Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

Chapter 165 Retirement

"..."

As soon as Bai Shutong finished speaking, Feng Rutang felt strange looks coming from all around him.

"...Age? It's just an excuse for losing." Feng Rutang sneered, "If you care so much about the age gap, why would you participate in this competition without knowing your own limitations?"

"Yes, sorry!"

Qiu Puryue spoke again, sobbing and lowering her head towards her.

"I, I really... overestimated my own abilities." Qiu Puryue cried, "Please, stop scolding me..."

Feng Rutang: ...

Why is it that you, kid, are different from what you heard?

Isn't he the Corpse Binder? Why is he so cowardly?

"Miss...you really went too far." Mo Hanyu frowned slightly and looked at her cautiously. He seemed to be very scared, but he forced himself to look her in the eye.

Seeing him like this, Bai Shutong was stunned for a moment and raised her eyebrows.

Feng Rutang's face turned red because of these two people. If he continued to say this, it would be like he was bullying the weak. He pulled the corner of his mouth and said a few sarcastic words before turning around and leaving.

As soon as she stepped out of the restaurant, Qiu Puryue stopped crying, her sobbing stopped abruptly, and she continued to pick up food with her head down.

Mo Hanyu also returned to his previous appearance.

Seeing this, Bai Shutong found it interesting and couldn't help but laugh playfully.

Before she could say anything, Mo Hanyu looked up at her and smiled: "Thank you for helping me speak today."

Bai Shutong was stunned: "Ah, no——"

Bai Shutong paused, then finally laughed twice, turned around and left.

"Why is she so abnormal today?" Mo Hanyu looked at Bai Shutong's departing back, a little surprised, "She's not acting weird at all."

"Indeed." Thinking about Bai Shutong's previous behavior, Qin Xiao agreed.

Qiu Puryue also nodded.

Yin Xihui handed her a piece of paper and asked her to wipe the tears and snot off her face. Thinking of her previous appearance, he couldn't help but laugh: "You cried quite miserably just now."

Qiu Puryue curled her lips and wiped the tears from her eyes: "Who told her to talk like that... I don't know what to do."

Yin Xihui smiled and shook his head.

Qiu Puyue didn't have much appetite. She ate a few mouthfuls and put down her food, looking a little listless.

Seeing this, Yin Xihui ordered some more food to take away after finishing her meal in case she was hungry at night.

Qin Xiao returned to his residence with them. He was surprised to see Yu Jin sitting at the door with his head down and looking depressed.

"Why are you sitting here?" Qiu Puryue was also a little surprised when she saw him.

When Yu Jin heard the voice, he slowly raised his head, his face buried in his long hair, making it impossible to see his expression at all.

"……Feel sorry."

After a moment of silence, Yu Jin spoke.

Qiu Puryue was stunned.

Yu Jin said this, seeming a little embarrassed.

“Obviously——”

Qiu Puryue patted his shoulder and stopped him from speaking any more.

"Nothing." Qiu Puryue smiled, as if she didn't care at all. "Didn't you feel mentally injured during today's game? Take good care of your injuries."

Yu Jin looked at her, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"It's okay." Qiu Puryue waved her hand soothingly, "Don't worry about it, I'm fine, you and Chifeng should rest first."

As he said this, he walked into the house and saw Taotie sitting on the table with his legs crossed. His eyes twitched involuntarily.

"...What's wrong?" Qiu Puryue asked with a smile when she saw Taotie looking at her with sidelong eyes.

"What's wrong?" Taotie's tone was not good, and he seemed a little angry. "I told you a long time ago that if you had let me go up earlier, I wouldn't have suffered so much."

Taotie said this and sneered twice: "Why? Do you think I don't have this ability?"

"That's not the case..." Qiu Puryue smiled apologetically, then lowered her eyes as she recalled what she said in the afternoon.

"She doesn't want to participate in the competition anymore." Qin Xiao glanced at her, pulled out a stool and sat down next to her.

"What? Not fighting anymore?!" Taotie raised his eyebrows. Before he could attack, a whirlwind blew in from outside the house, and Yu Jin suddenly appeared in front of everyone and grabbed Qiu Puryue.

"You want to withdraw from the competition?" Yu Jin's tone made Qiu Puyue think that he was going to eat her alive.

Facing Yu Jin's vicious eyes, Qiu Pu Yue felt a little guilty: "Yes... I have thought about it."

Yu Jin looked unhappy. He opened his mouth to say something, but when he saw her gloomy expression, he couldn't speak.

"Is there anything wrong?" Qin Xiao leaned back in his chair and raised his eyelids to look at him.

“……”Yu Jin didn’t respond.

"Maybe there will be some punishment like what happened to Pu Yue?" Yin Xihui, who was sitting next to her, had some guesses and said with a smile.

Seeing Yu Jin's expression change slightly, Qiu Purue intuitively felt that Yin Xihui was right.

"Is he right? If I withdraw from the competition...will you be in any trouble?" Qiu Puryue asked.

"...No." This time it was Yu Jin's turn to avoid her gaze. He turned around and shook his head. "Nothing. Just do it if you've made up your mind."

