Ta-da-da…
The sound of horse hooves was getting farther and farther away. Inside and outside the dilapidated courtyard, everyone looked at each other, and finally their eyes turned to the old man.
"Shangshu, I am sorry for what happened just now. What should I do now?"
"Yes, if the Protector of the Nation is a monster, then wouldn't Your Majesty be in danger?!" "Shall we go back too?"
"Wouldn't it be like putting my Shangshu to death if I went back?"
While the guards were talking to the soldiers of the Imperial City Arrest Division, the old man sat on the stone bench in silence for a long time, raised his white head and looked at the white clouds. Occasionally, one or two birds flew past his sight.
It would be unwise to follow Zuo Zhengyang back to the capital on impulse. The old man is not so demented yet.
"Let's go to Qixia Mountain!"
Soon, the group hurriedly packed up, mounted their horses, and returned to the east, following the road they remembered, heading towards River Valley County.
"Let's go!"
"Go!" "Hurry, follow me!"
Amid the sounds of galloping, horses' hooves kicked up long billows of smoke on the road. The road under their feet extended to the east, and another team was bypassing River Valley County.
On the way, they met a funeral procession that was returning to the city after the burial. Sun Yingxian and Min Yuerou had to step aside and wait for them to pass and rest on the side of the road.
"Master Sun, how high is Master Lu's Taoist practice? Can he defeat the guardian of the country in the capital?"
Along the way, Min Yuerou became familiar with this Taoist and spoke to him more casually.
Next to her, watching the white flags fluttering and paper money flying in the sky, Sun Yingxian raised her hand to brush away a piece of flying yellow paper, then suddenly grabbed it back and stuffed it into the cloth bag around her waist.
"I can't beat him... I probably can't beat him..."
Immediately, a smile appeared on his pointed face, he wiped his mustache with his fingertips, and tilted his head to look at the woman: "But I am different. I specialize in exorcising demons. It's as easy for me to kill ordinary mountain spirits and wild monsters as drinking water."
"Hey, hey, hey... Just like now, if I didn't want to take care of you, I would have already fled to the ends of the earth with a jutsu. Why would I be walking with you so slowly like I am now?"
When the funeral procession was halfway through the road and white banners were fluttering in the air, the Taoist priest vaguely saw a familiar woman in mourning clothes, holding a child and walking in the middle, sobbing quietly.
He paused in boasting, frowned, and took a closer look at the profile of the woman who was about to pass by, then he understood.
'Isn't this the fox demon Yanzhi... It seems that Zhang Liancheng is dead after all.'
"Master?"
At this time, Min Yuerou's voice sounded from the side, "We have rested enough, should we set off?"
The Taoist turned around and nodded quickly. Whether Zhang Liancheng was dead or not had nothing to do with him. He had more important things to do right now. When everyone was ready and looked back, the funeral procession had already gone away.
The group set out again, heading towards Fulin Prefecture, riding non-stop all the way. Because a Taoist priest occasionally cast talismans on their horses, they were able to travel much faster than before.
As the horse galloped, Min Yuerou saw a familiar place and pointed ahead and shouted to the Taoist:
"The road ahead is the intersection where my father and I parted ways!"
Along the road ahead, the mountains were winding, and on one side of the forest, a horse team was resting there. The nine people coming over here immediately slowed down, approached cautiously at first, and then when they saw the old man who was leading the other side, Min Yuerou's face suddenly broke into a smile, and she spurred her horse and ran over.
"father!"
Over there, the old man naturally saw the woman riding a horse and rushed over. He pushed aside the people in front of him and went to greet her: "Yue Rou, did you suffer any injustice on the way?"
"No."
Min Yuerou wiped her eyes. Seeing that her father was fine, she was naturally happy. "Why is Dad here? And why are there so many more people?"
She looked behind the old man and saw more than a dozen people, all in official uniforms.
"Dad just got here not long ago. They are Zuo Zhengyang's people."
Zuo Zhengyang
The soil on the ground suddenly broke open and a head popped out, scaring the surrounding guards and the people from the Imperial City Arrest Office. When the old man saw that it was Sun Yingxian, he quickly waved his hand to tell them not to panic.
"Where is Zuo Zhengyang?" The Taoist wiped the dirt off his face and glanced at the crowd in front of him, "Why isn't he here?"
The old man took out a silk handkerchief and handed it over: "He has returned to the capital first. Little Taoist priest, long time no see. By the way, where is Liangsheng?"
"In the back, he's slow, but he'll probably go straight to the capital."
Hearing the Taoist's words, Min Changwen nodded: "People who practice Taoism do things this way."
On the side, Min Yuerou recounted the whole story. Combined with the matter with the old man, it made the three of them a little tricky. Originally, Sun Yingxian came to save Min Changwen, and now that he was here, his job was done. If he wanted to go back, Lu Liangsheng might already be on his way to the capital.
… So should I go or not
Are the father and daughter going again
"I am the current Minister of Personnel... If I don't go, I would be unworthy of this official robe."
The sunlight poured down and fell on the old man. He got on the horse, turned around and faced north. The long white beard under his chin stroking in the wind, then he looked at the Taoist and his daughter, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Mr. Shuhua is not afraid of death, and neither am I. Let's go!"
He squeezed the horse's belly to urge it to run, and the people behind also mounted their horses one by one, raised their whips, and followed behind with Min Yuerou to catch up.
"Oh, you really don't know how to live or die!"
The Taoist stamped his feet, gritted his teeth, used the art of escape, drilled into the ground, and created a small mound of earth that spread rapidly.
…
Fulin Prefecture was much more prosperous than Hegu County. Merchants could be seen coming and going on the official roads. There were also farmers from nearby areas who were off-season and came to the city in groups of three or five to find some physical work and earn some money for their expenses in the second half of the year.
On the distant road leading to Tianzhi in the north, a group of horses were galloping. Lu Liangsheng thought the old donkey's speed was too scary, so he chose the mountains where there were relatively few people.
The mountain road was rugged, but fortunately the speed did not decrease much.
"Oh..."
After passing Fulin Prefecture, the sky was getting darker. Lu Liangsheng looked at the setting sun, stopped the donkey, and let it wander around nearby to eat some tender grass. The scholar walked under a tree and brushed his hand across the ground, causing a gust of wind to blow away the leaves and dust.
Then he sat down, took out some dry food from his sleeve pocket, broke it open, and looked at the bookshelf on the floor.
"Master, it's time to eat."
The small door of the compartment creaked open, and the Toad Taoist came out, stretched, smacked his lips, and sat down next to his apprentice, dragging a small pipe with him. He took the dry food, held it in his arms, and yawned.
Looking at the scholar's handsome profile, chewing dry food and flipping through books, Toad Eyes blinked, recalling some things in the past, threw at the Yuelong Sword hanging on the bookshelf, was silent for a moment, and sighed heavily.
"Master, what's wrong? This dry food doesn't suit your taste. Then I'll set up a small pot and cook for you."
Seeing Lu Liangsheng rise, the Toad Taoist suddenly stretched out his webbed feet and placed them on his disciple's knees.
"Liangsheng... I think you should not go to the capital."