Chapter 88 The Young Lady:

"Oh dear, I didn't mean to!" Linglong explained as she struggled to rescue her hair from the talons of the little eagle-headed falcon.

Just as Linglong was struggling, Rong Xie also saw the face of the uninvited guest.

The young woman in the dark blue fitted outfit turned around, her spirited face facing Rong Xie. Her high nose bridge connected to her prominent brow bone, and her eyes, with their clear black and white pupils, swept aggressively across Rong Xie's face, as if trying to discern every subtle change in his expression and etch it into her memory.

Rong Xie was stunned. He never expected that the "dream girl" he had just brushed past on the street would actually appear in front of him. Was he dreaming? How could such an absurd thing happen? Yes, that's right, he must be dreaming.

And it was a nightmare.

"Shen Bingsi...!" Rong Xie leaned back involuntarily. "What... what are you doing?"

Indeed, the woman in the dark blue outfit in front of him had a face that Rong Xie recognized very well. When they brushed past each other on the street earlier, Rong Xie hadn't seen her face clearly, so he didn't recognize her immediately. Now that she was within an arm's length of him, her face was clearly displayed in front of him. If Rong Xie still couldn't recognize her, he must be blind.

This is clearly the face he once drew on paper, exactly the same, even the hairstyle is exactly the same!

"Who said I'm Shen Bingsi? My name is Qu Huaiyan, and I'm the eldest daughter of the Qu family in the capital," Shen Bingsi said without changing her expression.

Rong Xie gritted his teeth, his cheeks gradually flushing, and his voice became much weaker: "You...you saw it all."

To appease the Shen family, Rong Xie initially claimed he was preparing to marry a wealthy young lady. To avoid being exposed, Rong Xie meticulously planned out the details of this young lady's life, including her appearance, background, name, and other miscellaneous details, all of which Rong Xie tried to forget.

Unexpectedly, several months later, on this day, a day that caught everyone off guard, the fabricated rich young lady suddenly appeared in front of him, even giving him the name and background he made up... Damn it, could it be that the piece of paper that Shen Bingsi picked up was the one with the most detailed information he had created? He clearly burned it all!

A layer of cold sweat broke out on Rong Xie's back: "What exactly... do you want to do?"

Although Shen Bingsi's behavior was clearly outrageous, he was born without a sense of shame, and becoming a woman was something that couldn't stop him from moving forward.

On the contrary, Rong Xie, who had only drawn a picture and written a few words, was now in so much agony that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Come back with me." Shen Bingsi took a step closer, forcing Rong Xie to the tea table. She reached out from beside Rong Xie's arm, braced herself against the edge of the tea table, trapping him in the small space, and stared intently at him. "Stop making trouble."

Rong Xie was initially a little embarrassed, but upon hearing this, a surge of anger rose within him, and he frowned slightly: "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, you ran away just to show me, didn't you? You can live well renting a place outside and find a way to make a living. You don't need to rely on me. I already know that." Shen Bingsi's tone was somewhat anxious. "Can you come back with me now?"

“What are you saying?” Rong Xie smiled. “I don’t understand. If you’re done, please leave. Oh, and by the way, go through the front door and don’t step on my roof tiles.”

Shen Bingsi seemed surprised that Rong Xie would reject him so decisively. He was momentarily stunned. Just as he was regrouping and preparing to launch a second attack on Rong Xie, Linglong and her little eagle-headed falcon finally reconciled.

“Uh…” Linglong turned her head, her gaze shifting back and forth between Rong Xie and the suddenly appearing woman in green, a few guesses forming in her mind, “You two… could it be…”

Rong Xie suddenly remembered that there was a third person in the room. It was all Shen Bingsi's fault for being so infuriating. As soon as Shen Bingsi appeared, he forgot everything.

Now look what's happened! The Great Sword Saint Shen has turned into a woman and is causing trouble in his room. If this gets out, his and Shen Bingsi's reputations will be ruined.

He turned his head, wanting to explain to Linglong, but didn't know where to begin.

Shen Bingsi kept her eyes fixed on Rong Xie from beginning to end, her gaze never wavering.

"...Could it be...that they argued because of me?" Linglong suddenly said something surprising.

Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi were both taken aback.

Linglong clasped her hands in front of her and twisted her shoulders, looking rather embarrassed: "Don't argue over me, Brother Rong. And this lady... is she from our hometown?"

Neither of them had clearly followed Linglong's train of thought. Shen Bingsi even gestured with her chin towards Rong Xie, silently mouthing, "A sister from our hometown?"

Rong Xie didn't want to pay attention to Shen Bing Si, but he didn't know what Ling Long was talking about. Fortunately, Ling Long seemed not to have heard him call Shen Bing Si by her full name just now.

"It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding," Linglong waved her hands vigorously. "Sister, don't be angry. Brother Rong and I aren't like that. We're just friends who help each other out."

Rong Xie looked at Linglong with a puzzled expression, wondering why she was explaining so much to a stranger.

For the first time, Shen Bingsi gave Linglong a friendly look, turning her head and asking, "Oh? Just friends?"

"Yes!" Linglong said a little embarrassedly, "Actually, it was my idea, it has nothing to do with Brother Rong. It's because my uncles and the others always try to set me up with other people, which is a lot of trouble. It just so happens that Brother Rong is having the same problem, so we..."

