In the mine.
After making arrangements for the four hundred thousand troops under him, Qin Yu sighed a long breath. Being a leader was a very tiring thing.
Thankfully, his dream was not to become a great general and he was fine with just completing his tasks…also, he had to employ talents to their fullest.
Hundred Saint was good. As the nephew of Lord Chengtian who had the bloodline of a side branch of the Imperial Clan running through his veins, he was thoughtfully raised from a young age. As a talent of the nation, it would be a waste not to use him.
Qin Yu called him over and gave his some instructions. Then, he threw an object at Hundred Saint. Before Hundred Saint could protest or struggle, Qin Yu waved his hand to dismiss him.
Once outside, Hundred Saint rubbed his face in exasperation. He was directly handed the authority to govern trivial matters of close to sixty thousand troops in the mine? He looked down at the mission statement given to him by Marquis Chongwu and he started to cry.
A temporary military counselor…Marquis, are you sure there is such a weird position in the West Border Army? It was alright if he wanted to slack off, but he ought to have put some effort into it! As he thought about his numerous responsibilities, Hundred Saint’s hair stood on its ends.
With Hundred Saint’s matters settled, Qin Yu was in a good mood. He was slightly hesitant about whether he should continue to seclude himself in cultivation or head down to the underground mine.
After some thinking, Qin Yu shook his head. He could not avoid it in the end and if he had to let her know eventually, he should do it sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it would be insincere of him.
Qin Yu stood up and walked towards the backyard of his residence. When the news of his promotion to a marquis reached the mine, the troops did a redesign and renovation of the residence. Now, it was several times more grand than it was in the past.
For instance, bright crystals that looked like suns were imbued onto the stone wall. They were huge, and light that reflected off them illuminated the surroundings, making the residence seem like a legendary abode of immortals.
Of course, the lowly troops of the border army would not have been able to find such treasures. However, luck had been on their side. Zhou Dafu beamed with joy as he led personal guards to head to the border army from the capital. After learning that the troops in the mine were going to renovate the marquis’ residence for him, he voluntarily took the lead on the task. It was no secret that the marquis participated in the smuggling with the Barbarian Clan, and hence, the border army troops naturally accepted Zhou Dafu’s aid.
Once they confirmed his identity, they welcomed him happily. Then, they realized that leaving things to the professionals was right.
Enjoying a luxurious life was something that Zhou Dafu was an expert at!
Back then, when Zhou Dafu went to visit Qin Yu, he was very respectful when he handed over a storage ring that contained the loot Qin Yu deserved from the smuggling.
Of course, he gave Qin Yu thirty percent more than what was normal. The expenses for the renovation of the mansion also came out of Zhou Dafu’s pocket. Right now, Zhou Dafu wanted to suck up to Qin Yu as much as he could and tie himself to Qin Yu’s leg.
Originally he was afraid that the higher ups in the capital would kill their own dog in rage. Yet, he did not expect that their attitude would be completely different and they would forget everything that happened in the past.
With that, he no longer needed to tread on thin ice and be anxious all the time. Zhou Dafu was elated, and this naturally turned into respect for Qin Yu.
When such power was placed in front of him, he would be a fool not to latch onto it as fast as possible. Otherwise, he should consider if his head was kicked by a donkey.
The intelligent Zhou Dafu would not make the foolish move.
However, the residence was too big and the bad part about it was that walking from end to end took a lot of time. After all, it was not appropriate to use Divine Ways to teleport in his own house.
This journey had delayed Qin Yu’s cultivation, and after calculating it, he realized that he wasted a lot of precious time. His mood did not lighten when he saw the mansion and his impression of Zhou Dafu even worsened. This situation felt similar to how Zhou Dafu sucked up to him in the past.
In all honesty, Zhou Dafu could swear to the heavens that he put in more effort to build this residence than he did in building one for his parents. If he knew that Qin Yu still looked upon him badly after this, he would cry about the unfairness.
Rourou chose the biggest and most gorgeous-looking manor in the back half of the residence. There was a giant crystal above the manor that reflected brilliant light down on the rest of the residence. It truly made the residence more glorified and luxurious.
Qin Yu walked in briskly and a group of servants bowed to him. His eyes swept past one of the servants in a white robe and he waved his hand, “All of you, leave.”
The servants bowed again to him before they left. White Iris was the last to leave and her eyes met Qin Yu’s for a brief moment.
Rourou sipped her tea and she ate pastries that were served on a plate to her. When the servants left, she tilted her head towards Qin Yu and asked, “What is it? My rest only lasted for two days, can you give me a break!”
Qin Yu rubbed his nose awkwardly, not blaming Rourou for her foul attitude. Like she said, most of the time he was here, it was not good news and he would always end up troubling her.
He coughed lightly and said, “This time, I am here because I want to bring you somewhere…of course, I might need your opinion too.”
Rourou glanced at Qin Yu. From her eyes, it was obvious that she had seen through him. She finished the pastries and stepped forward.
Qin Yu thought to himself, ‘I expected this,’ and nodded.
Rourou liked her lips.
When Qin Yu saw this action, he felt weirdly panicky and he suddenly regretted the decision he made…did he walk into the lion’s den?
“Hmph!” Rourou scoffed and gritted her teeth, “Walk into the lion’s den? I didn’t expect that you are an intellectual. Using this phrase to describe you now is quite appropriate.”
Qin Yu quickly suppressed his thoughts, “Not at all. Those thoughts flashed past my mind. You know that some things cannot really be controlled. What is our relationship? I am fully confident in you and I don’t doubt anything!”
Rourou scoffed coldly and continued to sip her tea, “Forget it. I will pass on this in case you become more cautious in the future and grow suspicious of me.”
Qin Yu stood up and pulled her back as she turned away to leave. “Don’t go. I admit my faults. I am really heartless, my lady Rourou does not scheme against peasants!”
Rourou’s eyebrows lifted and she lowered her head to look at the hand that grabbed hers. She scoffed coldly again but there was undeniable warmth in her eyes.
Half urged and half willingly, she was pulled out of the residence by Qin Yu. They chose a random path and did not alert anyone as they entered it.
The two of them continued in the pitch black darkness with multiple mining paths. It felt like they were walking through a maze.
Thankfully, Qin Yu was led by a feeling and he did not hesitate as he chose the path to take.
Finally, they reached the Misty Ghost Grotto.
Qin Yu let go of her hand, turned around, and smiled, “We are here.”
Rourou made a sound of acknowledgement and tried to maintain silence to conceal her emotions.
Qin Yu looked at her and found this action strange. Before he could ponder over it, Rourou smirked, “Why are you stunned? You are wasting time!”
His heart jumped. This was Rourou’s thought now. Qin Yu stretched an arm forward and beckoned her, “Miss Rourou, please follow me.”
He stepped inside, but the moment Rourou entered, great fear started to form in his heart.
In the next instant, the space time rules in the grotto became a storm. Like the violent sea in a typhoon, there was utter chaos!
