Chapter 149: The Thank-You Gift
Rong Xie hadn’t expected that after so much time, he would pick up exactly where he left off with Lu Yinglin.
One had to wonder if a leopard really couldn’t change its spots, or if the work at the Yuanbao Auction House was simply that relaxed.
“Indeed. Senior Brother Lu is a veteran of the game of love, yet you failed to see that I hold a singular affection for Shen Bingsi. It truly is surprising,” Rong Xie said with a faint smile.
The smile on Lu Yinglin’s face stiffened slightly as he observed Rong Xie. “Junior Brother Rong has changed after venturing out into the world. You’ve become so passionate and straightforward. It’s truly…”
“Truly what?” Rong Xie took the wine pot from the waiter and filled both their cups.
“It’s truly a good thing!” Lu Yinglin raised his cup. “A great thing worth celebrating!”
Rong Xie smiled, clinked cups with him, and drained his wine in one go.
“Refreshing.” Lu Yinglin downed his drink as well, inverted the cup to show it was empty, and placed it on the table. He then rummaged in his robes for a moment before producing a brocade pouch embroidered with gilded patterns. The pouch was glittering gold and stamped with the mark of a sycee. “As it happens, I have something I wish to give to Junior Brother Rong to celebrate your great success in the chaotic world of Jianghu!”
“That really isn’t necessary…” Rong Xie hadn’t wanted a gift from Lu Yinglin; he was after something else.
“No, no, it is absolutely necessary. You will definitely like it once you see it.” Lu Yinglin reached into the pouch and slowly withdrew a silver case.
The silver case was covered in intricate patterns; one glance was enough to tell that the contents were exceedingly expensive.
Rong Xie raised an eyebrow slightly.
What surprised him wasn’t that Lu Yinglin would produce some expensive treasure, but that the silver case was exceptionally long. Lu Yinglin had been pulling it out for quite a while, and it still wasn’t fully out. Rong Xie had assumed Lu Yinglin would gift him some jewelry, jade, or perhaps an exquisite fan. He hadn’t expected a silver case over two feet long—clearly not what he had imagined.
“This… it couldn’t be a sword, could it?” Rong Xie couldn’t help but laugh.
Lu Yinglin glanced up at Rong Xie, his smile deepening. “Junior Brother Rong and I truly share a heart-to-heart connection. Won’t you really consider trying things out with me?”
As he spoke, Lu Yinglin opened the case.
Inside lay a small silver sword, two feet long and shaped like the leaf of an orchid.
Rong Xie’s heart suddenly accelerated. He stared unblinkingly at the silver sword, an indescribable emotion surging in his chest and blocking his throat.
“This Lightning White Orchid… it is time for it to return to its original owner,” Lu Yinglin said.
As he spoke these words, the air of cynicism and playfulness around him suddenly vanished. His gaze toward Rong Xie became clear and earnest. If Rong Xie didn’t know that Lu Yingqi would never give him the Lightning White Orchid, he might have mistaken the man before him for Lu Yingqi rather than Lu Yinglin.
“You… actually, I haven’t raised enough money yet,” Rong Xie said hesitantly.
“No, I have already paid the redemption fee. No money is needed,” Lu Yinglin said.
Rong Xie was stunned. He raised his brows and looked at him. “What are your conditions?”
Lu Yinglin laughed, shaking his head with a look of feigned distress. “Just what kind of misunderstanding does Junior Brother Rong have about me? do I look like the kind of person who wants to thank someone wholeheartedly but then tries to leverage conditions?”
“Thank…?”
“Yes.” Lu Yinglin looked helpless. “You single-handedly took down the old Lu family, exposed Madam Mei, and avenged Xiao Ya’s great grievance. Is that not worth me presenting a sword that was pawned at our auction house?”
Rong Xie’s brow relaxed. If Lu Yinglin hadn’t mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten that matter.
“Or did you think I made up Xiao Ya to deceive you?” Lu Yinglin looked straight into Rong Xie’s eyes.
This time, Rong Xie could see it. The burning emotion in Lu Yinglin’s eyes wasn’t fake.
