Chapter 3 The Ruthless Path:
"It's you guys." The team leader gestured with his finger.
"Us? We look like a Daoist couple?" Shen Bingsi looked at the team leader in disbelief, and mimicked his gesture, raising her thumb and gesturing between herself and Rong Xie behind her.
"Of course!" the team leader laughed. "They're a match made in heaven."
Rong Xie silently covered her forehead amidst the fragrant mist.
"Nonsense!" Shen Bingsi suddenly retorted.
The team leader was startled and looked at Shen Bingsi with a blank expression: "So you're not Daoist partners? I thought..."
"What did you think?" Shen Bingsi stared dangerously at the team leader.
The team leader trembled, his frantic gaze gesturing for the Miao healer to come out and say something: "I thought these kinds of communication jade pendants were for Daoist couples..."
Miao doctor Xiu simply stroked his beard, seemingly taking a keen interest in the stones on the wall.
That damned Miao doctor! The team leader secretly pounded the ground, wondering if he was just spouting nonsense.
"Ridiculous!" This was the first time Shen Bingsi, who had cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness for so many years, had his Dao heart questioned to his face. He was not cultivating any other category, but rather the path of severing emotions and love. He had long since seen through the path of love and affection, otherwise his progress would not have been so rapid.
Now, this team leader is actually slandering him, saying that he and Rong Xie look like a Daoist couple. If he doesn't teach him a lesson, how can he have the face to claim that he cultivates the Path of Ruthlessness?
"Why can the Jade Pendant of Shared Hearts be used only between Daoist partners? Can't close friends use it? Can't brothers use it? Can't mothers and daughters use it? There are countless people who are of one mind with each other, but are Daoist partners necessarily of one mind with each other? That's extremely narrow-minded!"
"We should use it not only with our closest friends, but also with our relatives and friends, and even with our sworn enemies who share a deep bond! Everyone should have one, and everyone should use it. Those who can't use it should reflect on whether there's something wrong with them as human beings. How come they don't even have someone who understands them?"
The team leader was stunned after being lectured by Shen Bingsi.
The people around them also began to reflect on whether they only had vulgar and worthless thoughts in their minds.
After a brief silence, the team leader bowed twice respectfully to Shen Bingsi: "Senior's guidance is truly enlightening! This junior has suddenly understood! It's like a revelation! Senior and this fellow Daoist are both upright and honest, with absolutely no underhanded dealings. It was the junior who was narrow-minded!"
"Hmph." Shen Bingsi flicked her sleeve. "This is none of your business. The stone gate is open, and you're not going to rescue your companions? They're probably going to rot inside."
"Yes, yes." The team leader hurriedly took his leave, leading the group through the stone gate and quickly escaping the scene of the senior's wrath.
Once everyone had left, the area finally became quiet.
Shen Bingsi picked up the communication jade pendant, her anger still lingering, and her voice was icy: "What did you want to say just now?"
Rong Xie sighed inwardly. This team leader had really messed with Shen Bing Si. However, he couldn't be blamed. Who knew that "Senior Rong" cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness, and specifically the one that severed emotions and love? Hearing such teasing was bound to make him jump up and down.
He gathered his thoughts and briefly explained his adoptive mother's purpose for coming.
"I understand. They're here to foster their children. What do you think Huanxue Manor is? An orphanage?"
Shen Bingsi was naturally annoyed.
"Is she nearby?" I asked her.
So the problem was solved in no time.
Shen Bingsi didn't give the old woman any face and directly refused her.
The old woman naturally dared not ask why, nor could she make a fuss, so she could only leave with her child in a dejected manner.
As she left, she gave Rong Xie a cold look, as if Rong Xie had just gone into the inner room and said something bad about them to Shen Bing Si.
“Rong-ge’er, I’m doing this all for your own good. Even if it’s not Wang Mu, it will be someone else. The head of the Shen family has already said that we must choose a suitable steward for the second young master.”
"..."
Rong Xie's smile remained gentle, but there was a hint of aloofness in his eyes.
He knew, of course, that the Shen family would send over a list of servants every so often, and recently they had been sending it over much more frequently.
It seems that the news of his delayed foundation-building has already reached the ears of the Grand Master.
The lifespan of cultivators who haven't reached the Foundation Establishment stage is no different from that of ordinary people, and they may even have a shorter lifespan due to the consumption of spiritual energy.
Rong Xie is over thirty years old this year and often feels that his spiritual power is not enough. He doesn't know if he will still be able to control those talismans in a few more years.
It's understandable that the head of the Shen family would want to change his butler for Shen Bingsi's sake.
only……
Rong Xie simply didn't want to give up this position.
There is no place in the world better than Huanxue Manor. From the first day he moved in, Rong Xie was very happy. One thing he did every day was to take a walk in the manor, see how many new flowers had bloomed on the trees, see if there were any familiar faces among the birds on the beams, and then use his magic to clean the floor, make the tabletops spotless, and make the furniture look brand new and shiny.
If I leave here, where can I go? What outside world is better than home?
Shen Bingsi returned later that day.
He flew back on his sword, a distance of a thousand miles in just an hour.
The flight wasn't very pleasant; besides getting covered in dust, ice shards fell off my clothes with a whoosh.
Shen Bingsi rushed into the bathroom, took off her clothes and shoes, jumped into the bathtub, and turned on the hot water to take a bath herself.
He possesses rare water and fire spiritual roots, both of which are as long as a single heavenly spiritual root, allowing him to cultivate without any clashes. His spiritual power increases at twice the rate of others.
That might be what genius is all about.
Rong Xie walked into the bathroom and looked enviously at the screen with its rising steam and rushing water. He wished he had the ability to generate hot water so easily that he could take a bath every day.
