Chapter 72 Farewell:
“Ice Crystal…”
Shen Bingsi never turned to look at Rong Xie. He glared angrily at the kitchen door, as if the door had a grudge against him.
"You're drunk, I'm not talking to you," Shen Bingsi said through gritted teeth.
“I didn’t, you might not believe it… but I’ve never been as clear-headed as I am now.”
"You still say you're not drunk!" Shen Bingsi turned her head sharply, her angry gaze shifting to Rong Xie's face. "You reek of alcohol, you can't even walk straight, and you call that not drunk?!"
Rong Xie sighed softly, seemingly somewhat helpless: "Those were... the price for bolstering courage."
"What the hell is the price?!"
"To bolster my courage... I don't know how to tell you these things. I've been thinking about them for a long time. Luckily, I have this longan wine. I'll drink it first and then talk about it. It doesn't seem like such a big deal," Rong Xie raised his eyes, looked directly at Shen Bing Si, and said calmly, "Bing Si, I'm planning to leave. Either tomorrow or the day after. Once I've found a carriage to go to Lan Yuan, I'll be leaving."
"Bang!"
Shen Bingsi wiped Rong Xie's body with her palm and slammed it on the stone table behind him. The stone table made a loud noise, followed by the sound of stone shattering.
Shen Bingsi's hands were trembling, making the stone table, made of the fine stone transported from Shengjing, creak and crack, with several cracks spreading forward and stone dust falling from between her fingers.
"To bolster your courage? You clearly don't need to bolster your courage, you're incredibly bold! You say hurtful things whenever you want, and you do hurtful things whenever you want!"
Rong Xie slightly dodged Shen Bingsi's palm strike, but did not avoid his gaze or the angry words that rushed out of his mouth.
"What do you mean by living according to your own wishes? Did you always go against your own will to be with me before? Does being with me make you this uncomfortable?"
Shen Bingsi's breathing became heavy, and his neck and cheeks flushed red. He stared intently at Rong Xie, his voice filled with deep sorrow.
“That’s not how it is…” Rong Xie wanted to explain, but found it difficult to clarify in just a few words. “I’m very grateful to you…you’re so good to me, but I…”
"Your way of thanking me is to leave me? Just because of that damned liking! Just because I cultivate the path of ruthlessness, I've severed all feelings and love, I don't know what liking is, so you want to leave me?"
"And what about my feelings for you? Just because it's not love, does it mean nothing? If I knew what love is, of course I could give it to you, I could give you my whole heart! Just because I can't love you, does that mean my feelings for you are nothing?!"
"Bang!"
Shen Bingsi slammed her palm on the stone table again.
This time, the stone table couldn't withstand the impact and split in two, falling to either side, sending up dust that made Rong Xie cough.
"Cough cough... No, it's not like that..." Rong Xie covered his mouth and nose while trying to stand up by supporting himself on the stone bench.
Enraged, Shen Bingsi had completely lost his ability to think. He reached out to Rong Xie and easily pulled him up with the power of telekinesis, causing him to fall into Shen Bingsi's palm. He gripped Rong Xie's body tightly, as if he wanted to crush him and knead him into his own body, until Rong Xie let out a painful groan and struggled in his arms.
"You're not allowed to leave. You're not allowed to go anywhere except by my side," Shen Bingsi murmured.
"Shen Bingsi... ouch... it hurts..."
“You are not allowed to leave. You don’t need family or anyone else. I will be your family and your Daoist partner. You can do whatever you want me to do, but you are not allowed to leave me.”
"Shen Bingsi...!"
A colossal wave crashed down on him from his sea of consciousness, and he was swept away by the turbulent currents of his mind, losing all sense of where he was. The scene before him was distorted by wave after wave of double images. He could neither see nor hear anything, and all he knew was that what he was clutching in his hand was his last treasure. If he let go, he would have nothing left.
"Who are you? Who gave you permission to trespass into the forbidden area of our Yunshan Sect?"
"You are... a child from the Shen family?"
"..."
"Kid, you're crazy!"
"Boy, what have you done? He's your own father!"
"Bing Si..." A gentle and weak voice rang in Shen Bing Si's ears. Through his blurred vision, he saw large patches of bright red. A man wearing a light gray robe, a medical practitioner from the Yunshan Sect, lay on the ground, his robe soaked in blood. He stretched out a hand towards Shen Bing Si.
Thump, thump.
My heart was pounding hard and fast, making my chest ache in waves.
I did nothing wrong.
Shen Bingsi gripped the stone knife tightly in her hand, and drops of blood slid down the rough blade, dripping onto the grass beneath her.
