Chapter 89 A Slap:

"What are you saying?" Rong Xie seemed to have heard something bizarre. "He said? Who is he? Who told you that I would come back if I became like this?"

Shen Bingsi's gaze drifted: "That's not important, what's important is..."

"This is very important. Did you go to see your master?" Rong Xie walked over from the door, anxiously observing Shen Bingsi's complexion while reaching out to feel his pulse.

Then, Rong Xie touched a hot arm and felt a strong, powerful pulse.

"I've looked," Shen Bingsi replied briefly, the oath of the elders preventing him from saying more.

"Oh." Rong Xie was slightly relieved. Since he had consulted his master and his pulse was normal, it meant that he was really alright.

Rong Xie's hand then left Shen Bingsi's wrist.

The next moment, his hand was tightly wrapped, and the hot touch squeezed his cartilage.

Rong Xie's eyelids twitched, and a tingling sensation traveled up her wrist.

He looked up at Shen Bingsi, who was staring intently at him.

Rong Xie lowered his eyes and tried to pull his hand away from his grasp, but the other man held it even tighter.

"What exactly do you want?" Rong Xie frowned.

"You still haven't answered me." Shen Bingsi pressed closer to Rong Xie. "You still like it, don't you? This face, and... me."

Rong Xie's heart started racing, and his mouth felt a little dry. Shen Bing Si's current demeanor was truly deceptive, not in appearance, but in... his expression and tone, as if he genuinely cared whether Rong Xie liked him or not.

“What does it matter whether I like it or not, since you can’t…” Rong Xie muttered to himself.

"Who says I can't?" Shen Bingsi stared at Rong Xie's face, his gaze slowly moving downwards. He tentatively pressed his face closer and closer to Rong Xie. He had seen the young couples at the Red Fragrance Pavilion do this; they pressed their lips together, although it was completely useless for dual cultivation—

"Smack!"

Shen Bingsi's face turned to one side.

Rong Xie's strength wasn't particularly great, but Shen Bingsi was completely unprepared for Rong Xie to slap him. Even when he did something even more infuriating in the past, Rong Xie would only turn pale and never actually hit him.

A strange sense of unease welled up inside Shen Bingsi, and she subconsciously released Rong Xie's hand.

With both hands free, Rong Xie pushed him away without hesitation and quickly walked to a spacious area of ​​the flower hall, keeping a certain distance from Shen Bingsi.

Shen Bingsi stood still, motionless, like a petrified statue.

"What are you doing?" Rong Xie asked, both surprised and angry.

Just moments ago, Rong Xie was wondering if Shen Bingsi had suddenly become enlightened. Now, his actions were like a bucket of cold water being poured on Rong Xie, bringing him back to reality from the illusion of mutual understanding.

Even the face he drew himself has become unsettling.

“I accept it,” Shen Bingsi said in a muffled voice. “I’m accepting your affection. Isn’t that how it is when you accept someone? Those young couples at Hongxiang Tower, when one of them expresses their affection, the other will kiss them. They’re both happy and they’ll happily go off together.”

"..." Rong Xie felt a wave of helplessness. "So, this is the solution you came up with?"

"At least I'm trying to find a solution!" Shen Bingsi felt her face burning, and her voice unconsciously rose. "I didn't back down because of a little setback! I didn't just shout that I wanted to live my own life and then run away without looking back, leaving the person I promised to be my best friend for life behind!"

Rong Xie knew that when it came to sophistry, Shen Bingsi was second to none.

"I'm sorry, maybe I didn't explain it clearly..." Rong Xie sighed, "No matter what you do, I won't go back."

Shen Bingsi choked, like a duck whose neck had been squeezed, and suddenly couldn't make a sound.

"Between considering your feelings, your habits... and protecting myself, I can only choose one, so I chose myself." Rong Xie lowered his eyes. "In the past, I wouldn't say every time, but most of the time, I would choose to consider your feelings. Of course, it's not your fault. You've been very good to me. It's just a habit I've had since I was a child... Now, I can only choose one between considering your feelings and protecting myself, because... I can't bury my head in the sand and pretend to be your best friend, stay by your side, and always respond to your declaration of being your best friend."

