"Please accept this old man's respect!" After the Wudang elder had calmed down a bit, he immediately placed his hands together at his eyebrows, knelt on one knee, and bowed deeply to Gu Han.
"Please accept our respect!" Seeing their elder kneel, the other twenty-eight fellow disciples all knelt down in unison, bowing to Gu Han and King Yue to express their gratitude.
"Absolutely not! Absolutely not!" Gu Han quickly helped the elder up. Although these people were just NPCs, kneeling for three days and three nights wouldn't bother Gu Han. However, considering that he would need these NPCs' cooperation for future tasks, Gu Han pretended to be moved and helped the elder up.
"No problem! No problem! It's only right... it's only right." The elder stood up, his face filled with emotion. "If it weren't for your sudden appearance and clearing out that skeleton camp, my disciples would have suffered heavy casualties!"
"It was just a small effort!" Gu Han waved his hand. "It's an honor to be able to help you all."
After exchanging a few polite words, the seven hundred or so survivors, carrying large and small bundles, gradually emerged from various places and gathered near the camp entrance.
"Senior, what are you all planning to do?" Gu Han looked at the crowd of refugees and asked in feigned surprise. Of course, he knew that these survivors were planning to leave Wudang Mountain to escape, as it was clearly stated in the guide. However, for the sake of the plot, he had to pretend to be unaware and ask.
"Ah, the two of you may not know, but we are all preparing to leave here to save our lives!" the elder said dejectedly.
"Leave here?!" Gu Han immediately waved his hands and shook his head vigorously. "No, no! You absolutely cannot leave the top of Wudang Mountain!" Joking aside, Gu Han couldn't let these people leave Wudang Mountain, or they would all die, and his mission would fail.
"Why is that?" the elder asked, puzzled.
"Senior, you may not know, but there are still seventeen lines of defense below the mountain. With my abilities, I had to use all my strength to break through those seventeen lines. However, my actions have likely alerted the enemy, and now there are probably even more enemies gathered below the mountain than when I went up. There's no way you can break through!"
Sure enough, the elder, after almost fainting and then regaining consciousness, stomped his foot in frustration and ordered his disciples, "Quickly, tell everyone to stay here and not go down the mountain to their deaths."
"Yes!" The disciples, looking as if they had lost their mothers, went back to persuade their relatives to stay. Immediately, the entire mountaintop was filled with cries of sorrow and despair.
"Two benefactors, the wind is strong here. If you don't mind, please come with me to the Chao Tian Palace for a cup of tea!" The elder, maintaining a forced smile, invited Gu Han and King Yue. These two sudden arrivals were the last hope for the elder.
"Your invitation is an honor!" Gu Han smiled, everything was going according to plan.
——
"Two benefactors, this old man's Daoist name is Rumi, and I am the thirty-second-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect, currently acting as the Wudang Sect's leader!" After Rumi and Gu Han were seated in the Chao Tian Palace, the elder introduced himself first.
"My name is Tidu, a Gujian-level sword bearer from the Yanjing Base City. This is my sword maiden, the Gujian-level sword maiden, King Yue!" During the time of the mission, the Yuzhang Base City had not yet been established, and only the three base cities founded by the Flowing Years Calendar existed in the Chinese region, with Yanjing City being the only base city. Therefore, all players in the mission claimed to be from Yanjing Base City.
In fact, after entering the mission, the system had assigned the players to Yanjing City, and Gu Han had a communication device that could connect to Yanjing City, so Tidu's identity was indeed from Yanjing City.
Interestingly, some mischievous players deliberately claimed to be from other base cities. They thought it didn't matter, as Rumi had spent his entire life on Wudang Mountain and wouldn't know the current state of the human world. However, strangely, these players found that no matter how perfectly they completed the other steps, they could never achieve an SSS rating. For some reason, five or six survivors would mysteriously die, no matter how skilled the player was or how closely they watched.
Over time, no one bothered with this anymore.
"Tidu benefactor, King Yue benefactor! I apologize for my curiosity, but how did you suddenly appear on the top of Wudang Mountain and break through eighteen lines of defense? Wudang Mountain hasn't sent anyone down the mountain for twenty years, and there are few people in the world who know about our sect!"
