A heart that cherishes talent
For Gu Yi, the memory of turning white-haired is more like a dream he has once a month, with both good and bad things in the dream.
On the positive side, for example, he saved Li Chongyu, the son of an old friend. On the negative side, for example, he was regarded as a monster by the villagers and everyone wanted to kill him.
But later things stabilized, because he would mostly imprison himself in an underground chamber. Since he wouldn't encounter outsiders, he could usually get through the night peacefully, just like he had taken a nap.
But everything changed after A-Qiu barged in that night.
He remembered her vividly, and through her, he connected all his memories.
Suddenly, A Qiu said, "Gu Yi, my body hurts. Hold me." Her tone sounded like she was pleading.
Sunlight fell on her half-closed long eyelashes, making them look like they were inlaid with a whole circle of gold.
Gu Yi's gray eyes narrowed slightly in an instant, flashing with a dangerous light.
But he made a slight movement in his throat, licked his lips, and said softly, "Okay."
He carefully extended his long arm and pulled her back into his embrace. Wherever she touched, even through her clothes, his skin felt as if it were being burned. He felt parched. Yet, it was a feeling of blissful dizziness.
He patiently and quietly tried to tame the beast within him.
A Qiu leaned against him, closed her eyes, and said, "Gu Yi."
Little did he know that even her soft, coquettish cry was an extreme seduction to him at that moment.
After a long pause, he finally replied in a deep voice, "Hmm."
Ah Qiu asked, "Where are we going now?"
Gu Yifang had just regained some of his senses and looked out the window, saying, "We are going to Dawan Mountain in the southwest to see Sect Master Li Wujiu of the Hidden World Sect."
The name Li Wujiu, from the Hidden Sect, sounded familiar to A Qiu, but she couldn't quite place where she had heard it before.
Gu Yi added in a deep voice, "He is Xiao Chang'an's master."
A Qiu's mind raced, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her spine. Ignoring the pain all over her body, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Gu Yi, saying, "Is it Xiao Chang'an who has caused you to be like this?"
She would never forget that Gu Yi had given her the formula for the Divine Transformation Pill, instructing her to deliver it to Gongye Fusu overnight and for Gongye Fusu to refine it and send it over within three days.
She had her doubts at the time. Gu Yi always did things with a plan, and such haste and rushing was not like his usual style.
Lie Changkong hesitated for a moment, then only told her to keep an eye on her friends.
After much thought, she came up with the idea of Xiao Chang'an.
This boy was unpredictable and moody; he meant her no harm, but his attitude towards Gu Yi was another matter entirely.
Gu Yi's eyes were cold, and he said without much emotion, "The Nascent Soul Pill has always been refined by someone arranged by Sect Master Li and sent to me every month."
Since Xiao Chang'an arrived in Jianzhang, he has been in charge of this matter.
But this time, knowing that Li Chongyu's pilgrimage was imminent, Xiao Chang'an did not send him the Divine Transformation Pill. Gu Yi had no choice but to immediately order Gongye Fusu to refine it, and sure enough, something went wrong.
Ah Qiu blurted out, "Did you ask him why?"
Gu Yi glanced at her indifferently and said, "Why ask?"
Before A Qiu could react, he said, "He couldn't possibly be unaware of the importance of the Divine Transformation Pill to me. Even if there was a problem when Sect Master Li was refining the pill, or if there was a problem when it reached him, resulting in it not being delivered on time, he should have come to inform me of such a significant matter as soon as possible."
Ah Qiu racked his brains, but still couldn't come up with a logical solution.
Gu Yi said, "He's trying to intimidate me and make me bow down to him."
The voice of "Tianquan Yuzhe" Lie Changkong rang out from outside the car, saying, "Xiao Chang'an is truly the first person in the last ten years to dare to threaten and demonstrate against the Young Master like this."
Ah Qiu felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, and could not utter another word.
Xiao Chang'an is both righteous and wicked, making his background and intentions unfathomable. In the past, he was always cheerful and talkative, so although A Qiu did not trust him very much, she never regarded him as an enemy.
The fact that Gu Yi's life-or-death secret fell into his hands so easily is chilling to think about now.
Gongye Fusu's voice rang out: "Fortunately, the young master noticed something amiss and immediately devised a countermeasure, and was not led by the nose. However, I have indeed done my best, but I was unable to refine an effective Nascent Soul Pill, which only delayed the onset of the young master's transformation by two days."
As Lie Changkong rode his horse, he said, "Although it only delayed things by two days, it bought the Junior Tutor time to deal with Pei Yuanli's death and to allocate military power to the Jianzhang Army. This allowed everything to remain under control even without the Junior Tutor's presence. Of course, we also owe a great deal to Miss A Qiu for doing her utmost to protect Li Chongyu."
What he didn't say was that Gu Yi ultimately predicted that Li Chongyu would not leave Jiangdong just like that, but would definitely go to the Martial Saint Shrine to pay his respects. The Martial Saint Shrine would be the most difficult hurdle for him and A Qiu. Therefore, despite his obstruction, he left the underground chamber of Jinling Terrace and openly appeared in front of everyone with his silver hair and gray eyes.
At that time, no one suspected that he was Gu Yi, but in the end, he left behind a hidden danger.
When A Qiu looked up at Gu Yi, she saw that Gu Yi was also looking at her intently.
Unlike before, there was something else in his deep eyes now, something that made her heart pound and she dared not look at him for too long.
A Qiu cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "When Master has a task, a disciple will do his duty. Master ordered me to protect Li Chongyu, so of course I must do it no matter what."
Before she could finish speaking, Gu Yi frowned and said, "I told you, don't call me that."
The next sentence made her heart tremble slightly.
"I really don't like it."
