Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 432 - Sisters

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Grand Expert -> Grand Authority

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The attendant didn’t dare to conceal anything. He truthfully reiterated what had happened. Ning Yuntao’s heart loosened; it seems that this person wasn’t someone sent by Chu Taidou. He immediately cupped his hands together, “Fellow daoist, it was my Ning Family’s junior who was impolite. I ask that you please excuse our behavior. May I ask for fellow daoist’s name?” To disregard his pressure, this point alone proved that this person’s strength wasn’t below his own. If this sort of person could be turned into an ally, that would be good.

Qin Yu cupped his hands together, “My name is Ning Qin.”

Ning Yuntao was startled. “Fellow daoist is also surnamed Ning…” Perhaps he might have been using an alias, but since this person knew they were the Ning Family it wouldn’t be right if he used the Ning surname. There was a high likelihood that this really was his real name. Although they were strangers, since everyone shared the same surname, Ning Yuntao’s eyes still warmed up a little. “What a coincidence. Perhaps many years ago we once shared a relative somewhere.”

Qin Yu didn’t want to waste time. He dove straight into the subject. “The reason I came here is to diagnose Miss Ning’s condition. May I ask if fellow daoist Ning agrees?”

Ning Yuntao hesitated for a moment. “Fellow daoist might not know, but we’re in a bit of trouble right now.” He didn’t clearly state what it was, but anyone who knew anything knew what he was talking about.

This person, his mindset actually wasn’t bad

Qin Yu smiled. “Since I came here I naturally don’t fear provoking any trouble.”

Ning Yuntao’s eyes brightened. He cupped his hands together and deeply bowed. “Then I’ll have to bother fellow daoist!”

Zong Yingming was anxious. “Uncle, how can you allow anyone to approach cousin? Who knows what his goal is!”

“Stop spouting nonsense!” Ning Yuntao angrily shouted, “With fellow daoist Ning’s status, how can he do something so dastardly! If you dare to disrespect fellow daoist again, I will be sure to heavily punish you!”

He turned around and apologized. “My nephew has always worried about my niece. If there was any way in which you were offended, I ask you for forgiveness.”

Qin Yu had a light expression, “It’s fine.”

He came here for the Ning Family’s miss; he simply didn’t care about anyone else.

This sort of disregard and indifferent demeanor was naturally revealed. It caused Zong Yingming’s complexion to turn cloudier and hatred to rise in his eyes.

Qin Yu turned and suddenly said, “You do not know who I am, nor do I care who you are. The only reason I came here today was to treat an illness and save another. I don’t want to create any other problems, so it would be best for you not to annoy me, otherwise you will regret it. You will deeply, deeply regret it.”

Although he had come to investigate the situation here because of Ning Ling and gave up some of his previous time, that didn’t mean he felt any better because of it. Thus, Qin Yu wasn’t in a good mood and he finally expressed some of it. The icy cold and powerful will he released almost caused one’s blood to freeze!

Zong Yingming stiffened and his complexion paled. He couldn’t suppress the fear in the depths of his eyes and panic began to gush out from his heart.

Luckily, after Qin Yu finished speaking he turned his eyes and walked deeper into the courtyard.

Hu –

Letting out a deep breath, it formed fog in the wind and snow. Zong Yingming looked at Qin Yu’s back, his face full of fear.

Ning Yuntao’s complexion changed. Although he had guessed that Qin Yu was strong, the instant he had revealed his aura actually left him shocked.

This person’s strength was far greater than what he had imagined. If he really planned on doing something evil here, then he might not be a match for him!

Luckily, it seemed this person had no ill intentions at all. If so, why did he want to help their Ning Family?

Was it the classic case of a hero seeking to help a beauty? But Ning Yuntao didn’t believe that someone who had achieved this level of strength would be seduced by someone’s beauty alone.

The inn sent in food and wine, but no one had the thought of enjoying it anymore. The sudden appearance of Ning Qin left the Ning Family cultivators puzzled.

Although this person had shown he didn’t come here for some nefarious reason, which vicious person wrote their intentions on their face? Fortunately, the existence of Ning Yuntao still gave them some confidence.

Furthermore, this was Four Seasons City, the largest southern city in the Zhao Empire. There shouldn’t be anyone who dared to casually cause trouble here.

