Chapter 009: I Like It

“Gentlemen, it’s really been a long time.”
Du Fan was curled up on the sofa, draped in a woolen blanket. It seemed he wasn’t affected by the chill of early spring. Of course, anyone who noticed his relaxed demeanor could tell the blanket was merely for show.
In front of him sat a cup of black tea—the leaves had lost all flavor from being refilled repeatedly, and the whitened leaves floated on the surface, gently rippling.
Nicholas, Tasia, Ferre, and Ringo sat in a corner of the room. Yet there seemed to be some hidden tension among them. Though they stood together, they avoided looking at each other, as if there were clear barriers between them.
Du Fan naturally noticed this. He knew that among the four, only Ferre could be trusted wholeheartedly, Ringo could be trusted to some extent, Tasia was somewhere in between trustworthiness and untrustworthiness, and Nicholas, though useful, was a double-edged sword—could hurt him at any moment. Of course, if he continued to remain unaware of how his dear De had died, given his status, he could certainly build a strong force for himself.
Seeing this, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh. There were so few people he could truly rely on!
He was a transmigrant, just like others. In every such story, the protagonist would immediately become a disciple upon meeting a sword sage or god, and stunning beauties would voluntarily strip for him due to his arrogance. But look at himself—there was hardly anyone he could use, and after being a noble young master for so long, the only woman he’d been with was through force. Clearly, he was a disgrace to all transmigrants.
It seemed that no matter what, now that he was back in the capital, he needed to build his own private force. Otherwise, when trying to do something, he wouldn’t have any loyal subordinates to rely on, which would be a complete failure.
With a light cough, Du Fan broke the awkward silence once again. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Ferre… if I remember correctly, I should have another subordinate named Selina, right? Where is she? Why isn’t she here?”
The expressions of the people in the room became extremely strange.
Ferre hesitated for a while before saying, “Young Master Du Fan, isn’t Selina your woman?”
Du Fan was stunned and almost jumped up. “When did I say she was my woman?”

“She said it herself, so… so…” Fei Re said obsequiously, “That’s why I didn’t call her over.”
“My woman?” Du Fan stroked his chin, thinking of Selina’s appearance and feeling a slight anger rise in him. But after a moment, he said in a low voice, “Go call her over. Though she belongs to me, she’s by no means my woman. You surely know well enough the difference between the two, right, Fei Re?”
A short while later, Fei Re brought Selina over.
The woman no longer showed the tired look from before, but she wasn’t in great shape either. As soon as she saw Du Fan, she knelt down and said, “Master!”
Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Get up. Things were urgent that day, and I didn’t arrange much for you. It’s lucky you managed to reach Modo City unharmed. From now on, work under me. As for your revenge, now isn’t the right time. Besides, if I helped you, you might not be happy about it. Work well under me, and one day you’ll be able to take revenge openly—it won’t be that difficult.”
Selina nodded and said, “Yes!”
She looked up at Du Fan, her attractive face filled with determination.
Du Fan was slightly surprised and couldn’t help but nod inwardly. This woman had a strong character and some experience organizing adventurer teams. Though her skills were somewhat lacking, she could manage. If Fei Re gave her a little guidance and she trained a private army for him, it might be a good choice… He didn’t have many people under him, and this woman was decent. At least, for revenge, her loyalty was sufficient…
Thinking of this, Du Fan nodded silently, though he couldn’t bring these matters up now.
After pondering for a while, he pointed at Ringtone and said, “This is Miss Ringtone. She’ll also be one of us from now on. The tasks ahead require all of you to work together, so it’s best if you get to know each other.”
Nicholas snorted and said, “Du Fan, you really don’t think of me as one of your subordinates, do you?”
“I don’t think of you as my subordinate—I already am!” Du Fan glared at Nicholas. “Whether you admit it or not, given the current situation, who else besides me would be willing to fight against Aldas for you? Don’t forget—your dear De died at his hands!”
Nicholas’s breath hitched, and he was unable to say a word.

