The sound of golden gongs clanging in the palace was accompanied by chaotic shouts and the sound of people's footsteps walking across the stone steps and blue brick roads of the palace. People holding torches spread out in front of the Xuan Zheng Hall like a fire dragon.
Yang Guang, who received the news, was the first to arrive. He still had a somewhat green face and a tuft of light beard on his chin. He waved his hand to ask the soldiers in front to make way for him. With a bit of majesty, he glanced at the old donkey beside the door, shaking its bald tail, and looked over curiously.
Yang Guang came over, his expression was stunned for a moment, and he instructed his attendants:
"Don't attack this old donkey!"
When the soldiers were a little puzzled, the Prince of Jin, who was speaking, lifted up his long pendant with gold outlines, strode into the palace gate, and followed the sight of everyone, staring straight at the scroll spread out on the long table.
"Your Highness, don't go over there. Be careful or the painting might be taken inside." The eunuch who had been in the palace before followed tremblingly to the side, pointing at the painting on the table.
"Your Majesty and the Duke of Yue were right in front of the table just now, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye. Then, the silhouettes of Your Majesty and the Duke of Yue appeared in the painting."
"Get lost."
Yang Guang waved his sleeves and told him to get out of the way. He turned his head to look at the guards and soldiers approaching him and said, "Come closer."
No matter what, as the Prince of Jin of the Sui Dynasty, he had to be careful. Moreover, he only knew that others had reported that his father and his uncle were locked up in a painting by Lu Liangsheng, but he didn't know the details. It wouldn't be wrong to be careful.
When I walked to the long table, I saw the figures of my father and my uncle, supporting each other and standing motionless in the painting.
He looked around and found that Lu Liangsheng, who cast the spell, was not there. His brows gradually furrowed.
Did he really intend to harm my father
The wind blew in from the wall of people, causing the bean-sized flame of the lamp to shake. Prince Jin, who was standing in front of the table, came back to his senses from his brief thoughts, gritted his teeth, and reached out to grab the scroll on the table.
"We must find a way to get our father and uncle out first!"
Yang Guang was thinking, and as he stretched out his hand, the moment his fingertips touched the scroll, there was a sudden shout from behind, and a man rushed over.
"Your Highness, be careful!"
Yang Guang stopped working at the table and turned back subconsciously. A short figure rushed out of the bookshelf, passed through the wall of people and was away from him, and swung a gourd in his hand.
"Who are you… "
Before he could say anything, the shadow reflected in his eyes grew larger.
Bang!
The round gourd hit Yang Guang's face, flattening his skin and flesh with ripples. His eyes rolled back, his head tilted in the direction of the force, his mouth bulged, and saliva splashed out of his mouth.
His whole body stumbled backwards and fell on the table. He saw the magical light blooming on the painting, covering the fallen Yang Guang, and then the light faded rapidly.
The long table was empty. Apart from the scroll, there was no trace of the Prince of Jin of the Sui Dynasty.
The eunuch standing not far away shrank his neck and widened his eyes. His lips trembled a few times, then suddenly opened wide and screamed miserably.
"Oh my god! Prince Jin has also been locked in the painting!!!"
In an instant, he turned around, pushed aside the soldiers at the palace gate, and ran out in a panic.
In the eyes of the soldiers and guards, a black shadow larger than their fists slowly stood up on the long table. He was wearing a nightgown, his face covered with a black scarf, revealing only a pair of cold, large eyes. He slammed the gourd in his hand lightly on the table, intimidating the soldiers who were about to rush over.
"Take another step forward and I will burn this painting."
The Toad Taoist quietly hugged the clothes that were torn by his belly. Above the black scarf, his toad eyes slanted slightly and he turned his head to glance at the palace guards over there.
He stretched out his palms to hold the candle placed beside him. The candlestick swayed slightly, and the hot wax rolled down the candle body, making a slight popping sound and dripping onto the palms of his hands that were placed across the candle.
The Toad Taoist stared, tilted his head to look at the webbed back, his solemn expression suddenly changed, the corners of his mouth twitched a few times, and he suddenly retracted his hand.
Whoosh whoosh~~~
It burned me to death!
He blew hard on its webbed back and was about to peel off the wax on it when he took two steps and stepped on the scroll. The light of Dharma reappeared and filled everyone's sight.
His mother's...
The Toad Taoist cursed in his heart as he watched the Dharma light extending towards him. The short figure disappeared from the table in an instant. A group of soldiers around him put down their arms that were covering their eyes. When they looked again, there was only a scroll, a gourd, and a small black scarf slowly falling on the table. They looked at each other in surprise.
"Fell into the painting together?"
"It must have fallen in, but what the hell is that thing, it's so small."
"Who knows? He doesn't look very smart."
"What do we do now?"
"Or, let's wait for Queen Dugu and the Crown Prince to come over. Maybe once they get close, we'll be sucked into the painting as well."
The candlelight flickered, and in the whispered conversations, in the painting that no one else could see, a flash of Dharma light appeared, and a figure fell straight down from mid-air, dancing with hands and feet.
“Ahh…”
Then, with a bang, Yang Guang fell heavily to the ground, but he did not feel any pain. When he brushed away the grass debris on his head, another long sound came out: "Ah ah..." It crossed the sky, and with a bang, it fell beside him.
Turning his head, he saw a toad lying on the ground, as if it knew someone was looking at it. The Toad Taoist glared at it with his eyes bulged, then after a moment, he got up from the ground and brushed off the dust.
"What are you looking at? Have you never seen a toad?"
With a cold snort, he put on his flippers, turned around and walked towards the pavilion in front.
Yang Guang hurriedly followed. He had seen this toad before, but had never seen it speak. He was so excited that he wanted to ask more questions, but then he saw two familiar figures outside the pavilion in front of him, who seemed to have heard the noise and turned around.
"Father?!"
The two people over there were Yang Jian and Yang Su. Seeing their son coming in, they couldn't help but feel a little confused.
"How did you get in?"
Yang Guang trotted over and pointed at the two men's feet, panting.
"You ask him, a gourd blew me in..."
Yang Jian was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and saw a black shadow running over with a clattering sound, its white belly bulging and two flippers on its back.
"What... is this... uh, Toad?"
"Have you never seen him before?! Get lost!" The Toad Taoist glanced at him, as if he knew where he was going. He turned around the pavilion and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Well…
Being choked by a toad was an experience Yang Jian had never had before. Yang Su originally wanted to explain a few more words, but he waved his hand.
"Toads can even speak... I'm just curious, let's go and see what's here!"
He turned around and glanced at his son.
“Follow me!”
The scholars in the hall seemed not to have heard the three people's voices, and continued to comment on the peach blossoms. When they walked to the edge of the cliff, they could feel the real feeling of the wind blowing on their faces and bodies.
Yang Jian took a deep breath, and the huge city below filled his view. This was the Daxing City he had built. The three of them went down the mountain path, enjoying the early spring scenery along the way. Soon, they approached the bustling city gate, with carriages and horses coming in and out, and pedestrians and vendors talking loudly and bustlingly.
Suddenly I returned to reality.