Refining the Mountains and Rivers

As the space continued to fluctuate with waves, a soft sigh could be heard coming from where the large phantom cauldron was.

"Your Excellency, I am willing to lend you a phantom of my cauldron to help you refine what you need, but I don't wish to be dragged into a big karma web."

As the voice rang in the room, Rourou still looked calm. Evidently, she had already expected something like this to happen. She giggled and said, "We're old friends, don't be so petty."

"If I had a choice, I'd rather not have this friendship with Your Excellency…" A tinge of sorrow and loneliness could be heard in this calm voice.

After a short pause, the voice continued, "After this, I will have repaid the favor that I owed Your Excellency back then. Let's have nothing to do with each other from now on."

Rourou nodded and replied, "Sure."

"Thank you, Your Excellency." The phantom cauldron fell silent once again.

……

Marquis Chongwu had announced to the outside world that he was entering closed-door meditation. This time, it was not an excuse. He had really begun to cultivate. Since he had openly made a trip to the Imperial Palace's internal warehouse, if he did not immediately go into closed-door meditation, it would be mocking the West Desolate King's wisdom. It would be like telling the whole world that there was something wrong with the Imperial Palace's treasures.

Furthermore, Qin Yu had indeed reached a bottleneck in his cultivation journey. It was time to move to the next step. There were many big figures that he had to face with his current social standing. Even though he had Rourou by his side, only through strengthening his own roots could he have a peaceful sleep at night with no worries.

Rourou did not really explain what the Crimson Blood was. The young eunuch from the Imperial Palace did not tell him anything about it either. After pondering for a while, he knew that Rourou would not have any ill intentions towards him.

Then…I shall consume it.

Qin Yu opened his mouth and swallowed the Crimson Blood together with a lotus flower.

This was the suggestion given by Rourou, who said that eating it this way would be most effective. At most, he might suffer a little, but this small amount of pain was negligible compared to the amount of benefits he could gain.

Even though Qin Yu was already mentally prepared to only trust seventy-five percent of what Rourou said, he quickly realized that even seventy-five percent was too much.

A terrifying, burning sensation spread in his chest and to his abdomen, as if he was being cooked alive in a furnace that was lit with ferocious flames. It continued spreading from the inside to the outside of his body, until he felt like every inch of his flesh, blood and soul was being burnt alive. The pain was comparable to being placed on a pan covered with sizzling, hot oil.

Fortunately, he had swallowed a lotus flower together with the Crimson Blood and that offered some assistance in dissipating the Crimson Blood and releasing cold energy. This allowed Qin Yu to keep his last strand of consciousness. Otherwise, he probably would not have been able to withstand this amount of pain which would otherwise cause him to collapse. Then, his cultivation efforts would have failed.

To Qin Yu, of course this was a good thing. However, staying conscious also meant that he could truly feel every inch of raw pain.

It was a sour and bitter feeling.

Rourou, you are indeed ruthless. Wait for me, I, Qin Yu, am definitely not finished dealing with you!

……

The master of the Min Residence was a decent man. He came from a wealthy family and had always been charitable, which gave him a good reputation in the surrounding areas.

Even though…he was slightly perverted, but who was perfect? We should all have an understanding heart.

Not long after the nine suns rose in the sky, the door of the Min Residence opened. Lord Min, who was used to getting up early and going on morning walks, walked out of the door in a plain, long robe.

"Hey, you're here!"

"Good morning!"

"I will come back later. Reserve the same seat for me, as usual."

Lord Min began to take a stroll as he greeted people cordially. This was his everyday routine that could not be disrupted even if there was a storm outside. The residents who lived around him already knew this.

Additionally, Lord Min's eyes were always squinted. When he saw good-looking women, he often could not stop himself from being tempted and always took a few looks. However, his reputation was never stained because of this.

It had been a long time, so everyone did not mind anymore. So what if he took a few more looks at them? It was not like they would lose a few pieces of their flesh. Some women who had a more eager personality would, on the other hand, take the initiative to wink at Lord Min. He would immediately swallow his saliva and quickly walk away with a lowered head.

While walking away, he would mumble to himself, "A gentleman only looks, but does not touch…a gentleman only looks, but does not touch…" If one walked close to him, one could hear this. This habit of his had already spread, becoming a rather big joke.

As per usual, after walking one lap around the Min Residence, half an hour had passed. At this moment, the nine suns had risen higher in the sky. The number of people in the streets had also increased. Lord Min went to a store that was a stone's throw distance away from his house to have breakfast.

"Sir, you can have a seat here. Your buns and tea have already been prepared for you; please have them while they're warm."

The store owner smiled while greeting Lord Min with a respectful tone.

Behind the store owner, there was a young girl aged about seventeen or eighteen years old. Her black hair was tied into a big braid, and her eyes dodged back and forth while hiding behind the owner.

With his mouth full of food, Lord Min said while chewing, "Tsk, tsk, this brat is turning eighteen years old this year, isn't she? Time really flies; she is becoming a lady already."

Someone piped in, "Lord Min, you have a great reputation, but after personally watching the store owner's daughter grow up, you're not having other thoughts, are you?"

A wave of laughter erupted. The black-haired girl's face flushed, but she was not embarrassed, because she was used to it. In these two years, especially since she had grown into her body, Lord Min's eyes started to linger for a longer period of time. Every time he came, he would take a look at her.

The store owner laughed along, not displeased at all. It was almost as if if Lord Min opened his mouth to ask for her hand in marriage, the store owner would gladly marry his daughter off to enjoy the fortunes of being Lord Min's wife.

Lord Min laughed and jokingly chided, "Even such delicious buns are not enough to stuff your mouth shut!"

Another wave of laughter erupted.

However, something strange happened today. Lord Min, who had only eaten half of his breakfast, suddenly clutched his stomach and hurried off.

"What's going on? Could Lord Min really be thinking of that, and because we've exposed him, he ran away embarrassed?" one of the gentlemen laughed as he joked along.

However, this time, there was no reaction to this gentleman's words. All the customers in the store looked at him unhappily.

The smile on the gentleman's face faded away bit by bit as he started to look gloomy.

The store owner smiled and put down a bamboo steamer full of buns and said, "This is free-of-charge, for you. You don't have to pay for this meal." The store owner's next words made the gentleman's face become more and more hideous.

"My family encountered a disaster years ago, and it was only because Lord Min saved us that we were able to live until this day. Please do not come to my restaurant again in the future. Thank you."

The gentleman slapped the table ferociously, but at this time, a tinge of coldness surged from the bottom of his heart. Looking at the store owner who was slightly bowed, his face full of smiles, the gentleman gritted his teeth with the last of his guts and threw down a bunch of taels, "I'll pay for the meal myself!"

He then got up and walked away, looking extremely haggard.

"Hmph! Where did this stupid customer come from? Did he not bother to ask around? Our Lord Min's reputation is not one that he can just step all over!"

"We can joke around because of our long friendships with Lord Min and no one takes it seriously. That man was being really unpleasant."

"Boss, you did a good job. If he dares to create trouble, I'll ask my son, who is in the Imperial Capital's Defense Division to teach him a lesson."

The store owner laughed as he listened to the customers complimenting him. Then, he went to the back and continued to make more buns. As the steam rose, it covered his face, and also the expression of worry when he looked in the direction of the Min Residence.