Shen Bingsi narrowed his eyes. There was a word that sounded particularly jarring to him. He had seen it in his master's last words before, and now he was hearing it again from Rong Xie. Was this... a coincidence?

“So… I don’t want you to pretend to accept me and force yourself to play the role of a proper Daoist partner.” Rong Xie looked at him again, this time with a firmer look in his eyes. “Please accept reality too. I’ve already taken the first step. I have my own home, a way to make a living, and I’m living my own life. If you really consider me a lifelong friend, please bless me. In that case, I will welcome you to visit here often.”

"..."

The restless emotion was like a volcano about to erupt, making Shen Bingsi's chest tremble slightly. He could hardly stand still in one place and had to keep moving his feet. The lava urgently needed to be released, but he could not find a reasonable outlet.

Who wants to wish you well? Who wants to visit your home?

Who wants to accept the reality of seeing ghosts!

If you're breaking up, then you're breaking up. Don't try to play the gentleman's friendship game!

"...You're not cultivating anymore? You're not planning to reach the Foundation Establishment stage?" Shen Bingsi asked with a stern face. "Are you just going to...live a mediocre life for another twenty or thirty years?"

Rong Xie was silent for a moment: "It seems this is the only way."

"Fine...fine," Shen Bingsi's face turned completely dark. "I really misjudged you."

After saying this, Shen Bingsi turned around, jumped out of the window, and disappeared in a flash.

Rong Xie knew that not cultivating was one of Shen Bing Si's biggest taboos—not striving for improvement.

However, it doesn't matter anymore, since Rong Xie has already crossed even bigger taboos.

He only hoped that this meeting, with its open and honest conversation, would allow Shen Bingsi to fully recognize reality and stop disrupting his life.

...

However, his hopes were dashed once again.

The next morning, when Rong Xie went out, he saw a dark blue figure on the wall of Zhuli Lane. A tall woman with a ponytail was squatting on the wall, with a blade of grass in her mouth and her eyes looking at the sky. He didn't know how long she had been squatting there.

However... he did not step on the roof tiles of the Rong Xie family's house, so Rong Xie could not say anything and could only pretend not to see it and head towards the Lan Yuan Villa.

Along the way, Rong Xie did not see Shen Bingsi following, as if the green shadow on the wall was his illusion.

Rong Xie arrived at Lan Yuan Villa and quickly threw himself into his work, forgetting all other miscellaneous matters. He worked until noon before leaving the steward's courtyard. He walked to the east gate, which he usually used to go home, and happened to run into Linglong waiting there.

And then there's Shen Bingsi.

Shen Bingsi remained crouched on the courtyard wall, gazing at the sky. Linglong stood somewhat uneasy at the foot of the wall, looking up several times as if she wanted to talk to Shen Bingsi, but was scared away by his cold expression.

"Miss Linglong?" Rong Xie frowned slightly when he saw Shen Bingsi, wondering what he was up to.

When Linglong saw Rong Xie come out, she breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had grabbed a savior, and ran up to him quickly: "Brother Rong, you're finally out! I received a reply from Brother Zhao, he'll be coming over this afternoon. I wonder when Brother Rong will be free?"

"I'm free today." Rong Xie was surprised that Brother Zhao arrived so quickly. It seemed that the treasure hunting team had been out of work for too long.

"Great! How about we have dinner at Tongqinglou tonight?"

"Sure."

"Is it just the three of us having dinner?" Linglong paused, "Or... four people?"

"Hmm?" Rong Xie thought the fourth person she was referring to was Wang Mu. "Wang Mu is always out during the day, I don't know when he'll be back."

“No… I mean… Sister Qu Huaiyan.” Linglong raised an eyebrow at the wall.

"What Qu Huai..." Rong Xie realized, "How do you know his name?"

