Chapter 126 Lick it:

"Electrocute me? Burn me to death?" Shen Bingsi interrupted Rong Xie before he could finish his sentence, "Do whatever you want, as long as you're happy."

No one knew how overjoyed Shen Bingsi was. For more than half a year, a full half a year, Rong Xie had never given him a kind look, let alone thrown himself into his arms like this, letting him hold him tightly. "However, compared to other ways of dying, I would still prefer to be slapped to death by you."

Rong Xie inhaled the warm, familiar scent, their bodies pressed together so close they could hear each other's heartbeats, neither able to say whose was stronger. He felt a burning sensation in his ears, and his loosely clenched fingers pressed against Shen Bingsi's body, pushing him away slightly: "Nonsense..."

“Really.” Shen Bingsi suddenly thought of something, let go of Rong Xie, and took a step back. She carefully held Rong Xie’s elbow, lifted his injured right arm, and examined it carefully.

Several red marks were intertwined on her fair, jade-like arm, the marks of the chains clearly visible. A deep gash was found on the upper part of her arm where the most force had been applied, with blood pooling in the wound, a heartbreaking sight.

Although the chain was gone, traces of blood flowing from the wound being rubbed open by the chain could still be seen. After being injured, Rong Xie still clung tightly to it, as if he couldn't feel the pain. There were traces of grass and dirt on the base of his palm and elbow, obviously from when he fell and braced himself on the ground.

"You really are..." Shen Bingsi frowned deeply, his handsome face scrunched up like an old orange. He pursed his lips and finally uttered the word "stupid." He tugged at his chest with one hand and finally found a bottle of medicine. Half of the golden fish-patterned pouch fell out from the front of his official robes and hung in the air incongruously, swaying back and forth as Shen Bingsi bit the red velvet bottle stopper and poured out the pills.

Rong Xie felt uncomfortable looking at it and couldn't help but shove it back at him, muttering, "You still call me stupid? Who knew your chain was so cumbersome, there's nowhere to hold it. Next time you give me something like this without handles, I promise I'll throw it back at you, okay?"

Just then, Shen Bingsi lowered her head and covered her injured arm, blocking Rong Xie's view.

Rong Xie's hand, which was stuffed with fish-patterned pouches, froze. He felt something warm pressing against his wound, sucking and licking it all the way up, the stinging sensation continuing until half of his arm became wet.

Rong Xie was struck dumb, and some familiar memories surfaced in his mind. It seemed that Shen Bingsi had done the same thing to his arm at some point... Yes, he should have been alert when Shen Bingsi took out that bottle of Yunshan Sect's holy healing medicine. Last time on the beach, his hand was cut by a jade pendant fragment, and Shen Bingsi treated the wound in the same way.

Last time, the beach was deserted, but this time it was packed with people: the Lu family, treasure hunters, and Brother Jiang from the Mirror Palace.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned around. Rong Xie could feel all sorts of curious and intense gazes focused on the two of them.

Rong Xie wished he could dig a hole in the ground and disappear into it.

"Shen... Shen Bingsi..." Rong Xie pushed Shen Bingsi's face, trying to push that prickly head off his arm, "It's... almost done..."

Shen Bingsi finally raised her head and admired the arm she had "treated." Her body, which had just broken through to a higher realm, had an extremely strong ability to repair itself, including bodily fluids. Even before the Yunshan Sect's small pills were administered, the wounds on Rong Xie's arm had begun to heal, and the red marks from the friction had faded to almost invisible.

Shen Bingsi poured out three small pills, melted them with her spiritual power, and evenly applied them to the pinkish wound. The wound quickly contracted and closed, turning into a shallow abrasion.

Shen Bingsi gave a satisfied "hmm," raised her head, and was about to speak when she noticed that Rong Xie's cheeks were flushed, and he had taken a step back at some point, keeping an arm's length distance from her, as if he were ready to pull his arm out and run away at any moment.

