Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The space shifted and Qin Yu stepped out from within. This entire process was so smooth; no one noticed anything amiss.

He raised his head and looked ahead at the numerous buildings in front of him. There were buildings all the way to the edge and they stood tall and majestic.

This was where the East Zhou Family lived.

When he came here the first time years ago, he had felt shocked and impressed by the city without a city wall.

He no longer had this feeling when he looked at the city again today. His gaze fell upon the hidden objects and he noticed the inexplicable but fearful aura that shot into the sky.

Closing his eyes, he sensed the aura from Snowside. She seemed to be in a good condition; her cultivation was much better than before.

That was good.

He smiled slightly and walked towards the city without a wall. He was like a shadow as he slipped into the city unnoticed by all the secret guards of the East Zhou Family.

Qin Yu was not familiar with this city and he did not have many people that he wanted to see. Furthermore, he did not have much time and he didn't need to reminisce on his past. He headed straight for Snowside.

She did not live with the East Zhou Family.

Qin Yu did not seem fast but he quickly reached the end of the long street. This scene was supposed to be surprising to others but cultivators did not blink an eye when they saw Qin Yu. Strictly speaking, it was difficult to attain such speed.

Hm? He recognized this street, he must have been here before. Qin Yu suddenly stopped and he looked ahead. His gaze locked onto a particular window of a three-story wine tavern. He was shocked and found it a little strange.

Unexpectedly, Snowside, that lady was so well-received…if he greeted her now, would he scare everyone off?

At that point, Snowside was very bored. She saw the smile from him and wanted to hop out of her seat and dash to him. However, she knew that she was being hit upon now. It was not because she was attractive but because she had certain statuses tied to her.

For instance, it was rumored that she was a close slave of that famous Mister Ninth of the Peach Garden. Additionally, she was also a close friend of East Zhou Duly, the new head of the East Zhou Family. Lastly, she was helping to tend to East Zhou Family matters now and she had a lot of power.

……

Snowside knew the reason for all of this. It started from when she was a slave and she slowly worked her way up.

Mister Ninth of the Peach Garden!

She did not know the specifics of what cultivation rank he was. However, she could guess from East Zhou Duly's words that he was already one of the most powerful individuals in this world.

Although Snowside guessed a long time ago that Qin Yu's future would be bright, she did not imagine that he would rise so quickly.

The thoughts of getting pregnant were long gone and Snowside knew very well that she was now very different from Qin Yu. There was no chance for that.

It might even be possible that Mister Ninth of the Peach Garden had long forgotten the slave he left at the East Zhou Family.

Maybe the thought of her crossed his mind before. It would only be a flash and he would not think twice about it. After all, she was a mere slave and Qin Yu did not owe her anything. Strictly speaking, she had to be extremely thankful to Qin Yu right now.

If the people in front of her knew that Qin Yu had long forgotten her, what would they say? The majority of them would leave, curse at her, and mock her. If she was just a slave of Mister Ninth, who would want her hand?

Therefore, despite her impatience and annoyance, Snowside bore everything and did not react much. She knew that she did not have the leeway to act brazenly. In the short run there would be no problem, but in the future when the halo label faded away, she would have to rely on herself to live.

As such, when East Zhou Duly asked Snowside whether she wanted to take over the internal matters of the East Zhou Family, she did not need to think twice before agreeing. It was not that she liked power. She just hoped that when the halo label disappeared, she would not be too badly affected.

Every time she was hesitant, tired, or dejected, Snowside loved to come to the wine tavern and sit here. Perhaps it was because Qin Yu used to bring her here often. Even if she did nothing, she would feel at ease here and she would be in a better mood.

However, now that people had found out about this, she could not come here in the future…as she thought about this, Snowside grew sad. She knew that she could not stay here for long. Otherwise, she would not be able to suppress her feelings and she would do something she would regret.

Her eyes scanned the streets and she looked into the far corner. She recalled a few images. Back then, Qin Yu was not the ninth disciple of the Peach Garden yet and he was not that strong. However, he was already someone Snowside knew she could rely on.

It was a pity that this support was far away from her now.

Her eyes turned wet and her vision blurred. Suddenly, she widened her eyes. She seemed to have spotted a figure but when she looked again, she could not find him.

