Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 58

Chapter 58: In the Garden

“Thank you so much for today,” Rong Xie thanked Lu Yinglin as they walked.

“Oh? What matter is worth Junior Brother Rong’s special thanks?” Lu Yinglin waved his folding fan, asking in surprise.

“It’s… the matter of speaking up for me. Master Lu hasn’t actually met that wealthy young lady, right?” Rong Xie said.

Lu Yinglin smiled without speaking.

“Another day, when we return to the Lingjing Sect, I’ll play the host and treat Master Lu to a meal at the Welcome Town restaurant. I hope Master Lu will do me the honor.” Rong Xie couldn’t think of a better idea at the moment, so he booked the meal first.

Lu Yinglin laughed, “It was nothing major, just a casual remark. Besides, to have met someone, that person must first exist, right?”

Rong Xie froze, immediately realizing that Lu Yinglin had already guessed there was no wealthy young lady involved with him.

“Master Lu must be joking.” Rong Xie didn’t want to elaborate on the matter.

Lu Yinglin glanced at Rong Xie with a smile, showing a look of understanding, and dropped the subject.

As they spoke, the two entered the Shen family garden. This garden had been renovated after the Shen family rose to prominence, exhausting all manner of ornate carving. A small pond was dug in the center of the modest garden, and the ground around the pond was paved with blue bricks. A small square pavilion was built by the pond, surrounded by brightly colored hydrangeas. A closer look revealed that the flowers were artificial, made of velvet, though they weren’t very noticeable under the cover of night.

At this moment, the young ladies and masters of the Shen family’s various branches were gathered around the square pavilion, pouring wine from jars on the ground, drinking and laughing loudly.

“Ah, young people. It’s good to be young,” Lu Yinglin sighed, making a “please” gesture to Rong Xie.

Rong Xie would have preferred Lu Yinglin to go first; he really had nothing to say to these young people.

Rong Xie took the lead and approached the square pavilion. The young ladies and masters who were drinking and talking turned their heads one by one. Seeing Rong Xie, their eyes lit up, followed by expressions containing indescribable nuances.

Rong Xie had seen plenty of such expressions—even more on the faces of their parents’ generation. He simply nodded with a smile, acknowledging the group.

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None of the young masters and ladies in this circle were known to Rong Xie. calculating their ages, they should be a generation younger than him; their parents were his peers.

People in the cultivation world often didn’t feel the passage of time, especially in places like the Lingjing Sect’s inner sect. Most of those around were inner disciples who had successfully established their foundation; time left no mark on their faces. Plus, there was the time-killing tool of secluded cultivation.

Since entering Huanxue Villa, life had been comfortable, further distancing him from the weathering of the mortal world. Rong Xie had only a vague concept of age and no real sense of it.

Now returning to the Shen Family Manor and realizing that the children of his peers had grown into graceful young men and women, the contrast was even more shocking than meeting his peers.

If he hadn’t met Shen Bingsi, perhaps he too would have married and had children early, and his children would be this big… The thought was somewhat terrifying.

Lu Yinglin observed Rong Xie’s expression, seeming to find it very interesting. He picked up a wine jar from the ground, asked a young master watching the wine saucers for two, and used spiritual energy to fix them in mid-air, filling them for Rong Xie and himself.

“Junior Brother Rong, we’re late; we should drink a saucer as penalty.” Lu Yinglin passed the wine saucer to Rong Xie, winking at him. “Don’t let the young people look down on us.”

Lu Yinglin was excellent at livening up the atmosphere. With his words, the previously constrained mood vanished. The young masters and ladies started clamoring together, demanding that “Uncle Lu” drink ten saucers as a penalty.

Lu Yinglin was a businessman who frequented drinking venues; he drank wine like water. How could he fear the sweet wine these youngsters drank? He threw back his head and drained three saucers. Seeing this, the young people’s cheering grew louder and louder.

Rong Xie stood by holding his wine saucer, feeling like he had boarded a pirate ship. He shouldn’t have come with Lu Yinglin.

After finishing three saucers, Lu Yinglin pretended he couldn’t handle the alcohol, pushing away further offers and stumbling a step. He waved his hand, laughing, “I can’t, I can’t. Uncle is getting old, I can’t drink so much. Can you let Uncle off this once?”

Seeing this, the young ladies and masters laughed uncontrollably, insisting he drink more, leaving Rong Xie forgotten on the side.

Rong Xie secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Turning his wine saucer, he pretended to lift it to drink, while deftly pouring the wine into the flowerbed behind him with a sleight of hand inside his sleeve.

He put down the saucer, considering his penalty drink task complete. Just as he was about to leave this place of trouble, Lu Yinglin suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

“How about this? Since you insist I drink, I’ll drink the remaining two saucers on behalf of your Uncle Rong here, alright?” Lu Yinglin laughed. Before Rong Xie could agree, he snatched Rong Xie’s saucer, had it filled, and amidst the cheering of the crowd, downed two saucers in a row. Then, his body swayed, and he bumped into Rong Xie.

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Rong Xie frowned slightly, feeling a bit awkward. But thinking that Lu Yinglin was a businessman accustomed to social drinking, he probably didn’t care much about such details. Anyway, he wouldn’t use the saucer Lu Yinglin had used again.

But getting drunk enough to fall on him after just five saucers was a bit much, wasn’t it?

Rong Xie disliked close contact with people. Just as he was about to push Lu Yinglin away, Lu Yinglin tugged at his sleeve, a low voice reaching his ear: “Go, help me to the artificial mountain over there.”

Rong Xie glanced at the artificial mountain; there was no one there. But would these young masters and ladies just let Lu Yinglin go like that?