After saying that, the figure disappeared into the hall.

Taotie blew a long whistle in a frivolous manner.

"...Come to think of it, that's true. If I withdraw from the competition, they will be in trouble, right?" Qiu Puryue sighed.

"So that's what I said, we should..." Qin Xiao was about to say something.

"Shut up first." Mo Hanyu held him down. He knew what Qin Xiao wanted to say without even thinking.

Seeing Qin Xiao shut up, Mo Hanyu looked up at Qiu Puyue and said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

“The main thing… I really don’t want to fight. It feels meaningless, and I’m always laughed at.” Qiu Puryue’s voice became smaller and smaller, her eyes were vague, and she looked a little sad.

"…If you have made up your mind, just follow your own ideas."

Mo Hanyu comforted her a few more words and pulled Qin Xiao away.

Qin Xiao wanted to ask what happened in the afternoon, but seeing Qiu Puyue's expression, it was obviously not appropriate to tell her in front of her, so after he followed Mo Hanyu away and walked on the road, he slowly opened his mouth and asked.

When Mo Hanyu heard his question, he sighed and started talking to him.

It turned out that the match with Feng Rutang did not go as smoothly as they had planned. On the contrary, Feng Rutang changed his fighting style. At the beginning of the first round, he used his strongest moves to attack, and cooperated with the magic beast to catch Qiu Puyue off guard, and lost quickly.

If the first game was a crushing victory, the second game was a complete joke.

Just like an old man playing with a child, Qiu Puyue was trapped in an illusion and was completely manipulated by him. He also made her look embarrassed and funny, which made some people in the audience laugh.

After Qiu Puyue came to her senses, she realized what she had done and admitted defeat out of shame. When she left the court, Feng Rutang laughed at her behavior, and the laughter from the audience made her so humiliated that she wanted to burrow into the ground.

"...So, the plan we talked about for a whole day is of no use at all?" Qin Xiao listened expressionlessly and looked at Mo Hanyu dimly.

Mo Hanyu closed his eyes and nodded with pain: "It looks... like this."

Qin Xiao was silent for a moment, enduring again and again, and finally couldn't help but let out a long sigh, covering his face in pain.

Mo Hanyu found Qin Xiao like this a little amusing. They happened to pass by a garden and it was still early, so he took him for a walk on the path in the garden.

It was quiet all around, with tall and dark vegetation on both sides. The moonlight was dim, and the shadows were very long.

"Today...how was your chat with that old friend?"

When Mo Hanyu said this, he looked into the distance, not daring to look at him. He tried hard to act as if he didn't care, as if he was just asking casually.

"Oh, that's good." Qin Xiao's expression eased slightly when he thought of this, and a smile appeared unconsciously on his lips.

Mo Hanyu glanced at it and saw that it seemed that he and that girl named Li Yun were having a good chat.

"How long have you and her known each other? Have you been together for a long time?" Mo Hanyu asked, tilting his head slightly.

"It's been a long time." Qin Xiao said this with some emotion. He looked up at the moon with a slightly moving look in his eyes. "We've been together for more than ten years, right?"

"..."

He should be happy that he could still see his old friends from his previous life in this world... but for some reason, Mo Hanyu felt an inexplicable bitterness in his heart.

That person knew Xiao much earlier than he did, and had been with him longer than him... So, to Xiao, she should be the most important friend.

Should be more important than him...

When Mo Hanyu thought of this, he felt more and more strange, and a feeling of sourness lingered in his heart.

"That--"

"It seems like she's doing well." Qin Xiao thought about his conversation with Meng Liyun today, and his eyebrows softened a lot, "She's just hiding something from me."

"How did you know?" Mo Hanyu sat with him on a bench by the river and turned to look at him.

"I can see that." Qin Xiao laughed softly, "I don't know why, but her intentions are always quite obvious in front of me."

When Mo Hanyu saw Qin Xiao like this, the bitterness almost overwhelmed him.

Resisting the surging pain, Mo Hanyu smiled and said, "You have a strong insight."

"She didn't act like this when she was deceiving others." Qin Xiao said with a smile.

Mo Hanyu closed his eyes and looked at the dark river water.

On the bright side, Xiao was willing to talk to him about this now, which obviously meant that he was not averse to his past... at least he was not averse to his past with that person.

"Has she ever been married?" Mo Hanyu decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

"No." Qin Xiao shook his head and frowned slightly when he mentioned this. "She always said she had no such intention."

"Then how did you stay together for so long? Did you invite her to go with you?"

"She insisted on coming with me." Qin Xiao seemed to be really relaxed when he talked about this with him. "I saved her life when she was a child and sent her away for foster care. When I met her again when she grew up, she told me that she wanted to go out and try her luck, and it was a good opportunity for her to follow me..."

"So you agree?" Mo Hanyu frowned.

"What else can I do?" Qin Xiao sighed, helpless. "I could have just yelled at her to let her go, but she just kept following me... She's also stubborn."

Although Xiao said this, there was no annoyance in his eyes, but rather some tenderness.

