Ou Yangming answered firmly, “Really. Even if I dare to lie to other people, would I be daring enough to lie to you?”
Old Craftsman scoffed. “You’re a cunning young fella. You’ve lied to me many times, haven’t you?”
Ou Yangming blushed. “Old Man, please have mercy on me.”
Master Lu was envious when he watched them. After all, the old man was probably the only one who could reprimand Ou Yangming without restraint.
“Master Ou, you’re finally back.” Loud laughter was heard as Li Xinfan arrived as soon as he received the news. He cut to the chase. “Are you well-prepared?”
“I’m ready to set out at any time,” Ou Yangming responded seriously.
He initially did not care much about entering the capital to meet the emperor, but after knowing that the imperial family had an Almighty Being who could resist a spirit beast, there was a 180-degree change in his attitude.
Li Xinfan chuckled. “Master Ou, the Yi Pavilion asked me to deliver a message to you. They heard that you’re entering the capital, so they’d like to invite you to join the Treasure Appreciation Meet, which is held once a decade. What do you think?”
“What’s the Treasure Appreciation Meet?” Ou Yangming was confused.
“It’s a distinguished meeting where various treasures are gathered. Many famous blacksmiths will smith divine weapons during the meet, which is an unprecedentedly grand occasion,” Li Xinfan explained with a stern face, then added after a pause, “Master Ou, if you come out top at the meet, there’ll be a higher chance of His Majesty adopting rune carving.” Ou Yangming was startled. “Will His Majesty not adopt it?” “The smithing of armaments involves too many things, so it’s not easy for His Majesty to make changes even if he wants to.” Li Xinfan forced a smile and shook his head as he sighed. “Those people with vested interest won’t give up so easily.”
General Li was the commanding general in the prefecture, but he did not have the power to decide certain things. Ou Yangming looked deeply at the general, and he knew that it would not be a smooth sail for him to request for changes in the armaments.
Nonetheless, since he had already decided, he was going to take down any obstacle in his way.
The young fellow looked in the distance and seemed to be looking toward the Chaos Cave. “Elder Sister Ying, remember—wait for me…”
Chapter 241 - A Conflict In The Gazebo
Chapter 241A Conflict In The Gazebo
The Sun was like a giant red wheel. It radiated its scorching light and emitted its heat on Earth without any restraint.
Carriages moved on the road at different speeds—some fast, some slow—and everyone seemed weary under the blazing sun.
A soft sound was heard as one of the carriages’ curtains was opened, and Ou Yangming was seen getting off the carriage. Upon seeing this, a fine horse approached him, where the cavalier, Wang Leshui, asked in a deep voice, “Master Ou, is there anything you need?”
Judging from Li Xinfan’s status, he was not going to abandon the military by escorting Ou Yangming to the capital.
Nonetheless, the general put a lot of thought into this matter, by which he sent Wang Leshui—his confidante—to accompany the young fellow. On a certain level, the captain could be considered the general’s spokesperson. Although there were several checkpoints throughout the journey, Ou Yangming and his companions were able to pass them smoothly once Wang Leshui made his identity known.
Given that Ou Yangming had been sitting quietly in the carriage, he immediately caught Wang Leshui’s attention when he suddenly came out.
Ou Yangming requested with a smile, “Captain Wang, I’d like to leave the convoy.” “Why?” Wang Leshui furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “If you’re dissatisfied with anything in the convoy, please…”
Ou Yangming waved his hand to cut the captain off. “Captain Wang, you misunderstood; I’m not dissatisfied with anything. I simply have a feeling that something will happen if I continue to travel with the convoy.” “Heh, Master Ou, you’re overthinking. We’re traveling as armed troops, so it’s impossible for anyone to seek trouble.” Wang Leshui laughed.
“Captain Wang, after I leave, you may pretend that nothing ever happened.” Ou Yangming looked deeply at the captain and sighed. Following that, he closed the curtain and entered the carriage again.
