Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 167

Chapter 167 Never to Meet Again

“Xiao Zhi!” Rong Xie took a step forward.

Xiao Zhi turned his head. Upon seeing Rong Xie, a look of joy appeared on his face, though it was quickly overshadowed by a faint sorrow.

A premonition of impending separation surged into Rong Xie’s heart. He opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

“I brought the person,” Lu Yingqi’s emotionless voice sounded from the side, interrupting the silent exchange of glances between Xiao Zhi and Rong Xie.

Xiao Zhi nodded, replying with equal emotionlessness, “Thank you.”

Lu Yingqi: “…”

“Rong Gongzi, you have done so much for me, and I’ve never had the chance to thank you,” Xiao Zhi looked at Rong Xie, his gaze turning earnest. “Thank you for letting me know that even someone like me can be cherished.”

A wave of sourness hit Rong Xie’s heart: “What are you saying? Of course you deserve to be cherished. Back when I didn’t know what to do, you earnestly listened to my outpourings and promised to help me find Lu Yingqi. A good person like you should be cherished by everyone!”

Xiao Zhi’s pure white soul was bathed in red light. Hearing Rong Xie’s words, he seemed shy, the red glow on his cheeks intensifying. He lowered his gaze and whispered, “Actually, I didn’t help much… and I had my own selfish motives too…”

“I know. Your selfish motives were merely for Lu Yingqi’s sake.” Rong Xie sighed. “Everyone has selfish motives, especially someone like you… a selfish motive that barely counts as one. Speaking of which, I had selfish motives too. I only told you those things to win your sympathy.”

Back then, in order to get connected with Lu Yingqi, Rong Xie had dramatically poured out his life story to Xiao Zhi to evoke his empathy. Doing so was also to change his own fate of being sacrificed for the Dao; it wasn’t some selfless motive either.

“Mm, I noticed,” Xiao Zhi chuckled softly. “Shen Jiansheng is actually quite nice.”

“Hm?” This time it was Shen Bingsi’s turn to be confused. How was he involved in this?

“Hehehe…” Rong Xie avoided eye contact with Shen Bingsi. “That only changed later on.”

“…” Shen Bingsi confirmed that Rong Xie had definitely complained about him to Xiao Zhi in the beginning. No wonder Xiao Zhi always looked as if he had seen a ghost whenever he saw him.

“Also…” Xiao Zhi frowned slightly, “I misunderstood you about the Dao-proving matter. I thought you were also on Bai Zhanglao‘s side, planning to sacrifice me for the greater good.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Rong Xie said.

“I know that now,” Xiao Zhi revealed a relieved smile. “I feel a bit of regret. If I had known earlier, perhaps I would have chosen the person who cared about me more, instead of…”

Xiao Zhi’s gaze stopped at a certain angle. Any further and his field of vision would touch the spot where Lu Yingqi was. He forcefully stopped, unwilling to cast another glance in that direction.

An even more frigid aura emanated from Lu Yingqi.

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“But such is my fate. There aren’t that many opportunities to choose.” Xiao Zhi lowered his eyes, seeming somewhat despondent.

“I understand.” Rong Xie thought to himself that if he and Xiao Zhi shared the same background, who knows what would have happened.

“However, fortunately I met Rong Gongzi,” Xiao Zhi looked up, tears floating in his eyes as he smiled reassuringly. “With this life of mine that had few choices, I unexpectedly met someone who never gave up on me from start to finish. I suppose that is heaven’s final bit of compassion towards me.”

Looking at Xiao Zhi, Rong Xie felt an indescribable heartache.

At this moment, a sneer echoed in the air: “Hey, what did he do? I’m the one who’s been transferring spiritual energy to you from the very beginning!”

This voice was full of a teasing tone. Rong Xie had never heard it before, so much so that he didn’t realize who was speaking at first.

But he quickly understood; it was the Hehuan Huayao‘s true voice.

The Hehuan Huayao was very dissatisfied: “Are you done talking? If you’re done, come with me!”

With that, the red threads binding Xiao Zhi’s spirit body tightened, pulling him toward the cliff behind.

“Wait!” Rong Xie shouted. “Where are you taking him? In broad daylight, a mere demon dares to abduct a disciple of the Xuantian Zong within its very territory?”

