Chapter 93: The Duck Proverb
Today, there were exceptionally many matters at the Blue Plateau Manor. First, Grand Secretary Wang decided on a whim to hold a “Snow-Treading Plum-Seeking” event in the garden, so several garden stewards were called for a meeting, Rong Xie among them. Then, Steward Wang finished reading Rong Xie’s New Year plan and had several questions to discuss with him. They discussed until dark before Rong Xie returned from the garden.
On his way home, Rong Xie had mentally prepared himself. No matter what happened at home or what chaotic scene appeared, he could accept it. Thinking this, he stepped into the flower hall, but found nothing unusual.
His tea table, flower pots, and the row of tea cups in various shapes were all sitting there properly. Not a single one was affected, chipped, or broken into shards.
The floor was clean, with no signs of anyone rolling around. The windows were closed tightly just as he had left them. This was simply unbelievable. He had left Shen Bingsi at the height of his rage, yet nothing happened, and Shen Bingsi had just left quietly without a trace.
No, wait, not without a trace—Rong Xie picked up three scraps of deep green cloth from the floor.
He held the three scraps up to his eyes, looking at them again and again, truly unable to fathom how they had fallen off. That women’s outfit was obviously bought new by Shen Bingsi specifically to change his appearance. How could a newly bought outfit suddenly shed three pieces of cloth? Rong Xie really couldn’t imagine a reasonable explanation.
“Never mind.” He had a lot of work to do today and couldn’t attend to solving mysteries.
Rong Xie threw the three scraps into the wastebasket, grabbed his account books, and went to work overtime.
Lingjing Sect, Cloud Peak.
A bright moon hung high in the night sky, white clouds flowing slowly beneath their feet.
By the cliff, an old man and a young man sat side by side, staring at the flowing white clouds, neither speaking.
After a moment, Elder Cloud Peak spoke first.
“So, you turned into the woman in the painting and went to find young friend Rong?”
Even as he said this sentence, Elder Cloud Peak found it bizarre, making his enunciation quite difficult.
“Mhm.” Shen Bingsi, now back to his original form, answered dejectedly.
He had just returned from the Mirror Palace. Going to the Mirror Palace had taken quite some effort.
He didn’t want to use the Heaven-Severing Blade, but without it, he couldn’t use spiritual power or fly his sword. Yet when the Mirror Palace summoned, he couldn’t refuse to go.
Thus, Shen Bingsi sent a voice transmission talisman to Elder Cloud Peak, asking him to pick him up and take him to the Mirror Palace.
Coincidentally, the Recording Official and another Adjudicator were present. The two powerful figures acted simultaneously, helping Shen Bingsi suppress the riot in his divine consciousness and smooth out the erratic spiritual power, temporarily solving the issue of his inability to use spiritual power.
However, since Shen Bingsi’s condition was poor and he couldn’t immediately complete the tasks in the Heaven Mirror, the Recording Official reported to the Heaven Mirror and granted him two days of leave to go back and sort himself out.
Having temporarily stalled the Mirror Palace, Shen Bingsi came out, and Elder Cloud Peak took him back to the Lingjing Sect. He didn’t want to return to Huanxue Villa, so Elder Cloud Peak brought him back to Cloud Peak.
Elder Cloud Peak had witnessed Shen Bingsi’s sorry state the whole way. Elder Cloud Peak was a man of the world; no strange tales or oddities surprised him—except for this one right in front of him!
“What… were you thinking?” Elder Cloud Peak’s expression was subtle. “If I recall correctly, you cultivate the Ruthless Path.”
“…” Shen Bingsi felt he had poured his heart out to Elder Cloud Peak for nothing. With this attitude, Elder Cloud Peak was clearly laughing at him.
“I’m leaving. Going back.” Shen Bingsi stood up from the ground.
“Just kidding, why are you getting angry!” Elder Cloud Peak grabbed Shen Bingsi’s sleeve. “Come, come, let this old Daoist have a good chat with you. Although this old Daoist doesn’t cultivate the Ruthless Path, I have decades more experience in worldly affairs than you. Perhaps I can offer some advice.”
Shen Bingsi sat down. In fact, he had nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to.
“Ahem, this old Daoist privately thinks that young friend Rong is not wrong, and you are not wrong either. It’s just that your standpoints are different, leading to some disagreements,” Cloud Peak said as tactfully as possible. “For example, regarding what a ‘friend’ is, there seems to be some deviation in your perceptions.”
“…Best friend,” Shen Bingsi corrected Elder Cloud Peak’s incorrect terminology.
“Fine, even a best friend is a type of friend. Can you distinguish the difference between a friend and a Daoist companion?” Elder Cloud Peak stroked his beard.
“What is there to distinguish? A friend is a friend, a Daoist companion is a Daoist companion.” Shen Bingsi found Elder Cloud Peak’s question ridiculous.
“Okay, let me ask you. If one party makes a new friend and the other tries every means to sabotage it, are they friends or Daoist companions?”
“…”
“If one party wants to start a family and career, and the other storms over in exasperation, are they friends or Daoist companions?”
“…”
“If one party is being introduced to someone, and the other transforms into the appearance of the woman he fancies to deliberately sabotage it, are they friends or Daoist companions?”
“!”
At this point, did Shen Bingsi still not understand? Elder Cloud Peak wasn’t offering advice; he was pointing it right in his face.
However, if Shen Bingsi could be enlightened by others’ pointers, he wouldn’t be Shen Bingsi.
