Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 44

Chapter 44: A Wavering Dao Heart

While his brain was thinking this, his mouth also said it aloud.

The reply Shen Bingsi received was:

“Ah? Today is Qixi!”

What! Today is Qixi? How can today be Qixi!

Shen Bingsi’s brain was in chaos. He vaguely remembered the Water-Land Dharma Assembly started on the first day of the month. They arrived six days late, and today was their second day here, meaning it was the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

The seventh day of the seventh month, the day the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, also known as Qixi Festival—a good day for lovers in the world to finally unite.

For Shen Bingsi, however, it was a day of fatal bad luck. In previous years, he would avoid crowded places or simply not go out at all during this time, because the air outside was filled with a toxic atmosphere.

No wonder…

Many inconsistent details now stood out vividly like flowing beads. Why did the competition require a two-person team? Why were there events like “Crossing the River,” “Spinning Silk,” and “Threading Needles”? Weren’t these hinting at Qixi customs? The Cowherd and Weaver Girl crossing the Milky Way to meet in the sky, the Weaver Girl threading needles to drape beautiful sunset clouds over the sky every day…

Smack. A small flower hit the bridge of Shen Bingsi’s nose, waking him up.

He turned his head to look at his best friend beside him.

Rong Xie lowered his head slightly to dodge the fresh flowers and fragrant herbs thrown by enthusiastic villagers. His eyes curved into crescents, his gaze rippling with laughter. His appearance, already exquisite and clean like jade, was now even more vivid and bright due to genuine happiness, making it hard to look away.

A string of petals landed on Rong Xie’s cheek. The young girls seemed to particularly enjoy throwing petals at his face. Rong Xie’s gentle nature couldn’t withstand such enthusiasm, so he dodged repeatedly toward Shen Bingsi until he bumped into Shen Bingsi’s shoulder.

“Eh.”

Rong Xie looked up subconsciously, his eyes searching upward for something. His watery eyes were full of affection, and a faint blush tinted the corners of his eyes and brows.

Their gazes collided in mid-air.

In an instant, the surrounding noise vanished. Shen Bingsi heard only a rapid, heavy throbbing sound.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

The sound beat against his eardrums and struck his chest, making his throat feel dry and tight.

Many images from the past flowed before his eyes like a revolving lantern. In those images, there was always a pair of gentle eyes watching him. When he hid from the Eldest Miss Shen in the plum garden; when he meditated with the small window open in the inner sect warehouse; when he packed up and said goodbye in front of the gate of Huanxue Villa, preparing for a new mission; when they shuttled through the crowds on the streets of Shengjing… whenever he turned back, he would meet those gentle eyes.

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It was as if they were always following him, waiting for him. Endless affection was never spoken aloud, yet it poured out even more intensely from that gaze, as if in the whole world, only he was worthy of such attention.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

The ground began to shake, and Shen Bingsi felt a wave of dizziness.

“Now, let us invite our ‘Qixi Festival’s Most Compatible Couple Made in Heaven’ to come forward and accept the award from the Mayor and Granny Huang!”

Some noisy voices came from afar. Shen Bingsi couldn’t understand what they were saying. Huge waves rose in the sea of his consciousness, and the wind wrapped black clouds from the distance, pressing down on his head.

“Bingsi?” A gentle voice called him.

“Ah, we have to wait a moment for the Mayor; he went down to the lotus pond to pick the Flower King. Let us first invite Granny Huang to display her embroidery work—the Twin Lotus Handkerchiefs!”

“This pair of handkerchiefs is embroidered with a complete pattern of twin lotuses on one stalk. The embroidery is extremely fine, and the overall tone is fresh and gentle, suitable for both daily use and collection!”

There was also a very noisy voice chattering endlessly about annoying things. Shen Bingsi frowned, forcing himself to concentrate.

“Bingsi, are you okay? You seem… to be sweating,” that gentle voice asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Shen Bingsi replied numbly.

He finally controlled his consciousness, extricating himself from the churning sea of consciousness and returning to reality.

Something cool and slippery was stuffed into his hand. He looked down.

