Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Lord Min exhaled a long sigh, looking depressed. In the last two days there had been new concubines in the house, but even so, it was not enough for him to perk up.

Every day, he held onto a wine jug and constantly drank from it. He also kept mumbling to himself, "I haven't even done anything, but trouble is coming for me…my fortune is indeed terrible."

"It's not that terrible, otherwise I would not have come here," a voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Lord Min froze. He put down his wine jug and turned around. He saw a beautiful lady, who was as pretty as a flower, sitting under the pavilion.

She looked delicate and timid, but her gaze made him feel like he was in a mountain of daggers and a sea of flames and he could die any time.

'Gu-dong!' Lord Min swallowed his saliva and greeted with a pale face, "Min Changjing greets the fairy, I'm not sure why you…"

Rourou flicked her fingernails and said, "If you're going to blabber on some more, I'm not going to be polite any longer. I will make a move and hit you with such force that your true body flies out."

Lord Min grimaced and begged, "Fairy, please spare me!"

Rourou said, "I'm going to assign you a task, and after you are done with it, we'll take it as us having never met before." Afterwards, Lord Min's lips trembled, but there was no other response.

"Do you understand?"

Lord Min coughed lightly, "Fairy, I swore an oath when I was young; if I betray Nine-tailed Fox today, my conscience will have a hard time."

"They can die, but you won't. Don't you understand that? Furthermore, didn't you once say that everyone under the heavens is a family?"

Lord Min's face was full of helplessness as he replied, "I did not say that."

Rourou scoffed, "Well, I don't care. You have two options. Do as I say, or I can beat you to death right now!"

Giving a long sigh, Lord Min got up and saluted her, "I will do as Fairy says."

Rourou snapped her fingers, "Good."

She got up to leave. As she stepped forward, she instantly vanished.

Looking at the empty space where she was just now, Lord Min frowned and slowly sat down. He grabbed his wine jug and raised his head to take another sip.

Unfortunately, he did not pour the wine very accurately. The wine did not end up in his mouth and instead splashed all over his face, making him shudder on the spot from the coldness of the liquid.

Hu-chi -

Hu-chi -

He panted rapidly, and suddenly, it was like a dam of cold sweat had burst. No matter how he tried to wipe it away, it kept forming. Very quickly, his robe was drenched and started to stick onto his body.

Looking down at himself and at how he had become a trembling mess, Lord Min laughed bitterly. He certainly did not think that he would encounter such a terrifying existence.

Back then when he was talking to her, he was struggling and hesitating to agree to her request. In actual fact, that was all an act. When he first met Rourou, he almost knelt on the ground instantly.

There was nothing he could do about it; he was very good at seeing through people's abilities.

Betraying Nine-tailed Fox indeed broke the oath that he swore, but this brat was courting her own death. Who told her to provoke such a powerful figure? The earlier she was gotten rid of, the better. Otherwise, she might cause more trouble in the future and bring down a catastrophe that would endanger the whole Demon Clan.

He was not wrong. If that woman just now wanted to, she could definitely massacre the whole Demon Clan.

Min Changjing had no doubts about this, after all, he had also once seen what true, peak power looked like from a distance.

It was just that, why would this matter involve the Li Family from Parasol County? He thought about the recent buzz of Li Cangzhou's murder case that was happening in the Imperial Capital and his eyes widened. He then looked in the direction of somewhere east in the city.

"Little brat, you're pretty clever. However, the smarter you are, the more yummy your brain must be. Do you want to know how I know that?"

A cold laughter and these words could be heard in his mind.

Min Changjing instantly knelt with a 'pu-tong' sound. He started to tremble violently, unable to utter a single word.

"Hmph!"

The terrifying aura that he felt gradually disappeared.

After a long while, Lord Min got up. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions before walking out.

There were a few pretty female servants that stood in the pavilion in his courtyard and also Lord Min's most trusted housekeeper. They stood outside with worried expressions on their faces. When they saw him coming out of the courtyard, they hurriedly greeted him.