He deserved it, he deserved it!!
"Ice Crystal... hurry." The cowardly healer pointed to one side, "Go... go that way... there's a path there..."
Why, why tell him where to escape to?
Why put on this fake act, as if he wasn't the one who abandoned them for so many years!
Why did you cause your mother such a terrible ordeal, only to turn around and get married as if nothing had happened?
He deserves it, he deserves it all!
Shen Bingsi's hands trembled incessantly as the rough, hot stone blade he had personally forged pressed against his palms. Now that he had gone this far, he was willing to risk his life to avenge his mother.
Shen Bingsi raised his hand, and the healer, who was much taller than him, flew towards him as easily as a straw. He gripped the stone blade and smashed it hard into the man's chest.
Once he's dead, his mother will stop thinking about him, be able to move on from that tragic past, fall in love with someone else, and start a new life.
Shen Bingsi, stop!
Don't do that! You'll regret it...
"Sizzle—Bang!"
A purplish-red object flew in front of Shen Bingsi, emitting a crackling sound of electricity and popping sparks.
Shen Bingsi slightly raised her hand to block it, and the thing drifted away weakly like willow catkins, then exploded in the air after drifting a distance.
Shen Bingsi came to his senses and found his hand empty. Rong Xie had already broken free of his restraints and moved aside. Shen Yan and Long Shaoye stood on either side of Rong Xie, protecting him.
A newly formed purplish-red fireball was hovering next to Shen Yan's head, and Shen Yan stared at Shen Bingsi with hostility.
Shen Bingsi didn't care about anything else; he immediately looked at Rong Xie.
Fortunately, he didn't make a serious mistake this time. Rong Xie had no bloodstains or burn marks on his body, and he was still standing intact, but...
His face was pale, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. One arm hung down at his side, while the other hand was raised and placed over his forearm. His sleeve had slipped down, revealing half of his fair wrist with several obvious scarlet pinch marks on it.
Frustration gnawed at his heart like ants. Shen Bingsi tried to approach Rong Xie several times, but was stopped by Rong Xie's disappointed eyes. He felt as if he was being pulled and torn apart by two different forces, unable to move forward or backward. Only when he was completely torn into pieces could this torture of emotional backlash finally end.
His mind was in turmoil. The dark thunderclouds merged with the dark sea, and an unprecedented and terrifying storm had taken shape. If he did not take action, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Rong'er, come here." Amidst the chaotic double images and buzzing, Shen Bingsi called out in Rong Xie's direction.
Rong Xie didn't answer, but Shen Yan's voice rang out first: "Brother Rong, you can't go!"
“Yes, the manor lord is acting strangely right now, we should…” Long Shaoye chimed in from the side.
Shen Bingsi closed her eyes. In the dark sea of consciousness, four huge "walls" rose from underwater, bringing with them countless waves and whirlpools, rising to the surface.
He was about to use the most powerful Heaven-Severing Blade to sever all emotions and thoughts. He didn't have much time to reveal his true feelings. After the Heaven-Severing Blades surrounded his sea of consciousness from all sides, he would become ignorant, heartless, and emotionless, as if he had put on a stone mask and become a different person.
"Rong'er, don't go," Shen Bingsi said in Rong Xie's direction, "Don't leave me alone."
Four "walls" burst forth from the sea, rising with a roar, instantly piercing through the dark clouds and reaching the crystal-clear sky. The storm was trapped within the four walls, roaring and howling, but powerless to break free, retreating step by step until it shrank to the size of a wooden box, then crashed onto the calm sea with a "bang," swaying and drifting away.
When Shen Bingsi opened his eyes again, his expression turned cold. He looked at the three people opposite him. Two teenagers stood a little further away, staring at him in astonishment, as if he had just done something unexpected. A young man had already walked up to him and reached out to touch his arm.
Shen Bingsi slightly turned her body to avoid the young man's hand and said coldly:
"Since you're so eager to leave, then go ahead. I won't stop you. But think it through. Once you step out this door, life outside might not be this good. Don't suffer and then come back begging me to take you in."
“Those who betray me first are my enemies, one by one. I will not give them a second chance, and you are no exception.”
"Choose, go or stay, it's up to you."
“Bing Si…” Rong Xie hesitated for a moment, but still took his hand, his cool palm stroking the inside of his hot arm, gently soothing him, “Promise me, go to the Supreme Immortal Mountain once.”
Shen Bingsi sneered: "Whether or not I go to the Supreme Immortal Mountain is my business. Why should I agree to it? However, my condition has been unstable lately, and it is necessary for me to go and ask my master to help me recover."
