The Lord’s Suspicion

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.