"Candied Haws~ Fragrant and crispy Candied Haws!"
“Crisp pears, selling crisp pears!”
"Cooked pancakes, beautiful and delicious... cooked pancakes."
A short peddler carrying goods on his shoulder and a young man carrying a basket walked past the street. Amid the noisy hawking, Sun Yingxian frowned and walked back, approaching the eaves and glancing at the shop in front.
A man in official clothes was talking to the shopkeeper in the inner room and took out a scroll from his arms.
"Shopkeeper, how much is this worth?"
"It's hard to say. Paintings and calligraphy by non-famous artists are usually priced lower. But the painting on this one is quite exquisite."
Behind the counter, the shopkeeper held the tip of his beard and examined the scroll for a while, then shook his head slightly: "It's a pity that there is a crack in the middle of the painting. Even if it is repaired, the whole painting will be damaged."
"Just name a price. How much do you want?"
"In this way, ten taels, even if you sell it somewhere else, I estimate it will be worth this much."
The Taoist who had been eavesdropping outside for a while used a magic trick to go in. When he saw the scroll unfolded in the shopkeeper's hand, which was a picture of a ferocious beast, he suddenly reached out and snatched it away.
"Where did you get this painting?!"
The sudden sound startled the shopkeeper and the constable, who suddenly saw a Taoist priest beside them. The constable grasped the hilt of his knife and quickly stepped back two steps.
"Who are you?"
"I'm asking you, where did this painting come from—"
Sun Yingxian raised her foot and touched the tip of her toe on the blade, and the blade that had been drawn out was pushed back into the sheath.
Holding the Taowu painting in his hand, the Taoist approached, grabbed the constable by the collar and dragged him in front of him.
"This painting was made by my good friend. He usually carries it with him. How did it end up in your hands?"
"What do you mean your friend? This is what we found in the attic on the mountain when the immortal appeared on Yingshi Mountain that day!"
Seeing that there was a reason for the incident, the constable did not rush to take action. He argued with the Taoist priest and talked about the day when the whole city was filled with red light and the sound of Dharma spread throughout the city. Even the shopkeeper over there nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Taoist priest, the gods did appear that day and told us that there were evil people who captured women and children in the mountains to worship the evil. We saw the women and children who were rescued a few days ago. It is absolutely true."
Here, Sun Yingxian had calmed down somewhat. Just now, when he saw the knife wound on the scroll, he thought something had happened to Lu Liangsheng and became a little anxious. But now, after hearing other people's testimony, he withdrew his hand, calmed down and asked about the whole matter. Then he saw a scholar and an old donkey.
The constable answered them one by one promptly.
"I didn't see the immortal. He might have left first."
Most likely, Old Lu couldn't stand seeing evil again, so he had a fight with someone. Fortunately, his stuff is here, so I can find him.
After thinking for a while, the Taoist bowed and apologized for his previous recklessness.
"Since this painting is already in your hands, I will not take it away from you, but can you lend it to me?"
The constable hesitated for a moment, but still handed it to the other party. Sun Yingxian, without paying attention to the two people beside him, touched the scroll with his fingertips, made a finger gesture, rolled up his wide sleeves, threw the scroll back, turned around and walked outside, using the sleight of hand to pass through the pedestrians on the street, quickly left the city, stood by the road, and opened his clenched fist.
A wisp of white mist curled up and drifted to the west.
"Did Old Lu go to Chang'an? That's right. If you come to the Northern Zhou Dynasty and don't go to Chang'an, it would be a wasted trip."
He found a deserted place, used the earth escape technique, and walked along the outskirts of the wilderness. He formed a mound of earth and spread it to the west, then disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Rustle~~~
The loose soil arched up and then fell down, extending all the way along the cast of magic. All the dead branches and leaves on the ground moved away under the spell. When his magic power was exhausted, the Taoist climbed out of the ground, immediately cast a talisman, and continued to move forward following Lu Liangsheng's breath.
For two days, he did not go to Chang'an, but instead followed the tracking spell to the border of Jinzhou.
"This Mr. Lu is teasing me."
That afternoon, Sun Yingxian looked at the outline of the city in the distance, sat depressed on a tree, and ate dry food. By this time, the tracking spell had been broken.
… Damn it, if I had known earlier I would have snatched the scroll away.
'What should I do now? Go north to Chang'an, or continue looking here? If I had known, I would have come to deliver the letter. My old mother, my legs are almost broken from running...'
Along the way, I used the Earth Escape Technique very quickly. Sometimes it was difficult to tell the direction underground, and I bumped into tree stumps or half-buried rocks several times, resulting in several small bumps on my head.
Boom—
Thunder rolled across the sky. The Taoist took a bite of the dry biscuit and looked up at the sky. It was gloomy and it seemed like it was going to rain.
On the road not far away, merchants and travelers were driving their carriages back and forth. It was not a surprising sight and the Taoist rarely went to see them. He cursed, "Damn it, God!" When he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves, he turned his head to look.
"drive!"
On the official road running from north to south, a cavalry came galloping. All the horses were tall and strong, and it was obvious at a glance that they were war horses.
Someone shouted in the horse team: "Shangyong is just ahead!"
“Ouch—”
Hearing this, the horse team galloping on the road slowed down. The leader, who was strong and had a dignified face, pulled the reins and raised his hand to ask the people behind to stop.
"That Mr. Lu, is this the place you are talking about?"
