Rekindling the romance
In her dream, she returned to the vast expanse of snow.
Behind the Divine Weapon Hall lay a desolate, white wasteland. A bucket of icy water, freshly drawn from a deep well, was poured directly onto her head, leaving her hair soaked and chilled to the bone.
She gritted her teeth, sat in the snow, letting snowflakes fall on her soaked clothes, and used special breathing techniques to stimulate her internal energy circulation, making her body heat up so that she could turn the icy water into steam and evaporate it.
Sometimes she felt so cold that every bone in her body ached, as if she had fallen into an ice cave and felt that she never wanted to see this world again.
Sometimes it's hot, so hot that it feels like every strand of hair and every pore is bursting with flames.
Consciousness is often hazy, unaware of dawn or dusk. Moment by moment, time stretches on endlessly, like a frozen ice field. Birds have vanished from a thousand mountains, and no one is to be found for ten thousand miles.
Day after day, only a profound and piercing loneliness remains.
One day, his consciousness finally returned to clarity, the snow on the ground melted, and it seemed as if there were two suns in the sky. The blinding white light was dazzling. His master said that these were signs of the completion of the Nine-Turn Elixir.
Practicing internal energy is like this: tireless, oblivious to life and death. Before you lies only a vast, white expanse, empty and bewildering. When it's complete, it's complete, like a knife or sword being forged and forged, emerging from the furnace.
In the process of practicing martial arts, one forgets many things. Some things are important, some are not. But the passage of time and the feeling of not knowing where one is in this world will still be deeply etched in one's heart.
The process of practicing martial arts made her feel as if she had come into this world as a sharp blade.
It does not possess the warmth of a human being.
Nobody needs this temperature.
When she woke up, the first thing she saw was a curtain hanging high above the large bed, made of raw silk, pure white and simple.
She knew at a glance that this was Gu Yi's bedroom.
She was on Gu Yi's bed.
This is a place she has visited many times.
She turned to the side, only to meet Gu Yi's deep, dark eyes. He was very close to her, almost touching her. His eyes clearly reflected her image.
There was nothing else but her.
Even with a thousand words to say, I feel at a loss for words.
She lifted the covers, trying to get up, but was immediately pressed back onto the bed by Gu Yi's two well-defined knuckles.
Gu Yiyuan was lying face down on the headboard, trapping her beneath him.
She was slightly embarrassed, but powerless to resist at that moment. The first question she expected to be asked was, "How are they?"
Gu Yi looked at her intently and said calmly, "They are all fine now. The results of the court's thorough investigation overnight have come out. Huang Chao'an repeatedly sent out dancers under the guise of assisting in banquets, and seven people have died so far. Their remains are in the abandoned garden and the dry well. The officer Yin Shang of the Divine Hound Camp has confessed that he was dispatched by the camp to the Music Bureau to kill all those who knew about the incident and silence them."
He leaned down, his deep voice almost touching her ear: "You are innocent, and so is Lady Sun."
A Qiu's face flushed red instantly, and she instinctively turned to the side to dodge.
Gu Yi seemed completely unaware of crossing the line, and instead moved even closer to her, staring intently at her: "But there is one question that remains unresolved."
A-Qiu asked in surprise, "What problem?"
Tonight, Gu Yi exudes a subtle air of danger.
This aura was somewhat similar to his that night, yet not entirely the same.
Gu Yi, like his master, was very clean and would never have physical contact with others unless absolutely necessary. Even his previous attempts to touch her were out of tolerance rather than habit.
But tonight, he kept closing in on me.
Gu Yi, however, did not miss any change in her expression and stared at her, saying, "The reason you accidentally killed Huang Chaoan is said to be that he attempted to do something indecent to you."
Ah Qiu's face turned even redder for no reason. She lowered her head and looked away, saying weakly, "That's right."
In truth, A Qiu had been a seasoned traveler, frequenting brothels, bars, and even secluded residences. In the past, she wouldn't have known the meaning of blushing. As long as she could successfully pin the blame on Huang Chao'an, she was happy to fabricate a few more stories.
But at this moment, facing the vague emotions in Gu Yi's eyes and the suffocating sense of oppression, she instinctively felt that if she continued to talk nonsense and fabricate facts, Gu Yi might kill her.
He doesn't know who he'll kill, but hopefully it won't be her. After all, she's the closest person to him right now.
Gu Yi said in a deep voice, "Then who exactly did he assault! Was it Lady Sun, or you? After all, you both..."
He didn't finish speaking. Eyewitness testimonies stated that Huang Chaoan was lying in a pool of blood, while Sun Neiren and A Qiu were both dressed in tattered clothes and had disheveled hair.
Even though Ah Qiu had a thick skin, he stammered and couldn't say anything more.
Sun's wife was trying to protect her reputation, while Huang Chao'an was trying to smear her reputation.
Seeing her evasive manner, Gu Yi's eyes immediately flashed with a fierce light.
Ah Qiu had never seen him look so terrifying.
He raised the hand that was originally supporting her waist, paused slightly, and reached towards her shoulder.
Her skin, which had been exposed due to her torn clothes, was now covered by the garments her companions had wrapped around her.
A Qiu instinctively struck out with lightning speed, intercepting Gu Yi's hand that was reaching for her shoulder.
Close combat was her forte, and assassins are adept at maneuvering and changing their movements within a small space. However, A Qiu overlooked one fact: she had lost all her internal energy at this moment.
