Zao Niang saw Lu Shanjun, and the latter naturally saw her as well. The latter and Qingfeng landed on the stone platform together and nodded slightly to each other as a greeting.
"It's been many years since we last met. How are you, Mr. Shan?"
"I suddenly felt tired during my practice. I dreamt for thirty years and woke up at the end of the year!"
Lu Shanjun answered the question irrelevantly, and looked with emotion at the distance beyond the mountain, towards the direction of Ning'an County. The lights there, which seemed a little dim compared to the big city, were a reassuring place to return to.
"Zao Niang!"
Just as Lu Shanjun finished speaking, a cry of surprise was heard and a red shadow quickly rushed over from the bottom of the mountain and in a moment had flipped over and landed on the stone platform.
The person who came had a graceful, youthful and beautiful figure, and her movements were full of energy, like a bright flame. The flame was still burning when she stopped. It was Hu Yun, who had a happy look on his face.
"Little Fox!"
Zao Niang was also very happy and couldn't help but take a few steps forward.
"Meet the Mountain King!"
"Um."
Lu Shanjun responded, looked at Hu Yun for a few times and shook his head slightly.
"My cultivation hasn't improved much, but I've put a lot of effort into my appearance."
“Puff…”
Zao Niang couldn't help laughing. Although Hu Yun was wearing a red Confucian shirt and a small bun, his soft tassel-like hair and gently curled black hair, as well as his delicate face under his bangs, exuded an air of heroic beauty that made many women feel ashamed.
Hu Yun grinned and muttered softly.
"Do you think everyone is you? Your practice is simply abnormal..."
"Um?"
Lu Shanjun tilted his face slightly, and Hu Yun seemed to see the shadow of a tiger behind his calm expression, which frightened Hu Yun.
"I mean, I'm going to grow a beard next time."
Zao Niang thought about the scene and immediately shook her head.
"Don't do that. It's best to let it happen naturally."
"Indeed, I thought so too. By the way, Zao Niang, I just went to Ju'an Pavilion to look for you, but I found that you were not there. I didn't expect you to be here, and Shanjun is here too. Is the master back?"
Zao Niang smiled and shook her head slightly.
"Since you are here, let's go back to the pavilion together. I will make nectar tea for you."
"Okay, let's go!"
Hu Yun directly transformed into a red fox walking on the clouds and disappeared into the distance in a flash.
"Mountain please!"
After Lu Shanjun bowed, he and Zao Niang flew into the sky above Ning'an County and soon arrived in front of the small pavilion.
Over the years, Ning'an County has undergone great changes, even though it is a peaceful place. However, the area where Ju'an Pavilion is located seems to have changed independently. It is still a quiet alley and a secluded pavilion.
Lu Shanjun looked up at the gate and saw Ji Yuan's inscription clearly visible. The plaque seemed to be weathered but remained unchanged after years of erosion.
Zao Niang opened the door herself. In the cold winter weather, the jujube trees in the yard had both fruits and flowers, and bees were busy among the trees. With some snow in the yard, it was a perfect combination of winter and spring.
Rather than going into the house, the three of them preferred to gather under the tree, and the topic they talked about was naturally related to Ji Yuan.
"Shanjun, I haven't seen Mr. for a long time. Have you seen him?"
Hu Yun drank honey tea and ate date cake. As the cake and tea took his sips, a flaming glow appeared on his face, making him look charming and beautiful. Lu Shanjun frowned slightly, but still answered Hu Yun's question.
"After I woke up, I heard Lao Niu say that he seemed to have met Master on the shore of the North Sea a few years ago. Although he was not sure, he felt very similar, but he could not confirm it. When I rushed over, he was gone."
"How many years can you stay here, sir?"
Hu Yun complained, and Zao Niang on the side rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Given Mr.'s temper, it's hard to say."
"Yes, I thought so too. By the way, Lao Niu also mentioned you to me and said he would take you out for a get-together some other day."
Lu Shanjun looked embarrassed but he "mentioned it casually" with malicious intent. Hu Yun, who was chewing the date cake, paused for a moment, then shuddered slightly, and whispered with some fear.
"I'd rather not... Oh, by the way, Zao Niang, how long have you been out? What have you been doing?"
Zao Niang then put down her teacup and talked about recent events in detail. When she had almost finished speaking, Hu Yun had already spoken with some indignation.
"Well, what evil creature came from? How dare they plot against the descendants of the Sun family? They simply don't know how to write the word death. But if they really love each other and have a human-demon love affair, you wouldn't break them up if you were here, don't you, Shanjun?"
Hu Yun knew Bai Ruo's story, and he had also seen many kind monsters, so he still had good thoughts and wishes about the love between humans and monsters. After all, according to Zao Niang's description just now, the monster didn't look very ferocious.
But what surprised Zaoniang and Hu Yun was that Lu Shanjun had no reaction when he heard these words. He just sipped his tea quietly, and only spoke slowly after a long time.
"It is not easy for good fortune to be passed down through generations. The influence of our ancestors cannot last forever. But since we have come across this, we cannot just ignore it. Let's wait and see."
Today, the Sun family has long forgotten who the remaining materials from the stall were for, and the formalism that remains will not last long. In fact, the Sun noodle stall had been closed long ago, but there have been people learning the craft, or passing it on to other families or the stall was reopened by the Sun family. It has not been completely passed down continuously, and it will eventually disappear.
Lu Shanjun put down the teacup, and ripples appeared in the teacup. Some scenes seemed to be reflected in the ripples. The courtyard was magnificent and the house was gorgeous.
This is a future with a high probability in the calculation. It seems to be very successful. The tablets of heaven and earth and the tablets of ancestors are all in place. Everything seems beautiful. However, in a corner covered with dust and cobwebs, there is a wooden sign that says "Keep a copy".
