Chapter 73 Moving Day:
Rong Xie left.
Upon seeing the jade pendant engraved with the character "容" (rong), Shen Bingsi realized this almost immediately.
He stared at the jade pendant as if he were glaring at an enemy, an enemy he couldn't get rid of.
He could only glare at it angrily like a child.
Shen Bingsi grabbed the jade pendant and threw it towards the corner of the room.
The jade pendant shot out rapidly, and just as it was about to shatter against the wall, it suddenly stopped, then slowly flew up and returned to Shen Bingsi's hand.
Shen Bingsi held the jade pendant, her face tense and her teeth clenched. After a moment, she finally put it back on the table.
Shen Bingsi sat cross-legged on the bed, facing the table on the bed, staring intently at the communication jade pendant—in reality, she wasn't looking at anything, her vision was completely blank.
The moment Shen Bingsi saw it, it was as if a string snapped in his mind. With a "buzz," his entire back of his head and spine went numb. His sleepiness vanished instantly, and he lost all motivation to do anything else. All he could think about was: Rong Xie is gone.
Rong Xie is really gone.
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Bingsi suddenly jumped off the bed, grabbed the jade pendant, and walked towards the door.
As he walked, he released his spiritual sense and quickly locked onto a target.
Shen Bingsi found Shen Yan, Long Shaoye, and Fang Renji busy in the front yard lawn.
He twisted Shen Yan's collar from a distance and pulled her directly in front of him. Shen Yan struggled for a moment, but when she saw it was him, she stopped moving and let him pull her without expression.
For some reason, Shen Bingsi seemed to see pity in Shen Yan's eyes.
Sympathy? What is there to sympathize with about him?
Just as Shen Bingsi was about to get angry, he suddenly remembered that when he lost control and almost hurt Rong Xie, it was Shen Yan who bravely stepped in and woke him up. Although Shen Yan's lightning fireball was as light and fluffy as a willow catkin and had no offensive power, his courage was still commendable.
Thinking this, Shen Bingsi suppressed her impatience and loosened her grip on Shen Yan's collar: "Where is Rong Xie?"
"Brother Rong is gone," Shen Yan said calmly.
"..."
Long Shaoye and Fang Renji both looked at this side with fear on their faces. The two secretly made up their incantations, just waiting for Shen Bingsi to get angry so that they could bombard her with spells and stir up trouble in the chaos, and maybe they could escape with their lives.
To everyone's surprise, Shen Bingsi's reaction was not obvious, and could even be described as indifferent.
"Oh," Shen Bingsi asked, "went to Lanyuan?"
"yes."
When did you leave?
"It's been about seven or eight days."
Shen Bingsi fell silent again, seemingly lost in thought, though his expression remained largely unchanged.
Although Shen Yan appeared calm, he was extremely nervous inside. He was standing closest to Shen Bingsi and knew the strength of this ruthless judge well—a single light strike could send the lightning fireball he had unleashed with all his might flying aside.
Although Shen Bingsi's face was expressionless, the spiritual pressure emanating from his body was like thousands of sharp needles piercing Shen Yan's skin from all directions. If Shen Yan moved even slightly, those needles could pierce her flesh, penetrate her internal organs, or even tear her to pieces.
"Heh," Shen Bingsi chuckled strangely, "Why didn't Brother Rong take you guys with him?"
Shen Yan looked up in confusion.
"You guys always call him Brother Rong and have a good relationship with him, right? So what? No matter how good you are, he doesn't seem to take you along." Shen Bingsi seemed to be in a good mood. Not only did she remove her spiritual pressure, but she also spoke to Shen Yan with a subtle smile.
Shen Yan frowned: "That's because..."
"Alright, that's enough." Shen Bingsi raised his hand to stop Shen Yan from continuing to explain, as if he had seen through everything. Then, he put his hands behind his back, examined the lawn that Shen Yan and the others had just trimmed, and praised, "Well done. He did teach you some practical things, but that's all he can teach."
Shen Yan's brows furrowed more and more, and she even cast a questioning glance at Long Shaoye, who was not far away.
