Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 59

Chapter 59: Wronged

What “fetching something”? That was absolute bullshit!

What good things could the Shen family possibly have to make Rong Xie travel a thousand miles to retrieve them? It sounded like a trap from the get-go. If Rong Xie went foolishly, wouldn’t he just be delivering himself to be tormented?

When Shen Bingsi heard this excuse, he instantly panicked.

He summoned the Sheng Xie Sword and flew toward the Shen Family Manor in Heyang County.

Just as he flew past the main peak of the Lingjing Sect, he was intercepted by a streak of azure light. Shen Bingsi took a closer look: “Elder Yun Feng?”

“Oh, are my eyes deceiving me? Isn’t this Sword Saint Shen?” Elder Yun Feng was still holding a grudge over the time Shen Bingsi had ignored him with a dark face before going into seclusion, so he spoke with a sarcastic tone.

“…Elder Yun Feng, I have urgent business. We can chat another day.” Shen Bingsi raised his sword to leave.

Elder Yun Feng cast a spell, yanking Shen Bingsi off his flying sword. “Don’t go. Why did you come out so soon? Did you go back to the Villa?”

“I did!” Shen Bingsi broke free from Elder Yun Feng’s pull. He was about to leave when he suddenly realized something. “Why do you ask?”

“Your little friend came looking for me,” Elder Yun Feng mused. “Was it a month ago, or half a month ago…”

“What did he want with you?” Shen Bingsi stopped and stared intently at Elder Yun Feng.

“Well, he couldn’t find you, so he found me. I told him you’d be in seclusion for at least three to five years…” Elder Yun Feng stroked his beard, noticing Shen Bingsi staring at him with an unkind expression. “Don’t you think three to five years is about right? Even that might be too short. With the posture you and Xue Baoshan took, it looked like you were preparing to charge for the Distraction Stage…”

Before he could finish, a golden light shot out. Shen Bingsi was already gone.

“Tsk.” Elder Yun Feng shook his head. “Impatient. Are all Heartless Path cultivators this emotional nowadays?”

Shen Bingsi tore through the night sky on his sword, rushing toward the Shen Family Manor at maximum speed.

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Even flying at his fastest, the objective distance to the Shen Family Manor remained unchanged.

In the dark night sky, the more Shen Bingsi imagined, the more irritable he became.

Half an hour later, the flying sword plummeted toward the ground like a meteor, smashing into the main street in front of the Shen Family Manor with a loud boom. The stone-paved road was blasted into a massive crater, sending gravel and dust flying. Fortunately, the road was empty at night, save for the two doorkeepers who were so frightened they sat on the ground, crying out for their parents.

Shen Bingsi walked out of the dust cloud carrying his sword, kicked open the main gate of the Shen estate, and walked straight into the main hall.

Inside the main hall, Second Uncle Shen was supervising servants as they counted household registration papers, while Head Steward Shen muttered beside him.

“Second Master, are we really going to organize the household registration papers for that Rong fellow? Are we just going to watch him get his way?”

Second Uncle Shen glanced at Head Steward Shen and dug his ear with considerable annoyance. “What else? Who can overturn the Old Master’s decision? Why don’t you go talk to the Old Master?”

“Who would dare?” Head Steward Shen laughed apologetically. “I just… I don’t want that Rong fellow to move out so easily. He didn’t give us any benefits when he moved in, occupied one of our quotas for so long, and now he just leaves? He should at least pay back the head tax we paid for him all these years and the storage fee for keeping his documents.”

Second Uncle Shen thought about it; it seemed reasonable. “You have a point. But how much should we ask for?”

Head Steward Shen stroked the short beard under his chin. Thinking of the various luxuries of Huanxue Villa and how Rong Xie had managed such a lucrative position alone for so long—who knew how much profit he had skimmed—boundless jealousy rose in his heart. “Three thousand taels. No, five thousand! At least five thousand taels of silver!”

