done for our beautiful future!”
……
After the blue dog fox wolf was discovered, Zong Ge openly challenged Zhen Jin’s authority by holding a competition on which group could investigate and gain more information.
At daybreak, Zong Ge led his group to investigate while the body double, because of his harsh training last night, was in the middle of napping.
Zhen Jin had already eaten a while ago, currently he was standing outside a tent with growing impatience: “This wretched guy, how long is he going to be lazy? Does he not understand the situation! If he ignores Zong Gs’ provocation, my authority will be gravely weakened.”
“The sun is already up, yet he’s still sleeping!”
“This won’t do, I will urge him on and make him act faster! Of course……I won’t be the one to warn him.”
Zhen Jin looked around, his eyes ultimately fixing onto Bai Ya.
Bai Ya was inexperienced with the world, under Zhen Jin’s shrewd communication skills, he quickly spilled everything he knew.
“On behalf of Lord Zhen Jin, I am really worried.” Zhen Jin sighed with a concerned face.
“What’s going on?” Bai Ya curiously asked.
Zhen Jin slightly glared: “Don’t you know how delicate the situation is? That half beastman harbors malicious intentions, he went as far as to challenge Lord Zhen Jin’s authority. That’s how things are……”
After quickly learning the details, Bai Ya anxiously stood up.
After the body double appeared, Bai Ya promptly paid his respects.
“Lord Zhen Jin.”
“At dawn, Zong Ge and his people went out to investigate.”
My Lord, I grew up in a small forest. Maybe I cannot hunt now, but I can surely help your Lordship in reconnaissance!” Bai Ya passionately volunteered.
At noon, the body double’s team returned to camp for lunch.
Zhen Jin felt aggrieved: “This wretched guy, does he not understand the situation? To my surprise, he’s still leisurely returning to camp for lunch! Investigate for me without delay!”
He secretly informed Bai Ya of Zong Ge’s efforts.
Bai Ya reported to him with worry: “Lord Zhen Jin, we have not seen Zong Ge, and his people return. They should have eaten outside.”
When night fell as the sun dropped below the treetops, the body double had already returned to camp.
Bai Ya reported again: “My Lord, Zong Ge and his people still haven’t returned. They are using their full strength!”
“It's not easy.” The body double sighed.
Bai Ya was really anxious: “My Lord, we can also carry rations, continue our investigation past noon, we need not squander valuable time going back and forth from camp.”
“Ok, that is a good proposal, let’s do that tomorrow.” The body double was willing to accept his advice.
“He is finally starting to try hard!” Zhen Jin secretly relaxed his tone.
Then, he felt sullen again, like he had some phlegm in his throat he couldn’t spit out, it was very painful!
“This wretched person, he carries my name, enjoys everyone’s praise, covets my beautiful fiancé, and takes advantage of me! I still need to worry about and help him secretly?!”
“God, why did it turn out this way?”
As far as Zhen Jin was concerned, this was a terrible thing to experience.
……
Following Zhen Jin’s worries, the body double obtained an intact map, and was victorious over Zong Ge’s group’s investigative results.
Zhen Jin secretly found Zi Di.
“How did he obtain a comprehensive map? My fiancé, don’t tell me he is a divine scion knight that received my master’s favor.”
Zhen Jin questioned Zi Di.
Zi Di shook her head, blankness filling her eyes: “I don’t know the specific details of this situation, this map appearing surpassed my expectations.”
“However, this is good, isn’t it?”
“Zong Ge’s challenge failed in an ugly way.”
“No, no!” Zhen Jin shook his head, “This is a fishy development! He has broken away from our control! If this continues, it will get more and more dangerous.”
Zi Di was puzzled: “My Lord, was he ever in our control? Indeed, our control over him is weak, however I believe it will allow him to use all of his strength.”
“No, no this won’t do.” Zhen Jin continued to shake his head, his complexion growing more solemn and heavy, “I see a trend. He is getting harder to control.”
“For what reason would he take out a comprehensive map? How were all the beast groups clearly scouted out?”
“He even dared to use my master’s name to openly deceive them!”
“We know the truth; he must have grasped a method or ability we don’t know about.”
Zi Di nodded: “My Lord, you're anxious. He is a beastified person, he can freely control parts of beastification. My guess is that he should have obtained an investigative method!”
“What can he beastify into? Zhen Jin demanded.
“I don’t know.” Zi Di replied.
