"Father! Are you okay?!" Luo Ling went straight to her father's room where he was being treated after returning home.
"Ling'er… why are you here…? What happened to defending the city? What about the Mountain Lord…?" Lord Luo asked them with an anxious face while laying on the bed with bloodied bandages all over his body.
"Please calm down and listen to me, father! Everything has been resolved by Daoist Yuan! He not only defended the city gates from the invasion but even defeated the Mountain Lord by himself! The city is safe!" Luo Ling explained the situation to him with a bright face.
"W-What?! Is that true? Our Pang City is no longer in danger?!" Lord Luo's eyes flickered with emotions after hearing the news.
"Yes, father. It's all true, so you can rest and focus on healing your injuries." Luo Ling said to him.
"I-I don't know what to say, Daoist Yuan… I really don't know how to thank you for your contribution… If not for my condition, I would even kowtow to you right now…" Lord Luo said to him with a grateful expression.
"Your feelings are more than enough," Yuan said with a smile.
"No, that cannot do! I must thank you properly!"
An idea suddenly flashed inside his head, and he quickly said, "I know! You can have my daughter! And if Luo Li alone is not good enough for you, I can also give you Luo Ling here! And if you don't want to make them your wife, they can be your concubines!"
"Uh…"
Yuan looked at Lord Luo with a baffled expression, but before he could even respond, Lord Luo looked at Luo Ling and asked her, "What do you think, Ling'er? Are you willing to serve Daoist Yuan even as a concubine? You probably won't find someone like him again."
"Wait a…"
And as Yuan opened his mouth, Luo Ling bashfully nodded her head with a rosy face.
"I am willing," she mumbled in a low but clear voice.
The door opened a second later and the rest of the Luo Family entered the room.
"Father! How are your injuries?!" Luo Ming asked him without having a single clue as to what kind of situation he'd just walked into.
"Father!" Luo Li also approached the bed with a worried expression on her face.
However, instead of telling them that he was okay to calm them down, Lord Luo instead looked at Luo Li and said to her, "Li'er! I have already heard about the situation from Ling'er, and I am thinking about giving your hand and Ling'er's to Daoist Yuan for saving our city, and your elder sister has already agreed to become his concubine."
"Eh?! What?!" Luo Li immediately looked at Luo Ling with a shocked face.
"I'm sorry, little sister. I know that you already have feelings for Daoist Yuan, but I have also fallen for him…"
"Elder sister…" Luo Li looked at her with a perplexed feeling in her heart.
However, in the midst of their conversation, Yuan loudly cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me. I am flattered by your feelings, but I have already said that I am too young to marry, much less two of you."
"That's fine, Daoist Yuan! If you want to marry them in a few years, they can wait for you! I can also assure you that they have never been in a relationship before, so they are still maidens!" Lord Luo quickly said, clearly adamant about giving his daughters to him as a reward for saving the city.
"T-That's not what I am trying to say—"
"Are we not good enough for you, Daoist Yuan…?" Luo Ling suddenly asked him with a disheartened expression.
"Eh? I never said that…" Yuan quickly shook his head, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the situation as he has never been in this kind of situation before.
"If Daoist Yuan does not feel comfortable with us now, we are willing to wait until you are ready to accept us however long that might take… even if it's only as your concubines." Luo Li said to him a moment later.
Yuan was speechless. Why do they want to be with him so much? Or are they programmed to like whoever saves the city?
'What the heck even is a concubine?!' Yuan cried inwardly.
While Yuan was pondering in silence, Xiao Hua spoke in a calm voice, "Brother Yuan is destined to become a great figure who will rule the cultivation world in future, and there will be no lack of women who will want to be with him. Xiao Hua won't speak of your qualifications, but it won't be long before Brother Yuan challenges the Stairway to Heaven, and once that happens, who knows if you'll still be alive by the time he returns here."
"What?! Daoist Yuan is going to challenge the Stairway to Heaven?!"
Everyone in the room was shocked to hear Xiao Hua's words, but Yuan couldn't understand why. What even is this Stairway to Heaven?
"So we are underestimating Daoist Yuan even now… To think he'd be brave enough to participate in the Stairway to Heaven…" Luo Ming said with an awkward smile.
