Oh oh oh… Oh oh ang—
The rooster stretched its neck and crowed loudly. The autumn morning light pushed away the darkness from the eastern hilltop and enveloped the mountain village. The leaves of the old trees in the fenced yard were yellow and covered the entire yard.
Lu Liangsheng came out of the house and went to the well to wash. Li Sui'an and Qu Yuanfeng, who were holding brooms in the yard, bowed and said, "Master."
The apprenticeship ceremony had not yet been performed, but the matter of accepting a disciple had already been decided, so it was not too abrupt for them to shout like that. Behind the two men, near the courtyard gate, Yuwen Tuo had a bruised face and a messy hair. Seeing Mr. Lu rinsing his mouth by the well, he opened his mouth but did not shout. He lowered his head and continued to sweep the fallen leaves.
As he lowered his sight, a toad in a short coat, with its webbed feet on its back and yawning, walked slowly past him. It glanced at him coldly with its eyes, and then walked towards the vegetable garden.
Yuwen Tuo stood still, and couldn't help shaking for a moment, then he called out, "Master!"
By the well, Lu Liangsheng, who was hanging up his towel, smiled and nodded, as if he had agreed. After observing these three young men for the past few days, he had gained a certain understanding of them.
Perhaps because of his identity as a member of the Northern Zhou royal family, Yuwen Tuo has an aloof personality. In addition, he is the reincarnation of a divine weapon and is born with spiritual energy. He is definitely different from ordinary children. It is impossible to convince him with reason. This child is not only smart, but also has a very strong sense of self, so he must first be suppressed by other methods.
Otherwise, he would not be able to listen to the teachings in the future. That’s why I asked the master to take care of it. Anyway, the master also wanted to vent his anger.
Well, the best of both worlds.
As for Li Sui'an, Lu Liangsheng had met him before in his family's inn in Huaiyi Prefecture. He had been an innkeeper since he was a child and had seen all kinds of people. He was smart and decisive and would not easily suffer a loss. In the past few days, he took the time to test the sword-wielding skills he had taught him. Without any further guidance, he could actually make the wooden sword bounce several times on the ground like a carp.
He is a man of great talent. He was able to come to Qixia Mountain along the way from Huaiyi Prefecture, which shows that he is smart, hardworking and courageous. What is rare is that he is sincere in coming here to become my disciple.
Lu Liangsheng was most satisfied with this point.
The last young man, according to Monk Fajing, was originally from a scholarly family. He was literate and well-mannered, so he had the elegant name Qu Yuanfeng. The adults in his family probably hoped that the young man would be able to pass the imperial examination and enter the court.
However, more than a dozen people in his family died in the drought, so he was taken in by the fat monk and accompanied Yuwen Tuo all the way. He has an honest character and the courage to take responsibility. After a few days of observation, it is found that his talent for practicing Taoism is slightly inferior to the previous two young men. He does things in a rigid way and does not know how to adapt.
I’m afraid it will be difficult to achieve greater success in spiritual practice in the future.
"Heh... Why am I considering this so early? I won't be able to see what good fortune they will have in the future."
Lu Liangsheng laughed, withdrew his gaze from the three young men in the yard, and returned to the house. On the wall, the ink-and-wash woman sitting on the swing gradually condensed into color, slowly floated out of the painting, and fell to the ground. He went over to help grind the blue ink.
He glanced out the window, then turned back and chuckled, "That Yuwen Tuo was completely subdued by Master Toad. Look at him, young master. He no longer looks like the handsome young man he used to be."
"Master has his own way of dealing with people, he is not as confused as before."
The autumn wind blew gently, and the birds on the old trees chirped and flew down, jumping and hopping at the scholar in the window.
Lu Liangsheng took the paper, spread it out on the desk in front of the window, dipped the tip of his pen in the inkstone, and wrote each word on the paper stroke by stroke.
"Sir, what are you writing?" Hong Lian stood behind and took a look.
“If you want to organize something and you’re afraid of forgetting it, sort it out on paper first. This way it’s easier to remember.”
What was written on the paper was actually about the future teaching of the three young men. Since they were teachers, they had to be more dedicated. It was impossible to teach the same thing to everyone. This was probably what was called teaching students in accordance with their aptitude.
"Yuwen Tuo, in terms of cultivation, he is much faster than the other two teenagers. It's too fast and it may stimulate Li Sui'an and Qu Yuanfeng, making them feel inferior... Well, he should start with academics, establish himself, speak and behave morally, which just happens to be what Fajing wants to teach him."
Hong Lian frowned slightly, folded her hands and gently placed them against the scholar's writing brush, leaning her face forward and speaking softly.
"Will that make Yuwen Tuo unhappy?"
"Dissatisfied? Then convince them with reason."
Lu Liangsheng laughed, which made Hong Lian think that he had some bad idea, so she hit the man lightly on the chest with her hand.
"I'm talking about reason. What are you thinking? He's not that young anymore. He should understand."
A man and a ghost have been together for many years. Lu Liangsheng has grown from a young boy to a man in his twenties. The intimacy between the two seems natural, without the shy feeling they once had.
However, there was only one thing that had been bothering Lu Liangsheng. Should Hong Lian be reincarnated as a human, or just remain a lonely soul? Even if she embarked on cultivation and became a ghost cultivator, she would still be an evil spirit...
"Forget it, why think about it, let's talk about it later. First, find a way for these three little guys. Once they are in my hands, I can't let them waste their talents."
Lu Liangsheng knows quite a lot of magic spells, but they are all scattered and incomplete Taoist methods from "Qinghuai Bugeng" and "Nanshui Shiyi". Only in recent times, he has figured out some complete sets of his own.
