If that is the case, then we can only wait for news tomorrow.
Yu Qing did not say anything more. Since the provocation failed to stir Chan Shaoting, he instantly lost interest in him. He found the other person’s face so off-putting that he could not bear to look at it for another moment, so naturally he had no desire to linger here any longer. He immediately took Nan Zhu and took their leave.
In truth, before he came, he had not placed complete confidence in Chan Shaoting. After all, in terms of background, he was merely a junior of Guijian Villa. Kunling Mountain might not let him in to broaden his horizons, let alone bring others in to play around. He himself felt the odds were not great, but he certainly still had to come and try.
He had originally planned that if Chan Shaoting did not work out, he would find another suitable person to attach himself to. He had not expected to save himself a good few miles of walking, with someone suddenly popping up halfway, that person being Ke Ran.
Xiao Changdao and Wu Ronggui went out to see their guests off. After watching the guests return to their respective pavilions, the two exchanged glances, turned together, and strolled down the mountain.
Once there were no outsiders around, Wu Ronggui let out a soft laugh. “It seems the four from Longguang Sect have no intention of moving out at all.”
Since the two had arrived here, they had already used Chan Shaoting’s name to drive away some people. It was impossible to drive them all away. If there were too many empty rooms, the people who arrived later would all be arranged to stay here, and the later they came, the more likely they were to be experts. They only targeted one thing. Whenever someone arrived who they felt could threaten them in terms of strength, they would use their borrowed influence to scare them away. Those who remained were all of limited strength.
The purpose was simple. It was to increase their own probability of winning in the “Ding Yin” district competition, to use this grand meeting to win a good price for themselves.
Yet Yu Qing and his group seemed to have taken some kind of foolish pill. Not only did they not take the hint, they actually came to invite Chan Shaoting to go see the scenery. This made them have to be careful even when trying to sow discord in front of Chan Shaoting.
Xiao Changdao snorted. “He is a grand archer. How he ranks in the grand meeting will not affect his future prospects, so he probably does not care. Now I fear it is not just these four fellows. That Ke Ran actually dared to take on the matter of the Spirit Valley. I fear he is also a hidden dragon and crouching tiger with some background, and not someone Chan Shaoting can scare away.”
Wu Ronggui smiled lightly. “No rush. There is still time anyway. One by one. The four fellows from Longguang Sect, what makes people wary of them is nothing more than the power of their arrows. Since Chan Shaoting cannot influence them, then we must find a way to grind down their sharp edge. Without their claws and fangs that can harm people, their skill with swords, blades, fists and feet is not Longguang Sect’s strong suit.”
Xiao Changdao stopped walking and reached out to slightly block him. “You mean, there is a way to make them put down their bows and arrows?”
Wu Ronggui put on another mysterious smile. “The power of four grand archers’ arrows. Once they fly wildly during the competition, not only will they endanger the lives of the competitors, they may even endanger the lives of many bystanders. We should question Kunling Mountain on how to resolve this.”
Xiao Changdao hesitated. “Will that be useful? The two of us questioning Kunling Mountain? Is that not a bit reckless?”
“Questioning is only the first step.” Wu Ronggui spoke softly, then raised his chin to indicate a nearby pavilion where people were coming and going. “Relying only on the two of us, our weight is not enough. It is not appropriate for the two of us to take the lead either. Do we not still have them? They may not know the situation yet. We should explain the stakes to them, and rally more people to question Kunling Mountain together. Brother Xiao, if everyone unanimously states that the four grand archers need not compete, and let the four of them advance directly, what do you think Kunling Mountain will do?”
Xiao Changdao’s eyes flickered for a moment, and he could not help but let out a soft laugh. “Brilliant. I do not know what Kunling Mountain will do, but they will certainly be hesitant and in a difficult position.” He waved his hand and patted the other’s arm. “Let’s go, let’s go chat with the others.”
