The morning light pushed aside the blue sky and shone through the towering city walls, spreading inward, wrapping up the densely packed houses. The huge and prosperous city did not become desolate due to the Turks entering the Great Wall.
The voices in Chang'an city gradually became noisy. Peddlers walking through the streets with their goods on their shoulders began to shout loudly. A leisurely old man walked out of his house carrying a bird cage and came to a teahouse, where familiar companions were already waiting for him. They sat down to drink tea and chat.
The steamers are opened at the street stalls, and the aroma of steam rises. The young and strong men who start their day's work count out their copper coins to buy one or two sweet steamed buns and eat them while walking. Then they stand far away at the street edge, covering their mouths and noses. The dung drivers pull donkey carts loaded with dung buckets to escort them over. Soon, the quiet long street becomes noisy again after the stench dissipates.
This is a peaceful and prosperous scene.
Outside the north gate, a fast horse with a small flag on its head rushed into the city gate, following a special road reserved for emergency military information, all the way to the imperial city.
"Urgent report, urgent military intelligence report—"
"The Turkic Khan Shabolue was defeated by Zhou Pan and fled in disgrace!!"
…
Outside the Xuanzheng Hall, Yang Jian, who had just finished his morning court session, stood under the shade of trees in the morning light, looking at the military intelligence in the north presented by his cousin Yang Su. With a rather interesting expression on his face, he tapped the intelligence in his hands, fast and slow.
"Shaboluo led 100,000 soldiers and horses and went straight to the third floor. Has Mr. Lu's magic reached this level?"
Beside him, Yang Su bowed and nodded slightly.
"That's exactly what the Second Prince said in his speech."
Under the shade of the tree, Yang Jian walked into the sunlight, watching a few birds flying in the distance and landing in the flower bed to peck at insects. He handed the information in his hand to the eunuch who accompanied him to put it away.
He raised his face and let out a breath.
"This is truly a divine technique that is beyond the reach of mortals. If these cultivators want to rule the world, wouldn't it be easy?"
"Your Majesty, cultivating the Tao and cultivating the immortals consumes all your energy. How can you possibly give up longevity and cling to the wealth and honor of the world?"
After hearing Yang Su's explanation, the emperor laughed, waved his hand, and walked towards the gravel path between the flower beds with the gait of a dragon or a tiger.
"Do you think I will learn from Chen Shubao? An emperor should know how to judge people, use people, and trust people. Lu Liangsheng has a profound cultivation, and I am so happy that I can't wait to doubt him. If he really has the ambition to rule the world, he might have had a chance during the Southern Dynasty. Why is he traveling around and slaying demons now?"
"Your Majesty, the prefect of Sichuan Yancheng..."
"Kill him if you want. I already know the character of that official." Yang Jian waved his hand, and his robe swayed slightly. He suddenly slowed down his pace, stopped, and looked back at his cousin who was following him.
"Where is Lu Liangsheng now?"
"This... I don't know either, and I'm sure the Second Prince doesn't know either."
Above the two people who were asking and answering each other, the sky was blue and white clouds were floating. Soon, the news that the danger on the northern front had been resolved spread from the imperial city. For a while, people ran to tell each other and there was a commotion. Teahouses and restaurants were suddenly crowded. Especially since this battle was more or less related to the name of one person, many people speculated what had happened to cause the 100,000 Turks to collapse.
"Dude, mix the tea!!"
The teahouse was full of people. The waiters serving tea were running around, their faces covered in sweat. A tea drinker picked up a full cup of tea, blew away the hot steam, and glanced at his companions.
"These Turks are unlucky. They lost 40,000 men in just a few days. But, do you know who Lu Liangsheng is?"
Most of the tea drinkers around were also in the mood for gossip.
"I've never heard of him. Does our Sui Dynasty have such a person?"
"I have heard some of the generals in the army from my master, but I have never heard of the name Lu Liangsheng."
"From the name, could it be that he is a scholar?"
The noisy voices around stopped. The name did sound scholarly. Could it be that the one who broke the siege of the north was a scholar
The lively atmosphere of discussion could be seen everywhere in the city, but for those who knew the true background of the scholar, it was an indescribable shock.
Duke of Yue, Yang Su, slowly left the imperial city in a carriage. He lifted a corner of the curtain and could see the bustling long street with people coming and going. In front of the emperor, he did not show any surprise, for fear of being looked down upon by his cousin. However, when he was alone at this moment, he was shocked and surprised at the ability of Fellow Daoist Lu.
He knew the opponent's realm. Even if his Nascent Soul left his body and his magic power increased greatly, he would not be able to wipe out 40,000 soldiers. Even if he could do it, his magic power would be almost completely consumed, which is not something a wise man could do. Once the magic power is gone, the cultivator would be in danger of death if caught in the battle.
"With his temperament, it's impossible for him to do such a desperate thing. How did he do it? It's puzzling."
The curtain was lowered, and as the carriage shook slightly, he returned to the mansion. Yang Su dismissed his attendants, even his wife and children, and went straight to the study. He opened the door of the dark room and walked down the long stone steps. The space became wide, and there were lamp holders protruding from the walls on all four sides, with flames on.
In the middle were two rows of stone pillars. As Yang Su walked over, in the dim light, he saw human figures, motionless, with an iron mask on each of them. They were the human puppets that Lu Liangsheng had mentioned in the past.
