Di Fuyi looked down at her and saw her s.h.i.+vering from the cold. Struggling, she put a smile on her face. He looked at her with a hint of darkness in his eyes and said, "So you..." He left his sentence hanging before turning around and walking back.Soon, the two returned to the ice house. Gu Xijiu still had not recovered, so her face was pale. Her pale lips were still trembling uncontrollably from the cold. Di Fuyi threw over a red cloak to her, and Gu Xijiu wore it immediately without a second thought.
She did not know what material this cloak was made of, but it felt hot. Hence, after she put it on, her hands and feet were quickly warmed up, and her pale face finally had a faint blush.
"What do you want to discuss with me? Let"s talk." While speaking to Gu Xijiu, Di Fuyi already started preparing the deer to be cooked.
Gu Xijiu was stunned for a moment by his candidness. "I know that you want to withdraw from the disciples.h.i.+p. Can you give me a few more years? I..."
"Why do you want to wait a few more years?" Di Fuyi interrupted her. "Based on my estimations, two more months of practice should be able to restore you to normal. At the very least, you will be restored to the same condition you were in before you got struck by the catastrophe."
Di Fuyi then glanced at her wounds and continued, "You are injured because of your apprentice, right? By looking at your scars, you have taken 19 strikes of lightning for him! Your actions are indeed very heroic! I admire you for that. However, it also proves that you could still bear with the pain in your deteriorated condition. If you cancel this apprentices.h.i.+p agreement, you will only be struck nine times, which is significantly lesser than before. It is certainly within your ability to bear it. So why are you not willing to cancel the agreement?"
Gu Xijiu was stunned by his reply. She never expected him to understand her injuries so clearly. He even knew the punishment that Gu Xijiu would have to endure if they went ahead and canceled the agreement. He seemed almost to be speaking from firsthand experience.
Heaving a light sigh, Gu Xijiu tried to explain her thoughts, "The nature of these two kinds of thunderbolts is different. The thunderbolt from the catastrophe originates from auspicious energy, while the punishment for a crime against G.o.d belongs to the ominous energy."
"Are you trying to say that it is easier for you to resist against thunderbolts from auspicious energy?"
"Yes..."
"Have you tried?"
"I..."
She had not. However, she remembered that someone mighty had experienced the punishment before and was completely obliterated. The image had scarred her as she did not know that such a powerful person could be disintegrated from the thunderbolt.
Nevertheless, this was just a vague memory that she recalled from the depths of her mind. She could not remember the full picture, so the story would not be convincing enough for a man who was adamant that she could endure it.
Sure enough, Di Fuyi sneered and challenged, "It seems that your obsession with taking me as your disciple is overbearing to the point where you are willing to make up excuses to deceive me!"
Gu Xijiu took a soft breath and continued, "Whether you believe it or not, what I said is true!"
"Oh..." Di Fuyi sneered. He was too lazy to talk to negotiate with her this time and merely kept his attention on the deer, which he now put on the grill.
Gu Xijiu also felt uncomfortable by the situation. There were so many people in this world who wanted to wors.h.i.+p her as their master, but she was unwilling to accept them. Nevertheless, this disciple that she took on actually made her feel so bad for being his master.
When she thought about it, she realized that she did not actually teach him anything after took him as a disciple after so many years. Hence, it made sense that he did not want to acknowledge her as his master. She looked down at the ground and thought about the situation for a moment. Seconds later, she seemed to have decided something, "Give me three years. I will void our agreement in three years."
For the first time, she gave him a specific timeframe. Di Fuyi was actually stunned for a moment. He looked at her and saw her holding her little knees while staring at the deer in his hand. She looked sorrowful and lonely as if she had made a big decision unwillingly.
Watching her this way stirred a feeling of guilt in his heart. However, he quickly dismissed it and replied, "Good!"