Chapter 224 New sprouts:.
Although there was no formal initiation ceremony, Shen Bingsi found shops selling all the gifts Elder Hong had promised to give her upon joining the sect at the Liujin City market. There were many different kinds to choose from, and Shen Bingsi went on a shopping spree, getting what she wanted. She no longer had to worry about Elder Hong's promise.
Especially with the Heart-to-Heart Jade Pendant, Shen Bingsi had a better choice. She even sighed that she was glad she hadn't agreed to Elder Hong's offer to hold a sworn brotherhood ceremony here, otherwise what would she do with an extra pair of Heart-to-Heart Jade Pendants that she didn't like? It seemed like she didn't have anyone around her to give them to.
After spending a few days at the Hehuan Sect and visiting all the famous attractions in Liujin City, Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi returned to Huanxue Manor.
After that, they went to Lanyuan and took care of the two adjacent houses there.
Rong Xie's house was under Wang Mu's management, so there weren't any major problems. However, Shen Bing Si's house was facing a situation where the lease was expiring and Shen Bing Si had disappeared. The brokers had no choice but to temporarily lock the gate, and Shen Bing Si's furniture was still sealed off in the courtyard.
Shen Bingsi stood in front of the courtyard gate scratching his head for a while, and finally bought the house without saying a word.
When he heard the news, Rong Xie was drinking tea in the tea room: "What? You bought it? Why? We can live together."
“We brought a lot of furniture here, and it’s all stored inside. There’s no room for it here, and it’s too much trouble to move it back, so we might as well just leave it here,” Shen Bingsi said.
"You really are... incredibly wealthy." Rong Xie didn't know what to say. "When you stop being a demon-slaying official, you won't have a stable source of income, so you can't keep spending so lavishly."
"Don't worry, things will work themselves out," Shen Bingsi said, not caring about that. "Besides, this house doesn't cost much. When you like seeing me, we'll live together. When you're tired of seeing me, we'll each live in our own place."
Rong Xie couldn't help but chuckle: "We haven't even been together yet, and you already know I'll get tired of you?"
“That’s for sure.” Shen Bingsi sighed. “I need to be a wise and discreet partner. I’m not in your long-term plans, so I have to try to get closer to you. But you don’t plan to form a bond with me in your short-term plans, so I can’t get too close. I have to know how to maintain a proper balance.”
Rong Xie smiled and said, "That's right, she really is a virtuous wife."
Shen Bingsi was smug, her expression revealing a hint of arrogance.
"By the way, are you going to continue working at Lanyuan Villa?" Shen Bingsi asked.
Shen Bingsi really wanted to persuade Rong Xie to quit, but he didn't dare.
Rong Xie pondered and said, "I've been thinking about this too... Although our family is struggling to make ends meet, we have a good financial foundation and can live on for a while. I've been through so much recently, and I'm tired. I'd like to travel around to clear my head and broaden my horizons. What do you think?"
Shen Bingsi was slightly taken aback. After a moment, he came to his senses and saw Rong Xie looking at him, waiting for him to give his opinion.
"What's wrong?" Rong Xie asked.
"It's nothing, it's just..." Shen Bingsi patted her chest, "You just said, 'our family'? You acknowledge that we are a family, that we are one, right? That means you acknowledge that we have formed a bond, but we haven't gone through the bond-forming ceremony yet, and we haven't actually formed a bond..."
Rong Xie chuckled: "What are you talking about?"
"I'm just a little moved, and I'm rambling." Shen Bingsi stared intently at Rong Xie, then suddenly leaned in and kissed him.
Rong Xie was taken aback. He raised his hand to touch his face, but then lowered it. His cheeks were burning, but he said nonchalantly, "I'm talking about my family. The savings I accumulated by working hard at Lan Yuan Villa. It's strange that we helped Xuan Tian Sect come back to life, but they didn't give us any reward. Is that reasonable?"
Shen Bingsi fell silent.
After a period of self-encouragement, he recovered and replied, "Perhaps it's because we're moving too fast, and they want to reward us, but they can't catch up with us?"
“They can also contact the Spirit Mirror Sect directly and transfer the reward to your name. As long as they are sincere in wanting to give it, there will always be a way…” Rong Xie said indignantly, “Why don’t you fill a vacancy as a guard under Chief Minister Wang? I see that the guards in the villa have nothing to do all day long, but they are very eager to collect their money, and their pay is more than that of us ordinary managers.”
"Huh? What does your family's financial difficulties have to do with my work as a guard?" Shen Bingsi's mind suddenly clicked. "Didn't you say we weren't related?"
Please excuse me for choking.
