The Hibiscus Pond in the southeast corner of Chang'an is as big as three or four town blocks, and is shaped like a broken vase. Several waterways branch out from it, connecting it to the Wei River and the Jing River. The water is flat, covered with green grass, and a path paved with fine stones meanders around the lake. Reeds grow along the shore, and birds land on them, gently swaying.
The light from the sky was tilted, and a patch of faint red shone from the distant city walls.
Ga ga ga~~
In the sunset glow, the water surface was rippled with sparkling water, wild ducks were swimming, and in the distant pavilion, a talented man and a beautiful woman were embracing each other, whispering sweet words to each other, and then... A few donkey brays broke the atmosphere, and an old donkey carrying a bookshelf and swinging its bald tail was happily jumping along the river bank.
The man and woman who were hugging each other quickly separated, straightened their robes and came out. The man wanted to go over to argue, but the woman next to him held him back and quietly pointed to a group of nine people who were following the old donkey not far away.
"… He doesn't look like a good person at first glance, Zhao Lang, let's just leave now."
"Well, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Let's go."
Over there, Sun Yingxian held a grass root in her mouth and watched the couple in the pavilion leave in a hurry. She spat out the grass root and said, "What a poor judge of taste."
Lu Pan and his eight companions, carrying bags on their backs and swords and guns, looked around and pointed stutteringly at the hibiscus pond that was sparkling in the setting sun and the nearby land.
"Oh my god, from now on, they are all our Liangsheng's children?"
The Taoist watched the couple run to a carriage and leave. He snorted and squatted on the ground, staring at a group of ducks swimming across the lake. He tapped his fingers a few times, as if counting how many there were.
"What is that? As long as the emperor doesn't regret it, the descendants will be like this for generations. If they want, everyone in Qixia Mountain can be named Lu..."
The eight people looked at each other and yelled at him in unison.
"Qixiashan's original surname was Lu!!"
The Taoist was a little stunned. Just as he was about to retort, the sound of galloping horses rumbled towards them. In the red glow, several teams of imperial cavalry rushed over, holding their weapons and shouting: "The people here should leave quickly. You are not allowed to approach the Hibiscus Pond within 300 steps!"
Some knights had already dispersed the common people or children of officials who were out for an outing nearby, and set up a safe distance. Soon, hundreds of carriages came slowly and orderly, and stopped one by one nearby under the command of the soldiers.
After a while, officials of all ranks in the court got off the carriage, bowed to each other, chatted and laughed, and walked to an open place together, looking at the scenery while waiting for His Majesty to come.
"I came here a few days ago. It's one of the better places in the city."
"It's a pity that there are too many mosquitoes. It's not as comfortable as listening to music in the attic..."
"By the way, what do you think of this national teacher?"
"Of course it's good. Your Majesty likes it very much."
"… But my Lords, don't you think this person is too young?"
"Indeed, there are some. I heard from His Majesty that this person knows magic, but so does Duke Yue. Could it be that he is even more powerful than Duke Yue?"
"That scholar broke into the Southern Chen Palace and smashed Chen Shubao's throne room! Duke Yue can't compare..."
"That's true... Oh, that's not right. Even if the Duke of Yue could compete, he wouldn't dare."
In the distance, the Toad Taoist quietly opened the small door, slid down from the bookshelf, and walked to the squatting Taoist with his flippers on his back.
"What are all those people doing there?"
"What else can I do? Wait for your beloved disciple." The Taoist picked up a stone and threw it into the water. In the ripples, the civil and military officials who gathered over there shouted, "The carriage of the Duke of Yue is here. His Majesty will probably be here soon."
Sun Yingxian, Toad, Lu Pan and the other eight people turned their heads and saw a horse-drawn carriage coming on the road ahead. It stopped nearby with the sound of the driver's sigh.
Yang Su shook his wide sleeves and came down, greeting the officials who had gathered around him. Lu Liangsheng followed out from behind the fluttering curtain and stood on the carriage. What came into view was the sparkling lake and flocks of wild ducks.
