After crossing three mountains and six bodies of water, the horse carriage finally made it to the Jade Gate. This wasn’t a very accurate description of what happened, but the essence was that they finally reached their destination.
Jin Shen and Yang Fanshan, who were driving the horse carriage, heaved a sigh of relief together. There was a slight smile on their faces. If the two in the carriage had other objectives, they would not wait till now to take action. In other words, they were probably safe since they reached the Jade Gate.
Yang Fanshan turned around and asked a question to the people in the carriage. When he received their reply, his smile grew even more relaxed.
They had not stopped and they rushed to the Jade Gate. Compared to when they entered the Central Desolate Divine Area, they did not need to prepare anything to use the pass to enter the West Desolate Area. They could leave anytime they wanted.
It was time for them to part.
Yang Fanshan had been thorough in his planning. He claimed that the two of them needed to prepare some tools and continue on their way.
Qin Yu smiled and accepted his reason.
Yang Fanshan stared at the shut doors of the horse carriage and said, “Is My Lady tired from the journey? I will say my goodbyes here.”
“Yang Fanshan, come up.” Rourou’s voice came from the horse carriage.
Jin Shen’s heart instantly clenched.
Beside him, Yang Fanshan’s expression turned solemn and he stared at Qin Yu.
“Don’t worry, it is alright.” Although Qin Yu did not know why Rourou called him up, it was not to kill him.
There was no need for that and she was not going to add trouble.
Yang Fanshan sighed, “Yes, My Lady.” He originally wanted to reject her, but the moment the thought circled in his head, he immediately casted it aside.
Yang Fanshan pushed open the doors of the carriage and entered. He did not dare to sit down and respectfully waited by the side.
Rourou stared at him, “We cooperated with you previously because you were originally our target. That is why we met by the small pavilion by the side of the road.”
There were beads of sweat on Yang Fanshan’s forehead. He did not dare to nod nor shake his head.
Although he did not interact much with the lady, he could sum her up as a deep and mysterious being.
Acting dumb in front of her was truly foolish.
“I asked you to come up because there is one thing that I need you to do.”
A few moments later, Yang Fanshan respectfully stepped back down from the horse carriage. There was joy written on his face that he could not hide. He thought about the lady’s request and he felt like he was dreaming. Handing over the jade was not such a pity anymore.
Furthermore, he had an unexpected find this time.
Qin Yu looked at him with some surprise but he did not say anything. He cupped his hands together, “Congratulations, Lord Yang.”
Yang Fanshan immediately dismissed him in a humble manner and thanked Qin Yu repeatedly. Then, he left.
The two left for the gate and Qin Yu pondered for a while. Then, he jumped up into the horse carriage and asked, “Where do we go now?”
Rourou’s voice was calm, “Ask Immortal Building.”
Qin Yu’s eyebrows raised. They had already been there and they left in disappointment. Why did they have to go again? However, Rourou’s tone had been very calm but he could sense a complicated feeling in it.
He was smart and he pushed aside his curiosity. Without question, he pulled on the reins and turned the carriage back.
An hour later, the horse carriage stopped at Ask Immortal Building.
Before Qin Yu could speak, the doors of the carriage were pushed open and Rourou walked out. She lifted her head and looked at Ask Immortal Building. She was frowning slightly.
She did not head in but instead turned and walked towards the side of Ask Immortal Building. There was a wine stand by the streets. At this moment, there weren’t a lot of guests. Aside from her, only two tables were filled. The boss of the store urged one of the servers and he came forward to serve Rourou.
“Please have a seat. What would you like to drink? We sell local wine of the Jade Gate here. The taste of the wine is sweet and cold and the price is fair. It will definitely not disappoint you.”
The enthusiastic server was good with his words.
Qin Yu secured the reins and walked into the wine store. When he saw Rourou’s expression, he immediately said, “Give us two jars of your best wine and serve us some small bites.”
“Three jars.”
The server looked at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu nodded, “As she says.”
“Alright. Please wait a moment, it will be served quickly.” The servant yelled and turned around. The boss scooped up some fresh water and started to cut some small bites after washing his hands.
Very quickly, three jars of wine and some small bites were served to their table. The server politely asked them to enjoy their food and then he returned to his position. A few moments later, he started to nap.
The boss frowned, but since there were no other guests, he did not scold the server.
Rourou opened the jar of wine and poured herself some. She slowly took two sips.
Qin Yu felt that the wine was very ordinary. It could not compare to the wine fruits, and even the Immortal Brew from Ask Immortal Building was much better.
However, he could sense the solemn attitude from Rourou. There was a heavy atmosphere around her and this was the first time that he had seen Rourou be bothered by something without knowing what it was.
Right at this moment, Rourou suddenly said, “Here.”
Qin Yu’s heart clenched and he slowly turned around. He suddenly realized that there was a young scholar who had appeared by the two seater table beside him.
He was a real scholar.
It was not because of his appearance and he did not wear the robe of a scholar. However, he was holding a yellow but well-maintained book in his hands.
The other hand carried a rolled up painting.
Before Rourou spoke, Qin Yu had not noticed him. However, now, he realized that he could not sense that person if he closed his eyes. There was a heavy look on his face.
The scholar smiled and cupped his hands together, “I’ve finally met you again.” With this sentence, tears streaked down his face.
He bowed and stood up, placing the book and the painting on the table. The scholar looked at Qin Yu and smiled, “My current state is rather strange now so you can’t sense my presence. It is not that I used any abilities to hide my aura from you.”
