Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 290 - Cooperation

With a light creaking sound, the door opened from within. Qin Yu walked out, his weary face etched with exhaustion and the blood vessels visible in his eyes.

The bun-faced maid was no longer here. He could faintly hear sounds of crying from afar. Qin Yu took a deep breath, “Don’t die yet…”

Bang –

The ground trembled and Qin Yu shot into the skies. He was like a tautly drawn arrow, soaring straight towards the source of that crying.

In a far off courtyard, a group of women stared with wide eyes. They looked up into the air at the kaleidoscope of colors that had been triggered in the skies. Was there someone who couldn’t stand it and wanted to die along with Master Wei?

Eh? From their direction, it looked as if they were flying over here…

The door was pushed open and Aunty Hong walked out, her face dark. “Who dares to intrude into my inn’s rear court! Insolent!” Her voice was billowing and loud, rumbling out like an invisible tide. This beautiful Madam Mulberry actually had such a potent cultivation.

In the skies above the courtyard, the rainbow-hued lights of the spell shattered and then Qin Yu fell to the ground. He staggered and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Aunt Hong had already learned of the hopeless pill refining from Congcong. She naturally lost the patience she previously had with Qin Yu and her complexion became uglier. She coldly said, “Qin Yu, since you have shown graciousness to Master Wei before, I won’t argue with you over intruding into the inn’s rear court. Leave immediately!”

Qin Yu wiped the corners of his lips and nodded. “I do need to rest. Give this pill to that woman. I hope there is enough time.” He opened his hand to reveal a pill in his palm. It was as bright as the morning light and shined with iridescent radiance.

Aunty Hong lost her composure. “Nine Mystic Heavens Pill!” Her eyes widened in shock and speechlessness.

Qin Yu coughed. “Hurry up, otherwise that woman is really going to die.”

“Peh! You can die but this old lady won’t!” A hand reached out and grabbed the pill. Then opening her mouth, the woman swallowed it down. She frowned, sensing it in her body. As everyone looked on with a tense expression, she curled her lips and commented, “Mediocre at best. The medicinal efficacy isn’t as good as what I had before.”

It wasn’t as good as before? Did that mean this Nine Mystic Heavens Pill was really effective?

Aunty Hong’s eyes widened like full moons, surprise written all over her face.

The bun-faced maid who followed close behind suddenly gasped. Her eyes tilted back into her head and before she could breathe, she toppled to the ground.

Qin Yu coldly sneered. “If it’s not good enough, spit it back out. I don’t want to let you eat it.”

The woman looked him over. “If you didn’t want me to eat it, then why would you have run here so quickly? Luckily Aunty Hong wasn’t watching over the spells today, or you would have already died!” Her taunting expression was filled with satisfaction. Then, a trace of caution flashed in her eyes. “Qin Yu, you cannot have any improper thoughts towards this old lady! It’s impossible for us to be together!”

Qin Yu flicked his sleeves and walked away. “You think too much nonsense!”

The woman behind him stamped her feet.

In the end, Qin Yu wasn’t able to leave. His current condition was much worse than when he arrived. All he could see were multiple images of people in his field of vision. The only reason he hadn’t fainted earlier was because he had been stubbornly holding on.

However, he could only stubbornly hold on for so long. So when he turned and saw a section of soft grass, he sat down there and sighed comfortably. When his face dropped down and his head landed on the soft grass, he had already fallen asleep.

A moment later, after Aunty Hong sent the miss away, she turned and saw the deeply breathing Qin Yu. Her eyes warmed and she waved her hand, “Bring Mister Qin to a room so he can rest well.”

A gaggle of women worked together to lift up Qin Yu. Their fingers inadvertently touched his body and their eyes brightened. It was hard to see, but even though this boy was thin, his body was thickly muscled and sturdy.

Aunty Hong walked in front and coughed. “Alright, everyone mind their manners. Once Mister Qin awakes, if he wishes, you will all have a chance to serve him in his bedchambers.”

When Qin Yu woke up, he was lying on warm and soft bedding. When he breathed in, a faint fragrance entered his nose. This scent was strange but actually quite nice-smelling, so he couldn’t help but take a few more deep breaths before he opened his eyes.

Not long after, the door was pushed open and the bun-faced maid marched in, a basin of hot water in her hands. “Mister Qin, you’re awake!”

