Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Under everyone's eyes, the horse carriage drove away from the East City. The General's Mansion, which had undergone a Heaven Inquiry and emerged unscathed, seemed to be calm on the surface like before. However, in fact, it was now the center of attention in the Imperial Capital.

Li Zhouyi's actions made others want to do the same. Before the dust settled, there were many people who wanted to snatch the opportunity to show their closeness to General Jinwu. However, firstly, they could not find a suitable reason to, and secondly, since General Jinwu was heavily favored by His Majesty, it may not be beneficial to befriend him in private. If it were not for all these scruples, the General's Mansion would have been filled with guests long ago, and wouldn't be as peaceful as it was right now.

The carriage made its way to the Imperial Palace without stopping. The Sixth Prince's face was flushed red from the alcohol as he waved his hand to indicate that there was nothing wrong with him, and he returned to the palace alone.

After dismissing the attendants and female servants, Li Zhouyi's eyes became clear. Even though he reeked of alcohol, he was no longer in a state of drunkenness.

He took a deep breath before bowing, "Your son, Li Zhouyi, invites Your Majesty to show your presence."

Hum -

The space trembled and a phantom appeared. Behind the bead curtain, that figure who seemed impossible to see through said lightly, "How was it?"

Li Zhouyi replied, "I visited General Jinwu today and had a drink with him. I can confirm that he was full of energy; it does not seem like he had been injured at all."

As he spoke, he took something out from his robe and offered it with both hands.

To the naked eye, this object looked like a bubble-like bead. Its surface was very glossy, like a mirror that could clearly reflect its surroundings.

Even though it looked unassuming, it was actually a very precious treasure. It could secretly record whatever happened, and no matter how strong a cultivator was, this treasure could not be detected.

"Got it."

The voice rang out from behind the bead curtain once again as the bead disappeared. The space trembled again as it returned to its original state.

Hu -

Li Zhouyi let out a long breath. All he did was answer a few questions, and fine beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead. He raised his hand to wipe his sweat and poured himself a cup of tea. After drinking it all in one gulp, he still felt terrified in his heart.

Before, when he boarded the carriage, he seemed to have said something from the bottom of his heart to General Jinwu under the influence of alcohol.

However, that sentence was also targeted at the person who was going to read the Pure Pearl afterwards.

It was just that he did not know what the effects would be like…Li Zhouyi smiled bitterly, only hoping that it was not the worst outcome.

……

Imperial Palace.

Behind the bead curtain, the Desolate King took a close look at everything recorded in the Pure Bead. With a little force from his finger, there was a light 'snap' sound. Nothing remained in its place now, and with wisps of smoke and mist, the Pure Bead completely disappeared.

He exhaled, his eyes as calm as a lake.

Previously, in the Hall of Longevity, this emperor who had supreme authority over the country solemnly promised that he would never doubt Qin Yu any longer.

However, now, the facts had shown that a king's word may have some sincerity in them, but it must not be completely believed.

Since General Jinwu Ning Qin's spirits were back to normal today, there was no way that he was lying.

Furthermore, the Heaven Inquiry could not have been wrong!

In the depths of the Desolate King's eyes, a gleam of light erupted and he got up, "Do any of the ancestors still have any objections?"

After a few breaths, there was a soft sigh in the air, "Everything is as Your Majesty says."

"No."

The Desolate King was expressionless as he said, "As the son of the heavens who is temporarily in charge of the West Desolate's fortune and authority, I am a saint who has been sent to this world and whatever I say is automatically the law.

"Last night, since I promised General Jinwu that I would no longer doubt him, acting like this today is really a slap in my face."

He raised his head and his gaze became even deeper like the ocean, "Don't the ancestors think that I should be compensated?"

The air was quiet and silent, and after a few seconds, the auras dissipated.

The West Desolate King sat behind the bead curtain as the corners of his lips slightly curled up, revealing a faint smile.

General Jinwu Ning Qin, I broke my promise to you and I will make it up to you. One day, you will be satisfied when you learn about what happened today.

……

Qin Yu was extremely dissatisfied.

The Pure Bead was indeed marvelous and mysterious. It did not give off even a strand of aura, and could record whatever it saw.

Regardless of one's level of cultivation, it was undetectable!

