Chapter 24: The First Exploration Team

Sparing no effort in gathering as many subordinates as possible was Zhen Jin’s and Zi Di’s original plan.

This was why Zi Di urged Zhen Jin back then to save Huang Zao.

The problem was that Huang Zao not only concealed the existence of the silver level magic beast, but he also got cold feet and ran away from the battle causing multiple mishaps to occur.

But now, the end resulted in something much more pleasing.

Both Huang Zao and Lan Zao were now Zhen Jin’s servants.

Originally they would only be recruited and they would still have freedom. But now they became servants and lost their freedom.

These brothers were at the bronze level. The value of a servant with this level of strength was quite high.

Of course, Zhen Jin did not have a reliable way of restraining them such as a servant contract.

In these circumstances, Zhen Jin could not make unreasonable requests.

Huang Zao and Lan Zao had surrendered to Zhen Jin as his servants so Zhen Jin could use their influence in the group to make everyone else naturally follow him.

As a result, Zhen Jin was well on his way to gaining control over the exploration team.

Huang Zao and Lan Zao, these brothers were bronze level elites. Huang Zao was good at using a halberd while Lan Zao was good at using a scimitar. These two were the strongest.

Among the rest, there were two archers and one crossbowman. The remaining thirteen were made up of swordsmens, spearmens and shieldbearers.

In total, together with the unarmed and defenseless

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old scholar Cang Xu, there were nineteen people (not including Zhen Jin and Zi Di).

According to Cang Xu, when they first set out, there were a massive forty of them in the exploration team.

But now, there was less than half of the exploration team remaining.

All of these people lacked armor and protective equipment.

Huang Zao and Lan Zao wore leather armor while the rest only wore linen clothes.

The basic necessities were not in short supply with each of them carrying sufficient food and water.

Zhen Jin learned this information from Cang Xu.

“Since this spring has drinkable water, what we need to do next is take a few people to gather more water. We can discard half of the kerosene.”

This was Zhen Jin’s first order.

“Yes my lord.” Cang Xu accepted the command and courteously withdrew from the tent.

This tent was brought by the exploration team and the brothers Huang Zao and Lan Zao built it with their own hands, thus Zhen Jin could take a nice rest here.

As Cang Xu withdrew from the tent, Zi Di lifted the tent curtain and walked in.

“My lord, this old scholar is not simple.” Said Zi Di.

While Zhen Jin had interviewed Cang Xu alone, Zi Di conducted a preliminary interview of everyone else. From the mouths of the other people, Zi Di had gained a general overview of the situation.

“So was it due to Cang Xu’s analysis that Huang Zao and Lan Zao realized they were in big trouble?” Zhen Jin listened to Zi Di’s report and slightly laughed. “It seems that the trophies we harvested severely intimidated these people.”

“You cannot overestimate people, nor can you underestimate them.” Zhen Jin sighed from the bottom of his heart.

The outcome of this incident was quite good, but the whole process prompted Zhen Jin to unceasingly reflect deeply on himself.

He had overestimated Huang Zao’s character and didn’t realize that he might have been hiding information. It was his misconception that Huang Zao would be useful to him that led him to rescue Huang Zao.

But in the end Huang Zao fled and abandoned Zhen Jin and Zi Di, his saviors.

Later, due to immense pressure, Huang Zao and Lan Zao sold themselves as servants.

Was it because they were both fully repentant?

It was a possibility.

More than anything else, it was the pressure from Zhen Jin and Zi Di’s great strength as well as their deep background that restrained them.

What about the others?

They were happy to make Zhen Jin their leader.

Why?

Zhen Jin was strong, and in such a dangerous environment, wouldn’t the most optimal survival strategy for the weak be to attach themselves to the strong?

Zhen Jin also had the status of a templar knight, and with the fact that he had gone out of his way to rescue Huang Zao further convinced the rest that despite his young age, he was trustworthy in character.

The most eye-catching of them all however, was the old scholar Cang Xu.

He had served a noble clan for over thirty years and gained wisdom of how to survive the power games of nobles.

He was unarmed and had no battle strength, yet had the respect of the entire exploration team. The brothers Huang Zao and Lan Zao even obediently followed Cang Xu’s words.

When Huang Zao told his story, Cang Xu was able to immediately perceive the status of Zhen Jin and Zi Di with great acuity.

The whole exploration team followed his words and headed back where they eventually volunteered to join under Zhen Jin.

Huang Zao and Lan Zao became his gifts to Zhen Jin. Although they became servants, they were still extremely grateful to Cang Xu.

On the surface it seemed he was negotiating for the brothers, but in reality he was conducting a business deal with Zhen Jin.

Cang Xu took the initiative to join Zhen Jin which allowed the latter to smoothly accept these two as bronze level servants. In return Zhen Jin gave him ample compensation. Within this new team, Cang Xu was the third person in power after Zhen Jin and Zi Di.

Zhen Jin’s first command after he became their leader was to gather more water.

This was the teenager’s response to Cang Xu who joined him.

He maintained his guard against Cang Xu while at the same time being appreciative of him.