“Miss Ling!” Rong Xie interrupted her, “There’s no need to explain so much to irrelevant people.”

"An unrelated person?" Linglong asked cautiously, surprised. "Isn't she from our hometown... a child bride?"

Although the last three words were uttered in a low voice, the other two people in the room, who were both skilled in cultivation, heard them clearly.

Both of them choked at the same time.

Rong Xie never expected that Linglong's thought process would be so quick, instantly connecting all the lies Rong Xie had made up. Rong Xie himself hadn't even thought of this way of explaining things.

Shen Bingsi was surprised. He thought that Rong Xie had left so heartlessly that he wouldn't even mention him in his letters back, let alone in front of outsiders. He didn't expect that Rong Xie would not only mention him, but also in this way.

From my hometown... a child bride?

It does, to some extent, accurately express Rong Xie's relationship with him, and Rong Xie's fantasies based on that relationship.

"no!"

"So what if it is!"

Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi spoke at the same time, expressing opposing opinions.

Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi in confusion. Shen Bingsi had actually recognized him. Right, he had even transformed into the person in the portrait. Could it be that he had... gone mad?

Rong Xie suddenly became a little worried. After he left, did Shen Bing Si go to the Supreme Immortal Mountain to find her master?

"Is it... really true..." Linglong's voice trailed off, her eyes darting between Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi.

In fact, she already had the answer in her heart. When she saw the older sister in green pinning Brother Rong to the tea table, she knew that in the shield alliance, she was the only one who really needed a shield.

"It doesn't matter what it is," Shen Bingsi ignored Linglong and turned her gaze back to Rong Xie's face. "I can be anyone to you as long as you want. I admit that you have a huge influence on me. I can't live without you."

The air froze for a moment.

Rong Xie stared at Shen Bingsi in astonishment, clearly bewildered by his "confession".

"Wow—" Linglong exclaimed softly, gazing at the two with a dreamy expression. She had never seen such a couple before; the woman was so assertive and proactive, even possessing a touch of domineering. Linglong had been wandering the world for so many years, yet she had never met a man she liked. This was because men always tried to control and dominate her. No matter how much a man's appearance matched her preferences, the moment he showed this trait, she would instantly lose interest. For a long time, Linglong even wondered if she would be a bachelor for life.

It wasn't until now, seeing how the older sister in green and the older brother Rong interacted, that Linglong realized what kind of relationship she wanted!

Thinking this way, Linglong tried to minimize her presence and not disturb Brother Rong and Sister Qingyi's conversation. She just squatted down to the side and secretly observed and learned.

"..." Rong Xie didn't know how to answer Shen Bing Si.

"Well, have you thought it over?" Shen Bingsi looked at Rong Xie with an air of certainty. "Come back with me, and I'll give you anything. You won't have to live such a miserable life anymore."

Rong Xie raised his eyes and looked at Shen Bingsi again.

Shen Bingsi's current appearance is exactly the same as the ideal woman he has imagined. Even if it is just her appearance, it will still have a certain impact on him. In addition, Shen Bingsi's unique cold expression after using the Blade of Heaven makes this face and this image very deceptive to Rong Xie.

If he had only left Shen Bingsi on a whim, he might have been tempted by such a deceptive confession.

But he wasn't.

He's the kind of person who hesitates and thinks for a long time before making a decision, but once he makes a decision, he never looks back.

"Do you know what I look like to you right now?" Rong Xie sighed softly.

"What?" Shen Bingsi asked in confusion, wondering why Rong Xie would suddenly bring this up.

“It’s like looking at a stone, a stone that should have been in Huanxue Manor,” Rong Xie said calmly, “but it’s been placed elsewhere.”

Shen Bingsi narrowed her eyes.

"You feel uncomfortable not being able to see that stone, so you want to move it back—that's what your eyes say."

Shen Bingsi fell silent.

Rong Xie pushed his arm away, stepped out of the cramped space, and came to Linglong. He looked at the little eagle-headed falcon on her shoulder and asked, "Is it alright?"

"Ah..." Linglong hadn't recovered from the argument yet. How terrifying! It's true that calmness is more terrifying than loud shouting. On the surface, the older sister in green was in control, but in reality, it seemed to be a different story.

"It seems she's alright," Rong Xie observed. "Miss Linglong, I might not be able to continue entertaining you today. Why don't you... go and deliver a message to Captain Zhao first?"

"Huh?" Linglong suddenly remembered the important matter at hand. "I almost forgot, I'm going to deliver the message now! Well—I'll take my leave!"

Linglong cupped her hands in greeting to Rong Xie, and then bowed deeply to Shen Bingsi: "Thank you, sister, for healing Aying."

After saying that, Linglong quickly left the flower hall with the little eagle-headed falcon. Soon, she could be seen running across the pond through the open glass window.

"Please, you too." Rong Xie opened the door to the flower hall and looked at the only person left at the tea table.

Shen Bingsi stood sideways, his arm still braced against the edge of the table, as if he were caught in some perplexing predicament.

“He said this would make you come back, because you like me… becoming like this,” Shen Bingsi’s voice was low as she turned to look at the doorway, her eyes filled with suppressed emotion. “So, you don’t like me anymore? Your liking is no different from those others; it can only last for a short while. How laughable…”

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I got red envelopes today too, and I just wanted to give them out!