Chapter 152: Under house arrest.
Lu Yingqi is in dire straits himself.
Outside Lu Yingqi's secluded courtyard in the Ruthless Dao Palace, a group of indifferent-looking cultivators were densely packed around him, clearly there to guard him.
Unfortunately, Shen Bingsi's Dao heart was unstable, and she was unable to cast spells at the moment. She slipped past them right under their noses, so Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi had no choice but to squat down by the wall, observing the situation in Lu Yingqi's courtyard while discussing countermeasures.
“I said we should just walk in openly. We haven’t done anything wrong, so why sneak in?” Shen Bingsi said, her lips pale.
“Didn’t you not want them to see you?” Rong Xie observed Shen Bing Si’s expression and frowned slightly. “Besides… that Shang Gan is really annoying. I suspect that he planted all these people. If he catches us having private dealings with Lu Ying Qi, it will inevitably lead to a lot of trouble.”
"You saw that guy surnamed Shang?" Shen Bingsi looked disgusted, but when he met Rong Xie's equally disgusted gaze, he relaxed his brow and a smile appeared in his eyes. "You hate him too?"
"Who wouldn't hate him? How could Tianjing have chosen someone like him as the adjudicator? It wasn't even a case he was handling, yet he insisted on making the whole world know about it. While Adjudicator Jiang and the registrar were still cleaning up the mess in Qinghe, he had already run back. With such an irresponsible and trouble-making nature, why doesn't he go to the village entrance and carry manure?" Rong Xie's disgust was palpable.
Shen Bingsi couldn't help but chuckle and rubbed her nose.
Seeing Rong Xie anxiously looking in that direction again, Shen Bingsi said, "No rush, I'll meditate for a while. Once I've recovered, I'll use a trick to get you in. These people's cultivation is at most Foundation Establishment—I wonder where all the people from the Ruthless Path have gone."
Rong Xie opened his mouth, about to say that they had gone to look for him, when a Xuan Tian Sect cultivator descended from the sky, quickly approached the gatekeepers, exchanged a few words, and then the gatekeepers followed him.
Rong Xie was overjoyed; this was exactly what he wanted! But he was also worried that the Xuantian Sect was playing some kind of trick of feigning indifference, and hesitated whether to go over.
"Let's go." Shen Bingsi grabbed Rong Xie's hand and strode towards Lu Yingqi's courtyard.
"Wait, could this be a trap?" Rong Xie was already being pulled away by Shen Bingsi as he spoke.
Shen Bingsi walked with a brisk pace, her back straight, striding forward, showing no signs of defeat.
The two entered the courtyard without any obstruction.
“There’s no trickery involved. They’re just surrounding us to annoy Lu Yingqi,” Shen Bingsi explained. “It’s like when I made a mistake and Old Xue wanted to confine me. It doesn’t serve any real purpose. If I really wanted to get out, would I really be trapped by a few Foundation Establishment disciples?”
“That makes sense, but aren’t you afraid there are people guarding the courtyard as well?” Before Rong Xie could finish speaking, he saw a young man in gray standing in the courtyard, looking at them with surprise.
Rong Xie's heart nearly jumped out of his throat, but upon closer inspection, he recognized her as a familiar face—Xiao Zhi.
"So what if there is? Just knock them out and lock them in a dark room. You can't just avoid doing anything just to hide from Shang." Shen Bingsi was still explaining to Rong Xie.
"Young Master Rong!" Xiao Zhi was overjoyed. She was stunned for a moment when she saw Shen Bing Si, but she forgot her fear and quickly came forward. "...Sword Saint Shen, what brings you here?"
"Xiaozhi, are you alright? How is Senior Brother Lu now?" Rong Xie asked with concern.
Xiaozhi's face turned pale: "We're fine, but Brother Qi isn't doing well. Please come in and talk."
Rong Xie felt a weight lifted the moment he saw Lu Yingqi.
At least Lu Yingqi looked fine, and was in much better condition than Shen Bingsi.
After leading the two into the inner room, Xiaozhi carefully locked the door.
Lu Yingqi was sitting on the couch with his hands on his knees, seemingly meditating and regulating his breathing. He didn't open his eyes when he heard Rong Xie and the others come in.
"Xiaozhi, what exactly happened?" Rong Xie asked.
Xiao Zhi poured hot tea for Rong Xie and Shen Bing Si, and told them that Lu Ying Qi's situation had changed dramatically since they left. The main reason was that Shang Gan had become the adjudicator and spread the Lu family's case throughout the entire sect. He also publicly questioned Lu Ying Qi's cultivation method. Elder Bai had no choice but to confine Lu Ying Qi here.
