Happy had no clue whatsoever regarding Murong Clan's salt ship quest. There were simply too many quests in his previous life, and each clan had countless different ones. They were intricate, complex, and spanned out through multiple regions. However, since it was a quest the Murong Clan Lady had personally given to him, Happy did not reject the quest. He accepted it, and after understanding the general gist, he left the wing.
When he went past the rabbit pen in the backyard, the young Fallen Rain was still fighting with the rabbits. She ignored Happy when he walked past her, and he also ignored her because he was thinking about other matters.
At that moment, hurried footsteps reached his ears. A few people rushed over, and when they saw him, their eyes lit up.
"Eldest Senior Brother Happy!"
"Haha, it's really you!"
The familiar voice pulled Happy out of of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Whirlwind Young Li, Eleventh Crane, Xu Lang, Orchid Researcher, and Dawn Lotus in front of himself.
"Hey, eldest senior brother, you're seriously horrible! You didn't even tell us that you're back!" Whirlwind Young Li punched Happy before he laughed and swung an arm over his shoulder. "Come on, let's go to Jade Gate Restaurant! We'll treat you to dinner to welcome you back!"
"That's right!"
"I haven't drunk with you for a long time. Now that you're famous, the chances of us getting to drink together are smaller."
Xu Lang smiled to show his agreement. Eleventh Crane stood by the side with a smile as wlel. He was still as quiet as ever, but he seemed to be in high spirits.
"Why are all of you here?"
The quintet's arrival caught Happy by surprise, but he was happy to see them.
Orchid Researcher quickly cut into the conversation, sounding very excited. She quickly threw out the explanation, but despite her quick speech, Happy got the gist of it.
Once they lost their tribute, they noticed how dangerous the tribute boxes were, and all of them gave up on continuing with the quest. They returned to Gusu City and went back to the Murong Clan. Since they frequently met each other, they quickly became familiar with Whirlwind Young Li. They then drank together and did quests together. Whirlwind Young Li's personality was also to their taste, so they became quick friends!
"We were training together just now. When we heard that you're back, we were worried that you'd leave after stopping for a while, so we hurried back," Dawn Lotus said softly while looking at Happy.
"That's right, our Big Sis Dawn Lotus urged us to hurry up a few times while we were coming back… Hahahaha…"
"Orchid Researcher, you chatterbox. Stop with the nonsense."
Dawn Lotus instantly turned red. She moved to pinch Orchid Researcher's ears, but the other girl avoided her hands.
The people looked at each other at a loss.
"It has been a long time since we met. I missed you as well. Come! Let's go and find a place to sit so that we can talk," Happy said.
They were part of the earliest batch of disciples in the Murong Clan, and when the disciples gathered in the front hall heard about it, they stared at them with admiring gazes while they left Murong Mansion in a mighty manner to head to Jade Gate Restaurant.
On their way there, Whirlwind Young Li naturally did not forget to tell Happy about the situation in Gusu City.
Ever since Happy left, Heaven Domination Sect had expanded and tried to destroy Dragon Tiger Sect so that they could become the strongest sect in Gusu City.
However, they first failed in stealing the tribute, then their foundation suffered damage because of Dragon Tiger Sect's counterattack. Once Eleventh Crane and the others returned to Murong Clan, they worked together with Dragon Tiger Sect to deal a destructive blow to Heaven Domination Sect.
At that moment, the news of Happy rising to the third place on the Famous People Rank traveled over. Heaven Domination Sect instantly felt even greater pressure, and from then on, they were worried every single day that he would return and destroy them. The sect was tormented both physically and mentally, and it slowly fell into decline.
A month ago, there were only a few weaklings left in the sect, which had reached its last days.
When he heard that, Happy finally remembered that he had been ambushed by Heaven Domination Sect during his journey when protecting the tribute. At that time, he had even made the decision to destroy Heaven Domination Sect when he returned. By the looks of it now, there was no need for that. Heaven Domination Sect was completely ruined.
"Eldest Senior Brother, lately, Dragon Tiger Sect has been growing stronger and stronger, and they're already showing signs of becoming the strongest sect in Gusu City!"
That was what Whirlwind Young Li said when they sat down in Jade Gate Restaurant.
"But Nine-tattooed Dragon really knows how to act. He restricts his sect members quite well, and they do not cause trouble while they're outside. They're also very polite to all of us from the Murong Clan."
"Oh?"
Happy quirked an eyebrow at that. Last time, Dragon Tiger Sect's master had indeed placed restrictions on his sect members, but it had to have been quite hard to keep them up until then.
"That's true," Orchid Researcher said excitedly. "Every single time we go out and search for a place to train, the people from Dragon Tiger Sect will call Whirlwind Young Li Big Brother Wind and make way for us. Then, Young Li will be so smug."
"Researcher, what are you saying? I'd forgive you if you said all this embarrassing stuff in front of other people, but why did you say that to our eldest senior brother? They're doing that because they respect our eldest senior brother, you know?" Whirlwind Young Li glared at Orchid Researcher while looking very embarrassed.
Happy could not help but smile. "Where's Eastern Green Gate and the others?"
"Ah… they should be doing quests. Eastern is seriously very powerful right now. Not only is he in Mystical Realm, but he also obtained four high-tier martial arts from his master. He's much more powerful than us. Right now, he's the leader of Gusu's Six Swordsmen."
"Gusu's Six Swordsmen?" Happy was stunned.
Whirlwind Young Li then put on an embarrassed and awkward expression.
"This is what happened. We thought that others will definitely say we're tooting our own horn if we asked you to join our party after you created such a great name for yourself. So, Eastern, Azure Wolf, Xuan Kun, Xuan Zhong, Qian Kunzi, and I formed a six-man party. We intended to explore the game in the future and catch up to you. Right now… hehe, we can be considered to have some degree of success. We're known as Gusu's Six Swordsmen."
"Not bad." Happy smiled and lifted his wine cup. "A toast to Gusu's Six Swordsmen. Come, cheers!"
The group responded loudly.
Once they drank, the atmosphere became lively.
Whirlwind Young Li summoned his courage and said boldly, "Eldest senior brother, I have to say, one day, I, Young Li, will definitely make my way to the Famous People Rank like you. I will definitely fight until I become famous!"
While they laughed, another toast was naturally born.
"Eldest senior brother, I've been thinking about something all this while." After they drank three full pots, Whirlwind Young Li suddenly stared at Happy. "Look at you. You're now insanely famous, but sometimes, I think that you're really weird. Over this period of time, you never joined or built any sect. You didn't even join Chivalry Sect, which is both famous and powerful. You only care about becoming stronger. You look like you have a goal, but we really can't understand what you're trying to do."
"I think I'm living a pretty good life right now."
Happy's face was as calm as ever while he poured himself a cup of wine with a smile.
"I don't think that's good, truly! Eastern and I have been waiting since a long time ago in hopes that you'll build a sect! Last time, you could push that task away, but now, you have fame, power, wealth, and you have a good head on your shoulders! You have everything, and we're just waiting for you to spread your wings and fly! Forget about Gusu City, you can even build your own empire spreading over all of Jiangnan!"
Eleventh Crane and the others by the table also stared at Happy with expectation...