Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 63

Chapter 63: Youthful Matters

“Junior Brother Rong, you don’t trust me.”

They had arrived at the county Yamen, yet Lu Yinglin did not get off the carriage.

He turned to look at Rong Xie, his tone stating a fact rather than asking a question.

“…” Rong Xie didn’t know how to answer him.

“Wait until I’ve finished my business; then I’ll tell you what you want to know.” Lu Yinglin sighed, lifted the carriage curtain, and stepped out.

As soon as Lu Yinglin alighted, he was greeted by a group of Yamen bailiffs dressed in cyan cloth clothes. They crowded around him, ushering him through the main gates with great fanfare.

Rong Xie lifted the curtain and watched Lu Yinglin’s grand reception. He thought back to when he handled affairs in Heyang County. Even though the Shen family was a top-tier prominent household there, they still had to be respectful when meeting Yamen officials, addressing them as “Sir” at every turn. The Lu family’s status in Qinghe County was indeed different; even a Lu family member like Lu Yinglin, who rarely returned, received such high-standard treatment.

Rong Xie greeted the coachman, said he would walk around the area, and got off the carriage.

No sooner had he stepped down than a child dressed as a servant boy ran out from the base of a nearby wall. The boy grabbed Rong Xie’s hem with both hands just to steady himself.

“Brother Rong, it’s me.” The servant boy looked up, revealing a dark, thin face, and grinned at Rong Xie.

“Wang Mu?” Rong Xie was surprised.

Rong Xie never expected that Wang Mu would actually run all the way to Qinghe County and accurately intercept him at the entrance of the Qinghe County Yamen.

“Brother Rong… I didn’t help much last time, but next time, next time I’ll definitely be useful!” Wang Mu said hurriedly.

“Did you come here just to find me?” Rong Xie asked, astonished.

“Yeah. I didn’t see Brother Rong come back from the Yamen yesterday, so I thought you disliked me for being useless and left on your own.” Wang Mu rubbed his fingers together.

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Rong Xie laughed involuntarily. To be honest, he had forgotten about Wang Mu. Too much had happened in the past two days…

“How could I? I just came out with someone to handle some business. I was going to go back.”

Wang Mu breathed a sigh of relief. “I knew it. Brother Rong wouldn’t leave me behind.”

“How exactly did you get here? And how did you know I was here?” Rong Xie couldn’t help asking.

It was quite a distance from Heyang County, and Wang Mu didn’t look like he had the money for a carriage. Moreover, the fact that Wang Mu intercepted him the moment he got off the carriage meant he had been staking out this spot for a long time. How could he be sure Rong Xie would come to the Yamen this morning?

“I walked here last night,” Wang Mu bared his teeth, speaking proudly, and even showed Rong Xie his worn-out straw sandals.

Rong Xie felt a pang of distress looking at them, but Wang Mu acted as if it were normal.

“I wanted to go to the Lu family estate, but their guards were too tight. There wasn’t even a dog hole under the courtyard walls. Luckily, two kitchen odd-job workers came out to buy supplies. I pretended to be an apprentice from a restaurant in town, mixed in with them along the way, and found out everything.” Wang Mu puffed out his chest.

When it comes to gathering intelligence, Wang Mu really has a knack for it, Rong Xie thought.

Suddenly, Rong Xie thought of something and pulled Wang Mu into a secluded alley. “Can you help me find out something else?”

Wang Mu had just been regretting that he didn’t get to show off his skills in stealing the household registration papers, thinking Rong Xie hadn’t seen his true strength. Hearing there was another chance to gather intelligence, he naturally agreed without hesitation.

“I want to know what exactly is going on with the ‘Attendant Boys’ in the Lu Manor,” Rong Xie said. “Any information is fine. As long as it’s related to the Lu Manor’s ‘Attendant Boys,’ find it and tell me. The deadline is after lunch today. Lu Yinglin and I are returning to Shen Family Manor then. Come here at that time. Whether you find anything or not, meet me here, and we’ll go back together.”

