Chapter 70: The Scar on My Shoulder
Shen Bingsi's smile froze on her face.
He thought his "gentle" strategy would work, but he didn't expect that in Rong Xie's eyes, it was because he was cultivating too fast and had messed up his brain.
Just now, he was admiring himself for being able to think so thoroughly; all those times he had eavesdropped at the corner of Hongxianglou hadn't been for nothing.
Unexpectedly, Rong Xie said he was out of his mind?
"..."
Shen Bingsi seemed to understand why Long Shaoye so fiercely criticized him for his cold treatment of other people's confessions.
He had never taken the initiative before, nor did he know what it felt like to offer his heart and seek a response from the other person.
He always sides with the recipient of the heartfelt gift, and all he has to do is accept or refuse. Even so, he is still annoyed by it all, thinking that everyone who offers their true feelings is a little bit crazy.
So this is what it feels like to be considered sick after taking initiative?
This bitter, devastating feeling...
With a thought, Shen Bingsi suddenly felt a violent tremor in her sea of consciousness, and the scenery in front of her appeared as double images.
Oh no, it's happening again!
Shen Bingsi suppressed the dizziness caused by the wavering of her Dao heart, and her expression changed.
Shen Bingsi's appearance undoubtedly confirmed Rong Xie's guess of "colliding with the sea of consciousness". He took Shen Bingsi's hand and led him to sit down on a bench.
"Bing Si, how are you feeling?" Rong Xie looked at Shen Bing Si with concern, unconsciously tightening his grip on his hand.
"It's alright," Shen Bingsi said, suppressing her dizziness.
This time, Shen Bingsi didn't use the Heaven-Severing Blade. He didn't want to forget the feelings and insights he had finally gained. Moreover, he didn't understand how knowing that others weren't sick could shake his resolve. Wasn't the law of the Ruthless Path far too strange?
Thinking this, waves surged again in her mind, and Shen Bingsi felt nauseous.
“You don’t look ‘okay’.” Rong Xie frowned. He pried open Shen Bing Si’s hand and placed his fingers on his pulse. Although he didn’t have the skills of a medical cultivator, he knew a little about ordinary pulse diagnosis. Under these circumstances, Shen Bing Si’s pulse was indeed beating faster and stronger than usual. “Is it… because of me?”
Shen Bingsi's eyelids twitched, and she looked at Rong Xie.
Rong Xie was looking at him with a worried expression, his body pressed tightly against the outside of his arm. His delicate, fair skin still had the healthy flush of a fresh bath. Shen Bingsi could feel the cool body temperature permeating through his bathrobe and enveloping him.
Strangely enough, although Shen Bingsi felt dizzy and nauseous, she felt very happy and not anxious at all. This state of mind, where her Dao heart was wavering but she felt comfortable, was really strange.
However, Rong Xie's next words shattered his illusions:
"...Because he was worried about me, he came out of seclusion halfway through, which interrupted his cultivation and made his mind unstable, which caused...a mental disturbance?"
"..."
Shen Bingsi remained silent. So, she still thought his efforts to become gentler were because he had lost his mind?
"No, I left the seclusion midway to carry out the Heavenly Mirror mission," Shen Bingsi explained.
"Oh... I see." Rong Xie breathed a slight sigh of relief. Indeed, why would Shen Bingsi suddenly emerge from seclusion because of him? Perhaps he was overthinking it. "Interrupting seclusion is detrimental to cultivation. I heard from Elder Yunfeng that you plan to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, and it won't be out for at least three to five years..."
"Don't listen to his nonsense!" Shen Bingsi had barely managed to suppress her nausea when Rong Xie brought this up again, and she hurriedly retorted, "How could I possibly go into seclusion for three or five years! By then you'll be long gone!"
Rong Xie was taken aback, silently released his grip on Shen Bingsi's wrist, straightened up, and slightly distanced himself.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to disturb your seclusion plan…” Rong Xie said, “You can go into seclusion with peace of mind, anyway… I will always leave eventually.”
Shen Bingsi felt a turmoil in her mind. This time, her wavering resolve and anxiety erupted simultaneously: "Why? Why do you always say you want to leave? Don't you like me?"
Rong Xie stared at Shen Bingsi in astonishment. He never expected to hear the words "Don't you like me?" from Shen Bingsi's mouth. His heart pounded. Seeing Shen Bingsi's pale face and unfocused gaze, he couldn't help but feel worried.
