Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

“I could care less about the conflicts between sects. You did indeed force Evil King to retreat from Song House. As for Sword Sect’s master, I believe that it’s an unfortunate caused by Heaven Crystal. Did you come to me to ask me to help you search for the person who stole Heaven Crystal?”

As expected of the best divine constable in the world of martial arts. Right after he met Happy, he knew the reason behind why Happy came to him. He looked around and went straight to hold the pot of wine in his arms. He turned around. “Don’t ask me about the whereabouts of Heaven Crystal. I don’t know it clearly. Even if I do, I won’t tell you. Heaven Crystal once dominated the world of martial arts. Right now, it is violent and ruthless. If it appears in the world of martial artists, it will only bring about bloodshed. Sect Master Happy, please don’t make things hard for me. Regardless of who it is, I won’t tell them Heaven Crystal’s whereabouts.”

Lu Xiaofeng did not even give Happy the chance to speak. He refused to help him search for Heaven Crystal right off the bat.

When Lu Xiaofeng walked into the mansion, Happy spoke up, and his words caused Lu Xiaofeng to freeze in his movements to close the door. “I didn’t come to you for Heaven Crystal.”

“Hmm?”

Lu Xiaofeng turned around once more in surprise. “Did you come to me for some other matter?”

Happy did not answer his question. He slowly brought a letter from his Universe Bag, opened it, and threw it into the mansion.

Slap!

Lu Xiaofeng raised his hand with a relaxed expression and used two fingers to catch the letter. He frowned slightly. With curiosity on his face, he looked at Happy, then at the letter in his hand.

“Perception Finger does indeed live up to its name.” In great boredom, Happy praised Lu Xiaofeng. In return, Lu Xiaofeng rolled his eyes at him in resignation.

“The faction master of Sword of Heavenly Lake Faction…” He opened the letter, and the frown on Lu Xiaofeng’s face slowly bled away.

“I see. So you came because something important has been stolen from Sword of Heavenly Lake Faction. The art of disguise and lightness skill? These are all important clues after a crime has been committed. There are only a handful who can do this in the world of wanderers.”

“I need to learn who it is immediately.”

Happy said in simple words, “If you need me to do anything while you’re investigating this, please tell me.”

“There are only a few in the world of wanderers who can do this. I already have an idea as to who it is. But I will need to go to the yamen[1] before I can be certain just who has disappeared for a period of time recently.” When he said this, he paused. Lu Xiaofeng then said in a troubled manner, “But I’ve already promised Brother Ximen that I would spar with him. Could you come over here tomorrow.” While he spoke, he continuously sent signals to Happy through his gaze.

Happy was absolutely confused. He had no idea just what he was doing.

At that moment, Ximen Chuixue spoke on the wall, “Hey, if you continue squeezing those four eyebrows of yours, they’re going to fall off your face. If you don’t want to spar with me, fine. Have that friend of yours fight against me. If he can win against me, we can’t skip our duel.”

“Sure!”

Lu Xiaofeng’s eyes lit up. He did not give Happy the chance to refuse and agreed to Ximen Chuixue’s deal. Then, he turned his head around and gave Happy a look.

“You heard him. That’s all I can help with. Either you fight against Ximen Chuixue for me, or come here when I’m free tomorrow.”

“…”

A normal player would most likely suffer a mental breakdown for this quest.

The idea of fighting against the Sword God was absolute madness!

But Happy had already run into all sorts of opponents.

“Alright!”

The more powerful his opponent was, the more Happy would get sparring against them.

Ximen Chuixue was also an elite at the peak of Myth Realm, but his skills with the sword was not something a normal person could compare to. Happy wanted to fight against him as well. He wanted to see whether Ximen Chuixue’s sword was peerless, or whether his array of ultimate skills was more outstanding.

“Sparring while drinking wine? Not bad.”

When he saw that the two elites had burning looks appear in their eyes, signalling how fiercely their fighting spirit raged right then, Lu Xiaofeng smiled in delight. “Anyone who fights in Beijing will incur the wrath of the imperial court, and I will have a hard time explaining things by then. I’ll search for a place for you. Brother Ximen, please don’t destroy this pot of wine.”

