Sword Among Us

Six young men, with one of them ahead of the others, dashed madly and impatiently through the streets of Gusu City as if they were firefighters.

“Damn it!”

“Young Li, can’t you just stop for a moment and explain things?”

“If you run that fast, I’m going to believe that you want to run off with the money!”

“Don’t be a bad guy now. How much money do you need, and just what matter is it?”

Four people chased after Young Li until their mouths were parched, but they did not forget to shout after him and tease him.

Only the man in green robes followed after Whirlwind Young Li while deep in thought.

When they came into a weapon shop, the six finally had a brief chance to catch their breath.

Whirlwind Young Li slapped the counter with a red face and racing heart. “Shopkeeper, I want five sets of lancet knives. Hand over the money, quick!” he cried out in an incredibly bold and heroic manner.

“Thank you for your patronage. Fifty taels of silver crumbs.” The shopkeeper cast a glance at Whirlwind Young Li and extended his hand for the money.

“What the heck? I thought you’d want a lot of money, but at the end of day, it’s just fifty taels of silver crumbs? You even asked for money from the five of us…”

The five people who had chased after their companion nearly had a stroke from how angry they were after they heard the price in the shop. One of them even stretched out his fingers with an exaggerated expression.

In truth, Young Li did not know how much lancet knives cost. He only asked for money from the five of them and brought over those walking ATM machines back to Gusu City. Even though it was rather time-consuming for new players to gather fifty taels of silver crumbs, to the five of them, it was still nothing.

The only thing that puzzled them was Whirlwind Young Li’s reaction!

He was just here to buy something, so was there a need for him to be so anxious? His impatience was clearly over the top! All those who did not know might think that he was running off to show his filiality to someone. What a bad guy!

Eastern Green Gate did not say a single word since the chase started. He had a resigned and anguished smile on his face as he walked to the counter while he shook his head.

“Whirlwind Young Li… you’ve really trolled us today! Just what exactly is going on that made you run so fast that your feet practically didn’t hit the ground? You didn’t even stop! We’ve been waiting at the tavern for half a day, and the rascal clearly stood us up, but look at you! You just ran off!”

“Sorry, bros. I really have something urgent right now, and it’s really important. I have to cross Suzhou Creek right now and deliver the goods. Once I come back, I’ll do something as compensation.”

When they heard Whirlwind Young Li speak submissively, the group’s curiosity became even greater.

“We don’t need your apology, it’s nothing big anyway. But tell us clearly, just what’s going on? What exactly are you delivering? And who would dare to order you around like a porter?”

“That’s right.”

“Just who is it?”

At that moment, Eastern Green Gate seemed to have figured out something from Whirlwind Young Li’s words. “Cross Suzhou Creek? Is the person who sent you the letter in Black Wind Mountain?” he asked with anxiousness and doubt in his voice.

Among the six, Eastern Green Gate had coincidentally crossed the river once, and he knew that Black Wind Mountain was there. When he heard Whirlwind Young Li’s words, something seemed to have been triggered in his mind, and his expression changed!

Whirlwind Young Li was also curious.

“Brother Green, you know that place too?”

Eastern Green Gate did not say anything. A solemn expression appeared on his face, and he nodded.

“That’s right. I went there once. I only realized after I crossed the river that Black Wind Mountain sealed off one of the roads from Gusu City leading to other places. Looks like your friend is quite good.”

When he said this, he cast a deep glance at the five sets of lancet knives the shopkeeper had brought out. “So much so that he actually ran off to Black Wind Mountain to do level-grinding.”

“Based on your words, Brother Green, could it be that Black Wind Mountain is actually a place that offers higher-level quests? I don’t even dare to go to Cold Mountain Temple yet…” one of the young men said.

“What’s going on in Black Wind Mountain?”

All people were extremely curious about places that offered high-level quests. Even the other players in the shop moved over to listen, because they placed a great deal of attention on this matter. They kept their ears open.

