Gentleman's Sword
"So, I accidentally hurt you."
The words she uttered from her cherry lips were soft yet clear.
Her gaze swept over A Qiu's injuries, and A Qiu knew that she had probably discovered that A Qiu no longer knew martial arts. Otherwise, she would not have been able to hit her so easily with one blow.
Besides, Ah Qiu was leaning weakly against Gu Yi's chest at that moment. Anyone could tell that she wasn't a trained martial artist.
Seeing Shangguan Yuqi's expression, A Qiu immediately sensed something was very wrong.
She thought that although this Miss Shangguan had profound swordsmanship and superb cultivation, she must have never hurt anyone before! Judging from her current situation, it was probably very likely.
Given the prestige and power of the Shangguan family, the most powerful clan in Jiangzuo, there's no need for their patriarch, the eldest daughter Shangguan Yuqi, to personally injure someone.
The Gentleman's Sword is a sword that symbolizes morality and righteousness.
The injury to A Qiu was not only accidental, but also caused by someone who doesn't know martial arts.
A few drops of blood slowly slid down from the tip of the "Ice Bamboo" sword, running down the spine of the blade until they landed on the guard and splashed onto Shangguan Yuqi's delicate hand holding the hilt.
Shangguan Yuqi's complexion was now alternating between white and blue.
Seeing that Shangguan Yuqi's expression was strange, Consort Chen advised, "Fortunately, you stopped in time, and a serious mistake was avoided. Swords have no eyes when they meet in the martial world, and accidental injuries are common. It's just a minor injury, and I don't think Dian Le will blame you. Don't blame yourself too much."
Gu Yi's cold and aloof voice rang out at this moment.
"If we hadn't arrived in time to stop her, A-Qiu would have died by her sword. Is that a trivial matter?"
Although Gu Yi wielded immense power, he rarely interfered in matters of the inner palace, and had never questioned Consort Chen's decisions. This was the first time he had been so openly and bluntly contradicted.
But Consort Chen knew that what he said was true. Gu Yi was renowned throughout the land, and he had only taken on one disciple in his entire life. If he were to die by Shangguan Yuqi's sword like this, this feud would likely be earth-shattering.
To be fair, if it were her, she wouldn't have let it go so easily either.
But now, Shangguan Yuqi's status is truly incomparably noble. She is not only the head of the century-old Shangguan family, the successor of the Gentleman's Sword, and the head of the Imperial Flying Phoenix Guard, but also possibly the future mistress of the Eastern Palace.
If the punishment is too lenient, it will fail to establish the authority of the junior teacher; if the punishment is too severe, it will make many people extremely embarrassed.
Even with Consort Chen's years of experience navigating the complexities of palace life, she found herself in a dilemma.
After the initial shock subsided, Shangguan Yuqi finally regained her composure.
She cupped her hands and said, "Those who injure innocent people by force, according to the Gentleman's Sword Cult of the Shangguan family, should either cut off their own arm and be crippled in martial arts, or be confined to the family's forbidden area and never be allowed to leave. In either case, please let the Young Master decide."
Upon hearing this, Consort Chen paled and exclaimed, "Yuqi, no!"
In the Southern Dynasties, powerful clans and aristocratic families produced only one swordsman of the caliber of Shangguan Yuqi in nearly a century. Whether he cut off his own arm or was confined to a forbidden area, it would be tantamount to erasing his name from the family forever. Even just out of her love for talent, Consort Chen could not bear to see Shangguan Yuqi ruined in this way.
Shangguan Fenggu is known for his unyielding integrity, and Gu Yi is also famous for his absolute word.
Consort Chen was so anxious that she looked at Gu Yi with pleading eyes and said, "Young Master!"
She now only hopes that Gu Yi can make some concessions and not destroy his own defenses at this moment.
Gu Yi's resolute features remained expressionless. Just as he was about to speak, A Qiu tugged at his sleeve and shook him, saying haltingly, "The Gentleman Sword has always been... as calm as still water. Miss Shangguan's recklessness today must be due to her inner demons. Master, why don't you... give Miss Shangguan a chance to face herself?"
