Immortal Arts
Only after the carriage had passed through the city gates and the clamor had faded from his ears did Gao Yunyi lift a corner of the curtain and look outside.
He disliked being the center of attention, and he wanted even less to be gawked at like a giant panda.
This was Gao Yunyi's first time seeing the outside world in ancient times with his own eyes, and it was nothing like he had imagined.
The official road, paved and compacted with hard earth and stones, was full of potholes. Bare earthen slopes lined both sides, without so much as a tree root in sight. The tenacious weeds that occasionally sprouted from the ground seemed to be the only color in the whole landscape.
There were few merchants or common folk along the way, only a scattering here and there. Most wore patched garments of coarse hemp cloth, and they had dry hair, sallow faces, and gaunt frames.
When they saw the carriage approaching, their first reaction was not to watch it with curiosity. Instead, they lowered their heads, bent at the waist, and cast their eyes down, stepping aside of their own accord to let it pass.
They did not even have the courage to look inside the carriage.
This was the true portrait of the common people at the bottom of ancient feudal society.
Gao Yunyi took it all in with a calm gaze, like an outsider. Apart from the occasional flicker of novelty, not a single ripple disturbed his eyes.
The carriage rode imperiously down the middle of the road. Whether it encountered merchants' wagons or country gentry's donkey carts, all obediently made way.
After all, with more than a dozen constables and yamen runners escorting the county magistrate's carriage, who in all of Heyang County would be blind enough to get in its way?
And so the carriage traveled unhindered, gradually leaving the county town behind.
The scenery along the way changed from monotonous earthy yellow to a riot of colors.
Green grass, flowers, trees, flowing water, fields, and farmers at work slowly unfolded before Gao Yunyi's eyes like a vivid painting.
The scenery was beautiful, but the road grew narrower and bumpier.
A few hours later, the carriage finally came to a stop.
"Exalted Immortal, we have arrived at Crouching Ox Mountain."
Constable Chen approached the carriage with his eyes lowered and his back bent, speaking in a respectful tone.
Gao Yunyi reached out, lifted the door curtain, and looked up.
They were at the foot of a mountain. The road up it twisted and turned, making it unsuitable for the carriage.
The mountain before them was neither particularly lofty nor part of a long range, but its sides were steep, and its shape resembled a crouching ox.
"Where is the bandits' stronghold?" Gao Yunyi asked.
Constable Chen hurriedly pointed to a peak and answered, "Exalted Immortal, it is right there. The bandits' lair is at the ox's head."
Having fixed its location, Gao Yunyi nodded, stepped out of the carriage, and headed straight for the path up the mountain.
Constable Chen hurried after him with his men.
"You don't need to follow. Just wait at the foot of the mountain," Gao Yunyi said without looking back.
A look of conflict immediately appeared on Constable Chen's face. In the end, he summoned his courage and answered timidly, "But the magistrate gave us strict orders to keep you safe, Exalted Immortal. If we disobey, he won't let us off."
Gao Yunyi paused briefly, then resumed walking.
"If you want to follow, then follow. But once we reach the bandits' stronghold, none of you may make a move."
"Yes, sir. Yes, sir."
Constable Chen breathed a sigh of relief, his heart settling back down from his throat. It seemed that although this immortal was aloof, he was not without understanding. He then led his subordinates close behind Gao Yunyi.
Sensing the long string of tails behind him, Gao Yunyi sighed inwardly.
He was indifferent by nature, but he was by no means unreasonable.
These were all little people, caught in a difficult position between him and the county magistrate. Why make things hard for them?
If they wanted to follow, then so be it, as long as they did not interfere with his task.
The path to the stronghold grew ever more winding and rugged. As the journey went on and the going became harder, the constables and yamen runners' legs and feet were already aching, their backs drenched with sweat as they panted for breath.
But they noticed that the immortal showed no sign of fatigue. His steps were as steady as ever, and there was not even a drop of sweat on his forehead.
"As expected of an immortal. He's walked this mountain road for so long, yet he hasn't shed a single drop of sweat."
"More than that, look at his steps. Every one is exactly the same. Could this be the legendary art of walking as though on level ground?"
"But why is he climbing the mountain like us? Aren't immortals supposed to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth?"
"Shut up! You dare gossip about an immortal behind his back? Are you tired of living?" Constable Chen whispered fiercely, his eyes wide with anger.
At their chief's reprimand, the constables and yamen runners instantly clamped their mouths shut, not daring to say another word.
"Why aren't you hurrying up and keeping pace?"
Constable Chen looked up at the immortal, who had walked far ahead, and urged them on anxiously.
But they soon discovered to their dismay that no matter how desperately they chased after him, the distance between them and the immortal kept growing, until all they could do was watch his retreating figure from afar.
Just when they thought the immortal was about to leave them behind, his figure suddenly stopped.
"Could he be waiting for us?"
"That's great! Hurry up."
"Give me a hand. My leg's cramping."
"..."
By the time the group had almost caught up with the immortal, they saw a sight that left them dumbstruck.
The immortal suddenly swept his sleeve, and a crescent of white Sword Qi shot from its opening. Bearing matchlessly fierce power, it struck a lush tree in the distance.
A branch as thick as a bowl's rim tumbled from the dense canopy, its severed end smooth and even.
Falling along with it were two halves of a corpse that had been cleaved in two.
The constables and yamen runners were stunned senseless by the sudden sight, standing frozen in place, at a loss for what to do.
Constable Chen was the first to recover. He hurried over to investigate.
"Exalted Immortal, he's a bandit—a hidden lookout for the Crouching Ox Mountain bandits. Fortunately, you discovered him in time. Otherwise, if he'd sent word back and the bandits had been prepared, we'd have been in trouble."
Looking at the two bloody halves of the corpse on the ground, its entrails spilling out, the constable chief struggled to calm himself.
As Heyang County's constable chief, he had seen many dead men, but never one who had been so cleanly and neatly cut in two.
The man had not even had a chance to cry out before he died.
And that white Sword Qi, casually unleashed out of thin air—he had never heard of or seen anything like it.
Even he, an experienced constable chief, had failed to notice the bandits' hidden lookout in the tree. Yet the immortal had not only known beforehand, but had also acted ahead of the enemy and killed him in a single strike.
Those truly were Immortal Arts: mysterious and unfathomable, terrifying indeed.
After listening to the constable chief, Gao Yunyi said nothing more and continued toward the bandits' stronghold.
He had not foreseen events like a god just now. Rather, the minimap in the upper left corner had clearly shown a little red dot.
A red dot marked a hostile or a wild monster. As long as he was not blind, he could see it, and even its direction and location were clearly marked.
As for the white Sword Qi, it was not a skill, merely a basic attack.
In the game, once a character joined a sect, their basic attack would change according to the sect's characteristics.
For example, the Qingxuan Sect specialized in ranged attacks, so his basic attack was no longer an ordinary slash, but a streak of white Sword Qi.
Even without a weapon, he could still launch his attacks directly; he simply did not receive a weapon's attack bonus.
That was also why Gao Yunyi had the confidence to go up the mountain and wipe out the bandits alone.
Experience +5.
After seeing the number pop up in the lower right corner, Gao Yunyi could barely restrain the righteous urge in his heart to wipe out the bandits and rid the people of this scourge.