"Xiu Niang!"
"Ying Zi… He Hua…"
Gan Daniu, Zhu Zi, and Tie Dan quickly moved past the corpses of the Black Wind Mountain Bandits. In a flurry of motion, they led the women who were captured out of the carriages before they turned around and kowtowed to Happy.
"Thank you, savior!"
"Thank you, savior!"
At the instant the group of people kowtowed, the corners of their eyes became wet.
Happy felt as if his heart had been touched by something. Without thinking, he bent down and helped everyone to their feet. "This is something I should do. Please, get up quickly. We are near Black Wind Mountain, so we shouldn't stay here for long. Hurry up and take your things, then leave this place."
"Yes, we'll listen to you, savior!"
"Zhu Zi, Tie Dan! Hurry, drive the carriage back!"
Gan Daniu seemed to have some prestige among the trio, for the other two quickly did as they were told. It was easy for them to get off the mountain. Soon, they disappeared from Happy's sight.
When he registered what happened, he remembered that he had not just killed ten mountain bandits in his trip, but even the Third Bandit Chief of Black Wind Mountain, and this man's abilities were much higher than his own. This meant that they should have quite a lot of money on them.
He flipped over the corpses and searched them. Apart from roughly 1,400 taels of silver, he also found notes that were worth 200 taels of gold on the Third Bandit Chief, a torn brocade robe, and a Snow Axe. The latter was actually a masterpiece of the lowest grade, which surprised Happy a great deal. Furthermore, he also received Five Continuous Axe Strikes manual.
"Now I won't have to worry about not having any new martial arts."
Happy smiled and put away all his rewards into his Universal Bag before suddenly realizing something.
He had already saved Xiu Niang and did what he had to do, but the system had not given him a notice that he had received the rewards he should have…
Curious, Happy brought up his Quest and Mission Log to look at it. Upon seeing it, a chill instantly crept up his spine!
Just as he expected, his mission had not ended yet!
[Quest and Mission Log:
[Chain of Missions (1): Save Xiu Niang (Completed)
[Triggered Mission (2): Black Wind Mountain's rage
[Since you killed the Third Bandit Chief of Black Wind Mountain near the outer sentry post of Black Wind Mountain and were discovered by the sentries of Black Wind Mountain, all of Black Wind Mountain has now come to know of the Third Bandit Chief's death. The chief bandit is extraordinarily angry, but once he remembered the Murong Clan's impressive might, he decided to seek revenge on Water Revival Village.
[He has ordered the Second Bandit Chief to gather together fifty great fighters of Black Wind Mountain to slaughter Water Revival Village once night falls. They will kill all the men, women, young, and elderly in Water Revival Village so that they will be buried with the Third Bandit Chief!]
Once Happy finished reading the mission log, the belated system notification finally arrived.
"Will you receive the mission: Black Wind Mountain's rage?
"If you choose to give up, you will be seen as automatically giving up the mission rewards for 'Save Xiu Niang'. All the reputation points you received from killing the bandits from Black Wind Mountain will be reduced to zero, and the same will happen to your Martial Artist Chivalry Points! You will also no longer have a favorable impression with the villagers of Water Revival Village!"
Happy could say nothing about this and just sucked in a sharp breath!
It was not because of how harsh the punishment of giving up the mission was, but that Black Wind Mountain had actually gathered together fifty Black Wind Mountain Bandits for their revenge!
There was also the Second Bandit Chief in their group this time, and he was at the peak of Gate Realm, but he was much more level-headed than the Third Bandit Chief. Happy simply could not figure out how he could stop the bloodshed.
His joy of obtaining a great reward was completely gone. He felt anxious and uneasy, and he burned with impatience!
Even though his rewards were very great and he would not be greatly affected by the backlash of rejecting the quest since he could withstand some of the punishments the system would deliver on him, he knew that he could not turn a blind eye to what would happen.
If he knew that he would get Water Revival Village slaughtered because of him, that Gan Daniu, the old boatman, and the adorable and intelligent Young Huan would be killed… he could not just sit by and watch the tragedy happen!
He would not!
Happy clenched his fists tightly. His eyes shone with a resolute glare that spoke of him never going to turn back.
