4: Young master, I'm not selling it.

After struggling to swallow the food in her mouth, she suddenly blurted out, "My father is dead."

"...Cough."

Chen Qingxuan's lips twitched.

Although the Little Girl was speaking the truth, it felt to him like... he had been rejected for being ugly.

"Is there no one else alive in your Family?" Chen Qingxuan followed up politely.

In truth, regarding Huang Qingxue's background, especially her experiences before wandering, the System hadn't told him much.

"..."

Huang Qingxue's expression froze for a moment, and then she burst into tears with a loud "Wah."

Chen Qingxuan was stunned and hurriedly covered her eyes. "Don't cry, don't cry... I didn't mean it like that... I just wanted to know what happened."

"Wuwu..."

Thinking of her tragic past, the Little Girl cried harder and harder, tears uncontrollably spilling through the gaps between Chen Qingxuan's fingers.

Who said you can't cry if your eyes are covered?

Lies!

"Alright, alright... let's not talk about it. Let's eat first."

Chen Qingxuan had no choice but to drop the subject.

Looking at the heartbroken Little Pitiful One, he could guess that what happened was definitely more severe than he had anticipated.

And so.

Chen Qingxuan turned to the System for answers.

The System didn't keep him in suspense and conveyed the hidden secrets behind it all.

Huang Qingxue came from a thousand-year-old Family in the Central Continent. Her father was the esteemed Family Head, and she was originally a carefree pearl in his palm. However, the secret of the Divine Phoenix Bone was leaked... internal strife broke out within the Family over the struggle for the Divine Phoenix Bone.

In this struggle, her parents' lineage lost, and they finally fought to the death to escort her out.

"Central Continent... a thousand-year-old Family... but this is the Southern Border!" Gazing at the Little Girl's frail back, Chen Qingxuan frowned deeply, a nameless weight pressing on his heart.

The Southern Border and the Central Continent were thousands of miles apart. For her to flee from the Central Continent to the Southern Border, the hardships and bitterness of this journey were beyond words.

To have survived until now was truly a stroke of luck!

"A thousand-year-old Family... Hmph."

A hint of coldness flashed in the depths of Chen Qingxuan's eyes.

Although with his current strength, he wasn't yet capable of rushing thousands of miles away to confront a Family with a thousand years of heritage, since he had used the celestial being system to turn Huang Qingxue into his own talent;

He shouldn't remain indifferent!

He had to do at least something.

And so, once Huang Qingxue had eaten until her little belly was bulging, Chen Qingxuan stepped forward. "I'm going out for a bit. Stay in the room and be good. You can take a nap on the bed. When I get back, we'll start our business."

With that, he turned and left the room. To ensure the Little Pitiful One's safety, he specifically used the hand seal the maid had taught him to activate all the barriers within the room.

This way, even if someone tried to break in through the front door, it would be useless.

Business?

Huang Qingxue immediately panicked.

Especially seeing Chen Qingxuan's back full of energy and excitement, as if he wouldn't tire of doing bad things, her heart skipped a beat.

Is it finally coming?

The Little Girl didn't care about anything else and rushed toward the door to escape, but this time, she couldn't even open the door... Not long after.

When Chen Qingxuan entered the room with the purchased Formation, full of anticipation, he saw no one inside.

"Hmm?"

Chen Qingxuan raised an eyebrow.

Then, he saw Huang Qingxue curled up in a narrow corner at the head of the bed. He walked over with a bewildered look. "What are you doing?"

"..."

Huang Qingxue didn't dare to speak, only biting her lip and staring at him with eyes full of terror.

Seeing this, Chen Qingxuan gave a wry smile and pulled her out by her small hand. "Look at how scared you are. Big Brother was only gone for a little while. You're so tsundere, but aren't you just afraid of being abandoned by me? Don't worry, as long as you're obedient from now on, Big Brother won't leave you behind."

"..."

Huang Qingxue's tiny soul suffered a brutal lashing.

Human speech?

He kidnapped her... and then said she was afraid of being abandoned?

evil cultivators are truly not human!

