Ancient donkey carts are really slow.
But at least it's faster than walking on two legs.
By the time Nan Zhi reached Wen County, it was already late at night. The city gates were tightly shut, and two glowing orange lanterns hung above them.
On top of the walls, soldiers on guard duty patrolled back and forth with torches in hand.
The scenes in movies where martial arts masters flip over city walls in the dark are simply impossible in reality.
On the walls, torches soaked in oil crackled and hissed, illuminating the area beneath the gates with perfect clarity.
If you dared to try and scale it, someone would immediately treat you like a target and fill you with arrows.
With that level of brightness and density of guards, you would either be shot into a hedgehog or at least end up severely wounded.
Just as Nan Zhi thought she would have to find another way around, Nan Dazhuang said he had a method.
She watched as he walked openly to the city gate and pulled something from his robe, waving it toward the top.
A moment later, a rope was slowly lowered from the wall, with a small bamboo basket hanging at the end.
“Sister Zhi, you see? Rules are rigid, but people are flexible.
“Once these gates close, according to the law, they aren't to be opened until dawn. That’s a hard rule; anyone who opens them loses their head.”
Nan Dazhuang stuffed a few taels of silver into the basket and whispered to Nan Zhi:
“But cats have their paths, and rats have their ways. We can’t open the gate, but there are still ways into the city.
“I didn't know about this before, but I learned it while following my master to collect live pigs.
“Don't worry, I’ve collected pigs in Wen County before and I'm familiar with these guards. If there’s an emergency, you can get in early as long as you pay.
“Once, I had nowhere to keep the pigs I’d bought, so I used this exact method to hoist them up.”
The small basket was pulled up, and after a short wait, a massive bamboo basket large enough to hold a person was lowered down.
Nan Zhi looked at the wall, then at the giant basket that had once held pigs.
So she was getting the same treatment as a live pig?
But saving people was the priority. She hopped straight into the basket and stopped Nan Dazhuang, whispering:
“Dad, our things are still on the cart. We definitely can’t bring them in, so someone needs to stay here to keep watch and be ready to meet us.
“I’ll go into the mountains to scout first. If I find Brother Yi and the others, we’ll come straight down and head back to Dingyuan quietly.
“If Brother Yi and the others aren't back by noon tomorrow, go straight to the Wen County Yamen to report it.
“Officers from our Dingyuan County have gone missing in Wen County territory; they have to take responsibility. As long as the magistrate isn't a fool, he’ll gather men to search the mountains.”
“Alright, I’ll wait here. We’ll meet at the city gate tomorrow at noon.
“If I don't see you by then, I’ll go report it. Our Brother Yi went missing helping them hunt a tiger; they owe us an explanation and must send people to look.”
Nan Dazhuang wanted to argue, but he felt Nan Zhi’s plan made sense, so he quickly agreed.
After all, he was just a butcher. He was an expert at slaughtering pigs, skinning meat, and deboning, but when it came to finding people or catching ghosts, he probably had to rely on Sister Zhi.
He stuffed his entire money pouch into Nan Zhi’s hands and gave her a few more instructions:
“Sister Zhi, go and come back quickly. Be careful. If you run into a demon you can’t beat, run toward the Earth God Temple or the City God Temple.
“You were born after we received guidance from the City God Temple. The star lords in heaven are all watching over you! They will surely protect you!”
Nan Zhi was moved, but she didn't say much. She tugged the rope on the basket, signaling the soldiers above to pull.
The large basket rose slowly. The screen on her tablet shook a few times, and the fog on the map in the top-left corner slowly cleared.
【Congratulations to the player for unlocking new maps: “Wen County” and “Wen Mountain”】
【Achievement Unlocked: “Dashing Wanderer (I)”, reward: Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket ×1】
Nan Zhi only had time to glance at the achievement before following the guard's directions. She hugged the city wall and walked west along the main road for half an hour until she saw another city gate.
Leaving the city was the same process as entering.
Nan Zhi repeated the procedure, explained she had an emergency, bribed the guards, and took the swaying, manual ancient “elevator” out of the city.
On the map, Wen Mountain was right in front of her.
Near the little green dot representing Nan Yi, several level 15 chang ghosts were pacing back and forth.
【Chang Ghost Mei Niang】
【Chang Ghost Ma Dalang】
【Chang Ghost Li Po】
Seeing those little red dots circling her brother, Nan Zhi almost lost her composure.
“That poor kid. A level 49 boss, the Mountain Lord, with a pack of level 15 trash mobs like these chang ghosts... I don't know if I should call him lucky or unlucky.”
The dew was heavy and the night was deep. Looking from a distance, the old forest at night was pitch black; nothing could be seen.