“Attendant Boys?” Wang Mu was a bit puzzled. “Like Brother Shen Yan and the others?”

“Yes, but… there are some differences. You can ask people in the town, or fish for information like you did with the kitchen staff, but don’t get close to the Lu Manor, and don’t let anyone from the Lu Manor notice you,” Rong Xie instructed.

“Oh… okay!”

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Rong Xie thought for a moment, then took out three Sound Transmission Talismans and three Body Protection Talismans. He stuffed them into Wang Mu’s hands and explained how to use them.

To ensure Wang Mu could use them, Rong Xie taught him hand-over-hand until Wang Mu could trigger the spells of both talismans without thinking.

Seeing that it was getting late, Rong Xie patted Wang Mu’s shoulder, told him to be careful, and waited until Wang Mu ran out of the alley before slowly walking back to the Yamen entrance.

After another incense stick’s worth of time, a commotion arose inside the Yamen. An official in crimson robes and a group of bailiffs escorted Lu Yinglin out. Lu Yinglin spoke with them at the door for a while before walking toward the carriage, his face beaming with satisfaction.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Lu Yinglin said with a smile as he approached Rong Xie. “How was it? Did you look around?”

“Mn.” Rong Xie asked nonchalantly, “Is everything settled?”

“Settled, settled,” Lu Yinglin laughed. “Let’s go, let’s go eat. I know a good place where we can eat fresh river food while watching the river scenery.”

Lu Yinglin lived up to his reputation as a local tyrant. The place he took Rong Xie to was clearly not accessible to ordinary people.

It was a restaurant built in the form of a dock. Guests dining here would charter a small boat onto the river, enjoying the river scenery on the water while eating freshly killed river delicacies, fully experiencing the local customs of Qinghe.

Lu Yinglin chartered a small boat and sat opposite Rong Xie. Only when the boat swayed gently into the middle of the river did Lu Yinglin restrain his smile and speak seriously: “Junior Brother Rong, ask whatever you want to ask. I will tell you everything I know. As long as you trust me like before and don’t distance yourself from me, I’ll tell you even if it violates family rules.”

Seeing Lu Yinglin so formal, Rong Xie was somewhat at a loss.

“Never mind, you probably don’t know where to start asking. Then I’ll talk about my previous Attendant Boy.”

“You had an Attendant Boy before?” Rong Xie couldn’t help asking. “Then now… where is he?”

“He’s gone.”

Lu Yinglin’s gaze became distant, just like the last time he mentioned the Attendant Boy, as if looking at some unknowable place far away.

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“Gone?” Rong Xie didn’t understand.

“Yes, he’s gone. If his reincarnation went smoothly, he should be a graceful young teenager by now.”

Rong Xie was shaken. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

“It’s fine.” Lu Yinglin raised his hand, signaling Rong Xie not to blame himself. He let his gaze drift into the void again, recalling the past.

Lu Yinglin’s former Attendant Boy was named Xiao Ya. From the day Lu Yinglin tested positive for spirit roots, Xiao Ya had been by his side, serving his daily needs.

The two grew up together, their bond deep. Later, they entered the Heavenly Mystic Sect together and became disciples.

That’s right, Xiao Ya also had spirit roots, and his talent was not inferior to Lu Yinglin’s. Xiao Ya was diligent and motivated. When they first entered the Heavenly Mystic Sect, it was Xiao Ya who dragged Lu Yinglin to cultivate, while Lu Yinglin was the lazy one who got scolded.

At that time, Xiao Ya’s life was full of hope, as if a little more effort could defy the heavens and change his fate, stepping half a foot into the gate of immortality and becoming a revered Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Lu Yinglin was the exact opposite. When his spirit roots were first tested, people surrounded him like stars arching over the moon. But once he arrived at the Heavenly Mystic Sect, he realized that every fellow disciple was a leader among their peers. With so many talents gathered in one place, Lu Yinglin didn’t seem exceptional at all; in fact, he seemed somewhat dull and behind.