'It's a good place.'
After getting off the carriage, he greeted all the officials who came over one by one. When he saw Min Changwen in the crowd, he smiled.
"Master Min, long time no see."
As an official censor, if it was in private, it would not be an exaggeration for Lu Liangsheng to call him uncle, but now all the officials were present, and saying this would make it difficult for Min Changwen, who has always been neutral in the court, to explain himself.
The old man naturally understood this, he just smiled, bowed, and exchanged a few words with Lu Liangsheng.
"Then Lord Min is talking to his colleagues. I will leave for a while."
As he spoke, he bowed and chatted with Han Qinhu, Shi Wansui and others whom he had met before. He did not have the aloofness of a hermit, but instead seemed like a casual and elegant young man. He walked towards the Taoist, Lu Pan and others by the lake.
"Master, how long have you been here?"
"It's been a while, Liangsheng. I think this place is pretty good, with the lake water and the reeds." Taoist Toad stared at a few gray wild ducks swimming by the water not far away, "It's... quite wild and interesting."
Frog patted the Taoist priest next to him, who pulled his robe over and said, "If you want to eat, go catch them yourself. Haven't you recovered your Taoist power? Can't you catch a few ducks?"
"I don't want to use my magic in the city, lest I attract the city god and cause trouble to Liangsheng. I'll just catch it myself..."
The toad turned around, clattered to the old donkey, climbed into the bookshelf, took out the purple gold gourd from its back, excitedly spread its webbed feet and dived into the reeds.
Looking at the reeds swaying slightly, Lu Liang breathed a sigh of relief and spoke to Lu Pan and the others. After a while, the emperor's sedan chair came over, with the iron guards leading the way. As pairs of footsteps landed, the ground shook slightly.
“Greetings, Your Majesty!!”
A group of civil and military officials bowed and the carriage stopped. The guards drew aside the curtain and Yang Jian, dressed in casual clothes, came out and waved to them casually.
"No need to be so polite."
Seeing the scholar by the lake in the distance, he, supported by the eunuch, said, "Follow me!" and walked in front of the crowd.
Seeing the emperor coming with his civil and military officials, Lu Liangsheng stopped talking and went to greet him: "Your Majesty."
The eight people including Lu Pan behind him hurriedly followed their nephew and bowed to pay their respects.
Yang Jian laughed and waved his hand, asking them to stand up. He then looked at the lake reflecting the setting sun. The lake breeze was blowing, and the reeds in the distance were swaying. Since they seldom left the palace on weekdays, this kind of scenery was rarely seen.
"Mr. Lu, are you satisfied here?"
"The southeast has spiritual energy, the lake draws water from two rivers, and it is close to Mount Li, so it is naturally satisfactory."
"As long as Mr. Lu is satisfied, since all the civil and military officials are here, let's discuss what kind of house should be built here!"
Thinking of what Yang Su said in the carriage, Lu Liangsheng did not wait for the emperor to continue speaking. He turned around and walked to the bookshelf and took out a book. "Your Majesty, you and the civil and military officials do not need to worry about construction. Building temples and buildings is a waste of money and manpower. I have a ready-made one here."
"off the shelf?"
Yang Jian narrowed his eyes. In the fading red glow, there was no other building in his sight except a pavilion in the distance. The civil and military officials behind him were also a little confused.
Then, Lu Liangsheng opened the book in their sight. The sharp-eyed people found that the pictures were moving and made sounds in surprise.
"This... the picture above is moving!!"
“I also saw the clouds above floating… and the mountains and forests were shaking.”
"Oh, that's not real in there, is it?"
Yang Jian, who was standing in front of the crowd, had seen a scene more bizarre than this one, and had even taken a leisurely stroll in the painting. He glanced at the generals and civil officials who had fought their way out of the sea of blood and corpses and were looking very surprised. He raised his chin slightly and raised his hand to ask them to keep their voices down.
