Since both of them entered the house, it meant that Long Siye was indeed staying there. She was relieved that she did not have to return empty-handed.
They were only around for about 15 minutes. Gu Xijiu saw them coming out from the house, and Gu Xixi looked upset. Her lips were pursed in disappointment. Her senior disciple (also known as Ji Fenglang) tried comforting her. “Stop mentioning it in front of him. Master does not like you talking about Gu Xijiu. It’s unnecessary to argue with our master.”
Gu Xixi clenched her fists. “It has been many years now. Still, our master has not forgotten about that woman…”
Ji Fenglang sighed. “Everyone in this continent knows how much our master likes Gu Xijiu. Why are you making yourself suffer?”
Gu Xixi pursed her lips tightly and added, “That woman has gone missing for so long. I suspect that she died a long time ago. Serves her right for always fliting around with powerful people. Originally, she was very kind to master. However, she eventually hooked up with Celestial Master Zuo when she found out that his status was higher than our master’s. She is an alluring woman who hooks up with men! However, I cannot say that I feel sympathetic for the men as well as it was their fault for falling for her trickery. What’s so good about that woman to the extent that these men were willing to sacrifice themselves for her?”
Ji Fenglang frowned. “My little junior, watch your mouth! We don’t have the authority to interfere with our master’s affairs. It was obvious that Celestial Master Zuo has gotten over her as he had sent so many assassins after her. She is most likely dead now.”
Gu Xixi twitched her mouth. “That’s what I’m worried about. If the woman is still alive and Celestial Master Zuo’s people are tailing her, she might seek help from our master! Based on the feelings that our master has for her, it’s effortless for him to be bewitched by her again…”
“Hush, hush! Stop talking.” Ji Fenglang pulled her away and left. “I told you that master doesn’t want anyone to talk about her anymore. However, here you are spouting nonsense and openly judging her. Do you not want to live anymore!”
“I’m just mad! Don’t you think that the reason master named me Gu Xixi was because of her? What say you?”
Ji Fenglang laughed. “Coincidence! It’s just a coincidence. Let’s go.”
Gu Xijiu sighed and rubbed her brows as she watched the two of them disappear. She could not precisely describe her feelings. Perhaps, Long Siye had not gotten over the feelings he had for her, and she was fated to fail his love. She wondered whether she should proceed to ask for his help now.
While she was sighing silently, the directed audio spell that hung on her waist blinked. She answered the call and realized that it was Luo Zhanyu’s voice on the other end. “Sister, we are in big trouble! A strange disease is spreading around the Zhaoyang Kingdom. The victims’ bodies are becoming stronger and stronger like steel. They could easily hurt and kill anyone. However, they are not conscious of their actions. They bite onto whoever they can get their hands on, and the disease will spread to the person who gets bitten…”
Gu Xijiu’s heart sank. Was it a new zombie virus?! Needless to say, Long Fan must be the culprit behind such a virus! This brat seemed to have gone all out to take over the world.
Gu Xijiu could probably help to counter the zombie virus, but she needed to make multiple grade-six pills, which she did not have the time to do. The best way to stop this disaster was to gather all the level six alchemists in the world to make the medicines.
Of course, Long Siye was the most prestigious person among all the alchemists as he knew many alchemists around the world. Besides that, half of the total population of level six alchemists were trained in the Tianwen clan. Therefore, she wanted to get him to organize this event as it would help them to save a lot of time.
Gu Xijiu finally made her decision. She went invisible and pulled the silver bell. Long Siye had set a small wizardry barrier here which was powerful enough to block anyone from teleporting into the house. Hence, she still needed his approval to enter.
Gu Xijiu remembered the way in which Gu Xixi and her senior disciple had pulled the silver bell. Hence, she also rang the bell in the same manner. Three long ones chimes, and four short ones. A moment later, she got a reply, and a door appeared from within the foggy place.
Gu Xijiu pushed the door as she entered the house. She was surprised by the decorations that were in the courtyard and stopped to admire her surroundings. There were coral trees, long grass, and walls made from turtle shells. The decorations looked somewhat similar to the legendary dragon palace.
Most importantly, the decorations looked very familiar to Gu Xijiu as it was similar to the design that she had drafted for her courtyard in Tianju Hall.
A man was sitting under a coral tree inside the courtyard. He was brewing tea and wore a light green robe. His long hair laid on his shoulders. He was calm and handsome just like those charming young men from the noble families during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
It was Long Siye. He still looked the same even after eight years. Time did not seem to have affected this man’s physical appearance.
“What brings you here again?” Long Siye did not raise his head but asked casually. He thought that the person who had returned was Gu Xixi.
Gu Xijiu could not help but smile. “Instructor Long, it’s so hard just to see you.”
Long Siye’s fingers which were still brewing the tea stiffened. He had not noticed that the drink was overflowing as he slowly raised his head and looked at Gu Xijiu.
Gu Xijiu was still wearing her disguised makeup. Hence, Long Siye was stunned for a moment as she appeared to be a low-status disciple. A pair of black eyes lingered up and down of Gu Xijiu. “You… Are you?
Gu Xijiu laughed. “You seriously can’t recognize me?”
She then performed a cleaning spell and revealed her actual appearance.
