Chapter 130: Passing Time
“What are you smiling at!” Shen Bingsi exploded immediately. “Do you want to fight again? I’m ready anytime!”
“…” The corners of Lu Yingqi’s mouth returned to their original straight line, as if he had never smiled at all. He said indifferently, “Is that necessary?”
Shen Bingsi narrowed his eyes.
“You look like you need to save some spiritual power for other things.” Lu Yingqi glanced at the comatose Rong Xie. “What’s wrong with him?”
Shen Bingsi never expected that he would end up standing at the entrance of the Mirror Palace, explaining the causes and consequences of Rong Xie’s collapse to Lu Yingqi. In the end, he even asked Lu Yingqi, full of hope, if he had any solution for a Nightmare Spell.
Lu Yingqi pondered for a while, then said, “I don’t know.”
“…” Shen Bingsi felt like a massive idiot for asking this Young Master who spent all year in seclusion and knew nothing.
“I was just thinking,” Lu Yingqi continued in his thoughtful manner, “we want to know different things, but our goal is the same: find Madam Mei.”
“…” Nonsense.
“Therefore, the obstacle we face now is also the same: this main gate, and the two Adjudicators inside.” Lu Yingqi’s tone gradually became dangerous.
“They are both at the Distraction Stage,” Shen Bingsi reminded him.
“Right,” Lu Yingqi seemed to have anticipated this. “So we can’t snatch Madam Mei from their hands. We can only wait here for them to finish interrogating the case, or find another insider who knows as much as Madam Mei.”
“It’ll be ages before they finish interrogating. The case won’t be considered closed until the accounts of the Lu estate—oh wait, your family’s child trafficking—are fully audited. Only then can Madam Mei be thrown into the Netherworld Dungeon. We might be able to talk to him when we visit the prison then, assuming he still has the spirit to talk to us.” As Shen Bingsi spoke, he pulled Rong Xie closer in his arms. The peak of Mystic Mountain was quite cold. Finding the quilt roll cumbersome, he had discarded it and switched to using his own spiritual power to warm Rong Xie. Consequently, he had to hold Rong Xie tightly at all times, ensuring they were pressed close together.
Shen Bingsi lowered his eyes to look at Rong Xie’s oblivious sleeping face. “Besides, I can’t afford to wait.”
“Then there is only one way: find an insider like Madam Mei,” Lu Yingqi said.
Shen Bingsi was the type of person who would never give up until he reached his goal. This type of person also had a flaw: they often focused solely on the goal and failed to see other possibilities.
Of course, after hitting his head against a brick wall a few times, he would consider other options. But before hitting the wall, he would be single-mindedly focused on ramming it.
As soon as Lu Yingqi proposed this idea, Shen Bingsi felt it was utterly absurd.
“What do you mean, an insider like Madam Mei? Everyone knows different things; how could there be an identical insider?” Shen Bingsi scoffed. “You aren’t suggesting I help you find someone from the Hehuan Sect, are you? You might as well ask your Elder Bai. From what Madam Mei implied, he’s quite well-connected in the Hehuan Sect.”
“…” The corner of Lu Yingqi’s eye twitched slightly. His powerful self-control allowed him to refrain from engaging in meaningless bickering with Shen Bingsi. “Why is it impossible? In the end, we are both looking for people who know the Hehuan Sect inside out. I need to know how to protect Little Branch, and you need to know how to break the Nightmare Spell. Didn’t Junior Brother Rong say that the Albizia flower can be used to create furnace cauldrons and cast illusions? The Nightmare Spell is a type of illusion. There might be someone in the Hehuan Sect who knows how to break it.”
Shen Bingsi’s single-track mind, which was set on hitting the brick wall, was suddenly guided around a bend by Lu Yingqi. He discovered that the wall wasn’t sealed shut; there was a path beside it, and he could get past with just a short detour.
“…That makes some sense.” Shen Bingsi pulled Rong Xie closer into his embrace again. “It’s a pity I don’t know anyone in the Hehuan Sect.”
“You don’t?” Lu Yingqi was surprised.
“Don’t you not know anyone either? Why must I be the one to know someone? Speaking of which, your Elder Red is now the Sect Leader of the Hehuan Sect. You share the same lineage; you should be closer.”
