Know… Know… Know…
In the green woods, cicadas chirped one after another. A bird flew over, flapped its wings, and caught the summer cicada on the branch in one bite, holding it in its mouth. The tinkling sound of the bells came from far away. The bird looked at the shade of the trees a little further away and saw a figure wearing a straw hat and a raincoat slowly coming over with an old donkey.
Behind them, there was a woman in a black dress with the hands tied, looking around with an excited look on her face. From time to time, she stuck out her slender tongue from her mouth, imitating the donkey in front to roll up the grass on the ground, chew it twice, and spit it on the ground with a "pah" sound.
The jingling bells stopped at the riverside. Lu Liangsheng fetched water from the river and made a fire to cook on the shore. He saw a stone bridge not far away, took off his hat, put it aside, and sat down.
"The presence of a stone bridge means there is a village or town nearby. Perhaps we can find out where this place is."
On the grass, Toad held the small bowl, took a sip of tea and exhaled a breath of hot air.
"Master's guess is correct. We should enter Jinzhou. As for how far it is from Shangyong City, I don't know. By the way, Liangsheng, you should practice "The Right Way of Heaven and Earth" more when you have time so that you can refine the golden elixir as soon as possible."
Lu Liangsheng sorted the leaves on the straw raincoat. It had been several days since he came here. He did not encounter any towns or villages on the way and had no chance to change clothes. He did not have much money in his pocket, so he had to buy this straw raincoat and bamboo hat from a family in the mountains.
Hearing his master's words, he smiled and stirred the soup pot.
"It's not that easy to make a golden elixir. I just felt that I had this tendency. But speaking of it, Master, the day I lost my mind and acted like a demon, it gave me another level of enlightenment."
"Haha, then I'll take a good look at it." The toad held the small bowl and took another sip. When a dragonfly flew over, he quickly flicked out his long tongue, rolled it into his mouth and swallowed it into his stomach. He patted his white belly, lay on his back, and watched the sunlight pouring down.
"You have to comprehend both the demonic nature and the human nature. If you can still stick to your original intention, it means that you are not far from comprehending your own path."
"Then what did the master realize?"
"Hehe... Master, I haven't realized anything."
Taoist Toad looked at the tree demon who was also sticking out his tongue to roll up the flying insects by the river… I have been a demon all my life and have eaten countless people. How could I have the time to comprehend those things
As he spoke, he stretched his limbs lazily and yawned.
"In fact, whether I'm a human or a demon, I'd rather be comfortable now."
Lu Liangsheng scooped the broth into bowls, handed one bowl to his master, and put the other bowl in the hands of the black-skirted tree demon. Looking at the confused expression, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your teachings, master. I understand."
Slurp~
After taking a sip of the hot soup, the toad raised his face... I don’t even understand it, but he does
The master and the disciple talked for a while, had lunch, and packed up. It was already past noon. Lu Liangsheng practiced "The Right Way of Qiankun" for a while, then he led the old donkey and crossed the stone bridge.
Wow-
After walking for a few miles, the sun was setting, crows were perched on dead trees and crying, and the outline of a small town could be vaguely seen ahead on the road in the distance.
"Don't run!" "Stop in front, turn around!"
A few loud shouts were heard, and four figures holding swords rushed out of the woods, chasing after a man and starting to fight him. There were a series of loud bangs, and in the blink of an eye, they ran into a patch of reeds.
The outlaw with an eye patch turned around and looked at Lu Liangsheng and the woman in the black dress who were following behind him. When he heard his companions scream, he snorted, turned around and chased after them.
Lu Liangsheng led the old donkey and continued to move forward. He looked at the swaying reeds, smiled and shook his head, then pulled the reins and crossed over.
“I didn’t expect it to be a bit messy here.”
In the compartment, Toad's voice rang out: "Why don't you care?"
"What's the point of this kind of gang vendetta? It's all your own fault."
Walking towards the town in the distance, the sound of clanging iron forging echoed everywhere. The outlaws with swords in the town walked hurriedly in groups or alone. Several weapon shops were doing a booming business, with all kinds of weapons hung outside. A clerk with bare arms was bargaining with a gangster, and he got anxious. The muscular blacksmith next to him picked up the newly formed sword in his hand and chopped it on the table next to him, attracting the attention of the passing knights.
Not far away at the end of the street, a funeral procession was passing by with paper money scattered and suona played, weeping and sobbing, and the passing commercial vehicles made way for the deceased.
There were also people whispering.
