The morning light shone in from the eastern hilltops, wrapping the mountain villages and fields in a golden color. Dewdrops dripped from the tips of the morning glories on the fence wall, swaying slightly in the wind. Li Jinhua, who had risen early, yelled at her husband to get up. She threw Toad, who was wearing a flowered silk jacket, to the vegetable garden, and returned to the kitchen to light a fire and cook with Hong Lian, who was wearing a plain skirt and wooden hairpins.
Smoke from cooking curled up, and the white old hen rolled her eyes, clucked, and scratched the ground. Amid the creaking of doors, Lu Liangsheng pushed aside the sleepy Taoist, rinsed his mouth and washed his face, looking at the familiar courtyard, always feeling at ease.
As for the improvement of his cultivation in the future, Lu Liangsheng was not in a hurry. The path of cultivation was difficult and every step had to be taken firmly. The Nascent Soul stage was not so easy to achieve. Once the foundation was not solid, it was very likely that the Yang Spirit would leave the body and could not return to the body, but instead became a wandering ghost.
That’s great, but he’s also a ghost cultivator, which would be a big loss.
After breakfast, Lu Liangsheng returned to the house, took a wolf hair brush, picked up the master who had secretly run back and put him on his shoulder. Yue Long on the bookshelf over there shouted, "Take me there!" "Take me there!" He said hello to the Taoist priest and went out of the village.
As autumn deepens, a hint of yellow can be seen at the foot of the mountain.
In autumn, the fish are fat. In the former water storage ponds, the big men in the village go to the ponds to catch fish. The barefoot children with their trousers rolled up pick up the fish jumping into the fields and play with them by throwing them to each other.
The vendors who come here at this time every year wait early for the fish to come out of the pond and into their hands. Over the years, the fish from Lujia Village have been famous for being fat, tender and large in size. Once they arrive at the market, they are immediately sold out.
People who have minor illnesses eat this fish all year round, and not only have their old ailments been alleviated, some are even cured without medicine. At the beginning, some people thought that the water in Qixia Mountain was good enough to raise this kind of fish and shrimp, and people often came to steal water in the middle of the night, but in the end, the fish raised were no different from those in ordinary people's fish ponds.
In the end, people could only attribute it to the excellent feng shui of Lujia Village.
But how could the villagers not know that there was a spell placed in this river by Liangsheng? Since they were all related and had received such a great favor, they naturally kept the secret to themselves. Even the women who married into the village would not mention it, unless they had children and their hearts were with this village, then they would say something vaguely.
When the busy people saw the young man leaving the village, they greeted him one after another. Lu Liangsheng responded with a smile, turned to the river, made some finger gestures, and the whirlpool of the slowly flowing river parted, revealing the riverbed. The small magic circle that was originally piled up had loosened a lot after a few years. After rearranging and reinforcing it, he continued to go to the next place along the river bank.
After a while, the second spirit gathering array was completed. Lu Liangsheng looked at the closing water surface and tilted his head to look at the toad lying on his shoulder.
"Master, how will you practice from now on?"
“Why don’t you worry about it, Liangsheng?” The Toad Taoist puffed on his cigarette and shook off the ash in his pipe. “We have the same name and the same origin, and it cannot change the fact that I am a demon. I can only repair my demon core, but it may take a long time… Well, maybe by the time you die, I won’t be able to repair it yet, and I will be buried with you.”
The long red tongue rolled the flying insect next to it into its mouth and swallowed it into its stomach, smacking its lips and saying, "This is also good. With a higher level of cultivation, there will be more and more things to do. It's better to be like this now, lazy and idle."
Lu Liangsheng smiled and didn't say anything else. He went to Beicun to set up the last magic circle and returned home before lunch. The news of his return yesterday had spread. As soon as he returned to the courtyard, Wang Banxia also came here. When he saw the scholar coming back, he went to greet him.
"Master, you're back?!"
