The last trace of red fell from the top of the mountain, and the sky and the earth were immersed in darkness. Dots of lights lit up in the mountain village. Amid the sounds of barking dogs and coughing, the morning glories facing outside the fenced courtyard swayed. An old couple who were eating in the kitchen and a young girl heard the sound of neck bells.
He opened the kitchen door and looked out faintly. Lu Liangsheng was leading the old donkey into the yard. Seeing his family members half sticking their bodies out of the kitchen door, he loosened the reins and laughed.
"Is there any for me?"
Li Jinhua, Lu Laoshi and Lu Xiaoxian, who were leaning out from the door, holding their bowls and chopsticks with their mouths slightly open, nodded in unison. Then they reacted, and the woman cried out "Ouch" and hurried out.
"Liangsheng, why are you back at this time? It's so dark at night. Aren't you afraid of falling? Come into the house quickly. There is still rice in the pot."
The old donkey came over happily and nudged the woman's hand. When he saw Li Jinhua raising her hand, he did not stop moving forward, quickly turned his head away, ran into the donkey shed without looking around, and crawled on the ground, chewing the grass slowly.
"Is there any more of Ben Dao's food... Oh my god... Huhu... I'm running so hard."
The Taoist priest limped over, holding onto the fence. Li Jinhua looked at his appearance, pulled her son over and asked him quietly.
"What is Master Sun doing?"
"It's okay. He ran all the way back from River Valley County because he felt he was not feeling well."
Lu Liangsheng smiled and looked back at the Taoist priest, then pulled his mother back to the kitchen. There were only a few side dishes on the table, and the rice was definitely not enough. The woman wiped the big pot clean, and Hong Lian came in from outside to help light the fire. The Taoist priest grabbed the chopping board, picked up the kitchen knife, raised his chin towards Lu Xiaoxian who was holding a bowl on the side, and started chopping the vegetables with the sound of the knife.
"Brother, what did you do in the capital? Why are you coming back in the dark at this time?" Lu Xiaoxian ignored the Taoist, put down his chopsticks and looked at his brother who was kneading noodles over there.
The Taoist who was cutting vegetables laughed and waved his hands to shake off the water stains.
"Xiao Xian, you don't know what happened that day. There was a big demon in the capital. I used all my magic, and your brother even killed the emperor..."
In her peripheral vision, two pairs of eyes glared at her fiercely, and the Taoist stopped talking immediately. Hong Lian withdrew her cold gaze and looked at the stunned Li Jinhua opposite her.
"Aunt, don't listen to this little Taoist priest's nonsense."
On one side, Lu Liangsheng kneaded the dough, squeezed out a lump from his palm, patted it into a flat round shape, and handed it to his mother. Seeing the woman's suspicious look, he smiled.
"I didn't do anything, I just wanted to get back some of my mentor's relics..."
These were all perfunctory words. It was impossible that he went to fight a big monster and scared the emperor to death in the process.
Of course, he wasn't scared to death. He fell from the sky while stepping on the Pu Du Ci Hang that day. Who knew Chen Shubao would be there? He pushed and crushed him all the way. If it were anyone else, they would probably have suffered the same fate.
He made some pot-sticking pancakes and some side dishes on the table for dinner, letting the Taoist continue to brag in the kitchen. Lu Liangsheng brought the meat soup and half a pancake, walked over the eaves and returned to the room. The fire lit up in the wick, illuminating the room.
On the bed, the Toad Taoist who was soundly sleeping smelled the fragrance, stopped moving his belly, opened his eyes, sat up, and quickly climbed onto the table.
"Finally, I don't have to sleep outdoors and can have a hot meal."
The toad slurped the hot soup along the edge of the bowl, took a bite of the bread, and sat down comfortably leaning against a few books, with its webbed feet stretched out in satisfaction.
"Master, enjoy your meal slowly."
Lu Liangsheng will go to the bookshelf, hang Hong Lian's scroll on the wall, brush off the dust on the books, and place the four treasures of the study to add a scholarly atmosphere.
After tidying up for a while, he went over to pick up Yuelong, walked to the bedside, pulled it out with a "clang", and a faint "uh..." murmur was heard.
The ancient sword body made a clanging sound, the engravings moved and stretched, the bright moon appeared under the floating clouds, and the winding thin line seemed to be swimming under the moon.
The spiritual energy in the sword body was much more abundant than before. As expected, after having the sword spirit, Yuelong Sword could nourish the spiritual energy on its own. Lu Liangsheng was a little different from other cultivators. He was not considering the power of the spiritual sword, but was thinking more about some academic problems.
What is the upper limit of the spiritual essence? If the last two spiritual essences are attached to it, will it cause damage to the current Yuelong or the spiritual consciousness inside? After becoming independent, will it run away by itself? Will it suddenly become the second Pudu Cihang...
