Chapter 47 Gu Yi, Too, Is a Man of Deep Affection

Gu Yi could never understand why, in his impression, the one doing the chasing always had to shout those four useless words: “Don’t run!” Who would ever listen and not run? Of course you would run. Even if he could take on those two students right now, this was their territory—if things got noisy, it would be hard to wrap up neatly.

He Xian tried to run while carrying the archery target in her left hand and dragging him with her right, making her movements especially awkward. Seeing their pursuers gaining, she simply threw everything aside.

Gu Yi was fine, but the archery target clucked wildly in fright, its feathers standing on end.

“Damn it!” The two students in blue darted left and right through the undergrowth. “Cowards! Daring to challenge the Talent Master, but when you see us all you can do is run?”

“Qingshan, I’m picking up speed!” One of them shouted to his companion, suddenly leaping forward, spiritual energy surging, his pace abruptly quickening.

“They’re so fast!” He Xian caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of her eye.

Whoosh!

After all, Gu Yi was already in the Meditation Realm—he knew a few movement techniques, and if he really started running, he wouldn’t be any slower than those behind him. Of course, he wasn’t running alone; he wrapped an arm around He Xian’s waist and took her along—now they were truly being chased.

“Ah!” He Xian suddenly found herself swept up, and cried out in panic, “What about the archery target?!”

“Forget the chicken—they won’t dare kill it.” Actually, he thought, if they did, maybe he could sneak a taste.

“There are mountains everywhere here—I don’t know the way. Tell me where to go,” Gu Yi said in her ear.

“Up ahead, go left! There are three forks; it’ll be hard for them to tell which we took. We should take the middle one!” He Xian shouted.

“Louder!” he urged.

“The middle path!” she called.

“I can’t hear you, louder!” he pressed.

“THE MIDDLE PATH!” The girl squeezed her eyes shut and shouted with all her might.

However, when they reached the fork, Gu Yi went straight for the one on the right.

He Xian thought she’d made a mistake and tried to shout again, but her mouth was covered by his hand as they sped along for three or four minutes.

Gu Yi leapt onto the trunk of a tree clinging to a cliff face and then into a cave he’d spotted.

As soon as she was released, He Xian burst out, “Wrong way! Wrong way! We should have gone down the middle—that leads to the Talisman Path! I shouted so loud, didn’t you hear me?”

“I heard you—so I chose this one,” Gu Yi said, patting the dust off as he sat down. “I told you to shout louder not for me, but for our pursuers. Now they’ll chase us to the Talisman Path.”

He Xian froze. After all, she’d been too sheltered at home and had never seen such tricks. When realization dawned, she was both surprised and delighted. “So that’s it! You’re so clever, to think of all that!”

“I’ve thought of more. Since they know you’re leading me, they’ll definitely go to the Talisman Path to look for you. So now we can’t go there at all.”

Hearing this, He Xian bit her lip and tried to comfort Gu Yi instead. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of somewhere else.”

Gu Yi propped his chin on his hand and smiled. He just found this amusing, not dangerous at all.

“Don’t be nervous. Even if they eventually figure out the trick, we’re safe for now.”

His words reassured her, but then she found it odd. “I’m supposed to be leading you, but why does it feel like you’re leading me?”

Well, that’s just how it is—an IQ problem.

“We’re friends, does it matter who leads whom?” he asked.

The question stumped her, and she shook her head, easily convinced by Gu Yi.

Still, fun aside, the real issue had to be addressed.

“By the way, help me think—since the Hall Master doesn’t want to see me, is there any other way I could get into the Method Hall?”

“You mean... sneak in?” He Xian’s eyes widened, clearly startled by the very idea.

Gu Yi swore to the heavens he hadn’t thought of that—until now.

“Is that... possible?”

“No way!” He Xian jumped to her feet. “You’ve seen the Hall Master’s temper—if you get caught, you’re done for!”

How bad could it be? To be honest, if he really met that so-called Fourth Princess, Gu Yi was confident. If she was infatuated with the Dao, he’d have a way to make her infatuated with him.

“But... why do you want to enter the Method Hall? Is there a particular technique you need?”

“I’d like to look through all of them, actually.”

“How greedy! Then you definitely can’t take such a risk.” He Xian pouted and shook her head firmly.

But Gu Yi caught on to something. By “risk,” did she mean sneaking into the Method Hall?

He grinned at her until she started to fidget.

“Don’t look at me like that—it’s too dangerous,” she said, turning away in a huff.

But Gu Yi knew her character well enough. He turned away, composed himself, licked his fingers and rubbed his eyes until they turned red, then turned back.

“It’s not what you think...” His voice grew sorrowful, his expression suddenly bleak. “It’s not for myself...”

He Xian’s eyes flickered. “Then... who is it for?”

This girl was so, so, so naïve. Such a clumsy twist in the story, yet she believed it immediately.

Gu Yi was secretly delighted but kept up the act. “Here’s how it is. My family was always poor, but I fell in love with a noble lady. Fortunately, she returned my affections, and we swore before the immortal of Little Courtyard Mountain to never love another—she would marry no one but me, and I no one but her.”

“But her father disapproved of me, even locked her away, forbidding us to meet. Later, a kindhearted maid took pity on us and secretly delivered our letters. For half a year, we exchanged feelings through paper day after day.”

He Xian was already moved. “So, did her father finally accept your sincerity?”

“He did,” Gu Yi replied.

“That’s wonderful! You two can be together!” The girl was genuinely happy for him.

Gu Yi sighed. “But her father had one condition: I must enter the Luyang Academy’s Method Hall and bring him several techniques.”

He Xian immediately clenched her fists in indignation. “That’s outrageous! What a petty, greedy villain!”

“Not outrageous!” Now was the time to say this—and with conviction.

“For the chance to see her, no demand is too much. You said it was risky—maybe it is, maybe I could die because of this. But if I can’t do it and can’t see the one I love, how is that any different from being dead?”

He Xian’s eyes filled with emotion.

Indeed, whether or not one cultivates the Dao, in any place where propriety between men and women is observed, girls are powerless against tales of passionate love. Stories about having an eighty-year-old mother at home wouldn’t work nearly as well.

“I never thought you would risk your life for love... you are truly devoted,” He Xian said, her heart aching for him. “So, that day you collapsed on the mountain path of Little Courtyard Mountain, was it because you’d reached the end of your rope and lost all hope?”

Gu Yi didn’t even hesitate.

“Yes! I knew I wasn’t good enough, so I went to seek the immortal of Little Courtyard Mountain.”

He Xian recalled that day. “Uncle Chen said you were wandering in a daze, as if you’d lost something important. So it was your beloved, after all.”

Perfect—everything fit.

“That’s right. I’m not afraid to admit it—I am one who suffers deeply for love,” Gu Yi said, clutching his chest with a heartfelt sigh.

He Xian was at a loss, unsure what to do with her hands. “You... you mustn’t be like this. For a girl to meet someone as devoted as you, she must feel incredibly lucky.”

“That much, you’re right about.”

Still conflicted, He Xian paced back and forth, twisting her fingers. “But... but it really is dangerous. Would you truly risk your life and not regret it?”

“Heh. What is life? I’ve given her my soul, with all its quirks and little tempers. Maybe I have a thousand and one faults, but only one virtue: I love her.”

“I’ll help you!”