The door closed by itself without any wind, blocking out the morning light that shone through the crack in the door.
The old man was wearing an apricot yellow robe and a sleeveless black collared singlet. His hair was graying and he walked towards them solemnly. He said, "… Let's see if Mr. Lu is worthy of Your Majesty inviting him in person." and waved his sleeves towards a stool.
There was a slight squeak.
The round stool was pulled back a little, and the three outlaws saw the old man sitting down, and they lowered their heads and called out in a low voice, "Master Chen."
The old man's surname is Chen and his name is Fu. He is the uncle of the late emperor and also the master of your majesty. He is proficient in Taoism and martial arts. When Pudu Cihang was in power, he was practicing in Fumo Mountain in the southwest. The news came to light only after the late emperor passed away. However, no matter how he assisted, the Chen Dynasty still collapsed.
After escaping from the capital Tianzhi, he searched for the young emperor and his mother all the way, and finally found them in Qixia Mountain. He took the young emperor and Concubine Zhang to settle in the southwest. During the past few years, he taught Chen Jing everything he had learned, in the hope that he would realize his ambitions and restore the Chen Dynasty.
However, the Sui Dynasty was a powerful country, and several cities in the south were bound to be gradually targeted. This time, I came here, firstly, to look for my old subordinates to see if there is any opportunity, and secondly, to see if Mr. Lu, who is often mentioned by Your Majesty, is really a genius who can turn the tide.
If he is just deceiving others, the old man wouldn't mind getting rid of him.
…
The room was quiet for a while. The young man over there was none other than the young emperor Chen Jing. He had experienced some things in the southwest and had fought a few small battles with the Sui Dynasty. His demeanor had changed a lot.
Looking at the old man beside him, he put the sword at his waist on a corner of the table.
"Master, Mr. Lu is not what you think he is. I already knew this when I was a child."
He didn't want to argue too much with his master about this matter, so he changed the subject and looked at the three subordinates standing there. They were all his trusted guards who were highly skilled in martial arts when he was active in the southwest.
"Everyone sit down and talk."
"yes!"
The three men looked at the old man who was closing his eyes and stroking his gray beard, and carefully found a stool in the room or sat down beside the bed.
The guard with a loyal face raised his hand and bowed.
"Your Majesty, the three of us are not familiar with the terrain of Qixia Mountain. In addition, the heavy snow delayed us on the road for a while. We only arrived yesterday and did not see Mr. Lu."
The old man stroked his beard and opened his eyes slightly, revealing a gleam of brilliance.
"What do you mean you are not familiar with the terrain? If you get lost, you are lost!"
This made the three guards blush and they dared not breathe. Across the table, Chen Jing persuaded the old man for a few words, then smiled at the three people and said, "Mr. Lu has always been a carefree person. He likes to lead an old donkey to see the mountains and rivers. It is not uncommon that I have not seen him. I remember that the last time I came, I was also in this village. My mother and I waited for a long time, but in the end, I did not see him."
Leading an old donkey
Hearing this description, the three people immediately recalled the scene of the woodcutter in the snowy mountains yesterday. They immediately told him about their encounter with the woodcutter yesterday, especially the scene where he disappeared without a trace at the end.
"… When he got out of the forest, he disappeared right before our eyes in the blink of an eye. We could only hear his voice echoing in another mountain. But he looked young, and he wasn't dressed like a scholar."
Listening to the three people describing what happened yesterday and the appearance of the woodcutter, Chen Jing has also been practicing magic in the past few years and has a good memory. Naturally, he remembers Mr. Lu's appearance, manners and conversation. When he heard it, a smile appeared on his face.
"The person you met was Mr. Lu. As for why he suddenly ran to another mountain, it was just a spell."
"It's just a small magic trick!"
The old man opened his eyes and said something, and Chen Jing just smiled helplessly. It was still early and it was impossible for them to stay in the house. After discussing for a while, they decided to visit Qixia Mountain and take a look around Lujia Village first.
The three guards naturally did not dare to object. They packed up casually and escorted Chen Jing and Chen Fu out of Beicun. A lot of snow had melted overnight, and pilgrims, pedestrians, and vendors who were staying temporarily on the mountain road appeared like mushrooms after a rain, and the road was crowded with people.
Chen Fu walked to the side of the road, stroked his beard, and nodded slightly.
"Using magic arrays to nourish the local water and soil, and then using fish and crabs to nourish the people, building temples to attract pilgrims, and making the people here rich, there are some ways to govern the people."
Looking back at Chen Jing, he pointed to the hillside in the distance where incense was rising.
