"Brother Lu's painting skills are truly amazing. The surrounding forests and fields are also painted vividly. If I hadn't noticed the blue ink, I would have thought they were actually in the painting."
Taking an oil lamp, Yang Su shone the light on it and looked at it bit by bit. He could not help but praise it out loud, which attracted the old man who was cooking noodles to look over, but unfortunately he could not appreciate it in the end.
On the opposite side, Lu Liangsheng took the oil lamp for Yang Su, put it on the corner of the table, and whispered to deny any other scenery except Zishan Temple.
"I didn't paint the surrounding mountains. I only included the painting of Purple Mountain in the album. I just opened it and saw that there are so many mountains. Duke Yue is very knowledgeable. What can you see?"
Hearing this, Yang Su raised his eyes with a look of surprise in his eyes, then frowned and carefully looked at the paper of the book and the name on the cover.
“‘Boundless Mountains and Seas’… is a poetic name.”
After looking at it carefully for a while, unfortunately he couldn't make out any clues from the material and the title of the book. However, since he had practiced Taoism for many years and held a high position, he had more knowledge than Lu Liangsheng. He felt that the scholar was honest in his heart, and Yang Su didn't want to be a person who enjoyed himself.
"Well, Su has some guesses in her mind..."
He raised his sleeves slightly and cast a small soundproof spell with his fingertips. Lu Liangsheng on the opposite side also cast an illusion of two people, a demon and a toad eating noodles and chatting.
Feeling the magic power flowing around him, Yang Su spoke.
“… Daoist friend got this thing accidentally, it must be predestined. According to what Daoist friend said before, it was a blank, and there was no reaction when the Purple Mountain Temple was sealed and entered. However, now, the mountain road extends from the Purple Mountain Temple. Daoist friend Lu may want to go to Helingzhou to take a look someday. According to the comparison of the mountain shape, is it the same as in the painting
… If it is exactly the same, when it continues to extend and covers the entire book, something strange will definitely appear. Then, fellow Taoists can follow those places and see what they can find out.”
Lu Liangsheng nodded thoughtfully.
"Then what do you think might be in those places, Duke Yue?"
“Rare treasures…” Yang Su twisted his beard and pondered for a while, then added: “It could also be a ferocious beast or a thousand-year-old demon.”
The Toad Taoist's eyelids twitched, and when he saw Yang Su's gaze sweeping over him, he straightened his body unconsciously. In an instant, his gaze swept from him to the other side of the woman in the black dress who was supporting her chin and looking straight at the scholar.
"Of course, Fellow Daoist Lu may not think anything of it, but Su still wants to remind you that those who practice Taoism should not waste their essence. Last time it was a Rakshasa ghost, and this time it was..."
Yang Su raised his chin, pointing at Qiyou with obvious meaning. The latter seemed to understand that someone was talking about him. Mu Qiyou turned his head, frowned slightly, leaned forward a little, stuck out his tongue viciously, and waved it wildly in front of Yang Su.
“Fellow Daoist Lu…” Yang Su forced himself to hold back the words he had originally not finished saying. He quickly turned his eyes away, swallowed his saliva, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
That is a great demon with a thousand years of cultivation. My own cultivation is really not enough... Oh, forget it. Scholars have been romantic since ancient times. Let him be. It's enough as long as I can suppress him.
"Hmm... It's just that Fellow Daoist Lu's taste is getting weirder and weirder."
After thinking for a while, Yang Su expressed his own guesses, one of which was the possibility that it was caused by the imperial decree, but he quickly ruled it out.
Afterwards, the two talked about other things. While chatting and laughing, Lu Liangsheng put away "Boundless Mountains and Seas" on the table, conjured up two glasses of wine, and when he handed them over, he asked about his two apprentices, Yuwen Tuo and Qu Yuanfeng.
"I separated from them a few days ago. Yuwen Tuo missed his family and came back to the north. I wonder if Duke Yue knows where they are living now?"
"In the city."
Yang Su drank the wine in the cup in one gulp, and watching the empty bottom of the cup slowly refill, he said with a smile: "I have seen many cultivators, but only Fellow Daoist Lu has used illusion to the extreme."
After savoring the aroma of the wine in his mouth, he continued, "Yuwen Tuo, one of Daoist's two disciples, was discovered to be born with spiritual roots..."
At this point, the voice gradually faded: "... Or it's the reincarnation of a divine weapon, so I've always had an idea."
Lu Liangsheng looked at him and spread his hands: "Duke Yue, please speak."
"Instead of simply practicing Taoism, it is better to contribute to the country and use his divine power to bless it. After more than ten years, no one in the nine provinces of the world, whether they are practitioners or demons and monsters, can be his opponent. Not only can the Great Sui Dynasty be protected for thousands of years, but the people of the country can also enjoy eternal peace."
The dim lights of the night stall flickered. Not far away, a table of diners finished their meal, paid the bill and left. The clay bowls clinked in the old man's hands. Lu Liangsheng was silent for a moment, then replied with a smile.
"Although Yuwen Tuo is my disciple, he has always been quite opinionated. If he is willing, there is no need for me to persuade him. So, Duke Yue should go by himself."
In fact, this was not an excuse. Ever since Yuwen Tuo came to Qixia Mountain, Lu Liangsheng knew that he was a very opinionated person. If he had not been completely subdued by his master and Lu Pan and the other eight people when he first came, he would have slipped away long ago.
As for whether to serve as an official in the court, Lu Liangsheng never liked to force other people's wishes.
