Chapter 179, Phase Two:
Rong Xie was initially worried that this might be too radical, but seeing Shen Bingsi's determination, he felt relieved and fully committed to cooperating with him.
The process was still quite enjoyable, but Shen Bingsi's insistence on not taking off her clothes made Rong Xie slightly uncomfortable, and it also prevented him from cultivating.
“I won’t cultivate this time,” Shen Bingsi said.
"Not cultivating? That would be such a waste..." Rong Xie reacted instinctively.
Shen Bingsi smiled and continued kissing him: "We're doing this just for fun, not for cultivation."
Rong Xie was stunned, his cheeks flushed, and he lowered his head, hugging Shen Bingsi's shoulders even tighter.
I'm still not used to it, Shen Bingsi letting go so decisively.
An hour later, after a night of unbridled revelry, the two lay together, heads touching.
In the quiet of the moment, sunlight streamed in through the large south-facing window, its warm rays creeping up to the foot of the bed.
Rong Xie looked at the tiny dust particles floating in the sunlight and felt very satisfied, even wishing that time could stand still at this moment.
The person next to me suddenly stirred and took a soft breath.
Rong Xie knew that he would only inhale like that when he was in extreme pain, and his heart clenched immediately: "How is it, is it backfiring again?"
“A little,” Shen Bingsi said curtly.
"Should we go find Elder Hong?" Rong Xie reached out to touch Shen Bingsi's arm, but Shen Bingsi dodged him.
"Now?" Shen Bingsi smiled, "It might be a bit troublesome... Let's go this afternoon."
Rong Xie understood what Shen Bingsi meant by "a bit troublesome." After all, Elder Hong was the leader of the Hehuan Sect. If Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie continued in this state, they would definitely be asked a bunch of questions they didn't want to answer.
“Alright,” Rong Xie asked again, “is the backlash still severe?”
“…A little,” Shen Bingsi admitted.
Rong Xie knew that Shen Bing Si must be in a lot of pain, otherwise he wouldn't have admitted it directly. With his strong willpower, if he could bear it, he would definitely have said "it's okay".
Rong Xie sat up in bed, propped himself up on the pillow with one hand, carefully observed Shen Bingsi's complexion, and then touched his forehead.
Shen Bingsi was in better condition than Rong Xie had imagined. Although his completely white hair was a bit jarring, he looked younger than before. Rong Xie wondered if it was just his imagination.
When faced with things that are beyond our control, people always hope for a glimmer of hope for things to get better, even if that is not the case.
“Perhaps this is an effective method,” Rong Xie gently stroked Shen Bingsi’s hair. “You look much better.”
Shen Bingsi's eyelids were half-closed, and she looked very tired: "Is that so..."
"You must be tired, go and rest." Rong Xie pulled the blanket up for him, wrapped him up tightly, kissed him on the cheek, and then got out of bed to take a shower in a good mood.
Shen Bingsi slept until the afternoon. After waking up, he felt somewhat better, but he still frowned frequently. Rong Xie prepared hot water for him to take a bath, but he refused Rong Xie's help, so Rong Xie went downstairs to wander around the courtyard by himself.
Rong Xie wandered around the area for a while and coincidentally ran into Lu Yinglin again. Rong Xie was in high spirits because Shen Bingsi's condition had improved, and couldn't help but tease Lu Yinglin, saying that the medicine he gave was only so-so and hadn't even reached the average level.
Lu Yinglin chuckled, touching his nose. "Oh? Looks like your average skill level is pretty high."
"..." Rong Xie realized that he had said something very reckless, so he immediately shut his mouth and secretly scolded himself for getting carried away when he was happy.
“However, he’s suffering from the backlash now, and his body is weakened, so it’s normal that he hasn’t reached the average level.” Lu Yinglin wanted to continue on this topic, and after speaking, he looked behind Rong Xie as if he had just realized that he had come out alone. “But why didn’t your shadow come out with you today? Is the sun not bright enough?”
