Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 243 – Waste Pills, it’s Waste Pills Again

Qin Yu’s work in the Alchemy Chamber continued smoothly. After everyone confirmed personally that he was a solid and steady second-grade alchemist, their attitudes towards him relaxed, and they seemed much friendlier.

For such a young second-grade alchemist, even if they couldn’t be said to have boundless prospects, they were still an excellent talent. In the future it would be simple for them to obtain some considerable achievements.

In Blue Cloud World, this was already quite good.

“Qin Ning, today’s work has ended. Hurry home and rest.” The young woman Ning Yuan warmly said. A light smile lifted her cheeks, like a warm spring breeze brushing against the heart.

Qin Yu stood up and cupped his hands together. “Thank you, senior-apprentice sister.”

This senior-apprentice sister Ning Yuan’s husband had died at an early age, leaving her a young widow. There was often some gossip about her, but with her faint temper, she maintained a certain calm against all of this.

She was particularly kind towards Qin Yu. So, in these past several days, some loose-lipped women had begun to talk about her and Qin Yu, making up all sorts of stories about them being together. He had no idea whether to laugh or to cry.

After packing up his things and making sure to properly set aside his unfinished work, Qin Yu greeted several people and left the Alchemist Chamber. He had been in the Blue Cloud World for over half a month by now. He spent his day split between his dwelling and work, as silent and steady as stone.

Mixed up in the courtyard, Qin Yu was ignored like before. Most days, all he saw were the whites of rolled eyes and disregard, but today there was something different. Within these eyes, there was a hint of pleasure and joy.

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows and returned to his shack.

The next day, he knew what these looks represented.

When he met Ning Yuan, her eyebrows were wrinkled together and there seemed to be a bit of hesitation in her demeanor. “Qin Ning, I want to ask you something. Are the rumors about you true?”

The rumors hadn’t progressed at all; it was still the same old story used at Ning Mansion. It was nothing else but Qin Yu betraying the woman he loved to obtain the qualifications to enter the Gold Noble Family. Of course, to the people in the Alchemy Chamber, these rumors couldn’t stand up to any form of scrutiny. With his talent there was no need for him to do that.

But if it were true, it was more representative of his moral behavior.

Ning Yuan and Qin Yu had the closest relationship. As she asked him this question, everyone pricked up their ears to listen.

Qin Yu thought for a moment. He cupped his hands together and said, “Reporting to senior-apprentice sister, that is approximately what happened.”

Ning Yuan’s eyes darkened. She glanced at him, wanting to say something, but hesitated. Then she nodded and left.

After that, news spread at an astonishing speed: Qin Yu had acknowledged this in front of everyone!

This caused the rumormongers to be surprised but also overjoyed. This brat Qin Ning had smashed his own foot with a stone; it was too wonderful.

Originally, if Qin Yu stubbornly refused to admit anything, then no matter what rumors there were they couldn’t do anything to him. After all, it was clear that the main family didn’t care about what happened outside.

But now Qin Yu had acknowledged it. Then, things couldn’t be any more perfect.

“Humph! Let’s see how he can remain so arrogant in front of us again!”

“Entering the Alchemy Chamber with boundless prospects? I want to see who still dares to use him after this!”

“After this incident, while his future might not be destroyed, he can forget being given any great responsibilities for the next several years.”

“Hehe, I fear it will be more than that. I hear that within the Alchemy Chamber, the manager there is someone who loves beauties and romance. He most dislikes those people who are coldhearted and betray those who love them. Perhaps there might be some more fun to see after all this.”

And sure enough, not too long after, Qin Yu was called in and severely reprimanded. The manager who looked at him had thick disdain and disgust in his eyes. After that, Qin Yu was removed from his present work and ordered to go to the Waste Pill Disposal Department.

That was right, waste pills, it was waste pills again.

These types of things were harmful substances no matter where they were placed. The Gold Noble Family might be epic and mighty, but there was still nothing they could do about them.

