Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 98

Chapter 98: The New Neighbor

Blue Plateau, Bamboo Lane, a sunny day after snow.

Early in the morning, the small path outside the fence had been noisy. Rong Xie cocked his ear to listen; it seemed a new neighbor was moving in.

Who moved house right before the New Year? Rong Xie couldn’t understand.

Rong Xie liked quiet, and few families lived in the courtyards of Bamboo Lane. According to the broker, most homeowners here were officials or merchants in the capital. They lived in Shengjing on weekdays and only came over during holidays.

Rong Xie liked such neighbors who bought houses but didn’t live in them, having zero presence.

Unexpectedly, with the New Year approaching, a new neighbor was moving in, and right next to Rong Xie’s courtyard at that. He dared not imagine how noisy it would be if a large family moved in.

It was clearly a beautiful sunny day after the snow, but Rong Xie’s mood suddenly dimmed. He hastily tidied his appearance and went out.

“Be careful, this furniture is expensive. It’s custom-made from precious wood; you can’t afford to pay if you damage it.”

“A bit to the left, a bit more to the left—eh, that’s right!”

“How is the cleaning inside going? We’ll inspect it later.”

Rong Xie stepped out and sure enough, saw the neighbor’s main gate wide open. Several young, robust family servants were carrying furniture inside. Half of the Bamboo Lane path was occupied by servants and furniture.

But… why did this furniture look so familiar?

Rong Xie stared suspiciously at a set of cherry wood tables and chairs being carried in. No matter how he looked at it, it resembled the style he used at Huanxue Villa. Wait, even the chipped mark on the corner was exactly the same?

Unknowingly, Rong Xie had moved closer, stroking the chipped piece on the corner of the cherry wood table. He still remembered that was a mark made when Shen Bingsi was playing around with him and accidentally bumped into it without retracting his hard protective spiritual energy.

A bold guess rose in Rong Xie’s heart.

“May I ask who the owner of this house is…” Rong Xie looked up, about to ask, when he suddenly realized the servants in front of him looked familiar. His eyes widened involuntarily.

“Brother Rong, it’s us.”

“Brother Rong!!!”

Shen Yan and Long Shaoye had squeezed up from behind at some point and were now standing right in front of Rong Xie. Both were dressed as family servants; without looking at their faces, they were indeed hard to recognize.

Shen Yan’s gaze was burning, and Long Shaoye was even more exaggerated; his whole face flushed red, and he spread his arms to pounce, only to be stopped by Shen Yan.

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“Shen Yan, Long Shaoye!” Rong Xie was also very surprised. He looked around. “Where is Fang Renji? Did he come too?”

“No, Little Fang is guarding the house at home.” Long Shaoye said enthusiastically. “Brother Rong, can we visit your house? Brother Rong’s house must be very comfortable. It would be even better if we could have a cup of fruit tea!”

“Shaoye, Brother Rong has things to do. Let’s wait until Brother Rong finishes his work and comes back.” Shen Yan reminded Long Shaoye. “Besides, our moving isn’t finished yet. Running to Brother Rong’s house like this is inappropriate.”

“What ‘our moving’? It’s clearly the Grand Master’s moving…” Long Shaoye suddenly remembered this matter and hurriedly said to Rong Xie, “Brother Rong, bad news! The Grand Master is moving next door to you!”

“…”

Although he didn’t want to accept it, the facts were right there—the new neighbor moving in next door was none other than Shen Bingsi.

Rong Xie still had to work at the Blue Plateau Manor and didn’t have time to host the two little ones, so he only chatted with them by the roadside for a while.

Shen Bingsi didn’t decide to move on a whim; he had planned it for a few days. Calculating the time, it started exactly on the day Rong Xie told him not to overstep.

Rong Xie thought he had backed off in the face of difficulty. Unexpectedly, he went back to lie in wait, and in the blink of an eye, pulled a big move without any gap in between.

Moving from Huanxue Villa wasn’t easy. Rong Xie had gone through the process himself and knew how troublesome it was. Although Shen Bingsi had help from the sect, the necessary procedures still had to be followed. He had completed it silently like this, and by the time Rong Xie discovered it, it was a done deal.

Rong Xie felt a headache coming on.

“We didn’t expect Master Shen would really move house either…” Shen Yan said with some self-blame. “He must still be guarding against us. This time, we didn’t notice anything at all and failed to notify Brother Rong in time.”

Rong Xie sighed and shook his head. “I don’t blame you.”

Sometimes even he couldn’t guess Shen Bingsi’s thoughts, let alone Shen Yan and the others.

“I’m managing the garden for Grand Secretary Wang at the Blue Plateau Manor now. I have to go to the ten-day meeting later. I’m afraid I won’t have time to host you today. How about tomorrow? Come to my house, and I’ll make you delicious food.” Rong Xie pondered.

“Brother Rong, no need to host us specially.”

“Yeah, we’re going back today.” The two said.

Rong Xie was surprised. “Going back so soon? You’re not staying here?”

“No, we’re going back to the villa. Only Master Shen will be here alone.” Shen Yan and Long Shaoye answered.

He didn’t expect their schedule to be so tight. Everything was piling up. Helpless, Rong Xie had to decline the lunch at the meeting and find a way to come back early to meet them.

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“How about this? I’ll try to finish early today and come back at noon to find you. We’ll go eat at the North Gate Market together,” Rong Xie said.

“That would be great!” The two said happily.

However, plans couldn’t keep up with changes. At the meeting today, Grand Secretary Wang’s old steward from the capital came personally to listen to the report, asking about details meticulously. By the time the old steward finished asking, lunch time had passed.

