Chapter 188 Eliminating Obstacles:
The conversation reached an impasse again.
Shen Bingsi lowered her head and coughed. The skin on the back of her hand, which was hanging down, was broken, and streaks of bright red blood seeped out from around the joints.
Rong Xie looked at his hand and stopped talking. He simply pulled the hand onto his leg and cast a water-based healing spell, watching the wound gradually stop bleeding and turn white.
Since her Dao Heart was shattered, Shen Bingsi had suffered greatly from the backlash of her meridians, so she didn't have any particular reaction to these minor wounds.
At this moment, his hand was being held by Rong Xie like a precious treasure, and a cool healing spell was being cast on his skin. Only then did he notice that the back of his hand was broken and a little hot.
A sour feeling rose in her chest, and Shen Bingsi stared intently at Rong Xie.
Rong Xie showed no annoyance. He only listened to his harsh words briefly and didn't take them to heart. At this moment, he was just focusing on casting healing spells.
"I'm sorry," Shen Bingsi said in a muffled voice, "I wasn't angry with you, it's just..."
"It's alright." Rong Xie breathed a sigh of relief after casting the healing spell and seeing that the wound had stopped bleeding. "I really don't know Cui Yuqing."
Shen Bingsi grabbed Rong Xie's hand from behind, holding it loosely, and rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb.
"Never mind, let's not talk about him," Shen Bingsi said. "How did you find this place?"
"Do you want to listen from the beginning? It's a very long story," Rong Xie said with a smile. Although he regretted not being able to continue the topic of Cui Yuqing, he also knew that since this person had become a knot in Shen Bingsi's heart and was still affecting him after so many years, it wouldn't be so easy to touch upon.
"Go ahead and tell me, I'd love to hear it." Shen Bingsi relaxed.
The two sat in the tree hollow, head to head, shoulder to shoulder. Rong Xie started by telling Elder Hong jokes and continued until they met Cui Xingmiao in the mountain-protecting formation.
"How did you get through the mountain-protecting formation?" Shen Bingsi asked in surprise.
"It's the same old trick of the Golden Gang Sect. If you know a little about their classic formations, you can guess how to get past their mountain-protecting formation," Rong Xie said with a smile.
Shen Bingsi knew that it wasn't just a "slight" understanding; with Rong Xie's extensive reading and photographic memory, he probably knew more formations than even the inner disciples of the Golden Gang Sect.
"If the people of Yunshan Sect knew that the mountain-protecting formation they spent a fortune on was as easy as a broad road in your eyes, wouldn't they be furious?" Shen Bingsi smiled and hugged Rong Xie.
“Yes,” Rong Xie admitted without any modesty, “It’s their own fault for not studying this themselves; if they rely on others, they have to be aware that they’re outdated.”
"You're right, they're all idiots." Shen Bingsi felt a surge of satisfaction.
"However, I was able to find this place successfully thanks to you," Rong Xie said with a smile.
"oh?"
“As soon as I came in, I heard that a heinous villain had infiltrated the Yunshan Sect, the kind who would kill on sight. They’ve diverted all their manpower to arrest you, so naturally, I, a passerby with no criminal record, won’t attract any attention.” Rong Xie turned his head and smiled at Shen Bing Si, who was standing close to him.
"Then you really should thank me," Shen Bingsi said with a smile. "And then, how did you find this place?"
“Wang the wet nurse told me that your biological father’s family was a prominent clan. At first, I didn’t think of the Cui family of Yunshan Sect. Later, Wang the wet nurse told me something else.” Rong Xie paused. “She once overheard Miss Shen asking you to assassinate your biological father by chance.”
"I see." Shen Bingsi's smile vanished. He leaned against Rong Xie, holding his hand, his gaze vacant. "So that's where it was leaked."
“It wasn’t leaked either. Granny Wang didn’t know who your biological father was. It was just… my guess,” Rong Xie said.
He paused, and Shen Bingsi didn't stop him from continuing, so he continued, "You once said that Cui Xingmiao had done you a great favor, but she's so much younger than you, and you became famous at a young age. With your abilities, there's no way you would ask for help from a younger sister of a lower generation, unless..."
"unless?"
“Unless it’s something she could easily do for you, like helping you steal spiritual herbs from the Yunshan Sect, especially after the entire Yunshan Sect has cut off all ties with you.” Rong Xie continued to deduce, “Why would the entire Yunshan Sect cut off all ties with you? Combining what Granny Wang said, it’s easy to guess that you once assassinated an important figure in the Yunshan Sect, your biological father, whose family is the famous medical and cultivation family—the Cui family of the Yunshan Sect.”
Shen Bingsi hugged Rong Xie tighter: "You're so smart, how did your brain work?"
Rong Xie laughed: "That doesn't sound like you're praising someone."
“No, I’m genuinely curious,” Shen Bingsi examined Rong Xie’s head with a reverent gaze, “Your birth parents must have been extraordinary people. Didn’t Granny Wang really get any useful clues?”
"I stopped caring about that a long time ago," Rong Xie said with a smile, but there was still a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
“Once I’ve finished my business, we’ll go find your biological parents and ask them if they’ve had a single night’s rest in these past thirty years. They must regret abandoning such a wonderful Rong’er, but it’s too late for regrets. They can’t take a single hair from me.” Shen Bingsi hugged Rong Xie’s waist tightly and pressed her face against his neck.
Sure enough, he started coughing again a little while later.
