Sword Among Us

Thousand-faced Human Fox reached a spot that was nearby when the Sword Sect elites surrounded the cave. He used Turtle Breathing and hid himself in the shadows of a bush while he remained still. He saw the entire process of Jian Ao being suppressed.

Even though he appeared calm, Thousand-faced Human Fox’s heart was raging nonstop like a sea during a storm. He could not calm down even after a long time had passed.

The former Sword Sect’s master, Jian Ao, was one of the best martial artists in the world of martial artists, and he was also an elite walking down the dao of heaven. If it came to one-to-one fights, he might not even lose to Evil King.

In the beginning, Thousand-faced Human Fox was worried that he would vent his anger on him once he dealt with Happy, but when he saw the scene before his eyes, Thousand-faced Human Fox no longer knew how to express the shock in his heart.

Sword Sect had used dozens of elites to form a formation, but they could not stop Happy in his footsteps, and neither were they able to stop Happy’s powerful momentum when he suppressed Jian Ao.

Happy was just a young, normal, but talented Shaolin Temple disciple who was at Inaction Realm.

Right now, Thousand-faced Human Fox had already forgotten that he had actually come here to send a private message to Happy to offer him to work together to break out of the encirclement.

Judging by what he saw, there was already no need for them to break out of the encirclement.

Sword Sect’s sword formation was not that much sturdier than a piece of tofu before Happy. There was not even a need to mention Jian Ao, he was forced to retreat since the beginning of the fight. If no Sword Sect elites had cast aside their lives to save him, Jian Ao would have already been severely injured and killed. Forget about continuing with the fight, even his confidence in staying had been buried. He fled without a trace, leaving behind dozens of Sword Sect elites’s corpses and a group of sect members fleeing helter-skelter.

Once Jian Ao left in a pathetic fashion, the Sword Sect elites left the island one after another like birds and wild beasts fleeing. The forest returned to silence once more.

Thousand-faced Human Fox laid on the ground without moving.

At that moment, he knew that the most dangerous moment had already passed. All he had to wait for now was Happy leaving with Heaven Crystal after he obtained complete victory.

What he did not expect was that faint and slow footsteps would travel into his ears, and the sound was getting closer.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Even though he was using Turtle Breathing, Thousand-faced Human Fox could still feel his heartbeat racing. He became increasingly nervous.

“How long are you going to lay there?”

The footsteps stopped for half a minute before Happy’s derisive voice rose in his ears.

Thousand-faced Human Fox’s heart shuddered, but he did not stand up immediately.

“Do you want me to bring you out myself?” Right when he said those words, a faint sword will swept toward the spot where Thousand-faced Human Fox hid.

“Don’t!”

Thousand-faced Human Fox shot out of the bush like a rabbit.

Happy had been paying attention to Thousand-faced Human Fox all this while. Right when he moved, Happy immediately shot forward to block him and shut down his escape path.

Thousand-faced Human Fox cried out, “Sect Master Happy, we’ve never formed any grudges between us, and we never caused any resentment between each other recently.”

The strength Happy displayed just now had shocked him. Besides, he currently did not have any bargaining chip that he could use to bargain with Happy. There was no way he would dare to talk to Happy as he previously did.

“When you left Sword of Heavenly Lake Factio, did you steal an important item from the faction?”

Thousand-faced Human Fox’s eyes lit up. Then, in a very cunning manner, he looked away.

Happy could immediately tell that he was thinking about bargaining again, and he did not give him the chance to build his confidence. He stared into his eyes and said indifferently, “You don’t have to feel troubled. I have Heaven Crystal with me, and even if I don’t have the treasure from Sword of Heavenly Lake Faction, it doesn’t matter to me.”

As he spoke, he swung Heaven Crystal while it was still exuding that bone-chilling cold.

“Don’t! It’s this one!”

Thousand-faced Human Fox’s lips twitched. He stared at the sharp tip of the sword and was nearly scared out of his wits. Then, as if he was performing magic, an item that Happy was familiar with appeared on his palm.

The faction master plate for Sword of Heavenly Lake Faction?

Happy narrowed his eyes. He cast Thousand-faced Human Fox a glance in surprise.

He was naturally familiar with this item. In the past, the faction master gave him the item when he was in Gusu City, but it was a fake.

But because of that quest, Happy obtained the real token for Sword of Heavenly Lake Faction, which was the faction master plate. With his photographic memory, he could naturally tell whether the item Thousand-faced Human Fox held was real.

But what caused Happy to be puzzled was that the faction master plate was an item Qing Xue kept by her side. How did Thousand-faced Human Fox obtain it?

Immediately, Happy’s view of Thousand-faced Human Fox’s abilities increased exponentially.

However, Thousand-faced Human Fox did not know this. He was currently feeling very uneasy, worried that Happy would break his promise and kill him after he obtained the item. He stared at Happy with a terrified look while he curried favor with him.

“While I was serving as a spy in Sword of Heavenly Lake Faction, I saw the faction master take this plate out when she was alone. Since the material used for this item is very unique, I thought that it was definitely something good, so I stole it. If you like it, you can take it, Sect Master Happy.”

Happy did not hold back and took it. He sensed the warmth and the familiar touch from the faction master plate. He cast Thousand-faced Human Fox an indifferent glance.

“Is that all?”

But when Thousand-faced Human Fox heard his cool tone, his mind interpreted the words, and they were not as calm as they were meant to be. He thought that Happy was not pleased, and he was terrified. He quickly answered, “That’s all. Even if I lie to others, I wouldn’t dare lie to you, Sect Master Happy…”

‘Ha, he sure is skilled in brown nosing.’

