Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 87

Chapter 87: The Beloved

Early the next morning.

Rong Xie arrived early at the steward’s courtyard in the Blue Plateau Manor and walked into his small room where banana leaves covered the window.

Last night, Rong Xie had read the small booklet Steward Wang gave him over and over again. He gained a lot from it and wished he could immediately apply what he learned to the operational planning of the orchard for the coming year. So, he came to the manor first thing in the morning.

After the end-of-ten-day report, the stewards began their new work cycle. That morning, the steward’s courtyard was quite lively, with people passing by Rong Xie’s door from time to time.

Surprisingly, whenever someone passed by, they would just greet Rong Xie and go about their business.

The enthusiasm for matchmaking that had surrounded Rong Xie yesterday disappeared overnight. The stewards seemed to have suddenly lost interest in the matter.

Of course, this was a good thing for Rong Xie.

It was just that the stewards had changed their nature so suddenly that Rong Xie wasn’t quite used to it.

“Could it be because of Lady Ling?” Rong Xie pondered.

That seemed to be the only possibility.

Linglong said she would act as his shield. Now, it seemed this shield had truly taken effect. Had the news spread even without Rong Xie announcing it?

“Never mind. Thinking about this and that is a waste of time.” Rong Xie shook his head and continued working on the budget plan. Unknowingly, his mind became immersed in the work, shutting out distractions, unaware of the passage of time.

When he finished the plan and looked up again, it was already noon.

Rong Xie stood up from his desk, stretched his muscles and bones, picked up the small booklet and the new plan, and went to find Steward Wang.

Steward Wang was assigning tasks in the courtyard. Seeing Rong Xie approach, he waved his hand to dismiss the junior stewards, then walked over with a beaming smile to ask what Rong Xie needed.

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Rong Xie handed the small booklet to Steward Wang and expressed his gratitude. The contents recorded in the booklet had benefited him greatly.

“No need to be polite,” Steward Wang laughed. “You finished reading it so quickly? It wouldn’t have mattered if you kept it for two more days.”

“I’ve finished it. This is the budget plan for next year that I wrote based on this booklet. Please take a look.” Rong Xie handed over a stack of papers he had written. For convenience, he had put them in an envelope.

Steward Wang knew the weight of this plan just by pinching the envelope. He hurriedly accepted it. “To produce so much in just half a day… Steward Rong, you’ve worked hard.”

“It’s a lot, but it might not necessarily be useful. Steward Wang, please correct me where needed,” Rong Xie said.

“Good, good. I’ll take it back and look at it. However, things have been busy these past few days, so I’m afraid the reply might be delayed for a while,” Steward Wang said.

“No rush.” Rong Xie smiled. “Whenever you are free.”

Business concluded, Rong Xie bid farewell.

Steward Wang hesitated for a moment, then called out to Rong Xie.

“I heard Steward Zhang introduced a girl from a distant relative’s family to you?” Steward Wang asked.

Rong Xie thought, Finally, someone asked. As expected, the matter has spread.

“That is correct.”

“Mm…” Steward Wang’s expression was a bit hard to describe. “About this matter, should you discuss it with Spirit Master Shen?”

“Discuss it with Shen Bingsi?” Rong Xie was surprised. “What is there to discuss with him? Wait, did he… come here yesterday?”

During the meeting yesterday, Rong Xie had received a tip-off from Shen Yan saying Shen Bingsi would come. He had been on guard all day, but Shen Bingsi never appeared.

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So Shen Bingsi hadn’t failed to show up; he had come to the Blue Plateau Manor and found Steward Wang instead.

“What did Shen Bingsi say?” Rong Xie frowned. “Who I date doesn’t need his approval, right? Steward Wang, to tell you the truth, he and I don’t really have any contact now. I came out here just to live my own life.”

Steward Wang sighed. “It’s difficult for me too. Sigh, Spirit Master Shen seems to mind the matter of you starting a family very much. He specifically instructed me not to do any matchmaking for you.”

“What? He forbade matchmaking for me?” Rong Xie felt both angry and amused.

Angry because Shen Bingsi was overstepping. Shen Bingsi practiced the Ruthless Path himself and accepted no one’s kindness. When he rejected Rong Xie back then, he was so harsh. Now that Rong Xie was following good advice and looking for someone else, he refused to allow it and came to cause trouble. Such domineering behavior was truly infuriating.

Amused because Shen Bingsi’s sneaky behavior was completely different from the magnanimous attitude he projected—as if he wasn’t the one who opened the door and told Rong Xie to leave and never come back.

“Yes. After all, Spirit Master Shen has a deep friendship with our Master. We dare not disobey matters he specifically instructs. So, Steward Rong, you should talk to him properly,” Steward Wang said helplessly.

“…Alright,” Rong Xie also understood Steward Wang’s difficulty. “If I see him, I will speak to him.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Steward Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Rong Xie returned to Bamboo Lane with a heavy heart.

He had originally thought that Shen Bingsi came to see him just to see how his life was going, to see if it was as he had predicted.

Worst case scenario, Shen Bingsi would see that he wasn’t doing so well, go back, and make some embellished comments in front of Shen Yan and the others to show off his foresight that Rong Xie couldn’t make it without him.

Rong Xie could actually understand this psychology because he had a bit of it himself. Every time Shen Yan sent a voice transmission saying how anxious and abnormal the Villa Master was, a secret wave of pleasure would surge in Rong Xie’s heart, and he would be very energetic for the rest of the time, full of drive in whatever he did.

However, secretly feeling good was one thing; taking action to trip the other person up overtly or covertly was a bit despicable.