“…”
Lu Yingqi was currently rejoicing that Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie were not awake at the same time. Otherwise, dealing with two mouths by himself would be too helpless.
“So neither of us knows anyone,” Lu Yingqi cut off the conversation and concluded.
Before the scandal at the Lu family was exposed, Lu Yingqi had never even seen a real furnace cauldron. He couldn’t even identify one when it was right beside him, let alone have any involvement with the Hehuan Sect.
Shen Bingsi only looked like he roamed everywhere. In reality, he had only heard of furnace cauldrons and didn’t even know about the Albizia flower. In terms of theoretical knowledge, he was actually inferior to Rong Xie.
“By the way, don’t you have a brother… or younger brother?” Shen Bingsi suddenly remembered. Looking at this face, he thought of Lu Yinglin’s slick, seasoned traveler appearance, even though the brothers had completely different temperaments.
“I don’t know where he is,” Lu Yingqi said indifferently.
“Oh…”
Upon comparing notes, they realized neither had a reliable person to ask. If they barged into the Hehuan Sect directly, they would likely be kicked out. If they used force, the other party might not tell the truth, and Shen Bingsi dared not take risks with Rong Xie.
After thinking it over, the only suitable candidate turned out to be—Elder Bai.
“Anyway, the Lu estate scandal has been exposed, and you might be kicked out of the Xuantian Sect soon. You might as well go ask Elder Bai while the matter hasn’t fully blown up yet,” Shen Bingsi suggested.
Lu Yingqi didn’t want to comment on Shen Bingsi’s way of giving advice. He was silent for a moment before saying, “I cannot leave the Xuantian Sect right now. So, I will introduce you, and you will ask.”
“Me?” Shen Bingsi was puzzled. “Elder Bai isn’t related to me, and he finds me an eyesore. If I ask, will he tell the truth?”
“Say the Mirror Palace is investigating a case,” Lu Yingqi said. “Didn’t you say the Mirror Palace was investigating a case when you found me last time?”
“…” Shen Bingsi thought about it. That actually seemed workable.
Elder Bai still acknowledged his status as an Adjudicator. Coupled with Lu Yingqi’s introduction and guarantee, perhaps he really could get some answers.
Having decided this, the two immediately set off for the Xuantian Sect.
With Lu Yingqi leading the way this time, Shen Bingsi entered the core of Orchid Ridge, deep within the Ruthless Path Palace, and arrived at Lu Yingqi’s independent courtyard without obstruction.
Seeing the layout of the Ruthless Path Palace, Shen Bingsi couldn’t help but sigh. It was too similar to the Lu estate. Madam Mei had really taken great pains, which also showed how deep the connection between the Hehuan Sect and the Ruthless Path Palace had been back then.
“Brother Qi… Ah!” Hearing movement in the yard, Little Branch immediately came out to welcome him. He hadn’t expected to see an unfamiliar face appear with Lu Yingqi, holding a person who looked half-dead in his arms. It gave Little Branch a fright.
“This is Shen Bingsi of the Spirit Mirror Sect,” Lu Yingqi introduced. “Junior Brother Rong has been hit by a Nightmare Spell and cannot wake up. Fellow Daoist Shen brought him here to find a way to break it. We will go find Elder Bai shortly. Little Branch, please help settle them in.”
“Yes. Master Shen, the guest room is over there…” Little Branch responded. He still looked very afraid, daring not approach Shen Bingsi, only pointing from a distance as he watched him carry Rong Xie into the guest room.
“No need to be afraid.” Lu Yingqi glanced at Little Branch. “This person has a foul mouth, but his character is passable.”
Little Branch lowered his head, dawdling for a moment, still not daring to go in. “Brother Qi, I should help you change clothes…”
Lu Yingqi didn’t force Little Branch. He happened to have words for him anyway, so he told Little Branch to come to the inner chamber of the main house.
About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense later, Shen Bingsi had personally made the bed for Rong Xie. However, Shen Bingsi hadn’t prepared new bedding, only the set he used when traveling. Fortunately, he had washed it after the last use, so it smelled quite fresh.
