Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1612 – The Different Opinions in the Barbarian Clan

Although Rourou claimed that she was fine, her circumstances later proved that things weren’t as simple as they seemed on the surface.

Discovering the Spirit Embryo of the world and successfully planting and then germinating the Soul Seed was something that came with pros and cons.

Thankfully, Qin Yu had been willing to share this with Rourou and he gave her sufficient trust. Luckily, Rourou was also by his side. Otherwise it was hard to imagine what the consequences of this would have been.

Looking at Qin Yu’s back, Rourou’s lips twisted and her face filled with disdain. What she said did not align with what she thought at all.

However, her gaze eventually turned warm and there was even satisfaction in it that surprised herself.

……

“Bad luck, I really have bad luck. I thought that after so many years, I could finally come out of hiding. Who knew that things would take a turn again and I would meet that demon-exorcizing couple who would throw me into an abyss of suffering again. How many years will I need before getting out of it? Unless, am I going to be suppressed for my whole life without any possibility of flipping my situation around?”

The boy in the white robe had been given the name Qin Yu. As he thought of this, his eyes welled up in tears again and his sadness flowed like the river. He could not hold in his sorrow. He lifted a hand and wiped his tears as he continued to sob, “You have been looking at me for so long. If you are not going to come out, I am going to run.”

The space shifted and a figure appeared wearing an oversized black-colored robe that hid the person’s entire body within.

A gust of wind blew the black robe and wrapped it around the person’s figure. She was a tall and slender lady.

After a while, a voice came from the black robe, “I don’t know who she is, but I know that we may be able to cooperate.”

Qin Yu was still sobbing and he looked at the lady through his tear-filled eyes. He asked, “Why should I trust you?”

The black-robed person stretched out her hand and spread her five fingers open. There was a red dot on her hand that looked like a flame.

Qin Yu rubbed his tears away and looked at it carefully. He mumbled, “The meeting of two unlucky souls…alright, let’s give it a try.”

……

Half a month later, Zhou Dafu finally received an order from the marquis. He had been waiting for so long and he was bored. Now, he had to organize the entire team to get ready for setting off the next day.

Qin Yu definitely had not forgotten about the real reason for why he returned to the West Border Army camp.

As such, on the day that Ye Sangdu was dragged back to the capital for questioning by the envoy from the capital, Marquis Chongwu made an announcement that he was going to cultivate in seclusion again. Naturally, no one knew what he was going to do.

Big Head Wang was excited but also afraid, because the marquis had ordered him to select twelve men to head off first.

It was similar to being personal guards of the marquis when he returned to the capital, but it was also different…after all, they were going to the Barbarian Clan territory now and there was not much use for them.

They were men who were by the marquis’ side. Aside from being display items outside the door, there wasn’t much use for them.

He did not understand and remained confused, but he did not intend to shy away from his duties. Looking at the jealous eyes of the people beside him, he knew how envious they were of him.

Wang San was naturally among the twelve selected. Although the military always favored capable men first, people were always selfish. Big Head Wang was not afraid that people would accuse him of playing favorites; this was just the natural social order.

After all, working for the marquis and getting him to recognize you was not wrong.

Like the first time they entered the Barbarian Clan territory, the team that left the mine disappeared silently at the border. Zhou Dafu and the rest of the smugglers were familiar with the route. It was only natural that things would be peaceful and no mishaps happened.

As for the twelve personal guards of the marquis…although the smugglers did not understand the need for them, no one said anything. All of them had established their roots with the marquis already and they were in the same boat. They naturally knew when they should be blind followers.

That’s right, the smugglers under Zhou Dafu knew their place. Big Head Wang and the others thought that they were insignificant peasants, but these professional smugglers who continuously brought in resources from the Barbarian Clan territory and sent large amounts of materials back to the empire were living the real peasant life.

It was said that the smuggling was to steal Barbarian Clan resources so that they could be used to enhance the abilities of the army during a future war…while it was true that they could be used in this way, the real reason for the smuggling was for the big figures in the empire.

The smugglers did not desire much and they were willing to serve the marquis as long as they could be protected. They did not want to be stray dogs that could be abandoned causally. Protection alone was enough to satisfy them.

Big Head Wang and the others heard rumors that the smugglers were violent and disorderly men who craved blood and fighting. Hence, they were rather afraid of the smugglers. Yet, they slowly realized they were wrong and the smugglers were more pathetic than they thought. Both sides nevertheless got on well.

In Big Head Wang and the others’ view, these smugglers were scared of the marquis’ might. Otherwise, these insignificant peasants would not deserve their attention.

As such, Big Head Wang’s group felt very prideful and they tormented themselves because of this. Every day, they would desperately train and cultivate to raise their strength.

Unfortunately, these men were ordinary people with regular skills. It was a futile dream to think that their strength would surge in a short period of time.

In the horse carriage, Qin Yu slowly opened his eyes as he completed his cultivation. He exhaled and his eyes shimmered. He could feel his strength increasing and he was hugely satisfied. A grin spread across his face.

He looked up and realized that Rourou, opposite him, was looking at the two strange trees that had appeared some time ago. They were serving her dutifully.

When Qin Yu woke up, a tree branch extended towards him silently. Qin Yu did not hesitate before he plucked a wine fruit. Compared to his previous debt, eating and drinking was nothing, and hence, Qin Yu cut open the wine fruit and gulped it down. The taste of it was as delicious as before.

Qin Yu wiped his lips and followed Rourou’s gaze outside. He asked, “I still don’t understand why you had to bring Big Head Wang’s group along.”

Rourou replied while still looking away, “Is it my problem if you don’t understand?” She then turned towards him and pointed at the wine fruit, “You owe me again, I am recording this debt down.”

