The responsibility of nurturing Piaomiao’s disciples was appointed to fourth elder Shangguan so he naturally agreed.

Ou Peng continued “Although there are many herbs in the secret area, the quant.i.ty is still limited. I have allowed Yan’er take one herb of each type from the previous batch, and she is currently trying to cultivate them in mountain villa, although we are still uncertain about the likelihood of success. Sixth brother, you will have to take note of this area, and try to satisfy Yan’er’s request if she has any.”

Sixth elder Xu smiled and said “No problem, third brother. This Yan’er loves all sorts of weird things, perhaps she can actually succeed in cultivating some good herbs.”

On mention of Ou Peng’s little sister, everyone would be full of smiles. First elder Hu even said “Time sure flis. In a blink of an eye, this little gal Yan’er has grown into a woman, can we not grow older?”

The fifth elder who was indulging in his wine and not partic.i.p.ating in the conversation also added “Yea, I still remembered when she peed on my head. And now, she has already turned into a heroine.”

Ou Peng rolled his eyes and said “This incident can only be mentioned among us. Do not talk about it if there is an outsider, or if Yan’er is around.”

“Unless you do not want to see your axe anymore.”

Fifth elder Liu scratched his head and replied “I know, I would not want that woman to throw my axe and let in sink into the water.”

Everyone laughed, and the earlier tensed atmosphere was cleared.

Everyone took a sip of their tea. The, first elder Hu said “Old third, there is not much time till second of February, you will need to begin your preparations. Let old second and old fifth follow, and pick a good crop from the second generation disciples to leave a good impression.”

Ou Peng shook his head and replied “I plan to follow the same as last year. I will only bring my wife and a few attendants, as if we are going to pray in the dragon G.o.d shrine, to not rouse any suspicion.”

Fourth elder Shangguan shook his head and said “Third brother, if our sect makes such a big move, the people who are observing us will definitely notice our action even if they may not know our plans. Nevertheless, we should not be careless and it will be safer to bring more people along.”

Ou Peng pondered for a while and said “Fourth junior brother is still using the lenses of the past to look at the current situation. The martial skill levels of us brothers are now close to the top of Jianghu. If I choose to escape, I believe that the number of people who can obstruct me from doing so will be very few, and among those people, who would lower themselves to sneak an attack on me?”

Fourth elder Shangguan threw a gaze towards first elder Hu, and first elder Hu pondered a while before he said “Old third-ah, old fourth does have some reason. There is no harm in additional preparation, but insufficient preparation would lead to disaster. There is no shortage of traps and hidden danger in Jianghu, so one’s safety should be placed as the highest priority. Let’s do it this way, since you are unwilling to attract any attention, do not bring many people along. Just bring Shi Niu as your driver, so that he can protect sister-in-law and the attendants.”

Before Ou Peng could respond, fifth elder Liu clapped his hands loudly and praised “Good idea, eldest brother. That Shi Niu was brought up by a carriage driver, and his hands have gone itchy from not pulling the reins for a long time. Furthermore, his body is as st.u.r.dy as a plate of metal, which serves as a good shield for sister-in-law.”

Ou Peng had no choice but to agree “Alright, then we should follow this plan. We shall not bring any second generation disciples, because they are still raising their martial skill level. There is no need to impede their progress, and those that are not chosen to raise their martial skill this time round will be useless to me.”

Everyone recognized that Ou Peng has taken a step back, and they did not insist any further. After settling a few more sect matters, everyone dispersed from the meeting.

The oil lamp in the meeting hall was extinguished, and the dark discussion hall was like a wizen elderly who has closed his eyes to slumber.

Yu city was the capital of state Yu, and was a few days journey from Pingyang city.

Ou Peng left early in the morning of the second day. Since he was going to pray in the dragon go shrine, he would have to travel with a sincere mindset and not use his qinggong. Just as fifth elder had said, Shi Niu was indeed an old hand in steering the carriage, and when he heard that the sect master was going to require his expertise, he woke up early to inspect the horses and carriages. At this moment, he was leisurely steering the carriage, with looks of joy in his expression.

Ou Peng and his wife were sitting in the carriage. Even though this carriage was made specially using top quality material, and its workmanship was first-rate, the carriage ride was exceptionally smooth. Ou Peng looked at the cups that were filled with wine on the table, and he smiled to his wife “This Shi Niu’s skills in steering the carriage is a cut above the rest, it seems that we cannot do without him in the future.”

Ou Peng’s wife returned the smile and said “That would be wasting his potential.”

Ou Peng replied “What does the current Jianghu lack in?” Human talent. This is a good example of human talent, his martial power is able to stand against a thousand people and his carriage steering skills are top-rate. Our Piaomiao sect is like a crouching tiger and hidden dragon.”

Ou Peng’s wife bantered “This sect master is always so serious when I see him in the sect, why is he full of mischief right now? If we are talking about human talent, you would be the number one example in the sect. Not only is your mastery of Piaomiao steps the highest, your ability to make his wife the happiest is also at its peak.”

Ou Peng laughed aloud, and said towards the outside of the carriage “Shi Niu, good job. The top talent in steering the carriage in our sect is you, but the top talent in making his wife happy is still me.”

