Sword Among Us
chapter-88

Chapter 88: Horse Plate

During the first clash, six of the thirty-six people who had leapt into the courier station died and more than half had been hit by arrows. When Happy charged into the crowd and knocked over many people, the entire situation instantly changed.

“Kill them!”

Ghost’s Worry and Xu Lang pounced on the bandits from outside the encirclement. They roared, and using the remaining confusion from Happy’s charge, they killed two injured men in black. They met up with the two soldiers in the courier station, and their group entered a stalemate against the bandits.

Eleventh Crane stood high on the roof to limit the bandits’ movements, while the five people on the ground defended the soldiers. There were also six people guarding the carriage.

Once the bandits lost a few more of their people, their strength was greatly damaged, and panic rose on their faces.

“The enemies are too troublesome! Let’s go!”

The bandits’ retreating speed was definitely top class. They did not linger around to fight any further. They threw hidden weapons at Happy and his group, and all those who could still move leapt over the wall. They did not drag out their retreat.

Happy stopped. He pulled back his arms in an arc, and his Green Jade Shrouded in Heavenly Silks were struck by a sharp, small, shiny, and black metal weapon. It fell on the floor with a loud clang.

When he looked up, aside from a few men in black who were heavily injured and could not move, he saw around a dozen corpses left sprawling all over the courier station’s courtyard.

“Thank you, everyone!

“Young swordsmen, you are indeed great people from the Murong Clan. The courier station has been protected, and it is all thanks to all of you!”

A government official dressed in court attire appeared from somewhere. He arrived in front of Happy and his group with a bright smile on his face, looking cordial and grateful. He elegantly put his fist in his palm and thanked them.

The six people looked at each other at a loss…

The person before them was probably the government official in charge of the courier station and the person the system had asked them to protect. Yet they wondered where he had been during the fight.

“It was nothing to us.”

Happy was the eldest senior brother of the Murong Clan. The alertness, skills, and courage he showed during the battle had filled the other five full of admiration for him. At that moment, he was just like their leader, so it was only natural that he spoke on their behalf.

He had a graceful bearing and extraordinary demeanor.

The official continued thanking them, and he even invited them into the courier station again so that he could have the chance to show his responsibility as lord of the station and prove his gratitude. But Happy rejected his offer by giving the excuse that they had to protect the carriage and be on guard against the bandits who might return.

The system gave a notification at that moment.

“Successfully protected the carriage. Successfully protected courier station official. No courier station soldiers died. Quest was completed perfectly!

“All participants will receive three high-grade Jinchuang Ointments!

“All participants will receive one Horse Plate!”

An exquisite wooden plate appeared in the six people’s hands.

[Horse Plate: Contains an autogenous dimension. It is capable of summoning a horse from within it at any time.

[When horse returns to the dimension, it will be able to restore its stamina to 100% after one day, and its HP will be restored at 10% of its HP recovery speed, aside from times when it is heavily injured!]

‘A Horse Plate…’

“This is good stuff!” Xu Lang lovingly caressed the plate, feeling reluctant to part with it. His gaze sparkled. “I heard from netizens that only those who spend a lot of money to buy horses can receive this. Tsk, tsk! This is great! Now we can summon horses at any time we want. Could it be that we are considered to have received the horses the Murong Clan reserved for us through this quest?”

“I suppose you can say that.”

Eleventh Crane turned around the Horse Plate and observed it, then he tested it out on the spot. In a moment, he managed to put away his horse. Then, he summoned it again. It was incredibly convenient. After that, he put away the Horse Plate with great satisfaction.

“If we didn’t manage to clear this quest, we wouldn’t have been able to take the horses with us. Even if we did manage to complete the main quest, we wouldn’t have them. And there is a possibility that the subsequent sub quests would be even more difficult.”

“That’s right. When we continue down the road, we can ride on horses while we’re on smooth ground. We’ll be faster that way,” Happy added once Eleventh Crane finished speaking.

The group nodded, and their gazes landed on the men in black’s corpses.

“What are we supposed to do with them?”

Xu Lang pointed at the corpses who had yet to disappear along with the weapons scattered beside them.

