Chapter 454: An Isolated Island at Sea

Seeing Xue Qingqing about to leave, Qin Tuo suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said,

"Miss Xue, could I ask you for a favor?"

Seeing how serious Qin Tuo looked, Xue Qingqing nodded and smiled.

"Mr. Qin, we know each other so well by now. Just tell me what you need!"

Hearing this, Qin Tuo couldn't help but give a wry smile.

Sure enough, hearing the tone in Xue Qingqing's voice, a trace of suspicion returned to Chen Man Ni's eyes.

It made Qin Tuo wonder if Xue Qingqing was deliberately trying to stir up trouble.

But he had no choice. For the sake of helping his cousin, Jiang Wanyu, Qin Tuo could only say,

"It's like this, Miss Xue. I was hoping to get a few concert tickets from you. Would that be possible?"

Xue Qingqing agreed without a moment's hesitation, nodding her head.

"Of course, Mr. Qin, no problem. I'll even get you a few seats right at the very front."

As she said this, she shot a few very suggestive glances at Qin Tuo.

This startled Qin Tuo so much that he didn't dare meet her gaze, and he even forgot to say thank you.

Xue Qingqing glanced back at the other two women, let out a laugh as pleasant as tinkling silver bells, and then sashayed out of the villa.

Even long after Xue Qingqing had gone, Qin Tuo could still feel a layer of cold sweat on his back.

At that moment, the two women closed in on him, smirking as they began their interrogation of Qin Tuo.

"Qin Tuo, why is Miss Xue so eager to please you? Did something happen between the two of you?"

Chen Man Ni was the first to launch the attack.

Qin Tuo quickly shook his head and explained,

"It's not what you think, Manni. Please don't let your imagination run wild. Didn't she tell you? We just had a professional relationship in the past!"

Chen Man Ni was clearly unconvinced. She snorted coldly and said,

"Heh, a professional relationship? It looks to me like your 'professional relationship' was quite... intimate!"

Qin Tuo nodded, then immediately shook his head again, suddenly at a loss for how to explain himself.

Although she wasn't Qin Tuo's girlfriend, Ouyang Feifei, who was standing nearby, chimed in with a passive-aggressive comment.

"Qin Tuo, Miss Xue is a real knockout. It would be perfectly normal for you to fall for her!"

Qin Tuo said quickly,

"Don't be ridiculous! There's absolutely nothing between us, we're completely innocent!"

However, guided by their woman's intuition, neither Chen Man Ni nor Ouyang Feifei believed that there was truly nothing fishy going on between Qin Tuo and Xue Qingqing.

At the very least, judging from Xue Qingqing's behavior just now, it was obvious she still hadn't given up on Qin Tuo.

Finally, Qin Tuo got fed up and snapped,

"There's really nothing between us! Believe it or don't, I don't care!"

Seeing that Qin Tuo seemed to be getting angry, Chen Man Ni and Ouyang Feifei immediately shut their mouths.

Seeing that the two women had stopped pressing him, Qin Tuo relaxed slightly.

He had deliberately pretended to be angry just to get them to drop the subject.

Qin Tuo then quickly added,

"By the way, I need to go into closed-door cultivation for the next few days. I can't be disturbed, so don't come looking for me unless it's an emergency."

With that, he beat a hasty retreat.

Watching Qin Tuo's swift departure, Chen Man Ni thought he was genuinely angry and couldn't help but ask with a worried expression,

"Feifei, do you think we went a little too far just now? Qin Tuo already explained everything, but we kept pushing him!"

Ouyang Feifei thought back on Qin Tuo's reaction and nodded.

"Yeah, I think so too. Maybe there really is nothing between them. We probably misjudged him."

Hearing Ouyang Feifei admit it made Chen Man Ni even more anxious. She quickly asked,

"Feifei, what should we do now? Do you think Qin Tuo hates me?"

Ouyang Feifei said with a smile,

"I doubt it's that serious. Don't worry about it for now. By the time Qin Tuo finishes his cultivation, he'll probably have cooled off!"

Hearing this, Chen Man Ni finally relaxed a little.

...

Thousands of kilometers away from Ming City, in the middle of the ocean, lay a barren island.

On this island, a gaunt old man in a conical bamboo hat sat fishing by the shore.

Nearby, a little girl was training, sweat pouring down her face like rain, yet she showed no signs of fatigue.

And this little girl was none other than Xiaoyuan, the sole remaining descendant of Daoist Chongxu from Taixu Temple.

While she trained, Xiaoyuan secretly watched the old man fishing, her mind lost in thought.

The old man, however, was as still as a stone statue, having sat there unmoving for an unknowable amount of time.

After Daoist Chongxu passed away, Xiaoyuan was taken by her senior martial uncle, Daoist Chi Xu, to wander the world.

No matter how much Qin Tuo pleaded, they refused to stay, saying only that they would make the world their home.

But now, for some unknown reason, Daoist Chi Xu and Xiaoyuan had separated.

The old man fishing was clearly not Daoist Chi Xu, but someone else entirely.

At that moment, Xiaoyuan opened her mouth as if to speak, but hesitated. She had been training for a long time and was starting to get hungry.

But as long as the old man remained silent, she dared not be the one to speak up and stop her training.

Suddenly, the old man's bamboo hat twitched!

A small boat was seen approaching rapidly across the sea.

When the small boat arrived, the old man finally spoke in a lazy tone,

"Xiaoyuan, go catch some fish in the sea so we can cook. You must be hungry by now, little one."

Hearing this, Xiaoyuan quickly nodded and stopped what she was doing.

"Yes, Master, I'll go right away!"

The moment she finished speaking, Xiaoyuan dove headfirst into the sea.

The sea was turbulent and full of countless dangers, yet Xiaoyuan was completely unafraid, moving through the water with the agility of a fish.

This was a stark contrast to her frail appearance from not long ago.

Watching Xiaoyuan's nimble movements as she caught fish, the old man sighed slowly and murmured to himself,

"Just as the legends say, the Taiyin Body is truly an excellent constitution for cultivation. It's just... what a pity!"

As he said this, it seemed there was much more he couldn't say aloud. His words were laced with deep sorrow and helplessness.

As the old man was sighing with his head bowed, the rapidly approaching boat pulled up to the shore.

A middle-aged man in a loose, thick robe hopped off the boat.

Hearing the old man's lament, the middle-aged man's expression first darkened, then he continued the thought, saying,

"Yes, the girl's talent is indeed remarkable. It's a shame she must be used as a sacrifice. Otherwise, the one to be sacrificed would have to be the Young Master."