Qin Yu nodded, “Thank you for letting me know.”
The scholar smiled and then used a hand to wipe his tears, “You don’t like these and this is my fault. I will punish myself by drinking a cup.” As he said this, he turned around, tipped the jar up, and poured himself a full glass. He toasted the wine to Rourou and gulped it down.
Rourou thought for a while, then she picked the entire wine jar up and drank from it.
It was just this one sip, but the scholar could not help but wipe his tears again. He laughed bitterly, “My apologies that you had to witness this embarrassing sight. I just feel overwhelmed from being able to sit with you to drink wine at the same table.”
Rourou said, “Save your flattery. I can’t do anything about your current state now.”
The scholar waved his hand, “How would I dare to request for your help? I am already satisfied from seeing you.”
He poured himself a full cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
He carefully wiped his hands clean and then gave Rourou the brown book, “Your gift back then. I shall return it to its original owner now. I am slow on the uptake and I was not able to fully grasp the last step. I have let you down and I am ashamed of myself.”
Rourou fell silent and slowly said, “The book itself is not complete in the first place. You have already exceeded my expectations by comprehending till this step.”
She looked at the book and then said, “Qin Yu.”
There was a look of hesitation on Qin Yu’s face.
At this point, Jiang Huan had already presented the book to him. He smiled, “I am very envious of you for being able to be by her side.”
Qin Yu thought about it; it truly was a thing to invoke jealousy. He smiled and nodded, taking the book without checking it.
As though he unloaded his mind, Jiang Huan’s smile grew more relaxed. He recalled the painting and then said, “This is an image I drew based on my memory of when you left. Don’t worry, I have never allowed anyone else to look at it. Now that I am about to leave, I dare to admit this to you. This painting is for you; please handle it as you please.”
With these words, Jiang Huan poured himself the third cup of wine. He placed the cup down once he finished the wine. Then, he stood up, bowed respectfully at Rourou, and said, “If I have another life, I hope that I will be able to meet you again.”
He turned and walked out. One step, two steps, three steps…then, Jiang Huan dissipated like a shadow.
Like how he came, there was no aura nor disturbances. Through the entire time, the scholar’s arrival and departure was very silent. The guests in the wine store did not sense him at all.
Rourou held a wine cup up and then she drank it all.
She turned and walked outside.
Once Qin Yu settled the bill, he hesitated for a while before he picked up the painting and left the wine store.
Rourou had not gotten into the carriage yet and she was walking along the streets. Qin Yu instructed the boss of the store to look after the carriage on his behalf.
After a moment of silence, Rourou suddenly said, “Jiang Huan is an old acquaintance that I met when I unintentionally went to the Central Desolate many years ago.”
Qin Yu nodded in a serious manner.
He knew that with Rourou’s personality, the man was very extraordinary to be called an ‘acquaintance’ by her.
“Back then, he also opened a wine store and he sold very good wine. I stayed at his store for about a month. In the end, I left him a book as payment for the wine. We only met again today.”
She spoke in a simplistic manner but things were not that simple.
Qin Yu could not help but think, did the two of them…cough cough, he didn’t think so!
Rourou whipped around with a calm look in her eyes, “Qin Yu, do you want to die?”
Qin Yu shook his head; he did not want to pour dirty water on himself.
“Hmph!” Rourou scoffed coldly, “Based on cultivation realm, you are a far cry from Jiang Huan. In my opinion, he was someone with the greatest talent for cultivation.”
There was a pause before she continued, “Keep that book well. Although it does not look good, it records incredible things. Jiang Huan was able to comprehend the majority of it. If you try, the difficulty will be much lesser.
Qin Yu’s attitude was proper, “I understand.”
Rourou stopped and then sighed, “You handle the upcoming situations yourself. I am tired; I will wait in the horse carriage for you.”
She turned and disappeared.
A few moments later, Shopkeeper Liu of Ask Immortal Building appeared in front of Qin Yu. There was a sadness in his eyes that he could not hide and his voice sounded choked, “Before the Floor Master left, he had already made arrangements. Ask Immortal Building is a business that he helped that lady to run. We will listen to the lady’s arrangements in the future.”
Qin Yu had already guessed the identity of Jiang Huan and he was not surprised to hear this. After thinking about it, he said, “I understand, but I am unable to confirm whether she is willing to take it or not. I will help you to pass the message.”
There was a look of appreciation on Shopkeeper Liu’s face and he said, “Thank you, Lord.”
He took out a token of unknown quality and handed it to Qin Yu, “This token represents the status of Floor Master. Please pass this to her.”
Qin Yu hesitated and then took the token, “I will.”
Shopkeeper Liu bowed and turned to leave. His back view seemed lonely.
The Floor Master he respected was gone tonight. As he thought about this, he could not help but be filled with regret. He wondered if he should have told the Floor Master about the real Immortal Brew? Otherwise, things would not have progressed to this.
With this thought, his heart grew heavier.
Qin Yu fiddled with the token in his hands and the scholar’s figure appeared in his head.
Although he only met the scholar once, in that short period of time, the scholar shed a lot of tears…he felt like this man was different. This was probably also because Rourou spoke highly of him.
However, this person vanished with the wind in a wine store by the roadside today. This dealt Qin Yu a blow.
He sighed to himself and turned to leave. However, right as he was about to turn around, he suddenly froze.
Along the streets was a lady carrying a lantern. The glow of the lantern shone on her face, and her long eyebrows were cute.
Qin Yu hesitated and then cupped his hands together and smiled. Then, he turned around.
