Chapter 27 Image Stone:

Rong Xie hugged the pillow and didn't move.

His brow furrowed slightly, as if he was hesitating.

"What?" Shen Bingsi was not in a hurry and patiently waited for the timid clam shell to open a crack.

"Hmm...you didn't make the bed?" Rong Xie hesitated.

It turned out to be another case of her OCD acting up, which made Shen Bingsi chuckle.

"There's no point in making the bed, come on." Shen Bingsi reached out her hand to him.

“Even if… it hasn’t been touched for a month, how much dust has accumulated on it? How can you just sleep on it?” Rong Xie was very concerned about this.

At Rong Xie's insistence, Shen Bingsi also got out of bed, and the two of them made the bed together, changing the quilt and sheets.

Rong Xie straightened up and admired the newly made bed.

The sheets were perfectly smooth, with the corners taut, and the quilt lay flat and soft on the mattress. It had been aired out a couple of days ago and looked very comfortable to sleep in.

This is what you call a bed. A messy bed like that is impossible to sleep in.

Shen Bingsi looked at the taut mattress, so smooth it looked as if it had been scraped with a shovel. Rong Xieming hadn't used any magic, yet in a very short time, with just a few seemingly ordinary movements, he had made the mattress, quilt, curtains, and clothes look beautiful.

However, after changing beds like this, all the familiar atmosphere was gone. The bedding on both sides was almost the same, with only the style of the beds and the furniture arrangement being slightly different, which was completely irrelevant.

"Oh, right, I found this while tidying up the mattresses earlier." Rong Xie took out a black stone from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Bingsi.

"Hmm?" Shen Bingsi took the stone, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Isn't this an image stone?"

An image stone is a stone that can be infused with spiritual power to record surrounding images and sounds. The amount of content recorded depends entirely on the amount of spiritual power infused. Once all the spiritual power is exhausted, it will turn into a black stone, just like it is now.

Image stones are extremely rare and expensive. Only wealthy people like Shen Bingsi would carelessly discard them. As a result, one got stuck in the crack of the bed for a month and was not found until Rong Xie changed his bedding.

Shen Bingsi fiddled with the black stone in her palm with her thumb: "I've been looking for it for a long time, I didn't expect to lose it here... but it's no use to me now."

"What did you record?" Rong Xie asked.

“Something useless… Cui Xingmiao’s medical orders,” Shen Bingsi said.

Rong Xie said "Oh," and some unpleasant memories surfaced. When Cui Xingmiao left the medical instructions, Shen Bingsi seemed to be holding an image stone.

"Never mind that." Shen Bingsi casually placed the image stone on the bedside table. "Let's get down to business."

Rong Xie finally understood how the image stone had gotten lost. With Shen Bingsi leaving it lying around like that, it was no wonder it got lost. He picked up the image stone and put it in the drawer of the wardrobe.

When he turned around, Shen Bingsi had already taken off all her clothes, wearing only a pair of underpants, and was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for him.

Rong Xie walked over, got into bed as usual, and crawled under the covers. Shen Bingsi came up behind him and hugged him.

They are now very familiar with each other's physical condition and can change positions in various ways until they are both comfortable.

Rong Xie felt Shen Bingsi's arm around him, so he pulled his hand out from under Shen Bingsi's arm and placed it on Shen Bingsi's arm, his palm against the outside of Shen Bingsi's wrist.

This was as if he were holding Shen Bingsi's arm in his own chest.

Hearing a soothing nasal sound behind his ear, Shen Bingsi pulled him closer to her, her arm around his waist reaching upwards, her large, calloused hand pressing against his chest and abdomen through his undergarment.

This position is very comfortable, my stomach feels warm and I feel very safe, I can sleep soundly until dawn - Rong Xie also discovered it by accident.

He wrapped his arms around Shen Bingsi's arms and closed his eyes.

Rong Xie had a dream, but he forgot what it was about. When he woke up, he was in a very good mood.

A chirping sound came from outside the window. The sky was not yet fully bright, and the furniture inside was bathed in a layer of smoky blue morning light.

Rong Xie opened his eyes and saw the pillow that had been pushed aside. Shen Bing Si's arm was now the pillow, resting under his cheek, while Shen Bing Si's other hand was pressed against his chest, fingers loosely spread, almost slipping off his clothes. He held that hand tighter.

He could feel Shen Bingsi's rising and falling chest pressing against his back, her gentle yet powerful heartbeat transmitted through his inner garment.

...

What exactly is real, and what is illusion?

Isn't the experience right now a kind of reality? Does it have to be said aloud to be considered liking? Sleeping in the same bed and waking up in each other's arms, even if we don't say we like each other, is that any different from other couples?

That's fine. Be content with what you have.

Rong Xie nestled in Shen Bing Si's arms for a while, trying hard to recall what dream he had last night, and then thinking about what he needed to do today. He pondered all the details. Shen Bing Si hummed softly and woke up as well.

"Mmm... Rong'er..." He buried his face in Rong Xie's hair, making indistinct murmurs behind his ear, rubbing against him like a large animal.

When Rong Xie got up early to change his clothes, he tried to put on his outer trousers several times, but he couldn't get them on; there was always a piece of fabric sticking out.

Shen Bingsi saw this and couldn't help but laugh, "Rong'er, you're still wearing my clothes."

"Hmm." Rong Xie realized something was wrong. He was still wearing Shen Bingsi's inner garment. He put his outer garment aside, slowly unbuttoned his inner garment, took it off under Shen Bingsi's gaze, folded it neatly, and then went to get his own outer garment.

When they left, Shen Bingsi seemed very happy. He said that their progress had been greatly advanced, and Rong Xie could now change clothes in front of him naturally.

