Chapter 175 Stargazing:

Rong Xie staggered forward, pulling at his shirt as if he was terribly hot and wanted to take it off.

Shen Bingsi knew that he was capable of anything when he was drunk, so she quickly stood behind him, supporting him while stopping him from tearing at his clothes.

The two walked awkwardly forward for a while, finally leaving the crowded area.

"Don't, don't pull me." Rong Xie struggled desperately, trying to break free from Shen Bing Si's control.

"If I don't pull you, what if you get angry and run away tomorrow morning? Just bear with it a little longer, we'll go back and take it off, and we can do it behind closed doors, okay?" Shen Bingsi coaxed Rong Xie like she was a child.

"Take off? Take off what?" Rong Xie stared back at Shen Bing Si with wide eyes, his expression so innocent that Shen Bing Si felt a little embarrassed. The next moment, Rong Xie pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I'm looking for... looking for this!"

"Oh." Shen Bingsi scratched her cheek.

Rong Xie held up the note, narrowing his eyes: "What...what's our next step? What's written here...read it!"

After saying that, Rong Xie handed the note to Shen Bingsi, who read it aloud from his hand: "Watching the stars in the bamboo forest."

"Oh right, let's look at the stars in the bamboo forest!" Rong Xie threw the note into the air and staggered into the bamboo forest. Shen Bing Si caught the note quickly, put it in her pocket, and followed Rong Xie.

The Hehuan sect does indeed have a tradition of stargazing in bamboo forests. They emphasize training the senses and fully experiencing the stimulation from the outside world. Among their many activities, stargazing is considered one of the simplest.

If that's really the case... that would be great.

Before even reaching the designated location, Shen Bingsi could keenly hear various unpleasant noises coming from the bamboo forest.

Clearly, the Hehuan followers weren't properly observing the stars; instead, they were using the time and place to do other things.

Shen Bingsi grabbed Rong Xie, trying his best to drive a stubborn little animal home. He spread his arms to block Rong Xie's view, but Rong Xie stared at him in confusion and then suddenly slipped under his arms.

After several rounds of this pursuit and interception, Shen Bingsi grabbed Rong Xie and half-forcefully led him to a secluded bamboo forest. The two lay down on the grass behind the bamboo forest, and the star-studded night sky unfolded before their eyes.

“Let’s look at the stars,” Shen Bingsi said. “Can you recognize the Big Dipper?”

"That's too easy." Rong Xie pointed and counted the seven stars of the Big Dipper. Then, he asked Shen Bingsi some obscure constellations, which Shen Bingsi answered one by one. It wasn't that he had any research on astrology, but many cultivation techniques and sword techniques used astrological analogies.

Rong Xie counted the stars for a while, then got a little bored: "Will this really cure you?"

"It should be okay," Shen Bingsi said, though she wasn't entirely sure.

"Do you still feel the backlash now?" Rong Xie turned his head and carefully observed Shen Bingsi.

"I don't feel anything now," Shen Bingsi said. He thought that if it was just counting stars, it wouldn't be enough to cause a backlash, but if it was like the Hehuan Cult members "counting stars," it was hard to say. Thinking of this, he coughed again.

“But you’re coughing,” Rong Xie said, frowning.

"The wind is a bit chilly, it's choking me." Shen Bingsi caught her breath.

Rong Xie stared intently at Shen Bingsi, and seeing that he had indeed stopped coughing, he beamed with joy: "Great! I knew there would be a way!"

Rong Xie turned over and buried his face in Shen Bingsi's shoulder: "You must take good care of yourself... and never leave me."

Shen Bingsi was slightly taken aback, a warm feeling welled up in his heart. He suppressed the urge to cough, turned around and hugged Rong Xie, placing his hand on Rong Xie's hair and stroking it slowly.

"good."

Having received an answer, Rong Xie nuzzled against Shen Bingsi contentedly and whispered, "If someone really has to leave first... I'd rather it be me..."

Shen Bingsi felt a pang of pain in her heart and pressed Rong Xie's head into her arms with force: "Don't talk nonsense."

Rong Xie mumbled something unintelligible, and after a while, his breathing became even and heavy; he had fallen asleep.

Rong Xie slept restlessly, constantly having dreams. Sometimes he dreamt that he was still in the Shen family manor, running around with Shen Bingsi behind the dark stove. Other times he dreamt that they were cultivating in the Lingjing Sect's small warehouse, facing the only window. The chaotic dreams came one after another, leaving him almost no time to catch his breath.

As morning approached, Rong Xie had an incredibly vivid dream. He dreamt that he woke up in bed and found that Shen Bingsi was not beside him. Shen Bingsi should have been beside him, his subconscious told him. He panicked, got out of bed, and searched everywhere for Shen Bingsi.

Fortunately, he found Shen Bingsi under the weeping plum tree outside the courtyard. He had changed into a dusty robe, looking like he was going to a faraway place. Rong Xie asked him where he was going, but Shen Bingsi didn't answer. He just looked at him with a worried smile, then opened his arms. Rong Xie went up and hugged him, and he hugged Rong Xie back. There was a special scent in the morning that was enough to cool down even the most passionate blood. Shen Bingsi stepped across the gate of Huanxue Manor, stood on the threshold, waved to Rong Xie, and then left without looking back.

