CHAPTER 23: EXPANDING THE FARM.

"Master, please name her." Ruby came next to Ray who was calculating the amount of rice he harvested and asked him to name her clone.

"You can name her yourself Ruby, she will be your stand-in for the outside world." Ray reminded her.

'But master, I want you to give her a name," Ruby requested.

After a moment of contemplation, Ray concurred with Ruby's persistent request to name her.

Ray observed her clone, noting that she resembled Ruby but appeared as an older version with indifference on her ice-cold face, yet a soft expression in her eyes.

After contemplating a few moments, Ray thought of the flower lily and bestowed upon her the name Lily.

Ruby leaped in joy, grasped Lily's hand, and ran away in delight.

Ray noticed a difference between his clones and Ruby's clone merely by observing her. He couldn't identify the exact details, but he decided to inquire about it at a later date and proceeded with his work.

After weighing the rice, Ray instructed the clones to move the rice bags into the house storeroom, and he joined them to expedite the work.

After doing the job, Ray with his clones went to the bamboo forest and brought back some tough bamboo in the forest and pilled it up in front of his house.

Ray took his axe which he placed at the entrance and started cutting them to make alternative ploughs and other farming equipment.

Ray brought all the farming equipment to his farm and called Ruby to expand his field.

Unlike his previous plan where he thought of sowing Rice and wheat alternatively, now he saw the rice mutating and had an obvious decrease in productivity, so he thought of growing rice and wheat simultaneously.

First, Ruby used the vines to plow two new fields adjacent to the old field. Now that the field is square, she adjusted the fence to enclose it.

Ruby then collected the husks and the Rice straws together per Ray's instructions and made them dry extremely fast by absorbing the water in the plants, then crushed them and sprinkled them all over the three empty fields.

Now Ray's clones entered the fields and started using the bamboo farming equipment and started to smooth out the soil and evenly distribute the husk powder that Ruby scattered across the fields.

After smoothening the soil and removing rocks and other hard objects in the soil, the clones left the field.

Ruby then used the spirit rain technique and wet the three fields simultaneously. 

Ray handed her the spirit rice seeds which were then scattered in one field and the other field was used to sow the wheat.

After throwing the seeds in the field Ruby started germinating them using germination techniques.

And then she watered them and accelerated their growth.

Once again, the clones entered the field and meticulously searched every corner for weed plants, promptly plucking them upon discovery.

With the help of the clones, Ray completed the work slightly faster than he had the previous time when he had done it alone.

Then with Ruby's help Ray successfully planted the vegetables in the last field and dusted himself.

As Ray reached his house, he faced the new problem of housing all his clones.

His home could only shelter Ruby and Lily, he couldn't just leave his clones outside in the open area and sleep inside comfortably.

So he thought of building a shack for the clones to stay.

He went into the bamboo forest with an axe and started cutting the golden-ringed bamboo trees and making them into long poles.

The few clones who were waiting right next to him started carrying them out of the forest rapidly.

After cutting nearly twenty bamboos, Ray exits the forest.

By the time Ray has returned the other clones who weren't brought into the forest had dip-deep pits at the right side of his house.

Ray then placed the bamboo poles in the pit and made them as pillars for the house.

With the help of Ruby vines, Ray tied the bamboo and connected them on the top edges.

Ray instructed Ruby to cover the bamboo poles from top to bottom with vines and constructed a basic house.

Now Ray had left a small gap as a door and windows in his design.

Ray used the left-over bamboo sticks and made them into doors and windows for the house.

Then he brought the additional bed sheets from his house, while spreading them on the ground, and made them into makeshift beds.

He then installed a solar light in the room and called it a day.

The clones all observed him without expression and entered the hut then sat cross-legged and began meditating.

Ray then with Ruby and Lily in tow entered the house.

After entering the house Ray began allocating Ruby's room in the house to Lily as she never slept there.

As Lily was observing the room, Ray used his sprit eye on Lily to check the detailed difference between her and his clones.

Name: Lily

Species: Human

Realm: Mahayana's initial realm.

Remark: Initially born as a clone, the fortune tree sacrificed a quarter of its soul to bring life to the clone, transforming her into a special being who could protect certain individual clones during his adventure.

After analyzing the data displayed on his retina, Ray resolved the mystery that had been troubling him.

Ray politely left Lily while she was checking her room and went into the hall took a chocolate from the jar returned to Lily's room and presented her with the chocolate.

Lily was astonished by the small gesture and thanked him in a small voice.

Ray laughed to hide his embarrassment and left the room swiftly, reached the hall, and started to scold Ruby for not letting him know about Lily.

In response, Ruby asserted that she believed he was aware of her and had bestowed the name upon her.

"For one day, there will be no chocolates for you," Ray declared angrily as began to hide the chocolate jar.

Ruby who heard the sentence angrily left the hall, went into Lily's room, and closed the door with a bang.

Ray began regretting his action upon hearing the door bang. After a few minutes, he started hearing laughter from the room, and only then did Ray have peace of mind.