Fifty mountain bandits… would be absolutely impossible for a person to fight alone, much less for a new player.
Reinforcements?
The people Happy knew were not in Gusu City, and he usually did not communicate with other people… besides him…
Happy frowned. He had thought of one person.
When he thought of the words that person had said to him in the morning, Happy could not help but be a little hesitant.
However, when he remembered that this matter concerned the survival of Water Revival Village and there were just a few hours left until night, he knew that time was short and he did not have time to delay the matter any further. Hence, he made his decision and decisively took out a piece of paper and a brush from his Universal Bag. He wrote a sentence on the paper followed by his own name at the spot reserved for the sender before he rolled the piece of paper into a small scroll.
Once he was finished with it, he brought out a quiet, obedient, snow-white messenger pigeon from his Universal Bag. He placed the paper into a small bamboo tube at the messenger pigeon's leg, and once he verified that everything was set, he had the messenger pigeon fly high into the sky. It swiftly disappeared from his sight.
When he released the messenger pigeon, Happy breathed out in relief. Then, he waited at his spot.
The battle had allowed him to realize one dangerous fact: A person had to change according to their environment and the situation!
There were plenty of times when a person would run into matters they could not settle on their own.
Happy had been busy practicing his martial arts and had completely neglected the most important matter in the world of martial arts—forming social connections. He had repeated the mistake he had made in his previous life.
And he had nothing to say about it.
...
Several miles away from Gusu City was a tavern. A few young people drank wine there while they chatted about everything and nothing. They spoke about their encounters in their sects and clans and the quests they had received from them. Even though they were normal and ordinary, there was no lack of joy in their interactions. Occasionally, they would laugh.
There were two people who stood out quite a lot at the table.
One of them was a young man dressed in a set of normal gray clothes reserved for servants, which was also the attire of all new players. He had his hand placed on his longsword. The other was dressed in green warrior clothes. His attire made him resemble a player in World of Martial Arts. Both of them sat on one side of the table, and they looked as if they were equals.
"Hey, Young Whirlwind, what's wrong with you today? Why aren't you saying anything?"
The young man in the green warrior clothes kept his eyes fixed on the person across from him. When he saw him look around constantly, he was a little curious. "You're officially listed as a member of your clan today, you should be happy."
"I AM quite happy."
Young Whirlwind was Whirlwind Young Li, the person who had spoken to Happy in the morning when they went out of the city. When he heard his companion's words, he was stunned for a moment before quickly reacting to them.
"But you know as well as I do that I've been practicing qi cultivation techniques and lightness skills all this while. My fighting skills are mediocre. I heard that the rascal who will visit this tavern is very strong, so I'm worried…"
"What are you afraid of? We have plenty of people here."
"That's right. Brother Green's sword technique has already reached the ninth realm. When he brandishes his sword, the sound you hear is what you'd call clear and loud. Tsk…" the four young men by the side said.
"What would you know?" No matter what, Whirlwind Young Li was a disciple who had joined the Murong Clan. His starting stats and Comprehension were slightly higher than those of the normal players.
"This method is spread out by the Murong Clan. It's nothing if I follow my eldest senior brother's footsteps and practice my skills by searching for local rascals, but now, there are so many people waiting around. If I, Young Li, bring a stain to Eldest Senior Brother Happy's great name, it'll be too embarrassing for me."
"Heh, so you're worried about this?"
The man in green smiled.
Right when he was about to say something more, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he let out a gasp before he reminded Young Li.
"Young Whirlwind, someone's calling you."
Whirlwind Young Li felt a tightening sensation on his shoulder at that moment, and a cuckoo's voice reached his ears. When he heard it, he turned his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Who would send me a message at this time?"
Grumbling, he took hold of the messenger pigeon and brought it down.
The rascal was about to arrive, yet someone actually sent him a message through a pigeon at this time?
Perhaps things would not have changed if he did not read it, but right after Whirlwind Young Li opened the letter, he stood up with a loud whoosh. He read the letter again and took note of the items and figures listed on the paper. Without any hesitation, he extended his hand to the five people before him.
"Money! Who has money?! Lend it to me! I have to help someone; it's an emergency!"
The five people looked at each other, stunned.