Chapter 30: Clearing Rumors
In the end, Cui Xingmiao left on her own.
Her soul-lost silhouette remained in Rong Xie’s memory; even after some time had passed, he could still see it when he closed his eyes.
A massive crater was left in front of Huanxue Villa. A long sword mark dragged from the bottom of the steps to the edge of the crater. The ranch fence near that side had been blasted crooked, with frightened little black sheep and spirit deer huddled at the other end.
When Shen Yan and the other two returned, they thought Huanxue Villa had been attacked. They all pulled out their newly bought magical artifacts, ready for battle, until Shen Bingsi’s voice drifted out from the villa, drilling straight into their ears:
“Stop making a fuss. Repair the ground in front of the gate before you come in.”
The three looked at each other. The Great Villa Master was back, and the good days were over.
As expected of the Great Villa Master—assigning work the moment he returns, and such a large area at that… Wait, this smoothly cut trace, could this be the legendary Sword Qi?
Inside the study.
Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie sat by the desk, on which lay a black Shadow Stone.
“…So, you not only recorded the medical advice back then but also recorded Cui Xingmiao’s private words?” Rong Xie asked.
“I didn’t intend to record her private words. I just infused too much spiritual power and forgot to take it back, so it kept recording until she left,” Shen Bingsi explained.
“That habit of yours is quite terrifying,” Rong Xie commented.
After Shen Bingsi’s explanation, Rong Xie finally understood how the matter that only two people knew about reached a third person’s ears—it was transmitted directly.
If a culprit had to be found, it was Shen Bingsi’s surplus spiritual power and his bad habit of leaving things lying around.
“No Shadow Stones allowed in the bedroom from now on,” Rong Xie decided.
Shen Bingsi was in the wrong on this one, so he accepted the penalty. The rule of the villa had always been: Rong Xie decides, and he obeys.
However, he didn’t regret watching the recording in the Shadow Stone one bit.
“Are you really not going to interact with Cui Xingmiao anymore?” Rong Xie asked.
Today, Shen Bingsi and Cui Xingmiao had completely fallen out. Although Cui Xingmiao didn’t say anything when she left, she definitely hated Shen Bingsi to death in her heart. Who knew how she might retaliate in the future?
Cui Xingmiao was the kind of girl who appeared lively and elfin on the surface, but her true nature was intense and fierce. She would use any means necessary to get what she wanted. Her obsession with Shen Bingsi ran deep. Now that Shen Bingsi had thoroughly offended her, would she make good on those ruthless words she once spoke? Rong Xie was somewhat worried.
“What do you think I carved into the ground?” Shen Bingsi sounded irritated at the mention of Cui Xingmiao. “That sword energy is ‘Unseen Sword Qi.’ As long as Cui Xingmiao appears within ten feet of me, it will slash down, just like today.”
“…” Rong Xie recalled the corresponding paragraph from his distant Swordsmanship textbook. He hadn’t reached the Foundation Establishment stage and didn’t have a deep understanding of swordsmanship. He never expected that the “Unseen Sword Qi,” which appeared as supplementary content, would actually be used by Shen Bingsi. “Ah, that’s the one… during class, we discussed that it was very suitable for use on enemies.”
Unseen Sword Qi could identify the opponent’s spiritual body. No matter how the opponent disguised themselves, as long as they got close, that sword would slash down without mercy.
That was why the inner sect classmates had discussed that it was suitable for enemies who wouldn’t stop pestering you.
Now, Shen Bingsi had used Unseen Sword Qi on Cui Xingmiao.
His determination to sever ties with her was evident.
“Do you really have to go this far? Didn’t you say you’ve known each other for many years, and she showed you great kindness in the past?” Rong Xie asked. This was also something he had just heard…
“Yes, but she crossed my bottom line.” Shen Bingsi’s face darkened.
Rong Xie’s heart sank as well.
He forced a smile. “It’s not that serious, right? She likes you; that’s not some unforgivable crime. Besides, when she told me, she never intended for you to know. You only found out by accident. The Shadow Stone… wasn’t something she invited you to watch either.”
“No, it’s not just that…” Shen Bingsi frowned, seemingly feeling disgusted even recalling it. “What did she say? She said she wanted to ruin my Daoist Heart. Just because she likes me, she wants to ruin my Daoist Heart. Even if my Daoist Heart shatters and my realm plummets, it doesn’t matter. As long as her affection is satisfied, it doesn’t matter what happens to me. Such sinister intentions are no different from a mortal enemy. How could I allow her to continue appearing around me?”
“Hmm… that seems to make sense.” Rong Xie muttered to himself, though something felt off.