However, nothing was absolute in this world. The mysterious being in Rourou's body was clearly an exception.

Even though she had not met Li Zhouyi, since she was here, except for the most secretive and obscure place in the Imperial Palace, everything was within her ability to detect.

Qin Yu laughed coldly. Just like this, he was now aware that he was being schemed against by someone else.

Thinking of Li Zhouyi who had come to visit him before, and how he was giving rueful expressions before…how shameful.

And this made Qin Yu a little more cautious. In this huge world, there were many mysterious methods that he had never heard of before. Even a person who looked unremarkable could not be underestimated, otherwise he was going to suffer a big loss one day.

At the same time, he felt more and more grateful towards that mysterious being in Rourou's body.

If she had not taken precautions in advance and supplemented the essence that he had lost last night, it would probably have raised suspicions in the Imperial Palace.

Even though it was not possible to overturn the conclusion of the Heaven Inquiry, Qin Yu was going to have an even more difficult time in the future and there would definitely be more twists and turns.

Though the heart was made of flesh, it could be as hard as steel.

This mysterious being had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, and mysteriously treated him well. Even though he still had great concerns about this mysterious being from space time, he could not help but feel a little bit of trust and closeness towards her after journeying together for so long.

Even though he was a logical person, he was not able to completely control his emotions.

Rourou rolled her eyes and got up, "If you are touched and grateful, you don't have to tell me. Such words are worthless. If you really want to thank me, you can start thinking carefully about how you will repay the debts you owe me."

She gritted her teeth. She was repeatedly 'investing' in Qin Yu, but there had been no returns so far, making her feel very distressed.

Yet, at the corner of her mouth, there was a hint of a smile that even she did not notice.

It was light and cheerful.

……

Night time.

The Imperial Palace issued an imperial decree, and now the messengers had arrived at the General's Mansion.

A huge plaque came along with the imperial decree. Although it was covered in cloth, it was difficult to hide its sharpness and mighty spirit.

"General Jinwu Ning Qin, you have contributed greatly to society. You have been promoted to the rank of a third-class marquis, with the title of Marquis Chongwu. Additionally, you will now be part of the military headquarters' privy council and promoted to a first-class general. End of decree!"

The content of the imperial decree was fairly simple and it only contained a few sentences. However, it was rather impressive.

The current Desolate King who ruled over the West Desolate learned lessons from the previous dynasties. Now, the highest title that an official could get was marquis. Looking at the West Desolate, only people who had achieved the greatest merits were qualified to become a marquis.

Some people who were as important as the old patriarch of the Old Ye Family, or the head of the Later Ye Family Ye Bohu, the two big pillars of the military, were only first-class marquis.

Even though Qin Yu was two classes below, he had only been in the West Desolate for a short time, so the speed of his promotion in the political court was simply astounding.

After the imperial decree was announced, the eunuch who was stationed at the imperial study who Qin Yu had met once before smiled and cupped his hands, "Marquis Chongwu, get up and receive the decree! I've served His Majesty for so many years, and it is my first time seeing someone as young as you becoming a marquis. Your potential is limitless! If there is an opportunity in the future, I hope you will take good care of me."

Qin Yu received the decree and bowed calmly to the eunuch, "You are too polite. Please come into my mansion to have some tea."

The eunuch waved his hand, "Hold on, I have not finished doing what I need to do. Since Marquis has received the imperial decree, please accept the plaque too."

There was noticeable envy in his eyes. "These words were personally written by His Majesty. It is the biggest honor that one can receive. There are many big figures in the Imperial Capital, but even after many years of hard work, they have not received an honor like this."

Qin Yu faced the Imperial Palace and bowed again, "General Jinwu Ning Qin thanks His Majesty for the generous gift!"

No matter what he felt towards the Desolate King, he still had to show a respectful attitude no matter what.

Pulling off the cloth, the pure-black plaque was revealed. On it, there was a golden cloud pattern and gold characters that read - 'General Jinwu'.

At the lower right corner, in a seemingly inconspicuous place, there was a line of small gold characters which stated that this mansion belonged to a first-class general, and a third-class marquis.

One imperial decree, a promotion of three ranks.

In the Imperial Capital, everyone was watching him and they were shocked!