"Don't you like me?" Shen Bingsi didn't get a reply from Rong Xie. The double image in his eyes wouldn't disappear for a while, and he didn't know what Rong Xie's expression was, so he could only continue talking to himself, "If you like someone, don't you want to stay by their side? Why do you like me, but run off to somewhere else? Is it because I was too harsh on you, and you were hurt, that's why you want to leave?"
Shen Bingsi originally wanted to speak more gently. He wanted to do more for Rong Xie and wait until the atmosphere was better before speaking, but he couldn't help himself and blurted it out.
Shen Bingsi was feeling annoyed when she heard Rong Xie say, "No, it was because I was too greedy."
Rong Xie's hand returned, gently grasping Shen Bing Si's hand in return, squeezing it lightly as if to comfort her.
Shen Bingsi's anxiety was easily soothed, and he sat quietly, waiting for Rong Xie to continue.
"I wanted too much, even though I knew it was impossible... I'm sorry, Bing Si."
Rong Xie's voice flowed gently like a babbling brook, soothingly brushing against Shen Bingsi's ear.
"What do you mean?" Shen Bingsi asked, "Aren't you leaving?"
Rong Xie did not answer him. This time, Rong Xie stood up.
Shen Bingsi raised her head and, through the double image, seemed to see Rong Xie smiling helplessly, or perhaps shaking his head. Rong Xie turned around and walked outside.
Shen Bingsi hurriedly stood up. In his confused state of mind, he only knew that he could not let Rong Xie go like this. He reached out his hand, and his bathrobe made a tearing sound. Rong Xie exclaimed in surprise.
Shen Bingsi suddenly awoke with a start. The thought of hurting Rong Xie dominated his mind, briefly pulling him out of his wavering state of mind, and everything before him became clear.
Something bright white and radiant was exposed to the sunlight, making it difficult for Shen Bingsi to focus his eyes for a moment. By the time he realized what it was, Rong Xie had already pulled back the sleeve that he had torn off halfway, awkwardly covering his suddenly exposed body.
Although it wasn't the first time the two had met naked, Rong Xie was still caught off guard when Shen Bingsi suddenly ripped off half of his clothes.
"What is that...?" Shen Bingsi's voice became somewhat hoarse.
Rong Xie's cheeks flushed slightly, and he was a little annoyed. What could it be? It was just his arm. It wasn't like he hadn't seen it before.
Shen Bingsi, however, persisted and walked up to Rong Xie, reaching out to lift the collar of his bathrobe.
"Shen Bingsi!" Rong Xie was furious and embarrassed. This was outside, and he had just been moved by Shen Bingsi's pitiful attitude, intending to forget his previous outrageous behavior.
Shen Bingsi gripped the collar of her bathrobe, revealing her fair skin once again. However, on her delicate, snow-white shoulders, several bruises were faintly visible.
Shen Bingsi glanced at him and felt a surge of anger welling up inside him. Rong Xie was actually injured! In just one month, outside, in a place he didn't know about, he had gotten injured like this!
"Which bastard did this?" Shen Bingsi pulled open the collar of her bathrobe and saw that there were indeed several clear pinch marks on Rong Xie's shoulder. These were marks left by the fingers of someone with spiritual power. Rong Xie also had cultivation, so an ordinary person could not have injured him like this!
Rong Xie finally realized what Shen Bingsi was talking about. He looked down at the finger marks on his shoulder and couldn't help but find it a little funny. They hadn't faded after so many days. No wonder it was someone's handiwork.
"Want to see? There are other places too, not just here." Rong Xie sighed.
Shen Bingsi stared at him in astonishment, her eyes flashing with several strong and complex emotions. She looked like she wanted to devour a murderer who was not present at the scene, or like a cultivator whose Dao heart had been shattered and was about to go crazy.
While he was stunned, Rong Xie snatched the collar from his hand, straightened the bathrobe, and tightened the belt.
“It’s you,” Rong Xie sighed, “It’s you, you bastard.”
"Okay, wait, I'll go cripple him right now—" Shen Bingsi took a step forward, then suddenly stopped. "Who? Me?"
With Rong Xie's reminder, Shen Bingsi finally remembered.
His anger deflated instantly.
"I...I don't know...I'm sorry..." Shen Bingsi was at a loss, leaning closer to Rong Xie, "Let me take another look..."
"No need. So many days have passed. It's just that the bruise hasn't faded yet. It looks like a mark, but it doesn't hurt anymore."
As Rong Xie spoke, Shen Bingsi's hand was already on his shoulder, gently kneading it as she asked, "Is it here?"
