Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 41

Chapter 41: Envying the Kindred Spirit

“Today… is already the sixth day of the seventh lunar month,” Rong Xie realized with a start.

The Water-Land Dharma Assembly commenced on the first day of the seventh month. Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi had originally planned to avoid the crowds of the first three days and visit Xiangji Temple on the fourth. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, two more days had passed.

If Shen Bingsi hadn’t mentioned it, Rong Xie would have forgotten all about it.

They had come to Shengjing in the first place, it seemed, just to see the Pattra-Leaf Scriptures at Xiangji Temple.

“…” Rong Xie lowered his eyes.

He didn’t know why, but right now, he didn’t care as much about the Pattra-Leaf Scriptures. He even felt a faint sense of resistance, as if thinking that had he not coveted them, he wouldn’t have been pressed onto the bed at the Prosperous World Pavilion and subjected to such harsh demands for seven days.

“Rong’er?”

“Mn?” Rong Xie snapped out of his daze. “Go to Xiangji Temple? Sure.”

No matter what, as long as he could leave this courtyard, anywhere was fine.

“Are you feeling unwell?” Shen Bingsi naturally took his hand, placing fingers on his pulse point while observing his face. “Where does it hurt?”

“No, just…” Rong Xie pulled his wrist out of Shen Bingsi’s grasp. “I’m not very hungry. You go ahead and eat. I’ll get ready, and then we’ll leave.”

Shen Bingsi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Rong Xie went back to his room and changed into a plain long gown, specifically worn for worshipping Buddha to show respect.

When he walked out of the room, Shen Bingsi was still sitting in the same spot. The chopsticks on the table hadn’t moved, and the food box was still neatly packed.

“I don’t want to eat either.” Shen Bingsi stood up. “Let’s go.”

At the counter, Shen Bingsi returned the food box to the kitchen. The kitchen staff thought he was dissatisfied with something, but upon detailed inquiry, they learned he just wasn’t hungry.

“Aren’t these two dishes this young master’s favorites?” The manager who came out from the kitchen to receive them was the same one who had accompanied Master Sun to apologize last time. “Was there something wrong with how they were made?”

Saying this, the manager opened the food box, revealing the still-warm Steamed Heyang Fish and Sweet and Sour Ribs inside.

They were indeed Rong Xie’s favorite dishes.

Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi had grown up in the same place and knew each other’s food preferences very well. In fact, the only time they could eat good food was during the New Year. Heyang Fish, Steamed Mutton, and Sweet and Sour Ribs were the three most popular dishes among children in Heyang.

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Shen Bingsi had ordered the kitchen to make two dishes early in the morning, specifically naming Heyang Fish and Sweet and Sour Ribs, paying special attention to Rong Xie’s taste. He thought that if Rong Xie ate well in the morning, his mood might improve a little.

He had pushed him too hard recently.

At first, Shen Bingsi was just fighting with himself, forbidding himself from having other thoughts. By the time he came to his senses, the way Rong Xie looked at him had already changed.

Rong Xie was afraid of him.

It wasn’t strange at all that Rong Xie would fear him. After all, he had advanced slowly for so long before Rong Xie reluctantly took the initiative once. But in the following seven days, Shen Bingsi had forced Rong Xie to cultivate with him every day, pushing through two months’ worth of progress in a single day, and doing such things for seven whole days.

…

This morning, when Rong Xie once again dodged his touch and shrank to the other side of the bed, he decided that no matter what, he had to stop this.

Was cultivation really so urgent? He and Rong Xie wouldn’t be together for just one year, and Earth Veins weren’t found only in this place. Why did he have to pursue Foundation Establishment in such a short time?

After figuring this out, Shen Bingsi began to feel sorry for Rong Xie. Stuck with a best friend like him who didn’t know how to be considerate, Rong Xie must be suffering greatly. Yet Rong Xie had a gentle nature and could endure for a long time without saying a word…

His smallest resistance was merely pulling his hand away.

“Nothing is wrong. It’s just that we are going to Xiangji Temple today and don’t have time to eat. We plan to have fun there and relax, so we probably won’t be back for a day or two. Even if put in the ice cellar, it would go to waste,” Shen Bingsi said.

“So that’s how it is. Are the guests also going to attend the Water-Land Dharma Assembly? It’s a pity you missed the liveliest time. I heard that Master Wubie personally opened the altar to lecture on scriptures for the first two days, and many nobles from the palace attended,” the manager laughed.

“We aren’t going to attend the Dharma Assembly, just to visit.” Shen Bingsi didn’t say much, as it was getting late.

“Have you called a carriage? Do you need the pavilion’s help to call one?” the manager asked thoughtfully.

“No need, I’ve already hired a carriage. Thank you for your trouble.” Shen Bingsi cupped his hands.

A short while later, Rong Xie followed Shen Bingsi onto East Gate Street and saw a tall carriage waiting by the roadside. For such carriages, the larger the wheels, the more expensive the price, and the smoother and more comfortable the ride.

Shen Bingsi had clearly selected this carriage with great care, just to make Rong Xie’s ride comfortable.

To make him eat comfortably, Shen Bingsi woke up early specifically to order dishes from the kitchen.

To make him sit comfortably, Shen Bingsi spared no expense to find such a large carriage.

It was exactly this—this meticulous care and the expression as if the whole world only focused on him—that caused Rong Xie to misunderstand, mistaking Shen Bingsi’s feelings for him as reciprocal.

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However, in the next moment, reality would slap him in the face ruthlessly. Shen Bingsi ultimately only treated him as a friend in need of help.