An awkward look appeared for a brief moment on Eastern Green Gate’s face.

“I’m not too certain of the details about Black Wind Mountain myself, but I know that there is a hideout for bandits there. Even the lowest ranked mountain bandits are stronger than the local rascals, and all of them don’t bat an eye when it comes to killing. Usually, at least two or three of them will attack at once…”

“Then isn’t that very dangerous?”

The group of people sucked in a sharp breath as they looked at each other at a loss. Yet the friend who had spoken to Whirlwind Young Li became even more interested. “Young Li, bro, just who is that powerful friend of yours?”

At this moment, Eastern Green Gate spoke as well.

“Even though there are quite a number of people who are better than me in Gusu City, there are very few who can get a foothold in Black Wind Mountain. Young Whirlwind, that powerful friend of yours should be that person from Murong Clan, right?”

When he voiced his question, his tone was hesitant and solemn. There was even a few hints of anticipation and a longing for his words to be verified.

“Him?”

“Blue-robed Noble Sword User!”

The other four had their jaws fall limp. They stared at Whirlwind Young Li in disbelief as the latter put on a very obvious smug look. Their expression was one of extreme enthusiasm and excitement, and they looked as if they had seen a second Blue-robed Noble Sword User.

“I thought you said you weren’t close to him the last time we asked you? Why did he take the initiative to send you a letter this time?”

“Hurry up and tell us!”

Once they received Whirlwind Young Li’s disguised silent confirmation, the group could not remain calm anymore.

But Whirlwind Young Li did not have his judgment impaired by the pride. He picked up the five sets of lancet knives on the counter and sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll tell you all about it once I come back. I really need to hurry up and deliver the items to him. He needs them urgently.”

Right after he said it, Eastern Green Gate’s expression changed, and he blurted out these words, “Could it be that he triggered that quest as well?”

“Quest?”

The group could not help but shift their gazes to him. Their eyes were filled with the strong desire for information.

“What quest?!”

“We can’t delay matters anymore! Let’s go! I’ll go with you, and I’ll tell you on the way.”

Eastern Green Gate took half of Young Li’s lancet knives, pulled him on the wrist, and went off.

“Hey, wait for me.”

“Me too!”

There was no way the other four lackeys would miss such a “good thing”. Once the four of them figured out that they could talk to the Blue-robed Noble Sword User, there was no way they would give up such a chance. They quickly chased after Whirlwind Young Li and Eastern Green Gate and went out of the city.

They continued asking questions along the way.

Then, they came to know that all players who had ninth realm martial arts and chivalry points could trigger the storyline of Black Wind Mountain across Suzhou Creek.

A few days ago, Eastern Green Gate had experienced this.

At that time, he received this quest as well, but when he ran into the group of powerful bandits from Black Wind Mountain, he could not win against them and died.

“Ah.”

“Why haven’t I heard you talk about this before?”

“This isn’t something good to brag about, right?” Eastern Green Gate was instantly rendered speechless.

After some time, he said to Whirlwind Young Li, “By the looks of it, your eldest senior brother should have a way to deal with the people from Black Wind Mountain, or else he wouldn’t be in such a hurry. As expected of Blue-robed Noble Sword User, the best swordsman in Gusu City. I can’t compare to him.”

But even though he said this, he would still very much like to witness the abilities of the eldest senior brother of the Murong Clan with his own eyes.

Soon, the group of six people reached the river!

In the distance, the six of them could see a vague blue figure standing on the riverbank across them with his back straight as the wind blew against his face. He stood tall, and his robes fluttered in the wind. His hero’s headband fluttered behind him while he held his longsword casually in his hand. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie.

“Blue-robed Noble Sword User!”

The breathing of the six people hitched almost at the same time, including Whirlwind Young Li. This was the bearing of Murong Clan’s eldest senior brother—the miniature version of a true wandering martial artist.