Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Zhou Fenghuang furrowed her eyebrows, "Sir Sun, why are you together with that person? In this small world, that person can only bring you trouble."

For some unknown reason, when he listened to these words that were a little bit admonishing and a little bit suggesting, he felt a sense of discomfort rise in him. He smiled and said, "The situation forced me. There was nothing I could do."

Subconsciously, he decided not to tell Zhou Fenghuang what he had experienced with Qin Yu.

Mm…I still value face…yes, that's right, if I say it I will be disgracing myself…

Sun Zifu found himself a reason for his silence.

Zhou Fenghuang didn't speak much further. She nodded and the two of them left together.

The lonely mountain summit wasn't large. Qin Yu casually chose an area and built himself a simple stone building. After making some arrangements he sat down and started meditating.

Sun Zifu passed this period of time with dread and apprehension. Even when resting, he kept half an eye open. His mind and body were long since exhausted. He listened to Zhou Fenghuang's warm whispers and smelled the delicate fragrance coming from her body. He felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier until finally he dozed off to sleep.

His sleep was deep and entrancing. When he woke up, the skies outside were already pitch black and the woman had already left.

He suddenly felt a trace of loss in his heart. But at this time, there was a knock from outside, "Sir Sun, are you awake yet?"

Sun Zifu fell to the ground. "I'm awake, I'm awake! Miss Zhou, please enter!"

Zhou Fenghuang pushed open the door. She held a red tray in her hands and there were jade cups and plates atop it. The dishes were still steaming and their delicious fragrance wafted into his senses.

"Sir Sun must have had a hard time. I have cooked up some dishes. There aren't many materials in this desolate place, but luckily I still have some good wine. I think this will be to Sir Sun's liking."

The little stone house was lit up with a candle. The light was warm and mild, sprinkling down all over and serving to enhance Zhou Fenghuang's beauty.

Taking a sniff of the wine and food, and seeing this beautiful woman illuminated in the candlelight, Sun Zifu felt as if he had survived a disaster and had finally returned to the world he knew.

This was the life he should be enjoying!

"I've troubled Miss Zhou. I like all this very much!"

Zhou Fenghuang smiled and poured herself a cup of wine. She lifted to a toast, "To Sir Sun."

Several glasses of wine later, the two happily smiled and joked with each other, their discussion enjoyable.

Zhou Fenghuang filled another cup of wine, sighing as she did so. "Sir Sun, about this incident with the ancient tree monster, what do you think?"

Sun Zifu's complexion changed. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "I fear Xu Guzi is speaking the truth."

Zhou Fenghuang nodded. "I also think that. I have been observing him and Zuo Lanyue; the two of them clearly intend on taking action. When Sir Sun was resting, I paid a visit to Dong Hanzhu. After some questioning, he agreed to help."

She paused for a moment and then continued to say, "Xu Guzi, Zuo Lanyue, Dong Hanzhu - the three of them are tyrannically strong. Although trying to kill the ancient tree monster is extremely risky, success is not impossible. At the very least, even if you and I aren't willing to help them, after leaving them our overall strength will drastically fall. We might not be able to last until the end."

Sun Zifu probingly asked, "Miss Zhou, your meaning is to join forces with them…"

Zhou Fenghuang nodded. "I do have this intent. I wonder if Sir Sun has considered it yet?"

Sun Zifu had an uncertain look. He forced a smile, "I am aware that my strength is weak. If I'm not with the rest of you, I fear I won't have any chance of surviving through this. Since Miss Zhou has come to a decision already, then I will join you."

Zhou Fenghuang was overjoyed. Her eyes glistened. "Sir Sun, why belittle yourself needlessly? When we hunt down the ancient tree monster, we will all be relying on Sir Sun's assistance!" She pursed her lips together and said, "I heard that Sir Sun's family bloodline has already awakened. I wonder if this is true?"

Sun Zifu nodded. "I have awakened my bloodline."

