Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 175

Chapter 175: Watching the Stars

Rong Xie staggered forward, pulling at the front of his robe as if the heat were unbearable and he wanted to strip.

Shen Bingsi knew that once he was drunk, there was no telling what he might do. He hurried behind, supporting him with one hand while preventing him from tearing his clothes off with the other.

The two moved awkwardly for a distance until they finally left the dense crowd.

“Don’t… don’t pull me.” Rong Xie struggled with all his might, trying to escape Shen Bingsi’s control.

“If I don’t pull you, what will I do if you run away in a fit of shame tomorrow morning? Just bear with it. We’ll take it off when we get back. We can take it off once the doors are closed, alright?” Shen Bingsi coaxed Rong Xie as if he were a child.

“Take it off? Take what off?” Rong Xie’s eyes went wide as he stared back at Shen Bingsi. The expression in his gaze was so pure that Shen Bingsi felt a bit bashful. The next moment, Rong Xie pulled a slip of paper from his robe. “I was looking… looking for this!”

“Oh.” Shen Bingsi scratched his cheek.

Rong Xie held up the paper, squinting. “What… do we do next? What’s written on here… you read it!”

After speaking, Rong Xie shoved the paper in front of Shen Bingsi. Shen Bingsi leaned over his hand and read, “Watch the stars in the bamboo forest.”

“Right! In the bamboo forest, watching the stars!” Rong Xie tossed the paper into the air and staggered toward the bamboo grove. Shen Bingsi caught the paper with quick reflexes, tucked it into his robe, and followed.

One of the activities for the Acacia disciples was indeed watching the stars in the bamboo forest. They emphasized training the senses and fully experiencing external stimulation. Among those complex activities, stargazing was considered simple.

If only that were actually the case…

Before they even reached the designated spot, Shen Bingsi’s keen ears picked up various unspeakable sounds coming from the bamboo forest.

Clearly, the Acacia disciples weren’t exactly “watching the stars” properly; they were using the time and location to do other things.

Shen Bingsi grabbed Rong Xie, using every trick in the book like he was herding a stubborn little animal. He spread his arms wide, trying to block Rong Xie’s view, but Rong Xie stared at him in confusion before suddenly darting through the gap under his arm.

After several rounds of chasing and blocking, Shen Bingsi finally caught Rong Xie in a hug. He semi-forcibly led him to a deserted part of the bamboo forest. The two lay down on the grass behind the trees, and the starlit night sky unfolded before their eyes.

“Let’s watch the stars,” Shen Bingsi said. “Can you recognize the Big Dipper?”

“That’s too simple.” Rong Xie reached out a finger, counting the stars of the Big Dipper. Then, he asked Shen Bingsi about some obscure constellations. Shen Bingsi answered them one by one. It wasn’t that he had studied astrology, but rather that many cultivation mantras and sword techniques used constellations as metaphors.

Rong Xie counted the stars for a while before feeling a bit bored. “Can this really cure you?”

“It should,” Shen Bingsi wasn’t entirely certain either.

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“Do you still feel the backlash right now?” Rong Xie turned his head, carefully observing Shen Bingsi.

“I don’t feel it now,” Shen Bingsi said. He thought to himself that just counting stars wouldn’t lead to a backlash, but if they were “counting stars” like the other Acacia disciples, it would be hard to say. At the thought, he started coughing again.

“But you’re coughing,” Rong Xie frowned.

“The wind is a bit cold, I choked on it.” Shen Bingsi managed to catch his breath.

Rong Xie stared intently at Shen Bingsi. Seeing that he indeed stopped coughing, he beamed. “Great! I knew there would be a way!”

Rong Xie rolled over, burying his face in the crook of Shen Bingsi’s shoulder. “You must be well… you aren’t allowed to ever leave me.”

Shen Bingsi froze slightly as a warm emotion welled up in his heart. He suppressed the urge to cough and rolled over to embrace Rong Xie, placing his hand on his hair and slowly stroking it.

“Okay.”

Having received an answer, Rong Xie nudged Shen Bingsi contentedly. He whispered, “If someone has to leave first… I’d rather it be me…”

A pang of pain hit Shen Bingsi’s heart. He tightened his grip, pressing Rong Xie’s head into his chest. “Don’t say such foolish things.”

Rong Xie muttered something unintelligible. After a while, his breathing became steady and heavy; he had fallen asleep.

Rong Xie’s sleep was fitful. He dreamed constantly—sometimes dreaming he was still back at the Shen family manor, running around with Shen Bingsi behind the dark kitchen stove; sometimes dreaming they were in the small warehouse at the Lingjing Sect, cultivating while facing the only window. One disorganized dream followed another, leaving almost no time for a breath of air.