The people around stared blankly at them, as if they had been cursed.

Zhao Dajiang and the other members of the treasure-hunting team who had been controlled by the illusion of the mimosa flower also regained their senses with Brother Jiang's help. They got up from the ground and were now standing closest to the two of them, forming a circle around them, staring blankly at them.

Shen Bingsi raised an eyebrow and said, "What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen someone heal their wounds before?"

The crowd opened and closed their mouths, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping themselves. Several members of the Lu family stood at a distance, their heads huddled together, whispering something.

Rong Xie could guess what the Lu family, whose minds were filled with servants and cauldrons, could possibly talk about without even listening carefully.

Rong Xie silently withdrew his arm, lowered his sleeve, and covered the shameful wetness on it. Even though he had hidden it in his sleeve, he still felt a little embarrassed.

However, he also knew that Shen Bingsi did not mean it that way. Shen Bingsi was open and honest, and was just particularly affectionate towards him, her best friend. Even if he rolled on the ground, Shen Bingsi would lick his wounds without any disgust.

Just watch, Shen Bingsi will soon clarify things and bring out his frank statements—

"This is what true friends are!" Suddenly, a righteous voice rang out loudly. It was Zhao Dajiang. "Without a doubt, this is what true friends are! This is how true friends heal each other's wounds—open, honest, and with a clear conscience! Only those with dirty hearts see everything as dirty!"

"..." Rong Xie was silent for a moment. He didn't expect these words to come from Captain Zhao's mouth. However, it was not surprising. Captain Zhao had been taught a lesson by Shen Bingsi in the underground dragon cave once before. He had learned his lesson and would reflexively come out to defend Shen Bingsi at this time.

"..." The Lu family members couldn't continue either. Anyone who was publicly and sternly criticized while whispering would lose the interest in continuing to whisper.

"..." Shen Bingsi opened her mouth, feeling annoyed that she wanted to say something but it was distorted.

After refuting the Lu family's filthy thoughts, Zhao Dajiang turned around, bowed to Shen Bingsi with a fawning smile, and then turned to Rong Xie, apologizing to him with great shame: "Fellow Daoist Rong, I don't know what happened to me just now, my body just went out of control... I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"It's alright, it's just that Madam Mei's illusions are too pervasive." Rong Xie glanced at Madam Mei. Brother Jiang had already used magic to bind him and made him stand to the side. Only his eyes could move, and he was looking at them hatefully. Rong Xie looked away. "It's not your fault, Brother Zhao. I was almost controlled by him too."

"Alas! I should have held the incense burner properly, that's probably when..." Zhao Dajiang was still very remorseful, muttering to himself.

"Now that everything is resolved, the perpetrators have been apprehended, and the truth has come to light, it's been handed over to the Mirror Palace Judge. I'm sure this case will be properly resolved," Rong Xie said with a smile. "Brother Zhao, shouldn't we be thinking about how to celebrate when we get back?"

"Yes, that's right!" Zhao Dajiang breathed a sigh of relief, and his face showed some relief. However, he still called the other three team members who had been affected by the illusion to apologize to Rong Xie, saying that after returning to Lanyuan, he would definitely treat Rong Xie to a good meal in Shengjing as an apology.

The next step was to discuss the follow-up matters.

The main culprit has been apprehended and brought to justice; Brother Jiang is in charge of taking him back for questioning.

However, there is another group of accomplices, and the entire Lu family is involved. It is unrealistic for Brother Jiang to take them back alone. Whether these people belong to the cultivation world or the mortal world, and who should judge them, are all unresolved matters.

Brother Jiang was indeed a skilled adjudicator. For these unresolved matters, he always adopted the measure of "sealing them in place"—he had a magical artifact like an invincible bell, which, when enlarged, could cover an entire city. Within the covered area, people could still live as usual, but they could not leave the covered boundary, like birds in a cage. Their every move would be under the control of the artifact's owner, so he was not afraid that they would destroy evidence or collude to give false testimony.

