Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu was very disappointed.

But he could not lie to himself. Over many years, he had met numerous outstanding women. But Feature was the most special. Although they did not interact for a long time, she left a very strong imprint in Qin Yu’s memories.

Perhaps corresponding to an old saying, what is lost is always worth cherishing. She had disappeared so suddenly, fading and dispersing in Qin Yu's arms.

And that made it all the more unforgettable.

From taking to the Shadow of the Abyss, Qin Yu was mentally prepared after understanding Feature’s history.

But suddenly today, he saw Yun Qing who looked exactly like her. He was shocked but there were still feelings of anticipation.

Ever since he entered the Desolate Area, his emotions had been a rollercoaster. Now he was slightly calmer, but this increased his feelings of emptiness and loss.

Thankfully, his black robe covered him and hid his emotions.

“I am hungry. Go and make me some food.” Lady Yun looked slightly happy but did not dare to express it. She bowed respectfully before turning to leave.

The women in this building were extremely talented. When it came to cooking, their skills were excellent.

Qin Yu ate and was surprised. Although he has already passed the point of eating to increase his power, he still had immense respect for delicious food.

He ate more. Two maids carefully served him wine. They occasionally glanced at him warmly; there was a hint of worry in their eyes.

Because today, the spread of food was outstanding and a bit overboard. This was not referring to the effort Lady Yun put into making all these dishes and showing her cooking skills. Rather, the dishes were so numerous that there was no space on the table.

Although the two maids had been subtly adjusting the dishes to save as much space as possible but still keeping it pleasant, with any more they would really run out of space.

This strange man in the black robe was still as calm and composed as he had been. But no one knew what he was hiding underneath.

Maybe he would blow up in anger in the next moment…this made them struggle.

The two maids remained pleasant and warm as they continuously placed more dishes, refilled wine, and poured tea. However, their backs were drenched with sweat.

In the small kitchen, Lady Yun was standing too near to the fire as she cooked and her whole face was red. Sweat dripped down her forehead, causing her hair to stick to her face.

She lifted her hand to shift her hair but remained concentrated on the dish she was cooking.

There was a maid girl standing in the corner, she opened her mouth but decided to remain silent. She knew what her lady was thinking. However, if this continued, there may be problems.

She could not help but turn to look out of the window. That brat Yun Die had been gone for a long time and was still not back. Could she be lovesick and had gone to find her lover?

The maid gritted her teeth. However, she knew that although Yun Die liked to play around, she was extremely loyal to the lady. She knew her priorities. Since she was not back, it must be that she has not found the person.

What should they do?!

In a few moments, the next dish was ready. If they left it in the pot for any longer, the taste would be severely compromised.

Although it took a while to cook the dish, it had to be plated very quickly once it was done.

Lady Yun let out a breath as she held onto the pot and a ladle. She moved quickly and nimbly, familiar with the movements. She moved in a beautiful manner.

“Serve it.”

The maid bit her lip, “Lady, there are enough dishes…”

Lady Yun smiled, “Don’t worry, this is the last one. I will wash up before heading over.” No man in this world was reliable. They may sound very nice normally, but when the critical time came, they were unreliable.

She knew how to advance and retreat. The black-robed customer had yet to get angry and showed that he could tolerate it. This was slightly different from the previous judgment. Hopefully, he was gentle and not too ruthless and heartless.

The maid breathed a sigh of relief but could not help looking sad. Her lady had suffered so much in the past years but still could not escape this.

If they had known, they would have chosen that person back then. They heard that he was now in the capital. Although he did not have a very high rank, he was still powerful.

Having made up her mind, Lady Yun was calm. After all, she had expected this and was not flustered like the regular maids.

She smiled, “Go quickly. I put a lot of effort into this dish and the ingredients are the best as well. Don’t waste it.”

The maid put on a neutral expression and quickly left. After she entered the reception pavilion, she handed over the dish to the other maids and said softly, “Lady said that these are all the dishes today. If you wish to try more, please come again next time. The kitchen is filled with oil and smoke so my lady has gone to wash up. She will join you soon.”

Even the way they spoke was very important!

It was the same thing but the way she said it made the ‘taste’ change. It seemed as if it was only natural.

It also made it sound like everything Lady Yun did was to please the customer.

Under the black robe, Qin Yu smiled slightly at how well this maid could speak. He continued to eat and drink as he thought.

Even though he did not know much, Qin Yu had gained some information from Hundred Saint. Although he could not predict what the future would be like, he could make some better judgments.

For example, what he needed to do in the West Desolate would coincidentally fulfill that woman’s goal as well. That was why she would sit back and let Qin Yu enter the Desolate Area through the West Desolate.

There was a question here. Were the two things overlapping or did they have the same goal? If it was the former, it was easy to say, but if it was the latter...sss, it would be troublesome!

With the identity of the Darkness Ruler, he was called into the Desolate Area by the West Desolate. But in the end, he would help the woman to achieve her goal…what would the West Desolate do?

Even if Qin Yu’s identity was not exposed, it would still be a problem!

As Qin Yu was thinking, his aura became more solemn. When the maids saw this they became gloomy.

Fortunately, this fear and anxiety did not last long. They were interrupted by the sound of the bead curtains moving. Lady Yun had changed into a new set of clothes after her bath. There was a fragrant smell. Her hair was still slightly wet and her skin was almost translucent as if it would tear upon getting hit.

Even the maids who were used to her beauty could not help but sigh in admiration internally – it was like she had stepped out of a painting.

“I was busy in the kitchen and got slightly delayed. Please forgive me.” As she said this, she curtseyed and her long skirt spilled outwards, looking elegant.

