Eliminate the Bandits and Bring Peace to the People

[Quest: Eliminate the bandits and bring peace to the people.

Quest description: Bandits are plaguing Crouching Ox Mountain in Heyang County. They burn, kill, pillage, and commit every evil imaginable. Zhang Huaimin, the magistrate of Heyang County, requests that you go up the mountain and eliminate the bandits, ridding the people of this scourge.

Quest requirements: Wipe out the bandits on Crouching Ox Mountain and kill their leader.

Quest rewards: Experience: 100, item: ???

Accept?]

When the quest he had been waiting for finally popped up, Gao Yunyi's heart blossomed with joy. He hurriedly clicked to accept it.

He had thought there were no quests in this world. After all, exclamation marks didn't appear above these ancient people's heads.

Gao Yunyi had been dropping hints to County Magistrate Zhang just now, hoping he would give it a try. He hadn't expected to actually receive a quest.

Just when the mountains and rivers seemed to leave no way forward, another village appeared among the willows and flowers.

This game system had not let him down.

"Prepare the horses."

Gao Yunyi rose to his feet and spoke to County Magistrate Zhang, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Huh? What horses?"

Gao Yunyi's words left County Magistrate Zhang utterly baffled.

"We're going into the mountains to eliminate the bandits," Gao Yunyi replied matter-of-factly.

County Magistrate Zhang was even more bewildered. "Now?"

"Right now," Gao Yunyi confirmed.

County Magistrate Zhang ventured timidly, "Exalted Immortal, you've only just descended to the mortal realm. You must be weary from your journey. Why not eat first, rest well for the night, and go into the mountains tomorrow? The bandits are right there on the mountain. There's no need to rush."

You might not be in a hurry, but I am!

This is a quest! It's experience and rewards! How am I supposed to sleep if I don't finish it immediately?

"No, we're going now."

There it was again, that overbearing, uncompromising tone that brooked no refusal. But County Magistrate Zhang was already used to it.

Immortals naturally had their own personalities.

Otherwise, what would set them apart from ordinary mortals like us?

"All right, I'll make the preparations at once. Please wait a moment, Exalted Immortal."

Having received his orders, County Magistrate Zhang immediately rose and took his leave. But when he reached the door, he suddenly seemed to remember something and muttered under his breath, "Strange. Don't immortals all know how to fly? Why does he need horses?"

His voice was quiet, but Gao Yunyi still heard him, and his face darkened a little.

He wasn't angry, though. He was embarrassed.

"I want to fly there too, but I can't!"

As a cultivation game, Immortal Journey naturally allowed players to fly.

But a game character had to reach level 15 to unlock a flight skill, and every sect's flight skill was different.

The Azure Profound Sect's was Fleeting Light, Blurred Shadow.

Break free of control effects + teleport + brief low-altitude flight.

It required Law Power, couldn't be sustained for long, and also had a cooldown.

To truly roam the four seas and soar between heaven and earth, he needed to reach level 20 and break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. Then he could fly on a Law Treasure.

There was another option, of course: tame a flying spirit pet as a mount, which could be used at level 10.

Until he could find a way to obtain a Law Treasure, Gao Yunyi intended to do just that.

Although this was an ordinary ancient world, there had to be some unusual flying birds, right? If nothing else, he could catch a big, plump, sturdy white crane capable of carrying a person.

It might not have much combat power, but it would still do for travel and showing off.

First, though, he had to level up. Otherwise, all of it was just flowers reflected in a mirror and the moon reflected in water—nothing but idle fantasy.

County Magistrate Zhang worked quickly. After all, he had received an immortal's decree, and eliminating bandits to bring peace to the people was a wonderful undertaking that benefited both the people and himself.

He prepared a carriage, and his own personal one at that.

Not only that, he also assembled more than a dozen constables and yamen runners.

When the constables and yamen runners at the county yamen first heard that they were going to Crouching Ox Mountain to eliminate the bandits, their faces went pale and their legs trembled. They were too frightened to go.

But when they were later told that they would be accompanying an immortal, quite a few of them were immediately tempted.

If they went by themselves, they would be throwing their lives away for nothing. But if they went with an immortal, they might earn merit.

Who didn't want merit? Who would turn down a chance to appear before an immortal?

Even if they failed to gain the immortal's favor and appreciation in the end, at least they would have something to boast about afterward.

As for whether the immortal could wipe out the bandits on Crouching Ox Mountain, no one had any doubt.

What a joke.

Only a few hours ago, black clouds had pressed down on the city, lightning had danced wildly, radiant light had filled the sky, and a golden pillar had pierced the heavens. The miracle of an immortal descending to the mortal realm was still vivid in their minds.

When Gao Yunyi appeared before the crowd, his unparalleled face as handsome as an immortal's and his ethereal Nine Heavens Flowing Cloud Immortal Robe untouched by worldly dust, the entrance to the county yamen fell silent in an instant.

Good heavens, so this is an immortal!

Mother, your child has made something of himself! I've finally seen what an immortal looks like!

He's so beautiful. I feel like my eyes will go blind if I look at him one more time.

*...*

Everyone was overwhelmed with shock. Their bodies seemed to stop obeying them, and they stood rooted to the spot in a daze.

Gao Yunyi sighed inwardly. Being the center of everyone's attention was truly uncomfortable, but he could only endure it in silence.

"What are you all standing there for? Get down on your knees before me, now! If you offend the Exalted Immortal, I won't let you off!"

Seeing these bumpkins who had never seen the world standing there looking like fools, County Magistrate Zhang flew into a rage and shouted at them.

Only when they heard the county magistrate's furious shout did the crowd come to their senses. Fear and panic appeared on their faces, and they dropped to their knees with a series of thuds.

Though Gao Yunyi wasn't used to the way ancient people knelt and kowtowed at the slightest occasion, he didn't stop them. Wearing a calm expression, he stepped into the carriage.

Only after the carriage curtain fell did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the immortal had neither said nor done anything just now, the immense, invisible pressure had left them gasping for breath.

Looking at his useless subordinates, County Magistrate Zhang felt an inexplicable sense of superiority.

These fellows had taken one look at the immortal and frozen like wooden chickens, completely at a loss. He, on the other hand, had spoken with the immortal at length and in private in his study without so much as a change in expression.

No wonder he was the honored magistrate of Heyang County.

After basking in his own satisfaction for a moment, County Magistrate Zhang pulled Constable Chen, who was leading the group, aside and gave him a solemn warning. "Once you reach Crouching Ox Mountain, if danger arises, you must protect the immortal. Even if every last one of you dies, you mustn't let the immortal suffer the slightest harm. Do you hear me?"

Constable Chen looked at the magistrate as though questioning his entire life.

"Huh? Me, protect an immortal?"

But seeing the magistrate's serious expression, which showed no sign that he was joking, the constable nodded firmly.

"This subordinate swears to protect the immortal with his life. I absolutely will not let the immortal suffer the slightest harm."

Only after receiving the constable's assurance did Magistrate Zhang nod in satisfaction.

The immortal's arrival was an auspicious omen, and he had already prepared to write to the prefect with the good news. But if the immortal were injured, that auspicious omen would lose much of its luster.

Though he believed the immortal wouldn't be hurt, it wasn't the ten thousand things that went right one had to fear, but the one that went wrong.

He was going to be recorded in the county annals alongside the immortal, with a monument and a biography to his name. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong.

And so,

under the close protection of more than a dozen constables and yamen runners,

the carriage carrying Gao Yunyi slowly set off toward Crouching Ox Mountain.