In the next moment, Lu Yinglin “woke up” a bit, laughing and begging for mercy from the young crowd, repeatedly saying he couldn’t drink anymore, that drinking so much so quickly had gone to his head, and he needed to rest on the side for a while.

“When Uncle catches his breath, I’ll tell you the story of the grudge between the Hehuan Sect and the Xuantian Sect—” Lu Yinglin deliberately slurred his speech, laughing and stalling while pushing Rong Xie to walk faster.

Hearing that Lu Yinglin had such juicy gossip, how could the young masters and ladies resist? Naturally, they let him go. A sober old江湖 (Jianghu veteran) was definitely more interesting than one who had passed out completely.

Thus, Rong Xie “supported” Lu Yinglin and successfully retreated to the side of the artificial mountain. As soon as they reached the shadows, Lu Yinglin straightened up, sitting down on a step as if nothing had happened.

The slight discomfort in Rong Xie’s heart vanished with Lu Yinglin’s practiced maneuver. He stood by the side, hesitated for a moment, then chose to sit on the bench under the corridor above the steps.

Lu Yinglin tucked his folding fan into his back collar, rested his arms on his legs—one leg curled, the other stretched out—sitting casually. Looking at the lively young people in the square pavilion, a look of longing appeared on his face. He couldn’t help but slap his knee again: “It’s good to be young.”

Rong Xie didn’t know how to respond. He felt now was the right time to chat with Lu Yinglin about his preferences so he could send an appropriate return gift and repay this favor.

“By the way,” Lu Yinglin turned around, supporting himself on his knees, looking at Rong Xie with a smile. “Junior Brother Rong, you’re not good at drinking, are you?”

“Mm… I don’t drink much,” Rong Xie said.

“No wonder. Just now, you poured the wine into my shoe,” Lu Yinglin laughed.

Lu Yinglin dropped this sentence out of the blue, and Rong Xie’s face instantly burned hot. No way, I clearly poured it into the flowerbed!

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“Hahahaha, just kidding. If I knew you didn’t like this kind of occasion, I wouldn’t have called you over,” Lu Yinglin laughed, turning back to look at the square pavilion.

“…” Rong Xie didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off. “Master Lu, do you like drinking very much?”

“Yes. Why, are you going to send me wine?” Lu Yinglin laughed. “I have very high taste; I won’t accept anything but fine wine.”

“That is only natural.”

“Good! I’ll be waiting.”

Rong Xie had found a direction and felt there was no need to delay Lu Yinglin’s drinking any longer. He was also a bit concerned about Shen Yan’s report. Just as he was about to get up and take his leave, he suddenly heard Lu Yinglin say:

“Are you really willing to leave Huanxue Villa?”

Rong Xie was stunned.

Actually, throughout their journey together—though they rode in separate carriages and traveled at different speeds—they chatted during rest stops. Lu Yinglin didn’t pry much into Rong Xie’s private affairs, but he knew Rong Xie was someone close to Shen Bingsi, the butler of Huanxue Villa. seeing Rong Xie selling off assets and moving his registration, it wasn’t hard for Lu Yinglin to guess that he was leaving Huanxue Villa, and doing so voluntarily, not for some excuse like marriage.

“Although I rarely come to the Lingjing Sect side, I’ve heard rumors about Huanxue Villa. Shen Bingsi and you are very good friends, right?” Not waiting for Rong Xie’s answer, Lu Yinglin continued.

“…” Rong Xie fell silent. Although Lu Yinglin had helped him a lot, he hadn’t reached the point where he could casually chat about his matters with Shen Bingsi with just anyone.

“Shen Bingsi became famous at a young age and his reputation is widespread. The fact that he has kept you by his side all this time shows he cherishes his friendship with you,” Lu Yinglin sighed.

Just when Rong Xie thought Lu Yinglin was going to persuade him to cherish this friendship, Lu Yinglin changed the subject. “You must be very good for him to cherish you so much. It’s a pity you’re still leaving. You must have suffered quite a few grievances getting along with him.”

Hearing this, Rong Xie’s throat tightened. An annoyance at having his mind read made him stand up from the bench, his fingers tightly gripping his cuffs. “Master Lu, please have some self-respect. Do not wildy speculate about the relationship between Shen Bingsi and me.”

Lu Yinglin also stood up, putting away his casual attitude, and bowed repeatedly to Rong Xie. “Apologies, apologies… I overstepped.”

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Rong Xie sensed that people in the square pavilion were already looking their way. He didn’t want to part on bad terms with Lu Yinglin, so he softened his tone. “Master Lu, I fear you are drunk. You should go back and rest early.”

“Maybe I am drunk. Let me take advantage of the alcohol to say one more thing,” Lu Yinglin sighed. “Junior Brother Rong, the outside world isn’t that terrible. You don’t need to be afraid. Someone as excellent as you will find your own place wherever you go.”

“…”

Rong Xie felt a sudden emptiness in his heart. He hadn’t expected Lu Yinglin to say such words to him. Was Lu Yinglin actually trying to encourage him? Did he see his nervousness and try to find a way to comfort him? But why would Lu Yinglin do that? This was beyond the scope of business, wasn’t it?

While Rong Xie was in a daze, a brilliant golden light suddenly streaked across the night sky like a falling meteor, crashing into the ground with a boom. The entire Shen Family Manor shook.

“Oh my god!” “Bang!” “Thud!”

The garden turned into chaos. The young ladies and masters in the square pavilion fell over each other; bowls, saucers, and wine jars smashed on the ground. Screams and the sound of running feet filled the air.

“Earth dragon turning over! The earth dragon is turning over!” (Earthquake)

“Quick, find an open space and lie down!”

Amidst the shouting crowd, there were some who had seen the world. One shouted, “What earth dragon? It’s a flying sword! That’s a flying sword!”

“The Second Young Master is back!”