Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

Aside from the sects, forces of power, and guilds that had been chasing after fame paying close attention to Happy’s actions in Zhengzhou, there was also a small group of people who had been very attentive and worried about his situation.

Among them were numerous students from the University of South China.

South China Martial Arts Ranking Board would deliver many of the events that happened in the game to its members in a timely manner. Since Happy, who was a student of the University of South China, had managed to enter the Famous People Ranking Board on the World of Martial Arts Secret News Log, it was only natural that he could not escape from everyone’s sight!

Even though many people criticized Happy for retaining his mysteriousness and not revealing his real identity, they felt very proud when a university mate of theirs was so successful in the game.

It was especially so when they learned that Happy had snatched a brocade box that all the players dreamed of getting in the game, and he had even toyed around with a large group of martial artists with his intellect and resourcefulness. Because of it, they held great admiration for him.

They also became even more curious about Happy’s real identity.

This was especially the case for Phoenix Dances in Beautiful Robes, who was the master of Beautiful Robes faction. When she remembered that their nameless faction would have such a powerful player join them, she became even more confident when she organized the various internal matters within the sect.

“Sister Phoenix Dances, I’d like to ask you something.”

“Hmm?”

“When do you think Happy will join us?” The pleasant voice paused for a moment before adding more words in anger. “The sects in the city are still suppressing us. Hmph, I really can’t wait for Happy to join us. At that time, I’d like to see whether the others will still dare to assume airs in front of us. Hmph!”

The person who spoke was another swordswoman from the University of South China, Glutinous Rice, who had become pretty close with Phoenix Dances with Beautiful Robes!

Glutinous Rice had some freckles on her face, which made her especially similar to the girl-next-door who looked pretty and was quiet. She was very adorable, and at that moment, her face was full of excitement and anticipation as she grumbled.

The anger that made her gnash her teeth at Happy during the martial arts tournament could no longer be found. It was a transformation that had occurred when Happy had stunned Orochimaru while being below the stage.

Even Phoenix Dances in Beautiful Robes had teased her for a period of time and asked her whether love had been born of her hate toward Happy.

Of course, when Glutinous Rice heard this, she had cursed Happy in a show of good cooperation. She degraded him until he was worth nothing, as if she was worried that others would mistake her for being fond of him.

Just like usual, Phoenix Dances in Beautiful Robes sucked in a deep breath after hearing her words. She seemed to be slightly absent-minded.

“Who knows? He is far too good at keeping secrets. I asked different girls from different majors, and there is no one who uses Happy as their QQ ID, MSN ID, or ID in the forums. The Three Lonely Wolves won’t tell me about it either, for some reason.”

When she said it, she could not help the enraged expression that came onto her face.

No matter what, she was still a popular figure in the University of South China. Forget the students, even the lecturers never rejected any of her requests, but when it came to those people, she had run into a brick wall. She did not know why she was so unlucky when it came to them.

When she saw the change in Phoenix Dances, Glutinous Rice’s lively black eyes sparkled. A thought struck at that moment, and she reminded Phoenix Dances quietly, “I heard that two new people have been added to the group of developers for South China Martial Arts Ranking Board…”

“I know.” Phoenix Dances nodded. “One of them is the Three Lonely Wolves’ dormmate, a nerd who’s really good at studying. The other one is the princess of the Computer Engineering Department, Xu Xin.”

“Chen Kaixin, his given name sounds identical to the Chinese characters for Happy, you know?” Glutinous Rice stared at Phoenix Dances to observe her reaction.

“That nerd?” Phoenix Dances could not help but laugh while shaking her head. “Impossible.”

“Why?”

“In truth, the people from the Computer Engineering Department suspected him far earlier than we did, but according to the words of his coursemates, ever since Chen Kaixin joined the university, he has never played any games and only knows how to study. He’s really good at it, but people who don’t have any experience in VR games like him won’t be able to reach Happy’s level.”

“But he…” Glutinous Rice still wanted to say something.

Phoenix Dances seemed to know what she wanted to say, so she smiled at her. “He seems to have taken a holiday because of Xu Xin. Right now, he’s very close to her, so it’s impossible for him to let go of this chance and play a game instead. Anyway, it’s impossible for that nerd to be the Happy in the game! Regardless of his appearance, temperament, or anything else, they don’t match at all!”