“Foolish men and resentful women in this world are all like this. Once infected with the disease of ‘like’ or ‘love,’ they lose their reason, becoming both stupid and poisonous. The things they do are even more wicked than demonic cultivators. Yet when these things reach the ears of people equally poisoned by stupidity, it becomes ‘daring to love and hate.’ Ridiculous. If you ask me, these stupid, poisoned people should be driven away just like expelling evil heretics. Without them, the world would have more peaceful days.” Shen Bingsi wore a look of mockery, his words harsh to the extreme.
Rong Xie knew this was exactly how he thought. He had thought this way even before cultivating the Ruthless Path.
Rong Xie couldn’t persuade him on this matter. It was precisely this conviction that allowed Shen Bingsi to walk so far on the path of severing emotion and love. This belief was deeply rooted, growing into a tree that blotted out the sky in his heart; it wasn’t something that could be shaken by a sentence or two.
It seemed Cui Xingmiao really had no chance.
Some divergence points in destiny had already appeared. Would the future still develop as written in the Book of Fate?
At the very least, Cui Xingmiao, the number one female confidante, would find it hard to return to her original position.
…Then what about him?
Could he continue his plan of ‘mind your own business,’ safely serving as Shen Bingsi’s steward all the way to the grand finale?
“However, Rong’er, I didn’t expect you to answer so insightfully. As expected of my closest friend, even I couldn’t have answered better.” Shen Bingsi’s brow smoothed out. When he turned to Rong Xie, his expression held only praise.
Rong Xie had forgotten what he had answered. It seemed he had just advised Cui Xingmiao to look on the bright side. Fortunately, he hadn’t spoken his true feelings at that time, otherwise, he would have been rolling out the door alongside Cui Xingmiao today.
A difference in a single thought, leading to eternal damnation.
The terrifying feeling of having his bones removed returned. Even sitting in the armchair, Rong Xie’s body couldn’t stop sliding down.
“…Rong’er, why do you look so pale?” Shen Bingsi stopped talking and looked at Rong Xie with concern, his hand reaching out to check his pulse.
Rong Xie immediately pulled back his arm resting on the table and hid it behind his back, forcing calmness. “No, nothing. You must be seeing things.”
Shen Bingsi’s hand stopped in mid-air.
This was the second time today he had grasped empty air.
“I have my own ways to repay her kindness; you don’t need to worry about that. But she offended you repeatedly—why didn’t you tell me?” Shen Bingsi asked. “It was like that the other day too. After she left, you lay in bed all afternoon. You really are… stupid.”
By the last sentence, Shen Bingsi was almost gritting his teeth.
“…I was just sleepy.” Rong Xie didn’t know what to say. He was still worrying in his heart: if his own secrets were exposed, and Shen Bingsi told him to pack up and get out, where would he go?
At least Cui Xingmiao wouldn’t die without Shen Bingsi; she had a family that loved and protected her to return to. He, on the other hand, had nothing… Wait, he wasn’t entirely destitute. He had Nanny Wang and Wang Mu, who was connected to him by blood (if you broke the bones). Heh.
Rong Xie almost amused himself.
Shen Bingsi didn’t know what Rong Xie was thinking, but seeing his brow relax and even a hint of a smile appear, he knew Rong Xie had comforted himself again, so he stopped mentioning the annoying matter of Cui Xingmiao.
Shen Bingsi dropped it, but Rong Xie brought it up.
“By the way… the rumors about you and Cui Xingmiao are spreading everywhere now. People in Welcome Town are even talking about it. I don’t think letting them talk is a solution; we must invite an authoritative figure to clarify things.” Rong Xie said seriously.
Shen Bingsi suddenly remembered. He seemed to have rushed back precisely for this matter. There was a room full of jianghu friends offering him strategies whom he had left behind at a relay station a hundred miles away.
“Do you have a good idea?” Shen Bingsi sat up straight immediately.
“Ask Old Sect Master Xue to clarify.” Rong Xie said.
Shen Bingsi frowned and didn’t agree immediately.
“Isn’t that making a mountain out of a molehill? The Old Sect Master is currently in secluded cultivation. Unless the sky is falling, we can’t force him out.” Shen Bingsi said.
“This is a sky-falling event. It concerns the reputation of the Spirit Mirror Sect’s Ruthless Path. The sooner it’s clarified, the better. Tonight, go to the Immortal Worship Platform on the main peak and kneel to request the Old Sect Master to exit seclusion. We need to release the clarification by tomorrow morning. Clarifying is simple: just let the Old Sect Master test if your cultivation base has diminished.”
Rong Xie thought for a moment and laid out a watertight plan.
Shen Bingsi pondered for a moment, then slapped the table. “Good, we’ll do as you say.”
