Golden light spread in the eastern clouds, pushing the black edge and spreading rapidly over the distant foothills, small villages, and woods, illuminating the small temple ahead.
The grass leaves covered with dew were rolled into the mouth by the tongue. The old donkey chewed them with a grunt and neigh, and tilted its head to look at the temple entrance.
The morning light poured in through the temple gate. There was still a faint smoke from the burnt-out bonfire. In the light, a figure walked by. Lu Liangsheng came out carrying two bookshelves and placed them on both sides of the donkey's buttocks.
Behind him, the Toad Taoist priest came out wrapped in flowery clothes and walked into the sunlight. Feeling the warmth on his face, he stretched lazily.
Wow...
He yawned loudly, smacked his lips, walked under the bookshelf, climbed up the rope and sat in the compartment.
"Isn't it time to go back now? I am a little uncomfortable being outside..."
As Toad spoke, he tied one end of the rope around his waist and tightened it: "... I thought that a master who is used to climbing mountains would actually like to live in a small place."
"Master is thinking about Lujia Village."
After packing his luggage, Lu Liangsheng turned around and smiled. He adjusted the reins and sat on the donkey, letting the old donkey go southeast and follow the road back to Qixia Mountain.
The old donkey was probably familiar with this road after having walked it twice. He did not need Lu Liangsheng's guidance and continued happily along the way, eating grass leaves on the ground. When they got down the foothills, the autumn sun became brighter. On the road leading to the capital, pedestrians and businessmen were hurrying back and forth. Among them were many people carrying packages on their backs, dragging their families, young and old, driving donkey carts or pushing wheelbarrows, carrying chickens and ducks, and all the valuable items that could be taken away from their homes, slowly flowing towards the south.
Different from the atmosphere on the other side of the river, this side will be a battlefield. It is human nature to seek good fortune and avoid disaster. When the news of the coming war spread throughout the surrounding area, the people who were waiting and watching began to disperse one by one, and then a large-scale migration broke out during this period of time.
Amid the noisy sounds, Lu Liang gave birth to the old donkey, and squeezed through the crowd by pulling the reins. All around him, the sounds of footsteps and shouts mixed together, and the road was full of people fleeing southward.
"Hurry up and take everyone home with you. Don't leave them to the Sui army. They kill without blinking an eye. They might go south tomorrow. Once they cross the river, everyone in your family might be killed. They will really leave no one alive..."
The officers dressed in yamen uniforms rode on horseback and shouted loudly in the surging crowd, but compared with the countless mixed voices, they still seemed insignificant.
There was a woman carrying a basket with her family's stored grain in it. She was pushing and pulling in the crowd in panic, looking around for something. Next to her was a shirtless man, who should be her man.
"Shitou! Little Shitou! Answer your mother—"
The woman was crying and shouting, while she was pulling passers-by to ask questions. Her husband was doing the same thing on the other side, with an anxious look on his face and red eyes.
"Shi Tou, where are you?! If you hear Daddy's voice, just answer it!!"
After squeezing through a distance of several feet, Lu Liangsheng quietly tore the piece of clothing from the child in the woman's hand, used a small magic to track the child, and delivered the crying child to the couple on the roadside more than ten feet away.
The crowd was endless and this scene reminded him of the flood of disaster victims he saw when he returned to Heliangzhou. Fortunately, this was the heartland of Southern Chen and it was after the autumn harvest, so the people would have some surplus food to survive, and the tragedy that happened in Heliangzhou would not happen again.
Passing by Tianzhi in the capital, the city was under martial law at that time. Cavalry could be seen roaring past from time to time. If they saw someone dressed as a scholar like Lu Liangsheng, they would come over to check him out.
"It should be early next spring, the war will be approaching."
Looking at the city wall in the distance, Lu Liangsheng had no intention of going in. He led the old donkey and turned south, rushing back to Qixia Mountain. It was already evening and the mountain was quiet. Passing by the foot of Xiaoquan Mountain, he heard one or two fox calls.
Looking up, under the starry sky, on the edge of the cliff, a fox was crouching, looking towards the direction of Lujia Village.
"Wait for me by the road."
Lu Liangsheng patted the donkey's head, dodged, and his afterimage leaped across the mountains and forests. After a few rounds, he reached the top of the mountain. He walked across the mossy rocks and sat under the stars and moon, transformed into a fox named Yanzhi, looking at the village with lights on at the foot of the opposite mountain. He heard footsteps behind him and swung his fluffy red tail.
Immediately, she stood up, turned into a beautiful woman in the blink of an eye, and bowed.
"Rouge has met sir."
"No need to be polite, I just heard you neighing and came to take a look."
Lu Liangsheng looked at her, walked to one side, and looked at the mountain village over there. "If you miss your child, go over and see him. There's no need to be so restrained."