“Once he finished speaking, with one whoosh, Lu Xiaofeng held a pot of wine in his arms and disappeared from the spot. He was so fast that all who saw him gasped in amazement.

Ximen Chuixue watched from the wall. He looked at the pot of wine in his hands, then at Happy. Then, in resignation, he shook his head. He tapped against the wall, and immediately, he vanished from the wall.

Lu Xiaofeng’s lightness skill might be extraordinary, but Ximen Chuixue was also an elite who shocked the world with his lightness skill and sword skill. There was no way he would not be able to catch up to Lu Xiaofeng.

As for Happy, he said nothing. At the same time Ximen Chuixue vanished, his spiritual senses were locked at the spot where Ximen Chuixue next landed, and he activated Wave-like Subtle Steps.

Whoosh!

When the players around Beijing heard about this and rushed over to look, the trio were already one without a trace.

*****

News about Happy’s upcoming duel against Ximen Chuixue soon spread through Beijing. Even Wandering Know-it-all heard the news, and he put down all his work to quickly make a reading of their location.

Happy had forced Evil King to retreat and killed the master of a sect. This news had only just started spreading out. And now, all the people in the world of martial artists were making guesses. They wanted to know just how strong Happy was. Was he at the later stage of Myth Realm, or was he at the peak of Myth Realm?

This was their best chance to verify their guess.

Ximen Chuixue was a true elite at the peak of Myth Realm…

If Happy managed to fight to a tie with Ximen Chuixue, then it meant that he had the strength of someone at the peak of Myth Realm. If he could defeat Ximen Chuixue, it meant that he had the strength of those who were One with the World.

Even though Wandering Know-it-all knew that Happy was strong, every time Happy fought, he would appear to be too unfathomable, as if there was a fog of mystery around him, causing no one to be able to understand his strength fully. But they would still be unable to hold themselves back from trying to get a grasp of it just so they could know just how strong Happy was, and that included Wandering Know-it-all.

Thud!

A few copper coins rolled out of a tortoise shell and landed on an eight trigrams chart.

“… Beijing, northwest… Ximen Chuixue’s mansion.

“Damn it, it hasn’t been long enough yet for his location to be refreshed yet.

“Again.”

Wandering Know-it-all made readings in his pavilion in excitement. He continued making readings nonstop, and after a few minutes, he finally managed to pinpoint the three people’s locations.

“Ten Thousand Years Mountain?

“Could he have gone to the forbidden grounds of the palace…?” Wandering Know-it-all was shocked and scared. He frowned and mumbled to himself, “That’s not a place where a normal player could easily step into.”

“Master, is there a secret at Ten Thousand Years Mountain?” Wind Chimes had come out, and she was just in time to hear Wandering Know-it-all mumbling to himself. She could not help but have her eyes light up. “I heard that many people are searching for Happy and Wandering Know-it-all because they want to personally watch the battle and record a battle replay.”

Wandering Know-it-all shook his head. “They’re going to be disappointed. Ten Thousand Years Mountain is a forbidden place in the palace. Security is very tight there. Even the players who are palace guards are not allowed to get close to it. Only Lu Xiaofeng can bring someone in there with his golden plate. Happy is going to be the only person who can record this battle again.”

“Ah, then, is he about to get rich again?” Wind Chimes widened her eyes. “Right now, Happy has the top three most viewed pay-to-view battle replays. Ximen Chuixue is the most mysterious, most elegant, and strong elite who stands among those who are peerless. This time, the popularity of the battle replay is going to be really high as well…”

“The top three is nothing.” Wandering Know-it-all smiled wanly and slowly put away the items that he used to help him earn a living. “Next time, he might end up taking all the top ten most viewed battle replays.”

*****

In the end, no one knew the details of Happy’s fight against Ximen Chuixue at Ten Thousand Years Mountain. No one knew who had the last laugh either. Lu Xiaofeng and Ximen Chuixue did not show up again, and Wandering Know-it-all hid Happy’s whereabouts. No one was able to find him through divination. The ruckus stirred up at Beijing died down slowly as time passed. In the end, everyone went back to do what they needed to do.

