Chapter 98 New Neighbors:
Blue Plain, Bamboo Lane, a clear, snowy day.
Early in the morning, the path outside the fence was noisy. Rong Xie listened carefully and heard that it seemed that a new neighbor had moved in.
Who would move house so close to the Lunar New Year? I don't understand.
Rong Xie Xijing, there were not many families living in the courtyard of Zhuli Lane. According to the broker, most of the owners here were officials or merchants in the capital. They lived in Shengjing on weekdays and only came here on their days off.
Rong Xie likes neighbors who buy property but don't live there and have no presence in the community.
Who knew that with the New Year approaching, new neighbors were moving in, right next to Rongxie's house. I can't even imagine how noisy it would be if the whole family came.
Despite it being a beautiful, clear day after the snow, Rong Xie's mood suddenly darkened. He hastily tidied his clothes and went out.
"Be careful, this furniture is very expensive. It's all custom-made from precious wood. We can't afford to pay for it if we break it."
"A little to the left, a little more to the left—hey, that's it!"
"How's the cleaning going? We'll come and inspect it later."
When Rong Xie went out, he saw that the door of his neighbor's house was wide open, and several young and strong servants were carrying furniture inside. Half of the alleyway in Zhuli Lane was filled with servants and furniture.
But... why does this furniture look so familiar?
Rong Xie stared in confusion as a set of cherry wood tables and chairs were carried in. They looked exactly like the ones he used at Huanxue Manor. Wait, how come even the scratches on the edges were exactly the same?
Unbeknownst to him, Rong Xie had already moved closer and was stroking a piece of leather that had been chipped off the corner of the cherry wood table. He remembered that it was when Shen Bingsi was playing around with him and accidentally bumped into it. The hard protective spiritual energy of his body couldn't hold back, which caused the mark.
A bold guess arose in Rong Xie's mind.
"May I ask who the owner of this house is...?" Rong Xie raised his head, about to ask a question, when he suddenly realized that the servant in front of him looked familiar, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"Brother Rong, it's us."
"Brother Rong!!!"
Shen Yan and Long Shaoye squeezed up from behind at some point and were now standing in front of Rong Xie. Both of them were dressed as servants, and it would be hard to recognize them without looking at their faces.
Shen Yan's gaze was intense, and Long Shaoye's expression was even more exaggerated, his entire face turning red. He opened his arms and was about to pounce on her, but Shen Yan stopped him.
"Shen Yan, Long Shaoye!" Rong Xie was also quite surprised. He looked around, "Where's Fang Renji? Is he here too?"
"No, Xiao Fang is at home looking after the house." Long Shaoye said eagerly, "Brother Rong, can we come to your house? Brother Rong's house must be very comfortable. It would be even better if we could have a cup of fruit tea!"
"Shaoye, Rong-ge has something to do. Let's talk about it when he's done." Shen Yan reminded Long Shaoye, "Besides, we haven't finished moving yet. It's not appropriate to come to Rong-ge's house like this."
"What do you mean 'our home'? It's clearly the Great Master's home..." Long Shaoye suddenly remembered this and hurriedly said to Rong Xie, "Brother Rong, something bad has happened! The Great Master is moving to live next door to you!"
"..."
Although I really didn't want to accept it, it was the truth—the new neighbor who moved in next door was none other than Shen Bingsi.
Rong Xie had to go to Lan Yuan Villa to work, so he didn't have time to entertain the two children. He just stood by the roadside and talked to them for a while.
Shen Bingsi didn't decide to move on a whim; he had planned it for a few days. Calculating the time, it was exactly the day Rong Xie told him not to meddle too much.
Rong Xie thought he had given up, but he didn't expect him to go back to lie low. In the blink of an eye, another big wave came, with no gap in between.
Moving from Huanxue Manor was no easy task. Rong Xie knew how troublesome it was after going through the process himself. Although Shen Bingsi had help from people in the sect, the necessary procedures still had to be followed. He completed the process quietly, and by the time Rong Xie found out, the matter was already settled.
Rong Xie felt a headache coming on.
“We didn’t expect that Master Shen would actually move…” Shen Yan said with some self-reproach. “It seems he was still wary of us. This time, we didn’t see through it at all, and we failed to inform Brother Rong in time.”
Rong Xie sighed and shook his head: "It's not your fault."
Sometimes even he couldn't guess Shen Bingsi's thoughts, let alone Shen Yan and the others.
“I’m currently managing the garden at Lanyuan Villa for Chief Minister Wang, and I have to go there for a midday meeting soon. I’m afraid I won’t have time to entertain you today. How about you come to my house tomorrow, and I’ll cook you something delicious?” Rong Xie pondered.
"Brother Rong, there's no need to treat us specially."
“Yes, we’re going back today,” the two said.
Rong Xie asked in surprise, "Going back so soon? Aren't you staying here?"
"We won't stay. We're going back to the manor. Only Master Shen is here," Shen Yan and Long Shaoye replied.
Unexpectedly, their schedules were so tight, with everything piling up at once. Helpless, Rong Xie had to cancel the lunch at the Xunhui gathering and try to come back early to have a get-together with them.
"Okay, I'll try to finish early today and come back to find you guys at noon so we can go to the North Gate market for lunch together," Rong Xie said.
"That's wonderful!" the two exclaimed happily.
But plans can't keep up with changes. Today at the mid-day meeting, the chief minister's old steward from the capital came to listen to the lecture in person, asking about every single detail. By the time the old steward finished asking his questions, it was already past lunchtime.