“These are just worldly views. Who says possessiveness exists only between Daoist companions? A friend can also feel unhappy because a friend made a new friend, feel lost because a friend wants to start a family, and of course, try every means to stop a friend from starting a family. What’s strange about that? Don’t you have friends with such deep affection, Elder Cloud Peak?”
“…” This time it was Elder Cloud Peak’s turn to choke.
“I have cultivated the Ruthless Path for a long time. I have long cut off love and desire. I cannot become Daoist companions with anyone, nor do I have those worldly desires. ‘Liking’ is an emotion that can never happen to me. Therefore, whatever I do, it is out of friendship. There is no second possibility.” Shen Bingsi said with absolute certainty.
Elder Cloud Peak stroked his beard and sighed, “If only that were the case… However, don’t you think your Dao heart has wavered a bit too frequently lately?”
“Hmph, that’s just… too many distracting thoughts for a moment. I was busy trying to win Rong Xie back and didn’t have time to deal with them,” Shen Bingsi said dismissively.
“So, how do you plan to win him back?” Elder Cloud Peak asked.
“I plan to… act as a qualified Daoist companion according to his wishes to win him back. Whatever other Daoist companions do, I will do for him. As long as he comes back, I am willing to do anything.” Shen Bingsi said in a muffled voice.
As things had developed to this point, Elder Cloud Peak naturally knew Rong Xie liked Shen Bingsi. Otherwise, Rong Xie’s object of affection wouldn’t look exactly like Shen Bingsi, nor would Rong Xie have left Huanxue Villa so impatiently. Elder Cloud Peak only matched up many details in retrospect. After realizing it, Elder Cloud Peak couldn’t help but pity Rong Xie. In fact, he could understand why Rong Xie left and why he drew a clear line with Shen Bingsi.
But Shen Bingsi didn’t understand, which was why he had caused such a scene today.
To solve Shen Bingsi’s problem, he had to make him understand that the crux of the problem lay with him. This wasn’t easy, but as one of the very few people who could be called a friend, Elder Cloud Peak felt responsible for waking Shen Bingsi up.
“In other words, on the surface, you will pretend to be his Daoist companion, and whatever other Daoist companions do, you will do for him?”
“Correct.”
“At the same time, privately, you cannot tolerate him starting a family, cannot accept someone matchmaking for him, and cannot accept him befriending a Ruthless Path sword cultivator who has nothing to do with you?”
“…It’s a nemesis,” Shen Bingsi emphasized.
Elder Cloud Peak sighed. “Have you ever heard a proverb—if something looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and even tastes like a duck when cooked, what is it?”
Shen Bingsi didn’t know why Elder Cloud Peak suddenly brought up some duck proverb, but he still thought about it seriously.
“A monster that turned into a duck?”
“Wrong!” Elder Cloud Peak pointed his finger in the air. “It’s a duck!”
Shen Bingsi was stunned by Elder Cloud Peak’s duck proverb.
“What kind of lousy proverb is this? It’s full of holes and can only be used to tease children,” Shen Bingsi commented.
Elder Cloud Peak felt a wave of powerlessness after using all his skills without enlightening Shen Bingsi.
Suddenly, he thought of an idea.
“What did you say your nemesis was called again?”
“Xuantian’s One Sword, Lu Yingqi,” Shen Bingsi said. “Cloud Peak, have you been neglecting your cultivation lately? Why is your memory getting worse? Cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you don’t advance, you retreat. You built your foundation late; this old body of yours can’t withstand the aging brought by the Heavenly Dao’s backlash.”
“…” If you don’t know how to speak properly, don’t speak! Elder Cloud Peak suppressed the profanities in his heart. “Ahem, it’s not this old Daoist whose Dao heart is wavering. Instead of worrying about me, worry about yourself—Lu Yingqi’s master is Elder Bai of the Xuantian Sect, right? Although his cultivation is not as high as your master’s, he is also a powerful figure of the Ruthless Path and has his own cultivation methods. Your master has passed away, and your Dao heart is unstable with no one to turn to. Why not take this opportunity to make his acquaintance and ask his master for guidance? It’s better than struggling alone.”
Shen Bingsi was stunned. Ask Elder Bai? He had never considered this possibility. “Stealing teachings from another sect is a grave crime of betrayal. Besides, the Ruthless Path has many factions of cultivation methods. On the surface, they all look like the Ruthless Path, but in reality, different factions are worlds apart. Asking me to learn from Elder Bai—do you think I’m not dying fast enough?”
“Peh peh, bad luck!” Cloud Peak immediately spat, looking disdainful. “You’re so young, how can your brain be more rigid than this old Daoist’s? Haven’t you read the letter your master left you? What does it say?”
The Heaven-Severing Blade is merely deceiving oneself.
However, the Ruthless Path is the ultimate truth of heaven and earth. I have not comprehended it; I leave it to future generations.
“I have not comprehended it; I leave it to future generations…” Shen Bingsi muttered.
“Exactly. Your master said his path was a dead end and another way must be found. The two most powerful people cultivating the Ruthless Path in this era, besides your master, are Elder Bai of the Xuantian Sect,” Cloud Peak stroked his beard. “Your master put it tactfully, but the meaning is for you to find another way, not to drill into a dead end single-mindedly.”
Is that what it meant? Shen Bingsi was secretly startled.
“I think you’ve been too flustered lately. Cultivation concerns your life. You should calm down and think carefully.” Seeing that Shen Bingsi had listened, Elder Cloud Peak said no more. He just patted his shoulder and got up to return to Cloud Peak Hall.
Shen Bingsi sat by the cliff, facing the surging white clouds and the bright moon above, thinking all night.
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