This sentence reminded A Qiu that Gu Yi at this moment, no matter how hard he tried to restrain himself, was still different from usual.
When would Gu Yi of the past ever say what he liked or disliked?
There was complete silence outside the car.
Gongye Fusu and Lie Changkong seemed to fall silent instantly.
Even without looking, A Qiu could guess that the two of them were thinking: You don't like it? You don't like it, yet you still took him as your apprentice and have to listen to him call you that every day?
Gu Yi, however, did not care at all and simply stood above her head, quietly watching her.
A Qiu suddenly realized that there were two other living people outside. So, hadn't her sweet talk and begging for Gu Yi to hug her been heard by these two people?
Her face flushed instantly again, and she immediately tried to push him away. But Gu Yi's arm remained firmly around hers, only the sparks in his eyes deepened slightly, and he warned her in a low voice, "Don't move."
Ah Qiu wished she could disappear into a hole in the ground, wondering what the people outside were thinking.
Lie Changkong coughed at the opportune moment and said, "Why does Xiao Chang'an have to oppose the Young Master at this crucial moment?"
Gu Yi said in a deep voice, "He is testing my strength."
A Qiu instantly understood. At this time of internal and external troubles, and at Gu Yi's most vulnerable moment, Xiao Chang'an wanted to test whether Gu Yi truly possessed the power to overthrow the Southern Dynasty, as the legends said.
At the same time, Gu Yi also gave her a series of lip-reading signals.
"Also because of you."
Because of her?
A-Qiu couldn't help but recall what had happened between the three of them before this.
She immediately remembered. Gu Yi had explicitly forbidden Xiao Chang'an from... pursuing her. And she had also told Xiao Chang'an that Gu Yi did not approve of her being with him.
In truth, bringing up Gu Yi was merely an excuse for her to reject Xiao Chang'an. Even without Gu Yi's objection, she probably wouldn't have wanted to be with Xiao Chang'an anyway.
Gu Yi said that Xiao Chang'an harbored resentment because of this, and A Qiu knew that this was very likely.
This is because Xiao Chang'an is inherently vengeful and unruly, which is not hard to see.
In his view, since he liked A Qiu, and Gu Yi insisted on interfering, then given his personality, it was entirely within his power to teach Gu Yi a lesson and make him suffer.
He didn't care at all how much of a difference there was between him and Gu Yi.
Gongye Fusu's voice rang out: "This boy has enormous ambitions. Looking at the entire Southern Dynasty, even when Lord Pei Yuanli was alive, he would not have dared to test the Young Master's bottom line and strength in this way. As one of the Four Guards of the Eastern Palace, he should be the most loyal person to the Southern Dynasty. Why would he be an enemy of the Young Master?"
Lie Changkong then asked, "Why didn't the Junior Tutor immediately expel him from the palace or even imprison him when he noticed something amiss?"
Gu Yi paused for a moment and then said, "Because I was the one who recommended him."
Before the three people inside and outside the carriage could react, he continued, "At that time, I wrote a letter ordering Li Wujiu, the sect leader of the Hidden World Sect, to send a capable and trustworthy disciple. Half a month later, Xiao Chang'an arrived in the capital and entered the palace quietly through the name of the Duke of Yuefu. I immediately suspected that the disciple sent by Li Wujiu was not him. In fact, the reason is very simple."
The Flying Phoenix Guards, who protect the royal family, have been tacitly all female since the previous generation, including Consort Li and Zhao Lingying, for the convenience of moving around the inner palace. The previous Flying Phoenix Guards were renowned throughout the land, and Li Wujiu was not unaware of this. Why would he knowingly send a male disciple?
Lie Changkong remained silent upon hearing this. He had always disapproved of Gu Yi's leniency in this regard.
Gongye Fusu seemed to understand, and said, "The reason why the Grand Tutor allowed him to stay in the capital and take a position in the Flying Phoenix Guard, and is still unwilling to move him now, must be because of his love for talent."
Gu Yi seemed surprised that Gongye Fusu, an outsider, could see through his thoughts so clearly, and he fell silent as well.
After a moment, he said, "That's one reason. Another reason is that this kid is only fourteen or fifteen years old, yet he can so easily manipulate people's hearts and enter and leave the palace as if it were empty. He can even deceive Duke An. Although I don't know why he came to the palace, I imagine that such a person is plotting something big. Even if we expel him, it won't change his wolfish ambitions. Instead, he will only turn his attention to the shadows and keep a watchful eye on us. At that time, it will be even more difficult to guard against him."
Gongye Fusu interjected, "It would be better to keep it under their noses, making them think they have an opportunity to take advantage, which would actually make it easier to monitor them."
Only now did Lie Changkong realize the far-sightedness of Gu Yi's plans, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed.
Gu Yi finally sighed and said, "At least for now, apart from being hostile towards me, he doesn't seem to have any other ill intentions."
Gongye Fusu interjected, "It's also possible that our strength is still too weak to do anything else."
Gu Yi said, "Therefore, I must go to the Hidden World Sect to see what exactly happened." He paused and said, "Given Xiao Chang'an's cunning, and considering that Li Wujiu is both an elder and a gentleman, it's not surprising that he fell into his hands. I'm not only worried about the continued supply of my pills, but also about the fact that the southwest and northwest have been infiltrated by the Northern Qiang. Otherwise, why would Li Wujiu accept a disciple from the Lanling Xiao family? And if that's the case, the pressure on Marquis Yongding, Fan Ying, will definitely increase!"
He seemed to realize that he had misspoke and said, "I'm afraid the head of the Gongye family can't empathize with my concerns, because the Gongye family, like the Xiao family, is an uncrowned king that exists across borders, unlike me who sees the country and the nation as distinctly separate."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