"That's wonderful!" Zhou Fenghuang explained, "The ancient tree monster is hidden within this small world. It won't be easy finding out where its main body is. But with Sir Sun helping and your abilities of seeking luck and avoiding evil, I believe we will be able to easily find the ancient tree monster from far away."

She hesitated for a moment and said, "But, there is another matter that I need Sir Sun's help with."

Sun Zifu asked, "What is it?"

"The ancient tree monster is the remnant body of the Monster Race Great Emperor. What sort of honored status is that? If we hunt it down and kill it, there is a chance that we will trigger the monster race's bloodline curse. So, we need a person to block that bloodline curse in a crucial moment." Zhou Fenghuang carefully watched his food, "What does Sir Sun think of Yao Bin?"

Sun Zifu's complexion changed. "This…I accepted a great deal of help from this person before, otherwise I fear I wouldn't have been able to come this far…"

Zhou Fenghuang grabbed onto his hand. "Sur Sun, when it comes to matters of great importance, you cannot pay attention to trifling matters like this. Moreover, at this moment, there is no appropriate candidate besides him. Sir Sun, the monster race's bloodline curse only has a certain chance of activating; perhaps it won't even happen at all. Taking a step back, even if he really does help out in this way without knowing, we can just compensate him after we leave this small world."

This time, Sun Zifu really did hesitate. He instinctually wanted to tell her that Qin Yu wasn't someone who was easy to deal with, but things weren't so simple.

"Miss Zhou, perhaps we should further consider this issue…"

Zhou Fenghuang shook her head. "This is the decision everyone has come to. Sir Sun must follow through, otherwise everyone else will be discontented and an accident might occur. You should know that Yao Bin isn't a person that comes from our world to begin with. This is already the best possible result for him."

Sun Zifu sighed. "Alright. I…I know what must be done."

Zhou Fenghuang grabbed onto his hand and left behind a jade pendant. After speaking several more words, she turned around and left.

Sun Zifu looked at this unusual jade pendant in his hand and his pupils shrank. He bitterly smiled again and again.

"Yao Bin, oh Yao Bin, it isn't that I am a person who doesn't know grace or virtue, but in this current situation, if I don't agree to harm you, others will harm me!

"The monster race bloodline curse might not activate. And even if it does, you might not die. I promise that as long as you leave this small world alive, I will compensate you well."

As he whispered to himself, he picked up the jade pendant, clenched his teeth, and walked out the door.

Qin Yu opened his eyes in the darkness. "Who is it?"

"Fellow daoist Yao, it's me."

The door to the stone house opened and Sun Zifu appeared with a blinding smile. "Fellow daoist Yao, I wonder if things are convenient right now?"

Qin Yu gestured for him to enter.

Sun Zifu walked in and gave a long and meandering explanation. The summary was like this: everyone had decided to hunt down the ancient tree monster and they wanted to invite Qin Yu with them.

"Fellow daoist Yao, the situation is dangerous right now so we can only try and fight…"

There were many other words he wanted to say, but before he could say them, Qin Yu nodded and agreed.

Sun Zifu almost choked on his own spit. He was overjoyed, "That's wonderful. Compared to anyone else on this mountain, I trust fellow daoist Yao the most. You and I must become closer."

After complimenting Qin Yu for a while, he left behind an inherited ancestral treasure jade and left with a dazzling smile.

Qin Yu delivered him out. Then, he glanced at the jade pendant on the table, a trace of ridicule in his eyes.

Silently, he put the jade pendant away. If he didn't do this, how could he reassure everyone?

When Qin Yu received the jade pendant, in another stone building atop the summit, Xu Guzi opened his eyes and slowly nodded.

"Everyone, all preparations are ready now. After everyone arrives tomorrow, we will immediately set out."

He looked up at Sun Zifu who had just arrived. "Fellow daoist Sun, we will have to rely on you tomorrow."

Sun Zifu nodded in a daze. He felt that this matter had proceeded too smoothly, so smoothly that it didn't seem real at all.

Was Yao Bin really so easy to deal with?

As soon as this thought appeared, he could no longer suppress it. He felt it increasingly difficult to find peace of mind.