While Happy giggled in his heart, he refused to show mercy to Thousand-faced Human Fox and said, “Oh? Didn’t you say that you were Chu Liuxiang before this?”

“…Urk.”

Thousand-faced Human Fox was rendered speechless because of Happy’s words, and his face turned pale. He stuttered and was unable to speak. So he settled on staring at Happy awkwardly. “Sect Master Happy, please be magnanimous.”

At that moment, Happy had already received a notification from the system. It told him that he obtained Heaven Crystal and the treasure of Sword of Heavenly Lake Faction, and he finished his quest.

But Thousand-faced Human Fox did not leave. It caused Happy to be surprised, and he was also a little tempted. His mind raced, and he instantly came to the conclusion that he should be able to gain some benefits from this top-class thief.

He deserved to be condemned if he did not take advantage of something that was delivered to his doorstep!

When he came to understand this, Happy instantly calmed down.

“You stole Heaven Crystal and even set up a treap to ambush me. I shouldn’t let this be resolved so easily with just a single word from you, right?”

Happy said faintly while he stared at Thousand-faced Human Fox.

The thief smiled bitterly, “Sect Master Happy, how can I convince you to spare me? Why don’t you just tell me straight off?” After all, he had just witnessed a martial artist walking down the dao of heaven nearly being killed by Happy, and he was incredibly humble. His tone was filled with an acceptance of his fate and dispirited resignation.

“I want to learn your thieving skills and lightness skill.” Happy came up with an idea.

Since Thousand-faced Human Fox could obtain an important treasure like the faction master plate from a faction master who was at the peak of Myth Realm, it proved that his thieving skills were great, and he could be considered to be the best in the world.

As for his lightness skill, its speed was even faster than Wave-like Subtle Skill. While it could not be used in battle, he could use it to create a batch of top-class players in Lovely Land.

Happy said, “Well? As long as you give me the manuals for your thieving skills and lightness skill, we’ll be considered even.”

Thousand-faced Human Fox’s life might be in Happy’s hands, but when he heard Happy’s requests, his expression turned livid with rage, and he nearly went berserk.

“No!”

His shrill voice tore through the night sky.

Flap flap flap…

It shocked countless birds who returned to their nests to sleep.

Thousand-faced Human Fox quickly realized that his reaction had been too extreme when he saw Happy’s dark expression. His expression changed, and his tone quickly softened. “Sect Master Happy, Theft Sect relies on our thieving skill and lightness skill to wander through the world. Unless we see someone worthy of our legacy, we are not allowed to give our thieving skills and lightness skill to others. If you insist on obtaining my lightness skill and thieving skills, I’d rather you kill me now.”

Happy frowned, feeling gloomy.

Legacies were indeed things that could not be obtained easily.

He was already prepared to be rejected, but he did not expect that he would not be able to get neither the thieving skills nor the lightness skill.

“Then, what can you give me?”

Of course, Happy would not kill Thousand-faced Human Fox because he was angry. Instead, he pretended to be displeased and asked, “But the only items on you that I fancy are your thieving skills and lightness skill…”

“I have the treasures of the seven major sects…”

When he was halfway through his speech, Thousand-faced Human Fox suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed. He cast Happy a glance, and his subsequent words died in his mouth.

Happy naturally understood why Thousand-faced Human Fox suddenly fell quiet. He said faintly, “Looks like you have nothing else about you that is worth my attention aside from the treasures from the seven major sects…”

“…I do have.”

Thousand-faced Human Fox detected faint traces of killing intent from Happy’s words. He gulped and quickly said, “Aside from the treasures of the seven major sects, I’ve discovered some ruins before, and I also obtained some pretty decent divine weapons and martial art manuals.” He paused for a moment and hesitated before he looked at Happy with an awkward look on his face. “Of course, these things might not be worthwhile in your eyes… I have more!”

When he saw that Happy was beginning to grow impatient, Thousand-faced Human Fox quickly said, “I have the secrets of some ruins in my hands…”

“I’m not interested in adventures. I want tangible items.”

Happy’s words destroyed Thousand-faced Human Fox’s hopes.

A bitter look appeared on his face, and he looked incredibly anxious.

Happy had Heaven Crystal, and no other divine weapon could possibly interest him. He also had ultimate techniques like Sun Finger and Wave-like Subtle Steps. Normal martial arts would not interest him. If he set aside the treasures from the seven major sects which would definitely be a major load of karma if he had them, Thousand-faced Human Fox honestly could not think of anything that he could give to Happy.

But Happy was not urging Thousand-faced Human Fox to hurry up.

Since the system did not give any notification, he was willing to let Thousand-faced Human Fox rack his brains for something to offer him. He could use the chance to get more information and choices from the thief.

After around half an hour, Happy finally obtained a few decent choices from Thousand-faced Human Fox.

One of them was the treasures from the seven major sects!

For example, Beggar’s Sect’s Dog Beating Staff Technique and Emei Sect’s Heaven Sword…

His other choice was the martial art manuals Thousand-faced Human Fox found in ruins over the years, along with a few decent peerless martial arts.

The last was for Thousand-faced Human Fox to be Happy’s follower for half a year. During that half a year, Thousand-faced Human Fox was to be beside Happy wherever he was. But to protect his reputation, Thousand-faced Human Fox would constantly wear a human skin mask.

The price Happy needed to pay was that he needed to give Thousand-faced Human Fox five hundred thousand taels of silver to hire the thief.

Happy was perhaps the first to be able to have a thief who was at the later stage of Myth Realm as his follower. Happy noticed the value in this, and without hesitation, he chose the last option. He would have Thousand-faced Human Fox stay beside him, hide his identity, and serve as his follower for half a year!