Chapter 71 Longan Wine:

Shen Bingsi went to the main peak in a good mood, while Rong Xie made a flying talisman and headed towards Yingbin Town alone.

He took out two jars of longan wine that he had prepared in advance from his brocade pouch and presented them to Lu Yinglin when he saw him.

Lu Yinglin has always loved wine, and he couldn't resist the sight of these two jars of longan wine. He insisted on ordering some side dishes to go with the wine and trying them on the spot.

"Tsk, this wine tastes like honey water," Lu Yinglin exclaimed.

Rong Xie smiled and said, "This wine is made from longan and grapes, and the method comes from Xizhou. We don't often drink it here. I suppose Young Master Lu has tasted all the wines in Zhongzhou, so sending him some Zhuangyuanhong or Zhuyeqing doesn't seem like much of a surprise."

“I didn’t expect Junior Brother Rong to know these things.” Lu Yinglin laughed. “I thought Junior Brother Rong wasn’t good at drinking, so I would send him some famous wines that wouldn’t go wrong. Sending him such an uncommon wine shows that you’ve put a lot of thought into it.”

Rong Xie thought to himself that he hadn't put in much effort, but the Xuan Tian Sword incident had inspired him. Things that were hard to find in reality were everywhere in the Book of Fate. The preferences of the main characters that Rong Xie had read could be very useful when it came to giving gifts.

"I'm glad you're satisfied, Young Master Lu," Rong Xie said with a smile.

“Junior Brother Rong, won’t you have a couple of drinks? I’m feeling lonely drinking alone.” Lu Yinglin pointed to Rong Xie’s untouched wine glass.

Rong Xie knew that the longan wine tasted sweet but had a strong aftereffect. He hadn't finished discussing his business yet, so he couldn't drink too much and only took a small sip.

"Just one sip? I've had several cups already." Lu Yinglin, getting into the mood, wanted to tease Rong Xie into drinking more.

"I have a problem that's bothering me. If Young Master Lu can help me solve it, I'd gladly drink three cups of wine." Rong Xie smiled slightly.

"Oh?" Lu Yinglin immediately became interested. "As long as I'm not asked to compete with Sword Saint Shen in swordsmanship, there are really few troubles in this world that I can't solve."

Rong Xie looked around. It was early morning, and there was no one in the lobby of the inn. The group that had breakfast had already set off, and lunch had not yet arrived. It was a convenient time to talk.

After carefully considering his words, Rong Xie tactfully told Lu Yinglin that Shen Bingsi probably knew he was leaving, and had been spending all her time with him lately, showing a particularly enthusiastic attitude, which made him unsure how to bring up the matter with Shen Bingsi.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yinglin laughed: "Actually, since you've been waiting so long to come and find me, I was already prepared that this deal might not go through."

"How could that be?" Rong Xie hurriedly said, "You've gone to so much trouble for this deal, and I've been serious about it. How could I suddenly back out?"

"It's hard to say. People's thoughts can change in an instant. What if you suddenly think that Sword Saint Chen is really good? Of course, I'm not doubting you, it's just... we often encounter similar situations in our line of work. Until the deal is secured, it's hard to say anything," Lu Yinglin said with a smile.

Rong Xie thought to himself, doing business is not something anyone can do. If he had spent a month preparing diligently, only to have it all fall apart because the customer changed their mind, he would really take out a stack of talismans and block the door.

"Don't worry about that. I'm determined to leave, but... I don't want things to get too ugly and hurt our... friendship." Rong Xie didn't even know how he managed to say the word "friendship."

Fortunately, Lu Yinglin didn't seem to notice his awkwardness.

“Junior Brother Rong really knows how to think of others. In my opinion, this matter is not difficult at all. As long as you think about yourself a little, you will know what to say.” Lu Yinglin shook the bluish-white longan wine and said with ease.

"What do you mean?" Rong Xie asked, puzzled.

