Chapter 3: The Heartless Path
“That’s you two.” The expedition leader gestured with his finger.
“Us? We look like Dao Companions?” Shen Bingsi looked at the leader with utter incredulity. Mimicking the man’s gesture, he pointed a thumb back and forth between himself and Rong Xie, who stood behind him.
“Of course!” The leader laughed. “A match made in heaven.”
Inside the fragrant mist, Rong Xie silently covered his forehead with his hand.
“Nonsense!” Shen Bingsi suddenly snapped.
The leader jumped, looking at Shen Bingsi in bewildered panic. “So… you aren’t Dao Companions? This junior thought…”
“Thought what?” Shen Bingsi stared at him dangerously.
The leader trembled, his eyes darting frantically toward Healer Miao, begging for an assist. “I thought this type of Transmission Jade was used between Dao Companions…”
Healer Miao, however, just stroked his beard, seemingly having developed a sudden, profound interest in the rocks on the wall.
Damn you, Healer Miao! The leader pounded the ground in his mind. Don’t tell me you were spouting nonsense earlier?
“Ridiculous!” In all his years cultivating the Heartless Path, this was the first time Shen Bingsi had his Dao Heart questioned to his face. He didn’t cultivate just any branch; he cultivated the path of severing all emotion and love. He had seen through the illusions of romance long ago—otherwise, his cultivation wouldn’t have progressed so rapidly.
Now, this team leader was slandering him, claiming he and Rong Xie looked like a couple. If he didn’t teach this man a lesson, what face would he have left to claim he walked the Heartless Path?
“Who says the Same-Heart Jade is exclusive to Dao Companions? Can bosom friends not use it? Can brothers not use it? Can mothers and daughters not use it? There are thousands of people whose hearts connect; do Dao Companions have a monopoly on that? How incredibly narrow-minded!”
Shen Bingsi continued his tirade. “Not only do we use it with bosom friends, we use it with friends and family! We even use it with rivals we begrudgingly admire! Everyone should have one. Everyone uses them! If you can’t find a use for one, you should reflect on your own character—is there something wrong with you that you don’t have a single person whose heart connects with yours?”
The leader was left stunned by Shen Bingsi’s lecture.
Even the surrounding crowd began to reflect on whether their minds were just filled with vulgar filth.
After a brief silence, the leader bowed respectfully to Shen Bingsi twice. “Senior is absolutely right! This junior has been enlightened! It was like cold water poured over my head to wake me up. Senior and this fellow cultivator are virtuous and candid, pure as the light of the moon and the wind; there is absolutely nothing illicit between you. It was this junior who was narrow-minded!”
“Hmph.” Shen Bingsi flicked his sleeve. “It was none of your business anyway. The stone door is open; if you don’t go save your companions now, I fear they’ll rot inside.”
“Yes, yes.” The leader hurriedly excused himself, leading the crowd charging into the stone door to escape the scene of the Senior’s wrath.
Once everyone had gone, the area finally quieted down.
Shen Bingsi held up the jade pendant. His anger hadn’t fully dissipated, and his voice remained icy. “What was it you wanted to say earlier?”
Rong Xie sighed inwardly. That team leader had really touched a nerve. However, one couldn’t really blame him; who would have guessed that “Senior Rong” was a practitioner of the Heartless Path? And specifically the branch focused on severing love? Hearing such teasing was bound to make him jump.
He gathered his thoughts and briefly explained his foster mother’s visit.
“I see. So she came to dump a child on us. What does she think Huanxue Villa is? A nursery?”
Shen Bingsi was naturally unamused.
“Is she there? Let me speak to her.”
And so, the problem was solved swiftly and decisively.
Shen Bingsi left the old woman no face whatsoever, rejecting her flat out.
Naturally, the old woman didn’t dare ask why, nor could she make a scene. She could only take the child and leave in disgrace.
