Zi Di quietly opened the tent and made her way in.
The narrow tent was dusky.
The body double was lying down and sleeping.
Zi Di softly called āyour Lordshipā, but the body double didnāt react, he was sleeping very soundly.
Zi Diās heart exclaimed: āHe fought lustily last night, adventured through the forest, chased down the remaining magic beasts, and completely squeezed out his strength and stamina. He couldnāt support himself, therefore he sank into a deep sleep after returning. However, it would be too reckless to not treat his wounds.ā
Zi Di prudently came to the body doubleās side, knelt to the ground, and slowly moved the body doubleās clothes with her fingers.
By the time Zi Di began taking off his clothes, her movements had become very steady.
Her heart constantly encouraged her: āZi Di, summon your courage, you can do it!ā
āHe could brave death, yet you find this impossible?ā
āIn any case youāve done this before in the monkey tail brown bearās cave.ā
āThis isnāt the first time!ā
āBut you must do it as soon as possible, the longer you procrastinate, the higher the chance of being discovered.ā
āMost of all you cannot let Zhen Jin find out about this, otherwise unforeseen consequences will occur!ā
One effort later, Zi Diās face was soaked with sweat, and she panted heavily.
The body double was in a deep sleep and had a rigid body, it was very strenuous for Zi Di to move him.
At the same time, the arduous task also made her feel happy and excited, as well as the thrill of acting behind Zhen Jinās back.
āEh?ā After a comprehensive examination of the body double, Zi Di was surprised.
The body double had no injuries, although his skin was covered in blood and looked dreadful, his body was in great condition.
Zi Di blinked repeatedly and blankly stared.
She suddenly realized why the body double refused her treatment, immediately appealed to everyone, and led Zong Ge and the others in a pursuit.
āCould it be that he was never wounded?ā
āIndeed, according to the others, he hadnāt sustained visible wounds in his prior fights. Afterwards when the camp caught fire, no one saw any of his fights.
āIn this way, his battle strength is so powerful after beastification that he didnāt even lose a single hair. However, this disagrees with common sense, therefore he pretended to be injured?ā
āHmph, he cheated me well!ā
Zi Di bit her teeth and relaxed her heart.
Looking at the body double still sleeping like a baby, Zi Di suddenly had the urge to bite his cheek.
āSo, you had a brave plan.ā
āYou were always certain, therefore you pursued the blue dog fox wolf and the magic beast corps.ā
āYou appealed to the others to follow you, in fact the more there were, the more suspicious you thought you could cast off? After all, if you did this by yourself, the people would be skeptical.ā
āYou are a scoundrel to make me so worried!ā
Zi Di pointed at the body doubleās bare chest and bit her teeth. Eventually with an itching heart, she suddenly bent over and leaned near his face.
But she didnāt bite him, rather she gave him a superficial kiss.
After doing this, she felt herself burning up.
āWhat is happening to me?!ā She subconsciously covered her cheeks and felt boiling steam coming from her ears.
Her heart frantically jumped about, and excitement and happiness attacked, causing her head to sink into some kind of wonderful dizziness.
She gradually calmed down throughout the day after leaving the body doubleās tent.
āDid I fasten his clothesā buttons?ā
Zi Di discovered she didnāt remember anything, during that time her mood had been too chaotic.
She wanted to verify this, however at that time, someone approached her.
āI should button him up.ā Zi Di hesitated like a thief with a guilty conscience for a while before hastily leaving.
Nightfall, next to some bonfires.
Everyone ate dinner while cordially discussing the body double.
The people no longer treated him like a templar knight, but a divine scion knight!
Cang Xu speculated even more: āLooking back now, itās not at all strange.
āLord Zhen Jin himself is an outstanding cultivator, his innate talent is outstanding.ā
āHe has a noble bloodline, is a templar knight, and offers all of his conviction towards Emperor Sheng Ming.ā
āThese already make him one in ten thousand, however what is more praiseworthy, is his scrupulous abiding of knightly morality. He uproots the strong, supports the weak, upholds virtue, condemns evil, attends to the small and weak, and even if he has to sacrifice his life, he shall never violate the templar knight doctrine.ā
āHe is an fearless hero, is impartial, is willing to accept any person, and views everyone as his comrade. From these traits, one can make out his expansive vision as well as his merciful and benevolent nature.ā
āDonāt tell me such a person shouldnāt receive godly concern?ā
Continuing, Cang Xu mentioned the empireās invasion of the Wilderness Continent and the politics that were sure to separate divine scion knights from the rest.
Zi Di felt weird listening to these things.
The body double was obviously a beastified person, yet he became a divine scion knight. That was excessive! Cang Xuās unreasonable words came from not knowing the truth and essentially feelingāāhey, that makes sense!
Zi Diās heart was both happy and concerned.
She was happy that the body double was popular with the people and acknowledged by them. She was worried that if the truth was exposed, everyone would have a massive drop in mentality, when that happened, it would be difficult to respond.
The body double woke up and made his way out of the tent.
Zi Di guiltily tucked in her head, however the body double acted natural, allowing her heart to relax and guess to herself: āIt seems I did button his clothes, I merely forgot about it. He shouldnāt have discovered my visit.ā
The body double mingled with the crowd and received everyoneās warm praise.
But the body double chose to be the first to cheer for Zong Ge, Tripleblade, and Lan Zao by name.
The crowd excitedly followed the body double in a roaring jubilation.
The ambience was as warm as the bonfires.
In the crowd Zi Di gazed at the shouting body double with a flickering state of mind: āHe is a true knight, and an excellent leader!ā
The next day, everyone dissected the blue dog fox wolf.