Although he didn’t care for Lu Yinglin’s style, the man’s feelings for Xiao Ya seemed to contain a degree of truth. At the very least, after all these years, Lu Yinglin was willing to pay thirty-five thousand spirit stones to thank the person who avenged her.
“Alright. In that case, I will accept it without standing on ceremony.” Rong Xie took the Lightning White Orchid out of the case. The flying sword, crafted from Lu Silver, was light and spiritual. The silver surface felt incredibly comfortable to the touch. Rong Xie was momentarily lost in thought, his mind drifting back to that heavy twilight on the Southern Island beach. Someone had danced with a sword for him. Under a sky burned by flames, a giant silver orchid had slowly bloomed, and a figure in ultramarine robes had moved with ethereal grace…
“Ahem.” Lu Yinglin’s cough sounded in his ear. Rong Xie snapped back to reality and stowed the Lightning White Orchid into his spatial pouch.
“I heard Sword Saint Shen is no longer the Adjudication Officer,” Lu Yinglin said, observing Rong Xie’s expression as he spoke.
Rong Xie gave a bitter smile. “Yes.” When he spoke to Shen Yan earlier, he hadn’t avoided Lu Yinglin. Lu Yinglin had heard everything he was meant to hear. Of course, this was intentional on Rong Xie’s part; he had another objective in meeting Lu Yinglin.
“Sigh. The matter of a shattered Dao Heart is indeed…” Lu Yinglin paused. “It can be big or small.”
Rong Xie’s spirit roused. This was exactly what he wanted to discuss. “Senior Brother Lu has cultivated in both the Xuan Tian Sect and the Gilded Sect, and you know the history between the Ruthless Dao Palace and the Hehuan Sect. Do you know of any method to solve the problem of a shattered Dao Heart?”
When Rong Xie and Lu Yinglin were drinking with the younger generation in the Shen family’s rear garden, Lu Yinglin had mentioned the connection between Elder Bai and the Hehuan Sect as if telling a joke. At the time, everyone, including Rong Xie, treated it as such.
But after the Lu family case, Rong Xie knew that Lu Yinglin wasn’t just spouting nonsense—he really knew things.
After Xiao Ya met her tragic end, Lu Yinglin must have done something. However, after investigating and weighing the pros and cons, he ultimately took no action, and his years of depression turned into drunken slips of the tongue. That was just how Lu Yinglin was: his words and actions were half-true and half-false, and no one knew his real thoughts.
Rong Xie didn’t need to know his thoughts; he only needed to know the solution to a shattered Dao Heart.
“Junior Brother Rong thinks too highly of me. I don’t cultivate the Ruthless Dao. After building my foundation, I left the Xuan Tian Sect. I’ve been running around the Jianghu for so many years and haven’t cultivated seriously,” Lu Yinglin laughed. “However, if Junior Brother Rong wants to know, I can ask around. Currently, the highest achievements in Ruthless Dao cultivation are found in the Lingjing Sect and the Xuan Tian Sect. I don’t know about the Lingjing Sect—Sword Saint Shen must know much more than I do—but regarding the Ruthless Dao Palace here… in the early years, there were indeed some methods to resolve a shattered Dao Heart.”
“What are they?!” Rong Xie’s heart pounded wildly, and the hand resting on the table involuntarily clenched into a fist.
“Junior Brother Rong should know that Elder Bai had a junior brother, known as Elder Red, right?” Lu Yinglin asked.
“I know. Elder Red was purged from the sect and later went on to become the Sect Leader of the Hehuan Sect.”
“Precisely.” Lu Yinglin tapped his knuckles on the table, thinking as he spoke. “Before that happened, the method the Ruthless Dao Palace used to train disciples wasn’t illusion arrays, but actual combat.”
“Is it… related to the cauldrons of the Hehuan Sect…?” Rong Xie had heard Madam Mei mention this period.
“Exactly. Enter the mortal dust, play within the mortal dust, and then see through the mortal dust. That was their cultivation method,” Lu Yinglin explained. “The principle of this method is the exact opposite of the current mainstream Ruthless Dao cultivation. It involves letting a person first indulge in desire, then liberate themselves from it. The effect was actually quite good. From what I know, people who cultivated using this method found it very easy to break free from the control of desire and raise their cultivation realm.”
