Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 179

Chapter 179: Stage Two

Rong Xie was initially worried that they were being too aggressive, but seeing Shen Bingsi so certain, he set his heart at ease and threw himself fully into cooperating with him.

The process was still very enjoyable, though Shen Bingsi’s insistence on not taking off his clothes made Rong Xie feel slightly uncomfortable. Moreover, this meant they couldn’t actually practice cultivation.

“We aren’t cultivating this time,” Shen Bingsi said.

“Not cultivating? Isn’t that a waste…” Rong Xie reacted instinctively.

Shen Bingsi smiled and continued to kiss him. “We’re doing this just for fun, not for cultivation.”

Rong Xie was stunned. His cheeks flushed as he lowered his head and hugged Shen Bingsi’s shoulders even tighter.

He still wasn’t quite used to it—this Shen Bingsi who could let go so decisively.

An hour later, after their hearty revelry, the two lay together, head to head.

During this peaceful moment, sunlight streamed in through the large south-facing window, the warm rays creeping up to the foot of the bed.

Rong Xie watched the tiny dust motes floating in the sunlight, feeling deeply satisfied. He even wished that time would stop right here.

The person beside him suddenly shifted and took a light, sharp breath.

Rong Xie knew that Shen Bingsi only inhaled like that when he was in extreme pain. His heart immediately tightened. “What’s wrong? Is it the backlash again?”

“A little,” Shen Bingsi said curtly.

“Should we go find Elder Red?” Rong Xie reached out to touch Shen Bingsi’s arm, but Shen Bingsi dodged him.

“Right now?” Shen Bingsi chuckled. “I’m afraid it might be a bit troublesome… Let’s go in the afternoon.”

Rong Xie understood what he meant by “troublesome.” Elder Red was, after all, the Sect Leader of the Hehuan Sect. If Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie went over in their current state, they would definitely be bombarded with questions they didn’t want to answer.

“Alright,” Rong Xie asked again. “Is the backlash still very severe?”

“…A little,” Shen Bingsi admitted.

Rong Xie knew that Shen Bingsi must be feeling terrible; otherwise, he wouldn’t have admitted it directly. With his iron will, if it were bearable, he would have definitely said, “It’s nothing.”

Rong Xie sat up in bed, propping one hand beside the pillow as he carefully observed Shen Bingsi’s complexion and touched his forehead.

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Shen Bingsi’s state was better than Rong Xie had imagined. Although his entirely white hair was a bit jarring, he actually looked younger than before. Rong Xie wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion.

When faced with something one cannot change, one always hopes for signs of improvement, even if they aren’t real.

“Maybe this is an effective method,” Rong Xie gently stroked Shen Bingsi’s hair. “You look much better.”

Shen Bingsi’s eyelids were half-closed, appearing very exhausted. “Is that so…”

“You must be tired. Get some rest.” Rong Xie pulled the quilt up, tucking him in tightly. He then kissed him on the cheek and hopped off the bed to take a bath in a cheerful mood.

Shen Bingsi slept until the afternoon. When he woke up, his spirit had recovered somewhat, but he still frowned frequently. Rong Xie prepared hot water for him to bathe, but Shen Bingsi refused his help. Thus, Rong Xie went downstairs to wander in the courtyard alone.

After walking around for a bit, Rong Xie coincidentally ran into Lu Yinglin again. Because of Shen Bingsi’s improved condition, Rong Xie was in high spirits and couldn’t resist teasing Lu Yinglin, saying that the effect of the medicine he gave was just average and hadn’t even reached the mean level.

Lu Yinglin rubbed his nose and smiled. “Oh? It seems the ‘average level’ is quite impressive then.”

“…” Rong Xie realized he had said something rather suggestive and immediately shut his mouth, silently condemning himself for losing his head out of joy.

“However, he is currently suffering from backlash and his body is weak. It’s normal not to reach the average level,” Lu Yinglin insisted on pursuing the topic. He then looked behind Rong Xie as if only just noticing he was alone. “But why isn’t your shadow following you today? Is the sun not bright enough?”