Rong Xie helped Shen Bing Si relieve the pain from the backlash in his meridians for a while. Seeing that his face had become even paler and his forced smile was about to crumble, heaven knows how much he wanted to force Shen Bing Si to confront his inner conflict.
“My Rong’er went to great lengths to finally find this place, but Cui Yuqing is gone, only a grave remains.” Shen Bingsi sighed, her breath carrying a heavy stench of blood. “Now, what should we do?”
Rong Xie's heart pounded; Shen Bing Si was finally willing to face this matter directly.
He tried to keep a relaxed tone: "Can you tell me what exactly happened back then?"
Shen Bingsi turned her face to the side, burying it in Rong Xie's hair, and said in a muffled voice, "I don't want to tell you."
Rong Xie couldn't help but feel disappointed.
“In that case, the lofty image I’ve built in your heart since I was a child will collapse.” Shen Bingsi’s voice was full of dejection.
Rong Xie looked down in surprise. He hadn't expected that Shen Bing Si hadn't told him this was the reason. This reason was really... too childish!
“You’ve never built anything like that,” Rong Xie nudged him with his elbow. “Go ahead and tell me.”
Shen Bingsi nestled against Rong Xie's shoulder for a while before reluctantly beginning to recount her story.
As Wang the wet nurse said, Miss Shen told Shen Bingsi that her father was going to marry another woman. The other woman got the status that she and her mother had never received, and the culprit behind all of this was Cui Yuqing.
If Shen Bingsi were truly capable, she should rip out Cui Yuqing's heart so that he would never betray her again.
If Shen Bingsi is a good-for-nothing, it's not surprising, since he's Cui Yuqing's son, a wicked son who resembles his father.
At that time, Shen Bingsi had just found a book on close-quarters swordsmanship in an old book and was studying it with great enthusiasm. She also got a sharpened dagger from somewhere and cherished it every day. Upon hearing this, she naturally wanted to prove herself immediately and that she would not be as cowardly as Cui Yuqing.
When Shen Bingsi made her vow, Miss Shen showed a happy smile. During that year, Miss Shen took Shen Bingsi away from Yunshan Sect and returned to Plum Garden. Every day, her brows were full of sorrow and resentment, and she rarely showed any joy. Shen Bingsi became more and more certain that she had made the right decision.
Miss Shen hired a carriage to take Shen Bingsi to Yunshan Sect. The mother and daughter chatted and laughed all the way, as if they were on a pleasant outing.
Upon arriving at Yunshan Sect, Shen Bingsi strode in. At that time, he was still Cui Yuqing's biological son. Even if his identity was not recognized, the gates of Yunshan Sect were open to him, and he could come and go freely without any inspection.
Shen Bingsi went straight to the small courtyard and saw Cui Yuqing. Cui Yuqing was playing in the back garden with a young woman, laughing all the while. Shen Bingsi rushed forward and stabbed him in the left chest, but he was too short and couldn't aim. With one dagger, Cui Yuqing did not die immediately.
At that time, Shen Bingsi only had the first half of the plot in mind regarding the assassination of Cui Yuqing, and had not planned the second half. After stabbing Cui Yuqing, he did not know what to do next.
Shen Bingsi had imagined that a single dagger would kill him, and that he wouldn't have drawn so much blood when he pulled it out. He never expected that Cui Yuqing would not only survive, but the wound would continue to bleed, soaking his clothes and splattering blood all over Shen Bingsi's hands and face.
The slippery, sticky feeling was disgusting, and the smell in the air was suffocating. Cui Yuqing's female companion kept screaming, and her eyes were filled with fear and hatred when she looked at Shen Bingsi, just like the reaction of mortals when they encounter demons in stories.
More and more footsteps, screams, and curses approached. Shen Bingsi stood there, filled with disgust for everything around him, especially himself. He thought viciously, "Let them come and arrest you. You're beyond saving anyway."
As Shen Bingsi finished speaking, Rong Xieqing couldn't help but hug him tightly and stroke his shoulder forcefully.
This is incredibly cruel for a six-year-old child.
For a moment, Rong Xie couldn't tell who had left more psychological trauma on Shen Bing Si: Cui Yu Qing or Miss Shen.
“I understand, I understand you. This is hard to let go of,” Rong Xie said softly. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t understand anything back then…”
"..."
Shen Bingsi remained silent for a while.
"Actually, I don't feel anything anymore. Maybe it's because I've seen it too many times in the illusion. In the illusion, sometimes I'm holding a scorching hot stone knife, and sometimes my hands have claws like those of a monster, which I can pierce right through."
Rong Xie gripped the fabric on Shen Bingsi's shoulders tightly. He had indeed seen Shen Bingsi's emotional breakdown many times, but he never knew what caused her to break down. Only now did he understand how cruel the Path of Ruthlessness truly was.
“When he fell down, he seemed to become a different person, someone I didn’t recognize. You know, when a person loses blood and is in pain, their face becomes very strange. I couldn’t feel that he was the Cui Yuqing who would watch me indulgently, nor could I connect him with the young man who covered for me when I did bad things.”
Shen Bingsi described his feelings in detail. This was the first time in thirty years that he had described his feelings to the outside world. He didn't know what these details meant, but language is like a flood. Once the floodgates are opened, it flows endlessly, covering everything, big and small.
The dam, which had stood silently for so long, suddenly collapsed, and the deep, lifeless pool turned into a torrent of water that poured out and never returned.
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