As she left, she gave Rong Xie a nasty look, as if Rong Xie had hidden in the inner room specifically to badmouth them to Shen Bingsi.
“Brother Rong, I did this all for your own good. Even if it isn’t Wang Mu, it will be someone else. The Grand Master of the Shen family has already spoken; he insists on selecting a suitable and satisfactory butler for the Second Young Master.”
“…”
Rong Xie’s smile remained gentle, though a hint of distance appeared in his eyes.
He knew, of course. The Shen family sent over a list of potential attendant boys every so often, and recently, they had been arriving more frequently.
Presumably, the news that he still hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment had reached the Grand Master’s ears.
A cultivator who hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment had a lifespan no different from a mortal’s. In fact, due to the consumption of spiritual energy, they might even have shorter lives.
Rong Xie was over thirty now. He often felt his spiritual energy was insufficient, and he wondered if, in a few years, he would even be able to activate those talismans.
It was reasonable for the Shen family head to want to replace him with a new butler for Shen Bingsi’s sake.
It was just…
Just that Rong Xie didn’t want to give up this spot.
There was no place in the world better than Huanxue Villa. From the first day he moved in, Rong Xie had been happy. Every day, he would walk through the villa, checking to see if new flowers had bloomed on the trees, seeing if there were familiar faces among the birds on the beams. Then, he would use magic to wipe the floors until they shone and ensure the tables were dust-free, making the furniture gleam as if it were brand new.
If he left here, where could he go? The outside world could never compare to home.
Later that day, Shen Bingsi returned.
He came back via sword flight; a journey of a thousand miles took only two hours.
However, the sensation of flying wasn’t exactly pleasant. Aside from a face full of dust, shaking out his clothes caused a cascade of ice shards to fall to the floor.
Shen Bingsi stormed into the bathing room like a whirlwind. Stripping off his clothes, shoes, and socks, he hopped into the wooden tub and heated the water himself to wash.
He possessed the rare dual spiritual roots of Water and Fire. Both roots were as robust as anyone else’s single Heavenly Root. His cultivation never suffered from conflict, and his spiritual energy increased at double the normal rate.
This, perhaps, was what it meant to be a genius.
Rong Xie walked into the bathroom, looking enviously at the screen, behind which steam rose and water splashed. If only he had such a convenient ability to create hot water, he could take a bath every day.
Rong Xie picked up the dirty clothes and socks one by one, tossing them into a wooden basin. He returned to the room to fetch starched casual clothes and wooden clogs, arranging them neatly on the cabinet in front of the screen.
Rong Xie’s fingers seemed to possess a certain magic; anything he tidied up always looked its absolute best.
When Shen Bingsi emerged from behind the screen, he saw the inner garments and outer robe folded perfectly flat on the cabinet. The robe’s elegant, understated patterns were displayed on top. Wearing it, he would look presentable even if receiving guests at home.
Shen Bingsi changed into the clothes and slipped on the well-fitted clogs. He felt a faint fragrance emanating from his person—it was Rong Xie’s usual scent. Shen Bingsi liked it very much.
In high spirits, he went to the study. Pushing open the door, he saw Rong Xie wearing the same style of inner garment, sitting at the desk reading a book.
This wasn’t strange; they always bought their clothes together.
“Look at the good stuff I brought back.” Shen Bingsi sat carelessly next to Rong Xie and reached for his waist. “Ah,” he exclaimed, remembering he had left his spatial pouch with his outer clothes in the bathroom.
Smiling, Rong Xie produced a gold-threaded fish-patterned pouch and placed it on the table.
“I knew it would be with you.” Shen Bingsi grabbed the spatial pouch, loosened the strings, and dug around inside while muttering, “Where is it… strange.”
Shen Bingsi had many official duties, so his pouch was filled with odds and ends. Plus, every time he went out, he brought back various heavenly treasures. Rong Xie could imagine the chaotic state inside.
“Found it!” Shen Bingsi pulled a scroll from the pouch and waved it in front of Rong Xie.