Qin Yu’s lips twitched. Although he was prepared for this, having her record a debt so casually felt weird to him.

Forget it. Since Rourou was not willing to explain, he would let her be. After all, it was nothing bad. By this point of their interaction, Qin Yu could confirm this.

After drinking the wine fruit, Rourou did not seem to give any instructions to the root people to cook a meal. Qin Yu licked his lips and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Evidently, his cultivation efficiency was much better than before.

Take, he had to take more of it. Even if he knew that his debt would only continue to accumulate, he would not let this opportunity slip through his hands.

Rourou turned around again to stare out of the window. Big Head Wang and the twelve other troops in the group were drenched in sweat as they cultivated while on horseback.

Her lips twitch and her expression turned into one of disdain. With the way that they cultivated, they would remain useless even after a thousand years passed.

A few days went by. One night, Rourou left the horse carriage without a sound. Qin Yu was still cultivating and he did not sense anything wrong. The smugglers who were on guard duty that night bowed respectfully to Rourou after they saw her.

Most of them had been in the previous smuggling expedition and they knew that the lady was no ordinary lady. Even Marquis Chongwu was respectful towards her.

Rourou remained silent and she arrived outside the tent of the twelve troops from the mine. She placed a foot down lightly.

The ground below her feet shook and shocked the team of twelve away. Big Head Wang’s heart jumped in fright and he stared blankly at Rourou. Then, he quickly got up and bowed, “My Lady!”

Rourou scanned the group and lightly said, “From today onwards, you guys will change your cultivation method.”

…..

Only on the tenth day after they entered the Barbarian Clan territory was the group really considered to be deep within the Barbarian Clan territory. The Barbarian Clan had already taken note of the smuggling group’s activities.

On this day, Qin Yu frowned slightly and woke up from his cultivation state. He raised his head and looked at Rourou opposite him. She was staring outside at a barren plain in the distance. There was cold aura dissipating from her body.

“What is it?”

Rourou answered, “Someone has locked their eyes on us. It is a powerful person in a barbarian tribe, and he cultivates a special technique that allows him to remain invisible. He is hidden well.”

Qin Yu narrowed his focus and used the World’s Net suppression to pinpoint the person. Finally, he found an anomalous point in a certain spot of the World’s Net of rules.

It seemed like the person that Rourou was talking about was hidden there.

Rourou glanced at Qin Yu. Since he gave the Spirit Embryo the name ‘Qin Yu’, it was only natural that he could sense the world’s essence. She was not surprised that he could pick the target out.

“Should I act and kill him?”

As she spoke, she licked her lips.

Qin Yu thought for a bit but shook his head, “Let’s continue observing. I feel like something is wrong.” Based on what happened the previous time they left the barbarian tribes, this should not be happening.

Unless, did something bad happen?

Right at this moment, Rourou’s eyes flashed and she suddenly said, “It seems like we don’t need to take action anymore.”

Qin Yu immediately activated his senses. Someone was flying towards the team, and from Rourou’s reaction, he was not a threat.

Shoosh –

A sharp sound split the air and many people turned to look at the figure. Ascetic Prajna had a warm look in his eyes as he lowered himself into the middle of the group. His heart jumped and he turned to look towards the tent where the twelve troops from the mine were. Surprise filled his face.

Zhou Dafu walked forward at this moment, smiling brightly as he bowed, “Greetings Master Prajna, we meet again!”

The feeling that someone was watching them had suddenly disappeared.

Prajna looked at the tent again, and this time, there was nothing out of the ordinary with the troops from the mine. He directed his attention to Zhou Dafu and placed his palms together and bowed, “I am here to welcome the general.”

The horse carriage stopped and the doors opened. Qin Yu walked forward and cupped his hands together, “Master Prajna.”

“General!”

“Shall we make a move?”

“Alright.”

Qin Yu jumped out of the horse carriage and instructed the team to remain there as he left with Prajna. The anomaly point in the World’s Net had disappeared. Evidently, the person who had been watching the team left voluntarily after he noticed that Prajna had arrived.

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed and he slowly asked, “Master Prajna, why did you greet us here?”

Prajna smiled, “General, you should know that the Barbarian Clan welcomes friendly guests.” He paused and bowed, “I should call you Marquis instead. The marquis position is high and respected. Congratulations.”

Qin Yu shook his head, “It seems that there is trouble brewing. You came all the way here and are not willing to tell me the truth.”

He lifted his hand and pointed in a direction, “Before you arrived, someone was there observing us for a very long time.”

Prajna fell silent. A while later, he laughed bitterly, “I knew I could not hide things from you. That’s right, there is some internal trouble in the Barbarian Clan now.”

With that, Prajna did not hold anything back and he explained everything to Qin Yu – there were multiple opinions in the Barbarian Clan. Some were suspicious that General Jinwu was scheming something by helping the Barbarian Clan totems to evolve, and they demanded a thorough investigation be held.

Qin Yu rubbed his nose uncomfortably, “Strictly speaking, these men are not wrong. It seems that I did not cover things up well.”

Prajna slowly continued, “Marquis, please rest assured. My appearance here is a symbol of my teacher’s attitude; they will not dare to cause any trouble.”

Qin Yu stared at Prajna, “Stop lying. If it was that easy, you would not have to come personally.” Qin Yu inhaled and then sighed, “Don’t worry. Isn’t it just an investigation? Let them go ahead; I am not afraid.”

Prajna was relieved. He paused and bowed towards Qin Yu, “Marquis, please rest assured. I will do my best to protect your team.”

Qin Yu burst into laughter, “Thank you for your efforts Master Prajna!”