Chapter 174 Simple:
Seeing that the man had shifty eyes and kept glancing at Shen Bingsi's face, Rong Xie felt disgusted and used his protective spiritual power to shove the man away.
The pharmacist Rong was knocked back a step, looking at Rong Xie in astonishment, then at Shen Bing Si, muttering to himself, "I misjudged her, the one who's so vigorous and powerful is actually this beauty."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Rong Xie stood in front of Shen Bing Si, his tension from worrying about her turning into anger, and vented his frustration on the pharmacist Rong, "Get out of the way, we're not buying your fake medicine!"
"Beauty is indeed formidable. No wonder you were exploited to such an extent. As the saying goes, to die beneath a peony is to die a romantic death—oh dear, I was wrong, I was wrong, please stop hitting me!"
Yaoshi Rong continued to ramble on, and Rong Xie grabbed him and beat him. The scabbard of Guangdian Bailan's sword repeatedly struck Yaoshi Rong's tattered felt hat. Yaoshi Rong raised his hands to defend himself and kept retreating.
Rong Xie chased after Yao Shi Rong for a while, and Shen Bing Si, who was watching from behind, found it amusing and slowly caught up.
When he got closer, he was startled to find Rong Xie talking to someone who looked very familiar.
“Lu Yingqi?” Shen Bingsi was stunned. “How did you get here? You really have gone mad…”
When the man looked up, Shen Bingsi realized she had mistaken him for someone else. The man looked exactly like Lu Yingqi, but his demeanor and expression were completely different. Lu Yingqi was serious and aloof, while this man was cynical and irreverent—he was Lu Yingqi's twin brother, Lu Yinglin.
Lu Yinglin smiled faintly, a hint of embarrassment on his face, like someone caught red-handed. And indeed, he had been caught red-handed—by Rong Xie.
"Didn't you say you didn't know where the Hehuan Sect's headquarters was?" Rong Xie was furious when this was brought up.
"Hehe... well..." Lu Yinglin awkwardly touched his nose.
"You're still in cahoots with fake drug dealers?" Rong Xie pointed at the timid pharmacist Rong beside him.
"...Not really, he wasn't selling fake medicine," Lu Yinglin explained, downplaying the issue.
“I understand,” Rong Xie took a deep breath. “You’re all in cahoots. It seems like this isn’t your first time selling things at the Hehuan Sect’s headquarters. You’re their regular supplier, right? I knew it. Liujin City, Liujin Sect, and Yuanbao Auction House are all in cahoots. How could you not know where the Hehuan Sect’s headquarters is?”
"..." Lu Yinglin's smile became increasingly awkward. "Ahem, actually, I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that I'm of low status and it's not convenient for me to introduce people. Now that you've come in, it must have been Elder Bai who introduced you, right? Isn't that great!"
Rong Xie snorted coldly, then looked at Lu Yinglin and sneered, "So this is all the reward you got for avenging your little Ya's blood feud?"
Lu Yinglin raised his hands, admitting defeat: "I was wrong, I was wrong. Didn't I return the Guangdian Bailan to you? Shen Jiansheng, how have you been?"
Shen Bingsi didn't have any particular liking or dislike for Lu Yinglin. He nodded, and Lu Yinglin then took the opportunity to steer the conversation toward him, preventing Rong Xie from digging any deeper.
"It seems you've already begun learning Elder Hong's methods," Lu Yinglin said. "Congratulations, congratulations! It seems the restoration of Sword Saint Shen is just around the corner!"
“Hmm…” Rong Xie frowned, “But Elder Hong’s method is very strange. He told us to imitate the behavior of the followers, saying that to correct a wrong, one must go to extremes, and if we want to abandon the ruthless way, we must accept the way of the Joyful Union Sect…”
“That’s great!” Lu Yinglin agreed wholeheartedly. “Food and sex are human nature. The Hehuan Sect’s approach is the right way for people. You all have too much of an otherworldly air about you. You should shed that aloofness and become more down-to-earth.”
“But Shen Bingsi’s Dao heart is already wavering, making her prone to backlash. Now she’s coughing up blood after just a few steps. Can this down-to-earth method really work?” Rong Xie voiced his biggest concern.
"Well..." Lu Yinglin wasn't too sure either. "Elder Hong must have his reasons for telling you to do this. Nothing serious will happen in a place like the Hehuan Sect headquarters. If you encounter any trouble, just go to him. He'll be right."
Lu Yinglin couldn't give a clear answer either, and Rong Xie sighed. This wasn't surprising, since Lu Yinglin wasn't even a member of the Hehuan Sect, and he didn't have much hope.
"As an apology, I can show you the daily activities of the Hehuan Sect members. If we start with something simple, you may be able to get used to it gradually."
As a regular supplier to the Hehuan Sect, Lu Yinglin was quite familiar with the activities of the followers. He would provide them with the items they needed for daily life and group activities, and the goods he brought were always very popular.
"The activities of the congregation are very rich. As you can see, there are dancing and playing musical instruments. At dusk, everyone sits together to enjoy delicious food and wine, and dances around the lanterns. There are countless activities during festivals."
“Sword Saint Shen and Junior Brother Rong can start by learning the most basic things, which is to open up their senses and enjoy the ability bestowed upon them by heaven—the power of perception.”
Lu Yinglin recommended several activities, including enjoying food and wine together at dusk, collecting nectar in the morning, lying on the grass at night to stargaze, and listening to and imitating birdsong, etc.
