Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 177

Chapter 177: Unable to Let Go

Unexpectedly, Shen Bingsi became quite popular among the Acacia disciples. Especially after the terrace judgment, disciples would spontaneously seek him out to ask for relationship advice, and Shen Bingsi didn’t withhold his “guidance.”

“This problem is very simple. If he likes you, he won’t mind waiting for three or five years. If he’s in a hurry to find someone to produce an heir, then he is indeed in a hurry.”

“He made a mistake. Don’t keep nagging him about it; he’ll think you’ve forgiven him. Ignore him and let him reflect on where he went wrong himself.”

“There are plenty of male and female cultivators in the world. The next one will be even better.”

Every time after Shen Bingsi spouted his nonsense, the disciples would look enlightened, thanking him profusely for his “valuable advice” before leaving. Rong Xie, watching from the side, couldn’t help but frown.

“Is it really okay for you to just advise others on their love lives like that?” Rong Xie said with disapproval. “You used to think people in love were idiots, and now you’re guiding them.”

“Precisely because they are idiots, they need me to guide them.” Shen Bingsi felt a great sense of accomplishment in this matter, speaking with pride.

Rong Xie glanced at him. “You really think you’re some relationship expert. If they knew you were actually cultivating the Ruthless Path and that your romantic experience is basically a blank slate, I wonder how they’d call you a fraud.”

“How am I a fraud? This is ‘the observer sees clearly.’ Besides, romantic experience is about quality, not quantity. Just look at me—I got it right on the first try…” Shen Bingsi started coughing.

Rong Xie looked at him with worry.

“It’s nothing.” Shen Bingsi waved it off, crumpling the handkerchief in his hand and stuffing it into his sleeve.

“Your backlash is getting worse.” Rong Xie sighed.

In the morning, while combing Shen Bingsi’s hair, Rong Xie found that nearly half of it had turned white, and there were noticeable wrinkles on his forehead. While a more haggard Shen Bingsi had a unique charm, Rong Xie, who knew exactly what these physical changes represented, couldn’t feel happy at all.

Lately, Rong Xie had been taking Shen Bingsi to see Elder Red every morning to have him check the backlash. Elder Red remained very calm, sticking to his theory—that the backlash was normal as long as Shen Bingsi didn’t abandon his erroneous thoughts.

“Then what do we do next?” Rong Xie asked.

“Continue imitating,” Elder Red said. “Aren’t you two doing quite well?”

Rong Xie gritted his teeth. “But the situation hasn’t improved…”

“That’s because he hasn’t fundamentally cast aside his Ruthless Path,” Elder Red shook his head. “Imitation isn’t just about the external; it’s about the internal experience.”

Thus, another morning meeting ended without results.

Before every meeting ended, Elder Red would ask Shen Bingsi: “What exactly is it that you can’t let go of?”

At first, Shen Bingsi would argue that he had nothing he couldn’t let go of—that he desperately wanted to let go, and that he had already blended in with the Acacia disciples.

Elder Red would then look at him with a face full of regret, like he was looking at someone terminally ill, and sigh while shaking his head.

After a few times like this, Shen Bingsi didn’t know how to answer anymore and remained silent.

Elder Red’s question seemed to have a brainwashing effect. Later, when Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi were alone, Rong Xie would imitate Elder Red’s tone and ask: “What exactly is it that you can’t let go of?” Shen Bingsi would then pinch the back of Rong Xie’s neck and answer with a deep voice: “I’ll go join a monastery right now, and let’s see if you cry.”

“What would I have to cry about?” Rong Xie struggled to escape Shen Bingsi’s hold. “Shaving your head would at least save you from worrying about white hair.”

“You like bald heads?” Shen Bingsi whispered a few unspeakable words into Rong Xie’s ear, and Rong Xie’s thin skin immediately turned red. As expected, Shen Bingsi started coughing again.

Life in the Acacia Sect was very comfortable, but Rong Xie couldn’t bring himself to be happy. Watching Shen Bingsi’s state weaken day by day, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He had tried everything—persuasion, scolding, different methods—but Shen Bingsi still didn’t improve.

One day, the communication stone that had been quiet for so long it was almost forgotten began to vibrate.

The person contacting him was Captain Zhao. Captain Zhao excitedly told him that they had found the Acacia Sect’s headquarters in Liujin City, though they were still scouting the specific location.

Rong Xie had forgotten about this. Back when they were at the Xuantian Sect, Rong Xie had asked Captain Zhao to help find the Acacia Sect headquarters. After the series of events that followed, Rong Xie had forgotten to inform Captain Zhao that they had already found it. Receiving the news today reminded him.

Rong Xie hurried to apologize to Captain Zhao, saying they had already found the headquarters.

“You found it? As expected of Fellow Daoist Rong!” Captain Zhao’s loud voice boomed from the stone. “We happen to be in Liujin City as well. Why don’t we come out and meet up?”

Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi for his opinion. Shen Bingsi nodded, and Rong Xie agreed to meet Captain Zhao.

Naturally, requesting leave from Elder Red took some effort. The location of the Acacia Sect headquarters was secret and protected by multiple layers of barriers. For people who weren’t part of the sect like Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi to leave, they had to sign a secrecy oath and obtain Elder Red’s permission.

After the procedure was completed, Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi arrived at the agreed location and met Captain Zhao and Ling Long.

Because of Shen Bingsi’s condition, Rong Xie didn’t want too many people to know, so he only invited Captain Zhao and Ling Long and warned them beforehand. Even so, when the two saw Shen Bingsi, they were still greatly startled.