In addition to these suspects, there are also victims.

Over the decades, the Lu family has lured and bought countless children under the guise of adoption. Some of these children have grown up and have no idea where they came from, while others are still young and have a chance to find their families. It is not something that can be done in a short time, and it requires the cooperation of people in the Lu family who know about these cases. Brother Jiang cannot handle these matters in a short period of time.

Captain Zhao then stepped forward and offered to take responsibility for the matter. The treasure hunting team had previously stayed in the surrounding villages and knew many tragic stories of families being separated. The villagers provided them with information in the hope that they could bring the children back. Now that such an opportunity had arisen, Captain Zhao was naturally not going to abandon the task.

However, he could only save a small number of children; he didn't know what to do about the vast, silent community that had accumulated over decades.

“In such a large family, there must be stewards who have a roster of servants and most likely a roster of pageboys. Once we find these rosters, we can find out the truth by comparing them,” Rong Xie pondered. “However, rosters can also be forged. They might try to cover up those who died mysteriously. We also need to compare them with the income and expenditure ledgers. As long as there is a living person here, there will be various expenses. There is no more truthful record than the ledgers.”

After Rong Xie said that, everyone suddenly understood, and Brother Jiang also showed his approval, indicating that the method was feasible.

“Normally, this matter is handled by our registrar, but she’s not here right now. I have to go back and interrogate the main culprit, then report the situation to Tianjing before I can send her to handle the aftermath,” Brother Jiang said.

“In that case, I’ll stay and help Captain Zhao clean up the mess,” Rong Xie said. “When the recorder comes to take over, we won’t have to start from scratch.”

“Then I won’t go back either,” Shen Bingsi waved to Brother Jiang. “Whether I go back to report the news or not, it’s all the same to me.”

Brother Jiang raised his eyebrows, seemingly somewhat helpless. He glanced at Shen Bingsi, who returned his gaze. The two exchanged a few words via telepathy, and Brother Jiang shook his head, relenting: "Fine, Shen Bingsi can stay here and help keep an eye on things. I'll contact you again when I get back, so don't lose track of her."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Shen Bingsi waved her hand, indicating that Brother Jiang could leave.

Brother Jiang took out the Golden Bell Shield and tossed it into the air. Rings of golden light spread out and melted into the twilight sky above the Lu Mansion.

Afterwards, he marked Zhao Dajiang and Rong Xie, ensuring that the Golden Bell Shield would not restrict them. Shen Bingsi, being a member of the Mirror Palace, was not subject to the restriction.

Brother Jiang called Shen Bingsi aside, asked her a few more questions, and then led Madam Mei out. The two figures left a long afterimage in the air, as if the space was shrinking and stretching in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the afterimage disappeared.

Everyone stared at the location where Brother Jiang's afterimage had been left and sighed again. This was the ultimate travel technique of a Nascent Soul stage expert: distorting space and directly pulling the destination to a place that could be reached in one step—shrinking the earth into an inch!

Behind everyone, Rong Xie withdrew his gaze, turned to Shen Bingsi, who was standing next to him with her hands clasped, and whispered, "Why did you stay too?"

"Hmm?" Shen Bingsi crossed his arms, frowned slightly, and thought that Rong Xie's tone sounded like he was trying to get rid of him, even though he had just hugged him. "Can't I stay? I thought you had a lot of questions to ask me, like—how I defeated Lu Yingqi."

Rong Xie was just wondering who he should ask to ask for leave from Lan Yuan Villa since Shen Bing Si wasn't going back, when he suddenly heard Shen Bing Si mention "Lu Ying Qi". Rong Xie was startled, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

"Wait—Lu Yingqi, where did Lu Yingqi go? Why hasn't he come back? What did you do to him? You wouldn't—"

Just beat Lu Yingqi to death!

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Rong Xie: The sky has fallen! I've planned everything, but Lu Yingqi's calamity is actually this! [bursting into tears]