steel your heart
The people of Lanling Hall have always viewed relationships with detachment and rationality, unconstrained by worldly conventions. Mo Yimingyue herself doesn't care what kind of relationship Gu Yi and A Qiu have.
Ideally, that relationship would be harmless to A-Qiu.
The Junior Tutor Gu Yi is renowned throughout the land, and his words are law. If he says they are master and disciple, then they can only be master and disciple.
There can be no other possibility.
Mo Yimingyue seemed to have finally made up her mind, looking directly at Gu Yi and saying, "Young Master's acceptance of a disciple is a major event for the world. If you don't mind, I will be your witness today. Young Master will receive three kowtows from A Qiu here. After the ceremony, Xingfeng Hall will spread the word throughout the world that Young Master has gained a fine disciple and has a worthy successor. What do you think, Young Master?"
He made this suggestion because he was certain that once the apprenticeship ceremony was completed, the whole world would know, whether in the martial arts world, the imperial court, or the palace, and with everyone watching, Gu Yi would not be able to have any other thoughts.
Gu Yi was always deep, meticulous, and taciturn, but he was not ignorant of human relationships.
Meeting the unfathomable gaze of the seasoned veteran Mo Yimingyue, whose emotions were as unpredictable as an abyss, he understood the other's thoughts in a single glance.
He could understand Mo Yimingyue's concerns, and he also felt more deeply the care that his fellow disciples in Lanling had for A Qiu.
But at this moment, he only wanted to protect A Qiu and did not want to deal with people like Lan Ling who had complicated thoughts, much less be controlled by them. He was being led by the nose by them in every move.
He said calmly, "No need. I can make sure the world knows she is my disciple." He then pulled A Qiu away immediately.
Mo Yimingyue said meaningfully from behind him, "Young Master would never deceive the world. But the easiest person to deceive is oneself. Of course, Young Master is a gentleman and would not deceive in secret, so let's pretend I didn't say that."
Gu Yi froze, finding those words extremely grating for some reason. His expression darkened slightly, but he still left with A Qiu.
Ah Qiu turned his head and called out, "Second Senior Brother, remember to send the things you bought for me to Jinling Terrace!"
Mo Yimingyue was taken aback, and almost let out a bitter laugh.
Ah Qiu actually understood what Senior Brother Mo Yimingyue was saying at the end.
But seeing that Gu Yi looked unwell, she could only try to gloss over the situation with jokes.
Her senior brother sarcastically remarked that Gu Yi "didn't lie in the dark," but in reality, she hadn't forgotten what happened in the dark that night, and judging from Gu Yi's expression, he wasn't forgetting either.
But if Gu Yiruo doesn't want to mention it, she won't bring it up again.
She was not a pampered young lady confined to her mansion, never stepping out of her home, and she didn't expect others to take responsibility for her.
Being able to stay by Gu Yi's side and be with him day and night made her extremely happy.
On the way back, unsure of Gu Yi's mood, she would often try to talk to him. Gu Yi remained as taciturn as ever, but he would always answer her, showing no signs of anything amiss.
Until he returned to Jinling Terrace, to his study.
Gu Yi's expression turned serious as he said, "Go change your clothes first."
A-Qiu looked at herself from left to right, puzzled, and said, "I just bought this Golden Sparrow Rainbow Dress, and I haven't worn it enough yet!"
Gu Yi was taken aback, seemingly never having considered this situation before. After a moment's hesitation, his tone softened slightly as he said, "Switch back after you've completed the apprenticeship ceremony."
A Qiu was startled by his words, grabbed his sleeve and jumped up, her beautiful eyes wide open, saying, "What?"
According to the rules of the martial arts world, a teacher for a day is a father for life. She respected Gu Yi, but she never truly intended to treat him as her father.
Looking at her terrified expression, Gu Yi felt a strange urge to laugh. She had only agreed to become his disciple, so why was she so panicked at the last minute before getting into the sedan chair?
On the surface, his expression darkened, and he said, "Didn't you hear what your senior brother said today?"
She had previously declined to ask her master, Wan Qiqing, for his opinion, but now Wan Qiqing's approval had been openly presented. She had no more excuses.
A Qiu said helplessly, "Gu Yi, I don't actually listen to every word my master says..." She only got halfway through her sentence before being frightened back down by Gu Yi's dark, almost dripping, face.
She couldn't just flirt with two grandmasters with a single sentence and become Gu Yi's disciple, something countless people in the world would kill for. She couldn't very well say that she wasn't mentally prepared, could she?
Seeing Gu Yi's face grow increasingly dark, A Qiu became somewhat flustered. She wasn't actually a timid person, but she was simply afraid of Gu Yi.
As the head of a hall, A Qiu was always decisive and efficient. Seeing that she couldn't escape this predicament, although she didn't understand what was wrong with her thinking, she knew she couldn't lose face.
She immediately mustered the courage of a warrior cutting off his own arm, steeled her heart, closed her eyes, and knelt down before Gu Yi, about to kowtow, saying, "Disciple A Qiu is willing to become Gu Yi's disciple, and from now on I will listen to my master's words, be filial to my master, sincerely study the Dao, and carry on the family tradition."
Her kneeling caught Gu Yi completely off guard. Before she could even kowtow, Gu Yi instinctively flicked his sleeve and helped her up. By the time he realized what had happened, he and A Qiu were staring at each other, speechless.
In fact, he didn't know why he was stopping A Qiu from kowtowing.
Perhaps it was because he had never taken on any disciples in his life, and therefore was not used to it.