Instantly, the teapot in Long Siye’s hand fell to the ground. “Xijiu!”
…
The best tea had been brewed, and the best snack was served as well.
Gu Xijiu and Long Siye were sitting opposite of each other, and they began drinking tea as they talked. Long Siye had tons of questions to ask her. “Xijiu, where have you been all these years? Do you know that everyone was looking for you? Have you seen Di Fuyi?”
Gu Xijiu took a sip of the tea. The information regarding the core array was top secret. Di Fuyi had been reminding her to keep it to herself, and she should never disclose its existence to anyone else. Therefore, Gu Xijiu vaguely responded to this question. “I accidentally entered an unknown forbidden land and was trapped in there all this while. I just got out of the place several days ago. It was then that I overheard about the ongoing events and disasters that had taken place. Indeed, many people are looking for me, and I’m even wanted dead by certain people. Meanwhile, Di Fuyi has been with me all these years.”
Long Siye’s fingers, which were holding the teacup, stiffened and he frowned. “Di Fuyi has been with you all this while? We didn’t see him enter any forbidden land. Besides that, he has been sending people to chase after you…”
Gu Xijiu spun the teacup in her hand and glimpsed at him silently. “Instructor Long, can’t you see that the so-called Celestial Master Zuo is, in fact, an imposter?”
Long Siye paused as his eyebrow was slightly raised. “An imposter?”
“Yes! Fuyi has been by my side all these years, and we were trapped in the same place. We only managed to escape several days ago and discovered that the imposter had caused so much damage to the world over the past two years. You’re a wise person, Did you not realize that his behavior is so different from the past?”
Long Siye idled for a moment and sighed. “Indeed, he has changed. However, I thought that his behavior had changed out of irritation… I didn’t expect that…”
Gu Xijiu continued looking at him. “You didn’t even suspect him all this while? He had done so many bad things to the extent that it drives us crazy just thinking about it. I believe that the real Fuyi would never do the same!”
Long Siye sighed. “Xijiu you don’t know Di Fuyi well enough. Do you realize that he’s only so gentle and kind in front of you? He once killed a hundred people about a century ago. Besides that, he also massacred a million people to help the emperor of the Feixing Kingdom to take over the throne. He also initiated a war 60 years ago and set a fire which spread tens of miles. Thousands were burnt to ashes during that war.
Gu Xijiu remained silent.
Long Siye sighed as he added, “Xijiu, Di Fuyi is not a Buddha. Even though his reason for controlling the world might be to build a long-lasting peace, he was willing to sacrifice innocent people if it meant achieving his goal. You should know it since you’ve learned history before. The world could never run away from battles; it reunites when it stays apart for too long and begins falling apart after a long reunion as well. This continent has been split into three kingdoms far long enough. Hence, he decided to create conflicts to trigger wars between the three kingdoms. I thought that he wanted to rule the world especially since the three kingdoms have been around for ages. However, I chose to be neutral as I didn’t want to get involved. I really can’t believe someone would dare impersonate him…”
Gu Xijiu said in a serious tone, “There’s no right or wrong when it comes to politics. He needs to use certain ruthless strategies if he wants to rule the world. However, he wouldn’t act recklessly and manipulate people with the energy of the evil wraiths. Besides that, he wouldn’t just slaughter anyone whenever he wants…”
Long Siye frowned as he asked, “Energy of the evil wraiths? Could you explain further?”
Gu Xijiu looked at him doubtfully. “Please, don’t tell me you don’t know about the Wall of Sorrows made by the imposter? He forced a hundred thousand builders to build his mansion and killed all of them cruelly. He then turned them into evil wraiths as guards for his mansion…”
Long Siye continued frowning. “I wasn’t aware of this incident. I didn’t want to get involved in the political battle since we were never on the same page. Nevertheless, I don’t agree with what he had done. What am I supposed to do since he has The Lord as his backup? I decided to ignore him. I thought he was trying to speed up the reunion process of the continent by using ruthless tactics. I didn’t expect him to do something as relentless as this! I would have intervened if I had known about it earlier!”
Li Mengxia had told Gu Xijiu before that Long Siye had not gotten involved in any event over the last two years. He always stayed on the Tianwen Mountain. Hence, it was normal that he was unaware of these incidents. Her gaze was still on Long Siye. “Instructor Long, would you step up to help us this time?”
Long Siye paused for a moment and continued, “Us? Xijiu, you and him…”
“We’ve gotten married.” Gu Xijiu did not want to hide the fact that she was married to Di Fuyi. “The imposter had ruined his reputation and had also caused chaos throughout the entire continent. Therefore, we should reunite everyone to fight against him and also seek justice for the citizens.”
Long Siye’s fingers were stiffened for a moment, and he reluctantly smiled. “Xijiu, I never imagined that there would come a time where you worked so hard for the world. Back then, you were never keen on getting involved in any worldly affairs.”
Gu Xijiu smiled as she gazed at the table. “People change from time to time.”
Initially, she only wanted to protect her closest friends and live happily without any burden. However, she now wanted to protect this continent with Di Fuyi. She was glad to be able to share his burden in preserving the world. Moreover, the imposter had messed up Di Fuyi’s reputation, and that was something that she was unable to tolerate!