"Has he got nothing better to do? Why would he come to see me? He should know well enough that I will not run away again," answered Gu Xijiu, with a quiet easiness.
The Firmament Stone struggled a little. "You’re his fiancée, enough said. It’s reasonable for him to come and see you, at least."
"When all's said and done, the engagement is just a fake one. It doesn’t even count as an engagement. Did you believe in it?"
It was speechless at first. "I still think that the engagement is real," murmured the Firmament Stone.
In her heart, Gu Xijiu was slightly moved, but she remained quiet.
How could it be real? She had spent an adequate amount of time in this world, long enough for her to observe his personality from other perspectives.
If all the young ladies in the city admired Rong Jialuo as their match – the fourth son of the high official in the capital, then all the young ladies on earth would worship Di Fuyi as their idol.
No matter where one was at, as long as he or she said anything bad about Di Fuyi at all, the people would be so triggered, as if they were going to throw eggs at the person for being disrespectful.
All humans in this world worshiped the Lord, but because he was overly mighty, all humans would merely be mortal beings to the Lord. The people would only worship the Lord with all sincerity, not with the kind of affection in their hearts.
Because the Lord was unreachable and impalpable, he was thus worshiped as a divinity in the people’s hearts. They dared not blaspheme against the Lord, not even the slightest.
Di Fuyi, on the other hand, was a living person within reach. Sometimes, he was amiable and easy to approach. Also, he was incredibly accomplished. There was no doubt that he was the idol of the people. His admirers must be countless.
There were already several rumors about his admirers that Gu Xijiu had come across with, unintentionally. Several decades ago, there were many women in the tales: a gifted princess, a leader of a clan and a beautiful lady. All of them had high standards and were equally outstanding, clearly distinguished from the common.
Some people confessed their admiration tactfully; then there were those who were bold and forthright about their feelings towards him. Some had even tried to crawl into his bed.
All of them were turned down, unreservedly. He had even thrown his bed out, together with the ones trying to crawl into it. Celestial Master Zuo had surely seen enough. He could have any kind of lady that he wanted. How could he possibly stay engaged to someone who was insignificant, just because of a tiny act of kindness from Luo Xinglan?
It did not seem like something that he would do. The reason that he had given to Gu Xijiu must be nothing but drivel. He could have, most probably, been a homosexual, a very hidden one.
Whatever that he had said had always been half genuine and half sham; he was also very tricky, so tricky that you could easily fall into his trap. Gu Xijiu was too reluctant to even try to figure out his true intentions.
He used to behave like a vine, winding and tangling himself around her. All of it was only due to his devotion in his missions – he was going after her merely for the test. Now that it was all done and he had completed his mission, he would leave her alone.
There were only some follow-ups left to be entertained.
There were 10 more days to the day of her punishment. He would be expected to take her to the Dark Forest, personally. After that, there would be nothing left between them at all – no attachment whatsoever.
That would be awesome. By the time she made it out of the Dark Forest, she would conceal her identity and live her life in incognito to prevent further attention from Celestial Master Zuo.
An image of his purple robe and his possessive eyes flashed before her eyes. He should be chasing after Yun Qingluo at the moment. The lady did not seem to be ordinary at all, now that she was a master in incantation and manipulation. She had also attained level six in her spiritual power. Once she got away, it would be such an agony for Di Fuyi to go out and catch her again.
Just when Gu Xijiu smiled at the thought of Di Fuyi, the alchemy furnace was ready. She opened up the cover, only to realize that her performance was somewhat unsatisfactory this time.
Just when Gu Xijiu smiled at the thought of Di Fuyi, the alchemy furnace was done in time. She opened up the cover, only to realize that her performance was somewhat unsatisfactory this time. There was just one grade-four pill, while the rest of the medicines were either grade-one or two. There were three that could not be used! This was a typical scenario for alchemists so no one would be surprised at it.
Fortunately, Gu Xijiu did not underperform for the following of the attempts. There was even once where she yielded two grade-five pills in a single furnace. The people exclaimed with admiration at her performance. However, performing this process consumed a significant amount of her spiritual power. Hence, after a few attempts, her face went slightly pale.
It had been a long time since she started, long enough to make her hungry. Luckily, Prince Long and his followers were well prepared. There were some dishes ready to go with a drink. When the refining process was almost done, Prince Long called her out to join the meal.
Just when everyone was about to sit down, they heard the deep voice of one of the bounty hunter who was patrolling outside, "Celestial Master Zuo!" Shocked by the surprise, they looked at each other, then walked out of the igloo hurriedly and observed the sky with their heads held high.
There was snow drifting profusely towards them. Within the far-reaching skies in the shades of dark green, there was a ship coming in, as swiftly as the wind and as quickly as lightning.
The ship was in the color of sky-blue, spreading out like waves on the surface of the sea. The ship braved the winds and moved forward as if it was riding the waves on the sea.
A moving ship in the sky was an absurdity. However, if there was one person on earth who was capable of turning any strange tale into reality, it was Di Fuyi!
The ship was sailing so high in the sky that it was at least a thousand meters above the ground. The snow made it difficult for them to observe the faces on the ship, no matter how hard they tried.
Although Gu Xijiu had good eyesight, she only managed to see six people on the ship but could not distinguish their features. The ones at the sides of the ship must be the four young men and the one sitting on the ship with purple robe must be Di Fuyi. It seemed like there was also a lady in a faint-green dress, sitting opposite of him.
Prince Long and his followers were already on their knees and knelt before the ship.
Gu Xijiu was speechless.
While she was still in her daze, these people went down so quickly making her look as if she was a standing crane among the flock.
The ship was moving very quickly. It appeared in the sky for just a brief moment and then disappeared again into the abyss.
The ship had only appeared for a very brief moment, and yet it was enough to cause waves of chaotic discussions in the crowd – like a stone causing ripples on the surface of a lake.
"Celestial Master Zuo has finally come back!"
"That’s right. The lady on the ship must be Miss Yun Qingluo, right? Just as one expected, she’s been brought back. It seems like Celestial Master Zuo has successfully captured her."
"Ha! This lady is stunning! What a remarkable body!"
"Watch your mouth; there are women in our troop. Your eyes are sharp when it comes to women. You could even notice her remarkable figures from such a long distance."
There was a sigh, "Too bad we can’t see how she looks like. It was too far for us to see clearly."
"Her beauty is well known; she must have a beautiful face!"
The men on the tramp seemed to indulge in their conversations about women.
Tan Xiaoge was unimpressed, "What is it that you are focusing on? You should be concerned about her identity as a heaven gifted disciple, not her looks."
There was a guess among the folks, "She was brought back personally by Celestial Master Zuo for the test. May I assume that she’s somewhat hopeful?"
"Exactly. I heard that when someone is sent to the Open Heaven Stage for the test, there must be a possibility for success. Otherwise, Celestial Master Zuo will only be wasting his time and energy."
"Does it mean that another heaven gifted disciple will finally be revealed?"
Long Moyan turned his head around and saw Gu Xijiu who was standing nearby, "Chong Sheng, do you think that this lady, Miss Yun Qingluo, is a heaven gifted disciple?"