Self-taught
Gu Yi can now tell the difference: when A Qiu is being honest, she calls him "Master" or "Young Master," but when she's lost in her emotions, she calls him by his full name.
Gu Yi couldn't help but think that if she had called him "Gu Yi" instead of "Master" last night, would he still have been able to remain unmoved?
A Qiu said with difficulty, "But Lord An wants me to investigate the Han brick matter! Otherwise," she unconsciously nuzzled her head against Gu Yi's back again, "would you come with me?"
Gu Yi felt her hair brushing against his back, a ticklish sensation, but he didn't pull away.
Not only has he changed, but she seems to have changed as well.
She's become...especially fond of acting cute.
However, even though he didn't know much about women, Gu Yi felt that this was how girls should be. It was something to be encouraged.
He decided to let her rub against him and said in a deep voice, "Okay."
The next line is: "Before that, learn my 'Thirteen Styles of Carving the Moon' first, so as not to embarrass yourself."
When Gu Yi tossed over the exquisite and antique "Louyue," a three-foot-seven-inch-long pendant he had carried with him for many years, A Qiu caught it with one hand, his eyes shining as if he had seen the most precious thing in the world.
She caressed the patterns on it with obvious affection, looking completely mesmerized.
Seeing her expression, Gu Yi thought to himself that it was truly a fitting choice for her to be the head of the Divine Weapon Hall of Lanling Hall. Last time in the West Market, she was also immediately attracted by the so-called "Han Sword," but now, looking at Louyue, she seemed to be even more radiant than if she had seen a handsome young man.
But Gu Yi felt a secret joy in his heart, a joy that he couldn't share with others, because A Qiu was so fond of his sword.
On the surface, he said calmly, "You have good taste. Louyue followed me in conquering the world ten years ago, and everyone in the world knows her."
What he didn't say aloud was: "With this sword in your hand, everyone will know that you are my successor, and no one will dare to bully you again."
Among the swords of this era, aside from the Shangguan family's "Binghuang" and Xie Lang's Emperor's Sword "Zulong," the most famous is Young Master Gu Yi's "Louyue." However, the reason this sword is not as famous as the other two is that Gu Yi abandoned "Louyue" ten years ago and switched to Yuheng, leaving "Louyue" in a semi-retired state.
But from this moment on, everything will be rewritten, because "Louyue" will soon have a new owner.
A Qiu lifted Louyue sword and gestured in the air, casually twirling it with her fingers. Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she said, "Gu Yi, do you know? Of all weapons, my favorite is the sword. Now I finally have my own sword!"
With a light touch, she instantly found the sword's center of gravity.
While closely observing her swordsmanship, Gu Yi asked, "Doesn't the Divine Weapon Hall have any swords?"
As A Qiu practiced techniques such as chopping, stabbing, parrying, and hooking, he said, "We are assassins, and we mostly use unusual weapons to make them difficult to defend against. For example, our eldest brother uses a folding fan, and our second brother's crescent blade is specially made according to his personal knife-wielding habits in terms of length and weight. We do have the Divine Weapon Hall sword, but Master thinks it's useless, so we don't practice it."
She moved with her strength, wielding her sword to strike. With a clang, a beam of light shot out, severing a sycamore leaf. The courtyard was filled with falling leaves, a scene of sharp, swift energy.
This was the first time in Gu Yi's life that someone could pick up a sword and wield it so skillfully, with such unhurried movements and footwork, as if they were born to wield a sword.
He was surprised, but remained calm and asked, "You used 'Assassinate Qin' before, and now you use 'Carving the Moon'. What's the difference between them?"
A Qiu turned around and flicked his wrist, watching the sharp arc of the sword flash past him, and said, "The difference is that swordsmanship is wide and unrestrained, with both offense and defense outside the body. 'Assassinating Qin' never leaves the waist, abdomen and face, where every inch and millimeter is a matter of life and death."
