Chapter 108: At the Age of Seventy-Eight
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“What brings you to my residence so suddenly?” Li Yunji asked, steadying himself.
Gu Xian’er looked him up and down, a trace of surprise flashing through her eyes. With a soft laugh, she said, “To survive the poison of the Nine Nether Vine and emerge unscathed… Young Master, your physique is truly extraordinary.”
Li Yunji’s heart jolted. “How do you know I was poisoned?”
“The spell seal is linked to my state of mind. I naturally know everything that happens to you.” As she spoke, Gu Xian’er reclined once more.
Propping her head up with one hand, she let her hair slide over her shoulder, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
“The moment I sensed that you had been poisoned, I rushed here from the South Sea without stopping.”
The South Sea?
Li Yunji’s thoughts stirred. The South Sea lay a thousand miles away, yet she had arrived with astonishing speed.
It seemed that Gu Xian’er’s cultivation had advanced considerably in recent days.
“You care about me that much?” Li Yunji asked, his tone complicated.
He poured himself a cup of water and drank it, calming himself somewhat.
“Of course.” Gu Xian’er’s eyes curved with a smile. “If something happened to you, how would you lend me what I want?”
“What do you mean?” Li Yunji’s heart, which had only just settled, leaped into his throat again.
Hadn’t he already given it to her in Jiangnan last time?
Gu Xian’er let out a faint sigh, twirling a strand of hair around her fingertip. Her gaze deepened. “Perhaps you were too nervous last time, Young Master.”
“So it didn’t work.”
Li Yunji’s masculine pride was instantly crushed.
The impact of those words was no less devastating than Eleven’s remark back then: You can’t do it.
“But now that I think about it…” Gu Xian’er slowly rose and drifted over to sit before Li Yunji. “Although we failed to accomplish the deed, you did help me rise three minor realms, all the way to the peak of the third rank, in a single night.”
“Speaking of which, I owe you my thanks.”
Li Yunji gave a bitter smile, his heart a tangled mess of emotions.
After a moment’s thought, he said solemnly, “If you truly want to thank me, then I’d like to ask you about something.”
“Ask whatever you wish.” Supporting her chin with both hands, Gu Xian’er gazed at Li Yunji with tender affection.
“What exactly is your relationship with Yun Qixu?”
Li Yunji had wanted to ask that question from the very first moment he saw Gu Xian’er.
He had never managed to finish enjoying the gossip last time, and it had continued to bother him.
Gu Xian’er pursed her lips. “Do you really want to know?”
Li Yunji nodded repeatedly, his eyes blazing with curiosity.
Her eyes shifting, Gu Xian’er let out a helpless sigh. “Yun Qixu is my closest confidante.”
Li Yunji drew in a sharp breath.
Gu Xian’er and Yun Qixu were at least fifty years apart in age, weren’t they?
The two of you are practically two generations apart. What do you mean, closest confidante?
“May I ask, Divine Physician Gu, how old are you this year?”
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Gu Xian’er chuckled, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly. “By ordinary reckoning, seventy-eight.”
Seventy-eight?!
Li Yunji froze. His hand slipped, and he nearly plunged headfirst into the table.
Seeing this, Gu Xian’er covered her lips lightly, her smile growing broader. “There’s no need to be alarmed, Young Master. To me, the passing years are nothing more than fleeting clouds.”
“I broke through to the third-rank Still Water Realm of the arcane path at the age of twenty.”
“My mind and appearance have remained fixed at the moment I broke through.”
Li Yunji felt somewhat better after hearing that.
No wonder she behaved like a young girl. Even her figure possessed the freshness of a maiden in the bloom of youth.
After releasing a long breath, he continued, “With cultivation as profound as yours, why insist on seeking me out?”
That was another thing Li Yunji found puzzling.
By all rights, someone of Gu Xian’er’s cultivation should have no shortage of assistance.
Gu Xian’er’s gaze softened. In a gentle voice, she said, “Young Master, you possess extraordinary talent and remarkable fortune.”
