Chapter 187 He deserved it:
"Wait a minute," just as the guards were chattering amongst themselves, one of them suddenly stepped forward and said mysteriously, "I know!"
"What do you know?" "Tell me!" the guards urged.
The guard held up one finger: "The footprints disappeared at the grave. Where did the person go? Did they fly away? Vanish into thin air? Eliminating all impossible options, there's only one truth!"
"..." The guards were speechless for a moment, then shouted even louder, "Stop talking nonsense! Say something we don't know!" "Spit it out!"
The guard, who had been punched by everyone and was in so much pain that he could no longer bear it, quickly pointed to the footprints on the ground and said, "It's very simple. There's only one set of footprints, which shows how this person came here, and that's how he went back!"
The guards were taken aback.
The one in the lead was the first to react: "You mean... he walked back backwards?"
"Walk back backwards?" The guards repeated their leader's words, then looked at the footprints on the ground, as if they understood something. "So that's how it is. This person is too cunning!"
"To mislead us, they even walked back in their own footprints, creating the illusion that they had disappeared in front of the grave!"
"They're trying to distract us, making us waste time in the backyard while they quietly slip away from the front yard. They're really cunning!"
The guard leader waved his hand: "Brothers, follow me, continue expanding the search area! We can't let him slip away right under our noses!"
"yes!"
Led by their leader, the guards hastily withdrew from the backyard and, in a fit of rage, went to search other areas.
The rain continued to fall in the empty back garden.
The dense foliage outside the tree hole acts like a natural dome, separating the inside from the outside. Rain falls on the leaves, making a soothing rustling sound.
"Sigh," someone in the tree hollow breathed a sigh of relief. After a rustling sound of clothes, a gentle and refined voice rang out, "They seem to have left. I'll go take a look."
"Don't go out," Shen Bingsi said urgently. The person in front of her tried to stand up, but was pulled back down.
After a moment of silence in the tree hollow, and confirming that there were no guards lying in wait outside, a gentle voice chuckled: "Who would have thought they would deduce such a brilliant result? It saves us the trouble of figuring out another way."
Shen Bingsi laughed, then let out a muffled groan, and then laughed again.
"How did you find this place?" Shen Bingsi asked gently. "Is there anywhere else you can't find?"
“Have you noticed,” Rong Xie patted Shen Bingsi’s back, urging him to get off his shoulder, “that you always like to hide in tree hollows? You did it the same way last time at Zhilan Ridge…”
“A tree hole can provide shelter and protection from the rain, so why not hide in a tree hole?” Shen Bingsi stared at Rong Xie, who was so close to her. Even though their bodies were pressed tightly together, Shen Bingsi still felt like she was dreaming.
Just moments ago, Shen Bingsi was standing in the rain, with pursuers behind him and graves in front of him. He was still hesitating about which way to hide and how to deal with the endless swarms of patrolling guards like locusts.
Suddenly, he saw a snow-white arm sticking out of the tree hole, forcefully pulling at his trouser leg.
Logically speaking, this scene should be quite horrifying. A hand is sticking out of a tree hole on the ground, and there is a grave next to it. Who wouldn't have unnecessarily associated it with such thoughts?
But Shen Bingsi recognized the arm and knew at a glance who it belonged to. Without hesitation, Shen Bingsi bent down and crawled into the tree hole, falling into the loose, dry grass.
Rong Xie fell down with him, his arm supporting Rong Xie's ribs. The two embraced and fell into the haystack, getting covered in grass.
Shen Bingsi tightened her arms, wanting to hold him a little longer, but the person in her arms struggled.
"Clean up the footprints!" Rong Xie's breath tickled Shen Bingsi's ear, and Shen Bingsi released her grip.
Rong Xie took out a talisman, levitated to the edge of the tree hole, threw the talisman out, then turned around and jumped down to hug Shen Bing Si.
Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and their heartbeats seemed to be connected.
"Rong'er." Shen Bingsi stroked Rong Xie's cheek, her gaze fixed on his face. He felt a mixture of joy and pain in his chest, two forces pulling at his heart, yet he was unwilling to let go.
Rong Xie fumbled to remove the black mask from his face, looking at his face with a mixture of joy and worry.
The two gazed at each other for a long time, as if trying to trace each other's outlines with their eyes and deeply engrave them in their minds.
"It's alright," Rong Xie chuckled softly.
"What's so great about it?" Shen Bingsi coughed twice. "Are you happy that I haven't turned into an old man?"
"I'm quite happy, after all, Miss Cui has a miraculous healing touch," Rong Xie replied.
Shen Bingsi choked. He had almost forgotten that Rong Xie had already met Cui Xingmiao, and he didn't know what Cui Xingmiao had talked about with him: "I am innocent. I did not receive her treatment. I came here just to find... someone."
Rong Xie glanced at Shen Bingsi and, seeing his hurried attempt to clarify, couldn't help but chuckle: "Yes, I know."
Shen Bingsi finally recovered and nudged Rong Xie's shoulder: "Are you jealous?"
"A little." This time, Rong Xie admitted frankly.
The two looked at each other again. Shen Bingsi made a muffled sound in her throat, then coughed violently, accompanied by a terrible whistling sound from her trachea.