The Hehuan Huayao sneered: “I’m abducting him? Ridiculous. Ask him if he is willingly coming with me?”

Rong Xie looked at Xiao Zhi. Xiao Zhi calmly stated, “I am willing.”

“What? Why?” Rong Xie’s voice pitched up. “You must have been bewitched by it. The Hehuan floral scent inherently causes hallucinations. No matter what, we won’t let you leave with a monster!”

Saying this, Rong Xie brought out his talismans, and Shen Bingsi also readied the Shengxie Jian.

From the corner of his eye, Rong Xie glanced at Lu Yingqi. With Lu Yingqi’s capabilities, taking down the flower demon would be as easy as flipping his hand. Yet he showed no particular movement right now, not even drawing his sword. Who knows what he was thinking.

“Lu Shixiong, didn’t you say this was your karma? Are you just going to watch Xiao Zhi be taken away by the flower demon?!” Rong Xie spoke up to remind him. The one most deeply involved here was Lu Yingqi!

Lu Yingqi finally turned around to face Xiao Zhi directly. He didn’t make any special movements, but an invisible spiritual pressure yanked at Xiao Zhi’s spirit body.

No matter how much strength the Hehuan Huayao exerted, it couldn’t pull Xiao Zhi an inch.

“Damn it…” the teasing voice turned deep. “Lu Yingqi, your destiny with him has ended. Tugging at him anymore will only ruin your Dao cultivation! I advise you to let go.”

Lu Yingqi remained silent. The force pulling Xiao Zhi strengthened, and Xiao Zhi slowly moved away from the cliff edge, drifting toward him.

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“Hey, say something at least!” the Hehuan Huayao urged impatiently.

“…” Xiao Zhi raised his head. For the first time in so long, he looked Lu Yingqi squarely in the eye. However, his eyes held none of their former adoration and gentleness, only deep, profound exhaustion. “Qi Shaoye, the destiny between you and me has ended. Let me go.”

Lu Yingqi remained silent, but the force pulling Xiao Zhi did not loosen in the slightest.

“Qi Shaoye, why bother?” Xiao Zhi’s voice was full of weariness. “Didn’t you say that even if I die, I will assimilate with Heaven and Earth, turning into the flowers, grass, and trees, and be with you? If that’s the case, why not let me go? No matter where I go, you can just treat it as if I’m with you. What does it matter?”

“…” The muscles in Lu Yingqi’s cheeks tensed. He was expressionless, yet it looked as though he were enduring something.

He had no words to counter Xiao Zhi’s statement.

Rong Xie actually really wanted to ask him what exactly he was thinking. How could he ruthlessly use Xiao Zhi to prove his Dao in the first half of the day, yet become so entangled and unclear in the second half?

However, those whose brains had been consumed by the Wuqing Dao were beyond cure and couldn’t be reasoned with using common sense. Rong Xie didn’t want to waste time on him either.

He only wanted Xiao Zhi to come back.

Rong Xie looked at Xiao Zhi again. Xiao Zhi was staring at Lu Yingqi, his brows tightly knitted, looking exceedingly resistant. His emotional expression was very clear; this was absolutely not the state of being bewitched by the flower demon.

If Rong Xie reasoned with him and appealed to his emotions, perhaps he could call him back.

“Xiao Zhi, if you’re not coming back because of Lu Yingqi, there’s no need, and it’s not worth it! The world is vast, the mortal realm is bustling. There are so many places to go, so many sights to see, and so many people—it’s truly not worth it just to avoid Lu Yingqi. You have already walked out of it. If you come back now, Bai Zhanglao will definitely remember your contribution; he will agree to whatever request you make. If you don’t want to stay in Xuantian Zong, you can come to my place. I have a small house in Lan Yuan; you can live with me. Or if you prefer to be alone, I’ll have Bingsi give you the place next door. Right, you haven’t been to Shengjing yet, have you? There’s a lot of delicious food and fun things there. When the time comes, we can go together. There are still many fun places in the world that you haven’t even seen yet!”

“Uh?” Shen Bingsi wanted to voice an objection but was beaten back by a glare from Rong Xie.

“…”

Rong Xie’s proposal was simply too enticing. Xiao Zhi’s brows relaxed, and a dreamy expression appeared on his face.