Qin Yu smiled. “How is your family’s miss?” action

The maid put down the washbasin and knelt to the ground. “Reporting to mister, the miss has already returned home to recover.” She paused and then earnestly said, “This servant Congcong wishes to thank Mister Qin for saving the life of my family’s miss. If you ever have any wishes in the future, I will do my best to serve.”

A charming laugh echoed out from the other side of the door. “Congcong, you little lovestruck tomboy, big sister here already knew you couldn’t be trusted. We haven’t even had a taste and yet you’ve already started.”

A woman walked in. She had an enchanting figure and an enthralling face. As she stepped in, her limpid eyes were like waves of flowing water, tempting the mind.

The maid blushed hot red. “Big Sister Peony, you can’t just say that! I wasn’t thinking that!”

“You say you weren’t thinking that, but you said that you were willing to serve him, no matter what he desired. Isn’t that sort of suggestion obvious enough?” Peony continued to tease. Seeing the maid redden further and nearly sob, she finally stopped. She turned and bowed, “Peony greets Mister Qin.”

Qin Yu bowed in return. “Miss Peony, how do you do. Is this…the inn?”

Peony smiled and nodded. “In order to save Master Wei, Mister Qin has spent a considerable amount of mental strength. You have already slept for three days and three nights. If you didn’t wake up soon, Aunty Hong would have asked for a doctor to visit.”

Qin Yu shook his head. “I’m okay now.” He turned over and stood up from the bed. “There are some matters I must attend to, so I will bid my farewells here.”

Peony hurriedly said, “Mister Qin, please hold on a moment.”

Qin Yu’s eyebrows furrowed together.

Peony respectfully said, “Aunty Hong said that after Mister Qin awakens, she must personally express her gratitude to you. And, there are some matters that she hopes she can discuss face-to-face with Mister Qin. Aunty Hong said that this will also be beneficial to Mister Qin.”

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed. “I see. Alright, then I’ll wash up first.”

Peony covered her mouth and tittered. “Congcong, isn’t it time for you to help Mister Qin freshen up?” She bowed, “I will be waiting outside for Mister Qin.”

Congcong lowered her head, nearly turning into an ostrich. But, this only made her chest thrust out, seeming even larger. Qin Yu coughed several times and turned his head, allowing her to tidy everything up.

He pushed open the door and walked out. Peony bowed and led the way. They soon arrived at a quiet and peaceful courtyard. Aunty Hong was waiting outside.

“Greetings, Mister Qin.”

Qin Yu cupped his hands together. “Aunty Hong is too polite.”

“Please.”

After entering the courtyard, Peony poured some tea and then left. It was only the two of them in there.

Aunty Hong faintly smiled. “Mister Qin is intelligent and wise, so I won’t circle around the subject. I will get straight to the point.”

Qin Yu nodded. “Aunty Hong, feel free to speak.”

Aunty Hong had a serious expression. “The inn hopes to reach cooperation with Mister Qin. We will provide the materials and you will refine the pills. Of course, since mister saved Master Wei, you are now an honored guest of my inn. We will certainly repay you generously.”

This actually was a bit out of Qin Yu’s expectations. He had thought that the reason Aunty Hong wanted to speak to him was because she hoped that he could help refine some more pills for them. After all, the success of the Nine Mystic Heavens Pill was sufficient proof of his powerful alchemy ‘strength’. But now, it seemed his thoughts had been too simple. This Aunty Hong and the inn around him didn’t seem simple at all!

To speak the truth, Aunt Hong’s proposition impeccably matched Qin Yu’s current needs. But, he wasn’t in a hurry to answer. He thought over things and said, “I am actually a bit confused by Aunty Hong’s words.”

Aunty Hong was a shrewd person. She could tell from his words that Qin Yu didn’t have the intention of refusing. Her smile immediately brightened. “It was my mistake for not explaining things clearly. Our inn is a brothel, but in fact, we also engage in all sorts of pill material businesses. Throughout the entire Beast Hunting Battalion, most of the materials that are found by the beast hunters are purchased and managed by us.”

Everything else was unimportant. Just these words alone proved how strong the inn was.

What sort of place was the Beast Hunting Battalion?

It was a bunch of people who hunted monster beasts day and night and lived their lives on the edge of the blade. Did anyone expect them to be nice or approachable?

