"Admiral, the first wave of enemies has already attacked!" Just as Guhan was preparing to rescue the NPC little girl, King Yue passed the message through the Sword Mark. We need to note that King Yue addressed Guhan by his in-game name, not by the derogatory term he usually used.
"Eliminate them," Guhan said simply.
"Hah, just a bunch of skeletons. I'll take care of them in ten seconds!" Guhan ended the connection through the Sword Mark. In Guhan's plan, because there were three Ancient Sword-level swordsmen NPCs assisting in the defense, the first three hours of defense were not a concern. The only tricky part was the last hour, which required his presence. For the rest of the time, leaving it to King Yue was sufficient.
The immediate priority was to rescue the little girl NPC.
Guhan estimated the distance between the branch and himself to be about thirty meters. In a normal situation, a commoner or a swordsman would first think of finding a rope to tie around their waist and then slowly rappel down the cliff.
But Guhan didn't have the time or inclination to look for a rope. After thinking for less than three seconds, he identified the exact spot above the little girl and leaped off the cliff.
According to the high school physics formula for gravitational acceleration, the time it takes to fall 30 meters is approximately: v^2, v^2 = 2 * 9.8 * 30 = 588, v = 24.25. t = s/v = 1.24s.
1.25 seconds, not too long, not too short. With a bit of practice, most people could estimate 1.25 seconds. However, in the midst of a high-speed free fall, with a cliff face beside them, the number of people who could calmly estimate 1.25 seconds is few. Fortunately, Guhan was one of them.
After the almost instantaneous 1.25 seconds, Guhan raised the Qingpin Sword in his hand and forcefully plunged it into the cliff face. An ordinary iron sword would break into two pieces when inserted into hard rock at high speed. But for the Qingpin Sword, the main weapon of the Sword Maiden, it was a trivial matter. Like slicing tofu, the Qingpin Sword easily penetrated the rock and, under the influence of Guhan's gravitational potential energy, left a half-meter-long sword mark before stopping the descent, hanging Guhan on the cliff face.
Guhan's actions were quite loud, startling the little girl, Chen Xiaochui, who was crying with her head buried, too afraid to move. She cautiously raised her head and saw a god-like hero appear before her, extending a hand and saying, "Don't cry, big brother is here to save you!"
Xiaochui, like a swallow seeking shelter, threw herself into Guhan's arms. This little girl was very cute, especially her big eyes, which reminded one of Alalei. Once in Guhan's arms, she got a good look at the hero and was immediately frightened. The hero's face was terrifying, covered in bugs!
"Big brother! Did those bad people hit your face?" The little girl, being young, couldn't suppress her curiosity and directly asked Guhan about the scars on his face.
"No..." Guhan shook his head, intending to say that he had inflicted the scars on himself, but the words died in his throat. "When I was a child, I was naughty and didn't listen to my parents, so I fell and got these scars... Just like you this time, if you really fell, your parents would be so sad..."
——
The branch supporting Chen Xiaochui was quite sturdy, able to bear the weight of an adult like Guhan. It was perfect for providing a boost for his return.
Guhan gathered his strength and leaped upwards, jumping over twenty meters high. However, this was not enough to return to the top of the cliff. At the highest point of his jump, Guhan inserted the Qingpin Sword into the rock again, using it to make a second jump and successfully returning to the top of the cliff.
When Guhan returned to Chaotian Palace with Xiaochui, the first wave of skeletons had already been reduced to bone fragments. According to Yuan Kong, Queen Yue had performed very bravely, using her Shuihan Sword to slay two skeletons, and the rest were smashed by King Yue.
Well, this wasn't surprising, as King Yue was a Famous Sword-level Sword Maiden. These skeletons, designed for Ancient Sword-level swordsmen, probably couldn't withstand even one strike from King Yue.
But for King Yue to kill all the skeletons in such a short time was no small feat. This proved that under Guhan's special training, King Yue's sword skills had reached a level above the basic standard, which could be described as quite good.
After sending Xiaochui back to her parents, whose eyes were already swollen from crying, Daoist Rumi delivered the clue to the last missing person.
This missing person was somewhat special. It wasn't that they couldn't be found, but that the Daoists couldn't persuade him to come to Chaotian Palace. He was Daoist Rumi's only remaining senior uncle, who, being old and unable to fight, was assigned to guard the scripture hall on Wudang Mountain.
He said he was too old to run away and that it was meaningless. He wanted to die with the scripture hall he had guarded for most of his life. Everyone knew that such a stubborn old man who didn't want to live was the hardest to deal with. Moreover, his seniority was higher than Daoist Rumi's, so those responsible for persuading him didn't dare to force him, making him one of the three missing people.
The Daoists' inability to handle the situation didn't mean that Guhan, an outsider, couldn't. Compared to the first two missing people, who required time and brainpower to find, this stubborn old man was easier to deal with. All Guhan had to do was knock him out and bring him back to Chaotian Palace.
The scripture hall of Wudang Mountain was located in another mountain hollow about a kilometer away from Chaotian Palace. It housed various Daoist classics and martial arts secrets accumulated over six hundred years. Normally, an outsider like Guhan would never be allowed to enter the scripture hall, and there would be all sorts of intrigue and power struggles surrounding it. Just look at the scripture hall in Jin Yong's novels about Shaolin Temple.
But now, with the entire Wudang Sect relying on Guhan, who was the only one from Yanjing City, there was no objection to Guhan, an outsider, entering the scripture hall. If Guhan hadn't refused, they would have even sent a few Daoists to guide him.
Opening the old, creaky door of the scripture hall, Guhan heard an elderly voice inside say, "Didn't I tell you little brats that I'm going to die in this scripture hall?"
Guhan detested such stubborn old men. Not only did they not want to live, but they also wanted to drag others down with them, and they thought their behavior was noble, transcending base interests!
So, he didn't plan to be polite and charged straight into the depths of the scripture hall. There, an old Daoist with completely white hair sat in a rattan chair, holding an ancient scripture from who knows when.
"You're not one of us from Wudang Sect!" The old Daoist, despite his age, had sharp eyes and immediately recognized that Guhan was not one of them. He blew his beard and sternly said, "Get out! This is not a place for outsiders like you!"
"Old man, I don't have time to waste with you..." Guhan walked forward, raised the Qingpin Sword, and planned to strike the old man's head with the flat of the blade.
Seeing the situation, the old Daoist grabbed the book in his hand and threw it at Guhan, then turned to run. Surprisingly, the old Daoist was still quite strong, despite his age.
While running, he shouted at Guhan, "You heartless beast, how dare you attack an old man like me? I'm in my seventies or eighties! Do you have any sense of morality? Get out now, and the old man will forgive you, young man. Otherwise, when the disciples of Wudang Sect arrive, you're dead!"
"But it was your disciples who asked me to bring you back!" Guhan sighed, caught up with the terrified old Daoist in a few steps, and struck his head hard. Whether this would cause any lasting effects like a concussion was not Guhan's concern; as long as he didn't kill him, it was fine.
As the old Daoist fell, his face was full of unwillingness and disbelief. Could it be that young people today no longer know the traditional Chinese virtue of respecting the elderly?
Guhan picked up the old Daoist with one hand and carried him under his arm, planning to leave the scripture hall immediately. Suddenly, he stopped because he noticed a book on the ground, a book that the old Daoist had just thrown at him, which looked very familiar!
Guhan bent down and picked up the book with his other hand. As soon as he saw the cover, he gasped in shock. The old Daoist, who was hanging under his arm, fell to the ground, hitting his head on the floor again.