Refining the Mountains and Rivers

But Qin Yu didn't think this process was dry or boring at all. If it weren't for him running out of Demon Body Tempering Pills, he would even want to stay in this training room forever. What nonsense. This extremely comfortable state where he felt himself growing stronger continuously was something all cultivators longed for in their dreams. How could anyone dare to say it was boring? Even if a person were to complain just the tiniest bit, if he went out into the streets he would definitely be chopped to pieces by an angry mob!

Without Demon Body Tempering Pills, his cultivation was forced to come to a pause. This was like a person cozily lazing around in bed and then suddenly being called away because an accident occurred…cough cough, this analogy might not be exactly appropriate, but the approximate meaning was there. Thus, when Qin Yu left the training room, his complexion was ugly to look at, as if there was a hidden bitterness beneath the surface.

Wang Chao's mind was shaken. He thought, could this be some aftereffect left behind by the pill toxins? The Lord Commander was fine before, so how did he end up with such a distressed and ill-tempered appearance? He hesitated again and again before finally deciding not to approach Qin Yu. After bowing from afar, he led everyone else away.

Luckily, Qin Yu's mood was soon restored, at least on the surface. He stood in the spacious garden, his eyes slightly closed as if he were meditating.

His entire mind was released as he sensed the fluctuation of rules between the heavens and earth. Sometimes it was gentle, sometimes it was ferocious, the thousands and millions of ever-changing variations left one unable to fully grasp it…this was the path of water, one that was both soft and hard.

Without Demon Body Tempering Pills he could still cultivate. But what a pity, the path of water was unpredictable and ethereal. Even up until now he still hadn't managed to peep into the threshold. However, today, not long after Qin Yu started his contemplation, his eyebrows furrowed together and he opened his eyes.

"What is it?" His tone was a little unhappy.

Wang Chao didn't know why, but he was frightened by the current Qin Yu. For some reason he felt that this Lord Commander had some aura that was becoming increasingly strong, to the point that it placed pressure on him. When he heard Qin Yu speak, he shook himself out of his daze and hurriedly said, "Commander, a young miss is waiting outside. She said that she wants to seek an interview with you."

As if fearing Qin Yu wouldn't know what he was speaking about, he added, "It was the miss who appeared on that day to plead mercy for the brothers Xu Wei and Xu Hu."

Qin Yu's eyes flashed. Why would she come here? He looked not too far away at the stone tablet that had been cleaned up. His eyebrows stretched out, "Have her come in."

Wang Chao was thrilled. He praised himself for being smart enough, otherwise if he were to refuse this request, he would have definitely offended others. As a newly promoted guard captain, his rank might seem low and humble but his actual status was very high. Even the three Lieutenants smiled at him when they saw him.

Within the Holy Nether Guard, there weren't many people Wang Chao was awed by anymore. But, when it came to matters that occurred in bed, as someone who was experienced in relations between men and women, he knew that the persuasiveness behind such things was terrifyingly strong.

What? You think that the woman outside has no relation with the Commander? Pah, let me splash you awake with water!

If there was no relationship between them, why would this sort of beauty that could bring disasters to empires come knocking on their door? Moreover, the Lord Commander seemed obsessed with his cultivation and wouldn't even see Fu Shan and the others. Why would he suddenly take time out to see a stranger?

Qin Yu watched Wang Chao quickly walk away. He absolutely never would have expected that such a regal-looking Holy Nether Guard who was covered in ferocious armor and wreathed in slaughter energy would actually have such a wretched heart and gossipy mind beneath the surface.

Wang Chao led the woman to the garden entrance. Then, he thoughtfully stopped and said, "Miss, the Lord Commander is in the garden. This subordinate has other important matters to attend to, so I won't send you in."

The deeper meaning behind this was, 'I, Old Wang, am going to run out and stand guard for the both of you, so don't be afraid. If you want to do something bold, go ahead and do it, no one will disturb you.'

Hai Lanlan bowed and expressed her thanks. She thought that this guard captain wasn't some fake person who was needlessly arrogant. However, if she knew just how dirty and filthy Wang Chao's thoughts were right now, she would absolutely have given him a few ringing slaps.

She stepped into the garden and soon found Qin Yu's figure. He wasn't assuming some lofty and indifferent posture by facing his back towards her, but was looking straight her way. When their eyes met, Hai Lanlan maintained a calm and carefree expression.

This should be her normal temperament. What Qin Yu saw that day should have been a rare loss of composure. He gathered his random thoughts and smiled, "Miss, for what reason do you wish to see me?"

"Hai Lanlan." She said softly. Her voice was pleasant to the ears, somewhat similar to waves crashing on the rocky shore. Though it was gentle, there was a strength that could not be underestimated.

Qin Yu was stunned. This was because at this moment, he could sense a flavor of the path of water from Hai Lanlan's voice. He had been searching for this flavor for a long time but still hadn't managed to comprehend it.

So after Hai Lanlan spoke her name, what she saw was the new Lord Commander standing there with a dazed expression. This was not the first time Hai Lanlan had encountered such a situation. So, she tranquilly coughed as a gentle reminder to prevent the Lord Commander losing too much face.

But what was beyond her expectations was that he simply didn't seem to hear her at all, but continued looking straight at her.

After the stand-off continued for a long period of time, a trace of red began to appear on Hai Lanlan's cheeks. There might be some shyness, but there was even more anger. Just as she couldn't bear it any longer, Qin Yu let out a long breath and the light returned to his eyes. "My apologies. I was disrespectful."

A happy look appeared on his face.

The door to the path of water had opened just like this. This was a truly unexpected yet happy accident.