Shen Bingsi held Rong Xie's shoulder and leaned closer to him: "You don't need to be a guard. I have ways to make money and guarantee that our family's wealth will continue to grow. Our standard of living will not be any lower than when I was an exorcist. How about it? Consider taking me into your family?"
Rong Xie said in a low voice, "What do you mean by taking you into our family? Doesn't our family already include you...?"
"Then what do you call me?" Shen Bingsi put her arm around Rong Xie's shoulder, and the two snuggled close together.
Rong Xie turned his head, his gaze hazy: "What do you want me to call you?"
“Bing Si is certainly good too,” Shen Bing Si said, “but couples in the human world often call each other husband and wife, which is very affectionate. Father-in-law and mother-in-law, growing old together, it’s a bit old-fashioned, but it’s auspicious. You can just call me husband!”
"Husband?" Rong Xie asked instinctively, then realized something was wrong. Shen Bing Si's ability to rattle off such a long string of words clearly indicated that it was premeditated.
"Yes!" Shen Bingsi agreed, her face beaming with joy.
"I won't call you that, it's too cheesy!" Rong Xie protested. "Besides, why should you call me 'wife' and I call you 'husband'? Why not the other way around?"
When Shen Bingsi emerged from the flower fairy's last dream, she held Rong Xie and called him by many different names. In the end, Rong Xie chose the one he had always called him, because he was already used to it and found the others unbearable to hear, including "wife".
This is truly a foreshadowing that spans thousands of miles!
“It’s alright, you can call me whatever you like outside, but inside…” Shen Bingsi took a step back in her words, but continued to push her luck in her actions, pulling Rong Xie into her arms and whispering in his ear.
Rong Xie's cheeks quickly flushed a light pink.
With Shen Bingsi's strong support, Rong Xie's resources suddenly became much stronger.
To demonstrate his earning power, Shen Bingsi immediately took on a job from Captain Zhao, helping a prominent figure in Shengjing investigate the private life of his marriage prospective spouse.
This was a piece of cake for him. After observing secretly for half a day, he discovered the crucial information that the person frequently visited brothels and was treated as a regular customer by several girls. He was rewarded handsomely and quickly recouped the money Shen Bingsi spent on the house, with a little left over, enough for him and Rong Xie to go on a short trip.
Upon seeing this, Rong Xie went to the Lanyuan Villa to explain the situation to Steward Wang, requesting that he temporarily suspend his post and resume work when he returned from his trip.
Before that, Rong Xie quickly dealt with the backlog of accounts, stayed in Lan Yuan to attend two mid-day meetings, and then left gracefully.
Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi traveled through mountains and rivers, returning to Lingjing Sect from Lanyuan. They stopped to walk where there was scenery and flew over where there was none. In this way, it took them almost half a month to return to Huanxue Manor.
In the mountain villa, under the care of the three children, Xiaozhi's spirit grew stronger day by day, and soon swelled into a ball of light the size of a small infant.
On this sunny day, Rong Xie, Shen Bingsi, and the three children sat under the weeping plum tree to eat. After finishing their meal, they basked in the sun and chatted.
"Brother Rong, where did you and the head of the manor go?" Shen Yan asked.
Long Shaoye also stared at the two of them expectantly.
Rong Xie recalled, "On our last trip, we went to the Mirror Palace. This time, we went to Liujin City, the Hehuan Sect, and Lanyuan. We came back from Lanyuan, passing through several small towns along the way. It was all very nice. We also went to a deserted flower mountain, where the mountaintop was covered with purple clover flowers."
"Wow, that's amazing! It must be so beautiful." Long Shaoye said enviously, "Once I learn to fly on a sword, I want to travel everywhere too."
"To learn how to fly on a sword, you need to at least reach the Golden Core stage," Shen Yan reminded him. "We're still a long way off."
"It'll be fixed sooner or later!" Long Shaoye said. "Xiao Fang, what about you?"
Fang Renji looked longingly at her, but when he heard Shen Yan say that it was very difficult to cultivate the Golden Core, he hesitated again: "Me...? I can just stay at home."
The four people at the table burst into laughter simultaneously.
“It’s getting late, we should start thinking about this in advance,” Shen Bingsi said. “If you’re planning to enter the inner sect of the Spirit Mirror Sect, you’re actually quite old.”
Long Shaoye and Shen Yan exchanged a glance, their hearts racing.
Shen Bingsi had promised them that they would serve as servants in the manor for a few years, and that once Rong Xie established his foundation, she would recommend them to the inner sect of the Lingjing Sect. However, a series of changes occurred afterward. Rong Xie left, and Shen Bingsi went mad. Long Shaoye and Shen Yan thought that it was good enough that they could stay. They could forget about Shen Bingsi recommending them to the inner sect.