“The deep friendship between Junior Brother Rong and Sword Saint Shen is indeed rare and enviable, but friendship… is just that. It’s just people you play with when you’re young and spend time with when you grow up. I’ve never seen anyone spend their whole life with their friends. In fact, the friends you have from childhood to adulthood are not all the same people. Friends, in the end, are just people who accompany you for a period of time,” Lu Yinglin said.

Rong Xie had heard this explanation many times, but his relationship with Shen Bing Si was not like that at all. Their lives had been deeply intertwined for a long time, and now it had become unclear again... although it might only be Rong Xie who was unclear.

“These words make a lot of sense, but… how exactly should we do it?” Rong Xie asked.

"You're entering a new phase. You can no longer hang out with Shen Jiansheng. Ask him to bless you—you're getting married." Lu Yinglin raised his wine glass to Rong Xie, a joyful smile on his face, as if Rong Xie were truly getting married.

"That was just an excuse to move out of the Shen family..." Rong Xie said, then realized something and looked at Lu Yinglin in surprise.

"Then let's try it again." Lu Yinglin downed the longan wine in one gulp and praised, "This wine is quite potent. Junior Brother Rong, are you really not going to give it a try?"

“No, I… I still don’t think it will work,” Rong Xie hesitated. “The Shen family was able to be fooled by me because they don’t know me. But Shen Bingsi is always with me. He probably knows better than I do whether I know a rich young lady from the outskirts of Beijing.”

“It’s simple. You don’t need to spell it out. Just say you feel the time is right, and that you’re not cut out for cultivating immortality. You want to live an ordinary life, get married, have children, and carry on the family line. That’s perfectly normal, isn’t it? If Sword Saint Shen really cares about you, he should respect your choice.” Lu Yinglin spoke eloquently.

"this……"

“Junior Brother Rong,” Lu Yinglin picked up the wine pot and refilled the two of them, “Try this wine, it’s not bad. Drink a little and you’ll know there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Around noon, Shen Bingsi returned from the main peak, looking rather pale.

He went to find Xue Baoshan again. Given the chaotic state of his consciousness, he was bound to get a scolding. Xue Baoshan shouted, "I'm so angry!" He told Shen Bingsi to go and figure out a solution himself and not to keep asking him. He wouldn't change even after being asked. He told him to go to the Supreme Immortal Mountain, but he wouldn't go. He was courting death. Even a Great Luo Golden Immortal couldn't help him.

Shen Bingsi felt that the problem still lay in the fact that Xue Baoshan was not a cultivator of the Heartless Path. As the saying goes, "a trade is like a mountain," and Xue Baoshan was unable to offer opinions on the matter at hand, so he could only vent his emotions. These emotions were useless to Shen Bingsi, and there was no point in staying any longer, so he withdrew.

Back at Huanxue Manor, Shen Bingsi couldn't wait to step through the threshold and searched everywhere for Rong Xie's whereabouts.

After learning from the three younger ones that Rong Xie had not yet returned, Shen Bing Si finally calmed down and sat down at the stone table in the front yard, waiting for Rong Xie to come back.

The three children were having lunch when they saw Shen Bingsi squeeze in front of the stone table. They were startled, and their steamed buns suddenly lost their appeal.

"You eat," Shen Bingsi said considerately, noticing that the three children had stopped and were looking at him.

"Mmm...mmm." The three little ones stretched their necks like ducks and swallowed the steamed buns, quickly finishing their meal. Some washed the dishes, while others cleaned the table.

Shen Bingsi sat at the table waiting for Rong Xie. He found that as long as he knew he would see Rong Xie soon, he would be in a very good mood, and the scenery he saw would become much more vivid. He had never noticed before that the maple trees outside the courtyard wall had grown so tall. The deep red maple leaves pressed against the green tiles had a special kind of beauty.

Shen Bingsi rarely reads those literary books and doesn't know what words to use to describe his feelings at this moment. He will ask Rong Xie when he returns later.

...