While he was thinking, the Yuelong Sword made a sound as it was drawn.
"Master, please take a closer look..."
Suddenly, he changed his tone and talked about the Toad Taoist who was eating cakes and drinking soup over there.
"Mighty Toad Taoist, do you need a smaller cake? I'm afraid you can't hold it..." "By the way, where is the white hen? I think it's extraordinary. Do you want to taste it?"
"Master, why don't you frame the painting of the ghost girl?"
"Old Toad, that soup bowl is a bit deep..."
On the table, Toad Taoist's forehead was bulging with veins. He threw the pancake away, picked up his pipe, jumped off the bed, and took a deep puff of it in anger.
"That motherfucker... I regret helping you refine it. If it were me, I would have beaten you to pieces and swallowed up your spirit."
"Toad, toad, soft belly..."
Yue Long was humming a little tune in Lu Liangsheng's hand and shaking proudly. The scholar was also a little troubled. In addition to having spiritual awareness, this guy also memorized all the scenes he had experienced. No wonder he knew so much.
He pushed the hilt of the sword, and Yue Long suddenly groaned "Ah!", inserted it into the sheath, and was thrown to the bookshelf by Lu Liangsheng, still shaking on the shelf.
"Master, do you think this scabbard is not worthy of me? Have you considered changing it for me? Otherwise, it won't be able to withstand the tossing..."
"... It's better to have a wider one, tighter on both sides, and add some gold patterns and jade seals... Hey hey... Don't cover it with cloth!"
A piece of silk cloth was put down to cover it, and the endless chattering stopped.
Lu Liangsheng breathed a sigh of relief. The buzzing sound in his ears finally stopped. He moved the light over and started flipping through a book in front of the window.
Taoist Toad, holding the quilt and hugging his flippers, looked at his disciple's back.
"This Yuelong Sword should just be thrown away. Once you start talking, you won't stop. Your words are so... cheap!"
The scholar raised his head through the slightly opened window and looked at the night sky outside the gap. The sky was filled with stars and a Milky Way stretched across the horizon. Amid the sound of insects chirping, he smiled and shook his head.
"Master, this is a spiritual sword after all. It would be a shame to lose it."
Inside the bookshelf covered with white cloth, Yue Long's voice hummed: "This Dharma Master agrees!"
"Shut up!"
Taoist Toad threw his pipe over, and when it made a clang sound, Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting at the desk, turned a page and continued his previous words in a low voice.
"… It's a pity to lose it. If you talk any more, you will be punished to stay on the top of the mountain."
Inside the silk cloth, the Yuelong Sword suddenly became quiet. Not long after, the Taoist jumped onto the roof, yawning. He lay on the roof and flipped over a new pair of cloth shoes in his hands in the moonlight. He quickly threw aside the torn shoes on his feet, put them back on his feet, and waved them in the moonlight.
The old trees in the yard rustled softly, and from the dark window lattice came the sound of Lu Laoshi's snoring, which made Li Jinhua hit her husband with her hand, and the snoring became a little quieter.
The room was bright and warm with a light through the window lattice. On the bed, Taoist Toad was sleeping soundly with a small blanket covering his belly, and one of his webbed feet was exposed.
Hong Lian made some hot tea and walked over gently, putting it next to the scholar, then stepped aside, supported her chin and watched quietly.
Books were piled up, and Lu Liangsheng flipped the pages with his fingertips. He took a sip of tea, looked at the woman under the light nearby, smiled at each other, and continued to flip through the books.
He hasn't read like this for a long time.
…
The night was deep, Fushui County was far away, and in Hegu County, a hundred miles away, the city’s gate with crossed white stripes was gently closed.
In the cold moonlight, a woman walked slowly down the stone steps holding the hand of a child who was almost three years old, tears still hanging in the corners of her eyes. She looked back at the white lantern hanging under the eaves of the door, pursed her lips and took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her cheeks, held the child's hand tightly, and walked towards the long street late at night.
On the misty street, a child with pigtails looked up at his mother.
"Mom... where are we going?"
Bang bang bang…
The sound of the night watchman's drum passed by in the distance. Yanzhi forced a smile and touched her son's bun.
"Mingyue, mother will take you to a place with very high mountains and a Taoist master in the mountains!"
The child didn't quite understand, but he probably understood some of it and nodded.
"good!"
Bang...
Bang...
A night watchman with a lantern stuck in his collar came from a distance. He saw a mother and son coming towards him and wanted to go up to ask them, but in the blink of an eye, both of them disappeared in the mist.
"Oh my..."
He was so frightened that his face turned pale and he ran away, banging his clappers quickly.