Brother-sister
Ou Peng felt a sense of contentment when he saw the lively atmosphere in the discussion hall. Was it not the duty of men to create a place of stability and peace for the people he cared about, it seemed that Ou Peng was close to achieving this goal.
Just as Ou Peng was being self-indulgent, he saw a beautiful figure walked into the discussion hall. Ou Peng’s eyes brightened and a smile spread across his face, because the new arrival was none other than his beloved younger sister Ou Yan.
Ou Peng was no stranger to hardships; their parents had pa.s.sed away early so he and his sister had to count on each other since young. When he was adopted by his master into the Piaomiao sect, his younger sister naturally followed him in. However, she did not learn martial arts, and instead stayed with Ou Peng’s master’s wife in Huanxi mountain villa. Ou Peng’s master had no heirs so the Piaomiao sect sect-master’s seat was pa.s.sed on to Ou Peng after the former’s careful consideration, whereas Huanxi mountain villa was pa.s.sed down from Ou Peng’s master’s wife to Ou Yan directly, which meant that even if Ou Peng did not become Piaomiao’s sect master, Huanxi mountain villa would still belong to Ou Yan eventually, and the latter did not inherit the mountain villa’s ownership due to her connections with her elder brother.
Actually, following the longstanding relationship between Huanxi mountain villa and Piaomiao sect, many people felt that Ou Peng’s wife was more suitable to manage the mountain villa, but they do not realize that many things are not what they seemed on the surface.
In the eyes of the Piaomiao six tigers, they remembered the little girl who would follow Ou Peng from early on and have treated her as their own daughter or sister. Thus, they were not bothered by how outsiders would view them, and Huanxi villa was their backyard so they naturally had to pa.s.s it down to someone they are comfortable with. Even though the current sect master’s wife was the beloved of the sect master, she was different from the previous sect master’s wife because the latter was the founder of Huanxi mountain villa, whereas the former was an outsider no matter how virtuous or sensible she was. How could they be more comfortable with her when compared to Ou Yan whom the previous villa master had chosen personally as a successor?
While this was all true, Ou Yan was quite detached from the affairs of Piaomiao sect.
When Ou Peng saw his younger sister entered the discussion hall, his eyes showed a rare expression of warmth as he admired the way she walked slowly to his front as though he was looking at his own child. At this moment, Ou Peng was not just a man, he was like all other fathers under the heaven who felt proud of their beautiful daughters appearing in front of them.
Ou Yan also thought likewise, the elder brother in front of her was a fatherly figure. From as long as she could remember, her elder brother would accompany her, spoil her, love her, and left her feel the warmth of a parent. She guessed that the books which described fatherly love would be referring to the love she received from her elder brother. The only thing was that in Jianghu, where slaughter is common and life does not belong to oneself, Ou Yan would worry every time Ou Peng went out before he became sect master, and she would pray fervently to the heavens for the safety of this only remaining relative she had left. When Ou Peng became sect master, he would be preoccupied with the administration of sect affairs and would rarely set off personally. Ou Yan knew that her elder brother’s work was hard, and she would try to use her own powers to a.s.sist him. Hence, she put in all her efforts into building up Huanxi mountain villa which would support Piaomiao sect in its logistics and medicinal needs when the latter was facing difficulties. Even during the matter of the treasure when the other parties required a hostage from a close relative, Ou Yan did not hesitate to volunteer herself because as long as she could help her brother, any price was not too high.
It was just that the matter Ou Peng wanted to accomplish this time was too appalling. He wanted to a.s.similate a sect that was comparable in size to his own, and even battle them on their own territory. Even though she knew that her elder brother had some fortuitous encounter and even consumed some martial arts aiding pill, Jianghu was not only about martial power. Luck and opportunity were also important factors, and furthermore, there were crouching tigers and hidden dragons all over Jianghu, and someone will always be standing above. Hence, Ou Yan was unable to sleep peaceful at night during the period when Ou Peng was away as constantly feared receiving any bad news about them.
When she received news of her elder brother’s victory the day before, she wanted to be the first to welcome him back, but knowing that he was the sect master and not just her elder brother, she waited for the official celebration before going over to see him.
Ou Yan walked to the front of Ou Peng and curtsied, “Elder brother, congratulations on your large contribution to Piaomiao sect again.”
Pu Peng saw his younger sister’s gaunt, skinny face and felt pained, he said, “Yan’er, I have told you countless times not to worry about me. With my current abilities, there would be no problems escaping with my life if I encounter any danger. Look at what you have become after just a few days of not meeting each other, aren’t you making it unbearable for me as well?”
Ou Yan smiled and said, “A pity your sister was not born a man or she could have taken your place in the battle. Else, what would there be for me to worry about now.”
Ou Peng looked at his younger sister and he thought he saw his mother’ features on her again. He had the sudden desire to rub her earlobes but the discussion hall was not his home, so he waved his hands and said, “The matters of the sect will naturally be done by elder brother, Yan’er do not to worry or be afraid. Even if you were a younger brother of mine, I would not let you put yourself in a dangerous situation to be the vanguard.”