Also, because when he first entered the sect, he did not kowtow to his master.
His lineage is passed down in secrecy, passed down to a single person for thousands of years. To quell the chaos and establish a prosperous era, one person has always been enough.
Furthermore, they regarded all social norms and etiquette as a means of ruling people.
Those who use this technique are naturally not among them.
Gu Yi himself valued etiquette and followed rules strictly, which he believed he should present to the world as a model of moral education.
A virtuous person should set an example for the world.
If the five cardinal relationships are reversed and the relationship between ruler and subject is lost, how can the world be governed?
But having experienced the fickle nature of human nature many times, he knew perfectly well that a solemn promise, a vow made to the heavens, could not possibly restrain a person's later changing mind.
If this heart remains unchanged, why bother with declarations of sincerity, verbal embellishments, and numerous formalities of testimony and constraints? And why should a person's sincere heart be used to perform for the world as a monkey show?
Seeing Gu Yi's ever-changing expression, A Qiu thought he had changed his mind and wouldn't accept her as his apprentice. She immediately grabbed his sleeve and stood up, smilingly changing the subject, "Gu Yi, I'm going to check if my things have been delivered." With that, she turned around and tried to escape from the "apprenticeship ceremony."
She barely moved before she was dragged back, much to her dismay.
Gu Yi looked down at her with his dark eyes and said coldly, "You don't have to kowtow now, but you need to change how you address me."
So that her fellow disciples from Lanling Hall wouldn't all see him and think he was up to no good with A Qiu.
Ah Qiu was held captive in front of him and couldn't move. With a mournful face, she said, "Master."
Although the girl's clear and sweet voice clearly carried a hint of helplessness, her call of "Master" immediately evoked warm memories from many years ago.
Back then, her face was as white as ice, and her big, curious, dark eyes darted around. The first word she learned to use in the world was not "mother," but "master."
For many years, no one called him that again, nor did anyone establish such a deep attachment and connection with him.
Gu Yi gazed at her intently, then suddenly lowered his head to her. With one hand still on her shoulder, he reached out with the other to her forehead, gently and tenderly parting the strands of hair on her forehead.
His fingers caressed the flower on her forehead.
At this moment, hanging there was the brow ornament he had bought for her tonight. The tiny blue and green gemstones shimmered with a clear brilliance.
A-Qiu watched helplessly as he leaned down on her in a flirtatious manner and caressed her cheek, instantly feeling as if her soul had left her body.
In her opinion, Gu Yi didn't seem as abnormal as he had been the night before, but what was with the irrepressible tenderness surging in his dark eyes?
She almost succumbed to that tenderness, yet she knew perfectly well that Gu Yi could never have such thoughts.
She was powerless at this moment and completely at his mercy, yet she was unwilling to be taken advantage of like this. In an instant, sweat beaded on her nose, and a thousand calculations raced through her mind.
My only thought was that I absolutely could not suffer this loss for nothing.
So when Gu Yi reached for the flower on her forehead, wanting to lift it up to see what was inside, she steeled herself again and closed her eyes.
She tilted her head back and gently kissed Gu Yi's lips.
It was just a light kiss, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
But it has achieved the effect she wanted, and even exceeded her expectations.
The moment she kissed him, Gu Yi's usually deep eyes widened instantly, revealing an expression of disbelief. It was obvious that his mind was completely blank at that moment.
A moment later, he staggered and retreated as if burned. He retreated until he was almost an arrow's length away from her before he could barely regain his balance.
I doubt even a heavy punch to his chest back then would have had such a good effect.
A Qiu watched with amusement as his face turned pale and then red, his expression a mixture of anger and unspoken bitterness. The only words she could imagine for him, but which he couldn't utter, were: "You unfilial disciple! How dare you disrespect your teacher!"
But he couldn't just take her in one second and then kick her out the door the next.
Seeing Gu Yi trembling with anger and speechless, looking as if she had been taken advantage of, A Qiu felt a sense of satisfaction at having gotten her revenge.
He had repeatedly taken liberties with her back then, and she hadn't even confronted him about it yet.
If he were to return every kiss he had ever given her, would Gu Yi have to commit suicide by hitting his head against a wall?
He assaulted her so indecently, and then just left. She hadn't even considered suicide yet, but Gu Yi was now putting on an act of shame and indignation, as if he wanted to die.
But A Qiu, the master of the Divine Weapon Hall, was no ordinary person who was petty and calculating.
Seeing Gu Yi both angry and embarrassed, frozen in place, unable to retaliate, she thought to herself that there were only the two of them in the entire Jinling Terrace. If Gu Yi were to act like he wanted to die every day because he had taken her as his unworthy disciple, wouldn't that be awkward? And if word got back to Lanling Hall, it wouldn't sound good either.
A smile played on Qiu’s lips as he won, and she decided to give him a way out.
"Master, you were standing way too close. I accidentally bumped into you. Are you alright?"
She spoke with such sincerity and innocence, as if she were the kind of person a very filial and obedient disciple would say.
Having gained a way out, Gu Yi's expression finally softened, as if he had regained his composure. He merely gave a faint hum, offering no reply, and then turned and left.
The kiss was so effective that A Qiu didn't see Gu Yi for the next three days.
It's unclear whether the kiss reminded him of something, or whether he couldn't face A-Qiu, or even himself.
A Qiu thought that perhaps seeing her so rebellious, Gu Yi would no longer want to take her as a disciple, lest there be endless trouble in the future.
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