Rong Xie had always believed that no matter how broken his relationship with Shen Bingsi was, it didn’t affect his high opinion of Shen Bingsi’s character. He was open, aboveboard, upright, and honest. Of all the people Rong Xie had met, he was the most outstanding one. Otherwise, Rong Xie wouldn’t have dived in headfirst, proceeding without hesitation even knowing the ending would be bleak.

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But now, Shen Bingsi’s actions were ruining all of that. His glorious image in Rong Xie’s heart was collapsing.

“No, this can’t go on,” Rong Xie muttered to himself. “If I see him again, I must make it clear to him. Part on good terms… this kind of entanglement is meaningless.”

Thinking this, Rong Xie walked into Bamboo Lane.

Suddenly, a deep green figure drifted past the corner of his eye. Rong Xie couldn’t help but turn to look and saw a young woman with a high ponytail walking along the bluestone street.

The cultivation sects had many beauties. Rong Xie had seen many beautiful female cultivators in the inner sect of the Lingjing Sect. Later, he saw many exotic beauties in his prophetic dreams. Even Cui Xingmiao, designated by the Book of Fate as the most beautiful of them all, couldn’t tug at Rong Xie’s heartstrings like this passing young woman did.

He almost stared blankly—fortunately, the young woman didn’t notice him. She walked across the street with great strides, merging into the crowd without looking back.

“This is…” Rong Xie came back to his senses, clutching his chest. His heart was thumping as if it wanted to jump out of his chest cavity. “What is happening…”

Rong Xie had been out for so long and had never really thought about starting a family with a girl. But just now, he wavered.

“Big Brother Rong, what are you looking at here?” A crisp voice asked from behind, startling Rong Xie.

Rong Xie turned around. “Lady Linglong?”

Linglong had changed into a bright red cloak with a goose-yellow velvet skirt underneath. She was already petite and cute; these bright clothes made her look even more brilliant, like a flower.

However, Rong Xie’s heart and eyes were filled with that deep green figure. He suddenly felt a burst of guilt, as if he had secretly found a sweetheart behind the back of his ally in the Shield Alliance.

Linglong hadn’t come to find Rong Xie to consolidate the shield image this time; she actually had business.

When she went back yesterday, she immediately passed the news of meeting Rong Xie to the Treasure Hunting Team. Everyone in the team was very excited and expressed their desire to come to the Blue Plateau to find them. Linglong was afraid too many people would disturb Rong Xie’s life, so she didn’t agree.

But Linglong couldn’t refuse Captain Zhao’s request.

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Captain Zhao was the leader of the Treasure Hunting Team. He was carefree and valued loyalty greatly. He really wanted to meet Rong Xie. It happened that he also had some clues about a treasure, but because he lacked sufficient knowledge, he couldn’t decipher them and had been unable to act. Now, with Rong Xie there, he could decipher these clues, and the Treasure Hunting Team could get back on the right track instead of dealing with petty matters every day.

Like the other members, Linglong looked forward to the team returning to the right path and restarting treasure hunts. So, after hearing Captain Zhao’s request, she couldn’t wait to find Rong Xie, wanting to arrange a meeting between the two as soon as possible.

“Whenever it’s convenient for Captain Zhao, I am available,” Rong Xie smiled after listening to Linglong’s explanation.

“Really? Then I’ll contact him immediately and tell him to come out today—” Linglong stood up hurriedly.

“No rush. It’s getting late today. Captain Zhao probably wouldn’t arrive until dark.” Rong Xie lifted the teapot and poured a cup of freshly brewed flower tea. “Why don’t you contact him first to see when he can come? We can have a simple meal together and discuss the treasure clues then.”

“Okay, okay! We’ll listen to Big Brother Rong!” Linglong formed a whistle with two hands, placed it to her lips, and blew. An eagle-headed falcon shot over the courtyard wall like a cannonball, skimmed over the pond, and bang—slammed into the glazed window.

“Oh no, dummy!” Linglong hurriedly opened that side of the window, scooped up the eagle-headed falcon, and placed it on the window lattice, waiting for it to dazedly find its footing.

“Is this… your messenger?” Rong Xie handed the teacup to Linglong. “It seems to be knocked dizzy. Let it rest for a while.”

“Sigh, it’s my fault. I forgot the glazed window is transparent,” Linglong said dejectedly.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll cast a healing spell, and it’ll be fine.” Linglong downed the flower tea in one gulp, handed the cup back to Rong Xie, mumbling “Mhm, so fragrant,” and formed a spell seal with both hands. A light purple glow appeared between her palms.

Rong Xie recalled that when Steward Zhang introduced Linglong, he seemed to have said she was the daughter of a family of divine doctors.

It seemed this little eagle-headed falcon would be fine.

Poof!

A burst of white smoke rose up.

Rong Xie took half a step back, looking up at the window lattice, feeling something was wrong.

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Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, the little eagle-headed falcon was staring with two round eyes, its entire body stiff as a rock, standing frozen in place, unable to move.

“Oh my,” Linglong waved her arms wildly. “I’m done for. This spell seal only heals people, not birds…”

Rong Xie’s eyelid twitched slightly. Although he had long heard that rogue cultivators were a ragtag bunch, he didn’t expect a divine doctor family to be this unreliable.

“Let me do it.” Rong Xie reached for the pouch at his waist. He remembered there were a few talismans inside for removing abnormal states, effective on all living things. Helping out casually wouldn’t cost much spiritual power.

However, before his hand could reach into the pouch, a deep green figure flipped down from the eaves, glided through the window as elegantly as an inverted orchid, and landed lightly. One arm blocked Rong Xie’s arm, while a hand reached toward the little eagle-headed falcon, five fingers covering its face.

Blue light flashed. The little eagle-headed falcon returned to normal, let out a short cry, fluttered its wings, jumped onto Linglong’s head, and messed up her hair with its claws.