Gu Yi asked again, "Which one do you like?"
A Qiu moved like a swallow darting through the forest, thrusting her sword at him. She didn't use any internal energy with this sword strike; she was merely mimicking the angle and technique of a strike. As a result, Gu Yi easily caught her with his fingers, preventing her from advancing any further.
A-Qiu tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't know."
Seeing her innocent and charming expression, Gu Yi couldn't help but bring her a few steps closer to him with his sword.
A Qiu looked up and met Gu Yi's eyes. His chin was almost touching the top of her head as he looked at her and said, "You don't know?"
A mischievous thought crossed A Qiu's mind. With her right-hand sword restrained and Gu Yi so close to her, she simply withdrew her sword and lunged forward, her left palm and right fingers aimed at his throat and eyes, all targeting vital points.
Gu Yi exclaimed "Eh!" and dodged backward, barely avoiding her palm and grab.
A Qiu shook his head smugly and said, "That's why I said I didn't know. 'Carving the Moon' and 'Assassinating Qin' each have their own strengths and can be used to defeat the enemy in different situations."
Gu Yi said irritably, "If I were your enemy, I would want to chop off your two restless claws right now."
What he said was the truth. Most martial artists cannot tolerate ruthless fighting styles. For example, Princess Wansui used a blade to strike from her wrist in the West Market, and Mo Yimingyue even declared that he would spare one of her hands.
A-Qiu stretched out her two delicate hands, as graceful as orchids, and waved them in front of him, smiling radiantly as she said, "Master, you only have me as your disciple, you must be reluctant to part with me."
Gu Yi was dizzy from her shaking, but he remained resolute and said firmly, "You are my disciple. Unless it is a matter of life and death, you must not use Lanling Hall martial arts again."
A-Qiu knew he meant well, so she said ingratiatingly, "Unless I encounter a formidable enemy like Master, I definitely won't use it."
Gu Yi sighed and said, "I don't need to teach you the Thirteen Forms of Carved Moon anymore. There are established methods for swordsmanship, but people are flexible. I see that when you move and wield your sword, you absorb the strengths of many schools and already show signs of mastering them. You can practice advancing, retreating, and dodging on your own. In just a few days, you will be able to use Carved Moon as well as I do."
Although he never took on any disciples in his life, he did train martial arts masters. He had never seen anyone like A Qiu who could learn without a teacher, who could handle any weapon as if it were an extension of his own arm, who could understand its characteristics after just a few tries, and who could combine it with his original body movements and footwork with ease.
Wan Qiqing chose her as the head of the Divine Weapon Hall, which seems to be not only because of the secret she possesses, but also because of her talent.
Ah Qiu replied obediently, "That's naturally because Master taught me well."
Gu Yi glanced at her. Her flattery was terribly clumsy. From beginning to end, all he had done was hand the Moon-Carving Sword to her.
At this moment, a junior charioteer called out from below Jinling Terrace, "Miss Qiu, someone has brought you something."
Gu Yi remained silent, but his expression noticeably darkened.
Remembering that Gongye Fusu had given Gu Yi a pot of plum blossoms last time, which had already displeased Gu Yi, A Qiu quickly got up and said, "I'll go get it!" If the young master charioteer called a few more times, Gu Yi would be even more unhappy.
She had just stood up when she realized that her wrist had been grabbed.
Gu Yi held her hand with one hand, his expression unchanging, and said, "Have them bring it up."
He needs to see what it is and who gave it to him before he can decide whether to throw it away or not.
Served in food boxes, a continuous stream of items arrived, including tea cakes from Ruoye Creek, teacups from Tianqing Kiln, rice flour from Zidiezhai, and various fruits and pastries. In addition, a set of ivory knives, scissors, mallets, and needles—tools for carving food—was contained in a nanmu box.
These were the things that A-Qiu bought in the West Market that day.