Second Uncle Shen jumped in fright. “Are you crazy? Five thousand taels? That’s enough to buy our Shen Family Manor several times over!”

“Second Master, you haven’t been to Huanxue Villa. You don’t know the life they live. The money that Rong fellow scraped off our Second Young Master… five thousand is asking for too little—”

Before Head Steward Shen could finish, the doors and windows of the main hall burst open with a bang. Biting night wind poured into the room, blowing the papers on the desk into the air.

“Hey, hey! What’s going on? Who closed the doors and windows? How did they blow open?”

Second Uncle Shen stopped mid-curse, suddenly freezing as he looked toward the door.

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Head Steward Shen had been staring at the door like he was seeing a ghost from the start. His arrogant demeanor instantly withered, and he quietly shuffled behind Second Uncle Shen.

Outside the threshold, the fierce wind blew the newcomer’s robes and hair. Having just arrived from an extremely cold place, ice crystals still clung to his hair and clothes, rustling down as he moved. The newcomer’s face was terrifyingly grim, like thousand-year-old mysterious ice dredged from a frozen lake, faintly exuding a green aura. Having flown in the cold wind for so long with his night vision fully active, his eyes were bloodshot, making him look like an evil ghost from hell as he stared red-eyed at the two men in the hall.

“Bing… Bingsi?” Second Uncle Shen called out tentatively. “Why are you back at this hour?”

Shen Bingsi strode toward the desk, reached into the air, and the household registration papers flying around landed in his hand. He read them as he walked, finishing by the time he reached the desk, and slammed them down with a slap.

Between his fingers, Rong Xie’s name was faintly visible.

“Why didn’t you send someone to announce…”

Second Uncle Shen was still babbling, but Shen Bingsi cut him off. “Where is Rong Xie?”

“Bingsi, you…” Second Uncle Shen was a bit displeased. “Is that how you speak to your Second Uncle?”

“Where is Rong Xie?” Shen Bingsi’s voice grew even colder. He usually disdained using spiritual power to threaten ordinary people, but he couldn’t care less right now. Unleashing his spiritual pressure, Second Uncle Shen involuntarily shivered.

“Brother Rong is resting in the west guest room,” Head Steward Shen said, cold sweat pouring down his back as he forced himself to speak.

Shen Bingsi got the answer he wanted, but he didn’t leave. He lifted his eyelids and looked at Head Steward Shen.

Head Steward Shen’s heart constricted. He felt an invisible, massive force pull him out from behind Second Uncle Shen. His feet left the ground, and he involuntarily flew toward Shen Bingsi. He struggled, but Shen Bingsi grabbed him by the collar and dragged him close.

“Five thousand taels of silver, hmm?” Shen Bingsi leaned in close to Head Steward Shen. “Head Steward really has a lion’s appetite!”

“Second Young Master, this old slave… this old slave didn’t mean that!” Head Steward Shen felt his collar tighten, making it hard to breathe, and he begged for mercy repeatedly.

“Didn’t mean that?” Shen Bingsi sneered. “You can’t possibly not know how much five thousand taels is. He couldn’t produce that even if you sold him. As for you lot, what ‘good thing’ did you use to blackmail him into coming back? Let me see. How come he listens to you when he won’t even listen to me?”

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Saying this, Shen Bingsi held the household registration papers up to Head Steward Shen’s face. “Read it.”

Head Steward Shen was being strangled until his tongue stuck out. How could he dare defy Shen Bingsi? He read aloud: “Household Registration, Shen Clan of Shen Family Manor, Heyang County…”

Shen Bingsi listened to two sentences, then slammed the papers onto the desk with a bang, causing Second Uncle Shen, who was standing by the table, to tremble and fall back into the grand armchair.

“This is it, right? The new idea you came up with? Removing Rong Xie’s name from the Shen family registry? If he wants to keep his name, he has to give you five thousand taels?”

Dead silence filled the room.

Head Steward Shen’s eyes widened as he looked at Shen Bingsi in shock, his mouth opening and closing.