When Rong Xie saw the twisting, turning characters on the scroll, his eyes widened instantly.
“Tura Paradox script? Did you find this in the treasure vault? No… this scroll looks new.”
“Just had it mounted. Took some effort,” Shen Bingsi laughed. “That fragment turns to dust in the wind; it had to be preserved using a special technique.”
Rong Xie turned up the lamp wick, spread the scroll out, and placed it under the light to examine it closely.
Shen Bingsi sat opposite him. At this close distance, he could see his best friend’s temples, smooth as icy jade, the faint mountain of his brows, and lower down, the long eyelashes that remained motionless as he read intently. He saw the straight, narrow bridge of his nose, like a jade ruler, and his gentle lips.
It was magical. There wasn’t a single mole on his friend’s face; he was like a piece of flawless jade, so beautiful he hardly seemed real.
Rong Xie read, and Shen Bingsi watched him. However long Rong Xie read, Shen Bingsi would watch. Both found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Finally, Rong Xie lifted his head from the scroll and exhaled softly. His eyes, like glazed glass, emerged from beneath his lashes, looking at Shen Bingsi with delight.
“This volume is a chronicle of major events in the ancient Kingdom of Tura Paradox. It is extremely valuable. It records the tributes offered by various islands to the King…”
Rong Xie spoke at length in one breath. Only after finishing did he realize Shen Bingsi had no interest in such obscure history. He stopped himself. “You just got back; you should rest. You still have to go to the Mirror Palace tomorrow to report on your mission.”
“I’m not tired. There are still many fragments, jars, and tiles covered in those ghostly scribbles. If you want to see them, I can take them out now, but I need someone to process them first.” Shen Bingsi said triumphantly, knowing Rong Xie loved this sort of thing.
Sure enough, Rong Xie lit up, looking eagerly at the pouch and nodding obediently.
“There are also the heavenly treasures I found recently. They need to be categorized and stored.” Shen Bingsi grabbed a handful of his hair. “So troublesome.”
Few people would find categorizing their own harvested treasures troublesome.
Except for Shen Bingsi, of course. He brought back a heap of treasures every time. If they weren’t counted and sorted in time, they would inevitably turn into a mess and eventually be thrown out as trash.
“It’s no trouble. I’ll do it,” Rong Xie said gently.
“Great.” Shen Bingsi knew how annoying organizing those things could be. Each item had its own properties—some would explode if placed together, others would melt or become toxic. Only the knowledgeable and cautious Rong Xie could handle them.
The two cleared the table and walked toward the bedrooms. In the corridor where they would part ways, Shen Bingsi suddenly thought of something and grabbed Rong Xie’s wrist.
The touch was warm and soft, like smooth, heated jade.
“By the way, is your spiritual power sufficient?”
Rong Xie paused slightly.
“Processing so many treasures consumes a lot of spiritual energy. If you don’t have enough, I can transfer some more to you,” Shen Bingsi said candidly. “Why don’t we Dual Cultivate tonight?”
Dual Cultivation (Shuangxiu). Naturally… the kind usually done between Dao Companions.
However, if you asked Shen Bingsi, he would surely retort: Who says friends can’t Dual Cultivate? Friends, family, sworn brothers, and even begrudging rivals can Dual Cultivate. If you can’t even see past that, what Heartless Path are you cultivating?
But Rong Xie was, after all, an ordinary mortal who had failed Foundation Establishment. He was still somewhat self-conscious about obtaining spiritual power this way. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t choose this path.
“It’s enough. I’ve been cultivating diligently lately, following the methods in the books you gave me… I feel like I’ve made fast progress. I might even reach Foundation Establishment in a couple of days,” Rong Xie lied quickly, startling himself as soon as the words left his mouth.
“That’s wonderful,” Shen Bingsi gripped his wrist even tighter. “Which method is it? Let’s go to your room; you can demonstrate it for me.”
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