Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 73

Chapter 73: Moving Day

Rong Xie was gone.

The moment he saw the transmission jade pendant carved with the character “Rong,” Shen Bingsi realized it almost immediately.

He glared at the jade pendant as if glaring at an enemy—an enemy he could do nothing about.

He could only stare at it in anger like a child.

Shen Bingsi grabbed the pendant and hurled it toward the corner of the room.

The pendant shot out, looking as if it would shatter against the wall, but stopped abruptly in the next instant, then slowly flew back, returning to Shen Bingsi’s hand.

Shen Bingsi cupped the jade pendant, his cheeks tight, teeth clenched. After a moment, he finally placed it back on the table.

Shen Bingsi sat cross-legged on the bed, directly facing the bed table. His gaze fixed unblinkingly on the transmission jade pendant—in reality, he was staring at nothing, his vision blank.

The moment he saw it, it felt as if a string in Shen Bingsi’s mind had snapped. With a buzz, numbness spread from the back of his head down his spine. His sleepiness vanished instantly, as did his motivation to do anything else. His heart and mind were filled with only one sentence: Rong Xie is gone.

Rong Xie was really gone.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Bingsi abruptly jumped off the bed, grabbed the pendant, and walked out the door.

As he walked, he released his spiritual senses, quickly locking onto a target.

Shen Bingsi found Shen Yan, Dragon Shaoye, and Fang Renji busy working in the grass of the front courtyard.

He grabbed Shen Yan’s collar from a distance using telekinesis and pulled him directly in front of him. Shen Yan struggled for a moment, saw it was him, and stopped moving, letting him pull him expressionlessly.

For some reason, Shen Bingsi seemed to see sympathy in Shen Yan’s eyes.

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Sympathy? What is there to sympathize with?

Shen Bingsi was about to explode with rage when he suddenly remembered: when he couldn’t control himself and almost hurt Rong Xie, it was Shen Yan who bravely intervened and snapped him out of it. Although Shen Yan’s lightning fireball had been as light as a willow catkin with zero attack power, his courage was worthy of praise.

Thinking this, Shen Bingsi suppressed his irritable temper and released Shen Yan’s collar. “Where is Rong Xie?”

“Brother Rong left,” Shen Yan said calmly.

“…”

Dragon Shaoye and Fang Renji watched from the side with fearful expressions, secretly pinching spell seals. They were just waiting for Shen Bingsi to erupt so they could unleash a bombardment of spells and hopefully escape with their lives in the chaos.

Unexpectedly, Shen Bingsi’s reaction wasn’t obvious; it could even be called plain.

“Oh,” Shen Bingsi asked. “Went to Lanyuan?”

“Yes.”

“When did he leave?”

“Seven or eight days ago.”

Shen Bingsi fell silent again, thoughts unknown, though his expression didn’t fluctuate much.

Although Shen Yan appeared calm on the surface, he was incredibly nervous inside. Standing closest to Shen Bingsi, he knew the power of this Heartless Path Adjudicator well—a light strike could knock away the lightning fireball Shen Yan had summoned with all his might.

Now, although Shen Bingsi’s face showed no expression, the spiritual pressure radiating from him was like thousands of sharp needles piercing Shen Yan’s skin from all directions. If Shen Yan moved even slightly, those needles might penetrate his flesh, pierce his organs, or even tear him to shreds.

“Heh,” Shen Bingsi laughed strangely. “Why didn’t Brother Rong take you with him?”

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Shen Yan looked up in confusion.

“Aren’t you always calling him ‘Brother Rong’ this and ‘Brother Rong’ that, having such a good relationship? So what? Being close didn’t mean he took you along.” Shen Bingsi seemed to be in a good mood. Not only did he withdraw the spiritual pressure, but he also spoke to Shen Yan with a subtle smile.

Shen Yan frowned. “That’s because…”

“Enough, no need to explain.” Shen Bingsi raised a hand to stop Shen Yan, appearing as if he had seen through everything. Then, hands behind his back, he scrutinized the lawn Shen Yan and the others had just trimmed, praising, “Good work. He did teach you some practical things, though that’s all he could teach.”

Shen Yan’s frown deepened. He even cast a questioning glance at Dragon Shaoye nearby.