Hai Lanlan's expression became increasingly crooked and cold. "Commander, please remember my name." She glanced at the stone tablet not too far away and a trace of well-hidden sadness flashed in her eyes. Then, she turned and left.

In truth, before she came here she had prepared some excuses. But Qin Yu's performance made her choose to remain silent.

Qin Yu had a helpless expression. He understood that his actions just now had likely offended the young lady, causing her to doubt his moral behavior and character. With his current disposition, he normally wouldn't care about such things. But as he thought about how she had unknowingly helped him just now, he said, "Miss Hai, don't worry, I will take good care of this stone tablet."

Hai Lanlan paused for a moment. Then she continued without turning her head.

They had met twice and said a single sentence to him along with her name. This was a girl with an attitude!

Qin Yu smiled. He walked in front of the stone tablet and looked over it. Soon, he found a name in the middle section: Hai Yunsheng.

Just who was this person? And after such a long time, if she really cared about this stone tablet she could have just taken it away and kept it somewhere else. It was unlikely anyone would care what happened in this dilapidated ruin.

As for whether or not that young lady was intentionally trying to find a way to approach him…to be honest, Qin Yu did think of this possibility but he immediately suppressed it. Although he hadn't come into contact with her much, this miss was definitely an incredibly prideful person who wouldn't do something like that.

Without any other reason, Qin Yu believed it must be because of this common and ordinary stone tablet. He couldn't help but be a little curious.

Wang Chao was scratching his head. He looked at Hai Lanlan's back as she left and his brain was ringing with a single thought: The Lord Commander seemed to be bursting with essence energy, so he actually finished so fast?

Mm…if I can find some tonics that improve s.e.x.u.a.l vigor and quietly offer them, will the Lord Commander commend me?

…Uh, the higher possibility is that the Lord Commander will kill me to eliminate any possible witnesses!

As these random thoughts were racing through his head, Wang Chao heard the sound of rustling steps and looked up to see Qin Yu right in front of him. He cried out once and nearly fell onto his back, a shocked expression on his face.

"What were you thinking so deeply about?"

Wang Chao didn't dare to say it. He mumbled about some unrelated past events. Luckily, Qin Yu seemed to just be casually asking him.

Qin Yu said, "Go investigate the stone tablet in the courtyard for me as well as the name Hai Yunsheng. I want to know what they are about."

"I will go immediately!" Wang Chao rapidly scurried away like someone who had barely managed to survive a disaster.

With his current status as guard captain and his reputation as the Commander's trusted subordinate, it wasn't difficult to uncover some secret matters that occurred many years ago.

Soon, Qin Yu obtained a record jade slip. There was a detailed record of Hai Yunsheng and the origin of the stone tablet within. The general summary was like this: 20 years ago, there was a small rebellion within the Holy Nether Guard. Dozens of Holy Nether Guards tried to secretly leave the Endless Sea but ultimately died encircled by troops.

These Holy Nether Guards all shared a common ground; they had relatives that were stricken with the gradual collapse syndrome. An investigation afterwards proved that the reason they rebelled was to go and obtain hyacinth grass.

Hai Yunsheng was one of these people.

Qin Yu laid down the jade slip and gently sighed. He thought back to that day when Hai Lanlan looked at him with an icy cold gaze. Carefully remembering it, he could now detect the bitterness and resentment hidden behind her eyes.

It was no wonder that even though she had such a cold and indifferent temperament she would still stand out to plead mercy for Xu Wei and Xu Hu; it was because she empathized with them as someone who had gone through something similar. As for Liang Shou and the others, they likely also stepped out because of similar reasons.

Wang Chao's investigation was extremely thorough. There were many records of Hai Yunsheng. For instance, it was said that he didn't retreat from his final battle, that he had gone crazy and self-destructed, not leaving his bones behind.

Perhaps in Hai Lanlan's mind, this stone tablet that recorded the initial matter of the rebellion and served as a warning to others, was the only thing left over of her father's.

As for why she didn't take the stone tablet away…Hai Yunsheng was involved in the rebellion and died in the encirclement. The reason she could possess such a high status within the younger generation was because she was a wise and intelligent person. She naturally wouldn't do something that would make things awkward for everyone.

Qin Yu suddenly thought back to when he first arrived at Holy Nether City. Hai Lanlan had come every day, and in truth he did feel a little happy. Although there were no other thoughts behind it, to grab the attention of a woman of her caliber, it was the natural biological instincts of men to be a little smug.

But looking at this now, she was probably afraid that the stone tablet on which her father's name was recorded would accidentally be ruined by him.

What a painful realization…

Qin Yu rubbed his nose, secretly rejoicing that there was no one else around. Otherwise, his embarrassed expression would be incomparably stiff and hard to look at.

"Wang Chao, clean up the stone tablet in the garden and set it in place. Make sure you don't damage it."

"Yes." Wang Chao turned around. As he did, the respect and earnestness on his face immediately scattered, instantly replaced by an expression that said, 'I really am a genius.' This young girl Hai Lanlan, she definitely had some sort of significant relationship with the Commander, and there was some hidden story between them. As long as he made sure to be on good terms with her, his future status would be as stable as a mountain.

The stone tablet needed to be placed well, and it had to be placed very, very well…mm, it was best if he did it secretly so that when Hai Lanlan found out the Lord Commander had done all of this for her, wouldn't she be moved to tears? At that time, wouldn't the Commander acknowledge Old Wang who had done all of this for him? Wouldn't Wang Chao then be able to reach the peak of his life?

Thinking of this, Wang Chao was filled with excitement. His thoughts began to rapidly race as an idea floated up in his mind. The more he thought the more wonderful he imagined it would be. He couldn't help but chuckle out loud to himself, his step becoming increasingly light.