"Jing'er, follow me and take a look there."
A patch of snow-white mixed with a few withered yellow rags, a few people walked along the pebbled road specially opened up by the villagers, and went up the mountainside. Looking at the pilgrims rushing to burn the first incense stick of the morning gathering at the temple gate, smelling the diffuse sandalwood scent mixed with a hint of ghosts and spirits, Chen Fu hummed.
"Nothing special."
The temple looked solemn with its red walls and black tiles, but the altar inside did not have any familiar gods or bodhisattvas, but instead a lifelike clay sculpture of a woman. The old man had cultivated himself well, and with his magical powers gathered in his eyes, he could tell that there was something else inside the clay sculpture.
Of course I understand what Mr. Lu is going to do.
As soon as the old man finished speaking, the pilgrims who came over to burn incense and the businessmen who were doing the incense business all turned around to look at him, frowned, and their faces were filled with anger.
"What I said is the truth. How can a woman deserve such merit and enjoy such incense?"
Chen Fu was not afraid and wanted to continue talking, but was pulled away by Chen Jing and walked down the mountain. After going down the stone steps, he spoke:
"Master, the villagers nearby believe in something voluntarily, so why scold them?"
The old man was stubborn by nature. He turned his head to look at the Honglian Temple which was gradually hidden behind the trees, turned around, and put his wide sleeves behind his back.
"That's also a fraud!"
Chen Jing disagreed, but the person in front of him was his master, and he didn't want to offend him, so he had to put the topic aside for the time being. The few of them strolled around the area, looking at the mountains, rivers, and fields, and before they knew it, it was almost noon.
As it was almost time for dinner, they thought it should not be difficult to meet Lu Liangsheng. They turned back to the dirt road from outside and walked into Lujia Village.
Inside the drying dam, the eight people who had been exercising were now returning home to eat. Seeing that no one was stopping them, they headed all the way to the small fenced courtyard in their memory.
Withered vines of morning glory were wrapped around the half-man-high courtyard wall. The old trees in the courtyard were still covered with residual snow. In the courtyard, a young boy with two buns on his back was looking at a Taoist priest with a mustache and wearing a Taoist robe on a stone table, writing and drawing with a pen.
When I heard footsteps and raised my little face, I saw several people walking from outside the yard to the door.
Mingyue stood on the stone bench, with her hands on her waist and her chin raised, and said in a childish voice: "Who are you looking for?"
Over there, Chen Jing was the emperor. Outside, even if the master was in front, he was still the leader. A smile appeared on his face, and he stepped forward and saluted.
"My name is Chen Jing. I was saved by Mr. Lu when I was young. I happened to be passing by here, so I came to visit you. I wonder if Mr. Lu is at home?"
Sun Yingxian, who was drawing talismans on the stone table, raised his head and looked at the few people. He knew who they were. He hated dealing with government officials the most, so he was too lazy to pay attention to them. He moved the talisman paper, pen and ink aside and continued to practice.
"My husband is sleeping."
Are you sleeping
Not only Chen Jing was stunned, but even the old man next to him was stunned. He knew that Lu Liangsheng was a cultivator, but he felt a little disgusted to see him still sleeping at almost noon.
"Humph, does your master want to emulate Zhuge Kongming and make Liu Bei visit him three times?"
Mingyue had followed Lu Liangsheng for many years and had often listened to his stories. She tilted her head, stared at the old man, and folded her hands to her chest.
"That young man is Liu Bei, so you, the old man, must be Zhang Heitan with a black face and a big beard?"
The Taoist took a glance, stopped writing, and said something.
"Zhang Fei is not black, he's just not as old as him."
Hahaha-
Mingyue, who was sitting on the stone bench, immediately burst into laughter.
"How dare you tease me?!"
…
Laughter and the old man's voice rang out in the yard and reached the window opposite the water tank. The light in the room was dim. On the bed, Lu Liangsheng's eyes moved back and forth under his closed eyelids.
After discussing things with the Monkey King all night, I went to bed too late. Now I was sleeping soundly when I was disturbed by the laughter and shouting outside. I turned over and waved my hand in dislike for the noise.
"Don't disturb my sleep—"
The door and window frames suddenly opened, and a gust of wind blew into the courtyard. The talisman papers were lifted into the air, and the robes of Chen Fu and Chen Jing who were standing there were rustled in an instant, their hair buns flew backwards, and they were so dazed that they could not open their eyes.
"Hey, what a big tone..."
The Taoist shouted and tried to catch the talisman papers flying in the sky.