You Don’t know?!” Zhen Jin glared with a doubtful face.
Zi Di bitterly laughed: “My Lord, he is custom-made. Although the weapons manufacturer responded to my custom-made request, they informed me other aspects could not be guaranteed. It’s like this, a person cannot swim while sleeping. According to my understanding, this should be the limits of the beastification technology.”
“Do you mean, the weapon’s manufacturer does not know what his specific abilities are?” Zhen Jin pondered.
“Yes. The weapons manufacturer stated that it was already very difficult to attain his custom-made appearance. Besides, your Lordship should also know ordinary beastified people are a single-use commodity, when beastification happens, madness sets in as those affected attack the biggest threat, they have no concept of teamwork.”
“Thus, weapons manufacturers don’t thoroughly test beastified people, because when beastification happens, the beastified person is wiped out.”
“The body double can beastify parts of himself and freely control them, this is considerably rare.”
“In fact, I’ve always believed that if the weapons manufacturer discovered this, they might have forcibly recalled him and not sold him to us. At least, not at the given price.”
Zhen Jin attentively gazed at Zi Di for a long time, then nodded. Accepting Zi Di’s expression, he helplessly sighed: “It seems, we were lucky to obtain him.”
……
After the camp surroundings were clearly scouted, the body double and Zong Ge changed the competition to killing beast groups.
Using smoke Zi Di made, the body double, Zong Ge, and the others dealt with the largest bat monkey group.
During that fight, the body double had an exceedingly bright performance, almost every crossbow shot hit, and he was fully deserving of being number one in kills.
Even Zong Ge raised his eyebrows, lamenting the Bai Zhen Clan’s bloodline in his heart. Although he had trained his archery skills for many years, he paled in comparison to the body double.
Zhen Jin secretly competed with him and also lost.
“Abominable!” Zhen Jin darkly clenched his fists.
After feeling unreconciled and beneath his dignity, he sneered.
“What am I thinking? He has silver level cultivation, while I am only at the iron level, losing to him is normal.:
“However, no matter how strong you are, you are merely my body double. Everything you accomplish belongs to me!”
“Who was the weapons manufacturer that transformed him? How could he possess such strong archery skills that surpass even a Bai Zhen Clan descendant like me? Maybe……before his transformation, he was a knight with extraordinary archery skills.”
……
Zhen Jin secretly found Zi Di again.
He immediately got to the point: “I heard someone gave him some crocodile head hammer tail boa leather armor? I also want some!”
Zi Di smiled: “My Lord, please be at ease. I remembered your need for equipment. Only the first one was given to the body double, after all he represents your Lordship.”
“As long as new crocodile head hammer tail boa armor is made, your Lordship will surely take precedence. After all, the Hei Juan identity is a mercenary I hired. It is only natural I equip our people, isn’t that so?”
Zhen Jin couldn’t help but smile, he was pleased with Zi Di’s response.
But shortly after, he pursed his brows again: “I heard some information. The body double unexpectedly picked up a big bargain last night. He harvested that silver level bat monkey and an entire flying squirrel group.”
“How did he do that?”
Zi Di shook her head: “The map is a clue; we already know he has a powerful investigation method. Perhaps with this ability, him found a lucky opportunity where the silver level bat monkey and the flying squirrel group fought against each other, thereby picking up a bargain.”
Zhen Jin sighed: “He is getting increasingly excessive, time and again, he uses my master’s name to explain his actions. He patrols every night, that’s strange. His body has many secrets.”
“Yes, your Lordship is right. However, there are many secrets we should keep in the dark, isn’t that right?” Zi Di laughed.
Zhen Jin also smiled and unfolded his brows somewhat, nodding: “You are correct.”
……
Two blue dog fox wolf magic beast corps began attacking the camp.
Everyone heard the body double loudly pray.
“Grand Emperor Sheng Ming, my god, my master. Your knight is on the eve of war and will practice your teachings. Thanks to your favor, I am armed to the teeth. I have put on the belt of honesty, the glasses of bravery, the shoes of peace, and the helmet of salvation. However, the night is a dense fog that blocks my field of vision. God, I ask you to grant me bright eyes, let me see the enemy’s power clearly, and let me lead everyone towards victory!”
Nothing happened.
“This idiot!” Zhen Jin anxiously glared, “Do you really think you are a templar knight? You went so far as to pray in front of everyone?! Even if you were a commander, you wouldn’t dare to pray as you wished!”