The two headed straight for the other occupied pavilions…
After returning to their own lodgings, Nan Zhu immediately pulled Yu Qing upstairs, dragged him into the room, and asked what was going on.
Yu Qing did not hide it from him. He told him about the situation he and Mu Aotie had scouted out earlier. This place was quite far from the Spirit Valley, and it was difficult to sneak over since they were unfamiliar with the area. Using connections to enter the Spirit Valley and take a look was the best method.
As they were speaking, Mu Aotie also barged into the room.
Nan Zhu let out an “oh”, finally understanding what Old Fifteen’s earlier fuss was about. “It seems that Ke Ran appeared at quite the opportune time. Why does it feel a bit too coincidental? Could there be some problem?”
Back then, regarding Qiao Qie’er’s matter, although he was not the one most hurt, after that incident, as one of the parties involved, whether he could learn from his mistakes was one thing, but at the very least his mind had become somewhat sensitive.
Yu Qing fell silent for a moment. “No matter what problem he has, as long as he can bring us into the Spirit Valley, that is enough.”
Nan Zhu was somewhat alarmed. “Are you joking? Charging ahead blindly, what if there is another big pit waiting for us ahead?”
Yu Qing retorted, “What can we do if there is a pit? If someone can calculate this against us, with their ability, with our meagre skills, do you think we could avoid it? We can only be like a louse that fears no itch! Besides, we only want to go to the Spirit Valley to take a look at the situation. We are not planning to do anything for the time being.”
Nan Zhu was speechless. In the end, he could only let out a light sigh and accept it, because what Old Fifteen said was not wrong. If there really was someone with such great energy who wanted to bite them, even if they lay down and did nothing, it would still be a scene of chaos.
Mu Aotie also furrowed his brow.
Seeing the two of them somewhat discouraged, Yu Qing immediately leaned in and spoke in a low voice. “Actually, the problem should not be too great. Even if there is a problem, the other party probably does not know what we want to do. Think about it. If they really were a force so powerful that they could turn the clouds and rain inside Kunling Mountain, and knew what we wanted to do, it would be much more convenient for them to handle it themselves than for us.
“Besides, we are only here to take a look. Even we ourselves cannot be sure whether the Spirit Valley is the place we are looking for. How could an outsider possibly be sure? In my view, we are at most being watched by someone, at most someone wants to see what we are doing.
“At least it does not seem like the work of the mastermind behind the Iron Mask Man. We have all witnessed their methods. Their techniques are extremely covert. They would not have Ke Ran deliver himself to our door so brazenly. That mastermind does not even dare to touch Ning Chaoyi and Shen Qingcheng anymore. They do not even inquire about what happened inside, as if they are afraid of crossing a line. One failed strike, and they immediately vanished completely. This shows they are an extremely careful person.
“Old Seventh, Old Ninth, actually, I feel that if we really are being watched, it may not necessarily be a bad thing. Really, our abilities are truly limited. To get what we want in the world’s number one great spirit plant sect is basically impossible, let alone in the forbidden grounds of their sect’s Spirit Valley. Just by ourselves, it is far too difficult.
“If there really is a great power watching us from behind, the situation is different. Since we are being watched from all sides anyway, if someone is clearing the path for us, what is the harm in being a fool in their eyes? If someone has our backs, then we can stroll around inside the world’s number one great spirit plant sect. What is the harm in occasionally charging around recklessly?”
Nan and Mu exchanged glances, roughly understanding his meaning.
Nan Zhu muttered thoughtfully, “Being a fool. You mean, we do not yet know who is using whom?”
Yu Qing nodded. “If we really are being watched, we are too weak. Resistance is useless. They can crush us from every aspect. Since we cannot win against them, we might as well accept reality and admit it! As long as we are willing to be fools ourselves, in the end, who is the fool is not yet certain.”
Mu Aotie had a look of worry between his brows. “What do we do next?”