If this place could purchase a massive amount of materials from them and also have other moneyless businesses, one could imagine how fierce the inn actually was.

Qin Yu didn’t consider things for too long before he nodded. The compensation offered to him by the inn was simply too good, and there was nowhere he could haggle. As long as he could start refining pills in bulk again, then with the assistance of the little blue lamp, Qin Yu’s cultivation would soon rise dramatically.

Aunty Hong was all smiles. “Then I’ll have to trouble Mister Qin from now on.”

The inn came to an agreement with Qin Yu. The overall success rate of pills was to be around 40%. This rate wasn’t considered low, and with Qin Yu’s alchemy skills that ‘surpassed’ those of a grandmaster, it was to be expected. There would be a considerable amount of income and materials left for him. After all, the amount of materials that the inn handled was mind-boggling.

Unfortunately, Aunty Hong didn’t know that Qin Yu had the little blue lamp in hand and could thus reuse the materials of waste pills. Because of that, the success rate of his pills would actually far surpass anyone’s imaginations!

It could be said that Aunty Hong wasn’t asking for Qin Yu to help mass refine pills at all. After all, the inn’s chain management had attracted the services of many alchemists throughout the years. What she truly valued was Qin Yu’s alchemy skills. As long as both sides could work happily together, then asking him to refine some relatively difficult high-level pills in the future might be possible.

Moreover, with a peak alchemy master joining them, this would have an astonishing effect for the inn in gathering its hidden income from its various other operations.

Of course, from Aunty Hong’s perspective the inn would also give Qin Yu extra compensation; they couldn’t ask him to help them in vain. For instance, some benefits of the inn could be freely used by Mister Qin.

Such as this:

As Qin Yu was bathing, the door was pushed open. Two beautiful young women walked in, their bodies covered in gauzy veils. Their slender and curvy bodies and all their hidden places were partly visible beneath the gauze that draped over them. The enticement was through the roof.

“We are here to help mister bath.” They said together, bowing and then walking towards his bathtub.

Qin Yu jumped in fright. He quickly waved his hands, “No need, no need, I’m fine by myself!”

The two young women stopped, a bit of bitterness hidden in their faces. “Does mister not like us sisters?” Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the two were completely identical in appearance. The only difference was that the one on the left had a larger chest.

As for why he could see…

What nonsense! Such a thin level of gauze was no different from not wearing any clothes at all. Even a blind person could see through that!

Qin Yu turned back, “It’s not that you two aren’t good, but it's only that I am wounded right now. If there isn’t anything else, please return.”

The twin sisters glanced at each other. They said, “Then we sisters will be waiting outside. If mister has any need of us, feel free to call on us at any time.”

These words were clearly giving him a chance to change his mind. Just in case he had refused them because of a moment of embarrassment, he could call them back. These words were like little cat claws latching onto the heart. Just by moving a little, there was an unbearable need to scratch that itch.

Hearing the door close, Qin Yu let out a long breath and bitterly smiled. He didn’t even need to think it over to know that this was absolutely the methods of that Aunty Hong. She was even using the old beautiful women trick, and the legendary identical twin sisters at that…cough cough, but in truth, this actually proved just how highly she valued their cooperation.

Good, this was good. As long as everyone cooperated with sincerity then everyone could obtain what they needed. As long as he could obtain pills to cultivate with, he certainly wouldn’t cause the inn to suffer a loss.

He focused on these proper matters so that his brain would forget those improper matters. However, no matter how much he concentrated, he couldn’t completely rid himself of those two shaking drapes of gauze.

After a long time, Qin Yu heaved a deep sigh. He stepped out of the bathtub and turned on the cold water valve.

In a luxurious hall, a white-dressed woman leaned against a window. The sunlight sprinkled down on her and her skirt rustled in the wind. It seemed as if she would fly away at any moment. However, a hateful veil covered most of her face, making it so that one could only imagine her beauty.

A maid walked in with light steps and a lowered head. “Miss, a message jade slip from the Southern Overwatch Pass has arrived.”

The white-dressed woman put down her book and picked up the jade slip. She searched it with her divine sense. Several breaths of time later, she faintly frowned. Her fingers moved and the jade slip in her palm was crushed to powder. Her expression returned to tranquility as she let the powder blow away into the wind. She picked her book back up and continued reading, as if nothing happened at all.