Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1633 – So Called of One Mind

The grand eunuch, Wei Ming who served the West Desolate King made a mistake and started to lose favor with the king a few years ago. These last few years deteriorated day by day and if it weren’t for the fact that he made contributions in the past, he would not have lived till this day. He would long since have become a ghost in the palace.

Back then, he was mighty and respected. As a grand eunuch, many palace officials would smile politely at him and greet him. Now, he did poor errands like sweeping the floors with a hunched back. He wore an old, unkempt black robe and his clothes were stained with oil, turning them a pitch black shiny color.

After some difficulty, he finally completed his errands today. Wei Ming panted while carrying his broom. All of a sudden, he heard footsteps from afar. A large group of people were rushing over.

His heart jumped and he dipped his head and hid in one corner. The palace rules were strict. With such a commotion, something big must have happened. Wei Ming was a puny insect in the palace now and if he did not hide away quickly, he would be trampled on.

However, what happened next made Wei Ming feel like he had woken up from a dream. His lips quivered and his eyes widened as he was at a loss for words.

“Godfather, what are you waiting for? His Majesty has ordered that you attend to him in the study after you wash up. You have really worked hard in your later years. No one in the palace will look at you like a dog again nor roll their eyes at you from now on.”

Bright and smiley faces greeted and attended to him. Even after he returned to his living quarters and changed into the customary robe of a grand eunuch after a nice, warm bath, Wei Ming had not regained his senses.

“Oh, Eunuch Wei Ming you are here. His Majesty has been waiting for a while inside. You should hurry over. We will grab some drinks together and catch up later.” A familiar eunuch smiled warmly from afar, but Wei Ming caught the strange look in his eyes. That eunuch could not understand how he, who had been thrown into muddy waters and cast aside for a few years, could suddenly redeem himself.

In fact, Wei Ming did not understand what was going on either. Back then, he was suddenly abandoned and bullied. Today, he flipped his situation around so shockingly. Sighing deeply, Wei Ming tried to suppress his feelings and be prim and proper. He said, “I will look for His Majesty.”

After his arrival was announced, Wei Ming bowed and hurried over with fear and nervousness in his heart. He kneeled and kowtowed, “Your servant, Wei Ming, greets Your Majesty!”

The king placed down the report in his hands and looked at Wei Ming, “From today onwards, you will continue to run errands for me.”

Just a simple sentence without any other explanation. In the king’s opinion, there was no reason for him to waste time explaining.

After all, the eunuchs in the palace were his servants and their lives could be decided with a snap of his fingers. Did he have to apologize to Wei Ming for what happened in all these years? If the king really did that, Wei Ming would probably have lost half his soul!

This was the agony of the weak. In life it was hard to predict when ups and downs would come, but it was even more confusing to understand the ups and downs themselves. Wei Ming never would have imagined that his down in the past and his sudden up today would have been because of the same person.

This person had already met the West Desolate King secretly and shared that he had no choice but to ‘lie to the king’ in the beginning.

The exact process and details were complicated, but there were interlinked pieces of evidence that painted a clear picture. In a brief manner – back then, after he killed the Darkness Ruler, he wanted to enter the Desolate Area. In a moment of rashness, he took on the fake identity and unknowingly committed a big mistake by ruining the West Desolate’s plan in the fragmented area. As such, he did not dare to expose his identity.

Later on, the king looked highly upon him and continuously promoted him. However, he constantly felt unsettled. After encountering a plot and dying, he pondered over it multiple times before he finally decided to be honest with the king. He pleaded for the king to be merciful and gracious and give him another chance to make up for his crimes.

Qin Yu was truly taking a huge risk this time. However, he did not come unprepared.

At the capital border area, he used the military token that could mobilize the army to seek out Ye Qin. Of course, this was not because he was ‘a scared criminal’ but because he wanted to give himself some leeway to move around. If things did not turn out well, he could proceed according to Rourou’s plan and leave the capital of the West Desolate. He would simply be abandoning the identity of Marquis Chongwu.

As the saying goes, ‘a servant first before an official’. With the truth presented, the West Desolate King would be more inclined to trust Qin Yu’s story. He exposed his own scheme, and hence, he did not have to worry about things going south.

Of course, the more important reason why the West Desolate King would choose to believe him would be that Qin Yu was telling the truth. He would be able to pass any investigation and interrogation. This would also help to untangle the knot in the king’s heart – it would explain why the caged, mad Li Four Seasons would be so hateful towards Marquis Chongwu.

Since his failure and the reason why he ended up in this pitiful state was because of Ning Qin, it was only natural that he wanted Ning Qin to die.

