The sound of water echoed in the deep ravine, and footsteps could be heard in the quiet forest. Under the moonlight, Old Sun led Lu Pan and eight other people out of the forest, stepping on fallen leaves and saying, "What happened to the dragon?"
Five or six steps away, Lu Liangsheng, standing in the moonlight, looked at a scale in his palm. He blew lightly on it, and it shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming the size of a thumb.
"It's the belly scales of that old dragon."
Seeing Sun Yingxian, Lu Pan and others coming over, Lu Liangsheng told them exactly what he had said to the dragon hiding in the mountain stream. The Taoist was quite impressed by Lu Liangsheng's decision to give up a magic weapon and return it to the other party. At least, few of the Taoists he had seen could do that.
But I still say: "Prodigal!"
The Toad Taoist lay on the scholar's shoulder, moved his belly, and said something in a voice that only Lu Liangsheng could hear.
"A nice guy."
Hehehe…
Lu Liangsheng, who was standing by, saw the smiles on their faces and naturally understood the concern behind them.
"That magic weapon was obtained from Hua Hongyi anyway. In the final analysis, it was refined from the dragon tendons of that old dragon. Giving it back to him is like returning it to its original owner. He also appreciates this favor. Didn't you see he even peeled off a piece of his scale for me? If he turns into a dragon and ascends to heaven in the future, maybe I, Lu Liangsheng, will perform a ritual on the altar and give him the rain and clouds. Wouldn't that be the style of a great man? Haha..."
After saying this, Lu Liangsheng laughed out loud at his own words. The Taoist priest next to him rolled his eyes and said, "Show off." He turned and walked towards a skeleton a few steps away, touched the moustache on his lips, clicked his tongue twice, and squatted down with interest.
The clothes of the corpse had long since corroded and rotted away, with only a few strips of cloth hanging on them. The hollow head gave one a creepy feeling.
The Taoist was not afraid, as he had seen many dead people before. He reached out and touched it, then raised his head and looked at the scholar.
"Old Lu, this is Qin Xu's house, right? I'm afraid that old woman with a yellow coat in the deserted house can only wait until she returns to her home as a pile of bones."
Old Sun's words made Lu Pan push him away and said, "I think we should send him back to the old woman with yellow fur in Weishan Town, so that he can return to his roots and be buried in his own home."
Although the people living in the mountains are sometimes savage and fierce, the idea of returning to one's roots is ingrained in their bones and cannot be erased.
Lu Liangsheng looked at the corpse and nodded silently. Letting him go home was also a way of repaying the old woman's kindness. As for who would take him back...
"It's fine to take him back, but who will take him?"
The Taoist squatting on the ground asked this question at the right time, and saw the scholar slightly turn his head and look at him. He was stunned and said, "Why are you looking at me?"
Subconsciously looking to the other side, Lu Pan and the other eight were also looking over here. They quickly stood up and pointed at them while backing away.
"Hey, hey, you are bullying the minority with your numbers."
"Ah, it's just the majority bullying the minority."
When Lu Pan bent down and picked up Qin Xu's corpse, Lu Liangsheng nodded and raised his hands to Sun Yingxian: "Old Sun, thank you for your help. I will use the shrinking magic to shrink him and put him in your bag."
"You actually asked me to carry dead bones! I have never carried dead bones before except my master!"
Mumbling something, the Taoist folded his arms and turned to the side. After a moment, he turned his head sideways and patted the yellow cloth bag at his waist.
"Why are you still standing there? Come in!"
After putting the corpse into the bag, he curled his lips and said, "Wait for me here, I'll be back at dawn!"
After saying that, he recited a spell, held it up and dodged downwards, burrowing into the soil, and quickly extended into the woods with a small mound of soil on top of it. With the rustling sound of fallen leaves in the forest, he disappeared into the night.