Actually, there's nothing to be surprised about. Rong Xie thought that when they were kids, they could go fishing in the river together, naked.

"Oh, right," Shen Bingsi suddenly remembered something before leaving the gate and turned back to ask, "Do you still have enough spiritual power?"

"We've been keeping them healthy lately, so they're more than enough," Rong Xie replied.

He had three assistants to help with the affairs of the manor, and Shen Bingsi would prepare talismans in advance when needed. He hadn't used his spiritual power to cast spells for a long time.

"That's good," Shen Bingsi nodded. "So, Cui Xingmiao's medical advice was effective after all?"

"certainly."

"So I should thank her. I happen to be going to Shengjing soon... Will her secret recipe work too?"

Rong Xie asked in confusion, "What secret recipe?"

Shen Bingsi laughed and said, "It seems it won't work anymore."

Rong Xie was still confused. When did Miss Cui give him the secret recipe? How come he didn't know?

“It’s the last one,” Shen Bingsi reminded him, “the secret recipe that got me out of the way.”

Rong Xie suddenly remembered that Cui Xingmiao had stayed behind to have a private talk with him, and Shen Bingsi had always thought that she was giving him a secret recipe.

"Oh...that..." Rong Xie brushed it off lightly, "It's just some health-preserving recipes."

"What prescription? Have you gotten the medicine? What ingredient is missing? I can bring it back on my way." Shen Bingsi asked a series of questions.

Rong Xie was caught off guard: "Actually, it's not a very important prescription. It's just some folk remedies for nourishing the body and replenishing qi. I don't find it anything special. We have those kinds of medicines at home."

"Oh...I see."

Shen Bingsi didn't ask any more questions. She told Rong Xie when she would be back and then left.

Rong Xie watched him leave, then breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Shen Bingsi didn't ask any more questions, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to explain himself.

Having promised the young girl something, he certainly couldn't reveal it.

At noon, the three children returned from Yingbin Town.

They've been running around to Uncle Qiu's place lately to gather materials for building the chicken coop and cowshed. It's tiring, but fulfilling.

"Brother Rong, we brought some mutton soup noodles from town. Let's have them together for lunch!"

"It's that old Mi's restaurant with the really long queues; we waited in line for ages!"

The three little ones started making a fuss as soon as they got back.

Unable to refuse their hospitality, Rong Xie ate mutton soup with them at the stone table in the front yard.

"Mmm, mmm, delicious, delicious. I've been running around every day, just looking forward to this taste."

"Awesome!"

Shen Yan and Long Shaoye finished their meal with slurping noises, wiped their mouths, and saw Fang Renji and Rong Xie still slowly drinking their soup.

The two of them started chatting casually, one sentence at a time.

"I saw that guy again today, I'm sure it's him!" Long Shaoye said confidently.

"Huh? Who is it?" Shen Yan asked.

"You remember that kid from Granny Wang's family? The one who barged in halfway through our exam."

Rong Xie looked up: "Wang Mu?"

“Yes, yes, that’s him!” Long Shaoye nodded vigorously.

Rong Xie asked in confusion, "They haven't left yet?"

How long has it been? They're still in Yingbin Town? Steward Shen had already returned to the Shen family. Shen Bingsi told him to go back and send over the indenture. Not long after, he received a falcon sent by the old master.

“I don’t know. I’ve seen him several times. He seems to be doing odd jobs in the inn’s kitchen,” Long Shaoye said. “But I haven’t seen Granny Wang.”

Rong Xie couldn't help but worry. Could it be that Wang Nanny left Wang Mu alone in town and went back herself so that he could get into the Lingjing Sect?

No way, that's too carefree. Wang Mu is only eight years old... Although many disciples are around that age, at least they have proper places to eat and stay, while Wang Mu has nothing.

“If you see him again, advise him to go home and practice his calligraphy first,” Rong Xie said.

Shen Yan and Long Shaoye indicated that they understood.

The next day, the two brought Wang Mu's reply, saying that he didn't want to join the Lingjing Sect, but only wanted to do odd jobs. Yingbin Town was more fun than Shenjiazhuang, and the innkeeper provided room and board, so he stayed. His mother couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she went back by herself.

He's doing fine, so don't worry about him, Brother Rong.

Wang Mu's reply sounded rather mature for his age, which surprised Rong Xie.

However, since the innkeeper had allowed him to stay, Rong Xie didn't say anything more.

On the third day, the day Shen Bingsi said she would be back, Rong Xie and the three children thoroughly cleaned the front and back yards, inside and out, even polishing the bluestone slabs in the courtyard until they shone, all in anticipation of Shen Bingsi's return for dinner.

They waited and waited, but no one showed up.

Rong Xie took out the communication jade pendant, and was hesitating whether to contact Shen Bingsi when he felt a tremor in his palm. Golden light spread out from the jade pendant, and he quickly poured spiritual power into it to activate the connection.

"Rong'er," Shen Bingsi's voice was laced with annoyance, "I have some trouble to deal with, I'll be back a day later."

"What... is it a mission?" Rong Xie asked worriedly.

"No." Shen Bingsi seemed to want to say something, but then stopped herself. "It's nothing dangerous, just a little troublesome. Don't worry, it will be taken care of soon."

Clean it thoroughly.

Shen Bingsi rarely uses such words; she usually just says "solved" or "completed".

This sounds like a really troublesome matter.

"Alright, no rush, take your time," Rong Xie said gently.

After ending the communication, Rong Xie went to inform the three children that it was time to eat.

Upon learning that the head of the manor would be away for another day, the three children were overjoyed, as if they had been given a free day off.

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Guess what it is? [doge emoji]