Ou Yan smiled as she said, “I already know this, you have always chosen to be the vanguard since young.”
Ou Yan asked again, “How was the situation when you attacked Luoshui sect?”
Ou Peng pointed a chair and said, “Yan’er, sit first and I will recount it to you slowly.”
When Ou Yan was seated, Ou Peng recounted the details of when he first set off from Piaomiao sect and charged all the way to the core area of Luoshui sect and captured their sect master Shui Yupeng. In his narration, the difficult situations sounded simple and the dangerous situations were simply glazed over, but Ou Yan could pick them up and whenever it came to a surprise dangerous situation, she would break out into cold sweat even though her elder brother was sitting safe and sound right before her eyes then.
After Ou Peng had described the sequence of events, Ou Yan finally sighed in relief and said seriously to Ou Peng, “Elder brother, it really seemed dangerous this time, if elder brother and the other senior brothers had not improved their martial arts by a huge margin, this Luoshui sect would have been a dragon’s pond and tiger’s den.”
Ou Peng seemed to have many thoughts in his mind as he nodded and said, “Actually, if the few of us brothers did not experience a jump in our martial arts, we would not have the guts to swallow Luoshui sect. This unexpected increase in martial prowess may have led me to do things that I would not usually do.”
Ou Yan echoed his sentiments and said, “That is right, elder brother, the consequences or expectations after experiencing a surge in ones’ martial prowess would usually be out of the person’s control, because if you had not gotten used to having such power, you would not be too familiar with its consequences and could easily bring yourself to ruin.”
Ou Peng smiled and said, “Yan’er is right, just like a farmer who suddenly became rich overnight, he would have other ambitions and do things that he would usually not dare to. Gambling, for example, if the farmer had not gone to a gambling house or had not dared to bet a huge amount before, after experience the surge of wealth, he would not hesitate as much to bet higher stakes. Even though he might win another fortune if he was lucky, he could lose everything if the banker was in control of him, and may even lose his own life as well. In that case, he would have lived a long and stable life had he not gotten rich overnight.”
Ou Yan smiled at her brother wordlessly while Ou Peng continued tenderly, “Yan’er, elder brother knows what is in your mind. Even though there were some dangers in attacking Luoshui sect this time, the reason was due to the sudden rise in our martial prowess. However, elder brother has learnt his lesson through this b.l.o.o.d.y experience, and would lead our fellow brothers more carefully in the future. You can rest at ease, elder brother won’t be a farmer who struck rich overnight.”
Ou Yan’s smile blossomed like a flower and she said gently, “I know that elder brother.”
Ou Peng asked again, “Yan’er, how are things in the mountain villa?”
Ou Yan wrinkled her brows and said, “Everything is the same as usual, there has been no advancement and the herbs do not sprout after they were planted, I wonder what the reason is.”
Ou Peng said with a slight bit of anxiety, “Could it be that our disciples do not know how to cultivate crops? Or the method of cultivation is wrong? If not, shall we get the pharmacy hall’s hallmaster Bai or elder He to send some disciples over?”
Ou Yan nodded and replied, “Perhaps we need to. The cultivation method follows the normal way we cultivate other herbs, and those disciples were also sent by pharmacy hall and they have rich experience in cultivating herbs, we just do not know why the herbs do not sprout. I guessed that the pharmacy hall did not have excess manpower to spare during the period you were preparing for the a.s.sault on Luoshui sect, but since hallmaster Ba and the rest should have some time on their hands now, it may be good for them to come over and take a look while I refer back to the old texts to look for any other ideas.”
Ou Peng nodded his head and said, “Yan’er, you have to take good care of your health, do not overextend yourself. While it would be good if the herbs can be cultivated, there is no problem if they don’t. Elder brother do not wish to see you hurt yourself for this insignificant herbs.”
Ou Yan smiled and said, “I know that elder brother. Even though I cannot cultivate deep and profound inner energy, I am still proficient in outer martial arts and my body is fit enough to not fall sick, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
Ou Peng smiled back and said, “That’s right, if you had learnt the profound inner energy cultivation arts of Piaomiao sect, I would have to put you in the position of the sect master with your intelligence. Do you remember the expression on master’s face when he found out that you cannot train in that cultivation art, he was probably feeling upset that he had lost a good potential successor.”
Ou Yan scolded mockingly, “Elder brother, look at what you are saying. I have no interest in the position of the sect master, there are so many affairs like the number of hairs on a bull to settle each day, it would have have driven me crazy from frustration. Staying in Huanxi mountain villa is much better, there is nothing troublesome throughout the year, and I can spend most of my time enjoying the view of the moon or flowers, while training some martial arts on the side, doesn’t that sound better?”
Ou Peng said enviously, “True, look at how well master and his wife treated you to give you the Huanxi mountain villa in its entirety. I also wish to live that kind of lifestyle, a pity…”
Ou Yan smiled and continued, “A pity that a person does not belong to himself when in Jianghu? That is not true, everyone has the power to control one’s life. Look at elder brother, you are like the moon that is surrounded by many little stars, and the power you hold is vast, aren’t there many people who are envious of your life as well?”