"He has other things to do." For some reason, Rong Xie just didn't want to talk about Shen Bing Si in front of Lu Ying Lin.
“I see. It seems he’s recovering quite well, but you still need to keep a close eye on him. His body is weak now, not like it used to be,” Lu Yinglin hinted.
Unfortunately, Lu Yinglin was rarely serious, and Rong Xie misunderstood his words, thinking he was joking with them.
“That’s still better than you.” Rong Xie blurted out, then immediately shut his mouth. Lu Yinglin slowly raised an eyebrow, and Rong Xie turned and left.
Lu Yinglin's teasing voice came from behind: "How do you know? You haven't tried it? I don't mind, you're welcome to come and judge anytime."
Rong Xie squatted at the top of the stairs, cursing his bad luck.
"I must have been an idiot to discuss the effects of the medicine with Lu Yinglin..."
Rong Xie felt embarrassed for a moment, then realized there was no sound of water coming from upstairs.
He listened carefully, but there was no sound of water or anything else, as if no one was upstairs.
The excessive silence made Rong Xie a little worried. As he went upstairs, he called out, "Bing Si, are you done washing up? I'm coming up."
Upon reaching the second floor, a large pool of blood came into view on the floor, with a small pool of blood every step away, dripping all the way to the edge of the bathtub, where it seemed as if there was a person inside.
Rong Xie's heart pounded, and an urge to vomit surged from deep within his chest. His hands and feet went numb, and he stumbled uncoordinatedly through the blood-soaked floor, finally reaching the bathtub. There he saw Shen Bingsi sitting in the tub with her eyes closed. Shen Bingsi's clothes were half off, revealing her pale upper body, which was completely devoid of color except for the blood, just like when she was healthy.
"Bing Si... Bing Si?" Rong Xie approached Shen Bing Si and called out softly.
Shen Bingsi gave a soft "hmm," frowned, and didn't speak, clearly too uncomfortable to say anything.
Rong Xie breathed a slight sigh of relief. Shen Bingsi was still alive and conscious. He reached out to feel his pulse and asked if he could move. Shen Bingsi nodded listlessly.
Rong Xie quickly stepped into the bathtub, picked up Shen Bingsi, dried him off with a large towel from the shelf, took off his wet clothes, dried him off again, and then carefully placed him on the bed. During this process, he stepped on the blood on the floor and almost slipped.
After tidying up the second floor in such a mess, Rong Xie breathed a sigh of relief, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently stroked Shen Bingsi's head.
Rong Xie comforted himself, at least Shen Bing Si did not show obvious signs of aging, and perhaps spitting blood was just a necessary step in changing his cultivation path.
No matter what, he can't afford to make a rash decision now.
Shen Bingsi rested for an hour.
Rong Xie asked Anangu to prepare lunch: a small pot of mushroom porridge, a large bowl of mushroom and chicken soup, and a bowl of braised rice.
Shen Bingsi was awakened by the fragrance. When he opened his eyes, Rong Xie was using a talisman to keep him warm. Seeing that he was awake, he removed the talisman and brought porridge, soup, and rice to his bedside, asking him if he wanted to eat something.
"I want to eat it." Shen Bingsi nodded.
"Is it okay to eat?" Rong Xie asked. "Will it make you feel unwell?"
"Eating...it's nothing," Shen Bingsi said weakly.
Shen Bingsi needed strength, but his damaged dantian and meridians could no longer provide him with strength. At this time, he could only obtain strength through food, just like an ordinary person.
With Rong Xie's help, Shen Bingsi sat up and leaned against the headboard. Rong Xie fed him some chicken soup with a silver spoon, and Shen Bingsi felt warm all over: "I feel much better. I can do it myself."
Rong Xie handed him the spoon, and he took the bowl as well, drinking the hot chicken soup in large gulps as if it were wine, finishing it all in one go.
"What kind of food is that?" Shen Bingsi looked at the rice bowl with the lid partially lifted.