They were here all along, but they did not know what happened just now.

"Housekeeper, didn't the madam's granduncle send his birthday banquet invitation over already? Get Min Xiangtai to attend the banquet immediately and prepare a generous gift."

The housekeeper looked hesitant before bowing to receive the order, and added, "Master, Granduncle's banquet starts in about half an hour. Do you want to let the Young Master go right now?"

Lord Min said blandly, "Since he had been enlightened recently and seems really interested in studying properly now, a great scholar like Granduncle is the best person that he can learn from."

After a pause, his tone became more indifferent, "Let Min Xiangtai know that if he dares not to attend the banquet, I will break both his legs."

The housekeeper turned to leave, feeling slightly puzzled in his heart. Lord Min rarely mentioned Granduncle, and even if he did, it was always mocking him for being an unimpressive scholar. Why would Master ask the Young Master to go and learn from Granduncle?

Furthermore, those that were familiar with Master's temperament would know that he was most serious when he had this slightly strict expression on his face.

Min Xiangtai made a ruckus for a while, but he was dragged by the housekeeper who warned him in a low voice. He struggled for a while, before laughing bitterly.

"Uncle, please head out first. I have to pack my stuff."

The housekeeper breathed a sigh of relief and replied softly, "I will be waiting for you outside then. Young Master, please hurry."

After a few moments, Min Xiangtai changed his clothes and walked out of his house with a listless expression.

The fairy told him that the Min Residence was a place of great fortunes, which was why she could be born from these books and could not leave easily, otherwise her soul would dissipate.

Min Xiangtai did not have the heart to let his beloved fairy suffer, so he told her that he would return as quickly as possible and that she just had to sit and wait patiently for him to come back.

The carriage left the Min Residence and headed towards his granduncle's residence. Nearby, the breakfast store owner smiled and waved at him, "Young Master, are you heading out?"

Min Xiangtai was instantly energized and returned the greeting, "It is my uncle's birthday and he is holding a banquet which my father told me to attend. Please carry on with whatever you were busy with."

The store owner laughed and nodded, and when the carriage had gone far away, he wiped his hands on his waist apron before removing it. Then, he passed it to his daughter who was behind him and said, "Brat, there are not many guests now. Please take care of the store for me, I have something to do so I will go home for a while."

The store owner rubbed his belly. Him and his daughter had already built a mutual understanding, so his daughter only smiled and nodded her head.

After greeting a few of his guests, the store owner walked back to his house, which was near the Min Residence's back courtyard.

……

In the boundless Western Barbarian Land, at the Traverse Mountains near the west boundary, the winds howled fiercely. There was a sickly sweet and fishy smell which filled one's nose and mouth.

The figure at the summit of the huge rock knit his eyebrows together and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

In a sheltered place behind this huge rock, there was a man who had a wretched appearance. Both his hands held tightly onto a depression in the huge rock as he wailed, "It's true, I'm not lying to you! When Lord Great Shaman brought me here, it's what he told me himself! Let's hurry, if we're late, Lord Great Shaman will beat me to death!"

Without waiting for a response, the man howled even louder, "Mother, I am about to die. I won't be able to pay my respects to you in the future anymore. Please take good care of yourself.

"My dear wife, I will never be able to return anymore. You're still young, in the future, you'll be able to find yourself a better man. Please take good care of my children; they are my blood and flesh.

"My younger sister…"

"Shut up!"

The man instantly went quiet, raising his hand to wipe a few tears away. He looked upwards.

Dong -

Dong -

Far away, a loud drum sound was produced near a boundless sea.

Whoosh -

A dazzling white rainbow soared to the sky. The man wailed miserably and hurriedly covered both his eyes. This time, he had indeed suffered a lot.

His eyes were red and tears were spilling out uncontrollably, which were mixed with a bit of blood.

