Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 46

Chapter 46: Found

Perhaps because it was Qixi Festival, there were still a few scattered people walking on the streets of Lotus Town. Shen Bingsi chased them down to ask if they had seen Rong Xie and where he had gone.

“You mean those two outsiders from this afternoon? They left, left a long time ago.”

“One flew away, and the other left later… Asking me how he left? I didn’t see either. Maybe he flew away too.”

“He didn’t fly away! If he flew away, people would say, ‘Those two flew away one after another,’ not ‘One flew away, and the other left too.'”

“Oh, you know so much. Did you see it with your own eyes? An immortal’s friend is naturally an immortal too. Why couldn’t he fly away?”

Two villagers argued for a while without reaching a conclusion. When they came back to their senses, they found the person asking the question had long disappeared.

Bang bang bang!

“Who is it—not sleeping in the middle of the night! Don’t you know people need to rest!”

The door creaked open, and the loud-voiced girl poked her head out, eyes bleary with sleep.

A tall man stood outside the door. His silhouette looked somewhat familiar.

The loud-voiced girl’s eyes widened abruptly: “You… it’s you!”

“Shh. I have a question for you. I’ll leave after asking,” Shen Bingsi whispered.

“Immortal Lord, Heaven and Earth be my witness, this little woman only came out to host the program because of my loud voice. I absolutely meant no disrespect to the Immortal Lord!” The loud-voiced girl pressed her palms together, begging for mercy repeatedly.

“…I’m not… Never mind. I’m looking for someone. Do you know where the friend who came with me went?” Shen Bingsi didn’t want to explain further. He used an invisible force to support her, preventing her from bowing down.

The loud-voiced girl breathed a sigh of relief; as long as he wasn’t here to punish her. “Didn’t Young Master Rong go to chase after you? Could it be you ran too fast… apologies for my slip of tongue. I mean, could it be that Young Master Rong looked in the wrong direction and happened to miss you, Immortal Lord?”

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“We are staying at Xiangji Temple,” Shen Bingsi said in a deep voice.

“Then… that shouldn’t happen. Isn’t there only one road?” The loud-voiced girl was a local. At the mention of Xiangji Temple, the path automatically appeared in her mind. That road was easy to recognize and had no branches. He shouldn’t have gotten lost. She muttered, “Could the wicked wind have been too strong, and Young Master Rong stopped somewhere to hide from it? Did you check on your way here, Immortal Lord?”

Shen Bingsi fell silent.

“Understood. You must have checked. But don’t worry, Immortal Lord. Maybe Young Master Rong disliked the strong wind and came back to stay at the inn in town. Why don’t you check the inn in town? Or walk a few miles west to Cold Water Town; there’s an inn there too…”

Following the loud-voiced girl’s guidance, Shen Bingsi checked the nearby inns one after another, but the result was nil.

While searching, Shen Bingsi constantly activated the Transmission Jade, hoping to contact Rong Xie, but every time there was only the long “Buzz—” “Buzz—“.

From Lotus Town to Xiangji Temple, a distance covered in the blink of an eye—Shen Bingsi had never felt it was long before. Yet Rong Xie had disappeared precisely on this stretch of road. Where he went, there was not a trace. Every footprint on the road, every blade of trampled grass became a suspect. Shen Bingsi turned this stretch of road over three times back and forth.

It was past midnight. The dark clouds dispersed, but the moon didn’t show (such is the moon phase on Qixi; it only appears in the first half of the night). Several beams of different colored light swish-swished through the grass. Moments later, several cultivators in black and white Daoist robes appeared in the square in front of Xiangji Temple.

“Sword Saint Shen, I found nothing on my side.”

“Nothing on my side either.”

“Report from the Sect’s Heavenly Eye: no fluctuations of demonic activity in the eastern suburbs of the capital.”