The Alchemy Chamber was a good place to work. The treatment was good, the scenery was good, and the benefits were good. But, the Waste Pill Disposal Department was clearly an exception.

This place was located in a distant corner with a tight sealing array formation blocking it. Generally speaking, no one wanted to go there to begin with.

If one was exiled there, that could be said to be a cruel and heavy-handed move.

Stepping out from the manager’s office, there was a trace of helplessness on Qin Yu’s lips. But he soon composed himself.

Two days ago, when he had acknowledged the rumors in front of everyone, he had already prepared himself for this.

After entering the Gold Noble Family, it was best to be unremarkable. But then, he was pushed to the top of the waves by these rumors. If he didn’t recognize them now, he would be fighting them for who knew how long.

He had no idea.

So, he decided to choose the simplest and most direct method to resolve the matter.

Before Qin Yu returned to his work table, news about his transfer had been spread around already. With the status token, sharing news like this was much faster and more efficient.

Qin Yu didn’t pay attention to the looks around him. He tidied up his things and left. He saw Ning Yuan walk towards him in a hurry, her face flushed red, as if she had raced here to see him.

“Qin Ning…” She cried out.

Qin Yu cupped his hands together. “Greetings, senior-apprentice sister.”

He stepped forwards and around her.

Ning Yuan stood where she was. As she watched his back fade away, there was a complex look on her face. She opened her mouth again and again but didn’t say anything. However, a bit of guilt rose in her eyes.

Today’s situation wasn’t what she had wished for. But, strictly speaking, the reason Qin Yu ended up with such a ‘fate’ was because she had questioned him in front of everyone.

Although she didn’t want to cross paths with Qin Yu much more in the depths of her heart, she believed that being sent to the Waste Pill Disposal Department was too heavy a punishment.

Aiya, she feared that Qin Ning would begin to hate her.

Ning Yuan bitterly smiled.

Qin Yu peacefully entered the Waste Pill Disposal Department. He was like a little pebble falling into a giant swamp of thick sewage, unable to create even the smallest wave.

“Qin Ning, every month on the first and the fifteenth, you will be responsible for processing waste pills. Work well!” The so-called Waste Pill Disposal Department manager reeked of alcohol and had eyes that were blurry and red. His clothes were a mess and he was completely disheveled. Before he finished speaking, there was a woman’s voice sounding out from another room. Then, he waved his hand towards Qin Yu, indicating for him to leave, and darkly chuckled as he ran back into the room.

Soon, before Qin Yu even reached the courtyard doors, he could hear inappropriate sounds coming from the room. Slapping, slapping…everything after that was omitted.

He shook his head. Sometimes, he thought his five senses were good to the point of being a bother. He could subconsciously hear all sorts of things he didn’t want to.

If there was a benefit to entering the Waste Pill Disposal Department, it was that he could enjoy one of the benefits of being a third-grade alchemist: he had his own courtyard here. Of course, the subtext behind it all was pill toxins. Who knew whether or not he would be contaminated? In any case, it was better to live honestly here than to run around haphazardly.

He pushed open the doors and entered. The courtyard was covered in dust; it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. Luckily, when the Gold Noble Family first constructed this place, they didn’t skimp on any of the foundational basics. The dust-clearing array formations were perfectly intact here, the only thing they lacked was spirit stones.

After packing them in, with a slight buzz, the dust was rapidly whirled away and the little courtyard was cleaned up.

Qin Yu then lived here.

As for the waste pills that everyone worried about…was that even something he needed to consider?

Rumors of Qin Yu being exiled gradually fell silent. Occasionally, some people would talk about the young man that appeared around Ning Yuan and then vanished soon after. Most people had forgotten about him, and only mentioned him during some rounds of gossip.

Time slowly ticked on. Soon, three months passed.

Ning Yiran was indeed worthy of being the most outstanding outer disciple. He had completed all three promotion tests with outstanding results and was now a fifth-level disciple with an internal family status.