“Stop dreaming.” The Hehuan Huayao gave a sinister, teeth-gritting laugh. “You’ve lost your chance. You promised me…”

The red threads wrapped around Xiao Zhi tightened abruptly. The red light dissipated, and countless specks of white light flew out from Xiao Zhi’s body. Xiao Zhi’s features became blurred.

The next moment, the red threads tangled into Xiao Zhi’s spirit body once more, injecting demonic power into it.

Although it had only stopped for a brief moment, Xiao Zhi’s spirit body visibly thinned out. Xiao Zhi revealed an expression of agony, his silhouette seeming to plunge into a thin mist.

Lu Yingqi’s lip line drew taut, his face incredibly dark.

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“Hahahaha, pull as hard as you like! Let’s see if he can hold on until you send him back to his body? The Heavenly Dao cannot be reversed. However easy it is to kill a person, that is how difficult it is to save one!” The Hehuan Huayao laughed uproariously.

“Is that so?” Lu Yingqi said in a low voice. “Then presumably, killing you is very easy too.”

“…” The Hehuan Huayao‘s laughter choked. “Qi Shaoye, you certainly have a silver tongue. Despite remaining silent, you actually know exactly what’s going on in your heart. What a pity, Xiao Zhi is destined to be mine. He already doesn’t want you, can’t you see that? Clinging on like this, don’t you find it unsightly?”

“Merely an illusion,” Lu Yingqi said coldly.

The Hehuan Huayao laughed so hard it was gasping for breath: “…Whether it’s an illusion or not, can a dignified mighty figure of the Fenshen stage not see through it?”

Lu Yingqi pressed his lips together tightly.

At this, even Rong Xie felt Lu Yingqi’s behavior was unsightly.

Xiao Zhi let out a pained groan.

In the tug-of-war between Lu Yingqi and the flower demon, he was the only one suffering. A spirit body was fragile to begin with. Being pulled between a mighty Fenshen stage figure and a demon with long years of cultivation, if this continued, his spirit body would very likely be torn in half. If that happened, he couldn’t be resurrected no matter what, and even reincarnation would be impossible.

“Stop, don’t pull anymore!” Rong Xie urged anxiously.

“What should we do? Should I chop the flower demon?” Shen Bingsi held the Shengxie Jian, not knowing where to apply his force.

Lu Yingqi had been keeping his eyes locked on Xiao Zhi. Suddenly, he raised his hand and withdrew his spiritual energy. Xiao Zhi flew backward again, falling straight into the flower disc.

Lu Yingqi tossed his silver flying sword into the air. The silver sword transformed into a massive silver cage, trapping the Hehuan Huayao inside.

The silver cage continuously tightened, extruding numerous tiny blade edges toward the Hehuan Huayao. If Lu Yingqi applied just a little more force, he could pierce the Hehuan flower with countless transparent holes.

“Let him go,” Lu Yingqi said, “and I’ll spare your life.”

For Lu Yingqi to say this meant he was already letting the Hehuan Huayao off easy.

Trading a great demon’s life for Xiao Zhi’s life was a severe violation of karma. Moreover, it didn’t just violate one person’s karma, but the karma of countless people.

If a demon escaped like this, who knew how many lives it would harm in the future.

If Lu Yingqi were lacking in strength, or if he were forced into this last resort to save innocent bystanders, it wouldn’t have such a massive impact.

But doing it for his own selfish desires drastically affected his karma. It was highly likely to result in his failure to ascend, or the birth of inner demons, leading to a shattered Dao Heart.

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Therefore, when Lu Yingqi said this, not just Shen Bingsi, even Rong Xie was shocked.

“Hahahahaha…” The Hehuan Huayao was overjoyed, laughing so hard it couldn’t catch its breath. “Lu Yingqi, listen to yourself, how laughable your words are! At this point, what’s the use of putting on this hypocritical face?”

“…”

“Xiao Zhi, if you don’t speak up, I’ll speak for you,” the Hehuan Huayao sneered.

Xiao Zhi’s spirit body had become distorted, his voice sounding as if it came from very far away. He had been lying among the petals with his eyes closed, seemingly completely devoid of strength to rise. Only upon hearing the flower demon’s urging did he open his eyes and look at Lu Yingqi: “Qi Shaoye, I’m leaving. The thing I hate most in this life is meeting you. May we never meet again for all eternity.”