It was easy for Qin Yu to guess that the Ning Family people were wary of him but hiding their thoughts. Still, he didn’t care. He directly said, “Where is Miss Ning? I need to diagnose her.”

Ning Yuntao said, “My niece’s heart vein has been damaged since birth. In addition to her precelestial ice cold physique, it has caused her meridians to be blocked and atrophied. I am very clear about her situation, so there isn’t a further need to investigate.”

“No. If I want to heal someone, I first need to determine their situation.” Qin Yu flatly refused.

Ning Yuntao hesitated for a moment. “Alright. I will lead fellow daoist over!”

He wanted to see just what medicine Ning Qin was selling in his gourd. But even more than that, there was a hint of anticipation in his heart.

Although he didn’t know how Ning Qin’s medical skills were, his high degree of cultivation gave him some confidence.

What if it was effective?

It was precisely this thread of hope that caused Ning Yuntao to make some concessions and agree. This was also the intelligent reasoning behind why Qin Yu had chosen to approach the Ning Family as an alchemist.

The Ning Family had rented an extremely large courtyard, one large enough to accommodate their entire group. Several maids were standing guard outside the most secluded and quiet room. They bowed as they saw Ning Yuntao approach.

“How is the miss doing?”

“Reporting to the Second Old Master, the miss said she was feeling tired today so she had some hot soup and fell asleep.” She spoke with an awkward expression.

Ning Yuntao had a pained expression. He said, “Go and wake up the miss. Tell her that I’ve brought an alchemist to treat her.”

“Yes, Second Old Master.”

A maid pushed open the door and walked in.

Ning Yuntao turned and briefly apologized. “It’s embarrassing but I must ask fellow daoist Ning to wait a moment.”

Qin Yu nodded. “It’s no problem.”

Soon, the maid came back out. She bowed and said, “The miss has awakened but she isn’t feeling too good. It would be best if Second Old Master didn’t stay for too long.” As she spoke she looked at Qin Yu with a bit of suspicion. The miss had been ill since she was born, and during these years, if they hadn’t found 100 alchemists they had found at least 80. But, all of them had been left at a loss concerning her precelestial condition. So, what could this person possibly do?

And listening to his voice, he was clearly very young!

Ning Yuntao gestured. “Fellow daoist, please.”

Qin Yu walked into the room first. The fragrance of a young girl rushed against him. The room was dim and quiet, causing the young girl lying back on the bed to look even more delicate and frail.

Her eyes were dark and exhausted, but she still smiled, “Uncle.” Then her eyes fell on Qin Yu. “This grandmaster, I’ll have to trouble you.”

Qin Yu saw her familiar appearance and paused for a moment. He warmly said, “It’s fine. I will do my best to help young miss recover from this illness.”

This wasn’t empty talk. Looking at the Ning Family’s young miss, Qin Yu could feel something touched deep within his heart that belonged to Ning Ling. He decided that even if their similar appearances were only a coincidence, he would still do his best to save her.

He would simply consider it as gathering some good karma for Ning Ling so that her days in the Immortal Sect would pass more smoothly.

Ning Liang revealed a surprised expression. This alchemist was extremely young; weren’t his words a bit too confident?

In past years she had seen many alchemy experts. But in the end they were all left helpless. In particular, in recent years no one had dared to visit her to help diagnose her condition.

Was this what they meant when they said the newborn calf didn’t fear the tiger? However, this young alchemist looked a little familiar. Had she seen him somewhere before?

As Qin Yu arrived near the window, the fragrance of a delicate woman became much richer. It was like a flower quietly blooming in the night, cold and pure.

The maid moved a chair over. Qin Yu sat down and reached out a hand. “I will first inspect young miss’ condition.”

Ning Liang hesitated for a moment. Then she pulled up her cuff to reveal her soft and white wrist. “I’ll have to trouble grandmaster.”

Qin Yu smiled. Two fingers fell down. “Don’t resist.” As he spoke, he carefully sent in his magic power.

At this time, the demonic bloodline that Qin Yu had absorbed from Ning Ling suddenly became lively. It started to emit a joyful feeling.

Following this, he could feel an intimate and familiar aura from this Ning Family’s miss. As he thought, this young girl shared a homologous family bloodline with Ning Ling. In fact, it was even likely that the two were sisters of the same father but different mothers, otherwise it was impossible for such a close bloodline relationship to occur.

