Sole purpose
Gu Yi, seeing her expression, understood perfectly well. He was deliberately feigning ignorance. He said slowly and deliberately, "It's alright, I'll teach you. You won't be so afraid anymore."
He actually thought she was afraid! —Although fear was certainly part of the reason, it wasn't the main one!
A Qiu's face turned bright red, and the icy true energy in his palm circulated faster, surging into his body like a vast ocean.
If she wanted him dead right now, a single strike of her palm could shatter his heart meridian. But of course, she didn't want that.
She just wanted to freeze him stiff or knock him unconscious so he would stop talking nonsense.
But Gu Yi is Gu Yi after all; it's not so easy for him to see results.
The next instant, he lifted her up in one arm, making her sit up and nestle tightly into his embrace once again.
A Qiu was suddenly enveloped by his body and warmth again, and her heart pounded with panic. But it was obvious that Gu Yi's body temperature was much lower than before, indicating that her internal energy transfer was effective. Moreover, his heartbeat was no longer as rapid and violent as before, but gradually slowed down and became steady.
Therefore, his current recklessness is not purely due to lustful impulses.
A Qiu's mind raced. She looked up to look at him, but Gu Yi pressed her head down.
In that fleeting glance, she seemed to see the last trace of gray in Gu Yi's pupils rapidly fading and disappearing, returning to its normal color.
His voice whispered in her ear, "Next time, don't tease me."
The hot air tickled her ears, and even the base of her ears turned red.
Judging from his tone, he seemed to be blaming her for provoking him. She tried hard to recall what she had done to cause him to act so...like a beast.
Upon further reflection, he was immediately embarrassed.
She was the one who threw herself into Gu Yi's arms first and became attached to him. Her initiative in throwing herself into his arms wasn't flirting.
He held her so tightly that she dared not move an inch.
Fortunately, Gu Yi did not do anything reckless again.
The two remained in a silent stalemate until, after a while, A Qiu finally couldn't sit still any longer and tentatively asked, "Gu Yi?"
Gu Yi did not respond.
A Qiu carefully raised her head, only to find that Gu Yi had already rested on her shoulder and closed his eyes to sleep.
A Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, carefully laid him down, and pulled away.
There was even a bronze mirror for dressing in this guest room. Presumably, it was for her to use when disguising herself; Mo Yimingyue had thought of everything very thoughtfully.
A-Qiu immediately sat down in front of the mirror and began to tidy her hair and clothes. After all, she needed to find a way back to the palace before dawn, and she couldn't show herself like this.
When she saw her disheveled hair and messy clothes in the mirror, she blushed instantly.
The most striking feature was the distinct red mark left on the side of her slender neck.
If she goes out like this, no one will believe that she is still an innocent young woman.
Although she didn't care about this, the one who was most wronged was indeed still hers.
A-Qiu hurriedly re-combed her hair, then slipped behind the screen, took off her black night clothes, and put on her original dance costume.
Just a screen away, Gu Yi was already fast asleep, but she still quickly changed her clothes, afraid of waking him up again.
The dance costume was a long-sleeved, cross-collar style with a high neckline, which fortunately concealed the red marks on the side of her neck.
Fortunately, she acted quickly enough, because at that moment, from the courtyard outside the window, came Lie Changkong's deliberately lowered and polite voice:
"Master, the elixir has been obtained."
A Qiu secretly felt a chill run down her spine. If Lie Changkong had arrived even a moment earlier and witnessed their embarrassing situation, she would have been too ashamed to face anyone.
Gu Yi is going crazy, but she isn't.
Gu Yi is known throughout the world for his upright character, composure, calmness, and meticulousness.
Lie Changkong, or anyone else, would only think that it was her disciple, a dancer and musician, who was unaware of the consequences, who took the initiative—although the truth was probably quite similar.
Aqiu took a deep breath, trying to appear nonchalant, and said in a low voice, "Chief Lie, please come in. Master has just fallen asleep."
Lie Changkong nimbly slipped through the window, still dressed in the same unremarkable black night clothes.
As soon as he landed, he bowed to A Qiu with his hands clasped, and said with a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're alright, Miss!"
His gaze fell on A Qiu, and he immediately showed obvious surprise.
A-Qiu knew things were going to get worse. She was so busy trying to hide her earlier embarrassment that she hurriedly changed and dressed, but she overlooked one thing:
Gu Yi, her master, was right here. Although there was a screen separating them, changing her inner and outer clothes in his presence was still a violation of proper etiquette.
Lie Changkong was an extremely intelligent man. He glanced at the scene and immediately withdrew his surprised expression, asking with concern, "Did the young master give any instructions before going to bed?"
This inn was originally a temporary lodging arranged by Mo Yimingyue for A Qiu's assassination attempt. Gu Yi couldn't have come here to sleep, but he happened to fall asleep at this moment. The details of this are best left unasked.
But whether Gu Yi should sleep here until dawn or whether he should be taken back now was a question Lie Changkong had to ask.
He should have kept quiet. But when he asked, A Qiu remembered Gu Yi's last words before he went to sleep, "instructions," and blushed.
The instruction was: "From now on, don't provoke me again."
Of course, she couldn't tell Lie Changkong this. Fortunately, under the candlelight, Lie Changkong probably wouldn't be able to see the changes in her expression. She pondered for a moment and said, "Master suddenly fainted. It must be due to the flare-up of internal injuries, coupled with the result of suppressing the changes in his body these past few days."