The activities recommended by Lu Yinglin all sounded simple and easy to do. Rong Xie took out a piece of paper and wrote down the activities, locations, and times he mentioned, determined to do all of them within the next day.
"There's no time to collect nectar in the morning... It's getting late, so we can only start with dinner at dusk. I wonder what we'll have for dinner tonight." Rong Xie checked the note, guessing with great interest.
They arrived together at an open space near the Five-Colored Altar, where the followers who were preparing for the banquet had already begun their work. They placed dried charcoal and fuel in small pits, set up racks on top, and cut the freshly slaughtered livestock into pieces, skewering some on sticks and placing others on iron plates. Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi asked if they could join them and then helped with the preparations.
As dusk approached, the orange-red sunset bathed the bamboo grove and flowerbeds, and a fire was lit in the open space. Large jars on the fire bubbled and emitted a fragrant aroma. The believers gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing, as they approached the edge of the open space.
Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi found a place to sit down. Someone came over with a brazier, took out pieces of thoroughly heated charcoal from the brazier, and threw them into the small pit in front of them. The flames quickly ignited, and the people next to them started to put meat skewers on the fire to grill. Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi followed suit.
The sizzling, oily meat skewers emitted a fragrant aroma. Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi savored them, forgetting to speak for a moment. These days, they had been exhausted from traveling, and naturally, there wasn't much good food in a place like the Ruthless Dao Palace. It had been a long time since they had been able to satisfy their appetites like this.
And, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the barbecue from the Hehuan Sect smells especially good...
"Fortunately, I didn't cultivate the ruthless path that cuts off appetite," Shen Bingsi sighed.
“Then your Dao heart would have been shattered long ago,” Rong Xie said with a smile.
“Not necessarily.” Shen Bingsi licked her lips. “Keeping your appetite is something you can grit your teeth and get through, but cutting off other things is very difficult.”
Rong Xie's cheeks flushed slightly; he knew what Shen Bingsi meant by the other things.
"I don't think so," Rong Xie said, wanting to tease Shen Bingsi, but worried that he would cough again, so he stopped himself in time.
"The beauty of the Spirit Mirror Sect!" Someone carrying two jars of wine squeezed through the crowd of people eating roasted meat on the ground and came to Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi.
Rong Xie felt embarrassed when he heard the call. This person was a member of the Hehuan Sect who was skewering meat with them. They had met while working and chatting. He was very enthusiastic, but like other members of the Hehuan Sect, he didn't know how to keep his mouth shut.
The man's eyes lit up when he saw Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi. He strode over and handed the wine jar to Rong Xie, who had no choice but to accept it. The man laughed loudly, "Try it! This is fine wine for entertaining guests!"
Rong Xie didn't like drinking, and he wasn't very good at it, but remembering what Lu Yinglin had said about drinking being one of the activities of the followers, he took the wine jar, picked it up, and took a sip.
He paused in surprise; the expected spiciness and irritation were not present. This wine was like honey water and tasted very good.
"Hahaha, how about it? This is Beauty Wine, specially made for beauties!" the man laughed heartily, raising another jar and handing it to Shen Bingsi.
"What kind of wine is this?" Shen Bingsi asked. "Hero Wine?"
"Hahahaha... Just kidding, who wants to drink that rubbish called Hero's Wine! This is Beauty Wine!" the man laughed.
"Damn, I guess I'm a beauty too." Shen Bingsi was somewhat surprised.
"Of course, you're still a sickly beauty," Rong Xie whispered in Shen Bingsi's ear.
Seeing the two whispering to each other, the man laughed and left, while the surrounding followers also looked at Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi with smiles.
Rong Xie was slightly embarrassed. He had never been so intimate with Shen Bingsi in public before. Such reckless behavior was unimaginable for him in the past.
Perhaps it was the atmosphere of the Hehuan Sect, or perhaps it was the power of the Beauty Wine, but Rong Xie felt a long-lost sense of ease. As night gradually fell, everything around him was shrouded in a hazy blue shadow. Without deliberately using his spiritual power, he couldn't even see the faces of the people around him clearly.
Rong Xie tugged at his collar, letting the evening breeze blow into his neck. Although the beauty wine tasted like honey water, it was still wine after all. Rong Xie felt dizzy and hot all over.
"Rong'er, how are you feeling? Are you alright?" Shen Bingsi's voice came from beside me in a daze.
Rong Xie shook his head, feeling even more dizzy. He simply slumped to the side, nestled into the arms of the person next to him, and tugged at the collar, saying, "It's too hot here, let's go outside for some fresh air."
Shen Bingsi helped Rong Xie up, saying with a hint of helplessness, "With your alcohol tolerance, you dare to drink the Hehuan Sect's wine so casually? Next time, without me around, you're not allowed to..."
"What?" Rong Xie felt Shen Bing Si's voice coming and going. He stretched his ear out to hear it clearly, but accidentally brushed against something soft. The surroundings became quiet, and hot air blew into his ear. Rong Xie frowned and complained, "It's so hot. Why is the wind so hot at night? Let's go into the woods... Hey."
The soft thing suddenly became hard and pinching, gripping the tip of Rong Xie's ear and refusing to let go. Rong Xie hurriedly tried to push it away, attempting to save his ear.
"Cough cough cough..." The clip finally released Rong Xie's ear. A series of coughs came from not far away, causing the embrace holding Rong Xie to shake. Shen Bingsi's muffled complaint was carried on the wind, "This is no simple activity, it's clearly trying to kill me..."
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