Mai took the phone and held it between her head and shoulder.
Her hands were tied behind the chair, so picking up the phone was out of the question.
"Boss, I'm sorry. The mission failed."
A gentle voice came from the other end.
"It's fine. You've got a new mission now. Since your cover's blown, just roll with it. Continue in your role as a housekeeper, and I also want you to find out that man's true identity…"
In short, Mai's new task was to go undercover—while still working her nanny job.
Ren Asakura heard the conversation over the phone but didn't care at all.
"I'm invincible—schemes and tricks are nothing in the face of absolute power."
Mai hung up and immediately changed her tone.
"Boss, you've got me all tied up like this. How am I supposed to do my job?"
Ren Asakura waved her off. "Don't say that. We haven't even signed a contract yet! Mingfei, bring the ink and paper."
Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes helplessly.
His group leader really loved messing around.
But if he were as strong as Ren Asakura, he'd probably be even worse.
Lu Mingfei pulled a sheet from his homework notebook and grabbed a ballpoint pen from his pencil case.
"Group leader, here's your paper and pen."
Ren Asakura: "…"
Lu Mingfei looked just as resigned. "It's all we've got. Gotta make do."
Ren Asakura sighed.
"Mingfei, you write. Just say: 'On [insert date], [insert name] voluntarily agrees to work as a nanny for our side, with no salary…'"
Mai immediately interrupted.
"Wait—no salary?! That's beyond stingy!"
Ren Asakura's expression darkened, irritation flickering across his face.
"Watch your tone. Didn't you hear the experts? We're giving you a valuable work opportunity—an experience to grow and learn. You should be grateful. Not asking you to pay us is already generous. You should cherish this chance!"
"Which bastard expert said that? I'll gut him!" Mai snapped.
Lu Mingfei handed over the contract after scribbling it out.
Ren Asakura glanced over it. "Mingfei, is this a typo?"
Lu Mingfei squinted at the paper. "Looks like it… let me fix it. I've been training in sword cultivation too much lately—forgot how to write."
He scratched it out, leaving a big black smudge, then scribbled over it with the corrected word.
Mai could only stare into the void.
Being a nanny for these two morons might actually kill me.
Ren Asakura nodded, pleased. "Alright! Next is the fingerprint. We don't have ink, so let's just use blood."
He walked over with a cheerful grin.
Then untied her hands.
"Come on, time to sign! Don't forget the fingerprint!"
Mai looked at the typo-ridden contract in disbelief.
Does this thing even hold up in court?
Who knows if it's legally binding—but she knew if she didn't sign, she probably wasn't getting out of here.
After signing her name…
Everyone looked at each other.
Ren Asakura: "The fingerprint!"
Mai: "How exactly am I supposed to do that?"
Ren Asakura: "Just bite your finger and press the print. That's how they do it in TV dramas."
Mai felt like crying, but under pressure, she complied.
Utter humiliation!
Ren Asakura held up the contract.
"Nice, nice. From now on, you're officially our nanny. Work hard and maybe I'll give you a raise someday!"
Mai: "…"
Lu Mingfei let out a long, helpless sigh.
"Hey, group leader—shouldn't we get back to the main task? I'm about to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."
Ren Asakura suddenly clapped his hands. "Ah, right, right!"
Then he turned to Mai and said, "Hey, you—nanny over there! Help us get a car. We're heading somewhere remote to do some cultivation."
Mai looked completely confused.
Still, she found them a car.
---
Sitting in the car got a bit boring.
Ren Asakura suddenly asked,
"Hey, nanny! I heard you're a ninja too—can you do the Shadow Clone Jutsu? Or maybe Water Style: Fix-the-Dam Technique?"
Mai rolled her eyes.
"You think this is Naruto or something?"
Ren Asakura shook his head with a sigh. "Knew it. You're clearly a half-baked ninja. Mingfei, show her your Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."
Lu Mingfei looked hopeless.
"Group leader, we're inside a car. And I haven't learned any fire-style techniques. Also, I'm not a ninja—I'm a cultivator."
Mai looked at the two of them with exasperation. If she didn't already know how powerful Ren Asakura was, she'd think they were just a couple of delusional manchildren.
"Naruto's all fake—that's just a manga. There's no chakra in the real world. I mean, yeah, with certain incantations or spells you might get a similar effect, and cultivators? That's all from fantasy novels. You guys should really be past your chuunibyou phase."
Ren Asakura gave a mocking grin.
"Just because you haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Mingfei, give her a little show."
Lu Mingfei sighed. "We're still in a car. If I mess up, we'll end up in a wreck."
Ren Asakura paused and gave a serious nod. "True. Let's wait till we get to an open area—then we'll show you what real ninja cultivators look like."
Mai: "..."
---
On the outskirts of the city—
Far from the hustle and bustle, even if they made some noise, it wouldn't attract much attention.
This was where Lu Mingfei would attempt his breakthrough.
Once they got out of the car, the taxi driver drove off without a second glance.
Lu Mingfei looked around at the overgrown weeds and deserted surroundings.
Perfect place for some shady business.
Mai stood there with her arms crossed, bored, glancing around.
Ren Asakura stepped forward. "Mingfei, show her what you've got."
Lu Mingfei scratched his head. "Do we really need to?"
Ren Asakura: "This girl never learned the real skills of a ninja. Show her something real."
Mai shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, go on—blow my mind."
Lu Mingfei thought for a second, then nodded.
"Orochimaru taught me a bunch of jutsu, but since I'm a cultivator, I didn't take them too seriously. Only the Shadow Clone Jutsu is kinda useful for me."
As he spoke, he formed hand seals with both hands.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
From the smoke, a dozen Lu Mingfeis stepped out.
They looked identical—same face, same outfit, same everything.
Mai was instantly stunned.
"This… how is this even possible?!"
All the clones spoke in unison:
"This is my jutsu—Shadow Clone Jutsu. I'm not super good at it though, not like Naruto who can make hundreds or thousands."
Mai suddenly started to doubt if she was even a real ninja.
This… this was the real deal.
Lu Mingfei quickly made another hand sign. "Release!"
All the clones disappeared into a puff of smoke.
°°°
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