Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

Within a pristine white hospital room was Xu Yao, leaning against Happy’s bed as quietly as a baby with her weak and frail body. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around Happy’s arm, and there were still clear tears on her face, which was scrunched up with a scowl.

Happy had already opened his eyes for a while.

Creak.

A nurse came over for a ward round, and when she opened the door, she saw the comatose patient who was rumored to have been in coma for more than a year and suddenly woke up open his eyes. He was also staring at the girl leaning against his bed with a clear mind. The nurse’s expression instantly became very interesting.

“Doc—”

The nurse was just about to open her mouth and shout, but the boy on the bed immediately placed a finger on his lips and hushed her. She forcefully swallowed her words.

If a normal patient laid comatose for a prolonged period of time, their weakened bodies and eyes will not be able to deliver any sort of body language.

But the female nurse was able to sense a great gentleness and a faint, awe-inspiring might that allowed no argument from the eyes of the boy named Chen Kaixin.

It was difficult for her to imagine just how a patient with such a weak body will have such a gentle and awe-inspiring gaze. He was just like her hospital director…

But he was also much younger and energetic than her hospital director.

“Come here.”

The female nurse saw the boy on the bed nod at her slightly through great effort, and the meaning in his eyes was very clear.

She pointed at herself before she approached on tip toes.

Fortunately, the boy’s eyes were rather gentle and harmless. Besides, his gaze on Xu Yao had been filled with tender affection and regret, otherwise, the nurse will definitely not be filled with so much compassion that she will be commanded by a patient whose mind was probably not even clear.

“Based on what she said, is it true that I’ve been in coma for a long time?” Happy was a little unable to get used to his own voice. It was hoarse and a little grating to the ears.

The nurse answered with an exaggerated and excited expression, “Yeah. You’ve been in coma for about one year and a half. At that time, the doctor said that you might not be able to wake up ever again. Look at the calendar.”

The nurse was worried that Happy will not believe her, and she brought out the calendar by the side for him to look.

Then, the nurse seemed to know that time will be of a great shock to the patient. Her gaze landed on Xu Yao, who was still asleep and dreaming. “This girl has been visiting you and taking care of you for a few days every month to make sure that you’re alright. I heard that she even kept this a secret from your parents and took care of you alone, claiming that she was trying to atone for her sins. But how could such a good girl do anything wrong? She even brought you to the hospital alone just now, and she was crying so miserably.”

The nurse sized up Happy and Xu Yao with a skeptical but compassionate gaze.

Happy said nothing. His gaze became even gentler, and he forced himself to smile. “It has nothing to do with her. I was in a bad mood at that time, and I drank some wine before I fell. Now, since I woke up, could you help me get a doctor to check on me? Also, please get a blanket over her so that she can sleep peacefully for a little while longer.”

“Got it.” The nurse was clearly a person who wore her heart on her sleeve. She made a gesture showing that she understood what Happy said before she turned around and ran out of the room with light footsteps.

Once the female nurse left, Happy smoothed out his thoughts slightly.

There were plenty of things in his life that might have been a misunderstanding.

Aside from the various methods Blood Robes and Class One Hall used to seize the top eight spots on World of Martial Arts, Xu Yao might have been used by Blood Robes in her grief when her mother passed away and a piece of information that she did not receive in time. Thus, she did something she regretted.

Even though Happy believed that he was the greatest victim in this whole misunderstanding.

He lost everything out of the blue, along with one year and a half of time, as well as his health.

But since Xu Yao used her frail shoulders to take up the full burden of taking care of him for one year and a half, no matter how cold that wall of ice had been around his heart at that time, there was no way it will not melt.

The door to his room was soon pushed open tentatively. A few young nurses and a few elderly doctors in white coats moved in quietly.

“The doctors are here.”

Those old doctors surrounded the bed to observe Happy’s condition.

Based on his blood pressure, skin color, breathing, heart beat, pupil dilation, and after they examined him from top to bottom, they were surprised and amazed.

“Who said that the current youngsters cannot create miracles?”

“She managed to take care of her comatose boyfriend for one year and a half until she woke up. This alone is a miracle.”

The elderly doctors were extremely excited and worked up. They were grinning so much that it was as if they were celebrating the new year.

Happy knew his condition very well, and he asked softly, “Doctors, how long will it take before I can recover?”

“Hmm… Honestly, your girlfriend has been taking care of you well. Based on your current situation, within a month, you should be able to walk normally on the ground, and around two to three months later, you will be able to recover to your normal state.”

The elderly doctor who answered Happy had clearly heard from the female nurse from before, and when he spoke to Happy, he was very careful with the volume of his voice, because he was afraid of waking up Xu Yao from her sleep. His attitude toward Happy was also pretty good. “Take good care of yourself, son. Don’t be too obsessed with other things. Your body and your lover are the most important things to you.”

“I know. Thank you, doctor.”

A group of female nurses stood at the entrance with the nurse from before, and they were gesturing at Happy and Xu Yao.

“It’s true. I didn’t think he was anything when he was comatose, but now that I look at him, he does give off the feeling of the frog prince.”

“Hush. Be quiet.”

“Now that the prince is awake, he can live happily after with the princess. Hehe…”

The girls chatted with each other for a while before they were soon chased out of the room by the doctors. The female nurse who was the one in charge of taking care of Happy since the beginning was the only person left.

The nurse walked to Happy’s bed in slight embarrassment. “Apologies. They insisted on coming.”

The nurse apologized for bringing that group of nosy ladies.

