Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1647 – Don’t Blow Things Up

Chapter 1647 – Don’t Blow Things Up

No one knew what the two of them talked about but Rourou left with a huge grin. Evidently, she got what she wanted.

Under the big scholartree in the yard, she glanced at Qin Yu’s room. Rourou seemed to be mumbling to herself, “Nature is really one’s greatest fortune for karma. However, if the karma is too strong and it exceeds the limits of what a body can withstand, it will kill you instead.”

A blast of wind blew across and the branches of the old scholartree swayed as though it was approving what Rourou said.

Rourou stretched an arm out and patted the old scholartree. “As expected, you are the most understanding. My efforts of observing the heavens and nature these days were not in vain.”

In the room, Qin Yu’s eyes opened. Rourou’s words were obviously for him and she was probably worried that he would have too much of a burden on him that he should not have. He smiled slightly and closed his eyes again. In all honesty, Rourou was underestimating his trust in her.

There was not much need to explain.

Under the old scholartree, Rourou’s lips curled and there was a look of disdain on her face. She turned and kept her hands behind her back as she skipped back towards her room.

……

The agreement was to return to the Surplus Shop and complete the deal regarding the passes. However, the doors of the Xu Family were knocked on. After Xu Zhirou opened a door, he was surprised to find Zhou Yunshan standing outside.

“Shopkeeper, why are you here? Please come in.”

Zhou Yunshan sighed and a bitter smile appeared across his face, “I am here to personally apologize to my customer.”

Qin Yu heard the commotion and he paused his cultivation and walked out. As soon as he heard Zhou Yunshan’s words, he frowned, “Shopkeeper Zhou, what happened?”

Zhou Yunshan stepped forward and cupped his hands together. There was a look of apology on his face, “Yesterday, you asked Zhiruo to pass a message to the Surplus Shop. I told her to send a message back, but there was an issue today.”

Xu Zhiruo was a smart lady and she automatically turned and left the room, leaving the two of them to talk privately.

Qin Yu frowned, “Shopkeeper, please explain.”

Zhou Yunshan gritted his teeth and said, “The Surplus Shop had already prepared to get three passes and we could have gotten them today. However, the Yang Family suddenly asked for another pass.”

“There are still two passes left?”

Zhou Yunshan smiled bitterly and shook his head. “There is only one left. The Li Family also suddenly asked for one more. This goes against the rules, but the Yang Family and the Li Family were the ones asking and no one dared to say anything.”

He cupped his hands together, “This is the Surplus Shop’s mistake and we will refund you three times the amount of your money. Please forgive us.”

Qin Yu was silent but he was not in a good mood. For him, time was incredibly precious now. Without the passes, he would need to wait for the next time the Jade Gate opened. It would delay him for a few months. Money was not an issue for him.

He waved his hand, “Shopkeeper Zhou. Have all the passes in the county been distributed already? Do you know if anyone still has some? We are willing to pay a high price to buy them.”

In fact, there was no need to go through so much trouble. If Qin Yu announced his identity, the county governor would send the passes over. Not to mention three passes, it would not be an issue to demand five or more. After all, these hugely profitable business transactions were happening under the eyes of the county government. It was hard to believe that they did not secretly plant their own people in this.

However, his priority when entering the Central Desolate was peace. From the start, the three of them had decided not to reveal any trace that they were from the West Desolate. They would take on the identity of ‘illegal immigrants’. They would not go for a moment of success and accumulate more trouble for themselves in the future. As such, Rourou covered up their tracks and they disappeared off the grid of the West Desolate to carry on with their activities.

Zhou Yunshan hesitated and said, “Young Master Li of the Li Family announced that he has two more passes and he is willing to hand them out.” He glanced at Qin Yu, “I believe you can tell that there is something strange here too. However, it would also be strange to conclude that this happened because of the commotion in the Surplus Shop that day.”