Long Shaoye was also bewildered. No one knew what Shen Bingsi was laughing about. They all thought he would be angry or sad. Unexpectedly, when he learned that his best friend who had been with him day and night was gone, his first reaction was to be happy. Is this the enlightenment of a great master of the ruthless path?
"Keep going, do a good job. Rong Xie is gone, and Huanxue Manor is counting on you." Shen Bingsi patted Shen Yan's shoulder, walked briskly towards the middle gate, and quickly disappeared behind the door.
Shen Yan and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Is the head of the manor alright?" After waiting a while and seeing no further movement from the backyard, Long Shaoye approached Shen Yan and couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know either, they seem fine." Shen Yan sighed. "It's best if they're alright."
"Then... we can let Brother Rong know we're safe?" Long Shaoye gestured to Shen Yan's pocket, where there was a communication jade pendant. It was left for Shen Yan by Rong Xie when he went to Shen Family Village, and he hadn't taken it back.
Shen Yan immediately glared at Long Shaoye, telling him not to blurt out everything.
"Hmm, but the Grand Master's reaction was indeed a bit too bland. He was quite nice when he asked me how to keep Brother Rong around..." Long Shaoye muttered.
That's right. After that argument, they already knew that the friend Shen Bingsi mentioned who liked him was Rong Xie.
Although it's hard to accept that such a good person as Rong would fall in love with the head of the manor, even the best people have flaws. Rong's flaw is that his eyesight isn't very good. Considering this shortcoming, the gentle and perfect Rong in other aspects makes him even more pitiful.
The argument that day... it still makes me shudder just thinking about it. In the past, although the head of the manor had a short temper, it was only towards other people. I had never seen him treat Rong Ge so fiercely. In fact, no one should treat Rong Ge so fiercely. After all, Rong Ge has such a good temper and is gentle and patient in dealing with people. No one has any reason to lose their temper with Rong Ge unless that person is a bad person.
The landlord that day was a thoroughly evil person!
When Shen Yan and the others arrived, the front yard was littered with stone fragments. Shen Bingsi had smashed the sturdy stone table in two and was still holding Rong Ge, looking like she was about to tear him to pieces. Fortunately, Shen Yan reacted quickly and used a fireball to distract Shen Bingsi, allowing Rong Ge to escape.
Although they arrived in time, Rong Ge's wrists still had several red marks from being pinched, and his hand movements were somewhat inconvenient when he taught them how to clean the villa for the next two days.
Having witnessed how the head of the manor treated Rong Ge, Shen Yan and the others urged Rong Ge to leave quickly, as they didn't know when Shen Bing Si would return, and it was more important to escape safely.
Rong Ge, however, said that the Grand Master of the Manor had probably gone to the Supreme Immortal Mountain to find his master, and that he shouldn't make things difficult for them upon his return. He had served as the steward of Huanxue Manor for so many years and wanted to finish his work properly, handing over all his responsibilities before leaving. As for them, if they encountered any difficulties, they could go to Lanyuan to find him, but they should try to stay at the manor; there would be more opportunities there.
Shen Yan and the others witnessed Shen Bingsi's anger firsthand. To be honest, they had no hope of continuing to work at the resort, but since Brother Rong said so, they gritted their teeth and continued.
To everyone's surprise, when the head of the manor returned, just as Rong-ge had said, he didn't make things difficult for them. He even just asked a few questions casually, as if he didn't care at all about Rong-ge's departure.
Is this the path of ruthlessness...?
Thinking back to the day of the argument, the head of the manor was like that too. Suddenly all his emotions disappeared, and he became expressionless. His appearance was even more terrifying than when he was angry, as if he had suddenly turned from a bad person into a dead person.
His words were also strange. One moment he was pleading pitifully, "Don't leave me alone," and the next moment he said, "Since you want to leave so badly, then go ahead." No one with a normal mind could say such contradictory things, right?
It was only after witnessing Shen Bingsi's change of expression that Shen Yan and the others realized that the saying "the ruthless cultivators are all madmen" was not just a casual remark.
After her transformation, Shen Bingsi was indeed devoid of emotion, becoming cold and harsh. She showed no sentimentality and was not hurt by past relationships. She calmly calculated the gains and losses for both of them and even told Rong Xie to think clearly about the benefits he had and the price of betraying him.