"Okay, then I'm relieved."
Shen Bingsi instinctively wanted to ask, "What are you sure you want to leave with peace of mind?" But the thought only lasted for a moment before it vanished.
He felt a wave of boredom, pulled his arm out of Rong Xie's grasp, and strode towards the door.
This time, the Heaven-Severing Blade was used too ruthlessly. It took Shen Bingsi three whole days to recover somewhat from her dull state.
He found himself lying on a snow-covered mountain, the very same immortal mountain where his master had gone into seclusion. He must have been halfway there when he suddenly lost all thought about resolving the issue of his wavering Dao heart. He felt it didn't matter whether he resolved it or not, but he also had no desire to go back. So he simply lay down on the spot.
Now, he regained some motivation, so he got up from the snow, used his protective spiritual power to shake off the snow, and continued to move towards the top of the mountain.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Shen Bingsi arrived at the mountaintop. There was a stone chamber there, not very large, where her master cultivated in seclusion. The old man no longer had any worldly desires; he only needed a place to stay, undisturbed by the raging winds and snow.
Shen Bingsi first knelt and bowed three times in front of the stone chamber, then spoke up to report her situation and waited for her master's reply.
However, his master remained silent for a long time. Whether he was too deep in meditation or had no desire to communicate with Shen Bingsi, Shen Bingsi waited for half an hour without any response. He could only get up and leave, hoping to try his luck again next time.
Just then, a strong wind blew up, knocking the snow off the stone gate and revealing a crack.
Shen Bingsi looked at the crack in surprise. He didn't know if it was his master's summons or if the stone door just happened to be open. He hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.
The hand that was closing the door froze in mid-air. Through the crack, Shen Bingsi could clearly see that there was no one in the stone chamber.
Master... isn't here?
Shen Bingsi released his spiritual sense and sensed a familiar spiritual power. He looked in the direction where the spiritual power appeared: on the empty ground, there was a stone emitting golden light, pressing down on a furless animal hide.
"This is……"
No one expected that such a major event would occur in the long-peaceful cultivation world—the Grand Elder of the Spirit Mirror Sect, who resided on the Supreme Immortal Mountain, had disappeared.
It wouldn't be accurate to say he disappeared, after all, he left behind a farewell note written on animal skin. It was only a few words long, but its contents were earth-shattering and enough to rewrite the landscape of the cultivation world.
The farewell letter was only circulated among the high-ranking members of the Spirit Mirror Sect and was strictly forbidden from being disseminated. Shen Bingsi, who was the first to discover the farewell letter, was also ordered to wait in the meditation room of the Worship Platform so that the elders could question her about various details at any time.
Every elder who came to see Shen Bingsi showed a trace of sympathy. After all, he was the first to discover that the Grand Elder was gone. Although they did not see the remains, the farewell letter written in blood was shocking enough.
Shen Bingsi himself didn't react much, so the elders remembered that he and the Grand Elder were both cultivators of the Ruthless Path, and were well-versed in the ruthless path, so it was normal for them to have no emotions.
After seven days of tireless discussion and deliberation by the elders, it was finally determined that the farewell letter was genuine, that the Grand Elder had passed away, and that the contents of the farewell letter were top secrets that could not be circulated.
All those involved in this matter—Xue Baoshan, all the elders, and Shen Bingsi—made solemn vows and signed oath contracts before being allowed to leave the main peak of the Lingjing Sect and return to their respective mountain peaks.
Shen Bingsi had been spending the last few days in intense meetings, and even he felt quite tired. When he returned to Huanxue Manor, all he wanted to do was sleep soundly and take a hot bath. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell Rong Xie anything, otherwise Rong Xie would definitely cook delicious food for him for many days in a row, stay with him, and comfort him about his non-existent grief over the loss of his master.
Thinking this, Shen Bingsi began to pay attention to her surroundings, wondering where Rong Xie would appear. She walked through the front yard, through the middle gate, and into the bedroom courtyard. It was quiet all around, and there was not a single person in sight.
If it weren't for the fact that everything was so well-maintained, clearly indicating that someone had taken great care of it, Shen Bingsi would have thought that Rong Xie was no longer there.
No, Rong Xie definitely didn't leave.
Shen Bingsi inexplicably had this confidence.
He pushed open the bedroom door and saw a table placed in the middle of the bed, with a pebble-shaped jade pendant quietly placed on it, the upward-facing side engraved with the character "容" (rong).
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They've really run away this time. [Heartbroken]
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