“…”

These were disciples of the Xuantian Sect. Unable to find Rong Xie, Shen Bingsi had immediately contacted them. After all, Shengjing was Xuantian Sect territory; they could find people faster. Moreover, they possessed the Sect’s Heavenly Eye, a large magical artifact specifically used to monitor demons and monsters around the capital. A check would reveal if any demons had passed through.

The result was negative, but the violent emotions in Shen Bingsi’s heart didn’t improve a bit. Since there were no demons or monsters, why did his best friend disappear for no reason? Why could he not reach him on the Concentric Transmission Jade, which had never had issues before?

“Sword Saint Shen, don’t worry. We have already requested instructions from the Sect to temporarily lift restrictions within a hundred miles. Then we can use spiritual sense to search. As long as Cultivator Rong hasn’t left this area, we will definitely find him.”

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“Then lift them faster! A living person just disappeared like this. Who knows what happened? How can you tell me not to worry! This is the capital, a critical area. A person vanished right under your Sect’s Heavenly Eye; your Elder Bai bears responsibility too!”

Violent words rushed out. Shen Bingsi didn’t care about anything right now. He wanted to release his spiritual sense directly and search the space within a hundred miles. He had waited until now, only searching with spiritual sense within a small range, out of respect for Elder Bai of the Xuantian Sect.

But what result did he get? Rong Xie wasn’t found, and Xuantian Sect sent some beardless brats to say dilly-dallying words. Asking them only got replies about “following procedures” and “please be patient.” How could he be patient? These bastards didn’t use their brains to think: if their beloved wives ran away, could they still stand there calmly analyzing this and that?

Of course, Rong Xie was Shen Bingsi’s best friend. But for these youngsters who didn’t understand the value of best friendship, he could only use “beloved wife” as an analogy for them to empathize.

The Xuantian Sect disciples were scolded into submission, bowing their heads one by one, daring not to speak. They had heard the Demon-Slaying Sword Saint had a violent temper, and today they finally witnessed it. However…

When they looked down at the grass, their gazes involuntarily focused on one spot. recalling Shen Bingsi’s words “if your beloved wives ran away,” they suddenly understood Sword Saint Shen’s anxiety and even felt some sympathy for him.

While scolding them and waiting for Xuantian Sect to lift the restrictions, Shen Bingsi suddenly noticed these brats were staring at his feet, not listening seriously at all. He asked furiously, “What are you looking at?”

A Xuantian Sect disciple plucked up the courage to point at Shen Bingsi’s feet: “Sword Saint Shen, you… you seem to be barefoot.”

Shen Bingsi looked down. Two bare feet stood in the grass. Starlight shone on his feet, clearly revealing grass blades, dust, and dirt clumps—mottled traces crisscrossing, looking very wretched.

However, Shen Bingsi felt nothing. He had a Nascent Soul body; even without protective spiritual energy, stepping down would only be bad luck for the rocks on the ground.

“What time is it, and you care about shoes? Can wearing shoes solve the problem?”

“…”

Seeing a second round of scolding about to rain down, the Xuantian Sect disciples suddenly received a sect transmission. The sect had discussed and decided to temporarily lift restrictions for fifty miles around Xiangji Temple. Any more would involve complex political issues and require discussion by the Three Sects Alliance.

The Xuantian Sect disciples hurriedly conveyed this good news to Shen Bingsi. Although annoyed by Xuantian Sect’s stingy behavior of not giving full permission, Shen Bingsi couldn’t care less. The urgent task was to find Rong Xie first.

Shen Bingsi opened his spiritual sense, releasing it overwhelmingly.

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Anyone with cultivation within fifty miles felt a pressure like thorns on their back, as if a mighty figure were spying on them from above. Mortals sensitive to spiritual fluctuations also woke from their dreams with hearts pounding wildly, unsure why they had suddenly awakened…

As for the Xuantian Sect disciples, bearing the brunt of the spiritual sense impact, they couldn’t even speak. They felt their internal organs being pierced through. They wanted to flee, but their legs felt filled with lead, unable to take a single step…

Lights lit up one by one inside Xiangji Temple. The high monks in the temple got up, pushing open windows or doors to look out. Some walked into the courtyard, chaotic footsteps sounding everywhere.