“He has things to do.” For some reason, Rong Xie just didn’t want to tell Lu Yinglin that Shen Bingsi was tired.

“I see. It seems he’s recovering well. But you still need to keep a close eye on him. His body is depleted; it’s not like the old days,” Lu Yinglin hinted.

Unfortunately, Lu Yinglin was rarely serious, and Rong Xie misinterpreted this sentence again, thinking he was making fun of the two of them.

“He’s still better than you,” Rong Xie blurted out. After speaking, he immediately clamped his mouth shut. Lu Yinglin slowly raised an eyebrow, and Rong Xie turned to leave.

From behind him came Lu Yinglin’s playful voice: “How would you know? It’s not like you’ve tried. I don’t mind, though. You’re welcome to come and verify anytime.”

Rong Xie crouched at the top of the stairs, cursing his bad luck.

“I must be an idiot to discuss medicinal effects with Lu Yinglin…”

Rong Xie felt awkward for a while before realizing there was no sound of water from upstairs.

He listened closely. Not only was there no sound of water, but there was no sound at all, as if there was no one upstairs.

The excessive silence made Rong Xie worry. He called out while heading up: “Bingsi? Are you done washing? I’m coming up.”

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Stepping onto the second floor, the first thing he saw was a large pool of blood on the floor. A few steps away was another small puddle, leading in a trail of droplets all the way to the bathtub. There seemed to be someone inside the tub.

Rong Xie’s heart thrashed. A wave of nausea surged from deep within his chest. His limbs went numb as he stumbled through the blood on the floor, frantically reaching the bathtub. He saw Shen Bingsi sitting inside with his eyes tightly shut. Shen Bingsi’s clothes were half-off, exposing his pale upper body—which, aside from being bloodless, looked just as healthy as before.

“Bingsi… Bingsi?” Rong Xie leaned closer and called in a low voice.

Shen Bingsi gave a soft “mm,” frowning. He didn’t speak, clearly in too much pain to do so.

Rong Xie breathed a sigh of relief. Shen Bingsi was still alive and conscious. He reached out to check his pulse and asked if he could move. Shen Bingsi nodded weakly.

Rong Xie quickly stepped into the bathtub, pulled Shen Bingsi out, and used a large towel from the rack to dry him. He stripped off the wet clothes and dried him again before carefully laying him on the bed. During the process, he nearly slipped on the blood on the floor.

After cleaning up the mess on the second floor in such a disheveled state, Rong Xie finally relaxed slightly, sitting by the bed and gently stroking Shen Bingsi’s head.

Rong Xie comforted himself. At least there were no obvious signs of aging on Shen Bingsi. Perhaps coughing up blood was just a necessary part of switching to another Path.

No matter what, he couldn’t panic now.

Shen Bingsi rested for an hour.

Rong Xie asked Anan-gu to prepare an afternoon meal: a small pot of mushroom porridge, a large bowl of mushroom chicken soup, and a bowl of braised rice.

Shen Bingsi was woken up by the aroma. When he opened his eyes, Rong Xie was using a talisman to keep the food warm. Seeing him awake, Rong Xie removed the talisman and brought the porridge, soup, and rice to the bedside, asking if he wanted to eat.

“I want to eat,” Shen Bingsi nodded.

“Can you?” Rong Xie asked. “Will it make you uncomfortable?”

“Eating… is fine,” Shen Bingsi said feebly.

Shen Bingsi needed strength, and his shattered Dantian and meridians could no longer provide it. At this time, he could only rely on food for energy like an ordinary person.

With Rong Xie’s help, Shen Bingsi sat up and leaned against the headboard. Rong Xie fed him some chicken soup with a silver spoon. Shen Bingsi felt a warmth spread through his body. “I feel much better. I’ll do it myself.”

Rong Xie handed him the spoon. He even took the bowl, gulping down the hot chicken soup like wine until it was completely empty.

