Chapter 96: Who Dares Stir Up Trouble on Tai Sui’s Head?

With the bronze flying sword stowed away, Song Yan landed on the sandy shore of the isolated island and finally let out a long breath of relief. Fortunately, luck had been on his side; before his true essence was nearly exhausted, he had managed to find land.

Otherwise, if he had been cast back into the sea, even he did not know how long he could have held out.

Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of fatigue surged up from within him, causing his body to sway. He nearly collapsed onto the beach.

Qin Xin reacted quickly and caught him, asking with concern, “Brother-in-law, are you all right?”

Song Yan waved a hand. “I’m fine. I’ve just used up too much strength.”

Hearing this, Qin Xin’s worry eased somewhat, but guilt welled up in her heart. Her voice fell as she said, “Brother-in-law, I’ve only dragged you down. If not for me...”

“Foolish girl.” Song Yan cut her off. “Stop overthinking. I’m going to regulate my breathing for a while. I don’t know whether this island is dangerous, so don’t go wandering off.”

“Mm, brother-in-law, I’ll do whatever you say.”

Watching Song Yan sit cross-legged and begin to regulate his breathing without the slightest guard against her, Qin Xin’s expression grew extraordinarily complicated.

Hardship revealed true feelings. In a situation like this, her brother-in-law had not abandoned her. More importantly, along the way the two of them could almost be said to have shared intimate contact. Thinking of that, her cheeks flushed again. But very soon, her face went deathly pale, because her mission was to bring Song Yan to the Divine Palace of Mountains and Seas.

“Am I really going to stand by and watch my brother-in-law be killed?”

For a moment, Qin Xin’s face was filled with struggle and hesitation.

In truth, Song Yan was not as trusting of her as she imagined. Ever since he had opened his middle dantian, he had discovered that he seemed able to split his focus in two, controlling both dantians simultaneously in cultivation.

Thus, even while cultivating only one dantian, he could still maintain ample awareness of his surroundings. If Qin Xin truly tried to make a move while he was weakened, he would be able to react immediately.

An hour later, the true essence in Song Yan’s lower dantian had once again been fully restored. At the same time, after circulating through his entire body, the weariness in him had completely vanished.

When he opened his eyes, he found Qin Xin staring at him dazedly.

He could not help but wink at her. “Xin’er, is your brother-in-law not very handsome?”

“Of course not.” Qin Xin was instantly flustered.

“All right, now it’s your turn to recover. I’ll protect you.”

“Thank you, brother-in-law.”

While Qin Xin regulated her breathing to recover her strength, Song Yan used his penetrating vision to inspect the island.

It was an irregular little island, not very large overall, and his sight could encompass it completely.

The island was sparsely covered with vegetation and trees, and apart from a few snakes and insects, there were no other animals.

“So it’s a deserted island.”

Song Yan’s brows furrowed. Although he had some food and water in his storage ring, it would only be enough for the two of them to last about half a month. After that, they would run out of both. And in this era, ships venturing out to sea were rare; encountering a passing vessel would likely be very difficult.

Taking a deep breath, Song Yan temporarily cast those worries aside. Since he knew there was no danger on the island, he did not need to keep watch over Qin Xin constantly. He planned to find some firewood first, then catch a few fish for grilling. As for the food in his storage ring, he would avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.

Because there were not many trees on the island, gathering firewood was no easy task.

After searching the entire island, Song Yan barely managed to collect a bundle.

By the time he returned to the beach, however, Qin Xin had already finished regulating her breathing. She was looking around in alarm, as though searching for something.

“Brother-in-law!”

The moment she saw Song Yan, delight flooded her face. She hurried toward him, and to Song Yan’s surprise, she actually threw her arms tightly around him.

The firewood slipped from his hands and fell to the ground with a soft thud. His empty hands instinctively encircled her slender body as he asked gently, “Xin’er, what’s wrong?”

“Brother-in-law, I thought you didn’t want me anymore!” Qin Xin held him even tighter, her tone full of grievance.

“You silly girl.” Song Yan lightly stroked her still-damp hair. “Don’t worry. I promise you, I won’t leave you behind.”

“Brother-in-law, you’re so good. No wonder Sister Yu’er is so fascinated by you,” Qin Xin said softly, her voice carrying a trace of envy.

“So you’re only just discovering how good your brother-in-law is?” Song Yan smiled. “All right, let go for now. I’ll go into the sea and catch a few fish to roast for you.”

Not long after—

With a splash, Song Yan plunged into the seawater. With his eyes empowered by piercing vision, catching a few fish was far too easy.

Less than ten minutes later, he burst back out of the water, holding a blue fish weighing seven or eight catties.

Seeing Song Yan return so quickly with a fish, Qin Xin hurried over. “Brother-in-law, you’re amazing.”

“This is nothing. Your brother-in-law’s skill at roasting fish is even more impressive.”

He gutted the blue fish, discarded the innards, and then took out some seasoning from his storage ring to marinate it briefly. After that, he found a tree branch and skewered the fish on it.

Then came the fire.

When Qin Xin saw the lighter in Song Yan’s hand, her curiosity was stirred again.

Before long, Qin Xin, seated by the campfire, caught the faint fragrance drifting from the roasting fish. Having not eaten for more than ten hours, she could not help feeling her saliva gathering faster in her mouth.

A few minutes later, Song Yan saw that the fish was done. With a flourish, he produced several seasonings and sprinkled them over the fish. At once, an irresistible aroma wafted straight into Qin Xin’s nose.

Song Yan took out the bronze flying sword, cut off a piece of fish, and handed it to Qin Xin. “Try it. See how it tastes.”

“My brother-in-law’s roasted fish must be delicious.”

After praising him, Qin Xin brought the piece of fish to her lips and took a small bite. Instantly, an indescribably fragrant flavor burst across her tongue. She hurriedly chewed twice, only to discover that not only was the fish exquisitely tasty, but its texture was also tender and smooth to the extreme.

“How is it? I didn’t lie to you, did I?” Song Yan said with a laugh.

“Mm, mm!” Qin Xin nodded repeatedly in complete agreement. After swallowing the fish in her mouth, she said, “Brother-in-law, I’ve never eaten such delicious roasted fish before.”

“Is that so? Then it seems my skill hasn’t gone stale after all.”

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He took a bottle of white liquor from his storage ring and handed it over with a grin. “Meat without drink is no proper feast. Girl, care for a little?”

Qin Xin stared at the bottle Song Yan had somehow produced from nowhere and found it extremely strange. Still, after witnessing so many of her brother-in-law’s miracles, she had become somewhat used to such things. So she took the bottle, opened it, and drank a small sip.

Then she took another bite of fish, her expression full of contentment.

Seeing this, Song Yan also cut himself a piece, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly. He found that the flesh of this blue fish was extraordinarily delicious, far surpassing any fish he had eaten in the modern world.

“Here, brother-in-law, you should have a little too.”

Qin Xin, copying Song Yan’s earlier words, handed the bottle back to him, clearly learning by example as she went.