āIf this wolf corpse does not have much value, I wish to offer as a sacrifice to my master, the grand Emperor Sheng Ming.ā After the dissection, the body double wanted to take the wolf corpse away.
The atmosphere in the tent immediately turned solemn.
āOf course!ā After reacting, Cang Xu was the first to reply.
Zong Ge also agreed: āTemplar knight, this is your spoil of war.ā
Zi Diās thoughts suddenly moved, making a connection to the times the body double asked for bear blood, secretly embezzled bat monkey corpses, and asked Zong Geās group for bear meat.
āNow it is a wolf corpseā¦ā¦hold on, could it be that only after the body double eats a part of a magic beast, can he obtain a corresponding beastification?
āIs this growth or stimulation? Does it stimulate his original abilities?ā
āHe is War Merchantās magnum opus, and these magic beasts were also created by War Merchant. Perhaps all of War Merchantās beast transformations were concentrated in his body? After stimulation, his abilities will be aroused?ā
āAt the time, he fought the monkey tail brown bear to the death, but even when he died, he didnāt beastify. However, when facing the blade spider, he transformed a monkey tail brown bearās claws. Maybeā¦ā¦it was from the bear blood I imbued his body with in the cave?ā
āHe analyzed everything. It's no wonder that after leaving the cave, he repeatedly made insinuations to me and inquired about what happened then.ā
With thoughts overflowing in her mind, Zi Di supported the body doubleās decisions without the slightest hesitation: āOur survival and victory was all thanks to Emperor Sheng Mingās protection, we indeed should sacrifice to him!ā
Under the body doubleās command, the exploration team left the forest and hurried to the beach where the larger group was at.
During the journey, they passed through the territory of many beast groups. These blade spiders, monkey tail brown bears, and other beasts all mysteriously disappeared.
Most of the people guessed that there was a blue dog fox wolf commanding a magic beast corps somewhere. It was constantly tailing them and incorporating the surrounding beast groups into its troops.
Zi Di was the only one that gradually guessed the truth.
āIt was you, body double.ā
āIf it were a growing magic beast corps, it is impossible with our increased scouts to not detect a single trace of it.ā
āEvery night you patrol alone. You were the one who disposed of these obstacles and allowed us to gather spider webs without losing a single hair. You annihilated all of the monkey tail brown bears and mined with your bear claws.ā
āYou undertook so many things, and secretly paid a price that exceeds the imagination of the others! All of us benefit because of you, however no one knows, not even you are aware of it!ā
Zi Di felt the body doubleās bitterness and grievances, for this reason, she also felt respect and pride for him.
Under the body doubleās leadership, although the exploration team suffered pressure and difficult trek, they lost few people and had an extraordinarily smooth journey.
They gathered many supplies and gradually entered the rainforest.
Xi Suo swore himself to the body double and stopped making things difficult for Zong Ge.
Zong Ge also acknowledged his allegiance for the time being.
The entire exploration team was like a harmonious and integrated whole.
But Zi Diās private worries were never reduced, instead they increased as time went on.
āI am Zhen Jin! He is a forgery!!ā A sleeping Zi Di suddenly heard Hei Juan yelling in her tent.
āNo!ā Zi Di crawled out at once, ran out, and saw the body double surrounded by everyone. He was tied to a cross with piles of firewood around him.
āStop!ā Zi Di shouted.
But at the next moment, Hei Juan ruthlessly laughed and tossed a torch. The torch fell and immediately ignited the firewood.
A raging inferno burned.
The body doubleās cries made Zi Di sprint.
Zi Di subconsciously ran into the fire, and in spite of everything, the flames near her extinguished.
The crowd was stupefied.
Soon after, ice extended from Zi Diās shadow, and a broken corpse slowly rose from it.
āFather!ā Zi Di was astonished.
āMyā¦ā¦daughterā¦ā¦sorry, your father cameā¦ā¦to protect you!ā Zi Diās dead father charged into the crowd.
Everyone was alarmed and furious.
Hei Juan pointed at Zi Di and screeched: āUndead! You are a necromancer, kill her now, burn her to death!ā
Zi Diās father was quickly chopped into eight pieces by everyone.
The flames ignited again, burning Zi Diās body, clothes, and hair.
In her desperation, Zi Di still decided to run to the body doubleās side.
As she hugged him, the body double constantly apologized: āSorry, I am not your knight, I am so sorry!ā
Then the body double transformed, he beastified a bear head, bear claws, and long bat wings.
Hei Juan laughed heartily: āDid you see that? You believe me now donāt you, he isnāt a divine scion knight, he is just a monster.ā
āNo, he isn't!ā Zi Diās angrily hissed her denial.
But everyone bellowed: āBurn him, burn him! He attracted the beast groups.ā
āBurn this cheating couple to death!ā
āWe were deceived by those two!ā
In the flames, the body double cried with incomparable disappointment: āAs it turns out, I am actually a monster, not Zhen Jin. Zi Di, why did you deceive me, why did you deceive me?ā
āNo! No!!ā Zi Di suddenly woke up as her upper body abruptly rose.
The tent was dusky, and the camp was peaceful.
āAnother nightmareā¦ā¦ā Zi Di gasped for breath for a long time and gradually slowed her pulse.
āI shouldnāt avoid this again! I should tell the body double the entire truth.ā
āApart from this, I also need to do some things for him.ā
Zi Di found a potion bottle in her handbag.
The potion was oily and pitch-black. If one shook it, an attentive watcher could also see vicious red hues in the blackness.
She didnāt just obtain the body double from War Merchant.
This beastification potion was also given to her.
Looking at this potion, Zi Di hesitated again.
She had hesitated many times before.
But this time, she finally made a firm resolution: āCompared to you, the others arenāt as important, isnāt that so?ā
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