There was a complicated look on Shopkeeper Zhou’s face and he was probably suspecting that there was something else to this.

There was something wrong if they directly announced such an obvious trap.

A flash of light crossed Qin Yu’s eyes and he thought of what Rourou said about someone making an offer. He thought about the commotion that happened because of the Sun Moon Stone and he knew that there was something hidden in all of this.

If this was related to the Li Family, there would be an explanation for what happened in the shop today…in recent days, White Iris had killed a number of men.

After the swordsman was killed that night, the other party did not give up but instead chose another way to advance forward.

Qin Yu’s mind spun quickly but he slowly said, “Let’s not bother about the refund. Shopkeeper Zhou, please pass on a message asking Young Master Li if he is willing to hand over the two passes in his hands.”

There was a look of hesitation on the shopkeeper’s face when he heard Qin Yu’s words.

Qin Yu smiled and waved his hand, “Don’t worry, this is my decision. No matter what, I will not drag the Surplus Shop into this.”

Qin Yu shot directly at what Zhou Yunshan was thinking, and Zhou Yunshan’s expression turned awkward. However, he was a professional with a lot of experience and he regained his composure quickly. “Thank you for your understanding. Us businessmen are not willing to jump into the vortex.”

Sighing deeply, he said, “Regarding this matter, the Surplus Shop will help you spread the word as much as possible. We will definitely have news by tonight.”

Zhou Yunshan turned to leave. Qin Yu’s eyes narrowed as he stood under the big scholartree. Many thoughts flickered through his mind at this moment.

This included why the Yang Family suddenly decided to take action and how the Li Family knew that he needed three passes.

There was much for him to ponder about. Even though Shopkeeper Zhou walked away with an apologetic attitude just now and appeared to have goodwill, it felt like he was mocking Qin Yu.

The Surplus Shop was interesting!

Rourou pushed the door open and walked towards the old scholartree. She lifted her head and looked up to the sky. She calmly said, “It is only normal that we encountered hiccups in this matter. If things had proceeded smoothly, I would feel like things are going wrong.”

Qin Yu spoke in a serious tone, “Try not to kill so many people. We have an important journey ahead. The bigger the commotion, the worse it is for us.”

Rourou nodded, “Don’t worry. I am more experienced than you in cleaning up messes.”

Before the sky turned pitch black, someone from the Surplus Shop came. It was not Shopkeeper Zhou but a regular manager at the shop. According to him, Shopkeeper Zhou was occupied with something else and the manager was here to apologize to the three of them. He proceeded to refund Qin Yu three times the amount he paid for the passes.

The manager said that Young Master Li was not sincere with the deal. If the three of them were not in a hurry, they could wait patiently for a month and the Surplus Shop would definitely get three passes and sell them at ten percent off.

Qin Yu waved his hand, “This is very urgent for us. Therefore, manager, please tell me the price that Young Master Li asked for.”

The manager hesitated and laughed bitterly, “Li Yuantai said that he could make a deal with the passes. However, he wanted the lady and her servant girl to talk to him personally. The price he offered is good.”

Qin Yu’s eyes narrowed and the manager sucked in a cold breath of air as his face turned pale. There was a look of horror in his eyes!

Although this feeling passed by in a flash, there was still a deep fear in the manager’s eyes.

He was slightly confused. Although the Li Family had always been overbearing in their ways, they mostly acted appropriately. Why were they ignoring the limits this time? This was especially so since this guest was obviously not someone to be messed with. If the manager could sense it with a glance, how could the Li Family continue to be unaware?

However, this was something that a manager like him did not have the right to think and ponder about. He should just continue to feign ignorance.

“Go back and tell Shopkeeper Zhou to pass a message to Li Yuantai. Tell him that we have agreed to his terms.” Rourou pushed the door open, wearing a calm and composed expression.

Qin Yu frowned, but before he could say anything, she gave him a look which ordered him to remain silent.

