After entering the city, Yuan said to Luo Ling, "The guards mentioned that the Lord of this city is currently in a troubled situation. What's troubling him, and how can we help him?"
"Well, it's like this, Daoist Yuan. A few days ago, some ignorant adventurer went into the mountains to hunt, and he accidentally killed the Mountain Lord's child. This greatly angered the Mountain Lord, who immediately blamed our city and swore to send an army of monsters to trample us very soon."
"Mountain Lord? Is that a person or…?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"The Mountain Lord is a fearsome beast at the fifth level of the Spirit Warrior realm, and it is a guardian of sorts for the Pang Mountain that's right beside our Pang City. If it attacks our city, only my father who's also at the fifth level of the Spirit Warrior realm can fight it, but then he won't be able to protect the city against the other monsters, and we are currently lacking in manpower with around 50 guards with most of them being at the Spirit Apprentice level." Luo Ling explained the situation to him.
"This is why we are looking for any help we can get. If Daoist Yuan is willing to lend us your power, it would definitely help us a lot, and we won't spare any effort into repaying you afterward." Luo Ling said to him with her head lowered.
"Since this city needs help and the strongest threat is only at the fifth level of the Spirit Warrior realm, there's no reason why I would refuse to give you my assistance." Yuan nodded.
Now that he is at the fourth level of the Spirit Warrior realm, he shouldn't have any problems fighting even seventh level Spirit Warriors, much less a Spirit Warrior at the fifth level.
"Thank you very much, Daoist Yuan! My father will definitely be ecstatic to hear this later!" Luo Ling bowed to him again before they continued walking.
Sometime later, they arrived at a massive building that was situated in the middle of the city.
"Welcome to my family's humble home." Luo Ling said to him when they were at the front gates.
"..."
Yuan looked at the decorated building with wide eyes. How can such a place be described as 'humble'?
"Welcome back, Young Lady. Welcome to the Lord's Manor, esteemed guests." The guards by the gate greeted them when they approached.
"Where's my father?" she asked them.
"Lord Luo should be finishing up with the other guests right as we speak—"
"Oh! Esteemed guests! You are finally here!"
A middle-aged man wearing luxurious official clothes suddenly came running out of the building in the middle of the guard's sentence.
"Welcome to my humble home, esteemed guests! The guards have already briefed me about your presence. Thank you so much for taking the time to even listen to our request despite being so busy yourselves." Lord Luo extended his hands to Yuan for a handshake.
"Don't worry about it. We are not actually that busy, anyway." Yuan said as he accepted Lord Luo's handshake.
"Please, let us continue speaking inside."
Lord Luo then led them into a large guest room and said to Luo Ling, "Bring us our finest tea, and bring the other two here while you're at it."
"Yes, father." Luo Ling nodded.
"Excuse me for a moment, Daoist Yuan." She said to him before leaving the room.
"Esteemed guests, once again, allow me to thank you for coming here." Lord Luo said to them a moment later.
"Just call me Daoist Yuan, and I have heard everything about your situation from Luo Ling," Yuan said to him. "You need help defending the city, right?"
"That's right, Daoist Yuan. As shameful as it may sound, being only a fifth level Spirit Warrior, I do not have what it takes to defend the city in this dire situation. We usually don't have to worry about the beasts within the Pang Mountain because of a peace treaty between the city and the Mountain Lord, but because of what happened with the Mountain Lord's child, the treaty was broken. We had even tried to bring the perpetrator directly to the Mountain Lord, hoping it'd at least spare the innocent people in the city, but alas, the Mountain Lord was too consumed in anger to even care." Lord Luo spoke in a sighing voice.
"Daoist Yuan, the city and I will be eternally grateful even if you can help us take care of the weaker monsters, as it's the people in the city that I am the most worried about, and I will handle the Mountain Lord by myself."
«You have received a Quest»
«Quest: Protecting Pang City»
«Difficulty: Easy»
«Quest Description: Defend the Pang City against the Mountain Lord's attack»
Yuan nodded his head and said, "Okay, we'll help you defend the city."
"Thank you! Thank you very much, Daoist Yuan!"
Sometime later, Luo Ling returned to the room with a teapot and two cups along with two other individuals that appeared to be around the same age as Yuan.
"Let me introduce you to my other children, Daoist Yuan." Lord Luo pointed at the handsome young man and said, "This is my eldest son Luo Ming, who is 20 years old and at the first level Spirit Warrior."
"Hello, fellow Daoist." Luo Ming nodded at him.
Lord Luo then moved to the beautiful young lady beside him and said, "This is my youngest child, Luo Li, who is at the same age as Daoist Yuan and at the peak of the Spirit Apprentice level."
"It's a pleasure to meet someone as talented and handsome as Daoist Yuan." She gave him a graceful bow with the colors on her cheeks slightly rosy.
'Handsome…?' Yuan raised his eyebrows. This is the first time anyone's ever praised him for being handsome.
'Now that I think about it, I don't know what my appearance looks like in this game…' Yuan suddenly came to this realization, as he never really cared about his own appearance, hence why he did not give it any thoughts until now.