Upon hearing his words, Shi Niu broke into peals of laughter and put more effort into steering the carriage.

The mistress in the carriage turned red as she nudged Ou Peng, causing the attendants in the carriage to laugh quietly as well.

As this moment, the sound of Shi Niu singing came from outside the carriage, probably because they have reached a deserted road and Shi Niu’s spirits was soaring higher.

Shi Niu sang alound “Little sister sits on the boat, while elder brother I walk onsh.o.r.e. The loving rope pulls…” Shi Niu had apparently heard this love song from elsewhere.

Everyone in the carriage burst in laughter.

The journey took several days, and soon after, Yu city appeared in front of their sights. The trip was smooth as they did not meet any obstacles along the way.

Yu city’s main road was very s.p.a.cious, and there were several trees planted along its sides. As the weather had already turned warm, green budding leaves were appearing in these trees.

There were many people on the road, and the horse carriage could not travel as freely as before. However, under Shi Niu’s expert hands, the carriage did not slow down when compared to before.

Lady Ou looked at the scenery outside the carriage and exclaimed “This city is indeed deserving of its t.i.tle as the capital, its splendor is not just slightly above Pingyang city, even the number of people is higher. I wonder if the dragon G.o.d shrine is full today.”

When the horse carriage reached dragon G.o.d shrine, they realized that people were constantly flowing in and out of the shrine, and even the horse carriage did not have s.p.a.ce to park and wait.

Shi Niu stood on his seat while he looked around, and upon seeing Ou Peng and the rest came back, he jumped off his seat and asked “Sect master, why did you come out so soon?”

Ou Peng replied “The number of people coming here each year is so large that the monks have their hands full, and we could not find a time to speak to their abbot. Hence, we will return again when they are less busy.”

Shi Niu escorted the party up into the carriage, then asked Ou Peng “Sect master, shall we go to the sect branch in Yu city?”

Ou Peng waved his hands and said “There is no need to rush over yet. Go to the restaurant over there to purchase some wine and food, and we will head to Yutong mountain next.

Shi Niu accepted his instructions and went to buy some wine and food.

Lady Ou asked curiously “Why go up Yutong mountain? The previous time, you went along with Sir Yanming, Wan Chengjiu and Tan Yefeng for a casual gathering, could it be that you are meeting them there again?”

Ou Peng smiled “That is right. We did not have our fill of fun last year, so we have to continue once more this year.”

Soon after, Shi Niu returned with the wine and food, and then, he rode the carriage up Yutong mountain.

Dragon G.o.d shrine is at the foot of Yutong mountain. Not long after, the carriage reached a rest-stop in the mountain, where wine and accommodation was offered. Ou Peng and the rest of his party checked ino some of the rooms, where lady Ou and the attendants rested. Then, Ou Peng brought Shi Niu was they walked up the path which lead to the peak.

Yutong mountain was not very high, and it as not a suitable season for mountain trekking, so there were not many people. Ou Peng took light steps as he led from the front, and even though Shi Niu was an external martial arts pract.i.tioner, and he was carrying the wine and food, he was not the least tired upon reaching the peak.

They reached the peak soon after. Seeing Shi Niu’s even breathing and unchanged expression, Ou Peng could not help but feel admiration in his heart. Even though he had only demonstrated three tenths of his qinggong, this three tenths was already a considerably high level in Jianghu. The fact that Shi Niu was able to catch up to him without difficulties proved the effectiveness of the bone refining pill.

The time was close to midday, and sunlight shone on the peak of Yutong mountain. Ou Peng looked under the tree at the peak of the mountain, and there was still no one who has arrived yet. Ou Peng signaled to Shi Niu to walk towards the shade. Then, he sat on the stone while he instructed Shi Niu to spread the food and wine out at the s.p.a.ce in front of him.

Before Shi Niu was done with his task, Ou Peng heard footsteps coming from the path that led to the mountain peak. He stood up and saw a short and muscular figure heading up the path, it was indeed thousand swords peak’s Wan Chengjiu who has arrived.

Ou Peng went forward to greet the newcomer “Brother Wan, nice to meet you.”

As Wan Chengjiu took the last step up, he replied “Sect master Ou has come very early. The appointed time was at noon, and I thought that I would be the earliest. I had not expected to see anyone else.”

Ou Peng said “I came early in order to prepare the wine and dishes, as well as for my own leisure.”

Wan Chengjiu replied “Sect master Ou is indeed meticulous, you have my admiration.”

Then, the two men walked towards the shade and started to chat idly.

After another half bell of time, just as the sun was about to reach its peak, the other two people had not arrived and the two men present wondered in their hearts “Has something happened to them?”

Just as they began to worry, a laughter sounded from below “Brother Tan is slower than me by a step, so this match is considered to be my victory.”

It was the sound of Sir Yanming’s laughter.

Ou Peng and Wan Chengjiu exchanged smiles, and they turned their heads towards the mouth of the road.

Then, they saw Sir Yanming’s lean figure appear, followed by an average size figure middle-aged man wearing the clothes of a wealthy person, who was naturally Tan Yefeng.