Chapter 62 - So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodnight
Benton hummed to himself as he walked toward the gates. When he saw the small crowd of people gathered waiting for him and his four disciples, he started softly singing. “So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight.”
He wondered how the kids would react to seeing The Sound of Music. Maybe he could figure out some technique with illusion that would let one of his disciples recreate movies. Or maybe enter a partnership with the Chameleon Jade Sect.
Hmm. That idea might actually work. Best to not even ask the System about it yet, though. He didn’t want to be tempted to spend his limited Sect Points on frivolous entertainment. Down the road if he were swimming in points, however, and recruited an appropriately aspected disciple…
Returning his attention to the city, he figured he’d accomplished a lot during his time there, but he was more than ready to leave. The founding of his sect called.
Besides, though he’d tried to hide it from the kids and even avoid thinking about it himself, the last week or so had been incredibly stressful. One false move could have resulted in everything he was trying to build falling into ruin.
He vowed never to let his plans ride on so narrow a margin ever again.
Still, the train of wagons following behind him and the group of young people standing in front of him were a huge step in the right direction.
Kang Ya-Ting had been kind enough to send the six drivers to meet them at the warehouse, and those guys knew more about hooking up the oxen than Benton and the twins did, meaning that leaving went a lot smoother than he had any right to expect.
Each of the men drove one of the wagons slowly behind Benton, three filled with food, one herbs, one weapons, and the last the bathtubs, textiles, and some other miscellaneous items he’d purchased. Only the food ones were full to the top, which was by design so he could create space for his new recruits to cultivate by shifting things around, including into his ring, without being too obvious to prying eyes.
The cargo represented everything that had been on his purchase list and more, so he checked that task off his mental to do list.
More important than all the goods combined were his two new disciples, Zou Tian and Shi Long, who he was sure would eventually fill important roles in the new sect. Almost, or perhaps even more, crucial were the six young men driving the wagons and the eleven men and women standing just inside the gate.
The latter group who was standing next to Kang Ya-Ting were presumably the guards Benton had requested. The sect elder had acquired matching blue outfits for all of them, loose long-sleeved shirts and flowy pants, and each had a relatively new looking bag, probably filled with spare clothes and such, and a bedroll along with enough tents for every two of them to share.