Wang Leshui was stunned and confused. ‘Didn’t Ou Yangming say he’s going to leave? Why did he go back into the carriage?’
With that, the carriage kept going, but Wang Leshui paid most of his attention to it.
Nevertheless, when the sun was setting and they stopped at an inn to rest, Wang Leshui’s face changed when he lifted the curtain’s corner.
The carriage was empty. Wang Leshui was startled. He looked around him and recalled Ou Yangming’s reminder, so he could only sigh helplessly. Despite that, the captain could not figure out how exactly Ou Yangming managed to slip away under his watch.
After weighing the pros and cons, Wang Leshui decided to not announce the matter, and he ordered everyone else to carry on with the journey.
****
Ou Yangming flashed and left the convoy without a sound.
His mental power was superior to Wang Leshui’s, and with the integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous state, he was able to perceive the captain’s every move.
If Wang Leshui cast everything aside and fixed his gaze on the carriage without blinking at all, perhaps Ou Yangming could not have gotten away so easily. However, as the convoy’s supervisor, Captain Wang needed to make many decisions, and slight neglect was all Ou Yangming needed to get free discreetly.
After taking a look at the convoy from afar, Ou Yangming traveled at the speed of light and overtook the troop to continue his journey on the main road.
He did not lie to Wang Leshui; he truly felt a sense of danger.
Ever since he cultivated martial arts, it was true that he made many friends, but he also offended several powerhouses. Since the young fellow felt a sense of danger, he could not stay with the convoy anymore.
Traveling alone was much faster than traveling with a group of people. As such, he was quite ahead of his previous companions after a day.
Ou Yangming did it because he wanted to avoid bringing disaster upon the convoy.
He only slowed down after he went tens of kilometers away, where he pretended to travel like an ordinary person.
When Ou Yangming looked up at the sky, he noticed that it was nearly noon, which was when the Sun was the hottest. Even though he was at the peak of Yin Grade, he could not ignore the enormous power from nature.
By then, he was already drenched in sweat.
The young fellow looked around and spotted a gazebo, which was surrounded by a small forest, and it was a good place for him to cool off.
There were not many people on the road at that moment. Due to the extreme weather, unless one had an urgent matter to attend to, one would not be willing to walk under the nasty Sun.
Ou Yangming hesitated for a while before he walked to the gazebo too. The gazebo was already occupied by travelers, who gathered together in twos or threes. They either fanned themselves with a big palm-leaf fan or drank water from their gourds, which was quite refreshing
Seeing as Ou Yangming approached the gazebo by himself, the people cast wary looks at him then no longer paid attention to him.
This was because Ou Yangming had curbed most of his martial arts aura. Even if someone studied him closely, one would only think that he was a little Force Grade martial artist.
Ou Yangming entered the gazebo and nodded at everyone else with a smile. Though he did not receive kind gestures in return, at the very least, the other people did not despise him.
“We’ve all had a hard time in hastening on with our journeys, so come over here, squeeze in.” A burly man waved at Ou Yangming, then he shifted to make some space.
“Thank you, brother.” Ou Yangming laughed.
&n
bsp; The man gave off a strong smell, and the fact that he was standing together with his few other companions caused the air to be filled with the smell of sweat. Even so, Ou Yangming was not a pampered young master. As an orphan, it was difficult for him to survive, so he was not picky at all.
Therefore, Ou Yangming sat down without any hesitation after he thanked the man, and he kept a straight face as though he could not smell their sweat.
The big man nodded and fanned his palm-leaf fan when a hot wind blew, but not much heat was fanned away.
“Son of a b*tch, how can the weather be so hot…” The big man glanced at Ou Yangming and remarked, “Little brother, you’re quite brave to be traveling alone!”
Ou Yangming went through a lot throughout the year, but his appearance did not change much, so those with a bit of experience could guess his age.
“My family’s poor, so someone has to work to put food on the table…” Ou Yangming shrugged.
“Oh? Are you running errands for trade? By yourself?” The big man asked as he found it strange.