Yu Qing: “Before confirming whether there is a problem or not, we do what we have to do. Whether someone is watching us or not, we continue to act according to the principle of not letting anyone discover us. If we really are overthinking it, it will not affect anything. In any case, we must be extra careful.”
On this point, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie nodded in unison to express their approval.
With principles of action and direction to guide them, they were not afraid even if they got lost. The two of them felt relieved. When they looked at Yu Qing again, their eyes were different. They realised he was no longer the little fellow wearing open-crotch pants from their impression. Perhaps their master choosing Old Fifteen as the sect leader was indeed the best choice.
The next day, Ke Ran suddenly came to visit, his face full of a gentle smile, as if he had good news.
Yu Qing and the others, who had come out to greet him, were about to ask if there was news about the Spirit Valley when their gazes suddenly turned toward the outside one after another. They saw three people wearing Kunling Mountain disciple robes coming up the mountain. It was none other than Wu Tian, accompanying his martial uncle Zhan Yunqi again.
Judging by their route and appearance, they were heading toward their place again.
What are they running over here for again? The three senior brothers thought to themselves, but still stepped out of the threshold one after another to greet them outside. They cupped their hands together in salute. “Mr Zhan.”
Zhan Yunqi cupped his hands in a slight return salute, then gestured toward the house with his hand. So the group followed his intention and went back inside to talk.
This time, when faced with an invitation to sit, Zhan Yunqi slowly took his seat in the main hall. His manner was clearly much more hesitant than last time, as if he were pondering something, as if he found it difficult to speak.
In the end, it was Nan Zhu, the senior brother of the Longguang Sect group, who broke the silence. “Mr Zhan, could it be that something has gone wrong with our participation in the meeting because of Longguang Sect again?”
Yu Qing and the others all shared this concern. Please do not let it be Longguang Sect causing some nonsense again.
Fortunately, Zhan Yunqi waved his hand. “That is not the case. Matters within the rules, everyone acts according to the rules. You are participating in the meeting as individuals, which is perfectly reasonable. There will be no changes. It is just…” He truly seemed a bit unsure of how to open his mouth.
The three senior brothers, including Baili Xin, exchanged glances with one another.
Nan Zhu said again, “Sir, please speak freely.”
Zhan Yunqi smiled bitterly. “You all may not yet be aware. Last night, within the entire Ding district, there were fifty to sixty participants who somehow learned of the identities of the four grand archers. They gathered and found my Kunling Mountain to question us. During the competition, if your arrows fly wildly, I fear there will be danger to the lives of both the competitors on the field and the spectators off the field. By then, the arena will inevitably descend into chaos. They asked what Kunling Mountain plans to do about it?
“To be honest, Kunling Mountain has held the Chaoyang Grand Meeting many times, but this is the first time we have encountered participants who are grand archers.
“You also know, to speak with some disrespect, firstly, the cultivation energy of grand archers is almost entirely devoted to their arrows. Their cultivation outside of archery is somewhat lacking.
“Secondly, grand archers have their own way to compete with one another and their own future prospects. They do not need to make a name for themselves through a competition like the Chaoyang Grand Meeting. So my Kunling Mountain is also somewhat in a difficult position, and I have come to ask what you all think of this.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Nan Zhu glared and said, “Who says we grand archers are no good outside of our arrows? This time we will not use bows and arrows at all. Let that mob of rabble open their eyes!”
Zhan Yunqi immediately stood up, somewhat overjoyed. “Brother Zhu, are you serious about this? If that is truly the case, then we must set a precedent with you. If you truly give up your bows and arrows to participate in the competition, then in the future, whenever grand archers come to participate in the Chaoyang Grand Meeting, they must all follow this precedent. They must all put down their bows and arrows. This will be the beginning!”
Nan Zhu put on a look of magnificent heroism, thumping his chest with a loud thud. “I am the one who calls the shots here. My word is my bond. It is settled!”