Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 36

Chapter 36: Catching You

“Benefactor Shen is mistaken. To this poor monk’s knowledge, Layman Baishui has no interest in an official career. In his youth, he participated in the imperial examinations but failed repeatedly. Afterward, he devoted himself to the study of ancient texts and scriptures,” the monk said, pressing his palms together.

Monks shouldn’t gossip about others behind their backs, but fearing Shen Bingsi might misunderstand, he offered a necessary clarification for Layman Baishui.

With the monk vouching for him, Shen Bingsi couldn’t say much more. However, he clearly didn’t believe it. Who said that failing repeatedly meant one didn’t want to be an official? It was precisely those who had failed for a long time whose desire was the strongest.

Leaving Xiangji Temple, Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi took the carriage to their next destination—Blue Plateau.

Having been delayed at the temple, twilight had begun to rise by the time they reached Blue Plateau.

However, Blue Plateau was truly beautiful. In the foreground lay the flat-topped plateau; in the distance, the majestic Zhongnan Mountains towered. The contrast made the mountains in the twilight seem immense, while the mulberry trees on the plateau edges looked like grains of millet sprinkled beneath the ethereal peaks.

When the carriage reached a high point, Shen Bingsi, finding the scenery pleasing, ordered the driver to stop so they could walk.

The two walked along a meadow dotted with small purple flowers until they reached the edge of the high ground. The vast Blue Plateau unfurled before them—fields, villages, roads, and ox carts on the roads were all immersed in the vast, rolling twilight.

“That is Senior Grand Secretary Wang’s Blue Plateau Villa.” Shen Bingsi pointed to a sprawling complex occupying a prime location.

Blue Plateau Villa was also built in the palace style of Shengjing, grander even than Huanxue Villa, with courtyards and towers designed with even greater ingenuity.

Rong Xie gazed at the villa, deeply shaken by the grandeur within the architect’s vision.

“It is said that Grand Secretary Wang participated heavily in the design. He is a man of broad knowledge and high attainments. If he were a cultivator, he might have already surpassed the Distraction Stage,” Shen Bingsi remarked.

It was rare to hear Shen Bingsi praise anyone, let alone with such high acclaim. Rong Xie couldn’t help but turn his head to give Shen Bingsi a second look.

Though it might spoil the mood, Rong Xie said it anyway:

“I thought you always looked down on people in the civil service?”

“I look down on those who treat the civil service as their ultimate goal,” Shen Bingsi said. “Get close to those people, and the stench of desperate ambition hits you in the face. It’s suffocating.”

Rong Xie pondered for a moment, then spoke gently, “Everyone has their own difficulties. Not everyone is like Grand Secretary Wang—born into nobility, overflowing with talent, and taking the top spot in the imperial exams on their first try.”

“I can better understand those with average backgrounds and mediocre talents who fail repeatedly. There aren’t many paths for advancement in the mortal world aside from the exams. They participate when young simply to follow the crowd, unaware of their true interests. After failing, or perhaps luckily landing a minor official post, and hitting walls for half a lifetime, they finally wake up to realize they aren’t cut out for it. Turning then to their true interests… isn’t that also a form of high attainment?”

Shen Bingsi fell silent.

They seemed to be talking about others, but they were actually talking about themselves.

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“Actually… the kind of person you described is also admirable. But most people are just pretending,” Shen Bingsi said.

“Mn…”

“Shall we walk a bit further?” Shen Bingsi asked. “Since it’s already late, let’s stay here for the night.”

“Alright.” Rong Xie had guessed this would happen.

Shen Bingsi walked forward, and Rong Xie followed. Suddenly, he felt his hand being grabbed.

Shen Bingsi gripped him tightly. At first, the force was so great that Rong Xie felt a slight pain in his bones.

Rong Xie looked up instinctively, seeing Shen Bingsi’s tense profile and temples blown by the wind. He was looking at the scenery, yet Rong Xie could sense the restlessness in his heart.

Was it because their conversation just now hadn’t been very harmonious? It was rare for them to disagree, ending the discussion with each holding their own view.

Usually, even if Rong Xie disagreed with Shen Bingsi, he felt arguing was pointless; as long as Shen Bingsi was happy saying whatever he wanted about trivial matters, it was fine.

He didn’t know what was wrong with himself today. Maybe he was too idle, but he had wanted to debate with Shen Bingsi, and now he had made the man anxious.

Rong Xie quietly matched Shen Bingsi’s pace, placing his free hand over the back of Shen Bingsi’s hand.

Shen Bingsi’s steps faltered for a beat. He turned back, raising an eyebrow slightly at Rong Xie.

Rong Xie smiled at him and asked, “Where are we staying tonight?”

“Tangquan Villa. A place for hot springs. The hot springs on Blue Plateau are famous. Do you want to try?”

