Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Three days passed since the tents were set up. The first batch from the Barbarian Clan appeared in the nearby area that the team was surveying. After some secret messages, they confirmed each other's identities and were allowed to go near the tents.

Zhou Dafu sought Qin Yu's approval before he went to greet the barbarians. He smiled as he talked with one of the higher ups of the barbarians.

The two appeared to have some kind of relationship.

"My general is waiting in the tent. Please follow me." Zhou Dafu invited with his hands outstretched.

The leader of the barbarians nodded, "I should visit him and thank him for bringing so many items for my team."

Qin Yu was waiting in the tent. He cupped his hands together and said, "Elder Hibiscus, welcome in."

Zhou Dafu had informed him of the elder's name beforehand.

"Greetings to General Jinwu," He bowed and said.

He stood up straight again and urgently asked, "Have you prepared the items that we want? Especially the gallbladders of the Green Willow Snake; we want as many as you have!"

Qin Yu glanced at Zhou Dafu. He said, "We have already prepared everything Elder Hibiscus wants."

He stood up, "The most important thing today is to introduce General Jinwu to Elder Hibiscus. The general will be in charge of everything in the future, but I will be handling the deals with Elder Hibiscus this time."

Hibiscus beamed, "Thank you Brother Zhou and General Jinwu. My team will definitely be friends with you in the Barbarian Clan territory!"

The dealings quickly began. Hibiscus smiled as he exchanged items for the snake gallbladders. He bade farewell to Qin Yu again before he left.

The entire exchange took a few hours. The barbarian team came when the nine suns had yet to fully rise in the sky. By the time they left, the suns were only tilted slightly to the west horizon.

Things had gone by successfully and the barbarians did not impose themselves nor exert dominance to make things hard for the humans. Despite some barbarians having a hateful look in their eyes, they did not create trouble.

Zhou Dafu returned to Qin Yu to give a report, "General, the first team of barbarians to come to the tent have an average strength and hence, they will not dare to create trouble with us. However, the later barbarians coming here for the deal will be much stronger. As such, we have to be extra careful and be wary of any accidents."

He paused and flipped his hand to reveal a snake gallbladder that was sealed in a crystal. The entire thing was a clear green color and there would be a soft glow from it occasionally, "This is the gallbladder of the Green Willow Snake. For Hibiscus' group of barbarians, this poison-neutralizing treasure can help them to break through their realm by shielding them from mental interferences produced by the barbarian clan's bloodline. This is why it is highly sought after by them."

Qin Yu's eyes flashed. He could see that although the barbarians smuggled to reap benefits for themselves, they had a bottom line.

The Barbarian Clan never gave up on the balance of power and suppression!

"I understand."

Zhou Dafu bowed and walked away.

Over the next few days, three other Barbarian Clan teams came over to trade. Like what Zhou Dafu said, they were relatively weak and they were polite with the smuggling team from the West Desolate. Both sides were holding back their hatred towards each other and the deals proceeded smoothly.

Every time, Zhou Dafu would introduce Qin Yu and explain that General Jinwu would take over the smuggling for the West Desolate. Once the deals were completed, he would take the initiative to explain details and points that Qin Yu would need to pay attention to.

Qin Yu felt that Zhou Dafu was an incredible person. By this point, he was starting to suspect his previous judgment - was Zhou Dafu really a saint who was not going to rebel?

Was sending Lotus Lady to him only because she was a beauty, and Zhou Dafu wanted to curry favor? If that was the case, giving Lotus Lady to Rourou would definitely ruin the treasure.

Cough cough!

It was just a thought. It was not a crime if he didn't actually do it right?

Qin Yu rubbed his chin and cleared his mind of these thoughts. This was the first time he admired another person for his acting skills.

It would be a pity to kill Zhou Dafu just like this.

Smuggling was an activity that others would be jealous of. Either that or they would be like Hundred Saint, who saw something amiss with the whole activity.

However, Qin Yu did not care about that.

He did not care about dirtying the smugglers nor becoming the Grand Marshal. He also did not care about reaping benefits from the smuggling process.

He only thought about the Boundary Breaking Seal and how he would connect to the Barbarian Clan.

Although Qin Yu had already decided to take some risk, he would not casually make contact with the Barbarian Clan without a plan.

For instance, Qin Yu chose to remain silent against the relatively weaker barbarian tribes who came for the dealings.

He needed to wait for someone strong from the barbarian tribes to come. Then, he would act accordingly.

……

Rourou was very comfortable.

She had planted a tree to make a house for herself and also planted another tree, the 'wine tree' which bore wine fruits. Whenever she wanted to drink, she only needed to stretch out her hand and take it.

She did not need to move around either. With just a thought, a tree branch would deliver the fruits to her hands like a slave.

In fact, Rourou's comfortable life did not just end here.

In the camp, the smugglers who killed to live stared at her with googly eyes. They were in huge admiration of her.

They had truly learned today!

Something like this was possible, it was possible. They truly needed to see for their lives.

Rourou was as lazy as a sloth and she ate, drank, and lay comfortably on her wooden chair every day. In the morning, she was shaded by the canopy of the tree and at night, she stargazed in wonder. This was the way that she became admired by everyone.

The roots of the tree came out of the ground and formed moving 'root people'. They planted seeds, dug the ground, and harvested them before cooking them with a fire. They were extremely skilled at the tasks they did.

The people saw all of this!