Ou Yangming chuckled but did not answer the man. The big man realized that he was having a hearty talk with a slight acquaintance, hence he laughed out loud and stopped asking the young fellow questions. After all, they were strangers who would not meet again after they parted, so they would only hold a casual conversation without disclosing their backgrounds.
All of a sudden, gallops were heard coming from behind the gazebo as a convoy approached.
Ou Yangming narrowed his eyes because he did not recall a convoy behind him earlier; the people probably came from another fork on the road.
The carriage consisted of five big carriages and around twenty other people who rode on horses to protect the carriages. By looking at the formation alone, it was clear that the convoy was not one to be messed with.
After a brief moment, the convoy arrived outside the gazebo. A cavalier went forward and whipped a lash, resulting in a snap in the air.
“Sir wants to rest in the gazebo, so if you’re an idler, get lost!”
The cavalier had a sonorous voice, and his eyes were bright. Also, he gave off a vague killing intent, leaving the other people in awe.
Everyone else in the gazebo looked at each other. The burly man was eager to resist the cavalier, but he dared not voice out after he saw the many cavaliers outside.
“Are you deaf? Do you need me to shoo you away!” The cavalier uttered coldly with a dark face. He swung the whip in his hand as if he was going to whip it at any time.
Several people beside him jumped as they were frightened, then they picked up their bags and went around the cavalier with their heads lowered.
They were unwilling to continue their journey under the heat, but they were even more afraid of being whipped.
As soon as someone took the lead, most of the other people stood up and left too.
Ou Yangming looked deeply at the convoy and stood up slowly. He was not afraid of trouble, but he did not want to have a conflict with them because of the small dispute.
At the end of the day, he still had a faint sense of danger as though something dangerous was approaching him.
Under the circumstances, he did not want to cause trouble.
That said, just as Ou Yangming was going to leave, the sturdy man next to him scoffed angrily and stood up.
The man was so well built that he was bigger than the average person by nearly half a person’s size.
When the man stood up, a valiant aura was released at the cavalier.
The cavalier’s horse was appalled as a result, and it stood up like a person. However, the cavalier was an unordinary person, thus he shouted and squeezed his legs to keep the horse in place.
Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up because he noticed that the cavalier’s martial arts cultivation base was also at Yin Grade. Most importantly, he had exquisite horsemanship, which allowed him to handle the situation well.
Needless to say, Ou Yangming did not pay much attention to the cavalier’s cultivation base, but he admired his horsemanship.
The cavalier lowered his mount and glared furiously at the big man. “You’re courting death!” He then raised his hand and whipped the lash.
While the big man was burly, he was extremely agile.
He turned his body and moved backward to dodge the whip. Accordingly, the cavalier’s whip did not hit the man, but it was not withdrawn as well; it was heading toward Ou Yangming
Ou Yangming opened his mouth in shock. He did not provoke anyone, but disaster still came at him like a bolt from the sky.
The young fellow shifted sideways and evaded the whip wonderfully. Nonetheless, he was not someone who would suffer a beating without fighting back.
Right after the whip brushed past Ou Yangming’s body, he flicked it with his finger.
The end of the whip flew up at once, and it was going to be lashed at the cavalier’s head like a venomous snake.
It was an incredibly fast change, but it was also an exceptionally strange one.
Being caught off guard, the cavalier was beaten on his face. He shrieked in pain and fell from his horse as he lost control of it.
Chapter 242 - Blacksmith Ranks
Chapter 242 Blacksmith Ranks
The sudden unusual change caused a disturbance. Whether it was the cavaliers or the burly men from before, they were all casting strange looks at Ou Yangming. In particular, the sturdy men looked at the young fellow in confusion. The men initially thought Ou Yangming was a young man who was hurrying on with his journey. Although he carried a martial artist’s aura, they figured he was inexperienced and was new to the scene. Therefore, they marveled at Ou Yangming’s flick, which was not the least bit overbearing.