“Sure. After sitting in the carriage all day, soaking in a hot spring and resting sounds perfect,” Rong Xie said.

“That was my plan too.” The restlessness faded from Shen Bingsi. The hand gripping Rong Xie relaxed, holding him loosely now. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to Blue Plateau Villa.”

“Can you get in?” Rong Xie was curious.

“Of course. Why else would we come? Didn’t you want to visit Blue Plateau Villa?” Shen Bingsi said as if it were obvious.

“I mean… walk in openly through the front door?” Rong Xie recalled Shen Bingsi mentioning climbing the palace walls at midnight.

“Yes, openly through the front door.” Shen Bingsi smiled.

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Rong Xie felt relieved. It seemed Shen Bingsi’s praise of Grand Secretary Wang wasn’t baseless; he really knew the man, and perhaps their relationship was quite good.

“Good. I also want to look at the surrounding courtyards,” Rong Xie said.

“That’s easy.” Shen Bingsi planned tomorrow’s itinerary. “We’ll eat breakfast, wander around the area, and go visit at the end of the Hour of the Dragon (9:00 AM). We have plenty of time; we can roam until the afternoon. If you like the hot springs, we can stay another day.”

“What about the Prosperous World Pavilion?” Rong Xie asked, realizing immediately it was a redundant question.

Shen Bingsi told him not to worry about it.

Hand in hand, the two walked along the high ground until the sky nearly turned dark before descending to where the carriage was parked.

That night, they stayed at Tangquan Villa. The conditions weren’t as good as the Prosperous World Pavilion, but there were many types of hot spring pools. Here, one could wear bathrobes or wrap in towels to soak—everyone did so—so Rong Xie let go of his reservations and found a pool to soak in with Shen Bingsi.

Clusters of candles were placed by the pool at night, covered with red gauze shades embroidered with flowers and birds, creating a lazy and comfortable atmosphere.

They slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, after breakfast, the two strolled around the vicinity.

Blue Plateau indeed had many villas of various sizes, all retreats for the capital’s nobility to relax and escape the summer heat. High walls connected courtyard to courtyard, separated by streets paved with fine bluestone. being midsummer, there were quite a few people coming and going.

Shen Bingsi initially thought Rong Xie was just wandering aimlessly, perhaps having seen a nice spot in the Record of Shengjing’s Elegance and wanting to check it out.

He didn’t expect his best friend to browse with such seriousness, as if he were planning to buy property. He inspected the surrounding environment thoroughly: where to buy vegetables, where to buy daily necessities, where the nearest market was, where to hire a carriage into the capital…

“You want to live here long-term?” Shen Bingsi couldn’t help asking.

“I think the environment here is quite nice. If… in the future we don’t live at Huanxue Villa, living here would be quite comfortable,” Rong Xie smiled.

The restlessness rose in Shen Bingsi’s heart again. He grabbed Rong Xie’s hand, forcefully interlacing his fingers with his own and locking them tight. “Not live at Huanxue Villa? What does that mean?”

“Nothing, just… who can say what the future holds?” Rong Xie’s thoughts drifted away for a moment, his eyes turning unfocused.

Shen Bingsi squeezed his fingers hard enough to make Rong Xie’s hand bones ache. Rong Xie snapped back to reality, meeting a pair of dark eyes staring straight at him in shock.

“What is there to say? In the past, in the present, and in the future, you are at Huanxue Villa. You aren’t going anywhere.”

Shen Bingsi’s tone was domineering and arbitrary, leaving no room for negotiation.

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“If you dare to run, I will chase you to the ends of the earth and catch you.”

Seeing Shen Bingsi puffing up with anger, Rong Xie chuckled. Did he want to run? He feared that when the truth came out, Shen Bingsi would want to sever their friendship and never see him again.

“It’s not that serious. It’s just that Shengjing is so nice, maybe you’ll want to stay nearby in the future too. The Prosperous World Pavilion is an inn with people coming and going, after all. It’s not as comfortable as living in your own house.” Rong Xie steered the topic away lightly.

Shen Bingsi, who had been stiff-necked with anger, relaxed upon hearing this. So Rong Xie didn’t want to run away from him; he wanted to establish another base with him.

“I thought you didn’t like Shengjing.” After all, Rong Xie had made all sorts of excuses not to come.

“I just… don’t like going out.” Rong Xie got a headache just thinking about the sword flight or carriage ride back.

Shen Bingsi was amused by Rong Xie. This same Rong Xie who disliked going out wanted to buy property outside? Who knew what he was thinking? Perhaps this trip was planned too perfectly, making his best friend linger and forget to return home. Once back, he’d probably toss this idea to the back of his mind.