“You handle it.” Happy swept his gaze over the weapons, then looked away.

“Senior Brother Happy, I heard that you’ve obtained around a hundred Wolf Pelts from the Great Wolves’ spawn point, and you’re now very rich. We’re poor people here, so we won’t hold back on looting, you know?”

Orchid Researcher was a real money grubber. In just a few moments, she split up the spoils of war into five portions.

Happy smiled and brought out a leather wineskin from his Universe Bag.

“We’re wanderers. How can we not have wine when we’re on a night’s watch?”

He unplugged the wineskin and took a full swig before he threw the wineskin at Ghost’s Worry, who was the closest to him.

“Hey! It’s high-grade Red Daughter!” Ghost’s Worry’s eyes lit up!

Happy was also a little astonished. This boy looked to be gentle and quiet, but he was actually a great wine taster. He could tell that the wineskin contained Red Daughter just from the aroma wafting out from inside it. Ghost’s Worry tilted his head back and drank two mouthfuls without putting on any pretence. A barely noticeable flash of red rose on his face.

“Great wine!”

He tossed the wineskin to Xu Lang.

Xu Lang smacked his lips and went forward to sniff at it. He pinched his nose and took a sip before he coughed violently and shoved the wineskin to the two girls beside him.

“I don’t drink.”

Orchid Researcher’s face turned pale. She shook her head vigorously and ducked behind Dawn Lotus.

“Let me.”

Dawn Lotus did not hold back. She did not feel that sharing a wineskin with a few other people was unhygienic either. She wiped the mouth of the wineskin and took a few gulps, and two red spots swiftly appeared on her petite face. She looked as charming as a flower.

“Not bad!”

“How bold!”

Dawn Lotus wiped the mouth of the wineskin again, and under the few other men’s praises, she shoved the wineskin to the last person.

“Big Brother Crane.”

“Alright.” Eleventh Crane chuckled and took the wineskin.

“I’m going to have to use your wine to give you a toast. A toast to you, my young senior brother. You live up to your name as the Blue-robed Noble Sword User. You’re better than I am!” Once he finished speaking, he took a huge gulp from it.

“Good wine! Here!” Then, he tossed the wineskin back to Happy’s hands.

Happy did not have any misgivings. He took back the wineskin with the thick aroma of wine wafting from it and chugged down the clear and refreshing wine down his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Wine trickled down the corners of his mouth, and soon, his chest was wet.

He only stopped after he drained half of the wineskin!

“Feels good! Haha!”

Happy wiped his mouth and laughed. He did not mind that his clothes had been drenched. He jumped up onto the roof of the carriage and sat down before he lay down on the roof. The other five were shocked by the sight. Happy’s usual elegant demeanor as the eldest senior brother was not destroyed by his actions; instead, he gave off the wild air that only true wandering martial artists would have. The two completely different demeanors seemed harmonious.

The five could say nothing about it.

Eleventh Crane watched Happy continue drinking the wine. He originally thought that he had understood Happy, but now, he was in doubt. For some reason, he could sense two presences from Happy.

One of them was the air of a leader, and it also naturally gave him the presence of a powerful martial artist.

The other was the gloomy air of a mature man who would reveal that he had some trouble on his mind after he drank wine. It was gloom only those who had experienced great ups and downs in life would experience.

Coincidentally, Eleventh Crane was another such person!

When he sensed the worries and pain carefully hidden in Happy’s actions, he remembered his past self. He sighed deeply and jumped onto the roof. He then grabbed the wineskin from Happy’s hand.

“I’ll drink with you.”

Happy cast a profound glance at the man’s side profile, which was hidden by the shadow created by the moonlight. He did not try to hide the small smile on his lips.

“Alright,” he said softly and brought out another wineskin filled with Red Daughter from his Universe Bag.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Two wineskins knocked into each other on the roof of the carriage under the moonlight. Their bold and unruly action and the aroma of the wine that drifted from the roof made the two boys and girls on the ground yearn to join them. Even Orchid Researcher, who had avoided drinking such strong wine, felt a little disappointed with herself. She began to regret her lack of courage for not tasting the wine just then.