"Ministers, how can you be so disrespectful?! Do not disturb the Imperial Master from practicing!"
Gao Ying, Wu Jianzhang and other generals and civil officials suppressed their curiosity and watched the imperial teacher unfolding the book with bated breath. A few steps away, Lu Liangsheng pinched his fingers to make a spell, and suddenly swung his wide sleeves at the back of his hand, brushing against the moving painting on it. Everyone felt a breeze on their faces and raised their sleeves to cover their mouths and noses.
"What's going on?"
"Hey, who blocked the sun?"
"My fellow officers, look up!"
The vision suddenly became cloudy, and the soldiers patrolling on the nearby city walls stopped one by one, looked up at the sky in amazement, the shadows reflected in their eyes became huge, and they shouted in fear.
"Something fell from the sky—"
More than a hundred civil and military officials by the Hibiscus Pond, including Yang Jian and Yang Su, were so frightened that they took a few steps back. In their sight, a huge building fell down with a roar.
The moment it touched the ground, the falling building slowed down, and landed lightly on the ground facing southeast, covering a piece of wasteland in the distance. There was still a muffled bang, and the air waves squeezed out by the ground blew around like an overwhelming force.
Lu Liangsheng put away the book and walked in front of the crowd. He raised his sleeve and cast a spell to avoid the wind. The strong wind was deflected and blew to the surface of the lake, creating a huge wave. The ducks quacked and flapped their wings in fear. They were swept into the water, then emerged again and scattered into the reeds.
This scene surprised Yang Jian so much that he looked at the huge temple that suddenly appeared with an excited expression and held his cousin Yang Su's shoulders tightly.
"Wonderful... It's really mysterious. A temple was created out of nowhere!"
The Taoist priest who was shrinking to the side snorted and muttered, "What's so strange about this? This thing has always been here, and it belongs to a dead ghost."
The aftermath of the Zishan Temple spread far away, and the whistling sound of the wind was still echoing in people's ears. Looking at the smoke and dust still filling the surrounding buildings, the civil and military officials standing within the range of the wind-proof spell opened their mouths slightly but could not utter a single sound. After a while, words finally came out of their throats.
“… Where did this temple come from?”
"In heaven?"
"No, no, the Imperial Master must have cast a spell when he flicked his sleeves just now."
"When the battle starts, falling into a densely packed army formation... that would be terrifying."
"This time... I believe that the Imperial Master is the master of Grand Master Yuwen."
Yang Su knew the origin of this temple and was not surprised when he heard the words coming back to his senses from the shock. But when he saw Lu Liangsheng looking at the lake and making gestures with his fingers through his hanging wide sleeves, he hurried over and lowered his voice.
"Friend Lu, the manifestation of the Divine is almost enough... What else do you want to do?"
"Another friend is coming."
What Lu Liangsheng was pinching was not the spell, but the time. The lake here connected two big rivers. It was spacious and full of spiritual charm. It would be very beneficial for it to live here, just as a revenge for the kick given by his master.
Looking at the last bit of red that was about to fall from the top of the city, I whispered softly.
"According to the time, it should be here soon."
…
As a tributary of the Wei River, the water flow is gentle, with occasional isolated islands and green forests swaying in the wind, and fishing boats passing by from time to time on the green river.
"The sky is clear and the water is blue."
On a solitary boat floating downstream, a dark-skinned fisherman stood at the stern, holding a bamboo pole and singing loudly. The next moment, a ripple came, the boat shook violently, and the man almost fell into the water.
"What's going on..."
The words came to an abrupt end as he looked out. Under the green river water, a long black shadow quickly twisted and moved from the bottom of his boat and disappeared at the end of the river in the blink of an eye. The ripples on the water created waves, and the fishing boats and merchant ships passing by on the river were swaying due to the crowds, and some people even fell into the water.
There were also voices shouting miserably.
"A dragon... a dragon swam past here!!"