Rong Xie asked for leave from Steward Wang and hurried back to Bamboo Lane. The lane was very quiet, and there was no movement in the neighbor’s courtyard. Rong Xie peered through the crack in the door; the tables and chairs under the rain shed in the yard were set up, but no one was there.

“They couldn’t have gone back so quickly, right?” Rong Xie muttered. He hesitated for a moment but couldn’t bring himself to break down the door like Shen Bingsi would, so he walked towards his own home.

Failing to have a meal and a good chat with Shen Yan, Long Shaoye, and the others left Rong Xie with some regret. He didn’t know when he would see them again… Shen Bingsi actually didn’t let them come along. Was he worried about leaving Huanxue Villa unattended? Or did he not plan to stay here long? Right, Shen Bingsi had so many things to do; people from the Lingjing Sect and the Mirror Palace were looking for him. How could he stay here for long?

Thinking this through, Rong Xie breathed a secret sigh of relief, opened his courtyard door, and walked in.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from behind. Someone caught up quickly and arrived at his back in the blink of an eye.

Rong Xie hurriedly turned inside the door, slammed it shut without even looking back.

“Eh…” An exclamation came from outside the door, but it was a young girl’s voice.

Rong Xie froze. This uninvited guest tailing him wasn’t the person he thought? He quickly opened the door and saw Linglong in a emerald green jacket standing outside, rubbing her forehead.

“Sorry, Lady Linglong, I didn’t expect it to be you. You aren’t hurt, are you?” Rong Xie felt guilty immediately. He had used force when slamming the door just now. If it hit someone’s head, it would be hard not to get injured, let alone a young girl like Linglong.

“Um, I’m fine. Almost got hit.” Linglong lowered her hand with a lingering fear on her face. Her forehead was smooth, with no signs of impact.

Rong Xie was still worried. He stared at Linglong’s forehead again and again, then took out healing medicine from his pouch to give to Linglong.

“Brother Rong, really, no need. I have plenty of healing medicine at home.” Linglong pushed the medicine back. “It’s my fault too; I was too rushed. Did I startle you, Brother Rong? But I brought huge good news!”

“What huge good news?” Rong Xie wasn’t sure, as this girl often made a fuss about nothing. He stepped aside. “Come in and tell me. What would you like to drink? How about I make you a cup of fruit tea?”

“That would be great!” Linglong followed Rong Xie in. The two walked around the pond toward the flower hall.

On the way, Linglong couldn’t help telling Rong Xie that just this morning, Xiao Zhi sent a message to Captain Zhao saying Lu Yingqi had come out of seclusion and asked when Rong Xie was free for a meeting.

“So fast?” Rong Xie was overjoyed. “What did he say exactly? Please tell me in detail, Lady Linglong.”

“I didn’t ask in detail either.” Linglong scratched the back of her head. “Big Brother Zhao asked me to deliver the message. When I heard Lu Yingqi was out and wanted to see Brother Rong, I ran over immediately!”

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“Is that so.” Rong Xie actually felt a bit uncertain. He had originally intended to maintain a good relationship with Xiao Zhi and learn more about Lu Yingqi before meeting him. He didn’t expect Lu Yingqi to come out of seclusion so quickly, and for Xiao Zhi to convey the request for a meeting so efficiently. This long-awaited meeting was put on the schedule just like that; Rong Xie still couldn’t quite believe it.

“If Brother Rong wants to know anything else, I can send Ah Ying to ask.” Linglong picked up her whistle, about to summon her eagle-headed falcon.

As they spoke, the two entered the flower hall.

A person was already sitting at the tea table, casually stretching out two long legs, boiling water with fire spiritual energy while sipping tea from a cup.

This person was none other than—

“Shen Bingsi?!”

Rong Xie was shocked, standing at the door, unsure whether to enter or not.

Actually, when he ran into Shen Yan and the others moving house this morning, Rong Xie had anticipated seeing Shen Bingsi sooner or later, likely today. That was why he slammed the door immediately when Linglong followed him.

Who would have thought that while he dodged the first blow, he couldn’t dodge the second? Shen Bingsi was actually waiting for him inside the house.

“Sword… Sword Saint Shen?” Linglong’s eyes widened, staring unblinkingly at the person in the room. “Is it really the Ruthless Path Adjudicator, Sword Saint Shen?”

Rong Xie frowned slightly, thinking, When you said Shen Bingsi was annoying and snatched half your treasure before, you didn’t seem to use such a long string of titles…

And why be so surprised? It wasn’t Shen Bingsi’s first time here—wait, he remembered. Last time he came, Shen Bingsi was a woman. It was normal for Linglong not to recognize him.

What kind of messy experiences were these lately…

“Lady Linglong, care for some hot tea? What would you like to drink?” Shen Bingsi smiled.

Linglong’s eyes were round as saucers, muttering in disbelief, “Sword Saint Shen is actually asking me what I want to drink… How is this possible? Sword Saint Shen actually knows my name is Linglong…”

“Ahem.” Rong Xie couldn’t help clearing his throat, taking a step forward to block Linglong behind him. “Shen Bingsi, what are you doing in my house? I don’t recall inviting you. Also, the tea on the table seems to be mine. What do you mean by borrowing flowers to offer Buddha?”

“It means… taking credit.” Shen Bingsi put down the teacup, stood up from the tea table, smiled proudly, and looked at Rong Xie. “Didn’t you want to know the details? I was the one who banged on the door to call that shrinking turtle Lu Yingqi out. Ask whatever you want to know.”