Chapter 99 No Screaming (Catching Bugs):

“That coward Lu Yingqi…” Rong Xie could hardly bear to utter Shen Bingsi’s vulgar words, “Did you call that out?”

“Exactly,” Shen Bingsi said smugly, “No need to thank me too much, it was just a small favor.”

However, the excited thanks and warm hug that Shen Bingsi had imagined did not appear. Rong Xie's face immediately turned ugly: "Are you crazy!"

"?"

"He's in seclusion, and you're knocking on the door to wake him?" Rong Xie was a little exasperated. "You weren't knocking on the door of his meditation room, were you?"

Shen Bingsi didn't speak, but propped her cheeks up, as if to say, what else could it be if it wasn't the door to the meditation room?

"Who would like someone knocking on the door of their meditation room to call them when they're in seclusion? You?" Rong Xie couldn't help but become sharp-tongued.

"Well, weren't you in a hurry to find him?" Shen Bingsi felt a little guilty.

"I'm looking for him, not to make an enemy of him... When you knocked on the door, you didn't say my name, did you?" Rong Xie had only a sliver of hope left.

However, Shen Bingsi extinguished even his last glimmer of hope.

“I said it,” Shen Bingsi cleared her throat, her eyes darting around, “Ahem, I said, my Rong Xie is looking for you…”

"Why did you do this!" Rong Xie broke down. "Why did you make decisions for other people so casually!"

The thought of finally getting in touch with Xiaozhi and leaving a good impression on her, and being able to extend that good impression to Lu Yingqi, was all shattered by someone interfering and ruining Rong Xie's carefully planned scheme.

Shen Bingsi hadn't expected Rong Xie's reaction to be so intense.

Linglong watched from the side with her mouth slightly open. She was shocked that Brother Rong, who was known for his good temper, would get so angry at Sword Saint Shen. She had always thought that Sword Saint Shen was the one with a bad temper. She never expected that when the two of them were together in private, it was Sword Saint Shen who was being scolded by Brother Rong and dared not argue back.

It's truly unexpected! The same thing happened with Sister Qu before. Despite being a woman, she was able to take the initiative and dominate Brother Rong. The seemingly weaker party actually held the reins in the relationship—it was truly exhilarating…

Linglong felt a strange mechanism inside her body being activated, and couldn't help but lick her lips, watching the two argue even more intently.

"Calm down first..." Shen Bingsi tried to steady Rong Xie, but just as she was about to touch his arm, he shook her off.

Rong Xie turned away angrily, his ears turning red with rage.

Shen Bingsi had never seen Rong Xie so angry before. In the past, when they were at Huanxue Manor, he had done even more infuriating things, such as not responding to Rong Xie's telepathic messages for seven consecutive days, repeatedly breaking promises to return for dinner, and using the Heaven-Slaying Blade when he was unhappy. He suppressed all his emotions and only said some cold and sarcastic words... After Rong Xie left, Shen Bingsi had deeply reflected on these things and realized how wrong he had been.

But now, he is trying his best to make amends. Whoever Rong Xie wants to see, even someone he hates, he will do everything he can to drag that person out from Elder Bai's heavy protection.

Rong Xie, however, showed no appreciation whatsoever.

"Is he that important to you? You've never even met him, yet you're worried about whether he'll be hurt if his seclusion is interrupted!" Shen Bingsi couldn't calm down either, her words filled with resentment. "Let me tell you, he was just sitting peacefully in the meditation room, while I was outside getting scolded by Elder Bai. You don't know how protective Elder Bai is of his own. The way he was back then, yes, just like you are now, if you touch his precious disciple even the slightest thing, he'd want to tear me apart—aren't you worried about me at all?"

"..." Rong Xie felt a headache coming on. Why was he worried about Shen Bing Si? It wasn't him who asked Shen Bing Si to go find Lu Ying Qi. However, saying these words would only further anger Shen Bing Si. Ling Long was also watching, and who knew what lies Shen Bing Si might say. He took a deep breath and tried his best to control himself. "So, what did Lu Ying Qi say after he came out?"

"I don't know either!" Shen Bingsi still looked resentful. "He hadn't even come out yet when Elder Bai chased me away."

"..." Rong Xie was speechless for a moment. "Then what details do you want to tell me?"

Shen Bingsi had only claimed to know the details in order to curry favor with Rong Xie, but instead of getting credit, he was scolded. Now, when asked to recount the details, he couldn't, and said in frustration, "Anyway, they're all useless things, and the details are even more useless details!"

When Rong Xie heard him say that, he already guessed that Shen Bingsi didn't know some important details. Shen Bingsi's thoughts were easy to guess. What he didn't say was written on his face. Rong Xie only needed to glance at him to know.

However, he still couldn't forgive him for making decisions for him without his consent, and also for moving next door to him without telling him.

"And what's the deal with you moving to the house next to mine?" Rong Xie asked.

Shen Bingsi remained silent, looking like she was about to explode with anger.

Rong Xie turned to Linglong and said, "Miss Linglong, I'm afraid this matter won't be resolved anytime soon. I know the good news you brought. Thank you and Captain Zhao. As for the meeting time, let Senior Brother Lu decide. I'm available anytime."