Second Uncle Shen was also bewildered. “Bingsi, have you misunderstood…”

“Hmph, misunderstood? I heard you plotting against Rong Xie with my own ears. Could my ears be wrong?” Shen Bingsi sneered. “Second Uncle, I won’t settle accounts with you now, but if I find out you were the one instigating things in front of the Old Master, I won’t care about seniority or respect. Bullying Rong Xie is bullying me. Don’t blame me for turning ruthless!”

“Bingsi, it really wasn’t our idea. Moving out the registration was Rong—”

But Shen Bingsi couldn’t be bothered to listen to their nonsense. He grabbed Head Steward Shen by the collar and dragged him outside. “I’m taking this one. If Rong Xie is unharmed, fine. If Rong Xie has so much as a scratch, I’ll take one of his legs to teach him a lesson. Second Uncle, you’d best behave yourself too.”

With that, Shen Bingsi dragged Head Steward Shen away, leaving Second Uncle Shen dumbfounded.

Shen Bingsi hadn’t returned to the Shen Family Manor in years and momentarily didn’t recognize the way. Fortunately, the paths were full of running servant boys. He grabbed one to lead the way and arrived at the west guest room. The guest room was dark, clearly empty.

Shen Bingsi threw Head Steward Shen at the door and told him to knock.

Head Steward Shen was already scared out of his wits. He couldn’t stand up, so he slumped there scratching at the door, repeatedly calling “Young Master Rong,” thinking only one thing: Rong Xie had to vindicate him.

Head Steward Shen had sat securely in his position for so many years; he was usually the one framing others, never the one being wronged. This was the first time he had been so grievously wronged. The acid in his heart was corroding his internal organs, yet when he opened his mouth to explain, he didn’t know where to start.

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“Young Master Rong, I’m wronged!” Head Steward Shen wiped his tears while scratching the door. “Young Master Rong, I didn’t drive you away! I’m wronged!”

However, such a simple cry of grievance did not attract Shen Bingsi’s attention. He spread his spiritual consciousness directly, searching for Rong Xie within the entire Shen Family Manor.

Soon, he found Rong Xie in a remote corner of the garden. There was a strange Foundation Establishment cultivator beside him.

Shen Bingsi breathed a sigh of relief. Judging by his spiritual state, Rong Xie seemed unharmed. He walked quickly toward the garden, his figure flashing and disappearing into the long corridor leading from the west guest rooms to the garden.

Reappearing, Shen Bingsi was already in the garden. He strode toward the white figure by the rockery. “Rong Er, are you alright?”

Rong Xie looked somewhat distressed, but his complexion was good and his spiritual energy sufficient; he didn’t look like he was being bullied.

Seeing Rong Xie safe and sound, Shen Bingsi finally relaxed completely. But thinking of the words he heard in the main hall, and how the Old Master Shen had been instigated to drive Rong Xie out of the Shen family while he was in seclusion, the rage in his heart was hard to quell.

He grabbed Rong Xie’s hand and held it tight. “Rong Er, let’s go.”

He pulled, but Rong Xie didn’t move.

Shen Bingsi looked back at Rong Xie in surprise.

His best friend still wore that distressed and helpless expression. “Go where?”

“Home,” Shen Bingsi said. “Back to Huanxue Villa. No one can drive you away. If the Shen family troubles you in the future, just ignore them.”

Rong Xie’s brows relaxed slightly, a dreamlike expression appearing in his eyes. “Really? I can still go back to Huanxue Villa?”

Hearing this, Shen Bingsi first felt very puzzled. Then, realizing something, scenes from the Southern Island flashed through his mind. His expression stiffened, and his tight grip on Rong Xie’s hand slowly loosened.

Rong Xie lowered his eyes and withdrew his hand from Shen Bingsi’s.

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The next moment, Shen Bingsi caught his hand again, gripping it anew. “You can go back.”

He spoke almost through gritted teeth. “As long as you give up that stupid thought, we can pretend nothing happened.”