Lu Yinglin wasn’t the type who could concentrate on cultivation. Once he suffered a blow, he disliked cultivation even more. He started doing things unrelated to proper business, trading heavenly treasures and selling sect manuals, until one day, he received a final ultimatum from the sect: he had to pass the sect’s Foundation Establishment assessment, or pack up and get out.

“Ah…” Rong Xie couldn’t help but let out a low cry. Lu Yinglin’s experience… why did it sound so familiar?

“I’m ashamed.” Lu Yinglin touched his nose. “Actually, I hadn’t reached the deadline yet. It was just that I sold sect manuals to the outside too many times and angered Elder Bai…”

Rong Xie knew that Elder Bai was a pivotal figure in the Heavenly Mystic Sect. For a junior disciple like Lu Yinglin to anger him, the reselling business must have been excessive.

“At that time, I thought, ‘Great, this young master isn’t serving anymore.’ Cultivation is so boring; whoever loves it can do it. This young master wants to go out and roam the Jianghu.”

When Lu Yinglin spoke of this, his eyebrows danced, and traces of his unruly youth were faintly visible.

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“But Xiao Ya disagreed. Xiao Ya said if I were expelled from the Heavenly Mystic Sect, he would be beaten to death by the Clan Head.” Lu Yinglin’s face fell again. “But I didn’t believe it back then. If I got expelled, what did it have to do with Xiao Ya? He could continue being his Heavenly Mystic Sect disciple. Could my grandfather—the Clan Head at the time was my grandfather—beat a Heavenly Mystic Sect disciple to death?”

Rong Xie frowned. He couldn’t help thinking of those cyan feet. Could it be…

“We had a huge conflict over this matter. Actually, we had been in conflict for a long time, just not blown up like that. I refused to let him control me, and he couldn’t stand seeing me waste my opportunity to study in the Heavenly Mystic Sect. By the time of the ultimatum, we hadn’t spoken properly for over half a year.”

Lu Yinglin fell silent for a moment, a mix of indescribable regret, anger, and self-blame appearing on his face.

“He suggested to me that we should dual cultivate and transfer his cultivation to me. I agreed. I thought since we were already together, dual cultivation was just one extra step. Since he was willing to give, why shouldn’t I take? There was also an element of spite. I looked up the dual cultivation method in advance, and on that day, I used a crooked method taught in a manual to suck all his spiritual power over.”

“Later, I passed the Foundation Establishment assessment, but he didn’t.”

Hearing the story reach this point, Rong Xie was so shocked he didn’t know what to say.

He always thought his relationship with Shen Bingsi was messy enough, but he didn’t expect others to have practiced it long ago at a young age, and not even take it seriously.

Wait, were the Lu family’s Attendant Boys not just servants for daily living? Did they provide other services too?

Lu Yinglin stopped and looked at Rong Xie. “Is there a question?”

“No… nothing.” Rong Xie’s brain was buzzing, forcing himself not to focus on points that were obviously not the main issue. “And then?”

“He never advanced again. His cultivation stopped at that step. No matter how hard he tried, it didn’t work. I thought it was my fault. I regretted it and wanted to make it up to him. I proposed dual cultivating again to transfer my cultivation back to him.”

“But he refused.”

“I thought he was still mad at me, so I begged him, pestered him, tried every method. He couldn’t take it anymore and told me the real reason.”

Speaking of this, Lu Yinglin’s usually lively and smiling eyes became incomparably gloomy.

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“Because he neglected his duty and didn’t watch over me well, failing to inform the family in time about me angering Elder Bai, the Clan Head had already decided to replace him.”

“The family has a special method of controlling Attendant Boys. I don’t even know what it is to this day. I only know that an abandoned Attendant Boy can no longer continue to cultivate. They become as good as invalid.”