Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 33

Chapter 33: Night Life

“Yes, it is outside,” Shen Bingsi nodded. “Do you want to switch to the inside?”

Rong Xie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Shen Bingsi was always particularly obtuse when it came to normal people’s sense of shame.

“Oh, you mean ‘outside’ the house,” he finally understood, then asked back, “Does that mean we don’t cultivate when we’re away?”

Rong Xie paused, his ears burning again. “We… still have to cultivate when we’re away?”

Rong Xie thought this trip was for relaxation. having just gone through the rumor incident, even for someone like Shen Bingsi who ignored others’ opinions, it was a significant loss. His spirit must have been tense for a while and needed to relax.

For Rong Xie, this was even more true.

One could say that finding a place to settle down was part of the reason he agreed to come, and escaping intimate contact with Shen Bingsi was the other part. The Palm-Leaf Manuscripts were just an excuse.

He hadn’t expected that he had thought things too simply.

“Of course. Cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you do not advance, you will retreat,” Shen Bingsi said.

Saying this, he took Rong Xie’s hand and led him toward the outer courtyard. “You’re done packing, right? With such nice weather, we should be strolling on the streets outside. Stop cleaning up, let’s go!”

Rong Xie was still fretting over how to handle sleeping tonight when he was pulled along by Shen Bingsi. Unknowingly, they walked out onto the street, and by the time he came to his senses, he was surrounded by the bustling streetscape of Shengjing.

He had always thought he detested crowds, but standing in the middle of the main avenue that connected the five provinces, surrounded by the flow of people and filled with the sounds of laughter and joy, with the warm sunlight spilling over him, he didn’t feel any disgust at all.

Instead, there was a bit of joy.

He felt Shen Bingsi’s hand pinching his hand through his sleeve, guiding him in a direction. He looked up and saw Shen Bingsi working hard to part the crowd.

Rong Xie followed behind Shen Bingsi, crossing the crowded street like crossing a river, reaching the other side of the avenue, and entering a small alley.

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Shen Bingsi was very familiar with Shengjing, weaving freely through the backstreets and alleys. Rong Xie let himself be pulled along, looking up at the small two-story buildings on both sides of the alley that almost touched. The sunlight was blocked by wine flags, signboards, and windowsills filled with various flowers and utensils, allowing only a ray or two to fall through.

Sometimes, they had to bend down to pass those low windowsills. Sometimes, they would turn into a more orderly and wide lane, where weaving willows obscured someone’s vermilion gates, the bluestone slabs on the ground were swept spotless, and the faint sound of reading could be heard from within the walls.

“We’re here!”

Shen Bingsi slowed his pace.

Walking out of the alley entrance, the view opened up.

Rong Xie first saw a stretch of white stone railings extending along the street. This street seemed particularly wide, and there were corresponding white stone railings on the opposite side… By the time he realized what it was, he saw the flowing water beneath the railings and two ancient clerical script characters carved on the white stone arch bridge: Cuyu (Cluster of Jade).

Eight major rivers surrounded Shengjing. Cuyu was merely a branch of one of them, but because it ran through the capital, it became the most famous one. The river water was like fine field jade. On sunny days, looking down from the railings, one could see strands of emerald green like jade textures. Against the white stone river channel and railings, it displayed the capital’s nobility and was breathtakingly beautiful.

It wasn’t Rong Xie’s first time in Shengjing; he had certainly toured this river before. Just looking at it wasn’t anything novel.

What Shen Bingsi wanted him to experience was the newly opened boat tour on the Cuyu River. Because the price was exorbitant, it kept away a large crowd of onlookers. The nobles in the capital disdained such public activities, so currently, there were several empty boats docked at the pier, with only one swaying in the middle of the river.

“This boat is nice. I’ve been thinking about it since I saw it last time. I heard that one trip lets you see most of the scenery in the south of the city. We can get off at Guangji Temple in the southeast corner and then take a carriage back.”

Not just anyone could ride a carriage in the capital; many roads prohibited horses and carriages. This showed just how expensive this activity was.

Rong Xie felt this was likely a project designed specifically to fleece wealthy merchants from out of town. After all, the expenses in the Imperial Palace were vast, and they needed to generate revenue. Fleecing the common people wasn’t as good as fleecing wealthy outsiders.