No matter what A Qiu said, Gu Yi would never let Shangguan Yuqi off easily today.
If he had arrived even a moment later, A-Qiu would never have seen him again.
In his view, this matter was even more unforgivable than Madam Pei's, because at that time A Qiu was not yet his disciple, and Madam Pei's actions were not directed at A Qiu alone.
Hearing A Qiu's words, knowing that she was mostly alright, Gu Yi's expression softened slightly. He also remembered that outside the prison, Shangguan Yuqi, with his aloof and unconventional manner, had personally gone to knock on A Qiu's door.
The word "inner demon" further unlocked his heart.
Who in this world can claim to be without flaws, upright and honest even when no one is around, without any secrets?
Upon hearing A Qiu's words, Shangguan Yuqi was struck dumb.
The heart of a sword immortal transcends the world. In truth, whether Gu Yi punishes her or not, whether his martial arts are crippled or not, is not that important to her.
The important thing is why she did it.
Why did he decide to kill A Qiu as soon as he heard that she was Shi Changqing's daughter?
Consort Chen had been in the palace since the previous generation and knew a little about this matter, but she could only sigh inwardly.
Gu Yi was always concise in his words. He threw down a sentence: "You'd better take care of yourself!" and then picked up A Qiu and soared into the night sky.
Upon seeing that A Qiu had left, Chu Yuan did not greet the others, but leaped back into the rows of palace buildings under the night sky and disappeared instantly.
Consort Chen stared at Shangguan Yuqi for a long time. Seeing her expression, although she was saddened by the accidental injury to A Qiu, she showed no remorse. She couldn't help but sigh, "Miss, consider today's events as a lesson. Holding onto the past will not benefit your cultivation."
Shangguan Yuqi sheathed her sword and said calmly, "A gentleman has things he will not do, but he also has things he will do. Since Aunt Lanxiu knows why I am so persistent, she knows that this is the only thing I, Shangguan Yuqi, care about since entering the mortal world. I am not an immortal, I may make mistakes, and I will bear the consequences of those mistakes, but I will never do nothing."
She rose and left, her white robes fluttering like a crane in the wind, but her last words were delivered to Consort Chen's ears in a soft voice.
"...Then I will become the same as you."
When Gu Yi carried A Qiu back to Jinlingtai, he did not forget to take the brick from her hand.
After he entered the room, he carefully placed A Qiu's Han brick on the table, and then—he picked her up and threw her heavily onto the bed.
A-Qiu cried out in surprise and landed on the bed on all fours. Fortunately, it was her own bed with plenty of soft bedding, so the fall wasn't too hard.
It only aggravated the wound on her chest, causing her to cry out in pain.
Gu Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, but sat down in front of her bed with a sullen face and no words, his back to her.
Having spent so much time with Gu Yi, this was the first time A Qiu had ever seen him truly angry, and she didn't know how to react.
Seeing that she remained silent, Gu Yi grew even angrier and said in a deep voice, "Do you know your mistake?"
Ah Qiu stammered, "This disciple should not have left Jinlingtai without permission. But Lord Chenghua summoned me, so I went out... This disciple was not wandering around aimlessly. Meeting Miss Shangguan was also an accident."
Gu Yi knew she was telling the truth. He remained silent for a moment before saying, "You are not without enemies in this palace. Even if meeting Miss Shangguan was an accident, what if you encountered Pei Yu and Mu Huaying?"
A Qiu was speechless. She truly hadn't considered what she would do if she encountered these two. Madam Pei, Mu Huaying, was narrow-minded; although she had escaped from the Heavenly Prison thanks to Gu Yi's influence, it was still a slap in the face to her. And Pei Yu, like Shangguan Yuqi, was now a member of the Eastern Palace Flying Phoenix Guard; her stance towards A Qiu was probably no different from that of her mother.
Gu Yi knew that it would be better if he had encountered Pei Yu and her daughter. Everyone knew that A Qiu was his disciple, and both Pei Yu and his wife were pragmatic people. In these turbulent times, they would never risk making an enemy of Gu Yi for a minor grudge with A Qiu.