"I just asked." Linglong was inexplicably proud, as if talking to "Qu Huaiyan" was some kind of remarkable achievement. "Sister Qu is a very kind person. She even taught me a trick to treat birds."

"Hmm..." Rong Xie didn't quite believe that Shen Bingsi, with her arrogant attitude, would actually teach someone magic techniques.

"She also told me I don't need to be your shield anymore." Linglong smiled sweetly, "From now on, she'll take the fall for any stray arrows, hehe."

"..."

Rong Xie didn't know why Linglong was so happy, but Shen Bingsi was very good at intimidating people he met for the first time. As long as he had a cold face, those who could talk to him would feel a strange sense of honor.

He couldn't help but look at Shen Bingsi, wanting to ask him what he was really planning.

Shen Bingsi, however, remained gazing at the sky, as if determined not to meet his gaze.

“Never mind,” Rong Xie said. “There were originally three people, so where did the four come from?”

"Huh...?" Linglong turned around and glanced at Shen Bingsi, who was looking up at the sky, and then at Rong Xie, who was staring straight ahead. She seemed to understand something. So, the argument from yesterday was still going on?

As night fell, Rong Xie arrived at Tongqing Tower and met Zhao Dajiang, the captain of the treasure hunting team, who was already waiting there.

Zhao Dajiang was very enthusiastic. He greeted Rong Xie warmly and asked him to order a few of his favorite dishes. He had already asked the kitchen to prepare the rest of the dishes.

He looks like a seasoned veteran.

However, Rong Xie's memory of Zhao Dajiang is mostly based on his straightforward and outspoken style.

"Money is hard to earn, and life is tough," Zhao Dajiang sighed, picking up his wine glass halfway through the meal. "If we keep catching people cheating, we won't be able to survive in Shengjing anymore. We'll be like rats crossing the street, hated by everyone. Fellow Daoist Rong, thank goodness you appeared in time. The ancient bamboo slip fragments I've been hoarding will finally be deciphered! Hahahaha!"

Rong Xie hesitated for a moment, then put down his chopsticks: "Captain Zhao, you can let me take a look first. However, I don't know everything, so whether I can solve the problem is another matter. Captain Zhao, don't have too high expectations."

"Hey, that's not how it works. Even Sword Saint Chen relies on Fellow Daoist Rong so much. If you still can't solve it, then there's no one in the world who can!"

As Zhao Dajiang spoke, he took out a large pile of tattered items from his pocket, cleared away the bowls and plates, and placed them on the table.

Rong Xie saw that among those things were maps, compasses, small cylindrical telescopes, bamboo slips, burlap smears with writing on them, several copper movable type pieces, and a seal the size of a fingernail.

Rong Xie's interest was immediately piqued. He first took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, then carefully picked up the bamboo slip, glanced at it, put it down, and then picked up the piece of hemp cloth with writing on it... Finally, he looked at the copper movable type and seal, and his brows furrowed more and more tightly.

"How is it?" Zhao Dajiang looked at Rong Xie expectantly. Linglong also moved closer involuntarily. Even the woman in green who had been sitting alone at the next table sat up straight, listening carefully to what was happening.

“These are all fakes.” Rong Xie swallowed the word “inferior” and said very tactfully, “At least that’s how I see it. Maybe I’m mistaken. Otherwise, Captain Zhao, could you have someone else take a look?”

"Ah..." Zhao Dajiang seemed quite disappointed. "If Fellow Daoist Rong says so, then it must be correct..."

Linglong, still unconvinced, examined the untouched parts of the tattered goods: "Are all of these fakes? Is not a single one genuine?"

Before Rong Xie could answer, a blue sleeve reached out from behind him, picked up a compass, and waved it twice in the air.

"Tsk, even the compass is fake." Qu Huaiyan weighed it in her hand a couple of times, then tossed it back onto the table, saying dismissively, "Is this the adventurous life you wanted?"

Rong Xie felt a vein throb in his temple twice, followed by a tingling sensation on his scalp.

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There are red envelopes today too!