The sun rose above the clouds, and the huge city faded away behind them. On the official road where pedestrians and merchants were coming and going, Lu Liangsheng pulled the old donkey and looked back at the large group of people following them. He turned around with a smile and continued to walk slowly with Yang Jian.
"Your Majesty, what is the matter?"
"I heard you left, so I came to talk to you."
"It just so happens that I have something to tell your majesty. Now that I have no cultivation, I can no longer be considered a cultivator. Your majesty should just give me the title of 'True Man' that was bestowed upon me."
"Is it really impossible to recover?"
"I don't know either, but now that I have lost my cultivation power, I feel relaxed all over."
"Without cultivation, there will be no burden?"
"Maybe. I'm afraid it's impossible to say that I have no burden on my shoulders. I still have to take care of things that I don't like. But I have no magic power, so it will take more effort."
"Haha, this is the Mr. Lu I know!"
Amidst the laughter, Yang Jian's face was filled with satisfaction. He looked at the endless green leaves all around him, pointed at them, and turned his head to look at Lu Liangsheng standing beside him.
"Look at how beautiful these views are. There are better ones outside, but I rarely have the opportunity to come out and take a look."
The scholar looked at the scenery he pointed to and said with a smile:
"Your Majesty, you are joking. The whole world belongs to you."
Yang Jian waved his hand, looking nonchalant: "It's mine, so what? I don't have a chance to look at all the nine provinces in the world. I don't know how much dirt is hidden in them, how many evil spirits are causing chaos, Mr. Lu..."
Having said that, the emperor did not seem to be negligent because of the age difference. He let go of the reins of his war horse, stood in the pavilion by the roadside, and raised his hands to the scholar.
"Sir, you have traveled a lot, and now it has been so many years. It is time to let go of the affairs of the Southern Chen Dynasty and follow me to serve as an official in the court."
Lu Liangsheng kept bowing his hands in return and fell silent with his head down. Then, he smiled, spread his hands towards the pavilion, and invited Yang Jian to come in and sit for a while.
"Your Majesty, I am not concerned about the past affairs of the Southern Chen Dynasty. However, I no longer have the power to cultivate and help Your Majesty. Your Majesty saw the various sects outside the city gate last night. There are countless cultivators who are more powerful than me. If I were to be an official in the court, wouldn't it be a joke?"
Outside the pavilion, an old donkey was wagging its tail and looking over. Yang Su was also looking at Lu Liangsheng from the stone steps at the entrance of the pavilion. The guards who followed him were all silent. Some of them had seen the scholar in the pavilion before, and they even knew that the bald donkey leisurely nibbling grass and walking over there was an auspicious animal. When they saw it again, they subconsciously lifted up their robes to catch some more of the "rain and dew".
At this moment, the emperor in the pavilion stood up, pursed his lips, and suddenly raised his hand and bowed.
"Mr. Lu, I don't know what kind of person he is, but I know your character very well. I am the emperor, the Son of Heaven. Accepting people with ability but no character is a taboo for a monarch. Only you have both character and talent. Even if I have to visit you three times, I will not complain. Please come out and help me make the people of Kyushu live and work in peace and contentment."
When the guards saw the emperor bowing, they turned their eyes away one by one. Lu Liangsheng's face was moved. He stepped forward to help Yang Jian up. Looking at the other's gray temples and old face, he felt very complicated.
… When he had magical powers, it was understandable that the other party sought talents, but now that he had lost his cultivation and became an ordinary person, he could still do this. Lu Liangsheng was undecided for a moment.
He helped the other person up, took a step back, and the scholar bowed in return.
"Your Majesty is sincere, Lu Liangsheng feels it..."
He slowly stood up and tilted his head to look at Yang Su at the entrance of the pavilion, the rows of guards standing outside, and the city in the distance where thousands of lives were resting.
He turned his gaze to look at Yang Jian opposite him, pursed his lips, and hesitated for a long time.
Bow down and worship.
"Lu Liangsheng, I wish to watch the grand scene with Your Majesty!"
"Fellow Daoist Lu!" Yang Su was also extremely delighted when he finally saw Lu Liangsheng nod. He rushed in excitedly and patted the scholar on the shoulder.
“Even if you don’t have any magical powers, with Brother Lu’s ability, you are still a hundred times stronger than those who only know how to practice Taoism in the mountains!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Yang Jian next to him burst into laughter. The two brothers looked at each other and laughed even louder. Lu Liangsheng raised the corner of his lips and smiled too.
"Your Majesty, Duke of Yue, although I agree, it is not now."
The two people opposite stopped smiling immediately, and Yang Su became anxious: "Daoyou Lu, why is this happening?"
Lu Liangsheng kept smiling and waved his hand to signal the emperor and Yang Su not to worry. He whistled outside the pavilion, and an old donkey that was nibbling grass in the distance came running over happily.
The scholar took the reins, walked out of the pavilion, and smiled at the two of them:
"I've been away for so long, I'm homesick, so I'm going back to live here for a while."
After all, he had promised Zhu Ganglie that he would take him to visit Mount Qixia and paint for him along the way, and he could not break his promise. Now that his magic power was gone, Lujia Village had to be replanned before he could feel at ease.
"Your Majesty, I'm leaving now."
After saying that, he climbed onto the old donkey's back, patted the donkey's buttocks lightly, and walked slowly along the road amid the creaking sound of the bookshelf.
Yang Jian chased out of the pavilion, stood in the middle of the road and shouted: "Mr. Lu, when will you come back? I will keep the position of national teacher for you!"
