We'd Go Through Fire and Water for You, Immortal!
This was the first time Gao Yunyi had killed someone in real life.
His heart did not race, his hands did not tremble, and he felt no urge to vomit.
He was calm, as calm as if he had casually slain a wild monster in a game.
Gao Yunyi could not explain why. Though he was indifferent by nature, he was no cold-blooded, heartless killing fiend.
Perhaps, in his subconscious, this unfamiliar ancient world was no different from the world in a game.
After all, he could gain experience points by killing people in this world.
Gao Yunyi was calm, but the constables and yamen runners behind him were anything but.
If they had revered and worshipped Gao Yunyi before because he was an immortal, now their hearts were filled more with terror and fear.
An immortal with a kind face was very different from one brimming with murderous intent.
The bandit's corpse lay before them, cut in two by a single stroke, his entrails and blood spilled across the ground. The image of someone being casually crushed to death like an ant was branded deep into their souls.
They were nothing but a swarm of ants,
and for an immortal to kill them was as easy as breathing.
This time, the constable chief did not reprimand or warn them, yet the constables and yamen runners no longer dared to speak.
Every one of them was as obedient as a student under a schoolmaster's stern gaze.
Though their backs ached and their legs trembled with exhaustion, they neither complained of hardship nor cried out that they were tired. They only gritted their teeth, endured the pain, and silently followed that towering, noble figure.
The sun slowly sank to the mountaintop, and the lingering light of dusk shone through gaps in the woods onto the group.
Gradually, the sky grew dark.
At last, they caught sight of the bandit stronghold situated at Ox Head.
The stronghold was crude but enormous. A gate and walls made of timber and mountain stone had been built at its entrance.
The gates were tightly shut, and bandits stood guard atop the walls.
Only one long, narrow mountain path led to the gates, barely wide enough for three people to walk abreast, with steep cliffs on both sides.
Just as Magistrate Zhang had said, the terrain was perilous, easy to defend and hard to attack.
Gao Yunyi stood in the woods, gazing impassively at the stronghold, while everyone behind him carefully concealed themselves behind trees or in the bushes.
To the people of Heyang County, the bandits of Crouching Ox Mountain were a terrifying dragon's pool and tiger's den.
The bandits there were highly skilled in combat, vicious and cruel, cold-blooded and merciless, and addicted to killing. They had left an indelible psychological scar on the people of Heyang County.
One had only to remember how many soldiers had been killed or wounded in the bandit-suppression campaign years ago. The merchants and commoners who had died miserable deaths at the Crouching Ox Mountain bandits' hands over the years were beyond counting.
The people of Heyang County both hated and feared the bandits of Crouching Ox Mountain.
Even with an immortal backing them up this time, it was hard to dispel their bone-deep fear of the bandits of Crouching Ox Mountain all at once.
That was right,
in the minds of these constables and yamen runners, they were the vanguard in the bandit-suppression campaign, while the immortal before them was there to back them up.
They were lowly people who did the dirty work, the backbreaking work, and the dangerous work.
The immortal was exalted and untouched by dust. How could they let the bandits' filthy blood stain his immaculate immortal robes?
Besides, before they set out, the county magistrate had given them an absolute order: even if they all fell in battle, they were to protect the immortal from the slightest harm.
So, although they knew this journey was fraught with danger and they might well be courting nine deaths for a single chance of survival, they still accompanied the immortal up the mountain, resolved to die.
For they wanted to wipe out that gang of utterly heartless bandits on Crouching Ox Mountain even more than the immortal did. Among those who had died miserable deaths at the bandits' hands were their friends, neighbors, relatives, and even their closest family members.
They had not dared before, because there had been no hope.
But now they dared, because an immortal stood beside them.
Even if they fell in battle, they would dare to thump their chests in the underworld and tell King Yama and the Judge of the Underworld in a loud voice that they had died for an immortal.
For the immortal's sake, perhaps they might even be born into a good family in their next lives and enjoy wealth and honor for a lifetime.
They lacked neither hot-blooded courage nor nerve. All they lacked was an opportunity, an opportunity to avenge their grievances and wipe away their hatred.
Constable Chen took a deep breath. The hot-blooded courage and nerve surging within him completely suppressed his fear of the Crouching Ox Mountain bandits.
His expression grave and serious, he lowered his voice and spoke to the people behind him:
"The bandits have a gate and walls, and they outnumber us, so a frontal assault won't be easy. We can only wait until dark and sneak over, find a way to deal with the bandits standing watch on the walls first, and then open the gate."
Everyone behind him nodded at his words, evidently agreeing with their chief's plan.
But Gao Yunyi did not agree.
"These guys actually want to steal my monsters. Without monsters, there's no experience. Without experience, I can't level up. Without leveling up, I can't put points into skills. And if I can't put points into skills, how am I supposed to get stronger? This is utterly unforgivable."
Gao Yunyi was angry, and his voice was piercingly cold.
"Stay here. None of you are to lift a finger, or you die."
Gao Yunyi was not joking. Blocking someone's leveling was like killing their parents, and to him right now, nothing was more important than completing quests and gaining experience.
The quest was very clear: wipe out the Crouching Ox Mountain bandits and kill their leader.
He did not want to threaten these people, but if they caused him to receive less experience or fail the quest, he would absolutely strike them down without hesitation.
The immortal's sudden words stunned everyone, and the fierce killing intent in his voice chilled them to the bone.
But what followed was an immense feeling of gratitude beyond words.
They had always done the dirty, exhausting, dangerous work. They took it for granted, and so did those officials.
Even if they ultimately died in the line of duty, all they received was a meager resettlement payment and death benefit.
But now,
an immortal whose status was even more exalted than those officials' had suddenly told them: you don't have to go to your deaths. I'll do all of this myself.
He had spoken the warmest words in the coldest voice.
How could such a stark contrast not move these constables and yamen runners at the bottom of society to weep bitterly?
We'd go through fire and water for you, immortal!!!
Constable Chen was the most deeply moved of them all. He had been a constable chief for more than a decade and knew all too well the scheming and backstabbing of officialdom.
It was lowly constable chiefs and yamen runners like them who charged ahead, risking their lives and going to their deaths, while in the end, all the credit and benefits went to the officials who hid in the rear.
The immortal before them might appear as cold as frost and rarely smile, but he was kind and magnanimous at heart, capable of showing compassion and pity to low-ranking functionaries like them.
"As you command."
Constable Chen wiped the tears from his eyes and respectfully cupped his fists in acknowledgment.
"From now on, no one is to lift a finger without my order."
Only after hearing Constable Chen's tactful words did the killing intent deep in Gao Yunyi's eyes slowly fade.
Then he turned his gaze back to the bandit stronghold, where torches had already been lit.