The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3283 The Proposal to Scout the Way Ahead

“Alright, now that it’s light, let’s get ready and head forward along the mountain path. We need to hurry and find a way to escape this prison,” Qian Ying said.

"Yes!" Qian Wantong was excited when he heard that he was free from the cage. He really didn't want to stay here any longer; it was too dangerous.

Qian Wantong went to find Zhou Ke, and then the two of them, each with their own martial artists, began preparations to continue their journey.

Many things were actually prepared at night, but the wood could not be left behind. We took as much as we could, since collecting this wood was a bit difficult.

Just after everyone moved the burning wood away from the doorway, they walked out of the main hall and began to organize the chopped wood, trying to ensure that each warrior carried as much wood as possible so that they would have enough to use in the new place and get through the night safely.

"Captain Ouyang Nan, what brings you here?" Qian Wantong, who was busy at work, saw Ouyang Nan coming down the mountain path and waited for her to come closer before asking her.

"I want to discuss something with Elder Qian," Ouyang Nan said.

"Alright, come with me." Qian Wantong then led the way, with Ouyang Nan following, to see Qian Ying.

But before they even reached the main hall, Ouyang Jun stopped them: "Elder Ouyang, could you spare a moment? I need to speak with you about something."

Ouyang Nan frowned, intending to refuse.

"Elder, please give us some time, since we are all members of the Ouyang family. Just a few words," Ouyang Jun quickly said.

Ouyang Nan thought for a moment, then turned to look at Qian Wantong and said, "I need to see Elder Qian Ying now, so I can't waste any time. If you have anything to say, we can talk about it when I come out."

She couldn't keep Qian Ying waiting, so if she wanted to say something, she'd have Ouyang Jun wait for her. However, she could roughly guess what Ouyang Jun wanted to talk to her about.

Ouyang Jun glanced at Qian Wantong, though he couldn't discern anything from his expression. But no one could keep Qian Ying waiting, so he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll wait for you here."

Ouyang Nan nodded, and then set off again with Qian Wantong.

Behind him, Ouyang Jun looked at Ouyang Nan with a complicated expression on his face.

Recalling how the family arranged for them to form an expedition team, and how Ouyang Nan had been leading the team until now, it was only because of Ouyang Min's instigation that, with the consent of all the team members, Ouyang Nan was dismissed from her position as team leader.

However, since Ouyang Min's death, the entire Ouyang family's group has become like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of the Qian family. What was originally a group of over twenty people is now reduced to only eleven.

Even his partner, Ouyang Ding, died the night before last.

Last night, they even sent their own Ouyang family members to serve as cannon fodder, guarding the most dangerous area at the main gate. They were basically being used as human alarms; if the shadowy figure rushed in, they would face the figure's attack, while the other family warriors would have enough time to react while these cannon fodder held them off. If I had known this would be the outcome, I would never have dismissed Captain Ouyang Nan!

Think about the four people Ouyang Nan separated from; they are not only living well now, but also very free, without having to worry about the opinions of Elders Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing.

Thinking about all this fills them with regret. But there's no going back, so all they can do is wait for Ouyang Nan to come out and plead with Elder Ouyang Nan to save the remaining members of their clan, for the sake of them all being from the same clan!

As Ouyang Nan and Qian Wantong entered the main hall, they saw Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing meditating. They needed to conserve their energy, as they were to travel along the mountain path today. If they encountered any strange beasts along the way, they would need to take turns dealing with them.

If they are not strong enough, then people may die, and even the two of them may be injured.

"Elder!" Qian Wantong called out softly as he entered.

In fact, Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing, both innate martial artists, already knew when Qian Wantong and Ouyang Nan came in, but they didn't open their eyes and just kept their eyes closed, looking completely calm and collected.

Ouyang Nan secretly pursed her lips. Her own nephew-in-law was also a master of innate skill, but these two old men never showed off. They were getting more and more arrogant as they got older, holding their heads high.

"What is it?" Qian Ying slowly exhaled, then opened her eyes and looked at Qian Wantong to ask. After seeing Ouyang Nan, she nodded: "Ouyang Nan, you're here too?"

“Ouyang Nan came to see you about something,” Qian Wantong replied, then stepped back a few paces and stood to the side, wanting to hear what it was about.

"Greetings, Elders!" Ouyang Nan stepped forward and greeted the two respectfully before telling Qian Ying about what she and Chen Mo had discussed.

"You four want to be the vanguard for the whole team, to go ahead and walk in front, while we lead the way and follow behind, day and night, until we reach the end of the mountain path, to the location of the tallest building?" Qian Ying was somewhat surprised, not expecting Ouyang Nan and the other three to do this.

“Yes, Elder Qian. The four of us want to scout ahead for the team so we can avoid some dangers in advance,” Ouyang Nan nodded in reply.

"Why?" Qian Ying asked curiously. "You couldn't possibly be unaware of the danger of scouting ahead for the team, especially on a road where monsters like the Shadow could attack at any moment. Why did you scout ahead for us?"

Qian Ying naturally didn't believe that Ouyang Nan and the others had the spirit of selfless dedication. They came here to find treasures or rare herbs, preferably rare medicines or treasures that could help them break through the acquired and advance to the innate levels.

But now that I know there's danger, how can I possibly scout ahead for everyone? There must be something I haven't considered.

“We are aware of the danger, and we will take responsibility for our actions if anything goes wrong. The reason we made this suggestion is that we want to act alone and don’t want to join the others. After all, the four of us were all members of the Ouyang family before, but whether it was the family members removing me as captain, the family warriors shifting the blame onto me a while ago, or the family warriors pushing my niece out of the fire ring to block the shadow the night before last, all of these things make me not want to be with these family members.”

Their original intention was that the four of them didn't want to travel with the main group at all; it would be much better to act alone and not have to take orders. As for the shadowy figure, she also believed that Chen Mo could handle it.

However, these things could not be said aloud. They could only use the Ouyang family as an excuse to make Qian Ying believe that the four of them did not want to act with the main force because they did not want to get involved with the Ouyang family's group.