He was holding a snack wrapped in oilcloth in his hand, which Lu Xiaoxian took and put aside. The old man listened to the footsteps and followed Lu Liangsheng. He did not enter the house, but stood at the door and bowed.
"Disciple, I followed the caravan back to Fushui County a few days ago, took the money and came back, and built a house in the village... That's right."
The old man hurriedly took out rouge and powder from the package he was carrying and held them in his palms.
"Master's wife, you should like it."
Hearing this, Hong Lian poked her head out from the scroll on the wall, saw the thing in the old man's hand, and took it happily. Even if she couldn't use it on herself, she could use it on the painted skin.
"At your age..."
Lu Liangsheng knew that no matter whether he accepted the old man's things or not, he would persevere and come over. But considering his age, if he really wanted to accept them, the age gap between the master and the apprentice was so big... It was a bit uncomfortable.
Over there, Wang Banxia waved his hands, staring blankly at a certain place in the room, and said with a smile: "Master, I dare not ask for immortal arts and Taoist methods. Even if it is the way of observing qi and pulse, and deducing, Cheng En is even more eager to get it."
The meal was ready at this time. Hearing his mother's voice, Lu Liangsheng pondered for a moment and spoke to the old man.
"I can teach you the art of observing qi and deducing it, but it cannot be passed on to anyone other than your successor. Can you do that?"
"I can do it! I can do it!"
Wang Chengen's face lit up with joy, and he spread out his wide sleeves and was about to bow down, but the scholar in front of him waved his robe and brushed him away, "No need to kneel down, come in and have dinner together."
"No, no, the newly built stove is ready to be used. Master, please enjoy it. Cheng'en will go back first." Wang Banxia was knowledgeable and tactful. He bowed and said goodbye. When he left, he walked more quickly even with his crutches.
This went on for several days.
Wang Banxia came here on time every morning. He had poor eyesight, so Lu Liangsheng told him the art of observing qi in "Qinghuai Bugeng". For the complicated parts, he asked the Taoist to sit opposite him and teach him step by step how to identify facial lines, popularity, and fire energy. The old man also knew a little about this and understood many things at once, but the difficult part was still the method of observing qi and looking into the heart's water.
As it was the first time that Lu Liangsheng was teaching someone, he had no experience, so he carved the Qi-Watching Technique on a piece of wood and stuffed it into Wang Chengen's hand so that he could rub it with his hands and memorize it.
"When it comes to practicing martial arts, don't rush it. Just practice more in the future."
"Yes, Cheng En will definitely remember it."
After leaving the courtyard, Wang Banxia felt that his skill in observing qi had indeed made considerable progress.
Amid sighs, the autumn sunset makes people lazy. After selling the fish and shrimps in the pond, the young and old in the village gather at the drying dam to chat. The woman in the family claps the money in her pocket, which makes a jingling sound. She happily takes a piece of meat from the beam and puts it in the pot. The greedy children stare eagerly at the steam rising from the pot and the fragrance emanating from it.
Walking out along the village road, the caravans passing by gradually became sparse, and on the withered and yellow Qixia Mountain Road, a beautiful woman came over carrying a package and leading a child.
Looking at the fallen petals scattered on the aisle and the village at the foot of the mountain in the distance, at a certain moment, the woman suddenly stopped and pulled her son back.
A Dharma light appeared on the top of a mountain.
A strong wind blew up on the road ahead, blowing sand, dust and pebbles on the ground into a whirlwind, whizzing past the mother and son's feet and sides.
Xilulu-
The horses neighed loudly, and a figure wearing armor and holding a spear rode on a warhorse and stopped in front. On the road, flags with the word "white" fluttered.
On horseback, the general held his spear high and shouted.
"wind!"
Wow!
Behind him, there was a sea of soldiers drawing their bows and arrows and looking up into the sky.
Here, the woman felt the fluctuation of magic power, and suddenly pulled the child to kneel down, and kowtowed heavily to the opposite army formation.
"Fox Demon Yanzhi, I want to see Mr. Lu from Qixia Mountain!"