Chapter 93 Duck Proverb (Second Update):
There were many things happening at Lan Yuan Villa today. First, the Prime Minister Wang made a last-minute decision to hold a snow-walking and plum blossom-seeking activity in the garden. Several garden managers were called to a meeting, including Rong Xie. Then, Manager Wang read Rong Xie's New Year's plans and had a few questions to discuss with him. They discussed these issues until dark before Rong Xie returned from the garden.
When he got home, Rong Xie had already prepared himself mentally. No matter what happened at home or what kind of chaotic scene appeared, he could accept it. With that in mind, he stepped into the flower hall but did not find anything unusual.
His tea table, flower pots, and teacups of various shapes arranged in a row were all in good condition, without any damage, missing corners, or broken pieces.
The floor was spotless, with no trace of rolling around, and the windows were tightly shut, just as they had been when he left. It was unbelievable that he had abandoned Shen Bingsi in his most furious moment, and then nothing had happened. Shen Bingsi had simply left quietly and without a trace.
No, that's not right, it's not like it left no trace either—Rong Xie picked up three dark blue scraps of cloth from the ground.
He held the three pieces of cloth up to his eyes, looking at them again and again, but he really couldn't figure out how they had fallen off. This women's clothing was obviously a new one that Shen Bingsi had bought specifically to change her figure. How could three pieces of cloth suddenly fall off a brand new women's clothing? Rong Xie really couldn't think of a reasonable explanation.
"That's enough." He had a lot of work to do today and couldn't spare the time to solve the case.
Rong Xie threw the three pieces of cloth into the trash can, took the ledger, and went to work overtime.
Lingjing Sect, Cloud Peak.
A bright moon hangs high in the night sky, and white clouds drift slowly beneath my feet.
On the edge of the cliff, an old man and a young man sat side by side, gazing at the drifting white clouds, neither of them speaking.
After a moment, Elder Yunfeng spoke first.
"So, you transformed into the woman in the portrait and went to find Rong Xiaoyou?"
Even as he said this, Elder Yunfeng still found it unbelievable, and thus spoke with great difficulty.
"Hmm," Shen Bingsi replied dejectedly, having returned to her original state.
He had just returned from the Mirror Palace, and it had taken him quite a bit of trouble to get there.
He didn't want to use the Heaven-Severing Blade, but without it, he couldn't unleash his spiritual power or control the sword. The Mirror Palace summoned him, and he couldn't refuse.
And so, Shen Bingsi sent a message to Elder Yunfeng, asking him to take her to the Mirror Palace.
Just then, the registrar and another adjudicator were present. The two powerful figures worked together to help Shen Bingsi suppress the turmoil in her consciousness, regulate the chaotic spiritual energy, and temporarily solve the problem of her inability to use her spiritual energy.
However, due to Shen Bingsi's poor condition, he was unable to complete the task in the Heavenly Mirror immediately. The recorder reported to the Heavenly Mirror and granted him two days off so that he could go back and regroup.
The matter with the Mirror Palace was temporarily resolved. After Shen Bingsi came out, Elder Yunfeng took him back to the Spirit Mirror Sect. He did not want to return to Huanxue Manor, so Elder Yunfeng took him back to Yunfeng.
Elder Yunfeng had seen Shen Bingsi's disheveled state throughout. Elder Yunfeng was a man of the world, and strange tales and oddities were nothing to him—except for this one!
"What... are you thinking?" Elder Yunfeng's expression was subtle. "If I remember correctly, you seem to cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness."
"..." Shen Bingsi felt that he had wasted so much time confiding in Elder Yunfeng. Elder Yunfeng's attitude clearly showed that he was laughing at him.
"I'm leaving, I'm going back." Shen Bingsi stood up from the ground.
"Just kidding, why are you still angry!" Elder Yunfeng tugged at Shen Bingsi's sleeve. "Come, let this old Daoist have a good chat with you. Although I don't cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness, I have decades more experience in human relationships than you, so perhaps I can offer you some advice."
Shen Bingsi sat down. In fact, he had nowhere to go and no one to ask for help.
“Ahem, in my humble opinion, neither of you are wrong, young friend Rong. It’s just that you have different perspectives, which can lead to some disagreements,” Yunfeng said as tactfully as possible. “For example, regarding the question of what exactly a ‘friend’ is, it seems that your understandings of each other are somewhat different.”
“…He is a close friend.” Shen Bingsi corrected Elder Yunfeng’s incorrect word choice.
"Alright, even if they are close friends, they are still a kind of friend. Can you tell the difference between a friend and a Daoist partner?" Elder Yunfeng stroked his beard.
"What's there to not be able to tell? Friends are friends, and Daoist partners are Daoist partners." Shen Bingsi found Elder Yunfeng's question ridiculous.
"Alright, let me ask you this: if one party makes a new friend and the other tries every means to sabotage it, are they friends or partners?"
"..."
"If one party wants to settle down and start a family, and the other party angrily comes knocking on their door, are they friends or soulmates?"
"..."
"If one party arranges a marriage, and the other party transforms into the appearance of the woman he desires to deliberately sabotage the relationship, are they friends or lovers?"
"!"
Even now, doesn't Shen Bingsi understand? Elder Yunfeng wasn't offering advice; he was practically pointing a finger at him.
However, if Shen Bingsi could be guided by others, she would no longer be Shen Bingsi.
