Chapter 39 The Sword of Wisdom Slashes:

Shen Bingsi got up early and queued up to buy the famous glutinous rice cakes of the capital, which she brought back to her courtyard along with breakfast from Fanshige, hoping that Rong Xie wouldn't have to go out and cause trouble in the morning.

Unexpectedly, Rong Xie still tidied up the entire courtyard, inside and out.

Although Rong Xie would receive spiritual power from Shen Bing Si after successfully cultivating together, which he could use to repair his physical damage, Shen Bing Si felt particularly uncomfortable seeing Rong Xie working on the ground early in the morning.

He thought that a person as good as Rong Xie should lie in a lingzhi mushroom, be nurtured in a blessed land, and soak in a spiritual spring.

"Stop working, come and eat breakfast." Shen Bingsi grabbed Rong Xie's hand and threw the rag far away.

Shen Bingsi placed the food box on the table in the courtyard, pulled over a chair, and helped Rong Xie sit down. She then placed the exquisite bowls and chopsticks with the character "繁" printed on them in front of Rong Xie before opening the food box.

A steaming aroma wafts towards you.

A bowl of crucian carp soup, two nourishing side dishes, and a plate of red bean glutinous rice cake.

The dishes were all light and nourishing, easy to digest. The glutinous rice cake was a little bloating, but it was very delicious and the portion was small, which helped to lift one's spirits.

Rong Xie washed his hands with water, picked up a spoon, took two bites, and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Shen Bingsi had been staring at him, and when she noticed a slight change in his expression, she immediately asked.

"It smells delicious, but did they forget to add salt to this crucian carp soup?" Rong Xie asked.

"No way, I specifically asked the head chef to make this. Could the head chef of Fanshige really make such a mistake?" Shen Bingsi said, taking a bite. "It really is!"

Looking at the milky white crucian carp soup, Rong Xie had a guess in his mind. After all, Shen Bingsi was not a person who cooked. Could it be that there was some misunderstanding during his communication with the chef?

"What did you say to the head chef?" Rong Xie asked.

“I said…” Shen Bingsi hesitated for a moment, which was rare, “There are people in the courtyard who are tired from their journey and need to nourish their bodies.”

"Hmm..." Rong Xie's cheeks flushed slightly. He knew what Shen Bingsi meant, so it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with saying it that way.

Shen Bingsi couldn't wait any longer, so he put down his spoon and went outside. A little while later, he returned with two waiters.

The two waiters, having been scolded all the way, shrank back and dared not speak when they reached the table.

"It's a good thing he's a retired chef from the palace. What did he make? You should try it!" Shen Bingsi pointed to the crucian carp soup and side dishes on the table.

Rong Xie grabbed Shen Bingsi's elbow and asked the two waiters, "Did you pass on the message to the head chef? Did the head chef give any instructions when making this soup?"

"Yes, yes," the two felt a sense of closeness upon seeing Rong Xie, such a polite and handsome young man, and said a few more words. "Master Sun said that this crucian carp soup is the best for promoting lactation, but one cannot eat too much salt during postpartum confinement, so he uses a special herb as a seasoning, which is his exclusive secret recipe."

A deathly silence followed.

"Who told him someone was in postpartum confinement? What nonsense!" Shen Bingsi immediately became agitated.

Rong Xie was also embarrassed, but he had actually guessed this outcome from the moment he tasted the tasteless crucian carp soup.

After some explanation, communication, and apology, the matter was finally clarified.

Shen Bingsi went out and told people that she wanted to make a special nourishing breakfast. The chef somehow misheard it as nourishing the body during postpartum confinement. Since he hadn't had a chance to use his signature soup from the palace, the Imperial Concubine's Nourishing Soup (crucian carp soup), he carefully prepared it in the kitchen for a while and proudly presented it, but it resulted in this misunderstanding.

Although it was a mistake, the responsibility still lay with the kitchen. The kitchen manager and the head chef went to apologize, saying that they had taken care of all the meals during this period and hoped to make amends.

Rong Xie didn't want to see a chef who had worked so hard bowing and apologizing over a misunderstanding, who might even be punished later. So he said softly to Shen Bingsi, "Let's just let this matter go. There's no need to cover all the meals. I want to eat something else outside. Let's just leave it as it is."

Shen Bingsi was initially annoyed because Rong Xie hadn't eaten well, but her anger had subsided. Hearing what he said, she nodded and relayed it verbatim to the kitchen manager and head chef.