Du Fan sneered, glanced at Tasia again, and said, “Miss Tasia, as for you, I won’t force you. If you don’t want to, I just hope you won’t say anything.”
Tasia sighed and said, “Du Fan, you’re still saying such things now? Do I really have a way out once I’m on this ship?”
Du Fan smiled and said, “Good. Then there’s no problem at all… I didn’t call you here for no reason. You must know something about my character by now. Someone keeps trying to kill me, so naturally, I’ll take his life as well. It’s a very interesting game, but I need your cooperation… Here’s what to do: Ferre, take Selina and the remaining Temple Knights to follow Miss Xue Lan. Of course, you must not let her notice. When she leaves, I’ll have her take half of her men with her, but by the time you act, not a single one of those people around her should be left alive. Remember, not a single one. If even one remains, you don’t need to come back to see me… Of course, if it’s impossible, give up. But you must make it seem like someone is chasing Xue Lan. Do you understand?”
Ferre hesitated for a moment before saying, “I understand, my lord.”
“As for you, Nicholas, Ringtone, and Tasia…” Du Fan continued, “The task you have to carry out is likely to cost you your lives. But my conditions are harsh—even if only one of you remains, you must complete the task. So, Miss Tasia, if you don’t want to, I won’t force you. After all, this task is far too dangerous…”
Tasia shook her head slightly and said, “My task is to follow your orders, at least until I leave the Northlands…”
“Good,” Du Fan nodded. “Then go… Xue Lan set off half an hour ago. Ferre, you’d better hurry up and follow her. Of course, with this, I think you won’t have trouble finding her.”
With that, Du Fan handed a positioning crystal ball to Ferre.
Such crystal balls were not easy to make. Du Fan had people search in Modo City for a long time before finally obtaining one at a high cost. Of course, at least he thought the money he spent was worth it.

“More.” Du Fan took out two more envelopes from his chest and placed them on the table. “Each of you take one. I’ve written clearly in the letters what needs to be done and how to do it. As long as you all follow my instructions, my plan will be half successful… Alright, now you can all leave…”
The five people present remained silent, took their envelopes, and quickly left.
Only when the room was empty did Du Fan let out a soft sigh.
“You could have simply taken Aldas’s life, but why go through such trouble?” A kitten jumped out from beneath Du Fan’s woolen blanket. “If you had asked, I could have made an exception and taken Aldas’s life for you—wouldn’t that have made things much easier?”
Du Fan picked up the kitten, tucked it into his collar, and smiled faintly. “Chenchen, don’t you understand? Many things are more interesting the harder they are to accomplish. If I could do it easily, wouldn’t it be boring? Besides, since Aldas wants me dead so much, if I don’t fulfill that wish of his, wouldn’t that be too heartless? It doesn’t fit with my status as a saint!”
“You’re so boring!”
“It’s not boredom; I just like it,” Du Fan said with a smile. “And besides, Chenchen, can’t you really see the real purpose behind sending them to do these things?”
“To test their loyalty?” The kitten poked its head out from his collar.
“No… not testing. I just want to have them under my control.” Du Fan sighed lightly. “Do you really think those five people are loyal to me? No. It’s just that under these circumstances, they have no choice but to be loyal—this is what’s called being forced by the situation… But in reality, they’re not my subordinates… I’ve wasted too much time over the years, so my foundation is weak. That’s why I have no one to rely on now. There are two reasons for sending them to do these things. First, to make them understand what happens to those who offend me, Du Fan. As for the second reason, it’s to show that I, Du Fan, trust them. If they’re smart enough, they’ll understand my meaning… There’s no other way; I have to build my own loyal followers from scratch… I’m afraid I really don’t have that time!”
“So, you even dig at the foundations of the Holy Church?” The kitten let out a soft sigh and gave a half-smiling expression.