Rong Xie really wanted to ask Shen Bingsi to just give him the cash equivalent, and then they could just take a walk by the river and be done with it. But Shen Bingsi’s expression was like a little black sheep waiting for feed, staring constantly with watery black eyes. Rong Xie couldn’t bear to refuse him.

“Alright,” he said.

Shen Bingsi immediately darted down to pay. The boatman poled a boat with a sunshade over to him. He turned back to look for Rong Xie, only to find Rong Xie missing.

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“Eh? Where did he go?”

Shen Bingsi went back up the steps and saw Rong Xie standing at the entrance of a shop by the roadside, asking the people inside something.

“Rong Xie!” Shen Bingsi called out.

Rong Xie turned around, smiled at Shen Bingsi, thanked the people inside, and then walked across the street.

“What were you asking?” Shen Bingsi took Rong Xie’s hand. “There are many people here, don’t wander off.”

Rong Xie smiled again but didn’t speak.

Shortly after, the two sat on the pleasure boat, swaying in the Cuyu River, with the street scenes unfolding on both sides.

The more Shen Bingsi thought about it, the more he felt something was off.

“Why did you go to the brokerage?”

A brokerage (Ya Hang) was an intermediary for buyers and sellers. In a place like Shengjing, commerce was highly developed, with large and small brokerages, both official and private, found in every street and alley.

The one Rong Xie went to was a large brokerage specializing in real estate transactions.

“Curious about the housing prices around here,” Rong Xie laughed. “After asking, I’ve sobered up.”

“You want to buy property here?” Shen Bingsi was surprised. “I thought you disliked places other than Huanxue Villa?”

“Just curiosity,” Rong Xie said. “The environment around here is nice. I saw that in those small alleys, there are large mansions and small courtyards. It’s quiet amidst the noise. There’s a market nearby, so buying vegetables and goods is convenient.”

“Yes, there’s also the Calligraphy District (Hanmo Fang), theaters, and teahouses nearby. Lots of activities,” Shen Bingsi smiled too.

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“Shen the Second knows me best. Having a Calligraphy District is enough for me to settle down. Pity, not enough money,” Rong Xie shook his head.

“They don’t accept spirit stones here. You have to exchange for common banknotes, which is a bit troublesome.” Shen Bingsi hesitated but didn’t say words like “If you want it, I’ll buy one for you.” Not because he lacked money, but—if Rong Xie lived in Shengjing, what about him?

One shouldn’t look for trouble when there is none.

Of course, the main thing was that they still had to dual cultivate. For cultivation, they had to live together.

Around Shen hour (15:00-17:00), the boat arrived at Renji Temple. The two laughed at the temple tablet in front of the gate. It was a pity Fang Renji wasn’t here, otherwise, they could have teased him.

Shen Bingsi got a card from the donation area in front of the temple, planning to give it to Fang Renji when they returned—a small travel gift, solved.

At dusk, the snack stalls at the southeast city gate were set up. Amidst the curling smoke, the snack vendors mimicked sounds and used flowery cries to solicit business. Shen Bingsi had to peek into every stall he passed and loudly call the owner over to ask what sold best.

Rong Xie tugged at the fabric on Shen Bingsi’s elbow, pulling him out from among those smelly, dirty makeshift tables and chairs. “We’re not eating here. We’re eating back at the hotel.”

“The Southeast Gate Night Market is an indispensable part of Shengjing’s nightlife.”

“What nightlife? Isn’t there a curfew at Xu hour (19:00-21:00)?” Rong Xie pulled him along, lowering his voice. “It’s too dirty here; you can’t eat this. Didn’t I tell you? When eating out, eat at proper restaurants. Don’t eat at roadside stalls.”

Shen Bingsi eventually obeyed obediently and took a carriage back to the Prosperous World Pavilion with Rong Xie.

After dinner in the evening, Shen Bingsi asked the restaurant staff about the Water and Land Dharma Assembly. The assembly would be held in three days. For the first three days, a Great Master would preside, and there would be a huge number of attendees. If they wanted to go, it would be best to wait until the first three days passed and the crowd thinned out; otherwise, they would only see a sea of black heads.

“Then we’ll wait,” Rong Xie said.

“That works,” Shen Bingsi nodded. “Is there anywhere else around Shengjing you want to go?”

“Nothing special…” Rong Xie pondered. “I heard many literati and refined scholars live in the surrounding mountainous areas. There are also some Daoist temples and hermits’ residences. I want to go see those places.”