This did not happen once or twice but all the time in front of them.

A tree…no, more accurately it was two trees. They could do so much by themselves, it was flabbergasting!

Who would believe such a thing if they did not see it for themselves?

Honestly speaking, they never expected that they would be jealous of a woman who had two trees.

However, they truly were growing green with jealousy of her.

With two trees by their side, they could live so comfortably without doing anything!

……

Qin Yu smelled a scent.

It was thick and it smelled like a hook that was ready to lure him over.

Rumble -

Qin Yu looked down at his tummy and smiled bitterly.

How long has it been since he had eaten? He had a strong desire to eat food and he could not suppress it.

A few tree roots were so good at cooking. This was ridiculous!

He tried to bear it for as long as he could but he finally sighed and wiped the sides of his lips.

These days were so hard to bear!

He stood up and walked out of the tent. He glanced at the two trees that were vying for favor from Rourou from afar and he walked two steps forward before his lips started to twitch.

As the wind blew, there was a calm music played by bamboo instruments that drifted to his ears.

Qin Yu's eyesight was really good at his cultivation rank. He focused at the two trees and realized that their contest had grown even more intense.

Aside from planting vegetables and cooking, they had learned how to play music.

No one knew how the tree roots were able to play music, but if one listened carefully, one would realize that the music was played well.

She knew how to enjoy life.

Breathing in deeply, Qin Yu stepped forward. He was not the first person who tried to get closer to Rourou's living quarters.

However, he was the first who was allowed in.

The 'root men' formed from tree roots immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully to him.

Everyone who saw this scene grew green with envy.

Those who attempted to go near Rourou previously were bound by the tree roots and whipped heavily before they were thrown aside.

That's right, this applied to everyone regardless of their cultivation. Even those cultivators good at invisibility and hiding were not spared from the same treatment.

Nothing was invisible to these two trees and no one could get past them!

This was also why the smugglers were jealous of Rourou.

These men had gone through life and death. They would not bother about leisure and relaxation.

However, who would not want such powerful guards made from tree roots? Naturally, they were in awe of Rourou who was protected by the tree roots.

Most of the smugglers were unaware of Zhou Dafu's plan, but even those that knew could not help having their hearts clench in fear.

The young lady who did not seem to have a prominent background had such amazing skills. Who knew how incredible General Jin Wu would be?

Pst, just thinking about it made them fearful.

Qin Yu stood beside one of the trees and glanced at the winding staircase that led up. He paused before climbing up.

Right as he stepped onto the platform, the chair that Rourou sat on rocked slightly. She blinked her eyes several times and rubbed her nose before she said in a husky voice, "Qin…you picked such a good timing to be here…the dishes have just been cooked…"

Without having to exert any strength, the tree branches morphed to support her small frame. Then, another branch carried a fresh bucket of water for her to wash her face and the last tree branch wiped her face with a towel.

Qin Yu's lips could not help twitching as he watched this scene.

The tree branches quickly got to work to make another chair for Qin Yu. He walked over and sat down and a few ripe wine fruits were promptly delivered to him.

Although the two trees did not suck up to him as much as Rourou, they were still respectful towards him.

Rourou released her grip and chicken overlord zipped through the air and landed on Qin Yu. His body was curled into a ball and he shivered slightly. He looked incredibly pitiful and sad.

Rourou's eyes narrowed, "Little chicken, are you going to complain about me? Tell me, how have I been mistreating you by hugging you to sleep every day?"

If it was another person speaking, chicken overlord would have rolled his eyes and sauntered off.

Evidently, he was not bold enough. All he could do was shrink himself and lower his head, stuffing it into an invisible sand pit like an ostrich. Clearly, he wanted to pretend that he did not hear Rourou's words.

A small pair of beady eyes peeked out of his feathers and he glared with hatred at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu coughed lightly and pretended to be oblivious to chicken overlord's pitiful situation.

This bastard. Back then, he encouraged Rourou to find him at the border army camp.

He deserved this.

"I am hungry and I have come for a meal."

Rourou stretched lazily. She tapped her chair and the divine senses of the two trees were activated. They separated their duties - one served the dishes while the other brought wine. The roots climbed the tree trunk up to the canopy and formed a musical troop that stood on both sides of the platform.

Very soon, the dishes were ready. With a soft clang to signal the start, a calm tune started to play.

If Qin Yu had not come over, he would have drooled so much it would have been enough to flood his own tent.

Now, there was no need to hold back and he grabbed his chopsticks and began wolfing down the food.

He sucked in the dishes…

Wow, it was good, very good!

There were no other words to describe the taste. These cooking skills were unrivaled.

After so many years, this was the first time that Qin Yu tasted such scrumptious food.

However, the chefs were actually the roots of two trees. This was such a strange thing.

Never mind, he could not be bothered to overthink. With such delicious food in front of him, he should just eat!

Rourou rolled her eyes opposite him. His ignorant expression was so funny.

She held her chopsticks and sampled the food. Then, she placed her chopsticks down and picked up a wine fruit. She slowly sipped the wine.

A gust of wind blew the blanket of clouds away. When Qin Yu was done, he lightly patted his stomach in satisfaction. By then, the table was a mess.

"Hmmph!"

Rourou snorted opposite him and Qin Yu ignored her. He picked up the wine fruit, tilted his head back, and gulped down the wine.

Hehe, this life is so nice!