"Stay to the side for now, Big Brother has work to do," Chen Qingxuan instructed as he took out the items he had bought earlier, preparing to set up a Spirit Gathering Array for the Little Pitiful One;

He wanted to help her find a direction for her Cultivation first.

It would be even better if she could make some progress, so she would receive more attention when he brought her to the Divine Phoenix Sect.

Although his own cultivation level wasn't high, the times were progressing, and the cultivation world was developing.

Nowadays, major famous Merchant Houses no longer acted solely as intermediaries for the exchange of Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and weapons. For example, a Spirit Gathering Array to assist in Cultivation could be bought as long as one had the money.

A powerful expert from the Merchant House would first set up a Spirit Gathering Array, then use a secret method to draw it onto a special scroll, which served as a carrier for transportation.

The buyer only needed to spread the scroll on the ground and use Spirit Stones to activate the Spirit Gathering Array.

The operation was very simple and convenient.

A Formation?

Huang Qingxue blinked her large eyes. Although she didn't recognize the Spirit Gathering Array, she could tell it was a Formation.

Why set up a Formation?

evil cultivators... have the habit of setting up Formations before doing bad things?

Seeing Chen Qingxuan's practiced movements, Huang Qingxue felt even more panicked.

This evil cultivator must have harmed many people, right?

Then, before her... where were the people who had suffered at his hands?

At this thought, Huang Qingxue couldn't help but clench her delicate hands... Was she finished?

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Why are you spacing out? Come, sit inside the Formation," Chen Qingxuan urged loudly, looking at the dazed Little Pitiful One.

"No, I don't want to!"

The Little Girl shook her head repeatedly, taking a step back in fear.

"You don't want to?"

Chen Qingxuan was dumbfounded.

Then, he wore a smile as warm as a spring breeze. "Be good, Big Brother isn't a bad person. This is a Spirit Gathering Array that can help you Cultivate. Just coming in to meditate counts as Cultivation... If you don't believe me, come in and try it. Once you try, you'll know if I'm telling the truth or not."

Little did he know.

The smile on his handsome face looked like the wretched, lewd grin of an evil cultivator in Huang Qingxue's eyes.

After all, why didn't he use this kind of cultivation-assisting Formation himself?

The hardships and bitterness of her journey had taught the Little Pitiful One that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Seeing that Huang Qingxue was unmoved and instead retreating further, Chen Qingxuan took a deep breath and could only get up to forcibly lift her into the Formation to confirm;

"Don't come over here..."

But unexpectedly, Huang Qingxue was so scared that she turned and ran.

Knowing she couldn't escape the room, she didn't choose to run for the door or window but instead turned and ran toward the large bed deep in the room.

With a kick of her small legs, she jumped onto the bed with a "shoo," grabbed the quilt, and covered herself entirely.

"Wait...?"

Chen Qingxuan's hand froze in mid-air, and he was petrified on the spot.

Did he really look that much like a bad guy?

He had gone to the trouble of spending a large sum to buy high-grade Spirit Stones to activate the Spirit Gathering Array... what did she think he wanted to do?

Chen Qingxuan clutched his chest, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply;

One proactive gesture, yet it resulted in a lifetime of trauma.

"Gege~"

Just then, the laughter and conversation of two women passing by came from outside the door.

Chen Qingxuan's expression shifted, and he quickly rushed to open the door. "Ladies, please wait a moment."

"Hmm? What is it, Young Master?"

Two pretty young women, lightly powdered, looked at Chen Qingxuan with smiles.

"In all honesty, tell me the truth... am I not handsome enough? Do I look like a bad person?" Chen Qingxuan pointed at himself and asked aggrievedly.

The slightly more mature, flirtatious woman took a provocative half-step forward and lowered her voice. "Young Master is indeed a man of striking appearance, but... it's five Spirit Stones for the night. Fair prices for all, no bargaining."

For the night?

Chen Qingxuan was stunned.

Once he realized the woman's identity, he gritted his teeth and threw out ten Spirit Stones in one go.

Before he could speak, the delicate-looking woman beside the flirtatious one panicked and waved her hands repeatedly,

"Young Master, I'm not for sale."