"If Daoist Yuan really plans on climbing the Stairway to Heaven, we will only become a burden for you. I'm sorry, Daoist Yuan, but you can forget about our conversation just now." Luo Ling released a deep sigh.
However, Luo Li's gaze remained resolved, and she said, "Daoist Yuan… If you still remember me by the time your adventure ends, please do visit this place again. I will wait for you until my last breath."
"..."
Seeing the sincere emotions in her gaze, Yuan couldn't help but nod his head.
"Although I don't know what will happen in the future, I definitely won't forget about you or my experience in this place," Yuan said with an innocent smile. "The next time we meet, let's eat together again, okay?"
"Un! It's a promise, Daoist… No, Brother Yuan!" Luo Li nodded with slightly teary eyes.
"Don't forget about me neither, okay?" Luo Ling also said to him.
"I won't," he nodded still with a smile on his face.
«Congratulations! Because of your massive contributions during 'Mountain Lord's Invasion', you have been awarded the unique title 'Pang City's Hero'!»
«Pang City's Hero»
«Description: Bearing the title of Hero, your reputation within Pang City will always be at the maximum, and your overall cultivation speed will increase by 10%»
«'Luo Li' has been added to your Bond!»
«Luo Li's Bond level has increased to Acquaintance!»
«Luo Li's Bond level has increased to Friend!»
«Luo Li's Bond level has increased to Intimate!»
«Congratulations! Your Bond level with Luo Li has reached Intimate!»
«You have gained the following effect from Luo Li's Bond level: 'Luo Li's Adoration'»
«Luo Li's Adoration: Increases your Charm by 10 and Overall Damage by 15%.»
«Charm: Increases your overall attractiveness»
«Overall Damage: All of the damage you inflict to others will feel more painful»
«'Luo Ling' has been added to your Bond!»
«Luo Ling's Bond level has increased to Acquaintance!»
«Luo Ling's Bond level has increased to Friend!»
«Luo Ling's Bond level has increased to Intimate!»
«You have gained the following effect from Luo Ling's Bond level: 'Luo Ling's Adoration'
«Luo Ling's Adoration: Increases your Charm by 20 and Luck by 10.»
«Luck: Increases the chances of monsters dropping their monster cores»
«'Pang City' has been added to your Associations!»
«Because of your heroic actions that saved the city, your relationship with 'Pang City' has increased significantly!»
«Because of your bond level with 'Luo Li', daughter of 'Luo Family', your relationship with Pang City has increased significantly!»
«Because of your bond level with 'Luo Ling', daughter of 'Luo Family', your relationship with Pang City has increased significantly!»
«Due to your actions at 'Pang City', your Fame has increased by 50!»
«Your relationship with Pang City has reached the maximum level!»
«Due to your relationship with Pang City, all monsters within a 1,000-mile radius from Pang City will drop their monster cores twice as often!»
Once the barrage of notifications had stopped for Yuan, he said to the Luo Family, "I will stay in this city for one more day just in case the monsters return."
"Please! You can stay here as long as you want! I wouldn't even mind if you lived here forever!" Lord Luo laughed loudly despite the pain in his body.
"By the way, I will properly award you for helping us once the preparations are complete." Lord Luo then said to him.
"You really don't have to…"
"There's no need to be humble. You are already like family to us, anyway! And you can just think of it as an early wedding gift or something like that! Hahaha!" Lord Luo laughed again.
*Cough*
"Fuck! That hurts!" Lord Luo cursed in a painful voice after laughing too hard.
"Get some rest already, father. We will take care of everything for you." Luo Ling said to him.
"Thank you…" he mumbled before falling asleep a few moments later.
"You can rest in your room, Brother Yuan. If you need anything, just let me know and I will do my best to assist you." Luo Li said to him with rosy cheeks before she quickly walked towards the door.
"See ya later, Brother Yuan!" Luo Ming casually waved at him.
Once Luo Li and Luo Ming left the room, Luo Ling approached his ears and whispered to him, "If my sister is not enough for you, you can call for me afterward."
She winked at him in a seductive manner before leaving the room, completely unaware that Yuan was too innocent to understand the meaning behind her words.