Thinking of this, Qin Yu was even more careful with his inspection. He was sure that if Ning Ling knew she still had family left in the Land of Divinity and Demons, she would definitely be happy.

Ning Liang blinked her eyes with surprise. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt much closer to this alchemist who was diagnosing her. It was a marvelously strange feeling, as if she were facing someone she was close to. For instance, her father or her uncle.

But today was clearly the first time they had met? It was unknown what she thought of, but a faint blush appeared on Ning Liang’s face.

At this time, Qin Yu lifted his fingers. He smiled and said, “Miss Ning, if I have offended you, I really must apologize.” Since this person was likely Ning Ling’s little sister, he believed that he should maintain a certain degree of manners and politeness towards her.

Ning Liang shook her head. “Mister speaks too seriously.”

Ning Yuntao hurriedly said, “Fellow daoist Ning, how is it?”

Qin Yu said, “The blockage of Miss Ning’s meridians is extremely grave, and due to the gathering of cold energy within her, it has left her body frail. The situation isn’t too optimistic.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “I heard that Miss Ning was relying upon Condensed Incense Balls before to suppress her condition. There should be some left. May I borrow one for examination?”

Ning Yuntao hesitated for a moment. Then, he took out a jade bottle and earnestly said, “Fellow daoist Ning, these Condensed Incense Balls are what my niece uses to maintain her life. We only have two left, so please try not to damage them.”

Qin Yu nodded. He opened the jade bottle and a knuckle-sized deep blue pill rolled into his palm. Qin Yu lowered his head and sniffed a few times, and also used his nail to scrape off some powder and place it into his mouth. After several breaths of time, he frowned and revealed a cold look. “This Grand Authority Chu, he really has taken great pains to obtain your Ning Family’s treasure.”

Ning Yuntao’s complexion changed. “Fellow daoist, what do you mean?”

Qin Yu coldly sneered. “This Condensed Incense Ball can indeed suppress the cold energy in Miss Ning’s body, but it also has a side effect – it will accelerate the gathering of cold energy in her body. May I ask fellow daoist Ning, as more and more time has passed, has Miss Ning needed to increase the frequency with which she has taken Condensed Incense Balls, taking them faster and faster? Even needing to increase the dosage?”

“That’s true. The explanation Chu Taidou gave to us is that the cold energy in Ning Liang’s body was too rich and potent, thus the dosage needed to be increased. I never thought that…” Ning Yuntao paled. He wasn’t an idiot. Even a fool could see the meaning behind Qin Yu’s words.

Chu Taidou already had the thoughts of obtaining the Ning Family’s treasure many years ago. No wonder he had approached on his own initiative to deliver them Condensed Incense Balls. He had wanted for the cold energy in Ning Liang’s body to grow stronger and stronger until she could no longer part from them, and then he would reveal his true colors!

Suddenly, Ning Yuntao’s complexion changed. “Fellow daoist Ning, are you saying that even with Condensed Incense Balls, Liangliang cannot be saved?”

On the bed, Ning Liang’s face darkened for a moment. But soon, she relaxed.

She had bitterly struggled for all these years and had grown tired of it. Death was also a means of salvation from this.

Qin Yu nodded. “That’s right. The Condensed Incense Balls can delay her condition for a period of time. But at most within three years, the cold poison in Miss Ning’s body will erupt and it will no longer be possible to save her.”

“That bastard!” Ning Yuntao roared. Chu Taidou had known of all of this to begin with, and he never planned on saving her from the start! As he thought about how Ning Liang’s life would soon be over, his eyes slowly turned red.

Ning Liang smiled. “Uncle, if anyone else had this sort of cold poison condition, I fear they would have already died. To live this long, I am already satisfied.” She looked up. “Thank you grandmaster for seeing through Chu Taidou’s plot and helping the Ning Family avoid further losses. I am truly grateful to you. However, I will soon die, so I fear I cannot repay you for what you’ve done.”

Qin Yu coughed a little. “In truth, Miss Ning’s cold poison isn’t irrecoverable.”

Shua –

The entire room fell silent.

Ning Liang’s eyes widened. She looked at this person who just seemed as if he were wildly speaking nonsense. If this was his way of comforting others, it really wasn’t the best method.

I have already accepted my death, so why give me more hope? Don’t you know that once hope appears and is shattered once more, that is psychologically damaging to others?

Thinking of this, Ning Liang couldn’t help but reveal a little bitterness.

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