Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Under the two big trees, the 'root people' saluted and dispersed, returning to the ground again. The green and dense branches overlapped to form a barrier, covering the treehouse.

But Qin Yu knew that Rourou was hiding behind and watching, because this whole matter happened out of her own will.

He was not sure what exactly she was planning to do…Qin Yu looked up and made eye contact with her, feeling helplessness in his heart.

Wasn't it good to be alive?!

Zhou Dafu walked over and saluted respectfully, "General, the arrangements have been made…" He hesitated a little and lowered his voice, "The Golden Crow Tribe is powerful. Since we are now in the barbarians' territory, it is not a shameful thing to put up with them. I ask the General to focus on the big picture and refrain from acting impulsively."

Qin Yu looked at him and said, "I understand." He was aware of what Zhou Dafu was trying to remind him about, but in fact, Qin Yu was not really planning on doing anything.

Rourou was the one who had created this setup; all he had to do was watch.

There was no need for him to do or say anything. Golden Crow waved his hand and the 'exchange' began.

The warrior from the Golden Crow Tribe was indeed very strong. As he took the stage, his armor suddenly radiated red flames. The air became distorted from the heat and only those cold and cruel eyes were extremely clear.

In comparison, the smuggler opposite him was much less imposing. His face was pale, as if he had not seen the sun for hundreds of years. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and evaporated under the high temperature, emitting white gas.

The warrior from the Golden Crow Tribe looked like he was going to make his move any time now.

Hong -

The flames soared into the sky, forming a flame giant on the surface of the Golden Crow Tribe warrior's body. This flame giant stepped forward and the ground shattered with a 'ka-cha' sound and then started to melt under the extremely high temperatures.

The fist that was wrapped in flames roared through the air and rushed towards the smuggler. The smuggler's face paled, and he tried his best to tumble and managed to barely avoid it.

This 'exchange' felt more like a one-sided beating, in favor of the Golden Crow Tribe warrior.

On one hand, this warrior from the Golden Crow Tribe was indeed powerful and tyrannical. On the other hand, the smuggler was restraining himself from attacking with full power, although he was already inferior in fighting ability.

At least, Qin Yu noticed a few times when the smuggler had the opportunity to fight back but did not make any moves.

This was probably what 'putting up with them' meant.

Zhou Dafu was a little worried and he glanced at General Jinwu. His conversation with General Jinwu about the Golden Crow Tribe just now made him very uneasy. Fortunately, however, General Jinwu seemed to have heeded his words. Although the general frowned slightly, he did not intend to intervene.

That's good!

As long as General Jinwu did not mess with this variable, there would not be much trouble for them today. At most, there would only be a few deaths and they would lose some trading materials which they could afford.

Outside the battlefield, the smugglers who were watching the 'exchange' kept their silence.

Even though it was not the first time many of them had witnessed such a scene, the air was still full of oppression.

The person who was sent for the 'exchange' was one of their companions and partners whom they struggled with together to survive. They were always put in dangerous situations and managed to live to the present. But now, he became a pawn that was abandoned, and he only felt despair in his heart as he waited for death.

Zhou Dafu could feel the surrounding eyes on him, but he continued to plaster an indifferent expression on his face as if he did not feel anything.

Putting up with this and bearing the losses was the only way to avoid greater trouble! This was the most important rule of survival for all the smugglers in the Western Barbarian Land.

"Ah!"

A miserable wail sounded as the figure wrapped in flames fell heavily on the ground. The smell of scorched flesh filled the air. He was not dead yet, but he was struggling frantically on the ground. His chest had been torn apart after being burnt by Sunfire. His fate was already determined.

A smuggler suddenly rushed towards the burning figure.

"We lost!"

Zhou Dafu suddenly declared loudly, then rolled up his sleeves and put out the flames. He glared at the smuggler beside him, his icy eyes telling him not to act rashly. Then, he personally removed the storage ring from the burnt man's scorched and festering finger.

"We're willing to admit defeat, the thing you wanted is right here."

He raised his arm and threw the ring outwards.