Hmm…
'Yuwen Tuo doesn't need to be taught for the time being. Li Sui'an will continue to practice sword-controlling. As for Qu Yuanfeng... He has a conservative temperament, but he is a steady person... It's a headache. It's better to ask them about their ambitions and make a decision later.'
On the side, Hong Lian saw the scholar lost in thought. She was afraid of disturbing him, so she ran to Lu Xiaoxian next door and fiddled with Mingyue, the little doll.
It was noon. Amid the laughter of Hong Lian and Xiao Xian from next door, the Taoist priest and the fat monk came back from outside.
"Old Lu, the time has come."
Sun Yingxian waved his sleeves at the three young men under the tree over there and said, "You too, the apprenticeship ceremony is ready over there, follow them."
Facing the half-open window, Lu Liangsheng put down his pen, read the contents above, memorized them in his mind, then wiped his hands, walked out of the room, and went out together.
At this time, the drying dam in the village was surrounded by villagers. When they heard that Lu Lang was going to take in a disciple, the merchants who were familiar with the area stopped and came into the village to take a look. Even people from the north village came to join in the fun.
"Three at a time?" "Hey, doesn't that mean there will be more people who know Taoism and magic in our Qixia Mountain in the future?"
"Alas, I would like to pay my respects, but unfortunately I am too old and my generation is too high."
"What are you afraid of? Xue Wang is half blind." "Bullshit, I can't learn his shameless skills."
…
"Hey, what are those people doing outside the village entrance?"
"Who knows? I saw them there so early in the morning." "It seems they are also looking for Liangsheng, but Liangsheng doesn't want to see them."
"Now that you mention it, why are there so many people looking for Liangsheng recently?"
"Hey, you don't know, I just heard from a passing vendor outside that the emperor is dead and a monster has appeared. Didn't Liangsheng go to the capital some time ago..."
"Oh, so Liangsheng is famous for exorcising demons!"
Amid the chatter, someone shouted, "Liangsheng is coming!" "Look, those three young men are following behind!"
At this time, Chen Jing and the guards who had been waiting outside the village entrance all night also got up from the ground, stood on tiptoe, stretched their necks to look towards the village.
A figure in a white robe and neatly combed hair came over. An incense burner and three sacrificial animals, chicken, sheep and pig, were placed on the tribute table. Lu Liangsheng came over, took the incense from the village elder, and with a flick of his fingertips, the incense began to burn, causing the surrounding villagers to exclaim in amazement.
Lu Liangsheng stood in the village, bowed solemnly to the heaven and earth and Qixia Mountain three times, inserted the incense into the incense burner, and nodded to the Taoist priest: "Let's get started."
After saying that, someone brought a big chair and placed it in front of the tribute table. Lu Liangsheng lifted the hem of his robe slightly, sat on the big chair next to the tribute table, and looked straight ahead.
Yuwen Tuo, Li Sui'an, and Qu Yuanfeng took the burning incense from the Taoist priest, walked forward together, then knelt down with their hands raised, and held the incense to the level of their noses.
"I offer sacrifices to the God of Heaven, I kneel down to the Earth Mother for giving birth to me and raising me, and I bow to the four gods as witnesses. Today, I, Li Sui'an, Yuwen Tuo, and Qu Yuanfeng, become disciples of Lu Liangsheng of Mount Qixia. I will strictly abide by the rules, not slander my teacher, not bring disgrace to my school, not commit crimes, and not help those who are disloyal and unfilial!"
The three of them stood up, raised Changxiang above their heads, and raised their voices.
"I solemnly swear, with the ghosts and gods of the four directions as witnesses. If I break this oath, my path to cultivation will be cut off, my Taoist teachings will be ineffective, and the long incense stick in my hand will break—"
A gust of wind blew, causing the surrounding villagers to squint their eyes and raise their sleeves to cover their faces. A faint rumbling sound of thunder could be heard among the surrounding mountains, and it lasted for a while before it stopped.
Everyone looked again, the long incense sticks in the hands of the three young men were still burning. The Taoist priest tilted his head to signal, and Li Sui'an, Yuwen Tuo and the other two stepped forward to insert the incense into the incense burner and stood behind the incense stick of their master Lu Liangsheng.
Someone brought three cups of tea over. The three young men served the tea to the master one by one, letting him take a sip, then they knelt down with their hands clasped.
"Master, please accept your disciple Li Sui'an..."
"Yuwen Tuo!"
"Qu Yuanfeng!"
The three of them said the last sentence in unison: "Bow!"
At the back, the crowd pushed aside, Wang Banxia rushed out, threw away his crutches, and also knelt down behind the three young men towards Lu Liangsheng who was sitting on the chair, and kowtowed to him.
Over there, Lu Liangsheng tasted the tea and gently placed the cup on the tribute table. He glanced at the three young men kneeling in front of him and the old man with gray hair and beard behind him, and said softly, "The master-disciple ceremony is complete, everyone stand up."
Then he stood up from his chair and called Wang Banxia who was standing behind him to stand with Yuwen Tuo and the other two.
"Since you have me as your master and are practicing Taoism with me, you must not show off in front of others, bully the weak and lonely, kill indiscriminately, or associate with evil. Can you do this?"
"Follow Master's instructions!"
The three young ones and one old one bowed their heads and replied.
…
In the distance, Taoist Toad stood on the old donkey's head, watching the scene with his webbed feet. When a big tongue licked him, he waved his webbed feet open, looked at the other side and nodded with satisfaction.
"I am also a master."