Chapter 38 Orchid Soup:
"Rong'er, don't worry, no matter what happens, I will never abandon you," Shen Bingsi said.
As he said this, he looked up at Rong Xie, as if his heart and eyes were filled with nothing but him.
Rong Xie was startled. Shen Bingsi's gaze was so direct and intense that he had the illusion that Shen Bingsi also admired him.
Rong Xie slightly turned his gaze away, avoiding Shen Bingsi's direct eye contact. Only in this way could he alleviate his dizziness and headache and avoid immediately confessing his feelings of affection.
"Let's do it again," Shen Bingsi invited.
There's no need to ask what's coming; Rong Xie already knows.
Sometimes he really wanted to ask Shen Bingsi if she was truly without guilt every time she invited him to dual cultivation, if she was truly... indifferent.
However, there's really no need to ask such a question. Last time at the main peak of the Lingjing Sect, Sect Master Xue personally tested his cultivation and said that not only was his Dao heart unwavering, but his cultivation had also made great progress.
Rong Xie closed his eyes, thinking about his original intention in staying, which was only to establish his foundation.
“Come here,” he said.
This time it went exceptionally smoothly.
Perhaps it was the effect of two months of getting to know each other, perhaps it was because Rong Xie began to cooperate actively, or perhaps it was because the water in the orchid bath was deep and dark, but even after their clothes were removed and their skin was touching, they did not make any mistakes.
Shen Bingsi's voice was low and slow, as if she were coaxing a spoiled lover. Her warm breath brushed against Rong Xie's ear, making his heart flutter.
This time, however, Rong Xie heard it clearly. He was talking about the key points of the dual cultivation method, how to do each step.
"...The key is to circulate your spirit throughout the body without letting your Yang spirit leak out. Remember that?" Shen Bingsi emphasized.
Rong Xie nodded.
Shen Bingsi's hand touched his body again, but Rong Xie pressed his hand down: "Wait a moment."
"Um?"
"I need to get something."
Under Shen Bingsi's questioning gaze, Rong Xie stood up from the water and turned to grope something among the piles of clothes on the shore.
His snow-white body shimmered under the moonlight, like flowing mutton fat jade. With a splash, Rong Xie returned to the pool, holding a thin ribbon in his hand.
Those are the straps on the undergarment that bind the cuffs.
Rong Xie handed the ribbon to Shen Bingsi: "Use this."
Shen Bingsi looked at her best friend with a mixture of confusion and fascination, not understanding what he was doing.
"Use this... to tie it up." Rong Xie turned his gaze away, the heat rising from his ears all the way down to his neck.
"What are you binding?"
Shen Bingsi, who was usually quick to grasp cultivation techniques, suddenly became slow to react.
His deep eyes remained fixed on Rong Xie's face, never wavering for a moment.
Rong Xie's lips moved slightly, but he still couldn't bring himself to utter the shameful description. Shen Bingsi couldn't help him; he could only rely on himself.
Rong Xie lowered his head, his hand holding the ribbon reaching downwards. The water rippled slightly, and he frowned, feeling both embarrassed and anxious, but he failed several times.
Shen Bingsi's eyes widened slightly; he seemed to understand what Rong Xie meant.
A feeling of dryness rose in Shen Bingsi's mouth, and he was secretly puzzled by this unusual sensation. He stopped Rong Xie:
"I'll do it."
Rong Xie handed the belt over.
The next moment, he was carried back to Shen Bingsi, who wrapped her arms around him from the side.
The deep pool water did not affect Shen Bingsi's eyesight. Even at night, he could see the situation in the water clearly if he wanted to.
But he did not act immediately.
"...What's wrong?" Rong Xie couldn't help but ask.
"Do we really have to do this?" Shen Bingsi hesitated.
Rong Xie closed his eyes briefly: "I want to succeed once as soon as possible. It's too painful to keep failing like this."
Even if you don't achieve a solid foundation on the spot, a single success is still considered progress.
