The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3068 Unable to refuse
Upon seeing Ouyang Nan's expression, Qian Ying instantly understood why. She quickly considered the situation, thinking that Ouyang Nan would definitely not be willing to undertake the reconnaissance mission without an explanation.

Previously, when they were in the hilly area, they sent Ouyang Nan to lead a team to scout across the canyon because it was their first mission, and at that time, both he and Zhou Zixing hadn't suffered any significant losses. Also, when Ouyang Nan was kicked out of the Ouyang family and his status was somewhat awkward, Qian Ying assigned him the task, which Ouyang Nan had no choice but to accept.

However, Ouyang Nan had already completed the previous task, and had done it very well.

Now, it's somewhat unreasonable to arrange for Ouyang Nan to conduct another exploration mission. After all, exploration missions are extremely dangerous; taking one means risking one's life. What lies on the other side of the lake is unknown, and if danger arises and there's no time to retreat or react, several people might die.

Furthermore, the entire team is currently resting 300 meters from the lake shore, and everyone is bored out of their minds. Therefore, since Ouyang Nan was assigned the task last time, someone else should be assigned this time.

The task of sending someone to their death should be done in turns, shouldn't it?

Ouyang Nan hesitated, clearly considering whether to refuse. If Qian Ying didn't resolve these issues, it would be difficult to arrange for other martial artists to investigate the other side of the lake if she refused.

Now, Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing have almost exhausted their innate power, so they are powerless to investigate in person.

With Chen Mo, a master, in Ouyang Nan's team, and the other two women also being quite capable, plus Qian Zhenghao's supervision, they are the best reconnaissance team.

Even if we replace the team members, we probably still can't put together a team like this. Not only is the team's strength insufficient, but the Qian family also doesn't know who else they can send.

Therefore, we might as well just focus on taking advantage of Ouyang Nan and his group. As long as we persuade them properly, there shouldn't be any problems.

"Oh, I didn't explain clearly. After all, Elder Zhou and I were quite exhausted when we activated this iron chain bridge, so we need to meditate to recover. But it might be nighttime before we can fully recover our strength. And crossing the lake at night could be dangerous. So we can only arrange for everyone to cross the lake tomorrow morning."

You guys did a great job on the previous reconnaissance missions, so Elder Zhou Zixing and I didn't disband your team. We were thinking that if there were any reconnaissance missions in the future, we wouldn't need to bother others, and we could just arrange for you guys to continue the reconnaissance.

"Of course, reconnaissance missions are quite dangerous, so Zhou Zixing and I discussed it. If your team completes the mission well, and if you discover any treasures or rare medicinal herbs later, each of you will receive a larger share than the other martial artists. This is your reward for completing the mission."

"If you find no danger after exploring the other side, set up a temporary camp at the bridgehead to check for any potential hazards at night. Of course, the reason for setting up a temporary camp at the bridgehead is so that you can evacuate quickly via the suspension bridge if any danger arises. After all, safety is the most important thing. You can explore, but you still need to pay attention to your own safety."

Qian Ying spoke with great emotion, as if she cared deeply about Ouyang Nan's team.

In fact, everything was just to get Ouyang Nan to do her best.

He even thought that if Ouyang Nan really encountered danger, he could see how Zhou Zixing would react. If he was indeed connected to Ouyang Nan and the others, he would be more prepared in the future.

Isn't this arrangement a brilliant three-birds-with-one-stone strategy?
Of course, if there are any gains, his promise to give an extra share to each member of Ouyang Nan and the others in their small team is also valid. Although he hasn't discussed this with Zhou Zixing, he can still do it when the time comes.

After all, Ouyang Nan's team risked so much danger to complete the reconnaissance mission, it would be impossible for him not to offer some benefits.

Ideally, he wanted something to kill the young man named Li Mo during the reconnaissance mission; that was what he was thinking.

Qian Ying sometimes found it strange that he secretly hated this young man, but on the surface, the young man hadn't offended him much, which was really odd.

Considering that Qian Ying was a peak expert at the third level of the Innate Realm, it's really strange how he accumulated such hatred.

But since there is such hatred, and the young man has humiliated me several times, I might as well send him to his death. At least he can die a worthy death, and his death will have some value.

If no one dies during this exploration mission, then we can arrange another one later.

Now that he has offered benefits to the reconnaissance team, he can use those benefits to motivate them to complete more dangerous missions.

Huh? When I assigned Ouyang Nan's team to the mission, why didn't I think of mentioning the distribution of profits to them?

Ouyang Nan originally wanted to refuse, but since Qian Ying had put it that way, she had no choice but to agree.