Moreover, Gu Yi countered her moves faster, easily seizing her hand with a single palm flip.
Gu Yi also misjudged A Qiu's current skill level, and his grappling move was a bit too heavy. A Qiu couldn't block it, so he was caught off guard and fell on top of her.
A-Qiu tried to push him, but couldn't budge him. Her face flushed crimson, and she said angrily, "If you were Huang Chao'an, think about who you would have assaulted! My wife did this to protect my reputation."
This is an obvious fact. Given the circumstances at the time, if Huang Chao'an wanted to commit any wrongdoing, he could only target one person. Between the young and beautiful A Qiu and the middle-aged Sun Neiren, it goes without saying who he would choose.
However, this assumption is not very good. Gu Yi is not Huang Chaoan; he would never think about who he should sexually assault.
Of course, there are exceptions in certain special circumstances.
To her surprise, the moment he heard her answer, Gu Yi's eyes suddenly filled with a storm, and he roared, "So he... towards you, towards you..."
His words suddenly stopped.
Because she had just pushed him away, half of the clothes covering her shoulders had come undone.
His gaze swept over her only once, then he quickly looked away as if he'd been burned. With his other hand, he immediately picked up her clothes and covered her with them.
His movements were quick yet extremely light, as if he were afraid of hurting her skin.
Ah Qiu closed her eyes almost resignedly.
She really didn't know how Gu Yi would treat her next.
After all, she had already lost the ability to fight back.
Gu Yi's breathing became erratic.
A moment later, she heard him say in a calm voice, "Why are you closing your eyes?"
Ah Qiu tried to speak in a less distressed voice, saying, "I'm afraid you'll hit me."
Gu Yi was silent for a moment, then propped himself up with his hand and moved away from her, saying, "Do I... look like I'm going to hit you?" His voice was different from usual, with a strange hoarseness.
A-Qiu tried her best not to sound pitiful as she said, "Yes."
After all, there was no one else here. If he were really angry, he might take it out on her, just like Madam Pei did.
Gu Yi closed his eyes for a moment, then said decisively, "Open your eyes, get up, and give me your hand."
Gu Yi silently observed her internal condition for a moment, then suddenly let go of her hand, stood up, and walked away from the bed.
A-Qiu gazed at his silent back, unsure of what to say.
She had no idea why she was in this state of dissipated power. The only thing she was thankful for was that Gu Yi arrived in time, otherwise Madam Pei would have forced her to drink the poison.
She suddenly remembered that Gu Yi should be in Jiangbei at this moment. She couldn't help but ask, "Gu Yi, why were you in the dungeon back then?"
Gu Yi waved his hand to stop her question, turned around, and said coldly, "Do you know what would have happened to you if I hadn't arrived in time today?"
Ah Qiu swallowed all the unnecessary words and dared not utter another sound.
Seeing her expression, Gu Yi felt there was no need to reprimand her further. After a moment of silence, he said, "I have heard that the mental cultivation method of Lanling Hall martial arts has inherent flaws. The stronger the practitioner, the more fatal their weaknesses. Under certain circumstances, they may even be forced back to their original form."
Knowing that Gu Yi never lied, A Qiu paled and said, "Master never told me this!"
Gu Yi said in a deep voice, "He may not know either. After all, in the past hundred years, you are probably the only one who has cultivated the martial arts of Lanling Hall to the level of a king and was able to lead the assassination of Qin."
A-Qiu asked, "What about Master himself?"
Gu Yi said, "Although he and you share the same origin, you are not from the same lineage. I think what he cultivates should be from the same lineage as your senior brother Gongyi Xiu, which is the One-Man Show martial art."
Ah Qiu recalled that it was indeed so. His master had once said that he was not originally an assassin, but rather the previous head of the Yiyan Hall. Among the sect, only the eldest brother, Gongyi Xiu, truly inherited the master's teachings, displaying the master's elegant and unrestrained demeanor in every gesture.
Her martial arts skills were not taught by her master, but rather she learned them through meditation in the snowy mountains, fighting wild beasts, and comprehending the secrets of the sect on her own.
Now that all his skills have been lost, this is a situation that has never happened before.
A Qiu stared blankly for a long time, feeling lost and helpless.
From a young age, she was the most outstanding among her fellow disciples, deeply loved by her master and classmates. She became famous throughout the land as soon as she entered the martial world, and even topped the list of immortals. Now, having lost her martial arts, she truly doesn't know who she is anymore, or what she can do.
She stammered, "It seems I have no choice but to return to my sect. Now, I don't even have the power to protect myself."
Gu Yi blurted out, "No way."
A-Qiu looked up at him in surprise with her beautiful, clear eyes. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
She never forgot her promise to Gu Yi.
Whether I'm awake or dreaming, I haven't forgotten.
She promised to stay with him forever and never leave him.
And some... other things. I don't know if he remembers them now.
She thought she could keep her promise.
But without martial arts skills, she had nothing left. She herself had become a burden; what could she possibly offer him?
Gu Yi stepped forward, looked at her, and asked with a rare hesitation in his voice, yet with an undeniable decisiveness: "A Qiu, would you like to become my disciple?"
A-Qiu almost thought he had misheard.
She stared in astonishment, not understanding why he would make such a suggestion.
She has masters, and more than one.
Gu Yi spoke slowly, word by word: "I walk in this world without any relatives or family. The only way for you to become my disciple is to teach you the basics of martial arts from scratch, and I can also teach you music. Moreover, no one will be able to make things difficult for you again."
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