Rong Xie picked up the dirty clothes, shoes, and socks one by one, threw them into the wooden basin, went back to the room to get the starched casual clothes and wooden clogs, and neatly stacked them on the cabinet in front of the bathroom screen.
Rong Xie's fingers seem to possess a kind of magic; anything he touches always appears at its best.
When Shen Bingsi came out from behind the bathroom screen, she saw the undergarments and robes neatly folded on the cabinet. The elegant and simple patterns on the robes were folded on the outside, making it appropriate to wear even when entertaining guests at home.
Shen Bingsi changed into her inner garment and outer robe, and put on comfortable wooden clogs. She felt a faint fragrance emanating from her body, the same fragrance that Rong Xie often exuded, which Shen Bingsi liked very much.
He entered the study in a cheerful mood, pushed open the door, and saw Rong Xie wearing the same style of inner garment, sitting at the table reading a book.
This is not surprising; they always buy clothes together.
"Look what good stuff I brought back." Shen Bingsi sat down next to Rong Xie casually, then reached for her waist and exclaimed, "Oh dear!" Only then did she realize that she had left her brocade pouch and outer garment in the bathroom.
Rong Xie smiled and took out a golden fish-patterned pouch, placing it on the table.
"I knew it, it was with you." Shen Bingsi grabbed her brocade pouch, untied it, and rummaged inside, muttering, "Where is it...strange."
Shen Bingsi had many official duties, and his brocade pouch was filled with all sorts of things. In addition, he would bring back all kinds of rare and precious herbs every time he went out, so Rong Xie could imagine how messy it must be.
"Found it!" Shen Bingsi took out a scroll from the brocade pouch and waved it in front of Rong Xie.
When Rong Xie saw the winding and curving characters on the scroll, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Turo Paradox? Did you find this in the treasure cave? No... this scroll is new."
"It was just framed; it took some effort," Shen Bingsi said with a smile. "The fragments were blown away by the wind, so we had to use special methods to preserve them."
He then lit the lamp, unfurled the scroll, and placed it aside to examine it closely later.
Shen Bingsi sat opposite him, so close that she could see her best friend's jade-like forehead, delicate eyebrows, long eyelashes that remained motionless as he read, a straight and narrow nose like a jade ruler, and warm, moist lips.
What's amazing is that my best friend has no moles on her face, like a flawless piece of ice jade, so beautiful it's unreal.
While Rong Xie was reading, Shen Bingsi watched from the side. He would watch for as long as Rong Xie could read, and the two of them found it very interesting.
Finally, Rong Xie raised his head from the scroll, let out a soft breath, and his glassy eyes peeked out from under his long eyelashes as he looked at Shen Bing Si with joy.
"This volume is a timeline of major events in the ancient kingdom of Turope, and it is very valuable. It records the tributes offered to the King of Turope by various islands..."
Rong Xie spoke at length, but then realized that Shen Bing Si wasn't interested in these obscure historical facts. He stopped talking, "You've just gotten back, you should rest. You still have to go to the Mirror Palace to report on your mission tomorrow, right?"
“I’m not tired. There are still many fragments of writing on scribbled characters and pieces of jars and tiles here. If you want to see them, I can take them out now, but we’ll have to have someone take care of them first.” Shen Bingsi knew Rong Xie liked these things, and said smugly.
Rong Xie was indeed radiant, staring longingly at the brocade pouch and obediently nodding.
"And the rare and precious herbs we found recently also need to be categorized and sorted." Shen Bingsi ran a hand through her hair. "So troublesome."
Few people would find it troublesome to categorize the rare and precious materials they've harvested.
Of course, Shen Bingsi is an exception. He always brings back a huge pile of rare and precious herbs. If they are not sorted and classified in time, they will definitely become a mess and he will throw them away like garbage.
"No trouble at all, I'll do it," Rong Xie said gently.
"That's great." Shen Bingsi knew how troublesome it was to sort out those things. Each one had its own characteristics. Some would explode if put together, while others would melt or become highly poisonous. Only the knowledgeable and cautious Rong Xie could handle them.
After tidying up the table, the two headed towards the bedroom. In the corridor where they parted ways, Shen Bingsi suddenly remembered something and grabbed Rong Xie's wrist.
It feels warm and soft to the touch, like a smooth piece of warm jade.
"By the way, do you still have enough spiritual power?"
Rong Xie was slightly taken aback.
“Handling so many rare and precious materials requires a lot of spiritual energy. If you don’t have enough, I’ll transfer some to you,” Shen Bingsi said frankly. “How about we cultivate together tonight?”
Dual cultivation, of course... is the kind of dual cultivation that only Daoist couples would engage in.
However, if you ask Shen Bingsi, he will definitely ask in return, "Who says that close friends can't cultivate together? Friends and relatives, sworn brothers, and even sworn enemies who cherish each other can cultivate together. If you can't even see through this, what are you doing cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness?"
However, Rong Xie was, after all, just an ordinary mortal who had failed even in the Foundation Establishment stage. He was still somewhat reluctant to obtain spiritual power in this way, and he would not choose this path unless absolutely necessary.
"It's enough. I've been diligently cultivating lately, following the methods in those books you gave me... I feel like I'm progressing very quickly. Maybe I'll even reach the Foundation Establishment stage in a couple of days." Rong Xie quickly fabricated a long lie, and even he was startled after he finished speaking.
“That’s great,” Shen Bingsi gripped his wrist even tighter. “Which method is it? Let’s go to your room and you can demonstrate it to me.”
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Red envelopes will be dropped in this chapter!
The update schedule for this new book is irregular, around three or four chapters a week. You can stock up on it, but don't hold onto it for too long, or the green onions will grow mold! [pigeon emoji]
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