Only a handful of players take the game seriously.
For example, this player with the ID Xianyun (ps: hehe, it’s not too much for the author to give herself a character, right?).
Although only level fourteen, she already knows the background information about the Tianxiang Sect.
That alone makes her far better informed than most Tianxiang players.
“Chong Chong, go call those people outside in to start the quest.”
“Huh? What if they don’t come in?”
“No problem. Whether they come or not is up to them.”
“Alright then.”
Watching Chong Chong lift the white cloth curtain and leave, Chen Xiaoyan clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
He loudly said, “You should have triggered the ‘Rescue the People for Reputation’ quest, right?”
“Yes. What use is this reputation, big sister?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m certain it will be useful later on.”
“Boss, I have a question. The quest says to rescue the civilians, and civilians are NPCs. Can players actually heal NPCs?”
“Can’t be, I’ve never seen any game where players affect NPCs.”
“Have you ever played a full-immersion online game before coming to the Immortal Realm?”
“Uh… no.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Chen Xiaoyan smiled as he glanced at the female player named Xianyun, clearly very satisfied with her.
“Xianyun is right. Full-immersion online games are different from traditional ones; players can indeed heal NPCs.”
“Really? That’s amazing!”
“Immortal Realm! yysd”
“Big sister, are you sure players can heal NPCs?”
“Yeah, I tried before and thought it didn’t work.”
Facing their doubts, Chen Xiaoyan smiled and patiently explained, “That’s just because you didn’t use the right method.”
At that moment, Chong Chong pulled aside the white cloth and walked in, followed by several Tianxiang players.
They covered their noses and mouths, eyes full of disgust.
“Xiaoyan sister, some others have stopped doing the quest, saying they can’t stand it.”
“Hm.”
Chen Xiaoyan nodded, ignoring those people.
Though they were from the same sect, they were strangers, so they could come or go as they pleased.
“Chong Chong treated NPCs with me a few days ago; you can ask her.”
A group of Tianxiang players gathered around Chong Chong, bombarding her with questions.
“Chong Chong, can players really heal NPCs?”
Chong Chong was initially confused, but the moment she heard “sister,” she perked up and immediately nodded, replying, “Yes, we can.”
“Can you tell us how?”
“Um…”
Chong Chong looked at Chen Xiaoyan, silently asking for permission.
“It won’t be a secret for long anyway, so just tell them.”
Hearing that, Chong Chong relaxed and shared the method with them.
“Amazing! You can pull NPCs into the party without occupying a slot.”
“I think I have a good idea.”
“Tell us!”
“We can pull NPCs into the party to farm monsters. Just don’t know if NPCs can enter dungeons.”
“Boom~”
That comment immediately caught Chen Xiaoyan’s attention.
“Wow, sister, you’re a genius! Too bad it’s not very realistic. Even if our Tianxiang Sect is understanding, our gentle Deputy Sect Leader Shen wouldn’t follow disciples to farm monsters.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t even think about it. Even if Shen agrees, who knows if the NPC would get any experience from killing monsters?”
“Sigh, it’s complicated.”
At this moment, only one thought occupied Chen Xiaoyan’s mind: NPCs farming monsters together.
Hong Anwu and a group of lightly injured soldiers waited quietly on the side.
They noticed the Tianxiang fairies were discussing something important.
They felt anxious but didn’t dare to interrupt.
If NPCs really could enter dungeons with parties, then their advantage would vanish entirely.
But is that even possible?
Chen Xiaoyan didn’t dwell on it.
Thinking wouldn’t help; better to try it out with Shen Qingqing first.
For now, finishing the quest took priority.
“All right, we’ll talk about the other stuff later. Our main task now is healing the NPCs. Everyone, start following Chong Chong’s instructions.”
“Gogo!”
At Chen Xiaoyan’s command, the Tianxiang players moved toward the lightly injured soldiers.
After some persuasion, they gained consent and began healing.
“Spring Breeze Draw”
“Healing Technique”
“Wonderful Hands Renewing Spring”
Within just a few minutes, over a hundred lightly injured soldiers had fully recovered.
Including the ten nearly dead followers of Hong Anwu.
Except for a few who never woke up.
Chen Xiaoyan could do nothing about those; they were left to their fate.
“Thank you, Tianxiang fairies, for saving our lives.”
“The fairy’s magic is incredible; my wounds healed in just a few breaths.”
“Luckily the fairy was here; otherwise, I might have lost this hand.”
Seeing the civilians’ admiring and respectful gazes, the Tianxiang players felt a surge of accomplishment—fulfilling their vanity, gaining achievement, and earning reputation rewards all at once.
It was a perfect win-win-win.
So before Chen Xiaoyan could say anything, they rushed into the infirmary to treat the severely injured.
“Wow, these little b*tches! Sister Xiaoyan, we better hurry or the reputation will be gone.”
Chong Chong anxiously pulled Chen Xiaoyan along.
But in front of the NPCs, the Tianxiang players’ eagerness to protect the civilians made their sect’s reputation skyrocket in their eyes.
Not even the Emperor of the Great Song could top that.
Inside the temporary infirmary, the situation was worse than expected—five to six thousand severely injured, with hundreds on the brink of death.
More wounded kept arriving.
Most were civilians attacked by strange creatures and beasts, but there were also soldiers defending the county town.
“Save those about to die first,” Chen Xiaoyan ordered.
“Got it.”
One hour…
Two hours…
Thanks to the efforts of a hundred Tianxiang players, the number of wounded rapidly dropped from thousands to a few hundred.
It was estimated that in just over twenty minutes, the infirmary would be cleared.
Unfortunately, over three hundred wounded died—mostly those who never woke up and others who succumbed to their injuries before Tianxiang players could treat them.
At first, the Tianxiang players were motivated by reputation and vanity, but as time passed, their hearts softened.
Seeing the NPCs die under their care, they felt sorrow and pain.
“If we were faster, many wouldn’t have died.”
“Sigh, this game really makes me emo.”
“Wahhh, the game’s so realistic, I even cried.”
“I wish there were more Tianxiang players.”
“Hmph, some outside still refuse to come in. If they helped, we’d definitely save more lives.”
“This is infuriating.”
In the courtyard, in front of hundreds of corpses, the Tianxiang players were deeply saddened.
Several with low emotional thresholds even burst into tears.
“Fairy, fairies.”
Those civilians healed by the Tianxiang players came over on their own.
“Fairies, don’t grieve. This is fate. You’ve already done so much.”
“Yes, without the Tianxiang fairies’ magic, we wouldn’t have survived.”
“Sister Fairy, don’t cry. You saved Abu’s parents and are Abu’s benefactors. If you cry, Abu will be sad too.”
A five-year-old child walked up to the crying Tianxiang players and handed them a handkerchief, his innocent, tear-filled eyes red as if about to cry himself.
“Wuwu~ this little brother is so adorable.”
“Alright, sisters won’t cry anymore.”
“Thank you for the handkerchief, little brother.”
They took the handkerchief and forced a smile, gently rubbing the child’s head.
Though the handkerchief was a bit dirty, their emotions overwhelmed them, and they no longer cared.
Women are all creatures of feeling.