If this was another person who dared to lie to the king and commit such a grave crime, the king would have given him a slap that killed him. However, the king was willing to listen to Qin Yu and ponder over it. He was even willing to tolerate the short play that he put on in the past.

After all, an alive Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin was much more useful than a corpse, especially under current circumstances. According to Qin Yu, the incident he encountered in the Barbarian Clan was because of that clan’s well calculated scheme.

Death was terrifying and the West Desolate King was willing to believe Qin Yu. This was because he could sense a thin thread of deathly aura on Qin Yu that had not disappeared yet. Using the nation’s fate to enhance himself, he could carry out a Heaven Inquiry. It was not difficult to borrow a wise man’s eye to find out the truth.

The West Desolate King was not entirely sure how someone could be revived after death. However, it was obvious that Qin Yu paid a big price for it. The king would not believe it if Qin Yu told him that he gained enlightenment after experiencing death. At most, he and Qin Yu would use each other in a mutually beneficial way.

Qin Yu wanted to take revenge on that clan using the West Desolate’s strength. According to him, he had to sacrifice half his fate in order to be revived. This was very valuable to him. If he could not get it back, he would definitely die in the future.

That’s right, this was the critical point that Rourou had to remind him about. He drew from Li Ruhua’s experience and his own body to explain his condition. The West Desolate King did not easily believe him, but through the ‘wise man’s eye’, he could see that the remaining fate in Qin Yu was weak but contained a ruthless devouring aura – it was the last remaining Sky Cow Horn bloodline that had fused into Qin Yu’s body and became the Nine Nether Devouring Heavenpower.

After the little blue lamp covered it up, others were not able to see it and it kept its powers hidden while only revealing it to the West Desolate King. The king did not know what happened exactly, and hence, he only thought that Qin Yu’s aura changed after he had been revived.

While he did not know the cause, the king knew that Qin Yu and that clan were now like water and fire.

This now corroborated Qin Yu’s claims that he had been schemed against by that clan and lost half his fate. Furthermore, that clan achieved its current status through seizing the fates of others.

More importantly, the West Desolate King had seen the root of the issue back when the four Old Four Claws destroyed the Divine Stone Totem of the Divine Stone Tribe. It was truly that clan who schemed to kill Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin.

The various accumulated bits of evidence agreed with each other and the king could piece them together. Additionally, the king personally saw Qin Yu for himself and eventually believed Qin Yu and agreed to forget about the past. As long as Qin Yu was of one mind …otherwise, Wei Ming would not have redeemed himself today and he would have lost his head.

However, the so called ‘of one mind’ was simply words…the king now felt like he had a greater understanding of Qin Yu’s origins. It was not hard for him to pull some strings and control Qin Yu in his palm.

The court officials ‘came to an agreement’ regarding Qin Yu’s situation. Before Qin Yu left the capital, he did not forget to request a few treasures from the palace warehouse from the king.

Using the excuse of ‘hiding’ his aura, he claimed that he had to hide a few unassuming but crucial clues about himself.

Wei Ming left excitedly, feeling at ease after the king made him a verbal promise. Explanations and reasons were not important in his opinion. It was not a stupid decision to choose to be a fool if he could live a happy and comfortable life.

Servants had their own life philosophies and, ignoring their grievances, they had principles that they lived by.

The young eunuch, Li Zhouqing, walked out from the shadows and bowed, “Your Majesty, Qin Yu has left the capital.”

The West Desolate King pondered to himself before he slowly asked, “What do you think about this person?”

Li Zhouqing frowned for a while. Then, he bowed, “I believe that Qin Yu deserves your trust.”

The West Desolate King remained silent but waved his hand dismissively.

Li Zhouqing turned and returned to the shadows.

The king lifted his hand and rubbed his temples as he stepped forward and suddenly disappeared.

In the next instant, he arrived at the Thunder Lake Prison in the palace. His eyes were deep but calm.

Two hours later, there was the endless booms of thunder. The West Desolate King left the thunder lake. No one knew what he did nor what he heard from Li Four Seasons. However, his expression was much more relaxed than before.

Yet, he failed to notice the darkness in the bloodshot eyes of Li Four Seasons. He panted as he slumped weakly in the thunder lake. His entire body was burnt and covered with injuries.

If the king had looked closer, he would have noticed the hidden crescent moon in Li Four Seasons’ bloodshot eyes.

……

A horse carriage traveled silently along the streets. The driver, White Iris, had her eyes open and alert.