Happy smiled slightly, even though it was difficult for him to do so. “It’s fine, at least you didn’t bother her. By the way, have you played World of Martial Arts before?”

The nurse’s eyes lit up. “Of course. My boyfriend dragged me into it. We’re known as Sun and Moon Divine Sword Wielding Couple in game. Well? Sounds awesome, right?’

“Hah. That’s great. Can you tell about what’s going on in the game right now, such as the strongest sect in the Chinese server right now, the strongest player, and other things that you might know.”

“Oh, by the way, let me give you this.” When the nurse saw that Happy wanted to talk about World of Martial Arts right when he woke up, she seemed to remember something, and she turned around to bring out a box from the cupboard beside him.

“What is it?”

“Your girlfriend brought this over. She said that if you woke up, she wanted to show you this, and you might not fall into a coma again.”

While the nurse spoke, she unwrapped the packaging inside, and in it was a VR Helmet that seemed to be quite old.

Happy’s eyes lit up.

This was the VR Helmet he had used for three years. He originally thought that Xu Yao already threw it away, and he did not expect that she actually kept it.

Xu Yao had even brought it to the hospital. She might be hoping that if he saw the helmet when he woke up, he might not faint again.

Naturally, she did not know that he had suddenly fainted because of the other Chen Kaixin.

“It’s so old… It’s a first gen helmet, huh?” The nurse held the helmet.

Happy was puzzled. “First get? What do you mean by that?”

“You wouldn’t know about it, huh? A year ago, World of Martial Arts updated some of their content, and they also changed these VR Helmets. They look much more exquisite and beautiful now, and they have a lot of functions. They’re much prettier than the old models.”

“What new functions do they have?” Happy asked.

“Hmm… A lot. Such as for those who return to the game after a long period of absence, events such as Legend of Emperors, Weapons of the Gods… and the emergence of even more powerful players.”

The nurse revealed a lot of information in one go like a machinegun. “The update for those who return to the game after a long period of absence is targeted for the players who suffered a death penalty that is too great and for those who deleted their account. For example, after a month, they can obtain their original stats when they return to the game, and those who suffered too great a penalty of death and were imprisoned can be released earlier, but they will appear in the land for exiles.

“Those who deleted their character can actually return to the game with their original character. The official developers have saved your data in the game, and everything is stored in their databank. When you return to the game, you’ll be like a hermit who has decided to live in seclusion in the world of martial artists.”

When he heard this, Happy’s eyes lit up.

Then, he looked at the nurse when he thought of something. “You know about me?”

The nurse nodded honestly. “Every time I come here, Xu Yao will always be alone. I’d talk to her a little, and then, she told me certain things about you. She doesn’t seem to want to talk about herself, but when she talked about you, she’ll seem so lively. She mentioned how strong you were in the game and said that you might have gotten into the top eight in the Sword Among Us Tournament at Mount Hua, but every time she finished speaking, she will cry silently.”

“Are you saying that she has always been here alone over the past months?”

“Yeah. Even though there are many doctors and patients’ families in the hospital who like her, since she’s with you, everyone respected her and took care of her. No one bothered her.”

The nurse seemed to be trying to explain things for Xu Yao.

But Happy sank into deep thought.

‘Blood Robes… That guy must have either left after he finished using Xu Yao, or their relationship completely soured because of what happened to me. Oh well, I’ll ignore this for the time being.’

“Tell me about World of Martial Arts.”

“What would you like to know?”

“The Sword Among Us Tournament at Mount Hua. What happened to the rankings in that fight.”

“It’s been so long since then. I can’t remember it. Wait, let me check.” The nurse ran out excitedly before she returned quickly. There was an exquisite tab in her hand.

Happy did not notice that when the nurse left and came back, Xu Yao had already woken up while she still kept her hand tightly wrapped around Happy’s arm. Her eyelashes fluttered, but she held back from opening her eyes. In an angle Happy could not notice, two drops of tears rolled down her cheeks, and she bit down her lip tightly.

The information on the official website was kept in perfect condition. Even though it had been more than one year and a half since the event and other events had been held in the game after it, the grand gathering during the Sword Among Us Tournament at Mount Hua was soon brought up by the nurse.

“The champion is Wind Assault Tower’s Phantasmal Shadow. The second to seventh are all foreigners… Ah… their names are so long…” The nurse stopped talking for a while. Then, she silently cast a sidelong glance at Happy and Xu Yao with sparkling gazes.

Happy smiled, as if he already noticed something. “Let’s forget about the foreigners. Is the person ranked at the eighth place Blood Robes?”

“Yeah.” The nurse looked like a little girl who did something wrong. She nodded.

It was difficult to imagine how a girl who already had a boyfriend will still be as cute as a child.

“Before I fell into a coma, I already knew this. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” Happy understood that the nurse was worried that Blood Robes’ name will deliver a shock to him, and he will show negative reactions again. He immediately changed the topic of conversation. “You must know the current power structure in the Chinese server, right? Is Class One Hall still the ones who hold power, or is it Wind Assault Tower?”

“I don’t think it’s either of them. After that tournament, a few major events appeared in succession in World of Martial Arts. Class One Hall was attacked by a lot of people, and they were even criticized publicly. I think it’s about what happened to you. Later on, Blood Robes left Class One Hall for his own development. Class One Hall was attacked repeatedly, and they were surpassed by Wind Assault Tower. Right now, the strongest player in the Chinese server is Phantasmal Shadow, but the ones who control the power structure are a group of people who call themselves Wild Wolves?”

“Hmm?” Happy’s heart trembled.