“Oh.” Glutinous Rice nodded quietly, but she did not quite agree with Phoenix Dances’ argument. She remembered that Happy’s appearance had overlapped slightly with that nerd’s during the few times she saw him in the cafeteria.

However, when Phoenix Dances said those things, it truly did not seem quite possible for Chen Kaixin to be Happy.

A nerd who only knew how to study every single day and did not touch games at all… was indeed very nerdy. It should be impossible for such a person to become so successful in the game in such a short period of time. Happy was practically the most powerful player of their generation!

“By the way, Glutinous Rice, when you go back, try to make the best use of your time and reach the seventh realm with your Flowing Cloud Swords. You and Tea Words are the only ones with high-tier martial arts in Phoenix Dances Faction right now. You have to try hard and push your realm up as quickly as possible.”

She paused for a moment and looked a bit dazed.

“When Happy joins Beautiful Robes Faction, we will definitely need to fight against some of the powerful forces that are Happy’s enemies. It’s impossible for us to only rely on him!”

“Okay!” The mischievous look on Glutinous Rice’s face faded away, and she nodded vigorously.

*****

There was also a small group of people aside from the people in the University of South China who paid attention to Happy’s situation and were worried about him.

It was Red Coral, who was saved by Happy in the ancient tomb outside Yangzhou City some time ago, and Black Rose Clan, who provided her support.

That small clan had yet to form a sect. They did not have a headquarters to call their own, and they only referred to themselves as the Black Rose Clan.

After the incident in the ancient tomb, they had continuously gathered information and data about Happy.

Ever since they learned that he had shifted his battlegrounds to Mount Song and performed several feats that shook the entire world of martial artists, Black Rose, the leader of Black Rose Clan, trusted Red Coral’s judgment more than ever, and she also grew to admire her even more.

Even though Class One Hall’s defeat was not very famous, Black Rose knew the power and cautiousness of those people, since they were a professional gaming guild. They were definitely not as what the others said. The defeat they suffered at Happy’s hands was not only because he relied on the natural defense provided by the Iron Chain Bridge.

Without relative power, no one could easily defeat Class One Hall’s combat squad. Its people were all powerful players who had high-tier martial arts.

Happy’s feats made Black Rose even more supportive of Red Coral’s suggestion.

If they could just get such a player on their side.

Black Rose and Red Coral took the time to meet each other in a restaurant within a city to discuss how they should contact Happy.

“Coral, Happy will be targeted by a few factions at the same time, and he will be in danger! Why don’t we send him a messenger pigeon and work with him in the dark?”

There was a light crease between Red Coral’s beautiful eyebrows. She was drawing something on a piece of paper on the table, though she stopped occasionally. When she heard her friend’s words, she shook her head.

“No need to hurry. If we try to curry his favor out of the blue, we’ll make it seem as if we have ulterior motives.”

“It’s still not the time for us to seek him?”

With a puzzled gaze, Black Rose cast a glance at the map in Red Coral’s hands. Red Coral had placed a few red marks on it, which meant Happy’s location every time she had investigated his whereabouts.

“Two hours ago, his escape route started to become chaotic. He moves erratically from the east to the west. If this continues… he might be surrounded by those forces of power working together.”

“Impossible!” A faint smile appeared on Red Coral’s face. “Every single time he stops, the time he stays in one place is very regular, and the new direction he chooses is very difficult to grasp. Just now, I thought about this from another angle.

“If I used the information provided by the fortune tellers to chase after him and he managed to slip away every single time, what would I think? Also, I have always been curious as to why he doesn’t run far away in one go, but now, I finally understand. He has another goal, and he has succeeded in achieving it!”

“What?”

“No one might have noticed it, but the most distinctive thing is that every single time he deliberately lingers around a place and is dragged into a battle, the divination fees for him clearly increase!”

Black Rose sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you saying that the divination fees had doubled and then grown some because of him?”

Red Coral nodded without any hesitation. She was confident in her guess.

Black Rose focused her gaze on Red Coral and frowned for a few seconds. She stared at her friend, whose eyes were sparkling, and she suddenly felt uneasy.

‘If that is truly the case, then such an abnormal and wicked person… will be hard to control.’