She was talented. She could master the venomous spell to the acme of perfection within months. It was not something others could master thoroughly even with years of practice. Her friend realized that she was a real talent and thus introduced her to his master. His Master secluded himself in a remote village around the mountains and would not simply recruit a disciple. However, he had been like an old friend to her since the moment they met and he had even gifted her a book of venomous spells.
Gu Xijiu had learned a variety of skills during the modern times, but Kung Fu and medicine were still her main focus.
She realized that venomous spells would always require insects as the main ingredient. She did not like insects very much. Moreover, it usually required the use of blood from the practitioner. There were too many foundations and restrictions. Although she had learned an adequate amount of knowledge, she had never used it or actually practiced it.
Nonetheless, she was still interested in resolving the venomous spell, as seeing the ‘little things’ being burned to ashes gave her a sense of satisfaction.
Therefore, she studied the solutions in the book to learn how to resolve the venomous spell. The book did not only have a variety of spells and the applications, it also provided the necessary solutions to every spell.
She did not have anyone who was poisoned to be her test subject, so all she could do was to read the book.
Fortunately, she had a really good memory, so she could easily remember all the details after reading.
She only wanted to briefly talk about the history of her past learning experience, as she felt that what she had learned in the modern days had nothing much to do with the present era. He could not possibly make his presence here, no matter how strong her friend was.
However, The Lord insisted on questioning her in precise detail, including the outer appearances and characteristics of the two men.
In the end, he decided to give Gu Xijiu a pen and some paper. "Come, draw them out."
Gu Xijiu was speechless for a while, but she was smart enough to explain further, "Are you really suspecting that the person behind this is from one of them? It can't be. It was a coincidence for me to even get here. It is impossible for them to be here as well, as time travel is a very rare phenomenon."
"Everything is possible. Just draw it, so I can have a reference."
"Then, you should draw the face of the suspect and show me as well. By the way, will you please draw a portrait of the person behind the scene that you saw from Qian Lingtian, too?" asked Gu Xijiu, gazing intensely at The Lord.
The young lady would never allow herself to suffer any losses in a bargain, at all.
The Lord agreed to her in the end. Both of them started drawing the portraits across the table.
Sometime later, after the joss stick had finished burning, they were finally done with the portraits. They exchanged their drawings with one another.
The portrait of The Lord was very lifelike, almost true to life. The mysterious person in his drawing was wearing a snow-white, long robe that covered his entire body from head to toe. There was no way to tell his silhouette or his gender, but she could somehow feel his wicked and bizarre temperament. It seemed like he would only appear during the night when there was absolutely no moon nor stars in the sky. It made her flesh creep just by looking at the portrait.
Gu Xijiu did a quick sketch with only a few strokes to define the characteristics in the portrait. Although it was not entirely life-like, she managed to capture the main features of the characters.
Her friend was a handsome man with red lips and white teeth. His smile was radiant and bright.
However, the master who resided in the remote mountains appeared to be very different. He was wearing a long robe made of jute. He appeared to be tall, straight and thin, but his facial features were unclear, as he was a heavily bearded man. His facial hair was long enough to cover his face, so his facial features were hidden underneath.
Gu Xijiu had made it clear that the master was someone with a strange personality. He was a man of a few words and did not always show himself. Even when he was teaching her, he barely showed his face. He would always talk to her from inside of the house while she listened to him from the outside. The number of times of their meeting could be easily counted with one's fingers.
The Lord tossed and turned the two portraits repeatedly. "You lived with this person in a bamboo house for two months?" The Lord asked her suddenly while pointing at the bearded man.
"Not really. The man would only call upon me and teach me for about an hour every night. I was allowed to visit other parts of the village for the rest of my time."
"What were you known as, in the village?"
"The master of venomous spells, a well-known one. The villagers were slightly intimidated by him. Normally, they would not even pass by his place."
"Had he shown you any moves showcasing his strength?"
"Just the venomous spell," said Gu Xijiu,2 as she frowned.
Normally, all masters were always a little enigmatic. However, the master was at the acme of all mysteries, as he had never associated with anyone.
There were only a few people from the village who had seen his face before. If it were not for Gu Xijiu to visit the bamboo house regularly for an hour each day, she would not have seen him at all.
"That being said, you have never really seen his moves?"
Gu Xijiu shook her head. "I have not. It was quite peaceful in the village back then. At most, there would only be some cases of missing chicken or sheep, but the creatures would always be retrieved instantly. He did not have a lot of opportunities to utilize his skill."
The Lord fixed his gaze on her. He teased her a little, "The man was being so mysterious. As for you, I suppose you had already ferreted out the conditions in his bamboo house, hadn’t you? What did he have in there?"
Gu Xijiu did not know what to answer.
She coughed. "I went to learn the skills from him. He could already be considered as my teacher. I honored my teacher and respected his teaching, so why would I spy into his house?"
The Lord did not say anything. He only looked at her.
Gu Xijiu had a little guilty conscience, as she looked back and caught his eyes. She could not stand looking at him any further and for the first time, she gave up the struggle. She raised her hand and said, "Alright, I admit, I had looked into his house, but there was nothing much in it. It was only a little obsolete. The things in his house were nothing more than ordinary, with a few jars to culture the venom."
"What kind of jars were they?" Asked The Lord.
Gu Xijiu felt almost helpless, "My Lord, are you actually suspecting him? The time gap between now and then is filled with several dynasties, there is no way for him to be here!"
The Lord was already passing on some papers and a pen to her, "Draw them down."
For the slightest moment, Gu Xijiu regretted that she had learned how to draw. She regretted even more for letting The Lord know that she could draw.
Without any way out, she reluctantly drew a few of them based on her memory. She then tossed the drawings to the Lord and said, "There they are."
She had probably got herself too familiar with The Lord, as the way she talked to her had become increasingly casual and quite at ease with her choice of words.
It was probably not too convenient for them to sit across the table, so she took her chair to his side and explained closely to him about the types of venom in each jar.
They sat side-by-side and started engaging in a discussion. They appeared to be in sync and kind to one another.
The Lord took a look at her as she explained attentively to him in high spirit. He was somewhat moved, as he began to feel the warmth in her presence.
It was the first time for someone to be in such a proximity to him. It happened so naturally.
However, it would be hilarious if the four messengers witnessed this scenario. They would be utterly surprised.
The lady was already challenging the authority of The Lord before she knew it.
However, he did not intend to remind her, as he had a good feeling about it.
He had always been high up in all superiority and out of touch.
He already felt a little lonely for being at the top over such a long period of time. He was hoping for someone to be by his side.
He could feel her scent surrounding him. She was so close to him and he was very tempted to hold her in his arms.
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