"Next year when the autumn leaves fall!"
The voice came from afar. Outside the pavilion, guards with swords in their arms came forward and stood behind Yang Jian. Then, they raised their hands one by one and bowed together.
"We respectfully send off the Imperial Master!"
"We respectfully send off the Imperial Master!"
The voices of more than a hundred people echoed around, shaking the birds in the forest to fly away. The scholar on the back of the old donkey that was going away, basking in the sunshine, turned his head slightly, smiled and waved.
The sound of copper bells rang gently, tinkling and clanging, gradually fading away in the morning sun.
"Even if you have lost your magic power, Brother Lu's detached personality will not change in a short time."
Yang Su looked at the scholar who had already gone far away, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Brother, don't be angry with him."
"Why am I upset? I'm too happy to be happy."
The guards brought the horses over. Yang Jian turned around, climbed on, turned the horse's head, and laughed, "Let's go back to the palace. I'm in a good mood today. Come drink with me!"
He cracked the whip and shouted, "Gee!" and galloped away on his horse. Yang Su and a group of guards mounted their horses, pulled the reins, and galloped after him.
The horses' hooves rumbled as they galloped and disappeared at the city gate.
…
The sky was bright, and the cicadas were chirping one after another in the mountains. On the narrow and rugged mountain path, the scholar, who had no magic power and could not use spells to travel, walked for a while, got off the donkey, held the reins, and passed through the mottled paths under the shade of the trees.
The mountain was silent. Amid the sound of copper bells, the small door of the bookshelf opened. Taoist Toad poked his head out, then kicked his legs a few times and slowly climbed onto the donkey's back.
"Liangsheng, do you really want to be that imperial master?"
The scholar who was walking in front dragging the reins looked at the dense tree cage. The sunlight was shining brightly through the gaps. He squinted his eyes for a while and nodded.
"If I don't become a national teacher, I'm afraid I won't be able to support my teacher."
Lu Liangsheng joked with a smile, and turned to look at his master lying on the donkey's back. It seemed that he no longer cared too much about the gains and losses in his cultivation.
The Toad Taoist twitched his lips, slowly climbed over the donkey's back to the old donkey's neck, and almost fell off when he heard this joking remark.
Grabbing a handful of mane, he hung outside, kicked a few times but failed to get up, and let out a frustrated breath.
"Liangsheng... Have you ever regretted it?"
"Never..."
Lu Liangsheng whispered, slowed down, and looked at the rolling hills in the distance and the vaguely visible outline of the city.
In the mansion with the name "Yuwen" written on it, the door of a room was pushed open. Yuwen Tuo went in, sat down beside the bed, looked at his junior brother who was still sleeping on the bed, and covered him with a quilt.
Thinking of the night when Master was besieged, my clenched fists were shaking.
As time went by, the sun gradually tilted, and the northwest sandstorm became stronger. Four scholars with weather-beaten faces, wrapped in veils, excitedly pointed at the fields and instructed the old farmers nearby on how to cultivate the land. However, no one paid attention to them. Soon, the four of them sat dejectedly on the edge of the field. How could this be so different from what they had imagined in the past as officials
On the desolate mountain ridge in the northwest, a skinny and peaceful old monk walked through the cave where the big demon once lurked, and came to a lonely grave. He peeled off the vines on the grave with his own hands, and sat with his eyes closed as if he was accompanying the woman in the grave, sometimes speaking softly.
The setting sun outside the mountain shone into the distant, gradually green foothills. Zhu Ganglie, with a ruddy face, followed the old donkey, flipping the scroll in his hand. At a certain moment, he stepped on empty air and rolled down the hillside like a ball, covered with grass debris. He crawled back in a panic, looked at the scholar who was looking at him, and took out the crumpled painting from his arms and waved it up with a grin.
Birds chirped softly, flew across the red setting sun, folded their wings and perched on the head of the old donkey as it was walking leisurely. A scholar standing nearby was looking at the sky, a smile on his face.
“… Along the way, I thought I had said goodbye to my naivety, because I refused to turn back to the things of the Chen Dynasty. Later, I traveled to many places and felt mature and grown up. In fact, in the final analysis, I gradually forgot the well-read and idealistic self back then.”
“The road of spiritual practice is long, and so is the road of life. Let’s start over again.”
Lu Liangsheng turned around and looked at the Toad who was tilting his head with a confused look on his face. He led the old donkey Xinting and strolled through the foothills, enjoying the mountains and rivers along the way. Sometimes when they came across a place with unique and beautiful scenery, they would set up an easel, spread out the scroll, and put down their pen and ink to record the scenery.
When you are thirsty, wash off the dirt by the stream. When you are sleepy, fall asleep peacefully in a cave or under a tree, using fallen leaves as a blanket.
Taoist Toad wrapped himself in a blanket, flipping through the recipe, thinking of the wild game in the mountains, and swallowed his saliva...
As summer goes and autumn comes, the green mountains turn yellow due to the wind.
Under the treetop where many fruits were growing, Lu Liangsheng climbed up, picked one and threw it to his master and the pig demon. Then he jumped down, wearing his old robe and casually wiped off the leaves on his body. He took the fruit and took a bite, his mouth full of sweetness. He stretched comfortably, let the old donkey follow behind him, and walked in front of him freely, swinging his tattered sleeves.
The whole mountain was golden, with dead leaves falling. Lu Liangsheng climbed up the mountain ridge and looked at Mount Qixia in the distance. The wind blew his hair against his face, and he smiled.
Just go home.