He looked like he had a completely different soul, like a different person.
"Don't you guys feel that the head of the manor has been a completely different person since that day, and... he hasn't changed back at all?" Fang Renji, who was usually not good with words, stared at the central gate where Shen Bingsi had left and said with a fearful expression.
“Indeed, I heard that the ruthless cultivators train specifically to cut off emotions or something like that…” Long Shaoye stroked his chin. He had learned more about the ruthless path because he came to Huanxue Manor to work.
“It’s about severing all thoughts.” Shen Yan’s face showed a hint of disgust. “Although the Path of Ruthlessness leads to rapid progress, it also comes at a price.” He added in his mind that it meant becoming neither human nor ghost. If he had the opportunity to cultivate properly, he would never choose the Path of Ruthlessness.
"Is that so?" Fang Renji seemed slightly relieved. "I thought the head of the manor was possessed by an evil spirit. In our village, when someone is possessed by an evil spirit, it's like—"
Shen Yan and Long Shaoye simultaneously reached out and covered Fang Renji's mouth.
You can't say that, little brother.
However, there is one advantage to Shen Bingsi becoming indifferent: he will no longer cling to Rong Xie as before, nor will he have to chase after Rong Xie and interfere with Rong Xie starting a new life just because Rong Xie left.
It seems that Rong-ge can finally enjoy a peaceful life. Hopefully, he will find a suitable house in Lan Yuan.
Shen Yan and Long Shaoye exchanged a glance, both seeing the same hope in each other's eyes.
On the same day that Shen Bingsi returned to the manor, Rong Xie's carriage also arrived at Lanyuan, eight hundred miles away.
The wheels rumbled along the widest bluestone street in the middle of the Blue Plain. The massive outline of Nanshan Mountain, the gently undulating plains of the Blue Plain, and the exquisite and elegant houses on both sides of the street appeared one after another outside the carriage curtain.
"Wow, this place is amazing!" Wang Mu stared with his big, round, dark eyes, constantly looking out of the carriage curtain.
Rong Xie had promised Wang Mu that he would put him in Huanxue Manor, but plans don't always go as expected. Instead of turning one steward into four, Rong Xie asked Wang Mu whether he wanted to stay in Yingbin Town or come out with him.
Rong Xie had thought that Wang Mu would say he would stay in Yingbin Town, since it was close to the inner sect of Lingjing Sect. If one wanted to pursue the path of cultivation, it would be more convenient to stay within the territory of a major sect.
Unexpectedly, Wang Mu only thought about it for a moment before deciding to come out with Rong Xie. According to him, he could learn more from Rong Xie than from others, and Rong Xie treated him better.
Rong Xie didn't even know when he had become nice to him. He just thought that Wang Mu was used to being glib and had gotten tired of serving dishes at the inn, so he was taking a break with him.
"Brother Rong, where is this place?" Wang Mu asked as the carriage arrived at a private mansion with high walls.
“This is Tangquan Villa, a place to soak in hot springs and stay at a hotel,” Rong Xie answered without hesitation. “Go three streets to the east and you’ll find the renowned Lanyuan Villa. Go one street to the west and you’ll find Lanyuan’s largest brokerage firm. Let’s stay here first, then go to the brokerage firm to take care of our business. If we have any extra time, I can take you around the area. There’s a hillside where you can see the entire Lanyuan Villa.”
"Wow, sir, you really know this place well," the gatekeeper from Tangquan Manor who came to pick up the carriage said with a smile. "You look familiar; are you from Shengjing?"
Rong Xie smiled and said, "No, I just came here once before."
"Master's memory is truly excellent!" the doorman praised.
"I'm planning to set up a business here, so I'll have to put in some effort," Rong Xie said politely.
“That’s right. Our Master Rong’s memory is top-notch. Even I, the auction house manager, don’t dare to mess with him.” Lu Yinglin lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down from the carriage.
Upon seeing Lu Yinglin, the doorman immediately greeted him as if he were an old acquaintance, calling him "Master Lu." Lu Yinglin then took out some money and sent the doorman away.
Wang Mu's eyes darted between Lu Yinglin and the doorman, then he turned to Rong Xie and whispered, "Wow, he knows his surname is Lu."
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