Some of the people quickly bent their knees and uttered, "Goodbye, Divine Lord."

Di Fuyi caught himself contemplating, while gently tapping on his bamboo flute in his palm. There was hardly anything that he could not solve, but he had no idea why she rejected the invitation. Was she annoyed? He wondered

…

"How did your power increase almost twofold?" Back in Tianyin Valley, Gu Xijiu was trying to find out more about Fan Qians.h.i.+"s latest developments.

Silently, Fan Qians.h.i.+ remained on the ground, kneeling.

"Speak!" Gu Xijiu had no patience for the boy.

Scared, Fan Qians.h.i.+ guiltily confessed, "Qianyan"s life was at stake, leaving me no room for any delays, so I went for the most stupid idea. After leaving the restaurant, I ventured into the forbidden land of illusions and took an illusionary fruit..." His statement ended in a stammer.

Gu Xijiu answered somewhat sarcastically, "Although the fruit can increase your power, the effect will only last temporarily for four hours. When it is over, your nervous system will be greatly damaged, and it might restrict your spiritual power to only half of what you used to possess. Haven"t I told you that it is not worth the price? Have you forgotten it all?"

"I… I have not forgotten your words. I was desperate for a way out."

"So what if you managed to level up your power? Could you defeat Yao Xingye? What you have done completely puts your own health at stake. Why didn"t you think properly before you acted? Did you really think that I would let Qianyan die?"

Fan Qians.h.i.+ had never seen her so frustrated. "I now know my mistake," he timidly said, without even looking at her.

Gu Xijiu glared at him. "You did this on purpose, didn"t you? You did this because we fought."

Panicked, Fan Qians.h.i.+ broke out in cold sweat. "I dare not. I did not act rashly because we had a fight. I was only worried that you were not in good condition to fight them all alone. I… I only wanted to help. It is my fault. In fact, I did not help at all. Instead, I became another burden of yours. I am sorry for my mistake. I deserve to be punished."

He continued to kneel while being drenched in a cold sweat. Even Wu Qianyan joined him to beg for Gu Xijiu"s forgiveness.

Gu Xijiu observed them both and continued, "Fan Qians.h.i.+, I once told you that the use of illusionary fruit was forbidden, and yet you did the direct opposite of what I said. Your punishment is unavoidable, though I can sympathize with your intention. Find your way into the ice cave in the hills and stay in isolation for a month." She then threw him a bottle of medicine and said, "Use this to treat your injuries."

She took another look at Wu Qianyan. "You are going, too."

Relieved, Fan Qians.h.i.+ quickly thanked her for her forgiveness. He knew that the ice cave was the most suitable place for him to recover for the time being. Since his punishment was a.s.signed to him based on his needs, he knew that she cared.

Wu Qianyan was relieved, too. She was happy with the arrangement. She had always wanted to be closely a.s.sociated with Fan Qians.h.i.+, but the interaction was not mutual. The month-long stay in the cave was the chance that she had been looking forward to.

…

After a.s.signing appropriate tasks to her disciples, Gu Xijiu finally had time for herself. She went to her treasure room and placed all of her items back where they belonged. Those were the things that Yao Xingye had unapologetically taken without her consent.

Some of the items were equipped with magical powers, which were required to support the wizardry barrier that kept the valley safe. She could not simply keep them away in her storage.

This place used to be a safe place, but the raid on her home changed her mind. Before she went away, she added a few more barriers to increase its security.

It had been a long day for her, so she was actually a little tired. No one knew herself better than she did.