After saying goodbye to Qian Ying, Ouyang Nan realized on her way back that she had been put on a pedestal by Qian Ying, which was why she couldn't refute his suggestion. Of course, even if she wanted to, she couldn't. After all, Qian Ying's strength was too great, and she had no choice but to complete the task assigned to her. The reason he had put her on a pedestal was simply to prevent her from raising any different opinions.

That damn old Deng, he's as cunning as a fox.

When Ouyang Ruoxi, Chen Mo, and the others saw that Ouyang Nan looked unwell upon her return, they asked, "Aunt, is there something you need?"

"No rush, let me call Qian Zhenghao over first, and then I'll explain in detail." Ouyang Nan didn't want to repeat herself, so she called Qian Zhenghao over first.

Because Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing had previously activated the iron chain bridge mechanism, the entire team retreated to a place 300 meters away from the lakeside to watch the two old men take action.

At this moment, Qian Zhenghao didn't follow Ouyang Nan and the others. Instead, he turned back to the Qian family's group and watched the excitement from behind. Sometimes it's necessary to show one's face within the family and make a statement; otherwise, if he doesn't return for a long time, Qian Wantong might have a problem with him.

Although Qian Zhenghao already harbored resentment towards the Qian family, he could only hide these thoughts and dared not reveal them.

Therefore, he needs to show himself occasionally and demonstrate his abilities in front of the Qian family. Doing so will prevent any trouble.

After Ouyang Nan found him and asked him to go back, Qian Zhenghao also found Qian Wantong to inform him, which was also a way of indirectly showing off his abilities.

Qian Wantong naturally sought out Ouyang Nan to ask Qian Zhenghao to return. He nodded in agreement, urging Qian Zhenghao to hurry back. As for reminding Qian Zhenghao, that was absolutely out of the question. As the saying goes, "better to sacrifice a friend than oneself," it was a good thing for the reconnaissance team to scout ahead for the entire group; at least the others wouldn't encounter danger, or could avoid it in advance.

Therefore, the death of Qian Zhenghao, which ensures the survival of most of the Qian family members, is a worthwhile outcome.

As for whether Qian Zhenghao will resist, he has already guessed and understood the logic behind this matter.

Hehe, how could Qian Zhenghao possibly resist? With Qian Ying and the Qian family's martial artists around, he, Qian Zhenghao, wouldn't resist. At most, he would just play some tricks or slack off.

Actually, Qian Wantong had some suspicions about Qian Zhenghao's failure to return to the Qian family camp a few days ago, but he didn't say anything.

We're all sensible people; some things are better left unsaid than observed.

After Ouyang Nan returned with Qian Zhenghao, she called Chen Mo, Ouyang Ruoxi, and Ouyang Nana over. The five of them held a meeting, mainly to go over the tasks assigned by Qian Ying, which immediately made everyone's faces look unpleasant.

Of course, Chen Mo and Ouyang Ruoxi didn't show any change in expression.

Chen Mo didn't change his expression, mainly because he was quite capable. If he encountered something he could handle, he would deal with it casually; if not, he would simply leave. He had many ways to protect himself and wasn't afraid of danger.

Ouyang Ruoxi didn't change her expression because Chen Mo was there. With him around, she naturally felt safe. Often, with Chen Mo by her side, even danger could become a smooth path.

Ouyang Nana and Qian Zhenghao looked rather unhappy.

"Why? Are all the other martial artists in the team crippled except for us? Shouldn't everyone take turns doing missions? Why are they specifically targeting us for this kind of pioneering work? Are we easy to bully, or do they just not like us?" Ouyang Nana was like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Although Qian Zhenghao didn't say anything, his face was contorted with worry. In truth, he felt the same way Ouyang Nana was saying: why did they always have to be the ones facing difficult problems? Were all the other martial artists dead?

In this valley, are all the exploration tasks to be done by just a few of them, instead of being taken turns? Did Ouyang Nan take them all on to show off?

Turning to look over, he noticed that Ouyang Nan's expression wasn't good either, so he suppressed the urge to blame her. It probably wasn't that this woman wanted to show off, which was why she took on this kind of thing.

Sure enough, after listening to Ouyang Nan's explanation, the other four understood that Qian Ying had forcibly pinned this task on them. However, since the order had already been given, they had no choice but to obey.

Amidst their internal grumbling, the five began packing their supplies and luggage, and once everything was packed, they prepared to depart.

We'll be resting at the bridgehead on the other side tonight, so we'll bring all our luggage and there's no need for anyone to watch over it.