That night, Shen Bingsi went up to the main peak.
The next day, a large number of people from all walks of life poured into Welcome Town, surrounding a petitioning team composed of young cultivators of the Ruthless Path as they ascended the heavenly ladder, heading straight for the main peak.
The slogan of this petitioning team was to purge the chaos in the cultivation world, punish the scum within the Ruthless Path, and restore the Spirit Mirror Sect’s pure name.
The slogan was loud, and there were many supporters. If the Spirit Mirror Sect ignored it, the momentum would likely build up even more, tempting forces long suppressed by the three major sects to make a move, which would be even harder to resolve.
Just as the situation became anxious, Old Sect Master Xue, who had been in seclusion, suddenly spoke up. He ordered the guards to open the Mountain Protection Formation and invite the petitioning team up to the main peak. He wanted to see them personally.
The dialogue on the Spirit Mirror Sect’s main peak Immortal Worship Platform that day spread throughout the cultivation world word for word, extremely fast. The content was so detailed that it surpassed the rumors about Shen Bingsi and Cui Xingmiao.
The petitioning team asked Old Sect Master Xue to punish the scum in the Ruthless Path and vindicate their name.
Old Sect Master Xue asked who the scum was.
The petitioning team hinted at a certain young cultivator holding the position of Adjudicator.
Old Sect Master Xue asked for proof.
The petitioning team cited the recent rampant rumors.
Old Sect Master Xue asked: If rumors could determine guilt, what do we need the Heavenly Mirror for?
The petitioning team hemmed and hawed.
Old Sect Master Xue pulled Shen Bingsi out by the hand, stating that he had personally tested him. Shen Bingsi’s cultivation not only hadn’t diminished but had increased significantly since the last time. Judging by cultivation level alone, Shen Bingsi was the model of the Ruthless Path. The ones present were the true scum of the Ruthless Path—hearing the wind blow and the grass rustle, then coming to ostracize a fellow cultivator, as if dragging him down would allow them to ascend to the position of Adjudicator.
Before ascending to the position of Sect Master, Old Sect Master Xue was known for his fiery temper. Having his seclusion interrupted for no reason just to listen to these nobodies spread slander made him furious. He grabbed the petitioning team and scolded them for an entire afternoon, not letting them leave until dark. He also forbade any inn, on the mountain or below it, from hosting them.
It was heard that several members of the petitioning team fell and injured themselves while descending the heavenly ladder. Others, though they returned safely to their sects, shut themselves indoors, afraid of light and loud voices, suffering from stress for over half a month before recovering.
In the following days, various sects received the “Xue Baoshan’s Ten Responses to the Petitioning Team,” officially sent by the Spirit Mirror Sect. After reading it carefully as required, they wrote reading receipts of corresponding lengths and sent them back to the Spirit Mirror Sect. Only then was the matter considered settled.
Privately, Old Sect Master Xue praised Shen Bingsi for his decisiveness. The intervention was timely, and the resolution was beautiful. He told other elders to learn from him. However, Shen Bingsi voluntarily revealed that the person who made the clarification plan wasn’t him, but Rong Xie.
“Rong Xie?” Old Sect Master Xue was blank. Reminded by others, he realized it was Shen Bingsi’s friend, a former inner sect disciple with limited aptitude who now worked at Huanxue Villa. “He’s a talent, pity about the aptitude…”
After that, Rong Xie was not mentioned again.
The cultivation world was just such a place: the strong were revered, and everything spoke through the strength of cultivation.
Shen Bingsi had long adapted to such laws; in fact, he was the one who had adapted best.
However, in this celebratory setting after victory, he only wanted to smash all of this.
While the main peak was joyous and harmonious, Rong Xie wasn’t idle either.
He seriously pondered the question of where he should go after being kicked out.
Although thinking about that scenario felt miserable, avoiding it would only make the actual event even more miserable.
Rong Xie thought in circles but couldn’t come up with a good idea.
He called Shen Yan and the others to ask, but they didn’t know of any good places outside Shen Family Villa either.
Shen Yan had drifted around as a child, so the only experience he could offer was begging along the streets. The more Rong Xie listened, the more miserable it sounded, firming his resolve to prepare early.
“Shen Yan and the others have limited sources of information. It’s better to go to Welcome Town. It’s a mix of dragons and snakes; maybe I can find useful news there,” Rong Xie thought.
Suddenly, a name popped up. “Right, Wang Mu!”
In clarifying the rumors this time, the news Wang Mu gathered played a crucial role. Rong Xie had previously promised to treat him to a meal to thank him. Now it seemed this meal had to be put on the schedule.
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