In such a chaotic scene, Shen Bingsi immediately found that familiar person.

“Rong’er.”

Shen Bingsi snapped his eyes open, retracting his vast spiritual sense completely.

He strode across the square in front of Xiangji Temple, entered the temple gate, crossed the courtyard, and arrived at the back meditation rooms under the astonished gazes of the monks.

Right next to the meditation room he stayed in, four rooms down to the right—a room that was supposed to be empty—the door was half open. Someone wearing a plain cloak stood inside the threshold, staring at him in astonishment.

“Rong’er.”

Shen Bingsi’s heart beat heavily and painfully. He stared unblinkingly at that familiar figure, taking the first step, the second step, his pace getting faster and faster until that person was within arm’s reach.

And he did exactly that.

Shen Bingsi reached out and pulled Rong Xie into his arms, hugging him tightly, using enough force to seemingly knead him into his body, until Rong Xie’s shoulder blades made a slight cracking sound.

“Bingsi…” Rong Xie pushed against Shen Bingsi slightly. He felt his chest compressed, unable to breathe, and his shoulder blades ached faintly. “What exactly… is going on? Why… did you come back from outside?”

“You’re asking me!” Shen Bingsi hugged him enough, released him, and complained exasperatedly. “Didn’t we agree to carry the jade pendant at all times when outside? Where did you lose it again?! I contacted you all night, and you didn’t reply at all!”

Rong Xie was stunned. Shen Bingsi contacted him all night? But his jade pendant had been quiet, making no sound at all. Because of this, he thought Shen Bingsi still didn’t want to talk to him, so he asked the monk to open a new meditation room nearby, planning to talk in the morning.

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“My jade pendant has been on me the whole time,” Rong Xie said.

Shen Bingsi froze. “On you the whole time?”

“Yes, it didn’t ring at all,” Rong Xie said.

“Let me see.” Shen Bingsi held out his hand.

Rong Xie untied the Transmission Jade from his waist and handed it to Shen Bingsi.

Shen Bingsi turned it over and over to inspect it but found nothing. The Transmission Jade still carried Rong Xie’s body warmth; he had indeed been carrying it. And the temperature wasn’t high, not the state after vibrating.

The Transmission Jade had failed.

“Sword Saint Shen, since the person is found, we will…”

The voices of the Xuantian Sect disciples came from behind. They had just recovered from the impact of Shen Bingsi’s spiritual sense and followed him in, only to see Shen Bingsi holding someone tightly—presumably that Cultivator Rong, comparable to a “beloved wife.”

They waited a while. Seeing Shen Bingsi not turning around, presumably needing to sort things out with Cultivator Rong, they spoke up to remind Shen Bingsi they were taking their leave.

Shen Bingsi stood there motionless, as if he hadn’t heard.

“Sword Saint Shen?” A Xuantian Sect disciple plucked up the courage to speak again.

This time, Shen Bingsi still didn’t move, but Cultivator Rong opposite him leaned out, cupped his hands at them, and signaled they could leave first.

“Apologies for making you come out so late. Truly sorry.” Rong Xie sent his voice over with spiritual power. The volume wasn’t loud, but it reached everyone’s ears clearly, smoothing things over for Shen Bingsi with perfect etiquette.

This kind of short-distance voice transmission wasn’t a difficult spell, but Rong Xie’s voice felt like a spring breeze. The disciples breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly returned the bow to Rong Xie, and withdrew from Xiangji Temple.

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Shen Bingsi indeed had no attention to spare for others. His focus was entirely on the Transmission Jade.

This wasn’t an ordinary Transmission Jade; it was a Concentric Transmission Jade.

There were only two possibilities for a Concentric Transmission Jade to fail.

First, the jade was broken—physical damage that couldn’t be repaired, requiring a replacement.

Second, the two holding the jade were no longer of one heart and mind. Their intentions had diverged significantly, and they were no longer connected.