In the center of his vision were two entangled lotus flowers. Their shapes were very odd. They were clearly pure flowers symbolizing rising unsullied from mud, yet in this image, they faintly exuded an obscene aura. Through their large flower heads pressed tightly together, Shen Bingsi seemed to see two entangled bodies. The expanse of white flesh from the illustrated book in Hanmo Workshop surfaced again, covering the twin lotuses and appearing on the handkerchief in Shen Bingsi’s hand.

“Bingsi, wu… slower…”

“Bingsi, please…”

Broken voices called his name like sobbing, gradually changing tone, becoming soft, charming, and cloying, each sound making one’s bones melt and spirit drunk.

“Shut up!”

Shen Bingsi suddenly became enraged. He clenched his fist, and the handkerchief in his hand instantly turned to dust. The obscene image disappeared, but he didn’t feel any better.

He turned his head to look at Rong Xie standing beside him. Rong Xie also held an identical handkerchief. He snatched that one too and crushed it into powder.

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The surroundings were very quiet. Everyone was stunned by this sudden change. Whoever Shen Bingsi looked at retreated or dodged to the side, while others looked at Shen Bingsi as if he were a madman.

“Bingsi, you—” Rong Xie disregarded everything and stepped forward to grab Shen Bingsi’s arm, his fingers reaching for his pulse point.

The next moment, he was violently thrown off.

“Ugh.” Rong Xie staggered back two steps, only stabilizing himself with spiritual power to avoid falling to the ground.

Gasps sounded all around.

Blinding golden light shot out from Shen Bingsi, quickly swallowing him. Intense spiritual power fluctuations exploded from the center of the golden light. Even ordinary people without spiritual power could feel that suffocating oppression.

Boom—

The golden light shot into the sky, drawing a bright arc across the evening canopy.

It happened too suddenly. The crowd hadn’t reacted yet, knowing only to scatter and run. After running a distance, they stopped and looked back.

Where two outsiders had stood, only one remained. The outsider whose body shot out golden light was gone. The golden mist that had wrapped him still flowed in the air, slowly dissipating.

“What happened?”

“What was that just now?”

“Why did that outsider suddenly glow? And suddenly disappear! I wasn’t the only one who saw it, right!”

“He flew away.”

“What? Flew away?”

“Look at the sky.”

A sharp-eyed youth stepped out, pointing his arm toward the sky.

The crowd looked up and stared dumbfounded at the lingering arc of light slicing through the twilight.

“Is that… the trail left by that outsider just now?”

“He wasn’t human!” “Is he an immortal?”

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Realizing they had just witnessed a miracle, the villagers began discussing heatedly, clicking their tongues and exclaiming in endless wonder.

“Speaking of which, why did the immortal suddenly get angry and leave? Could it be that we did something disrespectful and offended him…” the loud-voiced girl muttered worriedly to herself.

Although she muttered to herself, her voice clearly reached everyone’s ears.

“Ah, it seems so!”

“Was it because he disliked our prizes for being too simple?” “Was it because the Mayor hasn’t come back yet?”…

The crowd guessed anxiously, and the surprise of witnessing a miracle turned into unease.

They looked around for a lifeline to alleviate their panic and soon discovered Rong Xie, who still remained in place.

“Quick, let’s beg this immortal’s friend together, ask him to put in a good word for us with the immortal!”

“This immortal’s friend is beautiful and kind-hearted; he will definitely speak for us!”

The crowd swarmed Rong Xie, talking all at once. Various chaotic voices surrounded him. Many hands pulled at his sleeves and patted his shoulders. He felt like he had been swept into a storm, unable to control anything, including his own body.

He was even more panic-stricken and at a loss than they were.

“Everyone, stop making noise.” A dignified voice came from behind the crowd. The loud-voiced girl helped Granny Huang walk over.

Given Granny Huang’s status here, the crowd automatically parted to let her through.

“Young Master Rong, although this old woman is just a former palace weaver, I know there are people in this world who exist between immortals and mortals, called cultivators. That friend of yours must be a cultivator, right?”