The manager smiled and said, "This young master is truly kind-hearted. Don't worry, this is the consistent rule of our establishment. We cannot tolerate any dissatisfaction from our guests. We won't hold it against Master Sun alone."

The head chef was a straightforward man: "That's how it is, young master, you can eat with peace of mind. As for me, Chef Sun, I'm not short of money. It's just that I don't look down on other kitchens. Only the prestigious name of Fanshige is worthy of me, a former imperial chef."

Rong Xie was amused by the chef.

He smiled, and the chef couldn't help but remark, "The young master is as handsome as an immortal, and kind-hearted. No wonder that gentleman takes such good care of him, even going to the kitchen to give him special instructions before breakfast..."

The manager coughed, signaling him to stop talking nonsense and not to stir things up again after he had just calmed the person down.

Shen Bingsi didn't care much. The chef was telling the truth, and he never got angry just because someone told him the truth.

After the big misunderstanding, the kitchen was going to make breakfast for them again, but Rong Xie thought it was wasteful, so he just heated up the cold soup, added some seasoning, and ate it as brunch.

It truly lived up to its reputation as a highly nutritious food; both of them felt a bit hot after eating it.

"Where are we going today?" Rong Xie asked.

"It's too late for the distant places. In the city, where would you like to go?" Shen Bingsi asked Rong Xie.

My dear friend had a faint blush on her face, and her complexion was no longer as pale as before. Even in the daytime, it was so radiant that it seemed to glow.

"Then... let's just browse around Hanmofang?" Rong Xie said, her eyes sparkling.

Hanmofang is a place that sells books and stationery. Rong Xie loves to browse in such places. He can spend most of the day browsing there. The old books and manuscripts he finds can be stacked up to be as tall as a person. He stuffs them all into his brocade pouch, so he won't have to worry about not having books to read for the rest of the year.

Shen Bingsi stood with his hands in his pockets, watching from the side. Occasionally, he would pick up a book with pictures and take a look.

"Sir, you have a good eye. This is Nan Gao Ku Ku Ke's 'Illustrated Edition of Silver Mirror Moon,' which was originally sold out long ago. This is a version specially copied by Yi Zhi Tao, a former court painter, which our bookstore specially hired. Look at the quality of the painting and the skill of the artist. You can't buy this anywhere else, no matter how much money you have!" The middle-aged scholar-style bookseller chuckled.

"I think the painting is just average." Shen Bingsi never hesitates to criticize people to their faces. "There are no landscapes, flowers and birds, no swords and spears, just groups of people standing in the room. What's the point?"

"You're too kind, sir. Flip through the pages again." The bookseller gave a mysterious smile and gestured to flip through the pages.

Shen Bingsi was puzzled. If the first two pages were drawn so rigidly and boringly, how good could the later pages be? He flipped to the second half with a "whoosh" and was suddenly stunned by the stark white pages.

After Rong Xie finished selecting the books that interested him, he turned around to find Shen Bingsi.

He felt slightly apologetic, not knowing how long Shen Bingsi had been waiting bored. Shen Bingsi had never been interested in these miscellaneous books; she had only come to the calligraphy and painting shop to keep him company.

Unexpectedly, after walking a few steps along the bookstall, a familiar figure appeared in Rong Xie's eyes.

Rong Xie opened his eyes wide in surprise. He couldn't believe his eyes. Shen Bing Si was actually reading a book, her eyes fixed on the pages, as if she were frozen in place.

Rong Xie couldn't help but become curious.

What kind of books would Shen Bingsi be looking at at a bookstall in the mortal realm? Could it be some lost cultivation manual? Or perhaps casting blueprints from court craftsmen? Rong Xie couldn't think of anything else that could captivate Shen Bingsi so much.

He tiptoed forward, wanting to see what was going on.

Before he even got close, he felt an invisible wall of energy blocking his way. Shen Bingsi, as if nothing had happened, threw the book back into the bookseller's basket and turned to walk over.

"Have you finished reading?" Shen Bingsi asked casually.

The invisible barrier of energy that had been blocking Rong Xie's way vanished, as if it had never existed at all.

Something's fishy. Rong Xie lowered his eyelids slightly, looking at Shen Bing Si with suspicion.

Shen Bingsi walked up to him, put her arm around Rong Xie's shoulder, and turned him around: "Let's go, this place is rather boring, let's come less often in the future."

