Chapter 468 - 212: Qinghe

Chapter 468: Chapter 212: Qinghe

All the disingenuous pleasantries and conversations laced with hidden meanings were giving Qin Fang a splitting headache.

Qian Ruhai, on the other hand, was in his element, smoothly and thoughtfully deflecting or handling most of the concrete matters and visits from lower-level officials.

Senior Sister Wen was even more composed... Accompanying Qin Fang, she dealt with all parties with unhurried grace and polite gentleness, even managing to glean useful information from the interactions...

Qin Fang could only be impressed!

He had finally come to a thorough understanding of himself—he simply wasn’t cut out for handling these tedious social and political affairs.

After enduring until the evening of the third day and seeing off the last visitor, a Junior Minister from some department, Qin Fang collapsed into his chair and let out a long, heavy sigh.

He rubbed his throbbing temples and said to Wen Suxin, who was organizing documents beside him, with a wry smile, "Senior Sister, I surrender. If this keeps up, my brain is going to turn to mush... All this schmoozing and social maneuvering really isn’t my strong suit..."

Wen Suxin couldn’t help but smile when she saw his pained expression.

She had long known her junior brother’s temperament, and watching him force himself to cope these past few days, she knew it had been truly hard on him.

She chuckled and said warmly, "Didn’t Master make it very clear to you that day? Weren’t you the one who insisted on coming?"

Qin Fang said awkwardly, "Well, I couldn’t bear to let you deal with these people all by yourself, Senior Sister... But now I see that if I weren’t here... you might actually handle things even more gracefully!"

Wen Suxin burst out laughing, looking at Qin Fang with fond exasperation.

"So... Senior Sister, does that mean... I don’t have to come tomorrow?"

Qin Fang asked tentatively.

Wen Suxin was as gentle as ever. She chuckled and nodded. "Go on. I never intended for you to do these things in the first place."

"Hooray for Senior Sister!"

Qin Fang cheered.

And so, on the fourth day...

The number of anglers outside the city increased by one.

’I don’t need to cultivate right now anyway. My brain’s been fried these past two days, so I might as well see what the heck Senior Brother Yun is always fishing for out here.’

Qin Fang thought to himself as he took over Yun Guanyu’s old spot.

The other anglers around all glanced at him stealthily...

...They all sort of recognized him.

Fiddling with the fishing rod Qian Ruhai had found for him, Qin Fang gazed at the boundless, scenic Great Cloud Marsh before him and let out a long breath, feeling a rare sense of leisure...

...’Anyway, the people from the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect are still at the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect right now. And I haven’t forgotten about my business with Zhao Yuanling. To avoid exposing Old Ox Back, I don’t plan on going over there anytime soon.’

’My Leaf Skill has also reached Perfection... I could go to the Scripture Pavilion to find a few more skills, but... after thinking about it, I decided not to for now.’

...’I’ve been busy cultivating for the past few years; I should give myself a break.’

It was the principle of alternating tension with relaxation, after all.

Qin Fang noticed some Black Armored Soldiers not far away watching him and discussing something in low voices.

Qin Fang listened in for a moment and was surprised to hear them talking about when he first arrived in Lanyang City several years ago.

...Many of them still remembered scenes from his Martial Arts Examination four years ago.

’That’s right. Before I knew it, it’s been almost four years since I came to the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect.’

Four years. It sounded like a very long time.

But for Qin Fang, it didn’t really seem that long...

Time flies when you’re cultivating. A single session on Old Ox Back could last for days, or even more than ten days...

...Unconsciously, his perception of time had started to diverge from that of ordinary people...

Sitting on the bank, listening to the lapping of the water, random thoughts drifted through his mind, yet Qin Fang felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

...’No wonder Yun Guanyu sat here for five years.’

’So this is what it feels like to let everything go and just space out? It’s this comfortable?’

He thought, lost in a daze.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his line. His eyes lit up, and he yanked the rod back hard.

A large carp weighing over twenty pounds was yanked out of the water.

Its scales glittered in the sun as water droplets sprayed through the air.

"HAHAHA..."

Qin Fang roared with laughter.

An indescribable feeling of release...

...

Time passed, day by day.

Qin Fang became Yun Guanyu.

...An angler, through and through.

Even his clothes had changed. He no longer wore the Infinite Star Armor, but a simple set of cyan cloth robes.

On his head, he wore a conical bamboo hat.

He even had a fish basket set up beside him, looking the part.

...’He had blended in perfectly with his surroundings!’

’I never expected this state of near "effortless action" would be so beneficial for cultivation...’

During this time, Qin Fang hadn’t thought about cultivating at all.

And yet, he discovered that his proficiency in the ’Profound Nether True Water Scripture’ was actually, slowly, increasing.

Although it couldn’t compare to the progress made during seclusion on Old Ox Back...

...he was still gaining nearly six or seven proficiency points a day!

This was just ridiculous!

...’He wasn’t cultivating at all.’

On top of that, he found that when he performed Contemplation on the ’Profound Nether Realm-Breaking Awl’, his Perception had also undergone some inexplicable changes.

...But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly was different.

’Could there be some hidden principle at play here?’

Qin Fang had been mulling this over from time to time recently.

「One day, the afternoon sun was perfect, and gentle ripples crossed the surface of the marsh.」

Qin Fang had just placed a large, palm-sized crucian carp into his fish basket. He smiled, re-baited his hook, and cast his line.

Just as he cast it out, he looked up slightly, his gaze sweeping across the surface of the Great Cloud Marsh.

Just then, a Painted Boat sailed past on the river channel ahead.

It was just a casual glance.

But the next moment, his face suddenly stiffened, his gaze locking onto the Painted Boat.

On the deck of the Painted Boat, an expressionless Maid carrying a fruit platter walked by woodenly.

But when he saw her face clearly, Qin Fang’s pupils shrank to pinpricks!

Because that was...

...Qinghe!

Chen Qinghe!

Monkey’s sister!!!