“Mm…” Rong Xie found it hard to evaluate this method. It felt somewhat wrong, yet it undeniably had results. The only fortunate thing was that Shen Bingsi didn’t cultivate this type of “Ruthless Dao.”
“However, this cultivation method had serious drawbacks. Some disciples would cultivate smoothly at first, almost reaching the Distraction Stage, only to suddenly have their Dao Hearts shatter. Others simply didn’t want to cultivate anymore,” Lu Yinglin said.
“What? Didn’t want to cultivate anymore?” Rong Xie was surprised.
“Yes. For example, Elder Red was one such case,” Lu Yinglin said. “On the surface, Elder Red was expelled from the Ruthless Dao Palace for misconduct. In reality, he simply didn’t want to continue cultivating the Ruthless Dao, so he left the palace and went to the Hehuan Sect.”
“This…” That was also possible? Rong Xie didn’t know what to say; Elder Red really did as he pleased. Wait! Elder Red previously cultivated the Ruthless Dao, but now… A flash of inspiration struck Rong Xie’s mind. His gaze collided with Lu Yinglin’s in mid-air. He knew he had grasped the key. “How did Elder Red do it?”
Elder Red, a man who cultivated the Ruthless Dao, ran off to become the leader of the Hehuan Sect. One could imagine what his daily life was like. Yet, he suffered no Five Decays of Heaven and Man, nor did his body explode and die. How on earth did he violate his Dao Heart and remain safe and sound?
Of course, Lu Yinglin wouldn’t know Elder Red’s cultivation method.
However, the information he provided was crucial. It pointed Rong Xie in a clear direction.
As long as there was hope, Rong Xie was willing to try.
“Many thanks, Senior Brother Lu. This news is truly useful,” Rong Xie said joyfully.
“You’re welcome. However, the Hehuan Sect is extremely xenophobic and despises disciples of the three great sects, especially those from the Xuan Tian Sect. Unfortunately, I have no connections there and cannot help introduce you,” Lu Yinglin said.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll think of a way.” Rong Xie already had someone in mind to consult. It just so happened he needed to make a trip to the Xuan Tian Sect anyway.
“There is one more thing… could I ask Senior Brother Lu to help me inquire about news of Shen Bingsi?”
“That is certainly no problem.”
Rong Xie was surprised to have gained so much useful information from a single meal with Lu Yinglin.
When they got up to leave, Lu Yinglin, for once, didn’t invite Rong Xie to go play somewhere. Instead, he simply got into his carriage and left.
“Junior Brother Rong, until we meet again.” Lu Yinglin cupped his hands to Rong Xie, lowered the curtain, and the carriage rumbled onto the road, merging into the stream of people.
In the night, the lights of the North Gate Market remained bright. The lanterns from the roadside shops illuminated the side of the carriage. Lu Yinglin pulled back the side curtain and looked up at the deep blue sky above the eaves, lost in thought.
Rong Xie withdrew his gaze, returned to his home in Blue Plains, gave instructions to Wang Mu regarding household matters, and then walked out. He took out the Cloud Dream Skiff and cast a spell to drive it toward the Moon-Surging Platform.
The Xuan Tian Sect’s sphere of influence extended to the outskirts of Shengjing. Indiscriminate flying was prohibited within this range. Rong Xie had assumed that after flying for a bit, he would be detected by the sect’s Heavenly Eye, which would allow him to directly meet Xuan Tian Sect disciples and request an audience with Elder Bai.
Unexpectedly, Rong Xie flew the Cloud Dream Skiff all the way to the Moon-Surging Platform without anyone coming to arrest him. This actually left him somewhat at a loss.
He was anxious to find a solution for the shattered Dao Heart and didn’t want to waste a single hour. After arriving at the Moon-Surging Platform, he didn’t rest but flew straight toward the Heavenly Staircase at the Xuan Tian Sect’s main gate.
Author’s Note: Bingbing comes out in the next chapter! [Flower Sprinkling]
📖 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