Qin Yu rubbed his temples and slowly said, “To what extent do you think the West Desolate King believed my confession?”

Rourou thought about it and answered, “Seventy to eighty percent.”

Qin Yu nodded and agreed, “I feel the same way, but this is sufficient for now.”

He sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out, “Now, should we take action directly?”

“Let’s go somewhere else first.” The corners of Rourou’s lips curled into a mocking smile, “Since I found it, we have to take action.”

Qin Yu did not understand what she meant, but Rourou did not seem to have any intention to explain. Hence, he did not probe her about it. After all, both their destinies were now intertwined.

He closed his eyes and began his cultivation.

The countdown of thirty years began from the moment Qin Yu woke up. As such, every second and minute was invaluable in Qin Yu’s eyes.

If he did not want to die a pitiful death, he had to do his best.

Rourou glanced at Qin Yu while he cultivated. She smiled but remained silent.

The events in the capital were not that simple. When Qin Yu met with the West Desolate King, she was also making plans.

Back when she entered the capital, she found something amiss. Now she finally realized what it was.

That person dared to come into contact with her because he had sensed her current circumstances.

Otherwise, he would not dare to show himself no matter how bold he was!

Each of them had their own needs and they reached an agreement. Once the West Desolate King was taken care of, the issue would not be too big.

As she thought about it, Rourou licked her lips. She had no way to resist old things.

That thing hidden in the thunder lake of the imperial palace was looking delectably delicious.

She stretched an arm and a tree branch automatically reached forward. She plucked a wine fruit and drank it. She wondered if she had lost the ability to have a meal for herself.

Rourou could not help but feel sad and she looked at Qin Yu with a pained expression in her eyes.

Sss –

Feeling a cold breath of air, Qin Yu’s eyes flung wide open and he asked, “Is something wrong?”

Rourou scoffed coldly, “Nothing!”

Qin Yu shook his head and a bitter smile appeared across his lips. He could not be bothered to ponder over why Rourou would suddenly lose her mind and he closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation.

……

Central Desolate Divine Area.

Thirteenth Floor.

As the best cultivation area in the world, it was known to be the only pathway to head to the white jade capital of the heavens. It was a place where numerous cultivators in the world dreamed to be.

The third generation disciple of the Li Family officially entered the Thirteenth Floor on this day and she began a new path in her cultivation life.

There was one thing that exceeded everyone’s expectations. Before Li Ruhua entered the Thirteenth Floor, she was conferred the title of an elder in her family.

Her fame was dazzling and brilliant!

“Junior Sister Li, the Floor Master has ordered me to wait here for you.” Mountains peeked through the clouds and there was a brilliant light that illuminated a few dozen kilometers wide.

The disciple, Ming Zhe of the Thirteenth Floor, smiled. He looked elegant and had a charming personality.

Li Ruhua bowed, “Sorry to trouble you, Senior.”

Ming Zhe was one of the ten strongest cultivators below the King realm. He was ranked third and he once escaped from a battle with a King realm cultivator. It was rumored that he hid his strength and he was qualified to be ranked first instead.

Li Ruhua did not dare to act impudently in front of this warm and gentle-looking young man.

The ten strongest cultivators below the King realm were half a step from the King realm. Because of their aptitude, their status was comparable to Half-Kings.

Ming Zhe glanced at the person beside Li Ruhua. After some hesitation, he slowly said, “Junior Sister Li, every disciple of the Thirteenth Floor can bring a servant in. They will be your great helper in your cultivation journey in the future.”

There was a hidden meaning in his words and Li Ruhua understood what he meant. She bowed, “Thank you for your kind intentions Senior. I understand, but he is definitely my best choice.”

A nobleman is like honey while I am like arsenic. You think it is a stone but I think it is a jade. There are many similar things in the cultivation world. After all, everyone’s destinies and circumstances are different.

Ming Zhe cupped his hands together, “I have offended you, Junior Sister. Please do not blame me.” He smiled and swiped his sleeves aside, “Then, let’s go.”

With that, the sea of clouds split apart and the staircase to the heavens appeared before the three of them.

Ming Zhe led the way while Li Ruhua followed after him. The person behind her had his head kept low and she had ignored her clan’s opposition to choosing him as her servant. It was Chen Sanglue from Seascape City.

He kept his gaze down and he did not dare to reveal his emotions. Father, can your soul in heaven see me?

I am now heading to the Thirteenth Floor via the staircase to the heavens!

Ming Zhe turned around and glanced at Chen Sanglue. Then, he looked at the calm Li Ruhua. There was a thoughtful look in his eyes.