"Really?" Rong Xie turned to look at him in confusion. "You seemed very engrossed in what you were watching just now."

“Just some ridiculous books.” Shen Bingsi frowned slightly. “The people who write these kinds of books should be beheaded.”

"..." Rong Xie really couldn't imagine how writing a humorous book could be punishable by beheading. Did they use the ruthless cultivators to tell dirty jokes?

The two left the calligraphy workshop and listened to a historical storytelling session at a teahouse at the alley entrance.

After a thrilling tale of a hero going to a banquet alone, the storyteller, whose voice was filled with melancholy, suddenly changed his tone and began to speak of love and romance.

"It has been said since ancient times that even heroes cannot resist the charms of a beautiful woman..."

Shen Bingsi slammed the teacup down and stood up.

Rong Xie knew that this was the end of today's storytelling.

The two came out of the teahouse; it was getting late.

"Where do we go next?" Rong Xie asked. "Do you still want to go to the food stalls in the south of the city?"

Rong Xie had thought it over. Shen Bingsi wasn't an ordinary person; he was a Nascent Soul cultivator who could even turn wine into water. The unclear ingredients at the food stall wouldn't bother him. If he wanted to eat it, it was fine to indulge occasionally. A thousand pieces of gold couldn't buy my happiness, so it wouldn't hurt for Rong Xie to accompany him once in a while.

Besides, Rong Xie now has spiritual power. After finishing his snack at the food stall, he went back and meditated for a week, expelling all the impurities from his body.

"No, it's getting late, let's go back," Shen Bingsi said, unusually.

Rong Xie was surprised. He thought Shen Bingsi would be happy to hear about this arrangement, but he didn't expect him to be uninterested.

Speaking of which, Shen Bingsi has been in a strange state all day. She gets easily agitated by the smallest things, and when she is calm, she is absent-minded. I don't know what's wrong with her.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Rong Xie asked worriedly, grabbing Shen Bingsi's sleeve and carefully observing his complexion. "Could it be that you transferred too much spiritual energy to me..."

"Don't overthink it," Shen Bingsi immediately denied. "That was just a tiny bit of spiritual energy, not that much."

"What's wrong?" Rong Xie touched his hanging hand and felt that his palm was very hot. "Should we find a medical practitioner from the Xuan Tian Sect to take a look?"

"No need, I'm fine," Shen Bingsi said.

After a while, he muttered again, "Could it be that bowl of crucian carp soup?"

The two returned to the Prosperous Pavilion. Shen Bingsi had no appetite, while Rong Xie, having gained spiritual power, didn't care whether he ate or not.

We'll skip dinner tonight.

Shen Bingsi had been neglecting his cultivation lately, so he asked Rong Xie for leave and moved to another bed to meditate.

Speaking of which, Shen Bingsi has been out of seclusion for about half a year. Because she has little official business and usually focuses on spending time with Rong Xie, she has not meditated for a long time. When she finally sat down, she found it difficult to get into a meditative state.

The images from the book "Illustrated Moon" that he had seen at the book stall kept flashing through his mind. Normally, he would shut these kinds of random things out of his memory, but today, he kept thinking about them again and again.

He wasn't someone who hadn't seen the world. When he broke through to the next level in his cultivation of the Path of Ruthlessness, he passed the tests of lust without batting an eye each time. Among his fellow practitioners of the Path of Ruthlessness, he was the only one who could easily pass the test of severing desire, because he despised that kind of thing from the bottom of his heart.

But today, he kept thinking about it. The image he was looking at wasn't the vulgar work of a third-rate painter, but... another body, as bright as the moon and as white as snow, with long, flowing hair, huddled in his arms, sobbing and calling his name.

That's enough.

Shen Bingsi, what are you thinking?

How dare you taint the sacred friendship between you and your dearest friend with such filthy thoughts!

The giant blade existing in her sea of ​​consciousness cut down like a wall cleaving the sky, splitting the sea of ​​consciousness in two. The violent shock brought pain that was unbearable for ordinary people, but Shen Bingsi was already used to it.

When he opened his eyes again and looked at the boundless giant blade, his gaze was devoid of joy or sorrow, and all his distracting thoughts were shut out on the other side of the blade.

The sea here has returned to calm, the sea and sky blend into one, and there are no more distracting thoughts.

The next morning, Shen Bingsi returned to normal.