Chapter - 222 The Hidden Loveless Valley (3)

Before he even got back to the stone house he could hear the bellows of Ma Guangzou, complaining how his stomach can't survive on water and vegetables and how could these sweet and bitter flower petals be eaten. Are they trying to kill me?

Yin Kexi laughed, "Brother Ma, you better hide all the valuables that you have; I think the Master of the valley has ill intent."

Ma Guangzou didn't know he was being ridiculed and nodded his head in agreement.

Yang Guo returned to the room and saw a few dishes filled with the petals of the Passion Flower on the table. He watched them eat the petals with squinting faces and he was amused as he thought about how even Jinlun Fawang the monk was affected by effects of the passion flower.

He picked a cup of water and took two sips when he heard footsteps approaching, a man in green came in, bowed to them and said, "Our Master will now see his guests."

Fawang, Nimoxing and the others were all great Masters, no matter where they went, the Master of that place would come out and personally greet them; even Mongolia's Fourth Prince Khubilai showed great respect to them. They could never have thought that the Master of this secluded valley would be so impudent, they all were angry and thought, "When I see that rude Valley Master I'm going to show him a thing or two."

The six of them followed the man in green for a li or so and suddenly came across a swaying green bamboo forest. Bamboo was rare in the north and such a large piece of bamboo forest was even rarer. In the middle of the forest, the light fragrant relaxing scent of flowers could be noticed. As soon as they passed through the forest, the scent suddenly became overwhelming; everywhere in front of them were Chinese narcissi. A shallow pond with a depth that was less than a foot was filled with the flowers. These flowers were also something that was usually seen in the south, why could they be found here in this mountain valley?

Fawang thought, "There must be some hot springs below the mountain that keeps the ground and air warm."

Every five feet or so was a Mu Chun plant, the man in green darted across the pond over them. The six followed but Ma Guangzou was heavy and had poor lightness kung fu; though his footsteps were large they weren't large enough to takes steps of five feet or so. After stepping on a few plants, he decided to drop into the pond and follow them by wading instead.

They followed a green stone path and from afar, they saw a large stone building built under the cover of the mountains. The seven advanced towards it. Outside the building were two young attendants who were holding a fly whisk in their hands. One of the attendants went inside the house to tell the Master of their arrival while the other opened the door to receive them.

Yang Guo thought, "I wonder whether the Valley Master will come and receive us in person?" Before his thoughts were settled, a bearded old man in green came out of the house.

This old man was extremely short, no more than four feet tall, his appearance was strange but the strangest thing about him was his exceedingly long thick beard that hung down to the ground. He was wearing a dark green gown and had a green rope tied across his waist.

Yang Guo thought, "This Valley Master looks so weird yet his daughter is so beautiful."

The old man bowed deeply to him and said, "It is our luck to have such prestigious guests, please come in for tea."

When Ma Guangzou heard the word 'tea', he frowned deeply and said loudly, "Drink tea! What place doesn't have tea? Why must I come to this place for it?"

The long bearded old man did not know what he meant; he glanced at him and then bowed again receiving the guests.

Nimoxing thought, "I'm a short man but the Master of this valley is even shorter. You win on shortness but let's see who wins on martial arts." He barged forward to the front, stretched out his hand and said, "Nice to meet you." He took the old man's hand and immediately used the strength in his hands.

The others took a couple of steps back when they saw the two stretching out their hands to receive each other, they knew that when two great Martial artists exchange forces, it will be something out of the ordinary.

Nimoxing first used twenty percent of his power in his hands but he found that the opponent did not counterattack nor block; he was slightly surprised and increased another twenty percent. He felt that is was like holding a slab of solid wood. He increased another twenty percent of the force in his hands. A faint green air glimmered across the old man's face and his hand was still like a rigid piece of wood.

Nimoxing was extremely surprised and didn't dare to use the rest of his strength just in case the enemy counterattacked when he was at full strength, then, he would not be able to defend against the attack. He laughed and released his hand.

Jinlun Fawang was second in line. He saw what had happened and knew that Nimoxing was unable to ascertain the short man's abilities. There was no need for him to make a rash move while the opponent's abilities were still unclear, Fawang folded his arms and gracefully walked past. Xiaoxiang Zi and Yin Kexi followed together with Ma Guangzou behind. Ma Guangzou had seen the short man's beard and thought that it was extremely weird. He hadn't eaten anything except the Passion Flowers and that made him even hungrier; at this moment in time he was hungry and angry. When he entered he suddenly stuck out his foot and stepped on the tip of the man's beard.

The old man was unmoved and said, "Please be careful."

Ma Guangzou put his other foot on the beard and said, "What?"

The old man moved his head slightly and Ma Guangzou suddenly flipped over. Such a large person falling to the floor is no ordinary matter.

Yang Guo was the last one to enter; he quickly dashed forward two steps and struck Ma Guangzou on the backside moving his gigantic body forwards. Ma Guangzou stood firmly on the ground and rubbed his backside.

The old man acted as if he didn't see anything; he invited them into hall and sat them on the west side before saying clearly, "The guests have arrived, call for the Valley Master."

Yang Guo and the others were shocked, "So that old man is not the Valley Master."

From the back of the hall, ten or so green clothed disciples came in and stood to the left, Gongsun Lu'E was amongst them. After a while, a person entered the hall and bowed to the six and casually sat down on a chair on the east side. The long bearded old man stood by his chair. From the man's presence, this person will be none other but the Valley Master.

This man was about forty five or six years of age, he had a handsome face and appeared graceful; from the way he greeted them and sat down, he also seems to possess a lofty air. His face was yellow and dried, not looking like someone who possessed great martial arts. As soon as he sat down; some of the disciples in green brought tea forward. The hall was decorated in green, but the Valley Master was wearing a precious satin blue gown, he was extremely eye catching in the deluge of green.

The Valley Master picked up a tea bowl and said, "Please have some tea."