"I'm afraid of disturbing your parents." Red Fox also had concerns. She had fallen in love with her husband Zhang Liancheng before, which had had a significant impact on Zhang Dongming and his wife. Moreover, as a demon, she would also harm the health of mortals.
Seeing her thoughts, Lu Liangsheng smiled and waved his hand: "Don't worry, I still have the Rakshasa ghost Hong Lian with me, and I don't see her hurting my parents. Just restrain your evil spirit and everything will be fine."
"Rouge thanks you sir for your kindness."
The red fox thought about it and shook her head. She stepped aside and bowed to the scholar: "Mingyue was taken in by you, sir. I am grateful that I can stay so close to you to practice and recuperate. I dare not ask for too much."
"It's up to you. Anyway, I promised you to visit the child."
After saying that, Lu Liangsheng didn't talk much. He turned around and took a few steps, then turned into a blur and disappeared into the woods ahead. He returned to the foot of the mountain. Hong Lian had been squatting by the roadside at some point, picking up stones and throwing them around. When she saw the young master coming back, she smiled and went back into the painting with peace of mind.
The scholar naturally saw through what was going on. He smiled, pulled the reins, and led the old donkey back to the village.
Then... the reins slipped from his hands, and even the old donkey was stunned. It ran to the original donkey shed to find a place for it to sleep.
The original fenced courtyard was gone, and only a few walls of the rebuilt house remained. Cut wood, bricks, earth, and gravel were everywhere. Not far away, Yuwen Tuo, Li Suian, and Qu Yuanfeng were huddled together, sleeping on a straw mat, with their legs crossed. Their faces were dirty, and they rubbed their mouths and noses with their hands in their sleep. They continued to sleep soundly, unaware that anyone was watching them.
"These three little guys are not afraid of catching a cold."
He didn't see his parents and sister around, so he must have stayed at his relative's house. Lu Liangsheng sighed and pinched his fingers, casting a warming spell on the three young men on the straw mat to prevent them from catching a cold.
The old donkey couldn't find his original sleeping place, so he came over with his head down, looking quite aggrieved, and tugged at his master's sleeve with his mouth.
The small door of the bookshelf compartment creaked open.
The Toad Taoist folded his arms, also stunned, and tilted his head to look at his disciple: "Where will I sleep tonight?"
"There's a place to sleep."
Lu Liangsheng thought about it, snapped his fingers, turned around and left. Lao Lu followed him consciously, all the way up to Qixia Mountain west of the village, and along the mountain path that he had walked countless times, came to the old tree.
"Two years ago, I told Lao Sun that I would stop being an official and build a shed here in the future. I didn't expect it to come true so soon."
As if joking at himself, Lu Liangsheng took down the bookshelf, threw the Yuelong Sword aside, shook out his sleeves, and summoned the "Five Elements Taoism". There was an immediate noise on the mountain, and the dense forest swayed rustlingly. Amidst the sound of breaking, broken treetops and withered grass flew out in large numbers.
Thick wooden pillars were driven into the ground, and cracks appeared in the rocks on the ground, wrapping around the pillars to form four corners. Thinner branches then swarmed forward to build a wooden wall along the pillars at the four corners. The branches and leaves on top were still there, growing lushly, serving as a roof or blocking the gaps tightly. The twigs of the shrubs extended forward along the wall to form a fence. A few relatively flat rocks in the distance fell down and turned into stone benches and tables.
In a short while, the thatched cottage next to the old pine and the teacher's tomb was completed. With his painting skills and the control of plants, trees and rocks by the Five Elements Taoism, it was easy for Lu Liangsheng to make the house.
He touched the solid wall of grass and trees with his finger, and the intertwined branches and leaves rustled and moved, revealing a door that people could enter and exit at will.
Walking inside, the bookshelf was thrown to the ground. Withered vines and branches extended from the wall, interweaving to form a soft couch and a desk. The scroll was hung on the wall and slowly lowered to reveal Hong Lian.
The books are piled on the table, and the inkstone and brush are placed on it, and it becomes a study room filled with the fragrance of ink.
"How is the Master?"
Lu Liangsheng lit a candle to illuminate the surroundings.
The small door of the bookshelf over there was pushed open, and the Toad Taoist yawned, carrying a black-patterned gourd on his back and a pipe hanging from his waist. He came out sleepily, hugging his bed and quilt, with drooping eyelids, climbed onto the soft couch and lay down, covering himself with a small quilt, stretched his limbs comfortably, and curled up inside.
Shhh… huh… shhh…
After a moment, he fell into a deep sleep.
After traveling for several days, Lu Liangsheng was exhausted. He felt sleepy and fell into a deep sleep next to his master.