Rong Xie felt like he was sitting in a carriage driven by a novice. The novice driver, unfamiliar with the horse’s nature, would rush forward one moment and stop abruptly the next, making the passenger suffer unspeakably yet unable to complain.

After all, he was the one who willingly got on this carriage.

The journey was silent.

When they arrived at Xiangji Temple, the grandeur of the Water-Land Dharma Assembly was still faintly visible. The decorative prayer flags and yellow paper hadn’t been completely taken down, and the wooden scaffolding supporting the lectern occupied the entire courtyard. The high monks in the temple looked weary one by one; even the large monk who had enthusiastically welcomed Shen Bingsi earlier was listless, merely leading them to the Scripture Library before leaving.

Rong Xie finally entered the long-renowned Scripture Library of Xiangji Temple. The unique scent of old books among the shelves was intoxicating. Wandering among the neatly arranged volumes, Rong Xie felt himself come alive again.

Holding the fully restored Pattra-Leaf Scripture, Rong Xie’s eyes grew slightly hot, his heart surging with emotion. He immediately found a large table near the window, sat down, and began to read.

He read until sunset.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the table. Rong Xie looked up in a trance, gazing at the large duck-foot tree outside the window dyed golden-red by the sunset, a dreamlike feeling rising in his heart.

Just then, someone walked up the stairs.

This person wore a loose white monk’s robe. He was tall and thin, walking with a stubborn momentum as if competing with someone.

Rong Xie took just one look, and his heart pounded violently.

He stared unblinkingly at Layman Baishui until Layman Baishui turned behind a bookshelf, blocked by heavy volumes.

Even so, Rong Xie could still see the white shadow moving between the shelves through the gaps in the books.

What a wondrous fate!

It just so happened that on this day, at this moment, Layman Baishui came to the Scripture Library and came up to this floor.

Rong Xie subconsciously picked at the tabletop with his fingers, hesitating on whether to go over and say a few words to Layman Baishui.

Would Layman Baishui feel disturbed?

If he initiated a conversation, what should he say?

While Rong Xie was agonizing over this, the white shadow moved out from between the bookshelves, holding a stack of books, and strode toward him.

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Rong Xie immediately lowered his eyes, pretending to read the Pattra-Leaf Scripture.

Footsteps stopped opposite the table, and a very distinctive voice sounded, raspy with a hint of cynicism: “May I sit here?”

“Of course.” Rong Xie looked up and met a pair of deep, astute black eyes. The other party nodded at him with a smile, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Thus, when Shen Bingsi returned, he saw this scene.

By the wide-open window at dusk, amidst the dancing shadows of the duck-foot tree blown by the wind, a tall, thin man in a white robe stood beside Rong Xie. Slightly lowering his proud shoulders and back, one arm reached past Rong Xie to point at the page in front of him.

A string of modulated tones hummed from the tall, thin man’s nose, easily capturing all of Rong Xie’s attention.

His best friend sat defenselessly under that person’s encircle, his brows and eyes overflowing with relaxed and happy smiles. For two whole months, Shen Bingsi hadn’t seen such a happy expression on Rong Xie’s face.

Shen Bingsi’s hands behind his back tightened forcefully. The rosewood box in his hand emitted a squeaking sound of compression, as if unable to bear the pressure and about to snap in the next moment.

Shen Bingsi withdrew his strength before crushing the box, tossed it into his portable pouch, and strode toward the table.

“This song is called ‘Mountain Song’,” Layman Baishui shook his head, speaking with an intoxicated expression. “The key lies in these few notes. Look.”

Rong Xie was about to reply when he suddenly saw Shen Bingsi standing at the other end of the table with a strange expression.

“Bingsi, when did you get back?” Rong Xie was surprised and hurriedly greeted him. “You came just in time. This gentleman is Layman Baishui. We met him at Grand Secretary Wang’s residence the day before yesterday.”

Shen Bingsi’s face was as cold as paving stones. He looked at Layman Baishui expressionlessly, his lips pressed tight into a straight line. His whole face was pulled taut, his gaze shooting out from his lower eyelids, fully expressing his disdain.

Layman Baishui laughed, “Your friend doesn’t seem very easy to get along with.”

“How could that be?” Rong Xie retorted immediately. “He’s very good…”

“You’re right. I am indeed not easy to get along with. Realizing this promptly is good for you,” Shen Bingsi sneered. As he spoke, his gaze lowered. “What is this ghostly scribble?”

He was referring to the book open on the table. Just now, Layman Baishui had been pointing at this book to attract Rong Xie’s attention.

Shen Bingsi had intended to see what good things were in the book—perhaps he would buy some later to study—but upon looking, the characters were crooked and twisted, arranged in a way he had never seen before. He couldn’t understand it at all.

“Little brother jests. This is a Gongche notation for marking musical rhythm. Musicians and singers perform according to the score above,” Layman Baishui smiled.

So it was Gongche notation for marking rhythm. Shen Bingsi remembered seeing this stuff somewhere, but he never kept things unrelated to cultivation in his brain.

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What he was keeping very much in his brain now was the address Layman Baishui used to start his sentence. What did he say? Little—brother?

Where was he little? Did he look like the kind of little brother who could be ordered around? Putting aside that passersby would respectfully call him “Senior” even when he was incognito, given his true identity and status in the Jianghu, no one dared to associate him with “little.”

It seemed that unless he taught this Layman Baishui a lesson, he wouldn’t realize who he had provoked.