Pa -

The Golden Crow Tribe warrior reached out and caught it. He licked a corner of his mouth, and there was a trace of ferocious excitement in his eyes.

Then, he stretched out his hand and pointed, letting out a low growl.

Zhou Dafu's face changed slightly.

Before Zhou Dafu could say anything, the shrill sound of Golden Crow's laugh rang out. "My son is not satisfied yet, so let's have another round. Strictly speaking, it was my tribe that suffered losses. Zhou Dafu, you won't refuse us, right?"

Golden Crow looked over. His tone was not strong, but his eyes were very cold.

It was bone-chilling!

Zhou Dafu's body froze and his face was pale. The one who was pointed at by the Golden Crow Tribe warrior was the smuggler who rushed out just now.

Let's just call the burnt man Number One, and the smuggler who rushed out Number Two.

Number Two was Number One's younger brother. Originally, by random selection, Number Two was chosen to fight, but Number One had volunteered to fight in his place and was now lying on the ground.

"I'll go!" Number Two gritted his teeth as he shouted.

Zhou Dafu took a deep breath, "You know what you're supposed to do, right?"

Number Two nodded his head and looked at his brother who was completely burnt and panting in pain. He was about to die at any moment now. With one last glance, Number Two turned and strode away.

At the beginning of the second round of the 'exchange', Number Two, who was full of hatred, had no scruples in attacking. He was really trying his best.

Putting his life on the line in this battle, if the opponent's mind was weak or fearful, he would be able to kill them.

But for the Golden Crow Tribe warrior, failure would make him end up in a predicament worse than death.

Therefore, the result of Number Two fighting with all his life was merely a quicker loss, and he also became the second burning man as he screamed miserably. There was a big gap in strength compared to the Golden Crow Tribe warrior.

Of course, Number Two's desperate efforts were not in vain. The Golden Crow Tribe warrior's shoulders that were not covered by the armor were now a blur of flesh and blood. Red-colored bones could also vaguely be seen.

In the air, the smell of burnt flesh became more intense.

"This smell really stinks." A dissatisfied voice came from the big tree. Then, the large branches spread out, spilling a drop of dew.

Hualala -

The dew dissipated, splashing onto the two burning figures and soaking their entire bodies.

A shocking scene unfolded. The terrifying wounds that were inflicted by the Sunfire started to recover at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

The rotting flesh quickly shriveled and fell off, revealing newly-grown skin beneath it.

Under everyone's shocked expression and widened eyes, Number One and Number Two struggled to get up. The scorched surfaces of their bodies were like mud as they fell down continuously as they got up, revealing their incomparably pale faces.

Their eyes were full of disbelief as they looked down to examine their bodies and their regrown fingers. Then, they knelt to the ground heavily and kowtowed towards the treehouse.

"Thank you Lady, thank you Lady!"

One would not understand the horrors of narrowly escaping death unless they had personally experienced it.

Rourour wrinkled her nose with a look of disgust, "Stop kneeling, your bodies stink to death; get up quickly." She curled up her legs as she sat on the branch chair and looked at Qin Yu, "These people are so noisy, get them to leave!"

Qin Yu understood the underlying meaning of the look in Rourou's eyes - 'you owe me another favor'. As for this 'favor', it was because Rourou had saved these two smugglers.

Rourou's first label was a member of the Demon Sect, but her current identity was that of General Jinwu's woman. This was known to many people in the West Border Army camp.

Since she took action to save people, it was equivalent to General Jinwu saving these people as well. Qin Yu could feel the change in the way the smugglers were looking at him now.

But he did not appreciate it and even sneered. Internally, he was thinking, 'This was all planned by you in the first place. If you did not insist on intervening, I would not even have allowed this to happen and would have just waited for the other party to go mad.'

These two people almost died because of you, but now they are endlessly grateful towards you.

Tsk, tsk, does this not hurt your conscience?

Rourou raised her eyebrows. What is conscience? Qin Yu, since when did you care about such a thing?

Just when they were 'conversing with their eyebrows', Golden Crow looked at Rourou, who was on the tree, dumbfoundedly.