"I've never heard anything... No, I've heard it once." Qin Xiao leaned back on the chair and said softly, "I've heard it once."

Mo Hanyu looked at Xiao who seemed to be thinking about something, and felt a sour pain in his heart and his body went numb.

Suddenly, Qin Xiao felt something, took out the Qi guide given to him by Meng Liyun, and transmitted the Qi to connect it.

"Owl, Owl!" Her anxious voice came from inside.

When Mo Hanyu heard the voice, he was not surprised to find it was a woman's, but he felt that it sounded somewhat familiar.

"What's wrong?" Qin Xiao was stunned.

"Wang Ji wants to make an appointment with you in advance, so pay attention." Nangong Huaxue frowned as she thought of their conversation, "He should have sent someone to pass on the message to you... Your father made an appointment with him today."

"What?" Qin Xiao frowned and stood up suddenly.

"Your father wanted to stop Wang Ji from contacting you, but they failed to reach an agreement. Now Wang Ji wants to take advantage of his free time these two days to make an appointment with you." Nangong Huaxue's head began to ache when he thought of this. "Anyway, this is the situation. I'll ask around later."

"There's no need to pry into this. Thanks." Qin Xiao didn't want to involve her, so he thanked her and hung up the phone.

Mo Hanyu frowned when he heard their conversation: "Wang Ji... wants to see you? Why?"

Qin Xiao glanced at him, and remembered that he hadn't told him about this yet, but it was too troublesome to explain, so he shook his head: "Nothing."

Mo Hanyu frowned, thinking of what he had heard before. Xiao's old friend knew all this, so he must be someone close to Wang Ji, but he had never heard of any woman around Wang Ji... Not right.

Mo Hanyu's pupils shrank and he suddenly looked at Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao was thinking with his head down. Mo Hanyu opened his mouth and swallowed back the shocking idea.

No way……

Mo Hanyu pursed his lips and frowned.

Qin Xiao was surprised at Qin Xiuyun's behavior and wanted to ask him, but he didn't know how to explain that he knew about this.

“…Let’s go back first.”

Although Meng Liyun told him so, after a few days, there was no news from Wang Ji's people. Qin Xiao wanted to ask Qin Xiuyun about their conversation, but Qin Xiuyun never took the initiative to mention it, as if nothing had happened.

During this period, Qin Xiao casually asked Mo Hanshang a few questions, but he didn't hear from him that Wang Ji had changed the date, so he couldn't help but feel a little confused.

He didn't think Meng Liyun would lie to him about this matter.

Qin Xiao was sitting in the audience, thinking about what happened in the past few days, and couldn't help rubbing his brows.

"What's wrong? You look like you have a lot of hatred and resentment." Qin Jinyi, who was standing next to him, had been paying attention to him for a few days and couldn't help but ask.

Qin Xiao looked at him tiredly and shook his head: "Nothing."

"Is it because your friend withdrew from the competition?"

After that day, Qiu Puryue thought about it for two days and finally withdrew from the competition. Yuhua was very friendly to the contestants, and even if they withdrew from the competition, they could still stay in the accommodation area provided until the end of the competition.

Qin Xiao's eyes moved slightly. He thought it was too troublesome and totally unnecessary to say these things to Qin Jinyi, so he nodded.

"What's the big deal? She's still young and will have plenty of opportunities in the future." Qin Jinyi patted his shoulder comfortingly and said a few more words.

Qin Xiao glanced at him, gave him a forced smile, and said nothing more.

The little honey on his leg rubbed his wrist with its furry body. Qin Xiao glanced at it, bent his fingers slightly, and casually stroked its fur.

"Are you still thinking about it?" Mo Hanyu knew what he was thinking and asked softly.

Qin Xiao nodded and couldn't help but sigh.

Mo Hanyu didn't say anything. He put his hand on the back of his neck and smoothed it up and down.

The slightly cool fingers seemed to be able to penetrate his skin and flesh, caressing and smoothing his meridians, gradually calming his originally restless heart.

Qin Xiao closed his eyes and leaned gently against the back of the chair.

After the game, Mo Hanshang came over with a playful smile and wanted to go with Qin Jinyi. Mo Hanyu looked at him and obviously wanted to go back with him.

But Qin Xiao shook his head: "I'll be alone and quiet."

Mo Hanyu was stunned, knowing that he was upset recently, so he didn't say anything and nodded in agreement.

The afternoon game was over and it was always a crowded time when the venue was dispersed. Qin Xiao had nothing to do and was not in a hurry, so he just sat cross-legged in his seat and waited for everyone to leave.

It was not until the only Qi cultivator who was cleaning up the mess was left in the venue that Qin Xiao came out of his daze. Looking at the empty auditorium, he belatedly prepared to get up and leave.

At this moment, Qin Xiao suddenly felt a chill on his back. He turned around abruptly and saw that someone had sat on the seat above him.

The man changed his usual long robe and put on simple casual clothes. When he saw Qin Xiao looking at him, he smiled at him.

"Hello, we meet again."

Wang Ji spoke, his voice gentle and mellow, without a trace of malice on his face.

"It's getting late, why don't we have a meal together?"