This matter was done. Lu Liangsheng put away the dragon scales and pulled the still reluctant Qi You back. The woman looked back at Long Ya as she walked away, and said hesitantly:
"Old demon, you must remember what you said. You must make a magic weapon for me with your own hands. You must do it with your own hands."
"Yes, I know!"
Lu Liangsheng agreed with a smile and went back to the temporary resting place. He chatted and laughed with Qi You on the way, but in his heart he was thinking about what the old dragon had said before.
The bonfire was burning, and in the flickering light, Mu Qiyu was holding a wooden stick and poking the fire, watching the spots of sparks rising up. Lu Pan and eight others were sitting in a circle nearby, talking excitedly about seeing the dragon. Even if they could only see a long shadow under the moonlight from afar, it was still amazing.
"When I get back to Qixia Mountain, I will tell my wife and kids, damn, I actually saw a dragon when I went out..."
"Oh, yes, yes, Lu You, you didn't see it from here. Wow, the dragon stood up high, much taller than the forest next to it, and its lower body was still under the cliff, blocked by the clouds."
"What happened next? Did you fight it?"
"Hey, if Liangsheng hadn't stopped us, the seven of us would have brought you a piece of meat."
The tall Lu Qing spoke the most proudly, waving his hands and patting his chest. Just as he said "bring a piece of meat..." in the dark night in the distance, it seemed that there was a faint roar of a dragon from the other side of Wanglong Cliff, which startled the nearby night birds and made them fly around. They immediately shut their mouths and waved their hands.
"Forget it, that Jiao is a kind person, he will definitely not make things difficult for him, just go to sleep!"
The remaining seven people also heard it. They looked at each other and glanced at Lu Liangsheng, who was lying on the grass with his hands behind his head on the other side of the fire. Then they lay down on their sides one by one.
"Go to sleep and stop talking."
"Yes, yes, it will be fine after a good sleep. Anyway, Miss Qiyou is here, so no wild goblins or monsters will come."
"You dare to come? There are eight of us, how can it be good?!"
Amid the intermittent talking, Lu Liangsheng actually did not fall asleep. With his eyes closed, he was wondering in his mind whether the man who went with Qin Xu's family to kill the dragon was Master Wu Yuan.
'The black whip was made by the other party, and the dragon tendons on this magic weapon belonged to this old dragon. However, according to the Holy Fire Master, he also met Master Wuyuan a hundred years ago. Wait... The Holy Fire Master of the Qihuo Sect is called Qin Shouling. He is not a relative of the Qin Xu family... If so, the Holy Fire Master invited the Qin Xu family to kill the dragon and take the dragon tendons together, and then kill the other party, but... what is the purpose? '
The idea was a bit far-fetched. With the reference of dragon tendons and Wu Yuan Shangren, the following connections were not impossible. When Lu Liangsheng thought of this, it was difficult for him to continue piecing together the fragmented clues.
"Master, you are very advanced and experienced. Can you tell what the connection is between Master Wu Yuan, the old dragon, and the Qin Xu family?"
Not far from the bookshelf, the Toad Taoist rolled out his blanket and wrapped himself in it. He yawned and opened his eyes. "My master was so powerful in the past. When a group of Taoists from the human world came to see my master, there would be a huge crowd of people and magical instruments blocking the sun. How could I have time to think about these things? I'm sleepy. I'll go to bed quickly. I have to travel tomorrow... By the way, remember to order a table of food in Chang'an City."
Lu Liangsheng sat up and looked at his master who was half wrapped in a blanket and snoring. He decided to find "Boundless Mountains and Seas" to see if there were any other changes.
Sparks rose up with a crackle at the instigation of Qiyou, and drifted towards the night sky in the mountain breeze. In the outline of black tree shadows, the mountain road was covered with a layer of mist. The bright moon cast a cold light. Four figures were carrying sedan chairs made of long sticks and branches on their shoulders. They passed through the hazy fog, and the sedan chairs rose and fell, carrying a person, and staggered towards this side.