"How many this month?" "The sixth, I think. Eight people died last year."
"Just say you're fine. Why are you running into the woods?"
"Most likely he was possessed by a ghost... But I heard it was a fox spirit."
"Fox spirit? Is she pretty?"
"Tsk... You want to go? Then I'll follow you to your house for dinner."
…
"This town is quite lively."
Lu Liangsheng moved a piece of paper money from under his feet, told the woman following him not to stick out her tongue, and then walked to an inn in front. Inside, the outlaws were making a lot of noise, laughing and cursing in vulgar ways, and flirting with the girl who was singing, which caused a round of whistles.
At the counter next to the door, the fat and big-eared shopkeeper wearing a cockscomb hat was keeping the account book. Lu Liangsheng thought about what he wanted to ask and stepped forward and raised his hand.
"Shopkeeper, may I ask..."
Bang!
Before he could finish his words, a thick-backed bone-chopping knife chopped on the counter. The shopkeeper raised his head and said, "What do you mean by collecting debts? Who does my shop owe money to?!"
The noise and singing around suddenly stopped. Most of the drinkers inside were from all walks of life, and most of them were armed. Some of them took the swords from the corners of the table, squinted their eyes, and looked at them unkindly.
Lu Liangsheng glanced over and still smiled as he bowed to the owner of the counter.
"I am not here to collect debts. I am just here to stay the night and have a meal."
Looking at Lu Liangsheng, who was dressed in a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat and spoke politely, the shopkeeper put away his knife, waved his hand, and pointed inside.
"The room is full, and there's not much food. But even if you want to eat, there's not much room here. Everyone is eating on the edge of a knife, so it's better not to fight."
"Oh, then, okay, shopkeeper, this is Jinzhou Shangyong?"
The shopkeeper waved his hand impatiently, picked up the brush again and buried his head in the account book.
"Yes, yes. Go 20 miles north and you will reach Shangyong."
Lu Liangsheng nodded and bowed to express his gratitude, then took his old donkey to a bakery outside and bought some white flour cakes. The passers-by and the wanderers on the roadside glanced at him more or less, and most of them looked at the woman in the black skirt, but no one really came up to cause trouble, probably because they were abiding by the rules of the town.
Yellow paper money was scattered all over the town. As we walked out, the sky gradually darkened.
Leaving this town to the north, taking a shortcut to Shangyong, you have to cross a mountain range. Looking around, you can see mist rolling in the forest and the moonlight filtering through the branches, making it look eerie and mysterious.
Occasionally, the howling of wolves could be heard from afar.
Lu Liangsheng was walking with a lantern in his hand and the old donkey in one hand. He didn't pay attention to the wolf calls coming from far and near. After turning a few big trees, the dim light of the lantern was shaking, and a dilapidated building could be vaguely seen standing in the mist ahead.
"It looks like we have a place to stay tonight, Master. Let's make do with it for one night."
"Well, but the yin energy here is a bit strong." The toad pushed open the small door and looked around. Hong Lian in the painting also came out, flew to the top of a nearby tree, sat down, and kicked her embroidered shoes.
"I just passed by the market down below and heard that many people died. Could it be related to this place? Silly tree demon, do you think so?"
The one who was least affected was the woman in black dress who had been following him all the way. It seemed as if her soul was really seriously injured. She was confused and dazed, never spoke a word during the journey, and was curious about everything she saw.
"Are there not enough demons and ghosts here?"
Lu Liangsheng took over the conversation and said something jokingly, then pulled the old donkey towards the building. In the distance, a stone tablet stood in front of them, covered with dead branches and old vines.
With a gentle wave of his hand, the vines slid silently to the sides, revealing the inscription:
"Lanruo Temple?"
As he whispered the words, the surrounding birds in the woods were startled and flew away, flapping their wings and circling, not daring to land.
The quiet place in the deep mountains is the monastery, Lu Liangsheng thought, glancing at the changes in the startled birds around him, and then looking at the dilapidated temple in front of him. The wooden steps were old and damaged, and the eaves had collapsed and tilted to one side. When he walked inside, he saw weeds growing lushly from the gaps between the floor tiles, and several Buddha statues had already collapsed and were covered with dust.
"Lanruo comes from the Sanskrit word: Aranruo. This should be a Buddhist temple. Why is it abandoned? It's a pity."
After putting down their weapons, they moved aside, lit a bonfire and took a rest. Lu Liangsheng took off his bamboo hat and leaned against the Buddhist altar. He finally had some free time, so he flipped through a book by the firelight.