His origins had been mentioned previously. As a half-human half-barbarian, Golden Crow's appearance was highly similar to that of a human. It could even be said that he was very handsome.

This indirectly led to Golden Crow having a different eye for beauty compared to that of barbarians.

He hated humans, but he liked playing around with female humans.

Of course, the fate of these female humans that he played around with did not turn out very good.

But today, Golden Crow suddenly felt an impulse he never felt before.

This woman, was his!

He had to get her!

He looked at her the way a hungry jackal looked at fat prey. Once he locked his eyes on her, he could not look away.

Hu -

Golden Crow suddenly got up and pointed to the tree house, "Give her to me, and I will return the spoils of the previous two rounds to you and take my men away immediately!"

Zhou Dafu was full of despair.

If it was another woman, even if it was his child's own mother, he would quickly send her over to the Golden Crow Tribe without batting an eyelid.

But it had to be General Jinwu's woman that Golden Crow wanted.

He had already noticed that General Jinwu greatly disliked these people from the Golden Crow Tribe.

Perhaps for other things, he would be able to put up with it, but when it comes to his woman, how could he just give her up?

It's over, we're done for!

Number One and Number Two, who had just gotten up from the ground, had brutal expressions in their eyes at the same time as they glared at Golden Crow viciously. Their lives were saved by Lady Rourou, so it was only right if they gave them up again for her.

They, too, did not understand why they suddenly became people who knew how to repay their debts.

Such that they did not care about their lives anymore!

All eyes fell on Qin Yu, just waiting for him to give the word.

The smugglers in the camp were all tensed up, as if they had already predicted the bloody battle that was about to break out.

"Okay."

Qin Yu finally opened his mouth to speak. While sitting on his chair, he raised the tea cup and took a sip of tea.

Total silence.

Everyone's eyes were round and widened, staring at him in a daze. Their minds were in a chaotic mess. Did he just…agree…? How could it…General Jinwu actually…is such a person!

Zhou Dafu felt like he could breathe again and hurriedly screamed, "General Jinwu is wise and righteous…"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was slapped heavily and a few teeth flew out of his mouth and onto the ground.

Rourou pulled back her hands in a fit of anger and put her arms on her waist. She glared at Qin Yu, "You heartless bastard, is this how you treat me after how nicely I've treated you?"

She looked at Golden Crow and said, "You want me? Sure. Fight against him, and if you win, I will go with you. But if you lose, I want something from you!"

Golden Crow was breathing rapidly, "Okay, I promise you, I'll give you anything you want!"

Rourou humphed and said, "You said it yourself." She sat down. "Qin…if you joke around again, I won't play nice anymore."

An outright threat!

Qin Yu sighed in his heart, thinking, 'With your strength, you can get whatever you want just with a lift of your finger, why bother with all this trouble?'

He got up and walked right up.

It was okay to be mischievous for a while, but he had received a warning that if he continued to joke around, he would lose his brains.

Furthermore, today's situation was not too bad.

Even though Qin Yu did not care about smuggling, if he could properly handle these people now, he could avoid more troubles in the future.

"Let's begin."

Qin Yu looked at Golden Crow calmly.

It was hard to survive self-inflicted tribulations.

If you have such bad judgment of the situation, you can only suffer the consequences.

Golden Crow growled and stepped forward. A terrifying flame burst out from his body; shades of light blue could be seen within the fire.

It was inconceivable how high the temperatures were within this flame.

However, Qin Yu was not really in the mood to play around with him.

Since he wanted to completely wipe out the troubles in the smuggling team, showing his might was necessary.

Qin Yu raised his hand, spread out his five fingers, and pressed forward.

Pu -

The flames were extinguished instantly, like they had been suppressed by a heavy mountain.

Hong -

With a loud rumble, the earth started to tremble.

Golden Crow's whole body was smashed into the ground, blood spurting from his nose and mouth.

As a Barbarian King who also held the lantern, it was that easy to suppress a barbarian.

After finishing his work here, Qin Yu turned around and left. Everyone looked shocked, and they stared at him like he was a god that descended from the heavens!