Granny Huang’s words brought Rong Xie back to his senses slightly.

“Yes… exactly.” Rong Xie regained the sensation of his feet on the ground. “Apologies, he didn’t mean to destroy your hard work. I will compensate you for those two handkerchiefs at market price. I am truly sorry…”

Granny Huang shook her head. “There was only one pair of such handkerchiefs. It is a pity. Although this old woman knows thousands of embroidery techniques, inspiration comes only in that specific moment. I can never embroider with the same feeling again.”

“I’m sorry…” Rong Xie didn’t know how to express his apology. He bowed flusteredly to Granny Huang, but she held him up.

“It is not your fault, child. This old woman says this not to ask for compensation. Those two handkerchiefs belonged to you two anyway. How you dispose of them is your own business; what does it have to do with me? However, regarding what happened today, that cultivator surnamed Shen likely has some unspeakable hidden trouble… The handkerchiefs are gone, so be it. The key is the human heart. This old woman can tell that you are both good children who value affection and righteousness. Do not let this cause a rift between you; that would be the greatest loss.”

Granny Huang’s kind advice made Rong Xie’s heart ache. Didn’t he know that the human heart was the most important thing? But how could he control a human heart? He couldn’t even control his own. He knew Shen Bingsi cultivated the Ruthless Path, and that showing even a hint of romantic affection would result in an invisible sword energy striking before his feet, turning a best friend into an enemy upon their next meeting.

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Yet he still got lost in the dream of being a “couple made in heaven,” getting carried away, truly believing he and Shen Bingsi were a natural match, and even looking for traces of reciprocal feelings on Shen Bingsi’s face.

All he found was a cold, indifferent face.

Shen Bingsi’s expression had never been so terrifying. He pushed him away mercilessly, unwilling to be touched by him, and tore the handkerchiefs they had worked hard together to get into powder—not even fragments could be found, preventing him from keeping even a memento.

It felt too awful, this feeling.

…Too awful.

Rong Xie felt an urge to vomit.

If only he had never liked Shen Bingsi.

If there were a medicine in this world that reduced affection with every dose, that would be wonderful.

When he left Lotus Town, it was already late.

Rong Xie walked in a daze through the wild grass. After walking for a while, he found his feet entangled by the grass. Looking ahead, he saw only waist-high wild grass; he couldn’t see the road at all.

He had gone the wrong way. There was no road ahead, and the narrow field of view made it impossible to tell where he was.

Seeing that it was about to get dark, he had to go back quickly.

Go back… back to where?

Back to Xiangji Temple?

Back to that meditation room he shared with Shen Bingsi?

Was that room still open? Had Shen Bingsi already checked out…

But if not Xiangji Temple, where could he go?

Prosperous World Pavilion? The city gates had long closed.

The hot spring villa on Blue Plateau? Too far, and he didn’t know the way.

Thinking it over, he could only go to Xiangji Temple.

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No matter what, he had the Scripture Library token with his name on it. Xiangji Temple wouldn’t deny him entry.

Besides…

Besides, he hadn’t explicitly stated he liked Shen Bingsi. Perhaps there was still room to maneuver.

Thinking this, Rong Xie felt slightly better.

He pulled his feet out of the wild grass, turned around, and returned to the small path from earlier.

The sky grew darker and darker; soon, the road would be invisible.

Once a person reached a certain age, they disliked encountering any accidents while traveling, especially sudden changes to reserved accommodations forcing them to sleep in the open.

For Rong Xie, this was intolerable. Compared to wandering blindly in the wild grass after dark, the pain of being abandoned by his best friend seemed somewhat bearable.

“Go back. Go back and then decide.” Rong Xie muttered to himself, taking out a Flight Talisman and infusing it with spiritual power.

Maybe things weren’t that bad. Maybe he could still play innocent in front of Shen Bingsi. Regardless, he should return to Xiangji Temple before he completely lost his way. Even if he couldn’t stay in the temple, he could try his luck at Layman Baishui’s secluded courtyard in the back hills.