"It's braised chicken with mushrooms and diced meat in rice. It's a specialty here, but it's a bit spicy. Can you handle it?" Rong Xie had originally prepared this bowl of rice for himself. He was worried that Shen Bingsi wouldn't be able to eat anything too spicy after vomiting blood, so he only prepared porridge and soup for him.
"Of course, my stomach is fine. That's just blood flowing out of my meridians in reverse," Shen Bingsi explained, bringing over a bowl of steamed rice. A pungent aroma hit her nose, and Shen Bingsi's eyes lit up as she ate heartily.
"Eat slowly, eat slowly." Rong Xie felt relieved to see Shen Bingsi's heart pounding with appetite.
"I can't eat anymore." Shen Bingsi put down her bowl after eating half of her meal, lifted the covers, and was about to get out of bed.
"Wait a minute," Rong Xie pressed him down, "Where are you going?"
“Go find that damned Elder Hong,” Shen Bingsi said, rubbing her stomach. “Besides, I’m a little full and want to get out of bed and move around.”
Rong Xie was also eager to know what was going on with Shen Bingsi: "I'll go with you."
"You haven't eaten yet." Shen Bingsi looked at the food Rong Xie had brought.
"I'm not hungry. It doesn't matter when we eat this food." Rong Xie got up, put the food away, affixed the heat-preserving talisman, turned around and walked over from the already clean floor, took out new undergarments and outer garments, and helped Shen Bingsi change into them.
While changing his clothes, Rong Xie observed Shen Bingsi's condition. Perhaps because he had just drunk hot chicken soup, Shen Bingsi's cheeks were flushed, and his skin was not as pale as when he was found in the afternoon. Moreover, he seemed to have become younger than before, making Rong Xie even more unsure of his current condition.
Asking Elder Hong is certainly the best option.
The setting sun shines through the bamboo forest, illuminating the forest path and making everything glow brilliantly.
As they walked through the middle, Rong Xie felt that such magnificent scenery was a positive omen, and that they might hear good news from Elder Hong—if that were the case, Rong Xie wouldn't mind becoming a vegetarian and making offerings to a few deities.
Finally, they arrived at Elder Hong's small building, where Elder Hong happened to be.
After briefly explaining their purpose, Elder Hong left Shen Bingsi behind to check on the situation, while Rong Xie waited outside.
They waited until it got dark.
Rong Xie stared at the window on the second floor of the small building, where a warm yellow light shone through.
He really wanted to use his super-hearing ability to listen, but Elder Hong was different from others and might be able to detect it. At this critical juncture, Shen Bingsi's future depended on Elder Hong, so Rong Xie dared not offend him.
They waited patiently for two hours until the moon finally appeared.
The door on the second floor opened, and the light from inside shone through the door, brightening the second-floor balcony. Shen Bingsi's figure appeared on it, and he walked down the stairs with light steps.
Rong Xie immediately went to him and took his hand: "How are you?"
Shen Bingsi's hands were a little cold, and his expression was somewhat serious, not as relaxed and cheerful as Rong Xie had imagined.
"Elder Hong said our imitation was very successful," Shen Bingsi said. "We can move on to the second stage now."
Rong Xie's spirits lifted: "What is the second stage?"
“It’s a method that requires solitary seclusion for cultivation.” Shen Bingsi took a deep breath. “So, I may need to leave for a while and find a place to cultivate in seclusion.”
"What?" Rong Xie immediately tensed up. "Can't we go into seclusion in our bamboo house? I won't disturb you. You need someone to protect you, right?" For some reason, Rong Xie instinctively didn't quite trust Elder Hong's cultivation method. The thought of Shen Bing Si cultivating a method completely different from the Path of Ruthlessness was hard for Rong Xie to accept.
"I will come back safe and sound." Shen Bingsi held Rong Xie's hands in his hands. In the moonlight, his eyes were like obsidian soaked in a glacier, shining brightly as he looked at Rong Xie, as if he had returned to the time when he had just taken office as the adjudicator and was full of vigor. He squeezed Rong Xie's hand, "Wait for me."
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