A rider came up from behind and said, "Brother, this is it. Lu Liangsheng and I have agreed to meet ten miles south of Shangyong. He is an upright man and will not lie."
The person who was speaking had a sword on his back, and was wearing a long robe with a wrist restraint. There was a jade pendant hanging from a green belt around his waist. His face was thin, but his eyes were bright. It was Yang Su who was in the country inn that day.
The man riding a horse in front of him was Yang Jian who had come with him as scheduled.
He untied the water bag from his waist and took a sip. Hearing his cousin's words, he smiled and said:
"I'm not worried. This is the first time I've let a stranger read my face. I'm a little nervous. If the reading is not good, how will I deal with it? Hahaha!"
He laughed loudly, swung his whip and cracked it.
"Let's go, speed up and hurry to the southern suburbs. Chang'an can't leave anyone behind!"
The sound of horse hooves rang out again, and with a series of loud shouts of "Gee!", the cavalry headed south along the official road. At the other end, on a tree not far away, Sun Yingxian pulled aside a branch and took a look at the dust raised by the official road.
"They are also looking for Lao Lu. It seems they have agreed on a location. Hehe, perfect!"
He jumped down from the tree, used the escape technique, and burrowed into the earth. He went straight along the field, and the earthen mounds extended rapidly. Five miles to the south, the mountains were rugged, mostly covered with grass, trees and rocks. The escape technique was of little use here, and Sun Yingxian could only rely on the magic of speed to estimate the distance along the mountain roads.
Wow-
An old crow stood at the edge of the woods ahead and cried. The Taoist who followed the road looked around and saw nothing but a pavilion.
Boom.
There was another roar of thunder, and the sky became terribly gloomy.
Sun Yingxian hurriedly hid in the pavilion, but the rain did not fall. "This damn God, is he trying to scare me..."
At this moment, I scanned the surroundings and suddenly saw an old man walking through the woods carrying firewood. I thought he was a villager nearby, so I could ask him for directions.
"Hey, old man in front!"
The Taoist ran out of the pavilion and chased into the woods. The old man carrying firewood in front of him was a little hard of hearing and did not seem to hear him calling. He kept walking forward and soon came to a dilapidated temple and walked in.
"Lanruo Temple?"
Looking at the inscription on the stone tablet, Sun Yingxian frowned. Why did this old man come to this dilapidated temple instead of going home
... Wait, there's something evil!
"Old man, don't go in!"
The Taoist took out the yellow bag of talisman paper from his waist, picked up the bronze mirror for subduing demons and chased after them. He saw five old men at the temple gate. Some of them were cooking with pots and rising smoke, while others were cleaning the fallen leaves in front of the temple gate with brooms. When they saw the Taoist coming, they just raised their eyelids and silently did their own things.
These people... The Taoist walked closer and vaguely felt that the old man's life span had been drained. Sure enough, there was a demon at work, bewitching the strong man and defrauding him of his life span!
In the corner of his eye, a figure in a black skirt flashed past the temple, and the Taoist raised the bronze mirror in his hand and was about to rush in.
A familiar voice sounded.
"Old Sun, are you going to fight and kill me as soon as we meet?"
The Taoist stopped what he was doing immediately and looked in the direction of the voice. Lu Liangsheng was standing in front of a courtyard wall, holding a pen, and looking at him with a smile.
At his feet, there was a Taoist priest named Toad, with webbed feet and slightly nodding his head.
"Haha, Old Lu!"
"And the old Toad—"
Sun Yingxian put away the bronze mirror, her face full of joy, she shouted excitedly twice, went over and hugged the scholar, and Lu Liangsheng also patted him on the back.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Hey, no matter where you go, I will find you. You don't know how powerful I am."
The two men separated. When the Taoist excitedly talked about Lujia Village, Lu Liangsheng chuckled as he painted the mural when he heard that his family and fellow villagers were all safe.
"As long as the family is well, that's all. I plan to go back to Nanchen to visit my family in a few days, and visit my mentor in the capital."
When the Taoist priest, who was originally excitedly talking about how he got out of Lujia Village, mentioned his mentor Wang Shuhua, he suddenly stopped talking and the smile on his face gradually faded.
"Why don't you continue?" Lu Liangsheng drew the Buddha's finger and turned his head to the side.
"That... um..."
The Taoist pursed his lips, his eyes wandered to the side, and after a long while, he took a deep breath and squeezed out a few words.
"Your mentor...he...is gone."
He quickly pulled out the warm package from his arms, and with his fingers he peeled off the satin, revealing a piece of red-stained prisoner uniform.
"This is what Uncle Hua wrote to you... Take a look."
The pen that was drawing on the wall paused. Lu Liangsheng, who was facing the wall, froze in place, watching the painted wall move its sight little by little, and turned around with difficulty.
"My mentor..."
His eyes cast on the piece of prisoner's cloth folded in the Taoist's hand, and he raised his hand with trembling hands, stretched out his hand, grasped it, and slowly unfolded the prisoner's cloth with his breath trembling.
The blood has dried, but the writing is still clear.
"I gave birth to my disciples.
Teacher, I hope you are well. After we part in the capital, we will be separated by life and death. Teacher, I am in prison, but I am not afraid of death, and Liangsheng should not be sad. The road to becoming a saint is bumpy, but as a Confucian, we should face death with dignity and die for a good cause. However, every time I think of the time I spent with Liangsheng, it is a memory that Teacher cannot let go of in prison... "
boom-
Thunder rumbled and the sky and earth darkened.