Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 816 – Starfall Archipelago

Since this ship was ruined, he would have to build one. This wasn’t too difficult at all for a cultivator.

Cutting down trees, dragging them to a clearing, chopping up logs…

For the next two days, Qin Yu busied himself near the sea. Xue Qingqing, who woke up later, just happened to have some ship building skills. This left Qin Yu feeling ecstatic and greatly accelerated the speed they constructed the ship at.

On the fourth day, a barely symmetrical ship was constructed. It was tied up with ropes and anchored near the sea. Qin Yu looked over it. While there were many shabby and unsatisfactory parts, this was already an incredible feat for a first-time novice.

In any case, he didn’t expect that this ship would need to be used for a long time. He only needed it to carry them away from the large array formation that White Ape spoke of.

As for not relying on a ship and flying directly out through the fog…

In truth, Qin Yu had considered this before. But since White Ape specifically told him that there was a ship anchored here, there must be a reason for him doing so.

If he flew out from the fog, he might encounter something unexpected. It was best not to take such risks.

After finishing the reinforcements and adding the final touches, Qin Yu boarded the ship with the Xue Sisters. They hoisted the sails and cut the ropes. The sea wind howled over and filled the sails, quickly moving them away from the island.

Soon, the island disappeared from their line of sight. Qin Yu held White Ape’s hair. As he thought, the fog’s influence on his senses disappeared.

Although his divine sense still couldn’t go too far from his body, at the very least he could recognize which direction he was going in. Since this place was covered in a formation, as long as he continued in one direction he would eventually make his way out.

He sat down cross-legged at the bow, controlling the direction of the ship. He furrowed his eyebrows, a bit of worry in his eyes. Because of the disaster they encountered midway, the opening time of the Great Beast Trainer Tournament had already passed.

He hoped that this accident would cause the tournament to be postponed for a while. If not, things would be troublesome.

But as he thought of that terrifying White Ape, Qin Yu relaxed a little. He seemed to have some kind of deep connection to the chicken overlord so he shouldn’t helplessly watch on as it died.

When looking at things from this perspective, while he had suffered a disaster, his so-called ‘friend’ had turned misfortune into luck. This was what it meant to benefit at another’s expense.

Quietly muttering beneath his breath, Qin Yu heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned around and asked, “Is something wrong?”

Xue Qingqing’s face was flushed red. She looked at Qin Yu and said, “Big Brother Qin, I came to fulfill the promise I made. But I ask you to please not touch my little sister.”

Qin Yu was stunned. Looking at the shy Xue Qingqing in front of him, he was left in a daze for at least one or two seconds. When he regained his senses and looked at her, he couldn’t help but gaze up into the skies and ask, ‘Just what have I done wrong that people keep misunderstanding me? Or have I done anything wrong?’

He thought carefully about it. He really hadn’t!

Across from him, Xue Qingqing revealed a panicked expression. Qin Yu’s silence clearly had a different meaning behind it to her right now.

Too bothered to be shy, she nervously looked at Qin Yu and asked, “Big Brother Qin, can you just take this as me begging you?”

What is this? What in the world is this? Now you are begging me? What did I do!?

Qin Yu hurriedly said, “Words spoken under the pressure of the situation naturally cannot be counted. I have never taken any of it to heart, so you should hurry and forget about it!” He stood up and left, “Your injuries haven’t recovered yet so don’t randomly walk around. Go back to the cabin and rest!”

Seeing Qin Yu’s hurried and slightly helpless back, Xue Qingqing’s face was so red that it nearly dripped blood. But slowly, her eyes turned soft and warm. It was only now that she believed her little sister’s words – Big Brother Qin really was a good person.

Because of White Ape’s hair, the voyage went smoothly and they didn’t encounter attacks from any monster beasts. Five days later, as rays of light finally landed on the ship, the Xue Sisters cheered in surprise.

They had finally made it out!

Qin Yu smiled as he welcomed the sunlight. While they were still floating on the vast sea, it was invigorating and refreshing to have left that thick heaven-concealing fog.

After cheering out loud, the Xue Sisters held onto each other and cried. In this brief period of time, they had experienced far too many ups and downs.

If they hadn’t been lucky enough to meet Qin Yu, the two of them would have died long ago. They would have been buried at sea, becoming food for the fish and shrimp below.

As they thought about their adventures, the two of them were even more grateful towards Qin Yu. They looked at Qin Yu who was facing away from them and pretending not to notice anything lest they feel even more embarrassed. The two sisters glanced at each other and nodded at the same time.

The night sky was bright and clear. The stars seemed to hang right in front of you, as if you could reach out and grab them.

There was a knock on the door. Qin Yu opened his eyes and said, “Come in.”

Xue Qingqing and Xue Yueyue pushed open the door and stepped in. “Big Brother Qin.”

“Mm, what is it?”

Xue Yueyue took a step forward and took out a jade box from her arms. “Big Brother Qin, the reason we were able to survive until today is because you helped us. Because we have no other way to repay you we can only give this to you. I ask that you please accept it, otherwise it will be difficult for us to find peace.”

Qin Yu glanced at it. He suddenly said, “The reason you were being hunted down before was this?”

The Xue Sisters were startled. They never thought that Qin Yu had already known about this.

But the more it was like this the more it showed the quality of his moral character. He had already guessed that they had a treasure on their bodies but he never once tried to do anything to them.

Xue Qingqing nodded. “That’s right. The reason we sisters ran away from our family is because of the thing in this box.”