Rong Xie knew that cultivation couldn't be rushed, but given his current state, he didn't know when he would get used to Shen Bingsi and be able to remain unmoved by her caresses.
Perhaps that day will never come. Perhaps, the closer the contact, the more he will become, and one day he might not be able to resist and accidentally let it slip.
Rather than waiting for an uncertain future, it's better to seize the present, grasp every opportunity for dual cultivation, and succeed as soon as possible to establish a solid foundation.
As long as the Yang spirit is not depleted, half of the cultivation is already successful. In that case, let's use external force.
This is what Rong Xie thought.
Shen Bingsi seemed to want to say something more; his brows furrowed, and his eyes were full of disapproval.
He could disregard everything and even the damage to his body when he was cultivating, but he didn't want his close friend to use any cultivation method that came at the cost of harming his body.
but……
The expression on Rong Xie's face when he said those words stung his heart.
Shen Bingsi didn't understand that feeling; he just instinctively thought he didn't want to see his best friend with that expression again.
"good."
Shen Bingsi didn't say anything more; he did as Rong Xie instructed.
Fingers flicked the thin ribbon, sending waves of shivers down my spine.
Rong Xie hissed softly, instinctively shrinking back until he had to bite his knuckles to wait for the intense stimulation to pass.
Finally, the ribbon was tied where it was supposed to be.
Rong Xie breathed a sigh of relief, but the feeling of heaviness in his abdomen did not improve. He loosened his grip and took a deep breath. The discomfort of being restrained was particularly noticeable when he changed his sitting position. He leaned into Shen Bingsi's arms.
"What... should we do next?"
He looked up and asked.
Shen Bingsi lowered his eyes. The person in his arms had red eyes and was looking at him with a dazed expression, as if she had handed over all the power to decide her fate to him.
A strange and wonderful feeling of excitement surged up, and Shen Bingsi felt her heart pounding heavily. The inexplicable curtain that had always separated her from her best friend had finally been torn down, and the doubts that were about to get out of control vanished at this moment.
No one could be closer to Rong Xie than him; in this world, no one and nothing could ever come between the two of them.
It should have been done a long time ago.
Shen Bingsi thought.
That night, the water in the Orchid Pond crashed against the warm shore in waves.
The azure water spirit surged through the meridians, filling the Qi Sea until the Lingtai (spirit platform) swelled and was on the verge of bursting.
Rong Xie thought he was going to die.
However, when he woke up, it was still dark.
He had already changed his clothes; they were loose and ill-fitting. Rong Xie knew that these were Shen Bingsi's undergarments. As for his own, both sets were dirty and unwearable.
He lay between the dry bedding, smelling the fresh scent of soapberry. Apart from the soreness and weakness in his lower limbs, he felt no discomfort.
In fact, his mental state is much better than before.
Could it be... that they succeeded?
A secret excitement rose from my stomach.
It was quickly suppressed again.
Don't get too excited yet. If Foundation Establishment were that easy, everyone would be practicing dual cultivation.
He suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, focused his inner awareness, and mobilized the spiritual energy in his dantian, circulating it around.
He hasn't reached the Foundation Establishment stage, but...
He had never seen such a vast spiritual power before; it was like a boundless ocean, stretching endlessly into the distance, and this ocean of spiritual power was right inside his own body.
How long will it take to use this up?!
Rong Xie was deeply shocked.
The ecstasy of a poor man suddenly becoming rich filled Rong Xie's heart, so much so that he didn't have the mind to think about anything else. He turned to find Shen Bingsi and immediately wanted to share this joy with him.
To my surprise, when I turned around, I was met with a pair of dark, piercing eyes.
Shen Bingsi was shirtless, lying next to his pillow with her elbows sticking out, her body half-supported, her face turned to the side, her gaze fixed on Rong Xie.
Rong Xie was startled by him.
Shen Bingsi smiled absentmindedly.