“What is that rice?” Shen Bingsi looked at the rice bowl with its lid slightly ajar.

“It’s braised rice with oil-steeped termites and diced meat—a local specialty. It’s a bit spicy, though. Can you eat it?” Rong Xie had originally prepared this bowl for himself, worrying that Shen Bingsi wouldn’t be able to eat stimulating food after vomiting blood.

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“Of course. My stomach is fine. That blood was just from meridian reversal,” Shen Bingsi explained. He took the braised rice, and a pungent aroma hit his nose. Shen Bingsi’s eyes lit up as he began to eat heartily.

“Slow down, eat slowly,” Rong Xie watched Shen Bingsi’s appetite return, feeling a bit relieved.

“I can’t eat anymore.” Halfway through, Shen Bingsi put down the bowl, kicked off the covers, and prepared to get out of bed.

“Wait,” Rong Xie held him down. “Where are you going?”

“To find that damn Elder Red,” Shen Bingsi said, rubbing his stomach. “Besides, I’m a bit full. I want to move around.”

Rong Xie also really wanted to know what was going on with Shen Bingsi. “I’ll go with you.”

“You haven’t eaten yet.” Shen Bingsi looked at the food Rong Xie had brought.

“I’m not hungry. It doesn’t matter when I eat this.” Rong Xie stood up, set the food aside, applied a warming talisman, then turned and walked across the clean floor to get new undergarments and an outer robe for Shen Bingsi.

As Rong Xie helped him change, he observed Shen Bingsi’s condition. Perhaps because he had just finished the hot chicken soup, Shen Bingsi’s cheeks were flushed, and his skin was no longer as pale as it had been in the afternoon. In fact, he seemed to look even younger than before. Rong Xie was even more unsure of his current state.

Asking Elder Red was definitely the best option.

The setting sun filtered through the bamboo forest, casting a brilliant glow over the path.

As they walked through it, Rong Xie felt that such magnificent scenery was a positive omen. They were likely to hear good news from Elder Red—if that were the case, Rong Xie wouldn’t mind becoming a vegetarian and worshipping a few gods from now on.

Finally, they arrived at Elder Red’s small building, and Elder Red happened to be there.

After briefly explaining their purpose, Elder Red kept Shen Bingsi alone to check his condition, while Rong Xie waited outside.

This wait lasted until nightfall.

Rong Xie stared at the window on the second floor, which emitted a warm yellow light.

He really wanted to use an Eavesdropping Ear to listen, but Elder Red was unlike others and would likely detect it. At this critical juncture, Shen Bingsi’s future rested on Elder Red; Rong Xie didn’t dare provoke him.

After waiting for two hours, the moon rose.

The door on the second floor creaked open. The light from inside spilled out, illuminating the balcony. Shen Bingsi’s figure appeared, and he walked down the stairs with a light step.

Rong Xie immediately rushed up and grabbed his hand. “How is it?”

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Shen Bingsi’s hand was a bit cold, and his expression was solemn—not at all as lighthearted as Rong Xie had imagined.

“Elder Red said our imitation was very successful,” Shen Bingsi said. “We can move on to the second stage.”

Rong Xie’s spirit rose. “What is the second stage?”

“A method that requires solitary seclusion,” Shen Bingsi took a deep breath. “So, I might need to leave for a while to find a place for seclusion.”

“What?” Rong Xie immediately grew tense. “Can’t you do it in our bamboo building? I won’t disturb you. You always need someone to protect your Dharma, right?” For some reason, Rong Xie instinctively distrusted Elder Red’s mantra. The thought of Shen Bingsi practicing a mantra completely different from the Ruthless Path all by himself was hard to accept.

“I will return safe and sound.” Shen Bingsi cupped Rong Xie’s hands in his. Under the moonlight, his eyes were like obsidian soaked in an icy river, shining brightly as he looked at Rong Xie. He seemed to have returned to the time when he had just taken office as the Disciplinary Officer, full of vigor. He squeezed Rong Xie’s hand. “Wait for me.”