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Shen Bingsi frowned. “What’s there to see in those places? Just a bunch of frustrated poor scholars pretending to be Daoists or hermits, hoping the high officials in the capital will take notice of them. If you want to see something, you might as well see the villas of the princes and nobles; some of those are actually nice looking.”

“Have you been to them?” Rong Xie perked up.

“Forget the villas of princes and nobles,” Shen Bingsi laughed. “I’ve even been to the inner courts of the Imperial Palace. Though, I went at night.”

Rong Xie sucked in a cold breath.

“Do you want to go? Once the curfew starts and there’s no one outside, I’ll take you,” Shen Bingsi said.

“No, no, no.” Rong Xie waved his hands repeatedly.

Hearing there were no activities for the evening, Shen Bingsi went to the inner room to take a shower.

Rong Xie was still contemplating how to legitimately go into the mountains to look at houses.

Unknowingly, he ended up lounging on the bed, holding the Record of Shengjing’s Elegance—a miscellaneous record of Shengjing’s scenery and attractions he brought in his spatial pouch—and reading it with relish.

The mountainous areas around Shengjing were called mountains, but they were actually “plateaus” (Yuan) with flat tops. Many villages were built on these plateaus, with fields and houses, hearing the sounds of chickens and dogs, just like the Peach Blossom Spring.

Those places were far from the mundane world but not completely devoid of human habitation. The scenery was good, making them very suitable for building a villa. The current Senior Grand Secretary had built the famous Blue Plateau Villa on Blue Plateau (Lan Yuan).

Rong Xie had already begun to fantasize about walking on Blue Plateau…

Suddenly, a damp, steaming hand reached over the top of the book, pinched the spine with three fingers, and plucked the book away like picking cotton.

Rong Xie: ??

Immediately after, Rong Xie felt the bed sink as Shen Bingsi squeezed up.

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Shen Bingsi wore only a bath towel around his waist, his body still damp. His shoulder and back muscles were well-defined, and his broad shoulder line pressed down as if to enclose Rong Xie in his arms.

One hand was in front, holding up the Record of Shengjing’s Elegance he had just grabbed. The other arm crossed over Rong Xie’s back, making a fist to support himself on the sheet on Rong Xie’s other side. His chin passed Rong Xie’s ear, and he turned his face slightly, asking, “What’s so interesting about this?”

Rong Xie was like a startled quail, afraid to move a muscle. He hadn’t expected Shen Bingsi to suddenly press so close; their faces seemed about to touch.

Shen Bingsi flipped the page with his thumb and actually started reading. “Hah, there really are this many scenic spots in the suburbs… What is this? Never even heard of it… Did they just make this up?”

Rong Xie felt like his arm, which was resting properly by his side, suddenly didn’t know where to go. A little further back, and it would touch Shen Bingsi’s body. He had just stolen a glance; that position was deeply lined abdominals, and further down was… the bath towel hanging loosely below.

“…So where do you want to go? See anything good?” Shen Bingsi asked.

“Huh?” Rong Xie blurted out, “Blue… Blue Plateau.”

“Blue Plateau? That works. We can stop by Xiangji Temple on the way and ask about the assembly.” Shen Bingsi nodded beside Rong Xie’s ear, his cheek brushing against Rong Xie’s ear.

Rong Xie really wanted to view these small movements as unintentional, but Shen Bingsi refused to let him off. After tossing the book away, he maintained the posture of embracing him from behind without directly touching him.

“Do you know why the princes and nobles are all willing to buy villas on Blue Plateau?” Shen Bingsi asked.

“Hm…?” Rong Xie’s brain was in chaos, unable to function.

“Because there are several Dragon Veins under this capital city. Blue Plateau is the dragon head of one of them. Imperial tombs are built on the others.” Shen Bingsi chuckled low. “This is a secret not passed down outside the Great Xia royal family; it’s not recorded in books.”

“Is… is that so?” Rong Xie felt he might have truly misunderstood; Shen Bingsi was genuinely teaching him about the capital’s Feng Shui.

“A Dragon Vein is actually a special kind of earth vein… It emits strong fortune (Qi luck), nourishing the people on the vein, including us. I heard it’s easier to succeed on an earth vein. We’ve prepared for so long,” Shen Bingsi said. “So, do you want to try again?”

“Try what?”

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“Dual cultivation.”

Author’s Note: [Dog Head Emoji]