"Don't go!" Rong Xie shouted, feeling as if his heart had been ripped out. He chased after her in a daze, but the empty Huanxue Valley was covered in snow, a silver-white world, without a single footprint.

“Where are you going—” Rong Xie shouted.

Even when he was fully awake, the profound, bone-deep panic and sorrow were still vividly felt. He sat up abruptly, looked around, and found himself sitting by the bamboo grove in the early morning, with the faint sunlight shining through the bamboo leaves and falling on the grass.

Birdsong filled the air; Rong Xie had never noticed that there were so many birds here before.

He looked down and saw Shen Bingsi lying on his back sleeping on the grass. He seemed to be in no condition. A sense of security put Rong Xie at ease, and he felt a joy of surviving a disaster.

Shen Bingsi turned his head and unconsciously moved closer to Rong Xie in his sleep. Rong Xie touched his face, and a strand of white hair fell into Rong Xie's hand.

Rong Xie's fingers stiffened slightly.

Shen Bingsi felt a tightness in his scalp, as if someone was trying to secretly pluck all his hair while he was sleeping.

Shen Bingsi knew who that person was, so he didn't rush to wake up. It wasn't until the hair-pulling behavior escalated that Shen Bingsi realized he might end up with a patch of baldness if he didn't come soon enough. He then opened his eyes.

"What are you doing? Still drunk?" Shen Bingsi asked with amusement, while pressing down Rong Xie's hand that was playing tricks on his head.

Rong Xie didn't laugh, but looked at him very seriously until he realized that Rong Xie wasn't joking.

Shen Bingsi sat up and saw a strand of hair that had turned white at some point, growing out from behind her ear near the occipital bone.

“Let’s go find Elder Hong,” Rong Xie said.

Cultivators don't age for no reason unless they control their appearance to change. This strand of white hair was clearly not conjured by Shen Bingsi. This can only mean that, in the course of a day and a night, the backlash from Shen Bingsi's Dao heart has intensified.

The two arrived at the bamboo house where Elder Hong lived and caught him red-handed as he strolled back after breakfast.

"You're up so early?" Elder Hong said with a mix of surprise and mischief when he saw the two of them. "It seems your imitation skills aren't quite up to par yet."

Rong Xie made Shen Bingsi turn his head around, pointed behind his ear, and asked impatiently, "What do you mean by 'not enough heat'? Adding any more heat will kill someone! Look at this!"

Elder Hong asked in confusion, "This is... white hair? What's wrong? Young people have a lot of energy, it's normal for them to have white hair..."

"What do you mean by 'vigorous blood and qi'! If it weren't for that damned imitation technique, his backlash on his Dao heart wouldn't be this severe!" Rong Xie took a deep breath and stared intently into Elder Hong's eyes. "Elder Hong, you really taught us this, and you're not just playing us, are you? We really had nowhere else to turn, which is why we came to you. But if you're playing us and causing Bing Si to suffer as a result, even though my magic power is weak, I know a few people in the cultivation world and know a few divine artifacts. I'll risk everything to make you pay the price."

Rong Xie was furious and said such harsh words. Elder Hong gasped and pretended to be very scared: "Oh, the little disciple of the Spirit Mirror Sect is indeed powerful. I am very scared. Never mind, since you don't believe me, then find someone else. I will find someone else to ask about Elder Bai's joke."

Rong Xie's face turned ugly. This Elder Hong was unyielding to both soft and hard approaches, a slimy old mudfish.

Elder Hong laughed: "Little disciple, speechless now? Old ginger is spicier, you're still too green. However, I'm not one to go back on my word. If I say I'll teach you how to change your path, I'll do what I say."

Elder Hong paused, his expression turning serious as he looked at Shen Bingsi: "Come upstairs with me."

Seeing that Elder Hong was taking this matter seriously, Rong Xie stopped talking and stepped aside, letting Shen Bingsi go with him.

Rong Xie waited downstairs for half an hour before Shen Bingsi finally came down.

"How is it?" Rong Xie hurriedly approached.

Shen Bingsi shook her head.

Rong Xie was puzzled. What did shaking his head mean?

“The method hasn’t changed. Elder Hong told us to continue imitating it, and he also approved the project you wrote on the note.” Shen Bingsi took out the note from her bosom and handed it back to Rong Xie.

Rong Xie put away the note and frowned: "What about the backlash from the Dao Heart?"

"He said that backlash from the heart is normal, and he asked me some questions..."

"What's the problem?"

At this point, Shen Bingsi looked puzzled.

"He asked me why I cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness? What's so good about the Path of Ruthlessness that I can't let go of it?" Shen Bingsi said, puzzled. "I said I'm not unable to let go, and I don't think it's good; it's just a cultivation method. Then he asked me, 'Then why are you attacking yourself?'"

"Attack yourself? Wouldn't that be a backlash against your Dao heart?" Rong Xie was equally confused.

"Yes, I didn't understand what he meant. Then he told me to think carefully about what I couldn't let go of."

"..." Rong Xie was silent for a moment, "And then? What else did he ask?"

“That’s all,” Shen Bingsi said.

"So, he didn't say anything after that, and you had to think about it for half an hour?"

"Um."

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I went out to play yesterday. A red envelope will be given away in this chapter!