……

As Lady Yun asked for forgiveness, a maid standing outside a high-level mansion was looking anxious.

She had been out for too long. Even if her lady was able to think of a way to delay, there was a limit. If she did not rush back, it would really be too late.

Just as she was feeling anxious and wanted to barge in, her eyes suddenly widened and her face filled with delight. She hopped around and quickly waved her hands, “Lord, lord, here!

The door opened a crack and a lord, wearing expensive attire, stepped out looking slightly tired. He smiled when he saw her, “Yun Die, what is going on today? You are missing me so early?”

Although his tone was picking on her, it was not annoying. On the contrary, it made him sound dashing.

Sure enough, appearance was the most important. If a lazy and ugly guy tried to say this, the lady would have exploded and told him off!

Blushing slightly, the maid called Yun Die stomped and reached out to pull him along, “Hurry, hurry, there is no time!”

The lord’s expression changed, “Is Yun Qing in trouble?” He was smart and quickly identified the root cause.

The maid nodded rapidly. The lord halted and shouted, “Get me a carriage!”

He had an important guest in his residence and he had initially wanted to return after saying a few words to her. But now, he could not be bothered. His father could cover for him and his guest would not be able to blame him. After all, he had always given a warm and kind impression.

Very soon, a luxurious black carriage with flying white horses appeared in front of them. The lord pulled the maid into it, “To Lady Yun Qing’s place. Hurry.”

Although he spoke calmly, he said hurry. And that meant really hurry.

The carriage driver flung his whip and with a ‘piak’, the carriage moved forwards steadily. The scenery flew past through their window, forming fragments of afterimages.

The lord was ranked amongst the top three in his generation in the capital. After hearing what the maid said, he looked annoyed.

Yun Qing was someone he had his eye on. In this Seascape City, was there anyone who did not know this? He wanted to see who this uninvited guest was!

Instinctively, he had sensed that something was wrong. After all, the boss of the place was still one of their people and should not act hastily. Even if there were other reasons, he should have informed him and not had Yun Die personally wait outside his mansion.

At this moment, his chest was burning with anger. His emotions dampened slightly and he ignored the thoughts in his mind.

“Even faster!”

Hearing the lord’s cold voice from the carriage, the carriage driver frowned and hit his whip once more.

Boom –

A huge aura exploded from him. It moved through his hand that was holding the whip into the flying white horses. Their speed increased.

The carriage flew into the air and raced to the beautiful clear lake.

This clearly violated the city’s regulations. The city guards responded quickly, but before they could gather to move off, they were ordered to stand by and wait for further orders.

Nonsense, although this carriage looked ordinary and did not have any clear symbols, the person in the carriage already had a case with the city guards.

Let’s see who dares to stop…the city governor’s carriage!

Seeing the carriage fly off, the city guards were calm. This world had never been fair and some people had better privileges. They were not barbarians who were fearless. Since they joined the city guards, they were used to ‘exceptions’.

Going against the regulations meant speed and efficiency.

So in one tenth of the normal time it took, this carriage had reached the shore of the lake. Although this was just one of their distant properties, due to the status they still needed to be respectful.

Without waiting for the carriage to fully come to a stop, the Lord threw open the door and exited with Yun Die. They flew in.

The carriage driver frowned slightly and he looked worried. He seemed to be concerned for his lord’s safety. He thought about it before handing the carriage over to a stable boy to temporarily take care of it. He patted the flying white horses and told them to be obedient before heading in after them.

Although he was dressed like a servant, no one dared to stop him and everyone bowed to greet him respectfully.

The carriage driver remained expressionless and ignored everything. He pushed through the chaotic and noisy front courtyard and reached the side of the crystal clear lake.

He looked forward and heard a loud ‘bam’ followed by an angry growl.

It was the lord!

The carriage driver frowned slightly. He did not dare to delay anymore. His figure disappeared as he stepped out. In the next moment, he appeared in front of the huge door that was shaking and emitted endless bright rays.

When the lord saw him, his face was stoic as he growled, “Hurry and open the door!”

“Yes.”

The carriage driver abided and ignored the angry shouts from around as well as the noise from the front courtyard. He pressed on the door.

There was no burst of aura. It was like a hand brushing away snow yet the tightly shut door broke into four pieces. A powerful aura spread and hit the walls on both sides of the courtyard. The defensive restriction was torn down and numerous stones flew up into the air and were turned into dust because of the horrifying aura.

What a commotion!

The surface of the lake felt the surge of power and with a ‘boom’, waves surged over the surface. The commotion caused shrieks to fill the air.

“Stop!”

Amidst the angry shout, the guards rushed over. The slab of stone under the leader had broken and at this moment, he was very angry.

Fen Building had operated in Seascape City for so many years and this was the first time they had such an intrusion.

This was his negligence!

Thinking of the East Family’s power and his own hefty income, the leader looked alert as he growled, “Take them down. Kill whoever resists!”

He had to deal with this cleanly.

With the door smashed down, smoke filled the air and blocked everyone’s vision. They were unable to see who was creating the commotion. And the news from the front courtyard had yet to be passed over in such a short time.

The lord gritted his teeth and laughed sinisterly, “I would like to see who dares to touch me in Seascape City?”

The carriage driver swiped his hand and the smoke dissipated. As soon as the leader saw the lord’s menacing eyes, his heart froze and he almost fainted. He paled as he kneeled, “Greetings Lord Chen, I did not know that it was you. I accidentally offended you. Please have mercy!”

He kowtowed and there was a crackling sound as he slapped himself repeatedly.