Rong Xie asked Steward Wang for leave and hurriedly returned to Zhuli Lane. The lane was very quiet, and there was no movement in the neighboring courtyard. Rong Xie peeked through the crack in the door. The tables and chairs under the awning in the courtyard were all set up, but there was no one there.
"They won't be going back so soon, will they?" Rong Xie muttered. He hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't bring himself to break down the door like Shen Bingsi did. He then walked towards his own home.
Rong Xie felt a little regretful that he hadn't been able to have a proper meal and chat with Shen Yan and Long Shaoye. He wondered when he would see them again... Shen Bingsi hadn't invited them to come along. Was it because she was worried about Huanxue Manor being left unattended? Or did she not plan to stay here any longer? That's right, Shen Bingsi had so many things to do. People from the Lingjing Sect and the Mirror Palace were looking for him. How could he possibly stay here any longer?
Rong Xie understood, breathed a sigh of relief, opened his courtyard gate, and went inside.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him, and someone quickly caught up and was behind him in the blink of an eye.
Rong Xie hurriedly turned to the door, not even glancing behind him, and slammed the door shut.
"Hey..." came a surprised exclamation from outside the door, but it was the voice of a young woman.
Rong Xie was taken aback. This uninvited guest who had been following him was not the person he thought he was. He quickly opened the door and saw Linglong, dressed in a bright green jacket, standing outside, rubbing her forehead.
"I'm sorry, Miss Linglong, I didn't expect it to be you. Are you alright?" Rong Xie felt a pang of guilt. He had slammed the door with all his might, and if it had hit someone's head, it would have been hard not to get hurt, let alone a young girl like Linglong.
"Hmm, it's nothing, I almost bumped into something." Linglong lowered her hand, looking somewhat shaken. Her forehead was smooth, without any signs of a collision.
Rong Xie was still worried. He stared at Linglong's forehead again and again, then took out some healing medicine from his brocade pouch and prepared it for Linglong.
“Brother Rong, really, there’s no need. I have plenty of healing medicine at home,” Linglong pushed the medicine back. “It’s my fault. I was too hasty and startled you, Brother Rong, didn’t I? But I have some fantastic news to share!”
"What amazing news?" Rong Xie wasn't quite sure, because this girl was often easily startled. He made way for her, "Come in and tell me, what would you like to drink? How about I make you a cup of herbal tea?"
"That's great!" Linglong followed Rong Xie in, and the two walked around the pond towards the flower hall.
On the way, Linglong couldn't help but tell Rong Xie that this morning, Xiaozhi had sent a message to Captain Zhao saying that Lu Yingqi had come out of seclusion and asked Rong Xie when he would be free to meet him.
"So fast?" Rong Xie was overjoyed. "What did you say? Please tell me in detail, Miss Linglong."
“I didn’t ask in detail,” Linglong scratched the back of her head. “Brother Zhao asked me to come and deliver a message. When I heard that Lu Yingqi had come out of seclusion and wanted to see Brother Rong, I rushed over!”
"I see." Rong Xie was still a little unsure. He had originally planned to maintain his relationship with Xiao Zhi first, learn more about Lu Yingqi, and then meet with him. He hadn't expected Lu Yingqi to emerge from seclusion so quickly, and Xiao Zhi had even efficiently conveyed his request to meet. This long-awaited meeting was now on the agenda, and Rong Xie could hardly believe it.
“Brother Rong, is there anything else you want to know? Perhaps I can send Ah Ying to ask?” Linglong pinched her whistle, about to summon her eagle-headed falcon.
As they spoke, the two entered the flower hall.
Someone was already sitting at the tea table, casually stretching out their long legs, boiling water with a fire spirit while drinking tea from a teacup.
This person was none other than—
"Shen Bingsi?!"
Rong Xie was greatly alarmed. He stood in front of the door, unsure whether to go in or not.
Actually, when Rong Xie encountered Shen Yan and her family moving this morning, he knew he would see Shen Bing Si sooner or later, most likely today. That's why he slammed the door shut the moment Ling Long followed him over.
Who would have thought that he could dodge the first day of the month but not the fifteenth, Shen Bingsi was actually waiting for him in the house.
"Sword Saint Shen?!" Linglong's eyes widened as she stared intently at the person in the room. "Is he really the Ruthless Judge, Sword Saint Shen?"
Rong Xie frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "When you said Shen Bing Si was annoying and stole half of your treasure, you didn't seem to have used such a long list of titles..."
Moreover, why be so surprised? Shen Bingsi has clearly appeared here before—wait, he remembered, the last time he came, Shen Bingsi was still a woman, so it's normal that Linglong didn't recognize her.
Lately, I've had... such a mess of experiences.
"Miss Linglong, would you like some hot tea? What would you like to drink?" Shen Bingsi asked with a smile.
Linglong's eyes widened in disbelief as she murmured, "Sword Saint Shen actually asked me what I wanted to drink... How is that possible? Sword Saint Shen actually knows my name is Linglong..."
"Ahem." Rong Xie couldn't help but clear his throat, stepping forward to shield Linglong behind him. "Shen Bingsi, what are you doing at my house? I don't think I invited you. Also, the tea on the table, isn't that mine too? What do you mean by using it to curry favor?"
“It means… to take credit.” Shen Bingsi put down her teacup, stood up from the tea table, smiled smugly, and looked at Rong Xie. “Didn’t you want to know the details? I was the one who knocked on the door and called out that coward Lu Yingqi. Ask whatever you want to know.”
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