Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 45

Chapter 45: Cannot Connect

As night fell, a wicked wind suddenly picked up. Clouds rose from the mountains in the south, drifting over the capital and settling there, blocking even the moon.

The darkest moment of the day had arrived.

At Xiangji Temple in the western suburbs of the capital, two novice monks stood talking under the corridor.

“This wind is wicked. Is it going to rain tomorrow?”

“Truly wicked enough. The sunset glow was so bright just now, and now there’s wind and black clouds.”

“Yeah. It’s fine in our mountains, but with the curfew in the capital today, they probably won’t even see the moon.”

“Hee, what does the capital’s curfew have to do with you? Could it be your heart has moved…”

“Pah! Your heart moved!”

The two novice monks started playing around, hitting and poking each other, disturbing the peace under the corridor.

Suddenly, with a creak, the door of the meditation room behind them opened.

The two novice monks hurriedly lowered their heads and stood still, behaving as if they weren’t the ones causing the commotion just now.

However, after the door creaked, no one walked out. After a moment of silence, the two novice monks looked at each other.

“Scared me to death. I thought Senior Uncle came out!”

“Told you not to mess around. You’ll be happy when you get punished later.”

“Didn’t no one come out? Wait, didn’t you mess around too?”

Sponsored

“…”

The two novice monks bickered a bit more before realizing that perhaps the wind had blown the meditation room door open, and they needed to close it.

“You go first.”

“You walk first.”

For some reason, they felt a bit creeped out. Huddling together, they walked toward the meditation room. By this time, the high monks attending the Water-Land Dharma Assembly had already left. The meditation rooms were empty and unlit, creating a very eerie atmosphere.

“Amitabha.”

Chanting the Buddha’s name, the two novice monks lifted their lanterns to illuminate the meditation room doors. Checking one by one, every door was shut tight.

Just as they were muttering in their hearts, the lantern light flickered, and they saw a tall figure standing on the white wall.

“Aaaah—”

“Mother!”

The two novice monks turned to run, nearly tripping on the steps. Thanks to someone supporting them from behind, they managed to stand steady.

Wait, why would someone support them from behind?

Chills ran down their spines. Shaking like sieves, they wanted to run but couldn’t move their feet an inch.

A sigh came from behind them.

A muffled male voice sounded: “What are you running for? I have questions for you.”

Sponsored

The two novice monks trembled: “Amitabha. Immortal Lord, please ask. We will tell you everything we know without reservation.”

Adding: “However, we are junior in seniority and don’t understand things like requesting titles or returning souls.”

“…”

The muffled male voice suddenly became impatient: “What nonsense are you talking about? Who wants to request a title or return a soul? Look clearly, I am human, not a ghost or monster!”

Once this voice came out, the vibe was right. The two novice monks turned from fear to joy, breathing a huge sigh of relief: “So it is the Benefactor Lord!”

Standing behind them was none other than Shen Bingsi.

Shen Bingsi had a dark expression. At first glance, he did look a bit like a ghost. Combined with his uncharacteristically gloomy tone, it was no wonder he was mistaken.

After returning from Lotus Town this afternoon, Shen Bingsi immediately began to meditate. As usual, he used the “Blade that Severs the Sky” to cut away distracting thoughts in his heart, waiting for his sea of consciousness to calm down.

When he opened his eyes again, it was completely dark outside.

No lamp was lit in the room, but whether there was light or not didn’t matter to Shen Bingsi. He could clearly see that the bed opposite him was empty.

Rong Xie always kept his bed neat and tidy—the kind of tidiness that couldn’t be restored once someone else touched it. Shen Bingsi could see at a glance that the bed was exactly as it had been when they left in the morning. Rong Xie hadn’t come back.

Shen Bingsi’s heart sank instantly.

He immediately took out his Transmission Jade and touched it. It was cold.

If Rong Xie had contacted him recently, the jade shouldn’t be this cold. Vibration generates some heat, and even if Shen Bingsi hadn’t picked up, the surface of the jade should retain some residual warmth.

“…”

Sponsored

This meant Rong Xie hadn’t contacted him, at least not within the last half-hour.

Rong Xie not contacting him meant Rong Xie wasn’t lost, hadn’t encountered trouble, and didn’t need his help. Otherwise, Rong Xie would have transmitted a message long ago.

Indeed, the road from Lotus Town to Xiangji Temple wasn’t hard to recognize. With a Flight Talisman, one could return in the time it takes to burn an incense stick. There was nothing to ask about.

But why hadn’t Rong Xie returned?

From the time he left Lotus Town until now, at least two hours had passed. Even walking, he should have arrived.

Yet Rong Xie hadn’t returned. Not only had he not returned, but he hadn’t even sent a single transmission.

Unknowingly, Shen Bingsi paced barefoot back and forth in the room several times.

Should he go find Rong Xie? But Rong Xie was also at fault in this matter. If he went back to find him now, it would seem like he was the one making a fuss unreasonably.

Of course, Rong Xie was at fault. When those people announced they were the “Most Compatible Couple Made in Heaven,” Rong Xie should have sternly refused or clarified on the spot. Even giving no reaction, keeping a cold face and saying nothing, would have been better than smiling and leaning on his shoulder, nearly causing him to lose composure right there.

Rong Xie wouldn’t have done this before. Before, Rong Xie was a person with strong boundaries, rarely showing emotional fluctuations in front of people, let alone smiling with spring in his brows and eyes, looking at him tearfully with infinite expectation in his eyes, like… like a lovesick youth waiting for a lover’s response.