Elder Bai is currently arguing with the elders to exonerate Lu Yingqi, but the situation is not optimistic. Some people in the elders' council are now inciting a major overhaul of the Ruthless Dao Palace, including Elder Bai and his lineage of disciples, to be purged from the palace to ensure its purity.
"Even Elder Bai is being purged?" Rong Xie found it utterly absurd. "But wasn't Elder Bai the one who painstakingly built up the Ruthless Dao Palace to its current state?"
“That’s the logic, but they won’t care about that when they’re fighting,” Shen Bingsi said.
"..." Xiaozhi lowered her head. "Xiaozhi is just a servant boy. I don't know what those important people are thinking. However, Elder Bai came once and said that Brother Qi should not make any response and should wait for his letter here."
"I see." Rong Xie gently placed his hand on Xiao Zhi's shoulder, comforting her. "Things might not be as bad as you think. After all, Elder Bai has managed the Ruthless Dao Palace for so many years, weathering all the storms. He won't be so easily brought down. Senior Brother Lu is also a leader of the Ruthless Dao Palace. Shang Gan is no match for Senior Brother Lu in terms of cultivation or reputation. The elders' council isn't stupid; they'll weigh the pros and cons. Let's just wait here for Elder Bai's news."
Xiaozhi relaxed a little after hearing Rong Xie's words of comfort.
The air was silent for a moment. Xiao Zhi asked, "Young Master Rong, are you alright?"
Rong Xie was taken aback. He remembered that when Xiao Zhi last saw him, he was still under the spell of the nightmare. He quickly said, "I'm fine. I was able to wake up smoothly thanks to you lending me the acacia flower dew."
Xiao Zhi shook her head: "It's good that Young Master Rong is alright."
Rong Xie's heart stirred, and he asked, "Xiao Zhi, did Madam Mei tell you what to do if Lu Yingqi's Dao heart wavers in order to break free from this state?"
Xiaozhi looked at Rong Xie in confusion: "What...?"
Rong Xie sighed. Xiao Zhi obviously didn't know about this. Well, he didn't cultivate the Path of Heartlessness, so even if Madam Mei knew something, she wouldn't tell him.
In the following time, Xiaozhi prepared hot water for Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi, and covered for the two to go to the washroom.
The two quickly took a shower, not daring to look at each other or say a word, changed into clean clothes, and returned to the inner room.
At this time, Xiaozhi also prepared a study connected to the bedroom for the two of them to rest in.
As dawn approached, the rain stopped, and footsteps sounded outside again; the gatekeeper had returned.
Under Shen Bingsi's surprised gaze, Rong Xie used his super-ears to eavesdrop on the guards' conversation for a while.
"They were temporarily reassigned to patrol the mountain. They said they couldn't find the giant fireball that fell from the sky, and a disciple of the Spirit Mirror Sect also went missing—oh, they went to find me."
Rong Xie thought to himself, "Just as I expected."
When he looked up, he saw Shen Bingsi staring at him in surprise.
"What's that?" Shen Bingsi pointed to Shunfeng'er, which was dragging on the ground.
Rong Xie rolled up the Wind-Following Ear scroll and put it away: "It's the Wind-Following Ear, which allows you to hear people talking in the distance. It's the treasure you obtained when you chased the Stone Forest Demon. Don't you remember?"
"My treasure?" Shen Bingsi was even more surprised. He had absolutely no recollection of ever having such a good thing.
"Yes, I temporarily used it from the secret vault to rescue you. You don't have any objections, do you?" Rong Xie glanced at him.
"No, no," Shen Bingsi immediately waved her hand, "I just thought that it's inconvenient for me to use my spiritual power right now. If I had known about such a good treasure, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble..."
"What do you know?" Rong Xie was still furious when he thought about how Shen Bingsi had abandoned him, the person who knew him best, and secretly ran away. "You know nothing, yet you said you would definitely come back. Where does your confidence come from?"
Shen Bingsi fell silent and began to examine what books were on Lu Yingqi's bookshelf.
“Speaking of nightmares,” Rong Xie sat up straight and looked at Shen Bing Si, “you haven’t forgotten at all, have you? Was it because of that… that things turned out like this?”
Time seemed to stand still. Shen Bingsi's gaze remained fixed on the bookshelf. After a long while, she finally let out a soft "hmm".
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