"Ah... Oh, okay!" Linglong was still immersed in Rong Xie's heroic demeanor of not taking Shen Bingsi seriously, and didn't react for a moment. Then, she became excited again. Rong Xie spoke harshly to Shen Bingsi while speaking gently to her. This difference in treatment made her feel genuinely comfortable, as if she had suppressed the arrogant Sword Saint Shen in some ways.

Rong Xie was unaware of Linglong's subtle feelings. He was somewhat embarrassed to find that Linglong seemed unable to understand him, and a strange smile appeared on her face. He had no choice but to say directly, "Miss Linglong, I won't entertain you today. Let me see you out."

Linglong finally realized what was happening: "Oh...no need, no need! I can go out by myself, you guys chat, you guys chat!"

Rong Xie felt a little embarrassed, and because of Shen Bingsi, he hadn't been able to entertain Linglong, but he still insisted on seeing her off. When they reached the entrance to the flower hall, Linglong ran off first, waving her hand behind her, telling Rong Xie not to come out.

Rong Xie had no choice but to return to the flower hall.

The atmosphere in the flower hall was tense, and Shen Bingsi's face was extremely ugly. This had happened countless times before, and Rong Xie felt a headache coming on.

"When will you finally respect my choices? I don't have your power or your ability to cause trouble, but if you insist on interfering in my life without prior notice, I'll have no choice but to move somewhere else," Rong Xie said.

However, Shen Bingsi acted as if he hadn't heard, his attention still elsewhere: "Senior Brother Lu? Why are you calling him Senior Brother Lu? You're not even from the Xuantian Sect! You've never even met him, why are you using such an intimate term!"

Rong Xie looked at Shen Bing Si and felt powerless. How many more times would he have to repeat the same nonsense? He simply gave up and said, "Because I want to get close to him and build a relationship! Yes, I am indeed not a disciple of Xuan Tian Sect, and I am not even a disciple of Ling Jing Sect, but so what? As long as I can build a relationship with Lu Ying Qi, I will call him brother without any problem."

Shen Bingsi gasped, staring at Rong Xie in disbelief: "Why... you're not allowed to call me that, you're not allowed to call me that!"

Rong Xie had never called anyone "brother" except when he was a child and followed Shen Bingsi around. He would obediently call her "brother" then, but after he found out that Shen Bingsi was probably younger than him, he stopped calling her that. Shen Bingsi was disappointed about this for a long time.

"Why? What's so important about him? He cultivates the Path of Ruthlessness, he's no different from me!" Shen Bingsi shouted. "He has no emotions either, just like I don't!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? My relationship with him is just a friendship," Rong Xie rubbed his temples. "Just like with you, if you still want to be friends with me, please accept this: I will have my own life, my own things, and my own friends."

Shen Bingsi looked at Rong Xie, his ears still ringing from Rong Xie's words about calling another person "brother." The shock wouldn't dissipate anytime soon. He thought he could follow Rong Xie around without a care in the world, supporting him no matter what he wanted to do, going along with his wishes, letting him know how useful he was, until he couldn't live without him.

However, he made a mistake from the very first step. Rong Xie had to call someone else "brother," a title that originally belonged only to him!

Shen Bingsi covered his face with his hands, took a heavy breath, turned around and strode out of the flower hall. His shoulder bumped against the door of the flower hall with a dull "thud".

When Rong Xie looked up, the door to the flower hall was swaying back and forth in the air, and Shen Bingsi's figure had already disappeared.

"Why does it feel like his emotions are fluctuating more and more..." Rong Xie muttered to himself.

Today's negotiations also ended in failure. Not knowing what kind of trouble Shen Bingsi would cause in the future, Rong Xie thought it over and decided to leave it alone for now.

Let's take care of the important things at hand first.

How can one reverse the bad impression already left on Lu Yingqi and build a good relationship with him?

Later that day, Wang Mu returned from outside. He was exhausted from running around all day. He sat on a small stool and ate the food that Rong Xie had left for him. While eating, he told Rong Xie that the master of the manor seemed to have moved next door. He heard that it was a rented house for three months and that he did not bring any servants. It seemed to be just a temporary place to stay.

Wang Mu was always well-informed, knowing more details than Rong Xie, who had witnessed it firsthand. Rong Xie then told him to pay close attention to the movements in the neighboring houses and to inform him immediately if anything happened. Wang Mu agreed.

The next morning, Linglong rushed over and stopped Rong Xie before he even left the house.

"Brother Rong, the time is set, it's today!" Linglong said breathlessly. "Lu Yingqi will pick you up at noon today. They'll decide on the location, but there's one condition."

Linglong looked around, especially glancing at the wall of Shen Bingsi's courtyard next door.

“He went out yesterday and hasn’t come back,” Rong Xie said.

“That’s great, because Lu Yingqi’s page said he doesn’t want to see anyone except Brother Rong,” Linglong said in a low voice, “especially—Sword Saint Shen.”

"Oh?" Rong Xie was a little surprised that Xiao Zhi would specifically mention Shen Bing Si. However, he hadn't planned to let Shen Bing Si go and cause trouble anyway. "I understand."

After agreeing on a meeting place with Linglong, the two parted ways. Rong Xie went to Lanyuan Villa to get leave, and then hurriedly returned home. He carefully washed and dressed up, waiting for the arrival of this key person.