Unexpectedly, things took a dramatic turn. In the time since the beginning of spring, Rong Xie has returned and is deeply in love with Shen Bing Si. Shen Bing Si gave up the Path of Ruthlessness for him, and it seemed that they were about to become a loving couple and enjoy a wonderful life together. People are in high spirits when they have good news, and they brought up the old story again, seemingly with the intention of recommending them to the inner sect.
"Really? Can we... enter the inner sect of the Spirit Mirror Sect?" Shen Yan asked cautiously.
"Of course, as long as you pass the assessment, you can all come in," Shen Bingsi said. "With your abilities, it shouldn't be difficult, but you still need to do some preparation..."
Shen Bingsi patiently explained to the three juniors what they needed to prepare for the inner sect assessment. Shen Yan and Long Shaoye listened attentively, while Fang Renji seemed lost in thought.
"Even if you enter the inner sect, it's not a guarantee that you can stay," Rong Xie said with a smile. "If you fail to reach the Foundation Establishment stage three times, you will be sent back to your original place of residence, and you will have to come back to the manor to continue working."
The three younger ones all knew that this was a sad matter for Rong Xie, but Rong Xie now seemed calm and composed, clearly no longer concerned about it.
"Yes, we know, and we will cherish this opportunity!" "Thank you, Master Zhuang and Brother Rong!" Shen Yan and Long Shaoye said excitedly.
"Renji, what about you?" Rong Xie looked at Fang Renji.
Fang Renji hadn't spoken until now, when he slowly said, "Actually... I don't necessarily have to go to the Spirit Mirror Sect. I think it's fine here. There are many books to read, which is enough for me to learn. I don't want to become a powerful cultivator. I just want to stay at home."
Rong Xie laughed, and Shen Bingsi ruffled Fang Renji's hair: "You're hopeless."
"I'm sorry." Fang Renji lowered his head.
“Although it’s not very promising, it’s good that you can express your true thoughts. Besides, maybe Renji is more suited to self-study?” Rong Xie said with a smile.
Afterwards, Shen Yan and Long Shaoye talked about flying on swords, imagining where they would go once they learned to fly on swords. As they talked, they somehow ended up talking about Rong Xie.
"Brother Rong, if you learn to fly on a sword, where would you like to go?"
"Me?" Rong Xie pondered, "What lies at the ends of the five continents and four seas? What is at the highest point of the sky?"
Shen Yan, Long Shaoye, and Shen Bingsi all looked at Rong Xie.
Rong Xie asked in confusion, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Brother Rong, your idea is really... grand!" Long Shaoye uttered a word he rarely used.
Rong Xie chuckled and looked at Shen Bingsi: "Isn't this something everyone who has learned to fly on a sword wants to see? I was wondering why none of you sword cultivators have gone up to the sky to see what the upper realm looks like?"
“Cough,” Shen Bingsi said, “How easy is it to get to the Upper Realm? I only know that the high places in the sky are cold and hard to breathe. If you stay there for a while, you will feel dizzy. It is said that the cultivators who went up to explore never came back.”
"Hmm, I see..." Rong Xie thought for a moment, "But I still want to go and see, it's so interesting."
Shen Yan and Long Shaoye never expected that Rong Ge, who always preferred to stay at home, would have so many amazing ideals, such as exploring the boundaries of the world, which sounded like something only a legendary warrior would do.
Shen Bingsi wasn't too surprised. Rong Xie had already told him about his life plans, and he knew that beneath Rong Xie's gentle exterior lay an extraordinary soul. Whatever Rong Xie wanted to do, he would support him.
As the five people in the villa were chatting, a large ball of light leaped down from the treetop and landed at Rong Xie's feet.
"Huh?" Rong Xie looked at the ball of light in surprise. "Xiao Zhi, why did you come down here?"
“It’s been quite restless these past few days,” Fang Renji said, having observed it silently. “It’s probably about to take human form.”
"Transformation" is a sign of spiritual maturity. It is the ability to choose the image of all things in the world as its own image according to its own will, representing an awakening of self-awareness.
Under the watchful eyes of the five people, the ball of light collapsed, sprawling on the ground like a deflated sheep bladder.
"What... is it going to turn into?" Long Shaoye asked in surprise. "It's not going to become a pancake, is it?"
It's definitely not a pancake.
After the sphere of light flattens out, it gradually seeps into the ground, and the surface is restored to its original smoothness.
A soft "clucking" sound came from under the clod of earth. The clod was pushed open, creating a crack, and a tender green sprout peeked out from underneath, timidly turning its two small, bun-like leaves, as if observing the five people above.
"This is……"
This time, Xiaozhi didn't turn into a human; he became a small sprout that took root in Huanxue Mountain Villa.
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