He knew he needed this kind of talent at his side. Don't look at Cang Xu as just a scholar, any ordinary farmer can knock him down. However he had knowledge and wisdom beyond the average person. Knowledge and wisdom were also a type of strength, an intangible power.

“We need to keep it a secret that my memory is broken and that I can’t activate battle qi.” Zhen Jin said to Zi Di.

Zi Di nodded repeatedly with a respectful face: “I understand, my lord.”

Zhen Jin had only just gotten control of the exploration team, there could still be potential dangers.

If these subordinates found out that Zhen Jin could not activate battle qi, would that not lead to ill intentions?

Being unable to activate battle qi forced him to rely on his physical body. The difference between cultivation levels in terms of physical capabilities were not that disparate.

As the Bai Zhen Clan motto said: People, do not overestimate them, nor can you underestimate them.

Regarding this phrase, Zhen Jin was now well aware of what it meant.

Although he was now the exploration team’s leader, his control over the group was still weak.

Getting complete obedience

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was not possible.

“Go make arrangements to call in each member of the exploration team one by one, and I will speak to them alone in this tent.” Zhen Jin instructed Zi Di before she left.

So, after Cang Xu led several people to gather potable water, he returned to the tent to give his report, he was stopped outside by Lan Zao and Huang Zao who were guarding the tent.

“Lord Zhen Jin is currently speaking to Bai Ya.”

Cang Xu was stunned, he knew Bai Ya, he was a youngster with a cheerful smile from a hunter’s family, not out of the ordinary in the exploration team.

“Don’t tell me Bai Ya did something wrong?” Cang Xu asked.

“No, the whole exploration team is to meet Lord Zhen Jin one by one so he can interview them.” Replied Lan Zao.

Cang Xu couldn’t help but be greatly interested in this: “What is the lord asking them about?”

Huang Zao shrugged: “It is nothing more than their personal background, family condition, personal strengths, anything concerning the shipwreck, and information about the island.”

At this moment, the tent curtain lifted open as the exploration team member, Bai Ya, walked out with a motivated expression.

“Ah, it is you Mr. Scholar.” Bai Ya was the first to greet.

“Judging by your expression, it seems Lord Zhen Jin has treated you favorably?” Cang Xu said with a smile and a nod.

Bai Ya grinned: “Of course not. In fact, Lord Zhen Jin promised everyone that as long as we perform well, we might be able to follow him and join White Sands City! Even the worst result is that I could become a guard in White Sands City.”

“Isn’t this what you wanted? Ah, you youngsters should behave well.” Cang Xu said as he patted Bai Ya’s shoulder.

Bai Ya nodded and enthusiastically replied: “I will work hard!”

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After notifying Lan Zao, Cang Xu entered the tent once again and met Zhen Jin.

“My lord, as per your instructions, we discarded half of the kerosene and used the oil bags to store water.” Cang Xu respectfully reported.

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“Good, you did well, go and rest. After lunch, we will have a meeting to discuss the course of our journey, so you should prepare well.”

“Yes my lord.” Cang Xu bowed and withdrew from the tent.

He did not walk away but stood by the tent and kept watching.

The people who followed him to gather water were also interviewed one by one by Zhen Jin.

Each one did not stay in the tent for long, but when they came out, the looks on their faces were noticeably different from before they entered. Even the eyes of the ones that did not usually smile looked like they had been polished with oil.

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Cang Xu took a deep look at the tent and smiled as he whispered to himself: “This is good.”

Not all strong individuals had the talent to be a leader.

In Cang Xu’s view: Zhen Jin was quite young. It was rare for such a young man to have a cultivation of at least silver level. Perhaps he had spent most of his time cultivating. This took time and effort, therefore it was natural for other areas such as studies and social skills to be weak.

But now it seemed that Zhen Jin had passed the minimum requirements to be a leader.

This youngster was not yet the Lord of White Sands City. As such he could only create promises out of thin air and promise a bright future for the exploration members who chose to follow him.

The will of the people was gradually roped in by Zhen Jin. The morale of the troops also rose as Zhen Jin deepened his control over the exploration team. 

Translator’s corner of rambling

“

The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.

”

Machiavelli

Notes

It is interesting to see how the commoner sailors of the exploration team do not see the significance of Zhen Jin’s questions, only Cang Xu does. The key to leading a group of people is to first know their wants and needs. Only then can a leader appeal to them. Of course this assumes said group knows what they need or rather what they think they need. Dreams and hope is something all humans cling to in times of trial and troubles. However it is important to keep one’s head firmly in the present lest they lose it in the distractions of tomorrow or even in the nostalgia of yesterday. Also this chapter introduces Bai Ya, who according to Skyfarrow is really popular with Chinese readers. I know exactly why, and I don’t really approve. Lets just say Bai Ya...mildly irks me.

Translation Notes

(手无寸铁: lit. not an inch of steel (idiom); unarmed and defenseless )

(令行禁止: lit. if he orders you go, he forbids you stop (idiom); fig. to demand exact compliance with instructions

/

to ensure strictly obedience )

(how did they clean those bags, fantasy magic soap?)

Editor Notes

(in RI this guy would die in a few chapters with this kind of dialogue lol)

(eyes polished with oil: meaning their eyes were shining: metaphor for being motivated)