*****

There were countless people who were curious about the details of Happy’s fight against Ximen Chuixue. In fact, even Phantasmal Shadow, Lin Xiao, and the others personally wrote letters to ask him of the details, wanting to learn something about it, but Happy used all sorts of reasons and gave them perfunctory answers. Only one person remained bugging him for the answer.

[Happy, you know that I walk down the path of the sword, and I’ve only come to understand twelve slashes out of the Fatal Thirteen Swords as of right now. Tell me the details of your fight or send me the battle replay. It might give me stimulation to understand the thirteen slashes.]

[There’s an easy way for you to understand the thirteenth slash. Fight against me, and I’ll tell you.]

[You know that I can’t leave Thailand right now. But if you want me to come back to China right now, I can do it. Just give the order, and I won’t stay.]

One Emperor had Happy’s weakness in his grip.

[…Then we’ll talk when you come back.]

[Then I’ll come back now.]

One Emperor used his killing move. He knew that Happy needed him to stay in Thailand to serve as a garrison right now to add pressure to Wild Wolves. At the same time, he was there to give confidence to the local forces in Thailand and Vietnam so that he could build the foundation for the alliance that would fight against Wild Wolves in the future. If he withdrew right now, it would undoubtedly mean that he would be destroying the great situation right now.

Happy answered in resignation. [Forget it. I didn’t tell you because I couldn’t bring out the battle replay. That battle isn’t meaningful in the slightest. I lost too badly, and I can’t hand out the battle replay.]

[Why?] One Emperor’s frequency in sending his messenger pigeons was very high and fast.

Happy wrote to him all that he saw and heard that day at Ten Thousand Years Mountain.

[When I was at Ten Thousand Years Mountain that day, I ran into Ye Gucheng. That guy mastered Heavenly Flying Immortal and has already reached the dao of heaven. With one move, he helped break the wall Ximen Chuixue faced in his training, and he forcefully became One with the World. Ximen Chuixue’s sword will is too terrifying. When he became One with the World, every move he made was a sword move. Marrow Cleansing Classic at first realm isn’t enough for me to go up against him. I didn’t even have the chance to fight.]

One Emperor’s speed in replying slowed down for a moment.

A few minutes later, he wrote back. His words were filled with amazement, and they were all written with bold but beautiful strokes.

[Ximen Chuixue spent ten years to understand his sword, and his sword technique has long since entered an otherworldly realm. This is his accumulation of experience after being in isolation for so many years. It’s only a natural process for him to become One with the World. And he is skilled in the dao of swords. He isn’t limited by sword techniques. He has no need to train and can directly inherit the strength of those who are One with the World. He might not be any weaker than Evil King.]

[Indeed.] Happy nodded slowly. That was indeed the case at that time.

[You’re pretty good. In just a few days, you helped Song House’s Heavenly Saber Song Que enter the dao of heaven, killed Sword Sect’s master, forced the former Sword Sect’s master, who is walking down the dao of heaven, to reappear in the world of martial artists, and indirectly helped Ximen Chuixue to enter the dao of heaven. You’re currently a machine that helps people walk down the dao of heaven.]

“Heh.”

Happy smiled faintly and replied, [I think that there will definitely be more elites who are One with the World in the future. Those at Myth Realm are gradually unable to sit still and wait for a while. New fortuitous chances are also appearing nonstop. We’ll have to have our members seize those chances properly.]

COMMENT

One Emperor replied, [That’s right. I’ve heard the news about Heaven Crystal from Wandering Know-it-all. How’s your search going? I heard that the attributes for Heaven Crystal is incredibly domineering, and it can imitate the power of those who are One with the World. Even if a normal player gets it, he will be able to fight against those at Myth Realm. It’s practically a divine item! You must get it.]

[Heaven Crystal won’t be able to escape from my clutches. I’ve already found the person who stole Heaven Crystal. I won’t be talking to you anymore. The thief seems to have noticed me.]

Happy quickly released his messenger pigeon in a small alley in Beijing and activated Wave-like Subtle Steps. He calmly flew to a nearby roof and leisurely chased after a figure who was quickly moving through the streets.