Soon after finishing the midnight snack, Yang Su wanted to pay the bill, but he had no money on him, so Lu Liangsheng paid the bill instead. He bowed and said goodbye in embarrassment.
"Next time Fellow Daoist Lu returns to Chang'an, I will prepare a banquet for him at home!"
After saying this, he waved his sleeves, bowed, and walked back to the street leading to his mansion.
As soon as the other party left, his figure disappeared in the mist of the long street, and the Toad Taoist spat in the direction where Yang Su left.
"Such a high-ranking official, yet he goes out without any money!"
Away from the sight of the ordinary people at the night stall, he stood up, walked to the bottom of the bookshelf with his flippers on his back, and climbed back to the compartment using the rope.
Lu Liangsheng smiled and said nothing. He closed the small door of the bookshelf, led the old donkey and followed the address given by Yang Su to where Yuwen Tuo and Qu Yuanfeng lived.
…
In the huge city with thousands of lights, many lights were gradually extinguished as the night deepened. In a mansion in the city, Yuwen Tuo, wearing a robe with a golden flower print, came out of his junior brother's room, walked across the eaves with one hand behind his back, and came to the pavilion where the waterside pavilion extended to the pond.
With his hands on his knees, he sat quietly in a corner, looking at the gray moon, his brown and blue eyes unblinking, no one knew what he was thinking.
In the distance, the sound of insects chirping could be heard in the grass by the pond. Although I grew up in this mansion, I was accustomed to living in Qixia Mountain with my master, fellow apprentices, and the people of Lujia Village, and I missed them a lot.
"I don't know what happened to my master, my elder brother, and my third brother."
"Why, are you thinking about being a teacher?"
The name that he just thought of in his mind suddenly came to his mind, and Yuwen Tuo subconsciously turned around, and a figure in green and white robes slowly appeared under the eaves of the corridor in front.
Lu Liangsheng entered the mansion alone, walked across the stone bridge and sat opposite Yuwen Tuo, extending his hand to tell him not to stand up and salute.
"I just came here to see you and Yuan Feng. I'll leave soon. Where's he?"
"Junior brother has gone to bed."
Yuwen Tuo hadn't seen his master for a long time, and his usually calm expression became a little excited. He sat down, poured the tea on the table, and offered it to him with both hands.
"Junior brother, I have joined the army. I am very tired from daily training, so I go to bed early."
Looking towards a certain place in the yard, Lu Liangsheng seemed to sense the snoring of a sleeping figure in the room. He smiled and turned back to look at his second disciple opposite him.
"What about you?"
Yuwen Tuo put down the tea, straightened his body and sat there in silence for a while.
"My disciple may also serve as an official in the court... My relatives have surrendered, but they are still living under someone else's roof. If I can serve as an official in the court, it will be considered as protecting them, so that they don't have to die like my parents did without knowing why."
He clenched his hands on his knees and whispered, "By the way, I want to find out the cause of my parents' death. Master, please don't stop me."
"Why should I stop you?" Lu Liangsheng poured the tea and took a sip. "It is your duty to find the truth and avenge your parents. Besides, I have promised the emperor to enter the Sui Dynasty."
On the side, Yuwen Tuo was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face.
"Then I hope Master will support me in the future when I am in the court."
The master and disciple sat in the pavilion and talked for a long time. They talked about the past when they were in Qixia Mountain, and also talked about recent events, especially the Qihuo Sect. The Holy Fire Master was killed by his soul with a sword, and his death was miserable.
The lights in the pavilion were warm yellow, illuminating the two people's figures, which were then cast on the surface of the pond outside the pavilion, gently rippling the water.
…
As the night deepened, the cold moonlight streaked across the night sky south of Chang'an, casting a rustling sound on the dark woods. The trees swayed from side to side, as if a huge monster was moving around.
Between the dark blue mountains, on the side of a winding mountain road.
The soil under a tree loosened slightly, breaking open and revealing a muddy bead rolling out.
“Haha… How can I die so easily? Five damn scholars, when I have rebuilt my body, I will refine you into elixirs!!”
Rustle~~~
The soul-sending bead lit up with magical light, and the last wisp of soul had not yet dissipated. After more than a month of effort, he finally crawled out of the ground little by little.
Rustle~~
Suddenly, the forest behind shook, and the soul in the bead turned to sense, "It doesn't matter if it's a wild beast in the mountains, let me attach... attach..."
His words began to stutter, and if he had eyes, they would have been widened to the extreme.
The two big trees in front broke with a "crack" sound, and fell down with lush branches. The cold moonlight reflected a huge black shadow that slowly walked out.
The first things to enter the range of the moonlight shining on the ground were the falling hooves, black as iron palms, and with each hit, a dull sound was heard.
In an instant, the moonlight sprinkled on the black shadow that walked out. The hair was coarse and sparse, the body was fat and rough, a mane was like a steel needle, fangs grew out of the mouth and curved upwards, and the eyes were like lightning, staring straight at the beads on the ground.
"Pig... No... No no, don't come over here-"
The last word "demon" uttered by Holy Fire Mingzun turned into a shrill cry, but unfortunately the bead could not be transmitted in the end. It was sucked up by the open mouth and fell into the long mouth. With a few crunching sounds, it was chewed into a pulp and nothing was left.
The black shadow closed its eyes, feeling the comfort of absorbing a wisp of human soul, shook its row of steel bristles, smacked its long mouth, and turned to the northwest.
"Looking for Er Niang to have some fun..."
It leisurely walked on its four hooves and disappeared under the moonlight.