Shen Bingsi placed Rong Xie between the sheets, carefully supporting the back of his neck to place him on the pillow. He straightened up to look, adjusted the pillow’s position slightly, pulled up the quilt, and tucked in both sides before letting out a sigh of relief.
The only fortunate thing now was that the effect of the Nightmare Spell seemed to be just sleep, with no other negative side effects.
However, just sleeping wasn’t good for the circulation of Qi and blood…
Shen Bingsi’s hand suddenly trembled.
He touched Rong Xie’s pulse in disbelief.
Spiritual power was flowing through the meridians. It was unknown how long it had been circulating. A faint layer of green light spilled from the tips of his ten fingers. If one didn’t look closely, it was impossible to see.
Rong Xie, in his sleep, had been constantly using spiritual power!
Shen Bingsi was certain that when Rong Xie first fainted, he hadn’t been using spiritual power. At some point, he had started. Was he having a nightmare? Or was this a side effect of the Nightmare Spell?
“Rong’er?” Shen Bingsi sat by the bed, lifting Rong Xie up and encircling his hands with his own, calling into his ear. “Rong’er, you are safe now. Don’t use spiritual power anymore.”
However, no matter how he called, Rong Xie didn’t react. A continuous stream of spiritual power spilled from his fingertips. It was a pure output of spiritual power, forming no seals or spells, nor producing any offensive or healing effects.
If it were anyone else leaking spiritual power like this—Lu Yingqi, or Shen Bingsi himself—Shen Bingsi wouldn’t have worried at all. At such a slow rate of outflow, given their cultivation level, they could leak until the end of time without issue.
But Rong Xie was different.
Rong Xie had a consumable Spirit Root. His spiritual power was limited to begin with. The power he had now was obtained from dual cultivation with Shen Bingsi last time. There had been many changes in the past half-year. Since leaving Huanxue Villa, although Rong Xie tried to use talismans, there were still many places where he needed to cast spells himself. Just during this investigation of the Lu family case, Shen Bingsi had seen Rong Xie use spiritual power many times. He dared not imagine how much Rong Xie had consumed when he wasn’t watching.
Although Rong Xie’s constitution was different from those furnace cauldrons, and spiritual depletion might not necessarily lead to the Five Signs of Decay, if he continued to sleep like this, he would consume spiritual power until it was exhausted. Then it would begin to wear down his already weak Spirit Root. Once the Spirit Root was completely worn away, even dual cultivation wouldn’t be able to save Rong Xie. The best outcome would be aging like a normal person; the worst outcome…
Shen Bingsi’s heart went cold. His hand gripping the quilt corner tore through the fabric and cotton with a rip.
“Shen Bingsi.” An indifferent voice came from the doorway. Lu Yingqi, now changed into Xuantian Sect disciple robes, appeared there. Behind him hid a suspicious and fearful Little Branch. Clearly, Shen Bingsi’s abnormal behavior of holding Rong Xie and tearing the quilt had scared him. When Shen Bingsi turned around, Little Branch pulled back the half of his face that had been showing.
“What are you doing?” Lu Yingqi glanced at him. “Let’s go.”
“Mn.” Shen Bingsi put Rong Xie down, settled him, and strode to the door, his face as cold and hard as ice. “Let’s go.”
Lu Yingqi looked at him again, seemingly wanting to say something. But sensing Little Branch’s fear, he turned back to comfort him with a few words, telling him to look after Rong Xie while they were gone.
Little Branch nodded. When he looked at Rong Xie, his gaze shifted from fear to deep worry.
“No need,” Shen Bingsi had already walked a distance away, his voice carried clearly to their ears by spiritual power. “There is a barrier I set up around Rong Xie’s bed. No one is allowed to approach him.”
📖 Advance Access: Complete Novel
You are purchasing Advance Reader Access to the complete translated compilation for:
"Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away"
⚡ After Payment, Follow These 2 Steps:
- Option 1: Note your email on PayPal/Ko-fi.
- Option 2: Email proof to beezzzreads@gmail.com.
- Option 3: Comment below.
Notice: Manual approval. Please allow 12–24 hours for access.
Recommended Reads
![[ABO] After Accidental Marking, I Became Everyone’s Darling](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ABO-225x300.jpeg)