“First, you can help me break through my bottleneck.”
“And second…” Gu Xian’er paused before continuing, “you truly suit my taste. I am willing to bear your child.”
Are you serious?
Li Yunji’s features twisted instantly.
When those words came from Gu Xian’er, having a child sounded as simple as spotting something one liked by the roadside and casually buying it to take home.
The values instilled in Li Yunji by nine years of compulsory education would not allow him to treat such a matter so carelessly.
“You’re being far too casual about this,” Li Yunji said, his face full of disdain.
“Not at all.” Gu Xian’er immediately retorted, “I have given it serious and careful consideration.”
Li Yunji smiled helplessly.
We met for the first time, and you were already harboring malicious intentions. And you call that careful consideration?
Hmph.
The excuses of a shameless seductress.
“To have a child, two people must at least be mutually devoted,” Li Yunji said with a sigh. “It isn’t something you can settle by randomly finding someone and having a child with him.”
“Mutually devoted?” Gu Xian’er scoffed. “Like Gong Qingfeng and Little Sister Qixu?”
Li Yunji rolled his eyes thoughtfully, then nodded. “More or less.”
Gu Xian’er snorted in disdain. “Not a single man is any good.”
“I only want a child. Mutual devotion is unnecessary.”
I see.
This woman had been deeply wounded when Gong Qingfeng abandoned her closest friend all those years ago.
That was why she no longer held any expectations of love.
To her, having a child was merely a way to continue the bloodline.
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“Then at the very least, shouldn’t both parties be willing?” Li Yunji sighed.
“I am willing.” Gu Xian’er spoke with complete confidence. “Aren’t you?”
“If you truly weren’t willing, why didn’t you refuse that night?”
Did you even ask for my opinion?
You drugged me the moment you came at me that night!
Can anything that happened after I was drugged really count as willingness?
Li Yunji himself was uncertain what to make of it.
Besides, by the latter half of it, he had actually been able to control himself.
Though he hated to admit it, Li Yunji had indeed enjoyed himself quite a lot at the time.
“Let’s not discuss this for now.” Li Yunji shook his head and changed the subject. “Tell me, what other purpose brings you to Northern Ridge this time?”
The poison in Li Yunji’s body had long since been neutralized. If Gu Xian’er had come solely because of that matter, she would not have hurried here so hastily.
Gu Xian’er raised her brows, feigning surprise. “How clever of you. Nothing can be hidden from you.”
She sighed again, her expression turning solemn. “Yun Zhengxin said that two months from now, a calamity will befall the north—one that concerns the welfare of all living beings.”
Two months from now. The north.
The time and place happened to correspond perfectly with the Crane Mountain Poetry Gathering.
“What sort of calamity?” Li Yunji asked, frowning.
“That old man was just putting on airs and pretending to divine the future. He kept saying that heavenly secrets could not be revealed.” As she spoke, Gu Xian’er’s gaze settled firmly on Li Yunji. In a low voice, she continued, “He only said that it concerns you.”
“Me?” Li Yunji froze and pointed at himself. “What connection could I possibly have to this?”
“How should I know?” Gu Xian’er spread her hands. “He said that you alone can avert this calamity, so he entrusted me with helping you.”
Li Yunji was just about to press her for more when Eleven’s cough suddenly came from outside the door.
“Young Master!”
“Well, it’s getting rather late. Don’t you think Miss Qingmeng should be coming back soon?”
Li Yunji immediately grew alert and looked at Gu Xian’er with a pleading gaze.
Gu Xian’er pouted and gave a coquettish laugh. “Very well. I’ll spare you for today.”
“Take good care of yourself~”
“I’ll come find you again later~”
Before her voice had even faded, she had already vanished.
The moment Gu Xian’er left, the door opened from behind her.
Su Qingmeng, dressed in black nightwear, entered the room without making a sound. She looked around in confusion.
Her gaze came to rest on the two teacups atop the table.
“Did someone come by?”
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