Shen Bingsi’s hair was almost entirely white, and he looked twenty years older—instantly transforming from a sharp young man into a sharp middle-aged man. The feeling was very strange. In Ling Long’s words, if Rong Xie introduced him as Shen Bingsi’s long-lost father, they would believe it.

“…” Ling Long’s way of thinking was indeed unique. Rong Xie wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t.

Realizing the atmosphere was heavy, Captain Zhao shifted the topic to recent rumors in the martial world.

“Do you know what happened to that Arbiter who took over Sword Saint Shen’s position?” Captain Zhao laughed. “His reputation wasn’t good when he was in office. Recently, he was injured in the eye by a demon and can no longer work for the Mirror Palace. But he refuses to resign from his position. I hear the Mirror Palace is at its wits’ end and has sent Big Brother Jiang whenever demons appear.”

Captain Zhao had met the head of the three Great Arbiters during the Lu family case and had followed Shen Bingsi’s lead in calling him “Big Brother Jiang.” There was a bit of schadenfreude in his tone, as Shang Qian was a high-profile person whose antics after taking office were well-known to Captain Zhao. Knowing that Rong and Shen had been severely bullied by Shang Qian at the Xuantian Sect, he told the story of Shang Qian’s bad luck as a joke.

Rong Xie smiled slightly. He knew Shang Qian wouldn’t have a good end. However, he no longer cared whether Shang Qian was blind or deaf.

Shen Bingsi, however, listened exceptionally intently, asking repeatedly: “What kind of demon injured Shang Qian? How badly was he hurt that even the medical cultivators of the Xuantian Sect couldn’t cure him? Is the demon’s whereabouts known?”

Captain Zhao was stunned by the questions. “This… I don’t know. I only heard the rumors.”

Shen Bingsi thought for a moment and asked: “You said Big Brother Jiang was sent wherever demons appeared—have demons appeared somewhere else? How do you know it was Big Brother Jiang who went?”

Captain Zhao said that one night after they left Shengjing, they happened to see Big Brother Jiang entering the city in a hurry. Big Brother Jiang asked them about the situation in Shengjing, and that was how Captain Zhao knew Big Brother Jiang was there to catch a demon. However, Big Brother Jiang didn’t reveal specifics about the demon.

“I see.” Shen Bingsi nodded.

Rong Xie nudged Shen Bingsi, telling him not to think about these irrelevant things. If the sky fell, the Mirror Palace would be there to hold it up. His main priority now was “letting go.”

Speaking of “letting go,” Captain Zhao and Ling Long curiously asked for more details. Rong Xie hoped they could help persuade Shen Bingsi, so he asked them to share examples of how beautiful true love in the world could be, hoping to inspire Shen Bingsi.

Captain Zhao and Ling Long gave awkward laughs. They both knew how skilled Shen Bingsi was at mocking young couples. Not wanting to invite humiliation, they steered the topic elsewhere.

Somehow, the conversation drifted toward Lu Yingqi and Xiao Zhi.

Lu Yingqi killing his wife to prove his Path, reaching sudden enlightenment, and breaking through to the late stage of the Integration Realm—only to be triggered later and go mad—this story had already spread throughout the cultivation world. In the martial world, the details were described as if they were divine, even detailing how the Sect Master sighed and couldn’t sleep at night, and how Elder Bai spat blood and nearly had his Dao heart shatter.

Captain Zhao and Ling Long hadn’t seen it themselves, but they knew Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi were there. Being full of curiosity, they had been holding back their questions.

However, after seeing Shen Bingsi in this state and Rong Xie’s lack of interest, they had refrained from mentioning it—until the conversation uncontrollably drifted to Lu Yingqi and Xiao Zhi. Captain Zhao sighed: “Cultivator Lu didn’t seem like that kind of person. For Xiao Zhi’s sake, he even exposed his own family’s scandals. How could he use Xiao Zhi to prove his Path? Alas, I was just beginning to believe that true love and true feelings existed in the world…”

Ling Long elbowed Captain Zhao, signaling him to stop babbling.

“What I mean is,” Captain Zhao quickly pulled back, “the Ruthless Path is deadly! Sword Saint Shen, you must never follow in Lu Yingqi’s footsteps. A perfectly good person can turn around and strike at their beloved just because they cultivate the Ruthless Path—how is that different from a demon?”

In his passionate speech, Captain Zhao slammed the table, only to find the surroundings had fallen silent. Everyone in the restaurant was looking their way.

Fortunately, those dining were mostly ordinary people without cultivation, so they just looked for a moment before turning back. Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie, who had taken those words to heart, both looked quite upset. Realizing he had misspoken, Captain Zhao apologized repeatedly.

“The Ruthless Path isn’t that bad; the Heavenly Dao needs ruthless executors,” Shen Bingsi sighed. “While I don’t agree with those extreme methods, sometimes…”

Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi. Though he didn’t finish the sentence, Rong Xie could guess what “sometimes” meant, as he had already seen it demonstrated in the predictive dream.

The two had no interest in further idle chat until the meal was finished.

Translator’s Note:

• “Next one will be even better”: Shen Bingsi has clearly internalized the “Acacia Sect” break-up culture. He’s accidentally become a relationship guru for a cult he’s only half-imitating!
• Big Brother Jiang (Jiang Dage): This refers to the most senior Arbiter. His reappearance in the dialogue suggests the “demon” situation in the outside world is escalating.
• Captain Zhao’s slip-up: Comparing Shen Bingsi to Lu Yingqi is the worst possible thing he could have said. It highlights the very fate Rong Xie is trying to avoid.

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