8 Golden Mountain, here I come!

Well, the next day was really hectic! We were selling things like crazy since the market price of jewellery was high on the charts. Once we sold all of that,we had to move towards the passport office, because believe it or not, there's a passport service in this game! Crazy, right? Well, maybe not. It helps in smooth transit after all. So, there's that. Since Golden Mountain was pretty far, I had to take a passport or else I'd be in trouble. However, the process was much simpler compared to the one Earth had… that's an advantage.

Anyway, after that, I headed towards a really obscure seller from whom I used to buy stuff when I used to play the game. The old man in there gave insane discounts to stuff that it felt idiotic to buy essentials from somewhere else. The people who followed me, that is, my father and the servant, were confused about my pick. However, I wasn't gonna waste a huge amount of money on Qi pills and talismans when I get top class stuff here.

The coin system here allowed me to buy a shitload of talismans and Qi pills with just tenfold coins. Or maybe it's just that I bought it from this seller. Anyway, I had about sixty gold left. Since I didn't want this amount of money since that would make me a moving target for all sorts of greedy people, I decided to give about thirty gold to my father and kept the rest of the thirty for the journey. However, father refused for some reason. I had no choice then. So, instead I made a deal with the old seller where I would give him thirty gold and he would sell me Qi pills worth that amount. Well, I could've bought the talismans as well, however, if my Qi center is fixed, I might not be using talismans. Instead, by stockpiling Qi pills, it would help me in my cultivation later. Even though nothing is concrete as of right now, I was pretty confident that I would be able to find a cure for my broken Qi center in the Golden Mountain.

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So, after I received all the stuff that I needed, I didn't waste any time lingering around my household. I exited the house on the very next day. It was a really emotional moment, I guess? Like, they were crying. Father was asking the servant to protect me no matter what. Mother was bidding me adieu with a teary face. Meanwhile, Ao was tugging by my dress asking me not to go. When I insisted on going, Ao asked whether he could come. I gave out a stern no . The child acted maturely after that and bid me farewell with a straight face. I hope the kid doesn't cry a river full of tears after I leave the premises.

Although this was the case of my family members, the servant was literally annoyed as he stood beside me. He didn't want to embark on this journey and I didn't blame him. I wouldn't have traveled with Hua Liu as well. However, I sure did hope that he'll stay by me at least until I reach near the Golden Mountain, because that would kinda give me a sense of security since he looks leagues stronger than me. And thus, I started my journey; the journey towards the Golden Mountain; the journey to fix my Qi center… myself.

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A month passed after I began my "life changing" journey. Up until now, nothing particular happened. There weren't any bandits there to steal my stuff; I didn't have to sleep in the open; the inns I slept in were really great… It was a pretty awesome journey overall. Not much of an eventful and adventurous journey, but it was peaceful and soothing. I'd rather have peace than getting troubled every other moment. And that's exactly why I wanted to stay away from the main plot of the game.

Anyway, although I had all these high times on my journey, the fact that I had to share these peaceful moments with a grumpy dude who hates me was sad. I wanted to send him away several times however I was afraid that I'll lose this peaceful atmosphere if I sent him back.

But finally! I can finally send the guy away from me, back to home! After the month-long journey, we had finally reached the entry point of the Golden Mountain. From this point started the trials for Zhangsun Shan and Qiu Si. So, I didn't want him following me there. I was sure that I could handle everything with my talismans and hence I felt that this guy would be a dead weight if I'm to enter the place. Well, even though that kinda sounded stupid in retrospect, I also had another reason-greed. I didn't know how greedy this guy was! Even though we spent a month together, the guy never opened up. So, I couldn't trust him. He could easily backstab me just like what would happen with the mercenaries. Therefore, I decided to let him go.

"Hey!" I called him out.

"What is it?" He looked annoyed because I called out for him.

I wanted to blast out on him for his annoyed expression, but I didn't want to cause a fight between us, because I was sure to lose. So, instead I tried the calm route. "Look, I know you wholeheartedly hate me. So, take this. Ten gold coins. Go back or go somewhere and free yourself from the parasite that is me. You deserve it!" I patted his shoulders to increase his hatred towards me.

"I have a job to protect my lady. However, if it's an order…" He looked towards me, expecting my answer.

"Yea, it's an order! Take the money and go away to wherever you want!" I ordered. Well, it was more like telling the words that he wanted to hear, but I don't want to fuzz over such minute details.

The servant sighed. "Well, since it's a direct order from the lady, I can't do anything but obey it. I'll be off then!" He took the money away from me and pranced off to the sunset. Although his obvious act irked me, I was mostly relieved. He was someone that guarded me all the way up until here. So, this was more of a thankful gesture towards him for protecting me. I didn't want him to bust his ass trying to protect me… this is my fight!

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I've been walking through the forest of darkness for a few good minutes now and I observed something peculiar. There were no monsters. Like literally no one pranced at me or chased me. This was totally different from what happened in the DLC. This was concerning. The fact that there aren't any monsters only meant one thing. I came in at a wrong time frame. There's still plenty of time for the DLC events to occur. So, there's a chance that the monsters relocated to here in between now and the DLC period. That means there's a great chance that there's nothing in the Golden Mountain as of right now. And that in turn means that this whole journey was for literally nothing.

However, I couldn't give up just yet! There were still four stages and there's a chance that the monsters gathered in one place or something.

…

I passed through all the stages with literally no effort. Well, if you don't consider me walking, that is. And with each passing stage, my concern grew more and more. I was afraid; afraid that the entire journey turned into a giant waste; afraid of death, basically. However, since I already reached the destination, I didn't think it would be much of a harm if I'm to enter the cave. After all, I have to confirm the contents in the cave with my own eyes. You know, maybe it's just the monsters that took coming here. Maybe, whatever is in there has been there for a long time. Who knows?

Anyway, with that thought, I walked towards the cave.

"MY LADY!" Someone cried from the behind and grabbed my hand. It was the servant.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him. I clearly didn't want him here. However, it would make sense though. If he followed me, he might've encountered the monsters and saved me throughout the way. However, that wouldn't make sense, because the monsters attacked Ziangsun Shan even with Qiu Si fighting for him.

"My lady! What are YOU doing here? Well, you can answer me later. For now, let's just escape!" He grabbed me by my hand and pulled me.

However, I swatted his hand. "And why would I do that?" I asked.

At that moment, he looked at me strangely. "Are you kidding me? Can't you see the whole horde of monsters that's surrounding this area?" He asked as he pointed towards one monster. However, I couldn't see anything.

"Where?" I asked.

"What the hell? Can't you see one right here?" He pointed right before me and yet I couldn't see anything.

And that's when I realized it. I had no choice but to laugh out loud. Although, the servant looked at me like I was crazy, I couldn't just hold in my laughter. After all, what he was seeing was a damn illusion!

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