Near morning, Rong Xie had an incredibly vivid dream. He dreamed he woke up in bed to find Shen Bingsi wasn’t beside him. Shen Bingsi was supposed to be there; his subconscious told him so. He panicked, getting out of bed to search everywhere for him.

Fortunately, he found Shen Bingsi under the weeping plum tree outside the courtyard. He had changed into a travel-worn outer robe and looked like he was going somewhere far away. Rong Xie asked where he was going, but Shen Bingsi didn’t answer. He only looked at him with a worried smile before opening his arms. Rong Xie went up to hug him, and he hugged Rong Xie back. The morning carried a unique scent, enough to cool the most surging blood. Shen Bingsi stepped over the threshold of the Frozen Snow Villa, stood outside the gate, waved at Rong Xie, and then left without looking back.

“Don’t go!” Rong Xie cried out. It felt as if his heart had been ripped out. Rong Xie chased after him in a daze, but the empty Frozen Snow Valley was covered in snow, a silver world without even a single footprint.

“Where are you going—” Rong Xie shouted loudly.

Until he truly woke up, that bone-deep panic and sorrow were still clearly palpable. He jerked upright and looked around, realizing he was sitting by the bamboo forest in the early morning. The faint sunlight slanted through the leaves of the bamboo, falling onto the grass.

The air was filled with birdsong. Rong Xie had never noticed there were so many birds here.

He looked down. Shen Bingsi was lying on the grass asleep. He looked perfectly fine. A sense of groundedness put Rong Xie’s heart at ease; it was a joy akin to surviving a disaster.

Shen Bingsi turned his head, unconsciously moving closer to Rong Xie in his sleep. Rong Xie reached out to touch his face, and a strand of white hair fell onto Rong Xie’s hand.

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Rong Xie’s fingers stiffened slightly.

Shen Bingsi felt a tightening on his scalp, as if someone were trying to secretly pull his hair out while he slept.

Shen Bingsi knew who that person was, so he wasn’t in a hurry to wake up—until the hair-pulling became increasingly intense. If Shen Bingsi didn’t wake up now, he might end up with a bald patch. He opened his eyes.

“What are you doing? Haven’t you sobered up yet?” Shen Bingsi asked with a hint of amusement, pressing down Rong Xie’s mischievous hand on his head.

Rong Xie didn’t laugh. He looked at him very seriously, until Shen Bingsi realized he wasn’t joking.

Shen Bingsi sat up and saw the strand of hair that had turned white at some unknown point, growing from behind his ear near the occipital bone.

“We’re going to find Elder Red,” Rong Xie said.

Cultivators didn’t age without reason unless they intentionally altered their appearance. This white strand was clearly not something Shen Bingsi had conjured. This could only mean that within this single day and night, the backlash against Shen Bingsi’s Dao heart had intensified.

The two arrived at the bamboo tower where Elder Red lived, catching him just as he was strolling back from breakfast.

“Up so early?” Seeing the two, Elder Red smiled with a mix of surprise and playfulness. “It seems your imitation hasn’t reached the right level of heat yet.”

Rong Xie made Shen Bingsi turn his head, pointed behind his ear, and asked irritably, “What do you mean ‘not enough heat’? Any more and someone’s going to die! Look at what this is!”

Elder Red looked puzzled. “This is… white hair? So what? Young people with vibrant blood and qi often have white hair; it’s perfectly normal…”

“What do you mean ‘vibrant blood and qi’! If it weren’t for that godforsaken imitation method, his backlash wouldn’t be this severe!” Rong Xie took a deep breath, staring intently into Elder Red’s eyes. “Elder Red, are you truly teaching us, or are you just playing with us? We came to you because we were at the end of our rope, but if you’re messing with us and harm Bingsi because of it… my cultivation may be low, but I know people in the cultivation world and I know of several divine artifacts. I will sacrifice everything to make you pay the price.”

Rong Xie was so enraged he spoke such harsh words. Elder Red gasped, putting on a terrified act. “Oh, the little disciple of the Lingjing Sect is indeed fierce. This old man is so scared. Fine, fine, since you don’t trust me, go find someone else. I’ll just find someone else to ask about Elder Bai’s jokes.”

Rong Xie’s expression turned ugly. This Elder Red was like a slippery old eel, immune to both threats and pleas.

Elder Red laughed. “Little disciple, speechless now? Ginger is always spicier when it’s old; you’re still too green. However, this old man isn’t someone who breaks his word. If I said I’d teach you the method to switch paths, I will do it.”

Elder Red paused, his expression turning serious as he looked at Shen Bingsi. “Come upstairs with me.”

Seeing Elder Red taking the matter seriously, Rong Xie stopped speaking and stepped aside, letting Shen Bingsi go with him.

Rong Xie waited downstairs for half an hour until Shen Bingsi finally came down.

“How was it?” Rong Xie hurried over.