Walking through the densely packed human puppets, right in front of him, there was a bright golden light. On an altar covered with yellow silk, smoke was curling from the burning incense burner. A little higher up in the back, there was a pitch-black sword stand with a huge sword thicker than a human arm placed on it.
Tap tap tap…
The footsteps stopped in front of the altar.
Yang Su stroked the heavy sword body with his fingertips. On one side were engraved patterns of the sun, moon and stars, while on the other side were mountains and rivers. A golden light was blooming from the sword body.
"It's time to find someone to hold the sword. When the Kunlun Mirror's divine power is combined with it, I'm afraid that no one in the world can resist it."
However, he also had another doubt. Why didn't this scholar, who had made such a great contribution, return to Chang'an? Where did he go
…
The morning light was bright and gradually getting warmer. At this time, Lu Liangsheng was pulling the old donkey with one hand and walking at the foot of the mountain east of Chang'an with the other hand behind his back. Looking up at the towering foothills, he felt much better than when he was in the north.
He was dressed in a white scholar's robe with the scabbard of the Xuanyuan sword hanging around his waist, looking like a scholar on a tour. Zhu Ganglie, who was following behind him, changed into a ferocious and terrifying wild boar head, wearing shorts and long pants, revealing a coat of black hair, which scared passers-by so much that they kept dodging and turning back to look at his back even after he walked away.
"This man is fat and big, and his face is really scary."
"Oh, that black hair is so scary. It's so thick. Which woman can stand it?"
"Don't say it, be careful that someone might hear you. However, he looks like the scholar's servant."
"No wonder..."
"What's the wonder?"
"A scholar carrying a bookshelf and a pot on his back must have traveled a lot. If he dares to travel like this, how could he not have powerful people around him?"
"Forget it, it's better to be surprised. Let's go!"
The wind blew through the mountains and forests, and the cicadas' chirping continued among the swaying branches. Zhu Ganglie, who was walking behind, lowered his head and bit off the large round cake hanging from his neck. The cake crumbs squeezed out of the corners of his mouth and stuck to the black hair on his chin. He spoke in a muffled voice.
"I, Old Pig, will accompany you this time. Remember to draw me another portrait of Yue'er."
"What kind of painting?"
In front, Lu Liangsheng smiled and turned around to glance at the slightly open door of the bookshelf. The Toad Taoist was holding his pipe, with his legs dangling outside, leaning against the door frame, nodding his head as he dozed off.
Zhu Ganglie raised his head and thought for a while, then reached out from his clothes and took out the yellowed book that the Taoist had given him. He flipped through it, looked around to see that there was no one around, and whispered:
"The one without clothes..."
Lu Liangsheng: “…”
He waved his hand hurriedly, turned around and without saying a word, continued walking forward with the old donkey. Zhu Ganglie followed behind with the book in his hand, patting his chest, bowing and saying nice things.
"Mr. Lu, just draw a picture, or you can wear one. When we get to Mount Li later, I, Old Pig, have some friendship with my mother. Maybe with a nod, I can bring your apprentice back to life!"
Lu Liangsheng ignored him.
There is a teahouse at the entrance to the mountain ahead. After a long journey without having a drop of water, I felt a little thirsty when I saw the fluttering flags.
"Fengzi Tea? This teahouse has a weird name."
Ignoring Zhu Ganglie who was following behind to persuade him, Lu Liangsheng handed the old donkey to the waiter to tie it to a wooden stake, woke up the sleepy master, and sat down at a table. A fat and strong pig demon also followed in. Its body was so big that it could touch the roof, scaring the merchants and travelers who were resting nearby, and they drank their tea tremblingly.
The guy tied up the old donkey and came in. He raised his head and glanced at the fat black man next to him, swallowed, and moved to Lu Liangsheng's side.
"What would you two like to drink? Our Fengzi tea is a specialty here. I guarantee that after drinking it, you will be able to climb the mountain more nimbly and full of energy."
Lu Liangsheng nodded. He was a little curious about the Fengzi tea and thought it would be nice to try it. Not long after, the waiter brought two bowls of orange herbal tea and asked casually.
"Excuse me, little brother, is this mountain Mount Li?"
The scholar was handsome and kind, and spoke nicely. The waiter was not as scared as before. He served the two of them cold tea and wiped the table with a rag.
"From your accent, you are not from Chang'an. Are you here to visit the scenic spots in Mount Li?"
"Well, then, little brother, is there a good place to go?"
Lu Liangsheng bowed with a smile, took the cold tea and placed it in front of the master at the corner of the table. The waiter glanced at the toad in a short coat, quickly retracted his gaze, and replied:
"Yes, yes. The scenery of Mount Li in Chang'an is very beautiful. If you come here early, you can see the magnificent sea of clouds. But if you come here in June, you can catch the Chuanzihui. A handsome man like you might be able to get married with a lady."
"Hey, mate, do you have any tea left in the store?"
A clear and pleasant female voice came into the teahouse. The waiter who had spoken to Lu Liangsheng apologized and hurried over. The two seemed to be familiar with each other. He diligently poured a can of herbal tea for the woman in yellow and white skirt and sealed it.
Lu Liangsheng raised his head and vaguely felt that the woman had a different aura, gentle and peaceful, not like a demon.
"Girl, you got it."
The waiter walked the woman to the door, waved his hand politely, and called out, "Goodbye, come again next time!" Only then did he reluctantly return to the tea stall.
"Brother, who was that woman just now?"
Lu Liangsheng asked curiously. The waiter who had just entered the teahouse heard something strange and looked at the scholar with some caution.