And here he was taking it seriously. He was overthinking it. His best friend was like a pampered, rare orchid; to survive, he had to be kept in a meticulously cared-for environment. Leaving him, leaving Huanxue Villa—where would Rong Xie find a second environment like that?

Moreover, Shen Bingsi had an irreplaceable advantage: he had the capability, will, and energy to carry Rong Xie to Foundation Establishment.

“Buying property can wait until after you succeed in Foundation Establishment,” Shen Bingsi said. “Before that, we’ll stay at Huanxue Villa. After Foundation Establishment, when you start learning sword flight, we can look at all the houses around Shengjing and pick one.”

After Foundation Establishment, the problem of spiritual exhaustion would be solved. Then Rong Xie could learn sword flight. After reaching the Golden Core stage, flying by sword would become their standard mode of travel.

“Mn.” Rong Xie hadn’t intended to settle on anything immediately; he was just planning for a rainy day.

For the rest of the time, Shen Bingsi’s attitude relaxed considerably. He even took Rong Xie to inquire about the prices of several houses and visited the most famous brokerage in Blue Plateau to understand the market rates.

Rong Xie hadn’t expected that all his efforts—buying books, asking people in Welcome Town and the Outer Sect Market, asking Wang Mu—had yielded less effective information than this single trip with Shen Bingsi. Indeed, field investigation was the most effective.

The market price given by the brokerage was slightly higher than Rong Xie expected, but he figured he could negotiate it down when making a real offer, depending on how urgently the seller needed to sell.

As for exchanging Spirit Stones for bank notes, the brokerage had specialists for such trivial matters. Once a deal was struck, they could contact the capital’s largest bank to exchange currency for Rong Xie at the market rate.

Hearing that Rong Xie would be paying with Spirit Stones, the brokerage’s attitude became much more enthusiastic, calling him “Immortal Lord” repeatedly, making Rong Xie quite embarrassed.

“Immortal Lord, rest assured. We will handle these small matters for you. Hearing that an Immortal Lord wants to buy his house, the owner will surely be extremely willing.” The broker receiving Rong Xie beamed. “If it is convenient, could the Immortal Lord inform us of your immortal residence? If a suitable courtyard becomes available, we at the Grand Sheng Brokerage will send a message immediately.”

Rong Xie looked back at Shen Bingsi. Shen Bingsi thought for a moment and said, “Leave it at the Lingjing Sect Guard Post, addressed to Rong Er.”

Rong Xie looked at him doubtfully. Could he really receive mail with that fake name?

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Shen Bingsi looked confident; it probably wasn’t his first time doing this.

“So it is Immortal Rong of the Lingjing Sect, the head of the Three Great Immortal Sects. My apologies for the disrespect.” The broker immediately bowed to them.

An invisible spiritual force lifted him up. Shen Bingsi said, “No need for such fuss. Just do your job.”

Having obtained the information he wanted, Rong Xie felt confident and much happier. Coming out with Shen Bingsi, he teased, “You stopped him so hurriedly just now—were you afraid he’d elevate our sect to the head of the Three Great Sects and annoy the other immortals?”

Shen Bingsi scoffed. “Exactly. That kind of talk can’t be spread carelessly. Shengjing is the territory of the Xuantian Sect, and they have eyes and ears everywhere. Guess if their Elder Bai heard that, would he gossip about it during the Three Sects Alliance?”

Rong Xie was amused by his serious nonsense. Elder Bai, the Three Sects Alliance—these were big figures and grand occasions, yet Shen Bingsi linked them with petty gossip. The vivid image formed in Rong Xie’s mind made him laugh uncontrollably.

“What’s so funny?” Shen Bingsi couldn’t suppress the corners of his mouth. Who knew he had a talent for comedy? He was simply an all-rounder.

Seeing that it was almost noon, going to Blue Plateau Villa now carried the suspicion of mooching a meal—which meant they definitely had to go.

Shen Bingsi led Rong Xie to the side door of Blue Plateau Villa and presented his Lingjing Sect disciple token, asking the doorman to announce them. The doorman, being knowledgeable, recognized the Immortal Sect token and hurriedly took it inside. Moments later, he returned with a steward dressed as a scholar. The steward informed Shen Bingsi that it wasn’t a rest day yet, so Grand Secretary Wang was still at his residence in the capital. If Shen Bingsi was in a hurry to see him, the villa could send a carriage to take them there; if not, they could stay at Blue Plateau Villa and wait for the Grand Secretary to return on his rest day.

Shen Bingsi glanced at Rong Xie, as if to say: See, told you he’s a nice guy.

Rong Xie smiled, thinking, That’s only toward you.

“No need. My friend just wanted to come in and take a look. If it’s convenient, could you show us around?” Shen Bingsi looked inside.

“Of course, of course it’s convenient.” The steward agreed, making a gesture of invitation.