Chapter 127 Night Falls:

Shen Bingsi was about to boast about her classic battle of defeating Lu Yingqi despite being of a higher level, but before she could even utter a word, she saw Rong Xie pacing around anxiously for Lu Yingqi, completely oblivious to her victory.

Shen Bingsi's smile faded slightly as he crossed his arms and watched Rong Xie thrashing about in front of him, anxiously pacing around, seemingly about to leave the Golden Bell Shield to find where Lu Yingqi had fallen.

Shen Bingsi finally couldn't hold back anymore: "Lu Yingqi isn't dead. Hey, are you on my side? Why are you so worried about him?"

Rong Xie froze for a moment, then looked at Shen Bing Si: "He's not dead? Really? That's wonderful... Of course I'm on your side, but... was he injured? Why is it that only you came back, and I didn't see him?"

Shen Bingsi lowered her arms, rubbed them together, and shifted her weight from side to side as if there were thorns under her feet: "What exactly are you thinking? About Lu Yingqi? He just stopped me from arresting Madam Mei. The case you painstakingly investigated almost fell into his hands. And yet, you don't resent him at all, and you're still so concerned about him?"

“Well… he has his reasons. He doesn’t want anything to happen to Xiaozhi,” Rong Xie said.

Mentioning Xiaozhi, Shen Bingsi was even more confused: "You know he's obsessed with Xiaozhi and Xiaoye. For Xiaozhi, he doesn't even care about justice and morality. You've always looked down on people like that, so why are you so confused when you meet Lu Yingqi?"

“I am…” Rong Xie didn’t know how to explain, “He and you are both cultivators of the Path of Ruthlessness. I think you might be able to spar with each other and improve each other. Maybe… in the future, you can fight against powerful enemies together.”

Shen Bingsi raised an eyebrow slightly: "Really? You're so enthusiastic about Lu Yingqi's affairs because you're thinking of me?"

"Really, if it weren't for you, what else could it be for?"

Shen Bingsi's complexion improved noticeably. He chuckled and rubbed his nose. "Actually, I guessed it, but it's a little different from what you thought. Well... we'll arrive at the same conclusion by different means."

Rong Xie was still worried about Lu Yingqi's whereabouts. While looking around, he casually said, "What do you mean by different paths leading to the same destination?"

“It’s just…” Shen Bingsi turned her face away and coughed twice, “…to treat him as my substitute or something.”

"Huh?" Rong Xie turned around and looked at Shen Bing Si in surprise.

“I borrowed some books from Hongxianglou to learn more about the psychology of Daoist couples,” Shen Bingsi paused, “and some of them mentioned that some people, after meeting someone they really liked when they were young, would always seek out other people like that…”

"Why are you looking at all that nonsense?" Rong Xie felt a chill run down his spine. He remembered that Shen Bing Si had said she would cooperate with him to play the role of a Daoist partner, and his scalp tightened again. "Don't look at those things anymore. I've figured it out. The most important thing now is to find Lu Ying Qi, and we also need to get started on the Lu family's affairs."

After Rong Xie finished speaking, he pushed Shen Bingsi to find Lu Yingqi. After finding him, he would contact him. Then he turned around and went to discuss with the treasure hunting team how to arrange the Lu family's affairs.

Shen Bingsi, feeling rebuffed, muttered "What do you understand?" and "I haven't even explained how I won," before heading off to find Lu Yingqi in a very unpleasant mood.

The sky had darkened, the last rays of the setting sun disappeared into the horizon, and the grass on the eaves faded, gradually blending into the night.

Shen Bingsi didn't know where Lu Yingqi had fallen. In his memory, after the two clashed head-on, Lu Yingqi pounced on him with overwhelming spiritual pressure. At first, Shen Bingsi relied on Gao Chao's swordsmanship to dodge Lu Yingqi's attacks by dodging left and right.

As she gradually became more engaged, Shen Bingsi felt her previously stagnant nascent soul suddenly begin to stir, just like the stirring she felt when she broke through to a higher realm last time. Overjoyed, Shen Bingsi engaged Lu Yingqi head-on while trying to unleash her potential under extreme pressure.

This approach proved effective. With the final strike, a vast surge of spiritual energy was released from the nascent soul. The nascent soul, which had been shrunken into a small ball, suddenly opened its eyes, and some of the shackles that had been restricting Shen Bing Si shattered in response.

He had always thought that he would not be able to break through to a higher realm again in a short period of time. After all, he had encountered great turmoil during this period. Whether it was the death of his master or the departure of Rong Xie, he had been under unprecedented pressure. He had also used the Heaven-Severing Blade frequently, to the point that his mind was no longer functioning properly.

Even under these circumstances, Shen Bingsi couldn't guarantee the steadfastness of her Dao heart. During this period, she was almost constantly suppressed by the backlash, unable to even unleash five-tenths of her usual strength. Yet, when faced with stronger opponents, she inexplicably unleashed even greater power. All the distracting thoughts that had troubled her Dao heart in the past disappeared, leaving only a force that propelled Shen Bingsi forward.

Shen Bingsi rediscovered that familiar feeling and, following it, naturally charged toward Lu Yingqi. In the clash of their natal swords, she successfully broke through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. The powerful energy and restorative force generated after breaking through allowed Shen Bingsi to emerge unscathed from this battle against someone of a higher level, resulting in a draw.

Yes, it was a draw. Shen Bingsi did not defeat Lu Yingqi. He could sense Lu Yingqi's powerful and steady strength. In this duel of natal swords, Lu Yingqi did not show any signs of defeat. If they were to fight again, Lu Yingqi would be able to continue to fight.