Dragon Shaoye looked equally blank. No one knew what Shen Bingsi was happy about. They thought he would be angry or sad. They didn’t expect his first reaction to learning his constant companion and best friend had left would be amusement. Was this the enlightenment of a mighty cultivator of the Heartless Path?

“Keep working. Do a good job. Now that Rong Xie is gone, Huanxue Villa is counting on you.” Shen Bingsi patted Shen Yan’s shoulder, walked briskly toward the middle gate, and soon disappeared behind it.

Shen Yan and the other two looked at each other.

“This… is the Head Master okay?” Dragon Shaoye waited a moment. Seeing no further movement from the backyard, he sidled up to Shen Yan and couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t know either. He looks okay.” Shen Yan sighed. “Ideally, he’s okay.”

“Then can we… report safety to Brother Rong?” Dragon Shaoye signaled with his eyes toward Shen Yan’s inner pocket, where another transmission jade pendant lay—one Rong Xie had left for Shen Yan to use in emergencies when he went to the Shen Family Village, which hadn’t been taken back.

Shen Yan immediately glared at Dragon Shaoye, telling him not to blurt everything out.

“Mm, but the Head Master’s reaction was indeed a bit too plain. When he asked me how to keep Brother Rong before, he seemed quite fine…” Dragon Shaoye mumbled.

That’s right. After the argument that day, they knew the friend Shen Bingsi mentioned who liked him was Rong Xie.

Although it was hard to accept that someone as good as Brother Rong would like the Head Master, even the best people have flaws. Brother Rong’s flaw was that his eyesight wasn’t great. Combined with this shortcoming, the gentle and perfect Brother Rong in other aspects became even more heartbreaking.

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That argument… just thinking about it was terrifying. In the past, although the Head Master had a short temper, it was only toward others. They had never seen him treat Brother Rong so fiercely. Frankly, no one should treat Brother Rong so fiercely, given how good-tempered, gentle, and patient he was with everyone. No one had a reason to lose their temper at Brother Rong unless that person was a bad guy.

The Head Master that day was a bad guy through and through!

When Shen Yan and the others arrived, the front courtyard was littered with stone debris. Shen Bingsi had smashed that solid stone table in half and was gripping Brother Rong, looking terrifyingly like he wanted to tear him apart. It was only because Shen Yan reacted quickly and distracted Shen Bingsi with a lightning fireball that Brother Rong managed to escape.

Although they arrived in time, Brother Rong’s wrist had still been pinched red, making hand movements inconvenient while teaching them to clean the villa over the next two days.

Witnessing Shen Bingsi treat Brother Rong that way, Shen Yan and the others urged Brother Rong to leave quickly. Who knew when Shen Bingsi would return? Escaping safely was more important.

Rong Xie, however, said that the Head Master had likely gone up Wushang Immortal Mountain to find his master and probably wouldn’t trouble them upon his return. Having been the steward of Huanxue Villa for so many years, he wanted to finish well, hand things over properly, and then leave. As for them, if they encountered difficulties, they could go to Lanyuan to find him, but they should try to stay at the villa as there were more opportunities here.

Having seen Shen Bingsi’s rage with their own eyes, honestly, Shen Yan and the others didn’t have much hope of continuing to work at the villa, but since Brother Rong said so, they bit the bullet and stayed.

Unexpectedly, after the Head Master returned, it was just as Brother Rong said—he didn’t trouble them. He even asked a few casual questions, seeming not to care at all about Brother Rong’s departure.

Is this the Heartless Path…

Looking back at the argument that day, the Head Master was the same: all emotions suddenly vanished, leaving him expressionless. That appearance was simply more terrifying than his anger, as if he had suddenly changed from a bad person into a dead person.

His words were strange too. One moment he was begging miserably, “Don’t leave me alone,” and the next he was saying, “Since you want to leave so badly, go.” No person with a normal brain could say such contradictory things, right?

It was only seeing Shen Bingsi’s face-change with their own eyes that Shen Yan and the others realized the saying “cultivators of the Heartless Path are all lunatics” wasn’t said in vain.