Zong Ge also believed the body double made a mistake, when suddenly, the body double’s body trembled as he opened his eyes and shouted in pleasant surprise, “I can see!”
The body double immediately turned around and commanded everyone: “Quickly, the magic beast corps has two blue dog fox wolves. They have already divided their force. One is leading the bigger force straight at the gate. The other is leading a flying squirrel group to flank the camp.”
After Zhen Jin foolishly stared, he realized: “As it turns out, he used his detection abilities. How is he investigating? I didn’t see him beastify? No, it shouldn’t be beastification, even partial beastification won’t work. If others saw him, what would they think of me, Zhen Jin?”
“But tonight’s battle will surely be dangerous! If I die without him beastifying, then he had better beastify.”
“Afterwards, I will redeem my reputation.”
However, the following fight made Zhen Jin expand his scope.
Seeing the body double kill everything around him, Zhen Jin realized more things: “I underestimated his battle strength! If it's like that, then he really can compete with Zong Ge. It's no wonder he had confidence; it seems my long held concerns were for nothing. The prior investigation information was from……this the wretched guy!”
Because of the subterranean sandworm’s surprise attacks, the survivors were caught in a disadvantageous position.
“Run for it! “The body double rushed over to shout to Zhen Jin and the others.
Zhen Jin stared blankly for a moment, but soon ran, leaving the ballista without the slightest hesitation.
After a moment, the ground split open and the ballista was swallowed and crushed into countless fragments.
Zhen Jin’s body was covered in cold sweat, and he felt endless lingering fear: “I almost, I almost died there. The body double saved me? Well done!”
Cang Xu, Zi Di, and others were hiding in the wooden house.
“Zi Di, Cang Xu, run for it!” The body double anxiously roared as he ran towards the wooden house.
Zi Di, Cang Xu, and the other people had been observing the outside situation, they too saw the gigantic worm. When they heard Zhen Jin’s shout, they all ran out of the wooden house without hesitation.
The subterranean sandworm attacked air again.
Zhen Jin was exulted: “He also saved my fiancé!”
He loudly suggested to the body double: “My Lord, the camp can’t last much longer. We need to break out!”
The body double shook his head, the current predicament did not discourage him, rather it aroused his fighting spirit: “Hei Juan, you are in charge of breaking out. Protect Zi Di, Cang Xu, Mu Ban, and the boat craftsman, they are important.”
The body double’s ultrasound found the gigantic worm attacking another ballista.
This time, the young knight did not rush at thin air.
He used the time the earthworm took swallowing the ballista, to deeply stab its lower body.
The gigantic worm did not shudder, as if that piercing blow did not exist, it then immediately withdrew back underground with Silver Lightning.
“My, my sword?!” Zhen Jin was flabbergasted.
“My family sword, my Silver Lightning! Body double, you're an idiot!!!” He roared in his heart.
“We need to break out now.” Zi Di reminded him.
Zhen Jin ruthlessly grinded his teeth, compared to a sword, his life was more important.
The flames soared in the burning camp.
Zi Di was worried: “Lord Zhen Jin still hasn’t returned yet?”
Zhen Jin blankly stared, soon after he realized his fiancé was referring to the body double, his heart was also worried, After all, it was his body double.
When the body double finally appeared, he was covered in blood.
His seemingly injured body made Zhen Jin secretly sigh sorrowfully: “Too risky! But really good, I am very pleased with you, body double.”
“With the help of the fire, I beat the blue dog fox wolf, however I couldn’t kill it and allowed it to escape.” The body double explained to everyone.
“Don’t speak, let me check your injuries.” Zi Di came to the body double, her voice choked with emotions. She extended her thin hand and carefully explored Zhen Jin’s leather armor, she wanted to take off the dilapidated leather armor.
But the body double stopped her.
Zhen Jin speechlessly watched this scene, as he quietly clenched his fist with a jealous heart, he had to actively explain to himself: “She is merely playing along, this is fake, all of this is fake.”
Notes
The MC proceeds to spend months unintentionally cucking Zhen Jin, because he seems to have the self control of a small toddler. It's a good thing his cowardice keeps him in check, or else the MC might have detected him in the tent. Friendly reminder, the MC saved Zhen Jin’s life at least 4 times over the course of the story, and isn’t really a criminal. It seems the perception of what templar knights are like will go severely down amongst the remaining survivors.