Sword Among Us

When Happy left the cafeteria, he took a small path that had a lot of shade from the trees. Sun shone on him in spots, and he could sense a bit of warmth in the cooling shade.

He walked quietly.

Before he knew it, he found a patch of grass and leaned against a tree in a lackadaisical manner. It was only then that he felt his emotions calm down slightly. However, his gaze was still somewhat dazed and full of dejection.

When he met Xu Yao, the girl to whom he had dated for around two years in his previous life, again, Happy felt angry, but he also felt a hint of surprise and calmness in his heart. Perhaps it was because of the sense of distance between the two of them along with the instinctive aversion he had gained toward her, but a desire to not persist in taking revenge and jump out of the pool of hatred and do something else stemmed in him.

Watching all the work he had done in three years turn to dust had pained him greatly, but in the new life, was there a need to hang on to the grudge from his previous life? Was there a need for him to bring everyone down the path of what had happened in his previous life? Was he to make the tragedy happen again?

Happy felt a little averse to the idea!

No one would want to have old wounds be torn open again.

Once a person was injured, was it not enough for them to search for a corner and lick their wounds so they would slowly recover? Why did they have to persist in harming themselves and others?

“Whew.”

With that thought in mind, Happy exhaled deeply. He leaned against the trunk of the tree behind him, and the sense of a sturdy support relaxed him.

Soon, he fell asleep just like that, resting against the tree trunk.

He did not notice that the bell for dismissal had rung, and a crowd had appeared on the path because of it. Xu Yao parked her bicycle not too far away and looked in Happy’s direction with a complicated and confused gaze—Happy had taken the spot in which she usually loved to linger.

*****

“You’re back?”

When Happy returned to the dorm, the Three Lonely Wolves were already there. Xu Xin waved at him with a smile on her face from where she sat on her chair.

“Yo, the beauty is here, eh? Our humble and simple abode has been graced by your presence—”

When he said this, Happy suddenly stopped talking. He cast a curious glance at the four people in the room. For some reason, he felt that the expressions and the smiles of the three boys and one girl were slightly strange. There was a profound meaning to them that made goosebumps appear all over his skin.

“Ahem!” Chen Fan coughed and rose up. He ignored the stunned look on Happy’s face, walked over, and patted his shoulder heavily. “Not bad, you sure are loyal. You’ll have good things happen to you if you’re so loyal to Sweet Little Xin Xin.”

Happy aimed a warning look at Chen Fan that made the other boy’s skin crawl, and he quickly left.

“Good luck.”

Bai Lang soon followed after Chen Fan. He came over and patted Happy’s shoulder. Then, under Happy’s baffled gaze, he walked out of the dorm.

The last was Qi Ci.

He was even more over-the-top than the other two. He snapped his fingers and looked at Happy with a sideways glance. Acting cool, he said a classic line from many movie scripts.

“I have high hopes for you, boy.”

When he said that, he walked out of the dorm as well, and only Happy and Xu Xin were left.

Happy was confused. He did not know whether the trio had run into a wall and knocked themselves silly.

The girl was filled with a peeved because of embarrassment and felt very uneasy.

“What’s going on? What’s with them today? Do they have a few screws loose in their heads?” Happy had a vague feeling that there was something wrong. He could only ask for answers from Xu Xin.

She rolled her eyes in a mischievous manner and tilted her head to the side.

“Have you forgotten what you’ve done?” Her tone was not very bold and confident, but she sounded suspiciously like she was trying to direct her anger on him right then.

“... What did I do?” Happy blinked, feeling very innocent.

Then, from Xu Xin’s explanations, he finally understood that his actions of giving the cold shoulder to the Great Beauty of the disciplinary committee, Xu Yao, twice—on the road to the university and the cafeteria—had already spread through all of the University of South China. A number of people began to guess whether he had lost the courage to come into contact with any beauties in the university because of Xu Xin.

Of course, there was another version of the story too. They said that after Xu Xin rejected him, he became a pessimistic person and turned immune to the charms of all beautiful women. He would be averse to them on an instinctual level. To put it in common terms, Happy’s psychological trauma had caused him to act abnormally!

However, most people were more inclined to the theory that Happy was loyal to Xu Xin. The ones who supported this theory wholeheartedly were the Three Lonely Wolves.