Qin Yu thought for a moment. Then, he welcomed the Xue Sisters’ eyes and said, “Alright, then I’ll take this thing.”

With his current cultivation, he didn’t see common treasures in his eyes at all. The reason he accepted this was because he wanted them to feel at ease and not have random fantastical thoughts every day.

He flipped his hand and put the jade box away.

Xue Qingqing and Xue Yueyue felt both relieved and crestfallen. After all, the reason they had fallen this far was all because of this thing.

“Big Brother Qin, we won’t disrupt your rest. Good night.”

On the third day after leaving the fog, Qin Yu and the girls encountered a stroke of good luck. They encountered a search and rescue team from Starfall Archipelago.

After confirming their identities, they were allowed to board the Beast Trainer Alliance’s ship. Asking around, Qin Yu was able to find out that due to this incident, the tournament had been postponed. He let out a sigh of relief.

It was good that he hadn’t missed it, otherwise he would have gone through all this trouble for nothing.

“Will the three of you be staying together, or…” Although it was a bit presumptuous to ask this, when the Beast Trainer Alliance cultivator saw the sisters standing behind Qin Yu and clearly appearing to be affectionate towards him, he couldn’t help but subconsciously ask this question.

Qin Yu said, “We’ll take separate rooms.”

The Xue Sisters: “Together!”

The surrounding area suddenly fell silent.

Qin Yu could clearly see that the alliance cultivator was lost in a daze for at least three seconds. Then, the alliance cultivator looked at Qin Yu with eyes full of envy, as if he were feeling admiration for this secluded peerless powerhouse.

In the end, the three people were assigned to the same cabin. Facing these two sisters who felt completely insecure and uneasy, Qin Yu decided to give in.

But none of the sultry and sexy nighttime activities that others imagined occurred. The cabin was extremely large. Qin Yu chose his own room and shut himself inside.

Ten days later, the ship completed its search and rescue mission. It brought the numerous survivors to Starfall Archipelago.

When the ship reached the shore and Qin Yu stepped onto land, he turned and said, “Ladies Xue, I need to look for my lost companions, so we will have to part for the time being.”

He nodded and turned to leave.

Xue Yueyue took a step forward. She opened her mouth to say something but was pulled back by Xue Qingqing who was lightly shaking her head.

“Big sister!”

Xue Qingqing said, “Big Brother Qin saved us, and we have repaid him with our most precious treasure. Since Big Brother Qin doesn’t want to stay close to us, let’s separate like this.”

“But…”

“That’s enough. Although we don't have Big Brother Qin to rely upon, us sisters still have incredible talent. We will definitely be found by someone with great eyesight and judgment, and perhaps we will even be able to become disciples of some great figure in the alliance. After that, we won’t need to run away anymore.”

Seeing her big sister’s eyes, Xue Qingqing weakly agreed.

The Beast Trainer Alliance had already prepared residences for the participating cultivators. After Qin Yu showed his identification card, he was placed somewhere within a row of small independent courtyards.

Standing at the entrance, one could see the entire courtyard in a few glances. Although it wasn’t too large, it was still built exquisitely and the decorations were also carefully crafted. To put this much time and effort into a residential area that would only be used temporarily, one could see how generous and wealthy the Beast Trainer Alliance was.

As Qin Yu quietly admired his surroundings, he seemed to sense something. He turned and looked behind him.

On the stone road in front of the courtyard, several cultivators came walking towards him. The one being surrounded was a handsome middle-aged man. Judging from the flattering expressions of those around him, he wasn’t a simple person.

Their eyes bumped and the middle-aged man smiled and nodded. Then, he looked away, the voices of the group traveling further and further away.

Qin Yu frowned. He had never seen this person before. But, that look just then…

Before he could think further, there was a happy cheer in his ears. “Teacher!”

Yun Die threw herself into his arms, her eyes red with tears. “I knew that nothing would happen to you!”

Feeling her softness against his chest, Qin Yu coughed and drew back. He said, “How did you know I was here?”

Senior Lin nodded and didn’t say anything, but his heart actually relaxed.

Dorelis laughed. “Stop holding on for dear life. There are people going back and forth around here. Little girls should pay attention to their surroundings.” She looked up and winked a few times. Then, she sniffed and her eyes brightened. “Qin Yu, you naughty boy, be honest with me. Have you messed with any other girls these past days?”

Qin Yu was speechless. Was this woman a dog? She could even smell this!

He didn’t answer her. He held onto Yun Die and stabilized her. Then, he repeated his question.

Yun Die blushed. She glared at Dorelis and respectfully said, “We came here a few days earlier than teacher. We’ve been asking around about you and when we saw your name appear on the list, we immediately came to find you.”

Qin Yu nodded. “It’s good that everyone’s alright. And thanks to the tournament being postponed, we didn’t come late.”

Senior Lin said, “We are fine, but the Beast Trainer Alliance encountered a great deal of trouble this time.”

He gave a quick explanation. Qin Yu learned that the alliance had initially sent out eight ships to pick up the tournament participants, and only two hadn’t been attacked by giant sea beasts. The rest had suffered severe casualties.

Since something went wrong on the Beast Trainer Alliance’s ships, they naturally had to take responsibility for this.

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows together. Six ships had been attacked by giant beasts at the same time, and there was also the initial behavior of their ships being towed…no matter how he looked at it, this was all unusual.

This matter likely wasn’t as simple as it seemed!