But for some reason, Lu Yingqi did not fight again. Instead, he fled backward, his body engulfed in flames, and fell into the nearby desolate mountains like a meteor. Shen Bingsi did not know where he had fallen.

Shen Bingsi had just broken through to the next realm and didn't have time to see where Lu Yingqi had fallen. After he consolidated his cultivation and used the spiritual spring to wash off the mud on his body, he regretfully put away Rong Xie's torn clothes. Then Brother Jiang came looking for him.

Fortunately, it was easy to find a cultivator in this desolate wilderness. Shen Bingsi quickly walked out of the Lu family compound, leaped to a high place, and spread her spiritual sense over a radius of ten miles.

He not only found Lu Yingqi, who was meditating and adjusting his breathing, but also a team of treasure hunters carrying children and heading towards the mountain village.

...

The night was as dark as ink, and dark clouds drifted in from somewhere, obscuring the moon. Shen Bingsi returned to the entrance of the Lu residence.

I went out alone, and I came back alone.

He had already contacted Lu Yingqi, but the person said he needed to return to the Xuantian Sect. The Lu family's affairs had already been taken over by the Mirror Palace Judge, so he was just waiting for the Mirror Palace's verdict. No matter the outcome, he had nothing to complain about.

Shen Bingsi wanted to call Lu Yingqi over to manage the affairs of their Lu family, which could also relieve some of the pressure on Rong Xie. But then she thought it was good that Lu Yingqi was gone, so he would stay away from Rong Xie. As for the mess in the Lu family, she would help Rong Xie deal with it slowly. It was a good opportunity since the two of them hadn't had much chance to spend time together.

Shen Bingsi also caught up with the treasure-hunting team that carried the child away and asked about the situation. The child they were carrying was the one Rong Xie had found in the well. Rong Xie told them to go first, so they broke through the Lu family mansion and left to send the child to the mountain village.

Shen Bingsi figured they wouldn't be able to get into the Golden Bell Shield even if they went back, so he decided to let them stay outside to provide backup. He had just shaken off Lu Yingqi and was in a good mood, so he took the group to the mountain village and watched them being welcomed back into the village by the villagers before returning to the Lu residence with light steps.

Standing in front of the Lu family mansion gate, Shen Bingsi recalled Rong Xie's gesture of grabbing her collar and pressing himself against her. The corners of her lips unconsciously turned up as she stepped into the golden bell barrier.

Before Shen Bingsi could even stand up straight, she saw Captain Zhao rushing out, his face looking almost as good as when he had just woken up from the illusion.

Shen Bingsi's heart sank; her first thought was that the Lu family was up to their old tricks again.

Captain Zhao rushed up, grabbed Shen Bingsi's arm, and pulled him into the mansion, as if afraid he would run away.

"Sword Saint Shen! You're finally back! I was just about to go out and look for you!" Captain Zhao said in a panicked voice, "Something's happened, Fellow Daoist Rong has fainted!"

"What??" Shen Bingsi thought she had misheard, and didn't even understand what "fainted" meant at first.

“Hey, it was just after you left that Fellow Daoist Rong said he was tired and wanted to go back to rest for a while before coming out to discuss the next steps with us,” Captain Zhao explained as he pulled Shen Bingsi along. “I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist Rong to rest for half an hour and still not come out. I felt something was wrong, so I sent someone to check. If Fellow Daoist Rong was sleeping soundly, then we shouldn’t wake him up. We can talk about it tomorrow. If Fellow Daoist Rong got up, we should call him over. But his room was lit up and the door wasn’t locked. When Ye Er went in, he saw him lying on the floor.”

Before Captain Zhao finished speaking, he felt his body float up, his feet leaving the ground and drifting in the air, unable to exert any force.

At the same time, his left arm felt like it was being clamped by iron clamps, the bones were being crushed and cracking. He dared not struggle, as if if he resisted the clamping force even slightly, his arm would break.

"Where is Rong Xie?" Shen Bingsi's gloomy voice came from beside him.

Lu Yingqi's main house, the study where Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi rested yesterday, is now crowded with the treasure hunting team.

The gate suddenly swung open, and Shen Bingsi pulled Captain Zhao up like the wind. The team members blocking the way were all thrown aside by a huge force, and a path was cleared in an instant. Shen Bingsi practically carried half of Captain Zhao's body and rushed straight to the side of the couch. Everyone only saw a blur before their eyes, and she was gone, leaving a dark afterimage in the air.

Upon reaching the bedside, Shen Bingsi released Captain Zhao, rushed to the bedside, carefully observed the face of the person on the bed, lifted his arm that was resting on his stomach, and took his pulse.

Rong Xie lay on the couch he had slept on yesterday, face up, breathing evenly, his face normal. If Captain Zhao hadn't told Shen Bingsi that he was lying on the ground when she found him, Shen Bingsi wouldn't have been able to tell whether he was unconscious or asleep.

However, Shen Bingsi also knew that Rong Xie was a light sleeper and it was impossible for him to sleep so soundly in a room full of people.

"What exactly happened?" Shen Bingsi asked through gritted teeth. In a short while, his eyes became bloodshot. He turned around and glared at everyone in the room with a fierce look, as if he wanted to scrape pieces of flesh off them. "Who is Ye Er?"

Captain Zhao patted the shoulder of a wind-elemental cultivator next to him. The wind-elemental cultivator mustered his courage slightly and stepped forward: "Yes, it's me."

"Speak." Shen Bingsi closed her eyes, her tone becoming more restrained. "Tell me everything you know, from beginning to end, everything."