They knew that the two of them could now be in each other’s presence in a relaxed manner, and there was good cooperation between them. They also had a very good and optimistic view toward the development of their relationship in the future. Naturally, they thought that Chen Kaixin had rejected to be interviewed by Xu Yao because the Great Beauty Xu Yao had taken a fancy of their new rising star—Happy.

“I see, so that’s how it is.” Happy released a sigh of relief, as if a great burden had been taken off his shoulders.

Xu Xin’s petite face grew larger in his field of vision as she drew closer to him quietly. The curious little baby approached Happy.

“What’s going on with you? Why did you reject Xu Xin? I heard that she’s the woman of many boys’ dreams. She’s the type of beautiful girl who can be brought out to be showed off, and she can also take care of the house.”

“Listen to your own nonsense. Compared to beauties like Xu Yao who are darlings to everyone else, I prefer quiet girls like you more, and you’re innocent and lively as well. Hey, don’t go blushing now. You’re the one who started joking with me first.”

When he saw that Xu Xin’s blush reach her collarbone, making her look even more delicate and charming, Happy immediately knew that he went too far with his joke, and he quickly tried to save the situation.

“Hmph.” Xu Xin turned her red face to the side. She looked quite angry, but the red on her face began to fade However, there was still a slight hint of amusement that Happy could not see in her eyes.

“No wonder the Great Beauty of the disciplinary committee is so angry. That mouth of yours must have thoroughly offended her.”

She paused for a moment before she changed the topic with a slightly red face.

“By the way, do you have time now? Beautiful Robes Faction has been built for quite some time. They’ve already taken in more than five thousand students from the University of Southern China. The structure of the faction has been built as well, but for now we lack strong players, and everyone is scattered in different cities.

“Our ability to unify everyone isn’t yet strong, and I would even call it rather weak. We can only be considered as a normal third-class sect. We’ve been thinking to push you to the forefront, since you’re ranked at third place on the Famous People Rank.”

“I... don’t mind.” When the topic became more serious, Happy swiftly shifted his mindset to the appropriate train of thought. “But there are pros and cons in me joining Beautiful Robes Faction right now. The popularity of the faction will naturally increase swiftly, but the overall strength will not change that much.”

Xu Xin fell into silence after hearing his words.

“Also, you know that while Class One Hall lost fair and square in the quest, to them, this means that I provoked their might. With the methods those big organizations use, even if they don’t take any action against me for the foreseeable future, some day, they will definitely find a chance to get back at me.”

“Class One Hall?” Xu Xin frowned. It was only natural that she knew about that matter. “Then what should we do?”

“I’ll be a member-in-name and support Beautiful Robes Faction in secret. I’ll join when there are major quests or operations, but I won’t join Beautiful Robes Faction officially. Only when Beautiful Robes Faction can stand against top-class sects with its own strength will I join.”

“That works as well.”

Chen Fan, Bai Lang, and Qi Ci walked in at that moment.

It would seem like the three of them had been eavesdropping outside the door.

Happy and Xu Xin rolled their eyes at them in disdain, which was ignored by the trio.

Qi Ci nodded and said, “Aside from Class One Hall, you’ve also humiliated quite a number of organizations and guilds. If they learn that you are connected to Beautiful Robes Faction, out development will definitely be held back. This seems like the best solution.

“By the way, I heard that you bought a few high-tier martial art manuals from Luoyang City. Why don’t you sell them to the others at a fixed price? There are still a few of us in the university who can buy the manuals. If the others can’t, I’ll buy one.”

Qi Ci patted his chest in a bold and heroic manner. He was already considered a millionaire in the university.

“I managed to buy three manuals from the plaza, but they’re too few in comparison to all the members in the sect. The manuals are also in high-demand. Hmm... I’ll go to a few places and farm for a few books later.”

When he said that, Happy suddenly felt alarmed, and he quickly stopped talking.

A look around showed him that the others were staring at him as if they were looking at a monster.

Right then, high-tier martial art manuals would only drop from Mystical Realm or higher qi realm NPCs aside from storyline and sect quests. Only some of the rather powerful guilds would organize parties to surround and attack such NPCs. They definitely did not find farming high-tier martial art manuals as easy as Happy had made it out to be. He made it seem as if it was as easy as breathing and talking...