After waiting for a long time, the three younger ones finished cleaning up the kitchen and went to do other things. Shen Bingsi remained seated, reaching out to touch the communication jade pendant several times. She thought for a moment and decided not to disturb Rong Xie and his companions while they ate. But wasn't this meal taking too long? What favor did Rong Xie need to repay that required so much time?

Several annoying people flashed through Shen Bingsi's mind: the carpenter's shop owner, the mailroom clerk, and the pawnshop owner who always had a malicious smile...

Just then, a muffled thud came from the door, as if something had hit it.

Anything that could crash into the gate of Huanxue Manor, whether human or object, had been permitted by Shen Bingsi. Of those that could pass through the barrier, this one had the highest authority.

Shen Bingsi immediately stood up and rushed to the door like a gust of wind. The door opened halfway, and the person outside stumbled straight in.

Shen Bingsi quickly put her arm around the man and helped him across the threshold.

Rong Xie smelled sweetly of alcohol, and his cheeks were flushed. His eyes were bright and piercing as he stared at Shen Bing Si. Judging from his appearance alone, you couldn't tell that he was drunk.

"You're back? And you've been drinking?" Shen Bingsi frowned and helped Rong Xie walk towards the stone table.

Rong Xie obediently followed him and said with a smile, "There's really no other way. I'm a little unsure about how to walk."

“…?” Shen Bingsi raised her eyebrows and looked at him. Judging from how fluently he spoke, he didn’t seem to be drunk, but from the content of his speech, he was clearly intoxicated.

Rong Xie reached the edge of the stone table, plopped down, straightened his back, faced outwards, and rested one elbow on the edge of the table. His posture was like that of someone attending an important banquet, waiting for the host to speak.

Seeing that he was settled, Shen Bingsi stopped protecting him and sat down on the stone bench next to him: "Who exactly made you owe such a big favor? And you even had to drink with them?"

“It’s Manager Lu from Yuanbao Auction House, you’ve forgotten? We met in the garden.” Rong Xie turned around and looked at Shen Bing Si with a smile. “I’ve compiled a list of assets, all of which are things you gave me before, as well as my monthly allowance and the monthly allowance for managing the manor. That should be mine, right?”

"Huh?" Shen Bingsi hadn't yet realized what he meant. "Of course it's yours."

"That's right. According to the market rate, the monthly fee I charge isn't much. As for the other things, I didn't take them from you for nothing. You can go to the secret vault and count them. I haven't touched any of the rare and precious materials you brought back this year, so you won't accuse me of taking your things to sell."

Shen Bingsi couldn't help but find it amusing: "Who said you took my things to sell? You and I are one, what's mine is yours. You can use or sell the things in the secret vault if you want, who dares to say anything to you?"

Rong Xie frowned, his smile vanishing: "It was you! You told me to take your treasures out to auction off for a good price, to buy a big house, three thousand taels, five thousand taels..."

Shen Bingsi's face fell. He knew his best friend had an outstanding memory, but he never expected that the angry words he said that day would be memorized verbatim and read to him again.

"I didn't... I was delirious that day, I was talking nonsense..." Shen Bingsi tried to explain.

Rong Xie's eyes reddened: "Bing Si, I'm so tired. I want to live my own life. Thank you for all these years, for letting me accumulate the wealth I have now."

Shen Bingsi stared at Rong Xie in astonishment, as if sensing something, she suddenly turned her face away and said quickly in a low voice, "You've had too much to drink, I'll take you back to your room to rest."

“But this is what I deserve. I didn’t take a single extra penny from you. I will use this money to buy my own house, build my own business, choose my own family, and live an ordinary life. I’ve never done these things before, but I want to try it out and live completely… according to my own wishes.”

“I’m not anyone’s butler, I’m not anyone’s best friend, I’m just me, I am Rong Xie.” Rong Xie thought for a moment, “No, this name Rong Xie isn’t mine either. Never mind… it’s too hard to think of another one, I’ll just use this one for now.”

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520, Bingbing's heartbroken day [crying][doge emoji]