Rong Xie quickly activated the Ice Heart Technique and patted the large acupoint on his back to relieve his discomfort.
However, this can only provide temporary relief and is ultimately not a cure.
"You... are you here to see Cui Yuqing?" Rong Xie asked seriously, keeping a slight distance between them.
"Hmm..." Shen Bingsi did not deny it.
The fact that Rong Xie was able to find this place means that he already knows some information, so Shen Bingsi's denials are useless.
Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi, waiting for him to say it himself.
Shen Bingsi remained silent, leaning back against the rock wall, her head tilted back, her gaze drifting beyond the dark tree roots as if to a distant place.
“It’s no use saying anything now,” Shen Bingsi said. “Cui Yuqing is already dead.”
"..." Rong Xie frowned slightly.
“Cui Yuqing is my biological father, you should already know that,” Shen Bingsi said, her voice devoid of any emotion. “He’s dead, and I can’t dig him up to confront him. Elder Hong’s method probably won’t work on me either.”
"So what do you plan to do?" Rong Xie asked.
“…I don’t know either.” Shen Bingsi looked at the tree roots above her head. “At least Cui Yuqing could find a grave, but Shen Yingmei left nothing behind.”
Shen Yingmei is the formal name of Miss Shen.
Having said that, Rong Xie already knew what Shen Bingsi's inner conflict was.
“When I left, I asked Elder Hong,” Rong Xie paused, “and he told me that the reason why the knot in my heart exists is not because this event happened in the past, but because it affects the present.”
“Yes,” Shen Bingsi lowered her head, “He said something similar to me, which is why I came here to find Cui Yuqing.”
“Bing Si,” Rong Xie leaned forward, getting closer to Shen Bing Si, “I understand that they have a great influence on you, but you also need to understand that many, many years have passed, and even the people who influenced you are... gone. Why do you still let them influence you?”
Shen Bingsi remained silent for a long time before saying, "No, you don't understand."
Shen Bingsi's resistant attitude made Rong Xie feel as if he had returned to the past, and the door to his heart that had been open to him seemed to have been closed again.
Fortunately, Rong Xie was not unprepared.
“I understand,” he said. “Do you think that Cui Yuqing died because of you?”
Shen Bingsi suddenly raised her head and looked at Rong Xie, her dark eyes filled with surprise and disbelief...
This was a secret he kept deep in his heart, and he had never revealed it to Rong Xie. How could Rong Xie know?
Rong Xie knew Cui Yuqing's true character. Shen Bingsi could be explained away as Cui Xingmiao letting something slip. However, the incident that happened thirty years ago was considered a great disgrace by the Yunshan Sect, and they would never casually reveal it. Cui Xingmiao would certainly not disclose it to Rong Xie.
“What I don’t understand is…” Rong Xie frowned, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Shen Bingsi's biological father, his life before coming to Plum Garden was as if it had never existed, he never mentioned a word of it to Rong Xie.
Even though the momentous event that changed his nature occurred shortly after he arrived at the Plum Garden, he never confided in Rong Xie about it.
He fled from Yunshan Sect in a disheveled state, met up with Shen Yingmei, and was then taken back to Plum Garden by Shen Yingmei... It was all like a lingering nightmare. His emotions seemed to have evaporated overnight. He sat motionless on the steps under the eaves. The heavy rain that day was just like today, pouring down relentlessly. The rainwater flowed down his cheeks and neck, all the way into his pants and shoes. He felt no sadness, no anger, and no coldness, like a stone statue abandoned in the rain.
That way you won't feel pain.
Once you turn into a stone statue, you will no longer suffer.
"Why should I tell you?" Shen Bingsi said expressionlessly. "What's the point of sharing something like this?"
"..."
The conversation, fueled by Shen Bingsi's aloof attitude, reached a dead end.
"So you often saw this when you were going through the Grand Elder's illusionary trials?" Rong Xie calmly changed the subject.
Shen Bingsi clearly didn't want to talk about this, but still hummed in agreement.
“You might not know this, but when you lose control of your emotions, you also cry and say sorry…” Rong Xie clenched his fingers, deciding to give Shen Bing Si a little more provocation, “So, those apologies were actually said to Cui Yu Qing?”
Shen Bingsi's face darkened, his expression as thick and unyielding as a dark cloud. He suddenly raised his fist and slammed it against the stone wall.
Bang!
The tree roots above their heads rustled down, dropping clods of earth and small stones, and the entire tree hole shook as Shen Bingsi's furious punch struck it.
“No, I have done nothing to wrong him,” Shen Bingsi’s dark eyes were brewing a storm as she stared intently at Rong Xie. “Don’t speak up for someone you don’t even know. If dying young is retribution, then Cui Yuqing deserves it. It’s a pity that my dagger didn’t kill him on the spot.”
Rong Xie's face darkened, and he slowly sat up straight.
Meanwhile, deep within the tree hollow, the shadow of something seemed to sway slightly, as if it were about to collapse.
However, the heavy rain outside the cave, the rustling of leaves, and the somber atmosphere made the two people inside the tree hollow completely oblivious to everything else.
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