Fortunately, Nan Zhi was well-prepared. She lit the lantern in her hand and began to climb the mountain, following the directions on the map.
The mountain paths were rugged. Some were so steep they were twenty feet above the ground, hidden among twisting thickets and vines.
Let alone at night, even an experienced hunter wouldn't dare take this path during the day.
Nan Zhi, however, moved as if she were on level ground. With a lantern in one hand and her blade in the other, she hacked through vines and climbed trees as she encountered them.
She used the trees for leverage and flipped over rocks, as agile as an ape.
During this period of practicing the Moon-Worshiping Breathing Method, Nan Zhi’s various stats had improved.
Although it didn't show on her attribute panel, the changes reflected in both the game and reality were immense.
Crack... crack...
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Swish, swish, swish...
In the deep, dark forest, Nan Zhi was so desperate to save her brother that she acted like an emotionless bulldozer, pushing straight through along the map's path.
She crossed mountains and felled trees, crossed slopes and hacked vines.
Large flocks of birds in the forest were startled awake, flapping their wings and circling above her head, cawing incessantly.
She didn't need to guess to know they were cursing her out.
“Other people cultivate to become immortals. A Qi Refinement stage cultivator can tank a rocket with their bare body, fly on a sword, and command spirit beasts.”
Nan Zhi turned the brightness of her tablet to the maximum. By the moonlight, she saw the wreckage she left behind, looking like a locust swarm had passed through:
“I can tolerate a sudden event not giving me a mission, but there isn't even a teleport? A cultivator actually has to run across the map manually.”
She came to save someone, and the biggest difficulty she faced wasn't fighting monsters above her level, but clearing a path through the mountains? Could you believe it?
Did this broken game have to be so realistic in some aspects?
Wouldn't it be better to just have a couple of teleportation talismans or a teleportation array?
Nan Zhi checked her character's health and mana bars, took another Qi-Supplementing Pill, and went back to clearing the path.
Unexpectedly, just as her complaint finished, the game panel that had been playing dead suddenly reacted.
【Detected cultivator approaching level 40 dungeon “The Tiger in the Mountains”. Do you wish to enter?】
【The Tiger in the Mountains: Wen Mountain is a place of spirit. A tigress once stumbled upon a stroke of fortune; after consuming spiritual herbs, she gave birth to a white-browed cub.
【Later, the tigress was killed by hunters. The cub witnessed its mother being skinned and deboned. In that moment, its mind opened, and it grew to hate the human race.
【The cub grew up and began to block paths and eat humans, keeping chang ghosts to lure travelers for food, a practice it has continued for over a decade.
【There are countless white bones and over a hundred lost souls within Wen Mountain, along with eight chang ghosts who can never find release.】
【Recommended Cultivation Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage 1 — Foundation Establishment Stage 5】
【Dungeon Clear Rewards: White Tiger Demon Core (Blue quality), Azure Sea Sky Boots (Blue quality), Azure Sea Sky Garment, Dream Soul Flower (Foundation Establishment Pill material), Tiger Saliva Grass (Foundation Establishment Pill material)】
【Friendly Reminder: Current dungeon level is too high. Does the cultivator choose to challenge above their level?】
“Isn't this reminder a bit late?”
Nan Zhi couldn't help but sigh.
“If it had told me even two days ago, I would have kept a tight leash on Nan Yi and never let him enter these mountains.
“Now the mission rewards are shoved in my face, and the arrow is already on the string; I have to fire.
“Enter, enter, enter. Let’s get in there and see what’s going on.”
Although she was only at the fifth level of the Qi Refinement stage and would likely be served up as a snack, she had to save the people first.
Otherwise, by the time she leveled up enough to enter, Nan Yi and his group would have been digested by the tiger and returned to the forest as fertilizer.
“Wait, I almost forgot this.”
Before clicking confirm, Nan Zhi remembered something.
She opened her inventory and equipped the Paper Skin Garment.
Soon, a plump, ghost-aura-shrouded female ghost was lying on the bed, legs crossed, playing the game.
Nan Zhi had tested this before; unlike system items, system equipment could be stored in the inventory at any time.
With equipment like the Paper Skin Garment, the effects in reality and the game were interconnected, though the results were limited.
When used in reality, the appearance-changing effect would only manifest on her physical body; the game character's appearance wouldn't change, but it would gain the attribute bonuses.
Similarly, if the game character equipped the Paper Skin Garment, her real-world body would gain the attributes, but it wouldn't change her physical appearance.
The game 《Road to Immortality》 really became more interesting the more she dug into it.
Rate on N.U.