"This is just a worldly view. Who says that only couples have possessiveness? Friends can also feel unhappy when a friend makes new friends, or feel disappointed when a friend is about to get married and start a family. Of course, they can also try to sabotage a friend's marriage. What's so strange about that? Elder Yunfeng, don't you have such close friends?"
"..." This time it was Elder Yunfeng's turn to choke.
“I have cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness for a long time, and have long since severed all feelings and love. It is impossible for me to become a Daoist partner with anyone, nor do I have any worldly desires. ‘Liking’ is an emotion that can never happen to me. Therefore, whatever I do is out of friendship, and there is no other possibility,” Shen Bingsi said with great certainty.
Elder Yunfeng stroked his beard and sighed, "That's good... But don't you think your Dao heart has been wavering a bit too often lately?"
"Hmph, that was just... I had too many distracting thoughts at the moment, and I didn't have time to deal with them in order to win back Rong Xie," Shen Bingsi said dismissively.
"So, how do you plan to salvage the situation?" Elder Yunfeng asked.
"I plan to... dress up as a suitable Daoist partner to win him back, just like he would. I will do what other Daoist partners would do. I'm willing to do anything as long as he comes back," Shen Bingsi said in a muffled voice.
With things having developed to this point, Elder Yunfeng naturally knew that Rong Xie liked Shen Bingsi. Otherwise, Rong Xie's beloved wouldn't have resembled Shen Bingsi, and Rong Xie wouldn't have been so eager to leave Huanxue Manor. Elder Yunfeng only realized many of the details afterward, and once he did, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Rong Xie. In fact, he could understand why Rong Xie left and why he severed ties with Shen Bingsi.
But Shen Bingsi doesn't understand, which is why he's gotten to this point.
To solve Shen Bingsi's problem, he must be made to understand that the root of the problem lies with him. This is not easy, but as one of the few people he can call a friend, Elder Yunfeng feels it is his responsibility to enlighten Shen Bingsi.
"In other words, on the surface you have to pretend to be his Daoist partner, and you have to do everything that other Daoist partners would do for him?"
"good."
"At the same time, you can't tolerate him getting married and starting a family, you can't accept someone arranging a marriage for him, and you can't accept him befriending a ruthless sword cultivator who has nothing to do with you?"
“...They are mortal enemies,” Shen Bingsi emphasized.
Elder Yunfeng sighed: "Have you ever heard this proverb—if something looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and even tastes like a duck when cooked, what is it?"
Shen Bingsi didn't know why Elder Yunfeng would suddenly bring up some duck proverb, but he still thought about it seriously.
"A monster that turns into a duck?"
"Wrong!" Elder Yunfeng pointed his finger in the air, "It's a duck!"
Shen Bingsi was stunned by Elder Yunfeng's duck proverb.
"What kind of ridiculous proverb is this? It's clearly full of flaws and can only be used to amuse children," Shen Bingsi commented.
Elder Yunfeng tried everything he could, but he couldn't enlighten Shen Bingsi. He felt powerless.
Suddenly, an idea came to him.
"What did you just say was the name of your arch-nemesis?"
“Lu Yingqi of Xuantian Sword,” Shen Bingsi said, “Yunfeng, have you not been cultivating properly lately? Why have you become so forgetful? Cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you don’t advance, you fall behind. You established your foundation late, and your body can’t withstand the aging caused by the backlash from the Heavenly Dao.”
"..." If you can't speak properly, then don't speak! Elder Yunfeng suppressed the curses in his heart, "Ahem, it's not this old Daoist whose Dao heart is wavering. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself. Lu Yingqi's master is Elder Bai of the Xuantian Sect, right? Although his cultivation is not as high as your master's, he is still a great master of the Ruthless Dao and has his own set of cultivation methods. Your master has now passed away, and your Dao heart is unstable. You have no one to turn to for help. You might as well take this opportunity to make friends with him and ask his master to guide you. It would be better than to bury yourself in hard cultivation."
Shen Bingsi was taken aback. Ask Elder Bai for advice? He had never considered this possibility: "Stealing from another sect is a serious crime of treason. Besides, there are many sects of the Ruthless Path. On the surface, they all seem to be the Ruthless Path, but in reality, they are as different as mountains between sects. If you want to learn from Elder Bai, do you want me to die even faster?"
"Pah, ptooey, what bad luck!" Yunfeng immediately spat, looking disgusted. "You're so young, how come your brain is more rigid than an old Taoist priest's? Didn't you read the letter your master left behind? What did it say?"
The blade that can cleave the heavens is nothing but self-deception.
However, the path of ruthlessness is the ultimate truth of heaven and earth, which I have not yet comprehended, leaving it to future generations.
"I have not yet figured it out, so I leave it to future generations..." Shen Bingsi murmured.
“Yes, your master said that this path is blocked and he has to find another way. The two most powerful cultivators of the Path of Ruthlessness in this world, besides your master, are Elder Bai of the Xuantian Sect,” Yunfeng stroked his beard and said. “Your master said this in a roundabout way, but what he meant was that you should find another way and not blindly go down a dead end.”
So that's what it means? Shen Bingsi was secretly shocked.
“I see you’ve been too anxious lately. Cultivation is a matter of life and death. You should calm down and think it over carefully.” Elder Yunfeng saw that Shen Bingsi had taken his advice to heart, so he didn’t say anything more. He just patted Shen Bingsi on the shoulder and got up to go back to Yunfeng Hall.
Shen Bingsi sat on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the rising white clouds and the bright moon above them, and thought about it all night.
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Red envelopes are dropping in this chapter! [Sprinkling flowers]
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