On the topmost lacquered tray, however, lay a pale yellow brocade box, which was not the item Ah Qiu had purchased. Beneath it was a letter, the words "To Ah Qiu" visible through a corner of the fire-molded seal.
A Qiu recognized the handwriting as that of his senior brother, Mo Yimingyue. His handwriting, like the man himself, exuded an unrestrained style.
The eldest brother's handwriting was refined and elegant, while Master Wanqiqing's handwriting was scholarly yet stern.
Her own handwriting... well, it looks more like dog scratch.
This was all because she had mastered martial arts and returned to Lanling Hall, but by then she had already missed the best age to learn calligraphy. Later, Wan Qiqing had Gongyi Xiu hold her hand and teach her to write, and she could write quite well. However, whenever no one was supervising her, her writing would reveal its true form, showing its poor quality.
While inwardly complaining that even her notoriously ruthless senior brother Mo Yi's handwriting was better than hers, A Qiu reached out to take the letter, only to find that in a flash, the letter had already fallen into Gu Yi's slender hand.
A Qiu instinctively reached out to snatch it, but before she could even extend her hand, she was struck by Gu Yi's jade pendant, which was neither too light nor too heavy.
Gu Yi coughed and said, "You have no manners."
Ah Qiu, holding his hands and looking miserable, said, "Master, you can't just confiscate your disciple's private letters, can you?"
Although Lanling Hall is the headquarters of assassins in the world, it is not as strict as this.
Gu Yi glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and finally handed the letter back to her, saying indifferently, "Whether you show it to me or not is up to you."
He couldn't restrict her freedom of communication, but if something like what happened last time, where An Daoling secretly called her out and she almost lost her life at Shangguan Yuqi's hands, who would take responsibility?
Now, A Qiu can tell whether Gu Yi is happy or unhappy just by looking at his expression, even if Gu Yi's facial expression is almost completely unchanged.
Anyway, Mo Yimingyue knew that she was currently at Gu Yi's Jinling Terrace, and that all the things were being delivered by the Junior Master Yuzhe. Naturally, she wouldn't be foolish enough to ask her to usurp the throne and rebel in this letter.
A-Qiu instantly understood the situation, immediately presented the letter with both hands, and said in a humble voice, "Please take a look, Master."
Gu Yi didn't even bother to look at her properly, and said, "Open it up and read it."
As instructed, A-Qiu opened the letter and read it aloud, word by word.
Mo Yimingyue was efficient and not a scholar who dabbled in literature. Therefore, there was no nonsense in this letter. There were only a few words: first, to congratulate her on joining Gu Yi's school; and second, to say that her master, Wan Qiqing, also had a gift for her to pass on, which was in a brocade box.
When she read the third one, her expression changed slightly.
In her letter, Mo Yimingyue said that if she wanted to know more after seeing the gift, she could go to Luoyufang, a place frequented by Hu women, on a certain day.
Luoyufang was a famous place of pleasure and debauchery in the capital, and its specialty was the blue-eyed Hu girls who were skilled in various Hu Xuan dances.
Her senior brother Gongyi Xiu's former stronghold before he rose to prominence.
After reading this sentence, A Qiu carefully lifted her face from the paper to look at Gu Yi's expression.
What was nagging at her was whether Gu Yi knew what Luoyufang was.
Even if he didn't know before, upon hearing the phrase "a gathering of Hu women," he should have guessed it.
After all, he was just being honest and upright, not stupid.
Unsurprisingly, Gu Yi frowned and asked, "Finished reading?"
A-Qiu lowered her head and said obediently, "Yes."
Gu Yi took out the Jade Balance from his sleeve again and examined it against the light for a long time.
After a moment, he sighed and said, "You should put the gifts sent by the Lanling Hall Master under your knees and kneel in the courtyard for half an hour!"
Let the disciples trained by Lanling Hall be personally disciplined by the Lanling Hall Master, who sent them gifts.
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