She looked at Lie Changkong and said, "He didn't have time to say anything."
After pondering for a moment, Lie Changkong said decisively, "The news of Pei Yuanli's assassination tonight must have spread far and wide. The palace must be in chaos right now, and there's still a chance to sneak in. But everything at Jinlingtai must be back to normal by tomorrow morning to avoid arousing suspicion. Therefore, we must take our master back."
Ah Qiu said with difficulty, "But given Master's current condition, if we take him into the palace, whether we enter through the palace gates on the ground or travel through the night at high altitude, it will inevitably attract attention."
Lie Changkong immediately said, "You go back first, it's best not to disturb anyone. I'll stay here with my master until he wakes up and takes the medicine, then we'll go back to Jinlingtai together."
A Qiu thought this was the best solution, since Gu Yi and Lie Changkong were both people whose identities were out in the open. Even if they went back openly in broad daylight, no one would dare to guess that they were assassins from the Pei family.
Her staying out all night would raise suspicions in the eyes of discerning people.
She agreed and was about to get up, but hesitated for a moment before finally asking Lie Changkong, "May I take a look at the pills that Master has been taking?"
Lie Changkong was taken aback by her request and paused for a moment. Finally, he realized that she was Gu Yi's only successor and there was really nothing to be wary of. He took out a jade bottle, about an inch tall and white with a reddish tinge, from his bosom and handed it to her, saying, "Please take a look."
A Qiu took the jade bottle, but instead of pouring out the pills inside, she simply opened the cap and brought it to the mouth of the bottle to sniff.
One sniff and her mind cleared up considerably.
Gongye Fusu was indeed a national champion. The scent of this medicine was the same one she had repeatedly detected on Gu Yi.
Like the enduring fragrance of pine snow, like the serene elegance of submerged plum blossoms.
Lie Changkong was clearly aware of the cause and effect of the matter, and immediately asked, "Is there a problem?"
A Qiu shook her head, put the cap back on the bottle and returned it to him, saying softly, "At least from what I smell, there shouldn't be any major problems."
Even Gongye Fusu said that he had never refined the "Transformation Pill" before and had no confidence that the medicine he refined according to the formula would be completely correct.
Lie Changkong understood this as well, his brows furrowed, and he sighed, "Things have come to this point, we can only try anything as a last resort."
After hesitating for a long time, A Qiu finally spoke up: "Senior Lie, are you aware that Master has been taking the Nascent Soul Pill?"
Lie Changkong glanced at her, seemingly unsure how much she should know.
He concluded, "This is a matter for the Junior Tutor. Why don't you ask him yourself?"
His question reminded A Qiu of the time in the underground chamber when Gu Yi forced her to kiss him in exchange for his secret. Her ears burned, but she couldn't help but tell the truth: "Actually... I don't really want to know about Master's affairs."
Lie Changkong stared intently at her and asked, "Why?"
A-Qiu raised her eyes, facing her feelings directly for the first time.
"Because I'm afraid."
Faced with Lie Changkong's confused look, A Qiu could only say again, "I'm afraid the more I know, the further I'll drift away from him."
Gu Yi wasn't completely indifferent to her, yet he only agreed to take her as his disciple. There must have been a reason for this.
He once told her that he had no relatives or friends, and the only way he could form a connection with her in the world was to take her as his disciple.
At that time, she didn't think about it deeply.
But rather than a union, it is also a form of rejection.
All she could think of was that Gu Yi's mission or the cultivation method he practiced fundamentally prevented him from forming romantic relationships with women.
However, looking at the other side of Gu Yi's actions, it seems that this is not the case.
If there are taboos in the practice, then of course there cannot be taboos when one is clear-headed, but no taboos when one is delirious.
However, regardless of the circumstances, the master-disciple relationship has become a chasm that Gu Yi has drawn between them for all possibilities.
She respected Gu Yi's decision, which is why, no matter how infatuated she was, she absolutely refused to "take advantage of his vulnerability."
If she didn't know everything about him, she would still hold onto a sliver of hope in her heart.
A sliver of hope for change.
But if she knew everything about him, and knew the reasons why he couldn't choose her, then she would lose even the right to like him.
Lie Changkong lowered his head for a moment, and finally decided to tell you everything he knew: "A Qiu, Master is no ordinary person. He has been walking in the world for longer than the two of us combined, perhaps even longer. Since you are already his successor, even if I don't say it now, he will most likely tell you about his lineage at another time."
"What I can tell you right now is that, according to human lifespan, he should have already reached the end of his life. But the reason he remains in this world is to fulfill the wishes of his sect, as far as I know,"
Lie Changkong glanced at A Qiu and subtly reminded him, "This is also the only purpose for which the master lives in this world."
"Therefore, he needs to take the Transformation Pill regularly to maintain his physical body as normal as a human being. If his body suffers internal or external injuries, his mind may also be affected. Because it is not easy to maintain a state of mind free from desires that is in conflict with the laws of nature, birth, aging, sickness and death."
He glanced at Gu Yi on the bed and said sincerely, "Master has amazing willpower to have persevered until now."
A Qiu felt as if struck by lightning, because from Lie Changkong's words, she had at least learned most of the reasons why Gu Yi would not be with her.
Although Gu Yi is not an immortal, his cultivation method is close to the art of longevity and youth preservation. However, the price for this youth preservation is that he cannot fall in love.
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