Rong Xie didn't have time to study Shen Bingsi's strange behavior. He rolled up the blanket, turned around, faced Shen Bingsi, and eagerly told him that he had sensed the change in spiritual energy.
"Last night, we..." Even though he was excited, Rong Xie hesitated for a moment, "Did we succeed?"
“Yes.” Shen Bingsi paused, then added, “Sort of. You… fainted in the middle.”
Rong Xie was momentarily confused. Suddenly, the world spun around him, and many shameful memories he dared not recall flooded his mind. He was first sitting on Shen Bing Si, then being pressed against the pool wall. Whether it was because the straps were too tight or because he had chafed somewhere, the pain made him cry. Suddenly, the pain disappeared, and he saw many blue stars emerging from the water, and he saw limbs intertwined underwater. Then he knew nothing more.
Rong Xie felt a chill run down his spine, let out a soft "Ah," and rolled back into his original position, clutching the blanket.
"Thump! Thump!"
My heart was pounding, pounding against my other internal organs, and even the bed beneath me seemed to be vibrating.
Rong Xie felt as if he were lying on a collapsing mine vein, and soon he would fall into the ground along with the rocks and sand, be buried by layers of new sand and gravel, buried deep in the dark underground, and never come out to see anyone again.
Therefore, he also missed Shen Bingsi's ghostly expression.
I peeked out from under the covers again; it was already broad daylight outside.
Rong Xie cautiously turned his head and found that the other half of the bed was empty; Shen Bingsi had already gotten up.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
I got up and washed up.
Rong Xie changed into a moon-white long robe, his favorite outfit. He also tied his hair up in a high bun, with the rest of his long hair flowing down his shoulders like satin. He wore a pair of light and exquisite cloud-walking shoes made of pearl silk. From head to toe, he was a handsome young master.
Rong Xie looked at himself in the mirror from both sides and saw his radiant appearance, as if he had become several years younger overnight. He was very satisfied, and with a hint of spring in his eyes, he walked towards the outer courtyard.
On the bench under the corridor, the half-finished "Map of Lanyuan" from yesterday is still scattered there. The trampled flower beds and the long-extinguished lamps on the ground silently testify to what happened here last night.
Rong Xie's eyelids started to feel hot again. The orchid bath was like a thorn in his peripheral vision. He tried not to look at it, but he would catch a glimpse of it unintentionally, making everyone uneasy.
The yard has everything, except for one very important thing.
Shen Bingsi has disappeared.
She clearly didn't want to see him right away, but now that she couldn't see him, Rong Xie felt a void in her heart.
He subconsciously reached for the jade pendant at his waist, his fingers stroking the warm jade surface.
Forget it, I'd better not call him. I wouldn't know what to say if he came.
Let's wait a bit.
While waiting, Rong Xie didn't idle around. He took out the blue robe he wore for work from his brocade pouch, put it over his moon-white long robe, washed his dirty clothes, and tidied up the courtyard. He only glanced at the bathtub; it was still full of water.
Rong Xie felt a wave of dizziness and suspected that this was the water from last night. He knew very well what was in that water.
He stood there agonizingly for a while, but eventually his obsession with cleanliness overcame his shame. He picked up a twig, pried open the lid at the bottom of the pool, drained the water, then added fresh water, rinsing the pool inside and out three times.
When Shen Bingsi returned, Rong Xie was kneeling by the pool, wiping the edge of the pool, which was already so shiny it could reflect a person's image.
"Rong'er." He strode across the courtyard, helped Rong Xie up from the ground, and said with a strong sense of disapproval, "What are you doing? Why aren't you resting so early in the morning? You can let the servants do these things."
"I'm not tired," Rong Xie said with a gentle smile, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Shen Bingsi. "I feel great right now. There's an endless stream of spiritual energy flowing out of me, and it seems... I don't need to use any talismans anymore."
Shen Bingsi raised her eyebrows slightly.
Then, as usual, he gave a hearty and cheerful smile: "That's good."
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Gradually, I lost the ability to laugh.
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