After the face-change, Shen Bingsi indeed lost his emotions. He became cold, harsh, completely unconcerned with old feelings, and unhurt by them. He calmly calculated gains and losses, telling Rong Xie to think clearly about the benefits and the price of betrayal.

That manner was simply like swapping the core out and becoming a different person.

“Do you guys feel that the Head Master has been like a different person since that day, and… hasn’t changed back?” Fang Renji, who was usually reticent, stared fearfully at the middle gate where Shen Bingsi had left.

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“Indeed. I heard that Heartless Path cultivators specifically train for this—cutting off emotions or something…” Dragon Shaoye rubbed his chin. He had learned a bit more about the Heartless Path since coming to work at Huanxue Villa.

“It’s Severing Thoughts.” A look of disgust appeared on Shen Yan’s face. “Although the Heartless Path progresses quickly, a price must be paid.” He added silently in his heart: The price is becoming neither human nor ghost. If I had the chance to cultivate properly, I would absolutely never choose the Heartless Path.

“Is that so?” Fang Renji seemed slightly relieved. “I thought the Head Master was possessed. In our village, possession is—mph!”

Shen Yan and Dragon Shaoye reached out simultaneously to cover Fang Renji’s mouth.

Don’t say that, little brother.

However, Shen Bingsi becoming cold did have one benefit: he wouldn’t cling to Rong Xie like before, nor would he chase after him just because he left, interfering with Rong Xie starting a new life.

It seemed Brother Rong could live a peaceful life for a while. Hopefully, he would find a house he liked in Lanyuan.

Shen Yan and Dragon Shaoye looked at each other, seeing the same hope in each other’s eyes.

On the very day Shen Bingsi returned to the villa, the carriage Rong Xie was riding arrived in Lanyuan, eight hundred miles away.

The wheels rumbled as they traveled down the widest bluestone avenue in the center of Lanyuan. The massive silhouette of the Southern Mountains, the rolling, gentle fields of Lanyuan, and the exquisite, elegant residences on both sides of the street appeared successively outside the carriage curtains.

“Whoa, this place is really amazing!” Wang Mu opened his round black eyes wide, constantly looking out the curtain.

Rong Xie had promised Wang Mu to get him into Huanxue Villa. However, plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Unable to turn one steward position into four, Rong Xie asked Wang Mu whether he wanted to stay in Yingbin Town or come with him.

Rong Xie thought Wang Mu would say stay in Yingbin Town. After all, it was close to the inner sect of the Spirit Mirror Sect. If one wanted to pursue cultivation, it was more convenient within the sphere of influence of a major sect.

Unexpectedly, Wang Mu decided to follow Rong Xie after only a brief thought. According to him: he could learn more following Rong Xie than anyone else, and Rong Xie treated him better.

Rong Xie didn’t know when he had treated him well; he just assumed Wang Mu was used to being glib, got tired of carrying plates at the inn, and wanted to slack off by following him.

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“Brother Rong, what is this place?” The carriage arrived at a private mansion with high walls, and Wang Mu asked.

“This is Tangquan Villa, a place for hot springs and lodging,” Rong Xie answered without thinking. “Three streets to the east is the renowned Lanyuan Villa District. One street to the west is Lanyuan’s largest brokerage house. Let’s settle down here first, then go to the brokerage to handle serious business. If there’s spare time, I’ll take you around the area. There’s a hillside where you can see the entire panorama of the Lanyuan Villa District.”

“Hah, the master really knows this place well.” The gatekeeper of Tangquan Villa who came to receive the carriage laughed. “You look familiar. Are you from the capital?”

Rong Xie smiled. “No, I’ve just been here once before.”

“Master’s memory is truly good!” The gatekeeper praised.

“Planning to buy property here requires some effort,” Rong Xie said politely.

“That’s for sure. Our Master Rong’s ability to remember things is top-notch. Even I, a manager at the auction house, wouldn’t dare extend a foot in front of him.” Lu Yinglin lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage.

Seeing Lu Yinglin, the gatekeeper immediately called out “Master Lu” as if seeing an old acquaintance. Lu Yinglin took out some money and tipped the gatekeeper.

Wang Mu’s eyes darted between Lu Yinglin and the gatekeeper. He turned his head and whispered to Rong Xie, “Wow, he knew his surname was Lu.”