The next moment, the man was lifted up into the air. Strong gusts of wind slapped against his face, causing him to feel as if the skin on his face was going to be blown away.

"Can he really save me?

"Wuwuwu…Wuwuwuwu…Wuwuwuwuwu…" The man shouted nonstop, but it was a pity that not a single word could be heard as they were swallowed by the wind.

Yet, the figure, who was an incarnation of the Sword Shadow, could understand what he was saying. He laughed coldly and said, "If he can save me, I don't care what requests he has, I will agree to all of them! However, if he tricks me, I will kill him!"

The man clutched his head with both his hands as he curled into a ball. He felt as if his whole body was about to be torn apart into eight pieces by the frantic jet stream of air. He thought to himself, 'I don't know if Marquis Chongwu is alive or not, but if this goes on, I will die first'.

Xiu -

The majestic sword rainbow roared through the sky at a speed faster than thunder, disappearing without a trace.

……

Rourou suddenly raised her head and looked to the west. She raised her eyebrows, looking a little surprised.

But…that was it.

There were not many existences in this world that could grab her attention, and even fewer that were worthy of her caring at all.

However, today, there was another exception to this.

Rourou, who retracted her gaze, started to frown as she looked at the house where Qin Yu was undergoing closed-door meditation.

"This brat is indeed quite tough, and his cultivation base is deeper than I thought.

"However, it's not the right time for him to break through to the next realm yet. I have to suppress it."

Rourou took a sip of tea from her tea cup and with a soft 'pop' sound, she disappeared from her original spot. In the next moment, she appeared in front of Qin Yu. In his room, there was a thick and vibrating cryptic energy flowing.

Whoosh -

Qin Yu opened his eyes and stared at Rourou. He moved his dry lips, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper as he said, "You're here? I originally thought that you would somehow feel guilty after seeing the plight I'm in. However, it seems that it was all my wishful thinking."

Rourou coughed lightly, "Qin Yu, as the saying goes…"

"'Only those who have endured the most difficult hardships become the most outstanding people'? You're right, so I really have to thank you," Qin Yu said seriously.

Rourou was indeed slightly guilty, but the energy in the room told her that the breakthrough was on the verge of happening, and there was no more time for her to hesitate any longer.

"Qin Yu, since you're aware, I will not bother explaining it to you…just know that this is not the right moment for you to break through yet, so you have to stifle it for a while longer.

"Believe me, it won't be too long. You just have to experience a few more small obstacles at most. Your safety will definitely not be compromised.

"Alright, it is decided then."

She walked up, lifted her finger, and put it on the space between Qin Yu's eyebrows. It was as if she had sealed the only outlet in a kettle full of boiling water.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Yu's face was flushed red. He widened his eyes to look at Rourou, and opened his mouth to say something, but instead, all that came out was a miserable howl.

Those who understood Qin Yu's temperament would know how much it took to cause him to howl miserably like that…as he continued to stare at her with red eyes, Rourou felt uneasy as well. She coughed lightly as she prepared to leave, "Continue holding on for a while longer, hehe, I'll leave first."

Whoosh -

She was gone.

"Rourou…ahhhhh!" In the cultivation room, Qin Yu's pained screams rang out.

Hiss -

Sitting back on the chair, she finished the tea in her cup. She felt like it did not quench her thirst, however, so she gulped some more tea straight from the teapot, not caring about the fact that it was scalding hot.

Qin Yu must really be angry this time, right?

Of course he is. He had suffered the pain equivalent of being skinned alive and his tendons being ripped apart, and was about to be relieved of the pain, yet he had been kicked into the pot of boiling oil once again.

Anyone who went through this would be full of resentment.

But I am doing it for your own good! If you break through now, you won't be able to get extra benefits in the future…Rourou had a helpless expression on her face as she rubbed the area between her eyebrows. In her heart, she was scolding internally, 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you!'. She was also extremely frustrated at how worried she was feeling now.

Qin Yu, who are you exactly?!