She was starting to hallucinate…Snowside sighed deeply. She turned around and looked at the surprised gazes of the cultivators beside her. She smiled, "I have a few matters to attend to. I will leave you guys early today. Goodbye."

There was redness in her eyes. Despite her smile, people spotted the sadness and reluctance in her eyes. For these cultivators to be here, they might have average talents but they wanted a shot at a woman.

"Miss Snowside, you must be tired. You should go and rest."

"You can never finish attending to your matters. Take care of yourself."

"Miss Snowside, I have settled the bill. You can go."

"Oh so Brother Xu was the one. I was too late so I told the counter staff that I would settle the next bill."

Such sweet words could not touch Snowside's heart. Instead, she found them fake. She nodded her head and smiled reluctantly as she turned and left.

The crowd left and suddenly, a voice rang, "Why didn't you eat this food? Are you in a hurry to leave? Although you are wealthy now, it is always bad to be frivolous. Miss Snowside, you have changed!"

At this point, the same thought popped up into everyone's mind. This man was so stupid, was he trying another method to win over her heart? Hehe, with her mood now, this move was so dumb and stupid.

No one would pity him and some even rejoiced at his stupidity. They knew that every other person here was a competitor. One more eliminated competitor would translate to a lower pressure for them. As such, the crowd slowly started to back off, revealing the origin of the voice.

Snowside turned as she frowned. The next instant, her hand flew to cover her mouth and her tears flowed down. She had thought of this moment many times before and she even dreamed about it, but she never thought it would be a reality.

"Young master, you can't stay that…" A kind-hearted man spoke out to correct him. The moment he did, he was pushed aside as Snowside rushed forward like a prancing deer. Everyone was stunned when they saw her jump into his embrace. Silence filled the tavern in the next second.

Snowside had always been calm and she kept to herself. Yet she actually jumped into a stranger's embrace from these words.

Gosh. If I knew this earlier, I would have done this too!

Who was this man? How was it that we achieved nothing despite putting in so much but you were hugged so easily?

Who could tolerate this?

Young lad, you better have a good background that will shock us speechless. Otherwise, you are in deep trouble!

The kind-hearted cultivator had been pushed aside. His face stiffened.

She was a mere slave and she should have been forgotten much earlier on. Even if she was related to the East Zhou Family, so what? They did not live by the East Zhou Family!

Taking a step back, even if Snowside was related to Mister Ninth of the Peach Garden, this hug with a stranger ended everything.

In other words, the most important label that Snowside had was extinguished! Among the crowd, many people's expressions changed and they started to wonder whether they should continue pursuing her.

The cultivator who fell to the ground scoffed, "What a lowly slave…"

Slap!

A solid slap was delivered to his face and the cultivator was thrown off and collapsed onto a table.

His ears rung and his vision grew blurry as he was slapped. When his composure returned, he shouted, "Zhou Chen, how dare you slap me!"

The man known as Zhou Chen had a pale face. However, he had not been stunned by the words. He did not look at the victim at all and he bowed, "I did not know Mister Ninth was here. We have been rude, please excuse us!"

These words brought silence from the crowd.

There was only Snowside's soft cries as she sobbed emotionally. Everyone else was stunned and they stood rooted to their spots.

Mister Ninth, who was Mister Ninth? The person who Snowside voluntarily embraced and cried was who?

Qin Yu, it was Qin Yu from the Peach Garden! He had personally come to the East Zhou Family!

The opinion that Snowside was an ordinary slave was a misjudgment. How could an average slave have this kind of a treatment…think about it, if your own lowly slave was harassed by a group of men, who would bother about it? On second thought, they might have something going on…this was frightening!

However, the most fearful individual was the person who was slapped. Like a criminal on death row, he salivated on the floor in fear.

Two other cultivators walked over and kneeled to the ground. Their faces were pale as they pleaded, "Mister Ninth, please don't be angry. My master did not have bad intentions…we…we will make sure to give you a proper explanation. Please be merciful!"

They were with the man and they wanted to help their young master stand out from the competitors. However, they did not imagine that this would happen.

Right now, these two men kneeled before him and pleaded. Their limbs were limp and they were cursing him. You idiot, you dragged us in to die!