Amongst the Ning Family juniors, there were a few that performed well. One of them, a woman, blossomed in brilliant splendor. She caught the eye of a Ning Family Elder and was received as a disciple. She could be said to have flown into the heavens with a single leap.

The others were also diligently working, constantly trying to climb up. After crossing into the Blue Cloud World, as their breadth of vision expanded, that thing called ‘ambition’ started to grow in their hearts as well.

As for Qin Yu, he had been thoroughly forgotten.

At the Waste Pill Disposal Department, Qin Yu lived in the courtyard. He was originally concerned that there wouldn’t be any way to easily ‘misappropriate’ the waste pills he collected, but, from beginning to end, no one placed any concern on this place at all. After trying a few times, he eventually felt relieved. He licked his lips, satisfaction on his face.

Within the Gold Noble Family, powerhouses were as bountiful as trees in a forest. He knew that there were over 10 Nascent Souls here, however, they seemed to be placed under some restriction so they couldn’t leave the Blue Cloud World at all.

More powerhouses meant an increase in demand for higher level pills. But in refining high level pills, the failure rate was also very high! Thus, the ratio was like this. For every 10 completed pills that the Gold Noble Family’s powerhouses received, Qin Yu could harvest 50 waste pills’ worth of materials. After the little blue lamp separated and purified them, then abandoning the remains, he had enough materials for around 20 pills.

But there was a point to be made clear here. The 10 pills of the Gold Noble Family were assigned to the numerous powerhouses according to their strength and status. As for the 20 pills that Qin Yu could form, they were his alone.

Moreover, there was no comparing the quality between them.

The next three months were inconceivably wonderful for Qin Yu. A massive number of precious pills fell into his hands and he conveniently made the might of his poisonous finger much more terrifying.

Now, even if a late Nascent Soul cultivator were touched, they would still suffer a pitiful fate.

This was a comfortable life where he wasn’t disturbed and where he had harvests every day. Sometimes, Qin Yu would even subconsciously forget his goal and think of living this sort of life a bit longer.

The Alchemy Chamber was located on the mountainside, within a valley full of beautiful scenery. Although the work was tough and kept one busy, it was because of the work itself. Unless one was obsessed, there was always time to rest. Beneath the warm afternoon sunlight, one could drink some milk tea and listen to the program of a broadcast station or even idly read a book; this was an extremely satisfying way to relax.

But recently, these comfortable situations had been reduced a great deal, nearly vanishing in these past two days.

Ning Yuan had a dignified expression. She carried a specially refined storage ring with her. In it, she had collected the waste pills from the various alchemists around the valley. Because no one was willing to take this job and it was difficult for anyone to accept this assignment, they always took turns doing it on a rotational basis. This month, it was Ning Yuan’s turn.

And, there was a point that someone should have noticed. The Waste Pill Disposal Department manager had arranged for Qin Yu to gather the waste pills on the first and fifteenth of every month; this was the entirety of their work.

After gathering the last waste pills, Ning Yuan took out a detailed name list and carefully looked it over to make sure she hadn’t missed anyone. Then, she turned towards the distant northeast corner of the Alchemy Chamber.

The area there was lower and there was a mountain peak in that direction, so the atmosphere was a bit darker and gloomier. So, while the scenery wasn’t bad, the weeds were thick and there wasn’t much of a sense of aesthetic beauty.

Ning Yuan hurried over. She arrived before an iron gate and knocked several times. As she waited, she lowered her head. Her eyebrows were knit together in thought.

After a moment, no one opened the iron gate. Ning Yuan looked up, a helpless look on her face. She was well aware of how lazy the atmosphere within the Waste Pill Disposal Department was. If it weren’t for the rules stating that she needed to personally hand over the waste pills and bring back the storage ring, she would have already tossed it here and left.

Mm…just how was Qin Ning doing now?

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