The manager wiped his cold sweat. Not daring to delay things further, he bowed and left hurriedly.

“I feel that things are off.” Qin Yu said in a deep voice.

Rourou’s lips curved, “What is off?” She scanned Qin Yu and said, “You can’t be concerned about your image right? Do you think I will care about something so trivial?”

Qin Yu coughed and did not speak further. However, the look in his eyes was clear. If she really did not care, why bother saying this.

I did not say anything.

“Hmmph!” Rourou scoffed, “You don’t have to bother about this, I will handle it by myself. You can take care of the Xu Family lady. Watch her well at night. If anything goes wrong, it is your responsibility.”

Qin Yu nodded. After thinking for a while, he said in a serious tone, “Don’t forget what I told you previously. Don’t make things blow out of proportion.”

Rourou turned and left, “How naggy!”

……

Li Family.

Li Yuantai was slightly stunned after receiving the message from the Surplus Shop. He did not expect that the other party would agree to his terms so easily.

This act had just been a pretence and he had prepared some other methods to mess around with these three foreigners. They would understand firsthand what it meant to be an important guest of the Li Family.

The female cultivator in a pink skirt leaned towards him and whispered a few words into his ear. Li Yuantai pondered for a while and then smiled, “Alright, since they agreed to the terms, send someone over and invite the girl here. If I am entertained tonight, there is no harm giving the passes to them!”

As he said this, he stretched an arm forward and pinched the round butt of the female cultivator in a pink skirt. “You are not allowed to leave tonight either. I want to have a party with a bouquet of flowers!”

The female cultivator exclaimed in glee and she hugged him in a flirtatious manner. Li Yuantai burst into laughter but failed to notice the icy cold glare deep in her eyes.

In fact, this flirtatious female cultivator also did not notice the mockery in Li Yuantai’s laughter.

He was not a fool and he could naturally sense the strange things happening around him. However, the people around him, including his parents and brother, ignored what was happening. What could he do? He could only put on an act like the others.

Being a puppet for another person was not nice. However, not everything in life would go well. He was already the young master of the Li Family and he could enjoy life. He did not have to desire more.

It was rare for someone to be so foolish!

…….

A red sedan chair stopped outside the Xu Family household. Rourou led White Iris out of the house, pulled open the hanging screen, and had her settle in.

“Rise!”

The manager from the Li Family yelled. He smiled and turned his head towards Qin Yu who was standing by the door. In a respectful tone, he said, “My Lord, please rest assured. My young master said that he will definitely bring the two of them back in the morning. You should rest early.”

Qin Yu’s eyes narrowed.

Xu Zhiruo was hiding behind the doors. Her eyes bulged wide open in disbelief.

This was especially so since she saw how Qin Yu did not react. After her shock, she could not help but find Qin Yu despicable.

That’s right. In her opinion, the guests in her house were not ordinary.

But so what? It was the manager from the Li Family here today.

Once they entered that household, they would not be able to use any talents. They would be vulnerable in front of the Li Family people.

Qin Yu turned around and met Xu Zhiruo’s gaze. He nodded and walked back into the house.

“Hey…” Xu Zhiruo yelled.

Qin Yu stopped and turned around with a look of questioning in his eyes.

Xu Zhiruo gritted her teeth, “Although I do not know what you are planning to do and what you have up your sleeves, but the lady and her servant…will definitely be bullied once they enter the Li Family. You should think this through.”

Qin Yu smiled, “Thank you for your concern.” He walked away, but after a few steps, he stopped, “There might be some disturbances tonight. Miss Xu, you should remain in your room.”

Xu Zhiruo’s eyes widened. She had already explained things to him but he said that. Disturbances? What disturbances? Am I supposed to see you cry and howl in pain at night and bang your head against the tree?

What kind of man are you! If there is something wrong, you should take on the responsibility yourself. Why are you letting a lady block the rain and wind for you!