In fact, the most terrifying enemy in the world is someone like Shangguan Yuqi, who has extremely strong principles, is not afraid of power or death, and cannot be bribed.
Seeing that he had successfully frightened A Qiu, he said solemnly, "Right now, you should first restore your internal strength."
A Qiu said dejectedly, "If I could recover on my own, I would have recovered long ago. But no matter how I practice my skills and gather my qi, I have no sense of what I used to have."
Gu Yi, still with his back to her, said seriously, "Why don't you ask me?"
Ah Qiu thought, "Isn't it because you're busy with official duties from early morning to late at night that I don't have a chance to see you at all?"
But she swallowed those words back as soon as they were on the tip of her tongue, because she immediately remembered that the reason Gu Yi avoided seeing her by leaving early and returning late was because she had kissed him on the lips when he was off guard on the day she became his disciple.
To avoid suspicion, Gu Yi intentionally or unintentionally kept his distance from her from then on.
At this moment, he's actually blaming her for not asking him.
A-Qiu gritted her teeth inwardly, but became even more obedient on the surface, saying, "There's no time like the present, Master, please teach me now!"
In her heart, she cursed Gu Yi hundreds of times.
She knew that if it was her master Wan Qiqing of Lanling Hall, he would never have clearly had a way to restore her martial arts, yet he remained silent, waiting for her to come to him for advice.
Does this resemble the conduct expected of a teacher?
Gu Yi paused slightly upon hearing her words, and asked, "Are you sure?"
Ah Qiu said, "Of course!"
Having lost her martial arts skills, she had been overpowered and beaten by Princess Wansui in the West Market a few days ago, and tonight she could only hide behind Chu Yuanyi. She was already seething with anger. Now, hearing Gu Yi's words, it seemed that her martial arts could be restored very easily, so of course she wanted to do it as quickly as possible.
Seeing her resolute attitude, Gu Yi turned around and scooped her up in his arms.
A-Qiu asked in horror, "Where are you taking me?"
In her haste, she even forgot to call her master.
Gu Yi didn't even lift his eyelids: "Go and restore your internal energy."
A Qiu never imagined that there was such a place inside Jinlingtai.
Green pines and red maples shelter a crystal-clear spring, with five-colored pebbles clearly visible at its bottom.
There was a faint herbal scent in the air.
As soon as A Qiu felt Gu Yi's arm moving beneath her, she immediately shouted, "Put me down! I can walk over by myself!"
She was genuinely afraid that he would do what he did last time and throw her into the water with a splash. After all, she wasn't a fish.
And the wound on my chest hurts too.
When Gu Yi heard her shout, the corner of his lips finally twitched slightly.
He didn't throw her in directly, but he also didn't put her down.
He carried her straight to the water's edge, then gently and very carefully placed her head into the water.
The warm spring water washed over most of her body, and a lazy, comfortable feeling spread from her limbs into her internal organs.
Gu Yi said in a low voice, "Sit still, I'll go get the medicine."
A Qiu then realized that although most of her body had slipped into the water from Gu Yi's arm, half of her body was still habitually leaning against his arm, and she looked lazy and unwilling to move.
She immediately scrambled to her feet as if stung by a bee, shook her head like a drowned rat, straightened her body, and maintained a neutral, upright cross-legged posture.
She hadn't forgotten the lesson Gu Yi had taught her when she had overstepped the boundaries between master and disciple the last time.
I will never dare to be disrespectful or improper again.
Gu Yi watched as she sheepishly got up and immediately struck a pose. Looking at his own empty sleeve, which was already soaked, he seemed to be deep in thought.
But in a moment, he got up and left.
As various herbs are released into the water, a variety of slightly bitter and astringent, yet rich and complex aromas gradually emanate from the surface.
Gu Yi's voice rang in her ear: "Although I don't know what triggered you to suddenly forget your martial arts, it should be a kind of 'hiding' and 'freezing'."
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