"It really doesn't have to be..."
A warm, moist sensation seeped into my skin, just like the comfort of taking a bath earlier. The massage was even more precise, repeatedly applying heat to my shoulders. Even without any injury, this massage was incredibly soothing and relaxing.
Rong Xie then stopped refusing Shen Bingsi, but simply turned his gaze to the side, refusing to look at the man who was pressed close to him.
On an autumn afternoon, the sunlight is not strong; the golden rays are still bright, but the summer heat has subsided, and they fall comfortably on the body.
A gust of wind rose, bringing a slight chill to the tips of my hair, but it vanished without a trace the next moment.
Shen Bingsi carefully massaged Rong Xie's shoulders, then picked up his hair and dried it strand by strand until Rong Xie was warm all over. His long, black hair was loosely draped behind him, and he looked as energetic as if he had just come out of the bath, with the skin on his cheeks and neck glowing with a light peach color.
"Rong'er," Shen Bingsi called softly.
Rong Xie raised his eyebrows, a look of confusion in his eyes: "Hmm?"
"If I..."
"What?"
Shen Bingsi really wanted to ask, what if he was willing to accept Rong Xie's feelings? Even if he cultivated the Path of Heartlessness and couldn't truly understand the feeling of "liking," he could learn and imitate. He could say the sweet and affectionate things that other Daoist couples could say, and he could do the tender and considerate things that other Daoist couples could do. As long as Rong Xie didn't leave, he could fulfill his expectations.
But that would be considered lying, wouldn't it?
He didn't want to lie to Rong Xie. For some reason, he always felt that doing so was worse than directly refusing.
"It's alright, it's windy outside, let's go back inside and rest." Shen Bingsi put her arm around Rong Xie's shoulder and walked towards the bedroom courtyard.
...
Rong Xie didn't know what was wrong with Shen Bing Si lately.
Since he returned from Shenjiazhuang, Shen Bingsi's attitude has undergone a complete change. Not only does she always volunteer to do chores like cleaning and tidying up, but she also speaks in an awkward, low voice. She never mentions his departure or his plan to sell the Guangdian Bailan, so much so that Rong Xie doesn't know how to say goodbye to Shen Bingsi.
Yes, he is leaving. He has looked at almost all the houses in Lanyuan, taken stock of all the property, and explained all the affairs of the manor. There are still many details. Rong Xie plans to send letters back to the manor one by one after moving to Lanyuan. This way, there will be written records that Shen Yan and the others can check at any time. Even if there are personnel changes in the manor in the future, they can still hand over the information.
The only thing that made him somewhat regretful was that he couldn't finish compiling the list of the manor's rare and precious materials during his tenure as steward. Actually, he was quite interested in this matter, but considering that his spiritual power was limited and he would have to rely on it for the rest of his life, and also that he had to avoid suspicion, the things in the treasure vault had nothing to do with him, and it wouldn't be convenient for him to get involved before leaving. With this in mind, Rong Xie decided to move out before winter arrived, even faster than expected.
But how should I bring it up with Shen Bingsi?
Rong Xie was troubled. After thinking it over, he decided to consult Lu Yinglin, who had a lot of experience in this area.
"Um... I'm going to town today." Rong Xie stopped and said to Shen Bingsi, who was following him at no more than three feet to the left and right, "I'll be back later, don't wait for me for dinner."
“I’ll take you there,” Shen Bingsi said immediately.
Shen Bingsi has been being a little too clingy lately, which gives Rong Xie a headache. She follows him everywhere, and it's easy to imagine that once they're in town, she'll join them for lunch.
"No need, it's just to return a favor. We agreed to meet alone." Rong Xie thought for a moment but couldn't come up with a good excuse, so he could only tell the truth.
"Oh... call me if you need anything," Shen Bingsi said, placing a piece of warm, smooth jade into Rong Xie's hand.
Upon inspection, Rong Xie saw that it was a new jade pendant for transmitting sound, with the character "Rong" engraved on it.
Shen Bingsi turned slightly to show Rong Xie another coin at his waist, which was engraved with the character "Bing". Shen Bingsi raised his eyebrows at Rong Xie.
Rong Xie sighed softly and put the jade pendant into his sleeve: "Then I'll be going."
"I'll see you out." Shen Bingsi followed, her eyes full of a smug smile.
As the two walked out of the villa, they ran into Shen Yan and Long Shaoye on the way. Shen Bingsi even patted Long Shaoye's arm, startling him.
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Happy day, Bingbing! [Sprinkling flowers]
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