"Rumi Sect Leader, you may not know, but a hundred years ago, a disciple of your sect fought alongside a sword bearer from Yanjing City. Unfortunately, the disciple died in battle, and the sword bearer who fought alongside him returned to Yanjing City and reported the news of Wudang Mountain. Therefore, Yanjing City knows that there are human survivors and a few sword bearers living on Wudang Mountain!"
"Indeed, a hundred years ago, our sect's Taiyi Zhenren went down the mountain to seek the future for Wudang. Unfortunately, he never returned and died in battle against the enemy. Wu Liang Tianzun!" Rumi recited a prayer, seemingly lamenting the fate of his predecessor. (Note: "Wu Liang Tianzun" is similar to "Amitabha Buddha" for monks and "My God" for Christians.)
"Rumi Sect Leader, perhaps you are too busy and have made a mistake. In our records from Yanjing City, the Daoist name of your sect's disciple is Tai'er Zhenren." Gu Han smiled, exposing Rumi's test.
In real history, the story of Tai'er Zhenren from Wudang Mountain is true, and his records can still be found in Yanjing City's archives. However, no player had ever bothered to check such records.
Thus, when the mission "Wudang Summit" first opened, countless players failed at the question of Tai'er Zhenren, making Rumi suspicious. Due to the players' strength, Rumi didn't expose them on the spot but instead nodded in agreement. Secretly, he instructed his disciples to be cautious and monitor the players, not to trust them. This made it impossible for the players to command the Wudang disciples, leading to heavy casualties in later battles and making it difficult to achieve an S rating or higher.
It was only later that a librarian from the Yanjing City Archives, who had seen the records of the Wudang Sect, uncovered this game trap. Incidentally, this librarian later became a Di Jian-level sword bearer... librarians in China have always been a legend!
"I was too suspicious! Please forgive me!" Rumi's face turned red, embarrassed that his trick had been exposed. However, he was relieved to see that the person in front of him was indeed a sword bearer from Yanjing City. Although Wudang Sect had not communicated with the outside world for twenty years, they had a general idea of the situation outside through occasional exchanges, knowing that humans had lost 98% of the Earth's land and only retained three base cities.
"Rumi Sect Leader, you are concerned about the safety of Wudang Sect, and I understand your precautions! We did not intend to disturb your peace, but three days ago, I saw a fierce battle on the top of Wudang Mountain from a hundred miles away, with flames, sword energy, and lightning. Worried about the safety of Wudang Mountain, I rushed here to see what had happened!"
"So, Tidu benefactor, you also saw that battle!" Rumi's expression darkened, showing sadness. "To be honest, that day, our sect's Zhijing Sect Leader was battling the Dark Dragon King. However, the Sect Leader was old and his energy was depleted. After repelling the Dark Dragon King, he spat blood and fell into a coma, passing away yesterday."
"Zhijing Sect Leader! Is that the Zhijing Celestial Master who coordinated with the True Wu Lady?" Gu Han feigned surprise. "If the records from Yanjing City are correct, Zhijing Celestial Master is over 180 years old! I never thought he would still be alive, and we in Yanjing City thought he had already passed away!"
In the thousand-year history of sword bearers, Zhijing Celestial Master of the Wudang Sect was a well-known figure, not because he was a Xian Jian-level sword bearer, but because he lived to 180 years old. Among all generations of sword bearers, Zhijing's lifespan ranked second. If he hadn't died in battle, he might have even reached the top of the longevity list.
It was precisely because Zhijing Celestial Master, a Xian Jian-level sword bearer, lived so long that Wudang Mountain could exist independently of the base cities for two hundred years. After his death, Wudang Mountain lost its strong protection and wanted to leave and join the base city.
When Yanjing City learned of Wudang Mountain's existence, they had sent a Ling Jian-level sword bearer to invite the Wudang Sect to join Yanjing City, but Zhijing Celestial Master refused, unwilling to leave the ancestral land where he had lived for over a hundred years.
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