“Pah, what a lousy description!” Shen Bingsi spat at the air.

No one could question the bond of best friendship between Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie, including Shen Bingsi himself. He didn’t doubt Rong Xie’s feelings for him at all. It was just that, for some special reasons, they had to engage in more intimate contact. This contact made them snuggle like Dao companions, embrace intimately, and unite even deeper. Habit was a terrifying thing. Crossing boundaries in private led to naturally expressing it in public, causing boundaries to blur until, apart from internally maintaining their friendship, they looked no different from Dao companions on the outside.

This was absolutely unacceptable.

So, to create distance from Rong Xie and re-establish a measured daily relationship, Shen Bingsi had actively pushed him away slightly. Leaving abruptly at Lotus Town was for this purpose.

Shen Bingsi felt there was nothing wrong with doing this. Lotus Town wasn’t some deserted village; asking for directions or catching a ride was very convenient. The road from Lotus Town to Xiangji Temple was simple and easy to find; Shen Bingsi had just walked it with Rong Xie at noon. Rong Xie had his portable pouch, which contained a thick stack of Flight Talismans, and his own spiritual energy was abundant. There was no scenario where he knew the way but couldn’t return.

Sponsored

…

But now, it was dark, and Rong Xie hadn’t returned.

Shen Bingsi suddenly became uncertain. Did “pushing away slightly” really just push him away slightly?

Could he have used too much force and pushed the person away completely…

The thought of Rong Xie leaving made Shen Bingsi’s scalp explode. Feeling as if he had lost his backbone, he frantically dug around in his Gold-Light Fish-Pattern Pouch.

Damn it, why is the Transmission Jade missing precisely when I need it?!

Shen Bingsi yanked open the pouch, only to spot a corner of the jade—not in the pouch, but in his right hand.

Right, I took it out long ago!

Shen Bingsi tossed aside the Fish-Pattern Pouch, held the Transmission Jade in the air, and activated it with spiritual power. The jade immediately emitted a long “Buzz—“.

Buzz—

Buzz———

Buzz——————

It buzzed like this for a long time, but there was still no sign of the other side connecting. Shen Bingsi’s face changed colors several times as he faced the jade, finally turning as black as the bottom of a pot.

In the past, there were times when Rong Xie didn’t answer transmissions, but that was at Huanxue Villa. At the villa, Rong Xie didn’t keep the jade on him at all times, often leaving it lying around. He would only reply to Shen Bingsi when he came back and felt the jade was hot. This often made Shen Bingsi feel ignored. To strengthen his presence and ensure he could contact Rong Xie in emergencies, Shen Bingsi had unilaterally activated a “Super Double Effect”—intense golden light and vibration strong enough for Rong Xie to sense the Transmission Jade moving in a room even while walking outside.

Now, this unilateral double effect was significantly reduced, but if carried on one’s person, it should still be clearly felt. There was no reason not to answer for so long.

Sponsored

Unless…

Unless he wasn’t carrying it.

Shen Bingsi didn’t want to consider the other possibility: that Rong Xie didn’t want to answer.

“How could he not carry it?” Shen Bingsi couldn’t understand. “Didn’t we agree to always keep it on us when outside?”

Unknowingly, he walked to the door of the meditation room, secretly listening to the movement outside.

Maybe Rong Xie had already returned. Maybe Rong Xie was already at the courtyard gate and just didn’t answer because he felt he was almost there.

Maybe in a few moments, Rong Xie would appear in the courtyard, pacing slowly over, just like he usually did—maintaining an elegant, leisurely stroll no matter how urgent the matter.

Unfortunately, no familiar figure approached. Instead, the conversation of the two novice monks outside drifted into Shen Bingsi’s ears.

Tonight brings a wicked wind.

A perfectly fine sunny day turned cloudy at night.

The moon is blocked; fear nothing can be seen.

Nothing can be seen…

Shen Bingsi abruptly pushed open the door and strode to the outer room.

What happened next was as the two novice monks saw.

Except Shen Bingsi didn’t intentionally stand on the wall to scare them. When the light swept over, Shen Bingsi had just risen into mid-air, intending to fly out to find someone.

Sponsored

“…You said there is a wicked wind tonight? When did it start blowing? Where did the black clouds rise from? How long has it been this pitch black?” Shen Bingsi asked, agitated.

The two novice monks recalled and told him. The time was roughly shortly after Shen Bingsi returned to his room. No wonder he hadn’t noticed at all.

Shen Bingsi couldn’t care less about thinking too much. He pushed aside the two novice monks and swept out of the temple gate like a gust of wind, throwing himself into the vast night.

Hiss—

Wild grass was blown apart by a fierce wind—Shen Bingsi was that fierce wind. He flew skimming the tops of the grass blades, so fast he left only an afterimage. The wild grass clumps were like the water of the White Dragon River, split apart by Shen Bingsi at extreme speed, waves of grass spreading to both sides.

While shuttling through the grass, Shen Bingsi released his spiritual sense. His vast spiritual sense spread out in all directions with him as the center, pushing forward as he moved. Wherever it pushed, no matter how dark or deep the grass, Shen Bingsi could “see” it clearly.

Nothing.

Nothing here either.

…

He rushed all the way to Lotus Town like this. Shen Bingsi turned over all the wild grass fields on both sides of the road, yet still found no trace of Rong Xie.

Now, Shen Bingsi panicked completely.