Pain crept into Long Siye’s gaze as he asked, “Just because of him?”
Gu Xijiu answered as she nodded. “And also for myself.”
“Why then did you flee away from the wedding if you loved him so much?”
Gu Xijiu did not want to disclose anything about Di Fuyi to anyone else. Hence, she briefly explained, “There was a misunderstanding between us. However, we decided to be together again since we were able to solve our misunderstanding.”
Long Siye looked at her for a moment and sighed. “As long as you’re happy.” The tone of his voice sounded a little melancholy.
Gu Xijiu smiled. “Instructor Long, you can be happy as well. I hope you’ll find your true love.” Although she had nothing to do with his happiness, she sincerely hoped that he could find someone he loved.
Long Siye shifted his gaze away and filled her teacup. “I hope so.”
Both of them continued chit-chatting for a while. Suddenly, a noise was heard from outside. Long Siye frowned as he looked at Gu Xijiu. “Did you come alone?”
Gu Xijiu recalled Li Mengxia and quickly responded. “No, I came with Li Mengxia. Your place is strictly guarded, and I asked her to wait for me outside since it was so difficult to enter. Gosh! Is she trying to break in?”
Long Siye shook his head. “She is a short-tempered person. It would be torturing to get her to wait for you.” Long Siye raised his hand to cast a spell and sent his voice message. “Let her in.”
A moment later, Li Mengxia broke into the house like the wind. She heaved a sigh of relief as she saw them drinking tea leisurely. “Xijiu, why are you taking so long? I thought you had been tricked.”
Long Siye scraped the lid against his teacup as he said, “She will be safe if she stays in here. Why would I trick her? Master Li you must have overthought.”
Li Mengxiang felt relieved as she found out that Gu Xijiu was safe. She then got herself a seat. “Overlord Long, your security is tight. It’s more difficult than entering the palace. Similarly, it’s even more difficult to see you as compared to the emperor…”
Gu Xijiu seemed to have thought about something as she immediately looked at Long Siye. Long Siye smiled as he answered, “Many things had happened lately. I’m worried that some spies with bad intentions would sneak in and so I have set-up tight security for the past two years.”
Gu Xijiu half-jokingly said, “Not only is the security stringent, there is also clearly a hierarchy among the disciples. I disguised as your elementary disciple, and you can’t even guess how many times I needed to kowtow…”
Li Mengxia agreed. “True! True! Overlord Long, it was not like this in the past. What happened to you?”
Long Siye gazed down and casually smiled. “People change. Perhaps, I had been inspired by someone else. As a man, I should be slightly noble.”
This phrase seemed to have a hidden meaning. Hence, Gu Xijiu wisely decided to remain silent. However, she finally understood what was it that made Long Siye changed. It was probably because of her.
Long Siye must have thought that the reason she dumped him was because Di Fuyi’s status was higher. However, he did not realize that what she cared about was never the identity of Di Fuyi. She even hesitated to accept Di Fuyi due to his personality. Anyway, she did not want to explain further since it would not change anything between her and Long Siye.
Meanwhile, Li Mengxia disagreed with his statement. “Overlord Long, you say it as though all girls are snobbish. Men’s comes from their character instead of their identity or status.”
Long Siye realized that he had crossed the line and immediately apologized. “My sincere apologies, I am too shallow. Let me apologize with a cup of tea to replace the wine.”
Li Mengxia decided to stop talking about it since he had apologized. She smiled and suggested, “Let me offer you a toast. I’m thirsty.”
The three of them continued talking for a while. Long Siye was a justice enthusiast, and so as a heaven’s gift disciple, he decisively promised to help solve the rebellion once he knew that the culprit was an imposter.
Gu Xijiu was pleased and immediately invited him to gather all the alchemists around the world to meet at the Tianxia Hotel in Fenglai City five days later. Long Siye committed without hesitation, and the three of them continued talking for a while.
After all, Gu Xijiu and Long Siye have not seen each other for eight years. Hence, they did not even realize it was already nightfall when they ended their conversation.
Gu Xijiu was still alright as she had achieved a spiritual power of level ten and also mastered the fasting technique. Hence, she would not feel hungry even if she did not eat anything for several days. However, Li Mengxia’s stomach was growling. Long Siye smiled as he heard it. “What would you like for dinner? I’ll get prepare it for you.”
Gu Xijiu glimpsed at Li Mengxia and realized that she did not know much about courtesy. She said, “I’ve heard that there are many herbal dishes in the Tianwen clan. May we try some?”
Long Siye nodded. “Sure.” Just as he was about to call his servant, Gu Xijiu quickly stopped him. “We had secretly shown up here this time. The fewer people who know that we were here, the better. Its to prevent someone from accidentally leaking out the news and alerting the imposter.”
Long Siye nodded. “You’re right, don’t worry. I’ll prepare it by myself…” He then got up and got ready to head out. However, Gu Xijiu did not want to trouble him as she did not come here to have a meal with him. Moreover, she had told Di Fuyi that she would go home as early as she could tonight. It was unnecessary for her to stay here any longer as everything had been confirmed. She then got up and suggested. “Let’s grab a meal outside. I’m craving for the dishes that are served at the Fengxian Tavern in Weilai Town.”
Weilai Town was a town nearby the Tianwen clan. Gu Xijiu had a meal in Fengxian Tavern before. Hence, she suggested having dinner there as she was familiar with the place.
Long Siye paused for a moment and glimpsed at Li Mengxia. “I thought Master Li wants to try the herbal dishes served at the Tianwen clan?”
Subconsciously, Li Mengxia touched her nose and said, “It was just a suggestion. It doesn’t matter whether it’s herbal dishes or not. As long as it tastes good.”
In other words, she had changed her mind and agreed with Gu Xijiu’s suggestion. Therefore, Long Siye decided to let it go.
…
Long Siye had reserved a private room in the Fengxian Tavern, and the three of them ordered several good dishes for their dinner.
Long Siye never liked drinking, but strangely enough, he ordered a big jug of alcohol. Besides that, he did not forget to explain to Gu Xijiu and Li Mengxia, “The wine is known as Red Armeniaca Vulgaris. It smells good, and is specially brewed here. Try it.” He then filled both of their glasses.
Li Mengxia liked drinking. Not only did she have many buddies but she also often attended many social events. Hence, she was good at handling her alcohol and drinking was just as easy as swallowing water to her.
Gu Xijiu liked drinking as well, but she insisted not to drink whenever she had a mission to prevent any unnecessary accidents from occurring. She decided that it was best not to drink this time as well. Making mistakes during such a chaotic time was effortless. However, she had just reunited with Long Siye who was her good friend. It did not sound right for old friends to reunite without alcohol and so she had a drink. However, she made sure to control her alcohol intake.
The three of them talked as they dug into the food and discussed the next steps of their operation. Long Siye drank pretty fast, and already felt tipsy by the time dinner was done.