Honestly, even if the men had given their all, they could not have caused such an effect.
“Hmph, what presumptuous men! Take them down!”
A furious roar was suddenly heard coming from the convoy, then roughly ten men jumped down from their forces to surround Ou Yangming and the big men. It was evident that they regarded Ou Yangming and the big men as a group.
Ou Yangming sighed and was secretly angry because he felt wronged for encountering the unexpected misfortune.
Nonetheless, he was not going to flinch or escape since he had already made a move.
The few big men exchanged glances, and instead of backing away, they stood together. Just as a fight was about to break out, one of the carriages’ curtain was opened, and a middle-aged man walked out and asked in a deep voice, “What’s going on?”
‘Do you not know what happened? This is such a huge scene,’ Ou Yangming rolled his eyes and thought. However, his eyelids then twitched abruptly because he recognized the man.
It was Hu Yicheng, a senior officer from the Inspection Division. Back when Ou Yangming acquired the Military Fire, it was he who gave him the Military Fire Badge. Once Ou Yangming identified the man’s identity, he looked at the cavaliers and noticed two familiar faces too; they were protectors who had guarded the courtyard that day.
ere
The head cavalier dared not delay the matter, so he immediately approached the officer and reported softly, “Sir, a group of unruly men is causing trouble.” “Pfft! You’re the ones who are stirring up trouble, okay? Don’t throw mud at us!” The burly man yelled as he was infuriated. “First come, first served. If you’d like to snatch our spot, you should ask if our weapons agree!”
He drew a big saber from his back, and the people around him followed suit.
Ou Yangming frowned because he had a vague feeling that the men’s approach was off.
Nevertheless, they could not be blamed for being reckless. After all, they were cooling off at the gazebo but were suddenly driven off by someone else, so they needed to vent their anger.
“Do you know what this place is? The gazebo was renovated by the emperor for masters from the imperial court to take a rest! How are you qualified to occupy the building?” The head cavalier stated wit
h a grim face.
The big men were stunned, but they were not fearful at all. Instead, they were even more dauntless when they faced the cavaliers.
When they showed how they would not hesitate to fight, the cavaliers were the ones who became wary.
“Forget it. Since it’s not a big conflict, this comes to an end.” Hu Yicheng frowned and looked at the leader among the big men. “I’ll only be using half of the gazebo, so you may stand down.”
The leader hesitated for a while and glanced at the cavaliers and the carriages. He scoffed and turned around to order, “Let’s go!”
As he waved his hand, the big men around him left together with him, and they soon went on the main road. Even so, the sharp-eyed Ou Yangming noticed that they were not resigned to the outcome.
He had a slight feeling that this was not the end of the conflict, but he would not say it out loud.
The head cavalier had a grave expression on his face when he watched the men leave. All of a sudden, one of the cavaliers shouted, “Sir, there’s another man here!”
“Young fella, who are you, and where did they come from?” The head leader’s eyes glowed, and he smiled hideously. He clenched his fists, causing the sound of bones being cracked to be heard. “Come clean, and you’ll suffer less!”
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t know them.”
“Hmph! Nonsense, why were you with them if you don’t know them?”
“Like patches of drifting duckweed, we only met by chance. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.” Ou Yangming was neither humble nor haughty when he spoke. “Hah, you’re full of excuses!” The head cavalier sneered. “Judging from their appearances, even if they’re not bandits, they’re definitely not good men. Since you were with them and even hurt one of our brothers…”
Ou Yangming cut him off. “Your brother whipped me with his lash. Am I only considered a good man if I let him hit me?”
The head cavalier was instantly lost for words, and he roared madly, “You’re a madman-take him down!”
He would not have been so domineering if the strong armed men were still around, but he no longer held back because Ou Yangming was the only one left. Seeing as the other cavaliers began to surround him, Ou Yangming curled his lips and said, “Sir Hu, if you’re going to let them be, don’t blame me if an accident happens later.”
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 144
