Gu Xijiu never had many disciples in her lifetime. In fact, she had long forgotten about the ones in her distant past. Nevertheless, she now had two of them, and they were both equally annoying and troubling to her.She knew that Fan Qians.h.i.+ was no ordinary boy when they first met. He had always wanted to achieve more. She was glad that his performance had been improving ever since she started coaching him. He never failed to show off any developments he had. His main weakness was that he placed too much emphasis on himself. She was especially annoyed when she knew that he grew to be fond of her.
As for Di Fuyi, he was obviously on the same level as her in terms of the way they perceived the world. With proper training, he could possibly outs.h.i.+ne Fan Qians.h.i.+ and become a better candidate for her role. The main thing that she did not expect was his utter reluctance to become her disciple.
Her plan had failed miserably, and she doubted if she would ever take in another disciple. It was unlike business, where people could easily agree on terms with highlighted benefits. Despaired, she sighed and decided to keep the matter aside. The vortex of spiritual energy should be her priority now anyway. Slowly, she walked towards the whirling winds.
…
Di Hao was watching everything with his Tracing Skill. Rather surprised, he never thought that his parents shared such histories. His father was once his mother"s disciple, though unwillingly. He could not help but wonder if they had ever spent time together as master and disciple.
Utilizing the Tracing Skill was physically demanding. Luckily, the scenes were played back at great speed. He was actually reading his mother"s memory that was buried in the deepest of her core, but at this rate, her entire life could be viewed in less than two hours.
What he saw was Gu Xijiu"s previous life, so he could see everything that she had ever been involved in. Even when there were emotional fluctuations, he could somewhat resonate with her as well.
He moved his hands slowly to relax his numb fingers before watching the next parts. What he saw might only be a glimpse, but the whole timeline of what actually happened could already be 20 years long.
The next 20 years held only a faint glimmer of hope. Gu Xijiu"s health had become irrevocably worse, but she never showed her weaknesses to anyone. Every year, she would visit the glacier to meditate so that her unparalleled beauty and youthful looks could still be maintained. Her kung fu was also maintained at the same level, with more or less 20 per cent left.
Many things had happened. Tu Shanying, the Nine-Tailed Fox from the Monster Kingdom, had successfully ascended the throne and become the Monster King with the help of Tian Mowen, the respectable Celestial Officer. The entire kingdom then flourished with prosperity. People were happy with the development.
Before her, the kingdom lacked a proper const.i.tution, so everyone lived like robbers. Those who fought better would be the leaders, and they became involved in all kinds of atrocities. The n.o.ble and the powerful would be the ones who controlled the common people"s destiny. They could take someone"s life easily without any need for punishment, or take away the property of someone less powerful without any compensation. It was a difficult time for the ma.s.ses.
The common people were scared of the n.o.ble, so they could only release their grudge on someone weaker. Needless to say, the wicked cycle continued. The stronger ones became stronger, and the weaker ones could never grow. The ma.s.ses lived in dire poverty. They never knew how much time they had left, so people spent their money right away and got drunk almost every day. No one was committed enough to work, so famine spread like wildfire.
As soon as Tu Shanying was crowned, she immediately a.s.signed Tian Mowen to establish a const.i.tution of fundamental principles. Anyone who acted against the law would be equally punished, regardless of social status and political power. When Tu Shanying broke the law, she, too, was punished by ten las.h.i.+ngs. The execution was even carried out publicly.