Ripples appeared in the teacup again, and the picture disappeared. Lu Shanjun smiled faintly, picked up the teacup again and drank it all in one gulp. He turned around and wanted to reach out for the date cake, but found that the plate was empty. Hu Yun's cheeks were puffed up and he was chewing hard.
"Hiss, huh..."
The corner of Lu Shanjun's mouth twitched, and he almost got angry.
"I'll get some more."
Zao Niang held back her laughter and got up to go to the kitchen, while Lu Shanjun spoke coldly to Hu Yun.
"It's already extremely rare to be able to serve up a plate of this date cake, and you don't know how to restrain yourself? You must know that fate can only come once and not again..."
"Then are you still going to eat?"
Zao Niang's voice came from the kitchen, and Lu Shanjun's face turned serious.
"eat!"
Even Lu Shanjun has a desire for food. This date cake is only available in one place in the world. No matter whether you are an immortal, a god, or a Buddha, there are only a handful of people who can eat it.
Hu Yun covered his mouth and almost spit out the jujube cake with his hands, but seeing Lu Shanjun's unfriendly expression, he quickly turned his head away, winked at Zao Niang who came out with a plate, and spoke in colloquial language with his mouth shape - imitating the teacher again!
... ...
The New Year temple fair in Ning'an County is extremely lively. Half of the temple square becomes part of the temple fair in the lively atmosphere of lights and decorations. As the hometown of the sage of literature, Ning'an County is not only famous, but the temple fair also has extraordinary significance.
The scale of the temple fair this year is equally large. People from as near as Desheng Prefecture and as far as thousands of miles away have come to Ning'an County in various ways at this moment to admire the literary atmosphere rising in the Confucian Temple at the moment of transition from the old to the new.
To be honest, there were still many talented people in Ning'an County at that time, but they all stuck to the rules and didn't show off much.
Although it was Chinese New Year, the Sun family still pushed the noodle cart to the temple fair. It was not because the Sun family really had to make this money. To some extent, it was also the need of the temple fair. How could such a large-scale temple fair not have food stalls? The stalls were set up for three days at this time every year, and it was all recorded in the government, which would provide a lot of convenience. In addition, the temple fair was also very knowledgeable.
Fireworks are blooming in the sky, red lights are everywhere on the ground, children are running around with lanterns, and crowds of people are flowing in the temple square, and young men and women are having a tryst... ...
Whether tourists or locals, their faces were flushed by the lights.
"Selling braised noodles, delicious braised noodles and mutton offal, a time-honored brand in Ning'an County, braised noodles that even Wensheng has eaten~~~"
Sun's father shouted loudly, which was also part of the atmosphere of the temple fair. Just because of the shouting, many outsiders gathered around, mostly young Confucian scholars.
"Shopkeeper, have you ever eaten this braised noodle master?"
"Of course, our family's craft has been passed down for who knows how many generations. Wensheng has eaten noodles made by our ancestors. Would you like to try it?"
"Okay, give me a bowl to try." "Then I'll have one too."
"I want to get some of the literary talent from the Sage of Literature, too." "Hahaha, I want to get some luck too!"
"Okay, please wait a moment, guests!"
Several Confucian scholars placed orders one after another, and the Sun family immediately became busy. Sun Yiqiu also hurried to help and began to prepare materials and check the charcoal fire. Just as he finished adding charcoal, he looked up and saw a Confucian scholar looking at him.
Unlike others, this scholar was dressed in bright red clothes and had a very handsome face. Sun Yiqiu was stunned for a moment. He knew at a glance that it was a woman dressed as a man. After all, the attire for women studying literature is different. After hesitating for a while, he opened his mouth and asked a question.
"Sir, do you want noodles too?"
"My dear, I think the words on this sign are well written. Would you like to sell it to me? I am willing to pay fifty taels of silver."
Sun Yiqiu's eyes suddenly widened.
"Fifty taels is not enough? Then how about five hundred taels?"
Perhaps because he was afraid that his words were not enough, the scholar in red took out his purse and poured out some gold.
Sun Yiqiu took a breath and repeated it subconsciously.
"Five hundred taels!? Dad..."
Sun Yiqiu had never seen such a large amount of money in his life.
"What are you yelling about? Hurry up and make the noodles. We are all too busy. Sir, this brand and cooking skills have been passed down together. They are used for New Year's worship. We won't sell them. Do you want some noodles?"
The scholar in red nodded.
"A gentleman does not take away what others like. Then I'll have a bowl of braised noodles."
After Hu Yun finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the tables and chairs set up at the stall, where a Confucian scholar was already watching.
"Girl, I have an empty seat!" "Girl, sit here!"
Hu Yun grinned, ignored them and stood at the edge of the stall tent, stretched his hand outside, snowflakes slowly fell from the sky, and after a moment one of them fell into Hu Yun's hand.
Against the backdrop of the colorful lights at the temple fair, this scene was beautiful, but it also made several discerning Confucian scholars calm down. They leaned against the building and watched the sky quietly. They knew the wind and snow would fall in advance, which was in line with the way of heaven and man. No matter whether they were practicing literature or other cultivation, they were definitely not people who should be looked down upon.
Hu Yun looked closely at the snowflake in the palm of his hand, seeing its sharp edges and corners, and watched it slowly melt, then he whispered.
"Ordinary life is like this snowflake, falling from the sky and touching the ground, and then melting quickly. It is short-lived, fragile, and very beautiful. But when I reach out to catch the snowflake and enjoy its beauty, this makes the beauty even more short-lived, and it melts at my fingertips in an instant."
After saying that, Hu Yun looked to one side. There was a beautiful woman standing in the dimly lit area. She was looking at the noodle stall quietly at first, but now she was looking at Hu Yun.