The night clouds dispersed, revealing a bright moon. Torches stood on the city walls. In the flickering light, soldiers patrolling the city would occasionally look toward the side of the lake in the city, at the temple that had suddenly appeared in the afternoon.
"It's really weird that a temple suddenly appeared..."
"Yes, the stone steps look quite long. I'm afraid half of the mountain must have been moved here. Who did this? Ask the boss, but he told us not to talk too much."
"Hehe, you don't know this, right? I'm well-informed. I secretly asked the captain about it. Don't tell anyone else..."
"Stop talking nonsense and tell me quickly."
"I heard that it was a national teacher appointed by our Great Sui Dynasty to protect the world and bring peace. In the afternoon, I heard that someone saw a dragon, and the water flooded onto the river bank. It almost broke the water gate under this section of the city wall."
"Oh, so awesome?!"
"Of course... Don't stop, talk as you go, or else people will think we're being lazy while patrolling the wall."
…
The cold moonlight shone over the city walls, casting a silver glow on the lake inside the city walls.
Wow~~
The sound of water splashing on the shore was heard softly, and the hazy moonlight illuminated the towering white rock gate with patterns. On the straight bluestone steps, birch trees hung their branches, swaying gently in the wind.
At the end of the empty white rock floor tiles, Lu Liangsheng stood in front of the pool with his hands behind his back, looking at the stone tablet standing in the pool and the lacquered red seal characters carved on it.
At one side, the Toad Taoist priest sat on a wild duck egg, smeared medicinal wine on himself, and slapped the back of his head a few times.
"Liangsheng, what are you still looking at? Your master can't touch your back, please help me wipe it."
"Looking at this stone tablet, I was thinking... From now on, it can no longer be called Zishan Temple."
Lu Liangsheng retracted his gaze, picked up his master, and sat him on the stone pillar of the pool fence. He touched the bump on the toad's back with his fingertips. There was no sign of injury on it. The magic power transmitted by his fingertips made the Toad Taoist close his eyes comfortably and shake his head a few times.
"Master, you are not injured, right? Besides, your demon core has recovered, and you can't kill a few wild ducks?"
On the stone pillar, the Toad Taoist changed to a prone position, waved his webbed feet to signal his disciple to hold his shoulders, "Didn't I tell you before that the demon pill is the demon pill? The demon pill has been repaired, but the magic power has not been accumulated yet. How can you think back to the peak period, when those cultivators surrounded us in large numbers, the purple gold gourd in my hand, just a casual throw would cause a large number of people to fall down... Do you think I am just sitting here to eat for free?"
Lu Liangsheng stopped the movement of his fingertips and subconsciously replied: "Isn't it?" The Toad Taoist lying on the stone pillar suddenly turned his head and glared at him. The scholar quickly turned his eyes away and continued to massage his shoulders.
“Ahem~~”
The Toad Taoist coughed twice and turned back, "Liangsheng, go on and tell me what name you want to change."
"I haven't thought of it yet." Lu Liangsheng pondered for a moment. When it comes to naming others, he has a lot of inspiration and can talk very logically, but when it comes to things that are closely related to him, he can't think of a better name.
"I'll think about it later. To officially confer the title of Imperial Master and to let the emperor know about it, we'll need an altar. Let's do this tomorrow and think about it while we're at it."
As he spoke, he bent down, picked up the wild duck egg on the ground and placed it in the palm of his hand. He lifted up his master and gently placed him on his shoulder. Together they walked back to the lighted attic over there. Now they were officially going to settle down here, which was considered half a home.
The building was brightly lit, with flames from the lamp posts embedded in the wall spreading inside. The room where alchemy was being done was filled with smoke.
The Taoist squatting beside the large bronze furnace threw several pieces of talisman paper into the furnace one after another, lit a big fire, and boiled the food in the furnace. Hearing footsteps coming in, he raised his blackened face and looked at Lu Liangsheng.
"Master Lu, don't stand there, come over and light the fire, I still have to cook."
The scholar pushed his master onto the table beside him, put the duck egg in his hand on it, rolled up his sleeves and went over: "Where are my Uncle Pan and the others?" As he spoke, he carefully examined the bronze cauldron covered with magic patterns.
"This furnace... seems to be used by Holy Fire Master to make elixirs."
"They went upstairs to choose a room..."
The Taoist didn't care about that. He threw away the talisman paper in his hand, picked up the copper jar, stepped on a copper jar, and stirred it vigorously on tiptoe. White mist floated out, and a fragrance of rice was heard.
"What's the big deal about a furnace? We finally found one that can cook so much rice at once. It would be a waste if we don't use it. After all, there are so many of us. By the way, Lao Lu..."
While stirring the water, the Taoist tilted his head and asked, "Why did you call that old dragon here? If it suddenly goes crazy and harms the people in the waters outside, it will be a serious crime. It's enough to show off your power in this big temple. Don't you see how shocked those civil and military officials are?"
"You said you are an old dragon, your intelligence is higher than that of ordinary people."
Lu Liangsheng picked up a piece of talisman paper and threw it into the fire. The flickering flames shone on his face, and he continued speaking in a soft voice.
“… Actually, I have considered this. Being the national teacher of a country is different from our usual travels and sightseeing, killing demons and monsters along the way. Once I take on this important responsibility, I have to plan ahead.
The Wei River and the Jing River would sometimes flood the low-lying villages and farmland on both sides of the river due to the sudden rise of the Yellow River. Bringing in this old dragon could help to avert some of the disasters. With him patrolling the river sections, perhaps fewer people would drown, which would also add to his merits.
I heard your Majesty talk about building Daxing in Chang'an. Deep canals should be dug to connect several large rivers to make the north-south waterway unobstructed. Whether it is transporting soldiers or delivering disaster relief food to local areas in times of disaster, it can be much faster. When it is really implemented, Lao Jiao will be of great help!"
At this point, Lu Liangsheng touched some ashes and drew the Yellow River flowing eastward on the floor. "Look, Old Sun, with the Yellow River as the backbone, connecting the north and south rivers, doesn't it form a big dragon?"
Sun Yingxian jumped off the bronze jar, put down the spoon, squatted aside, and carefully examined the river terrain drawn by the scholar. He had a rough understanding of feng shui and could see something right away.
He stood up from the ground in fear: "You want to create a 'water' dragon vein?"
"Why not?" The scholar wiped off the ashes, patted the black dust on his fingertips and stood up: "But this kind of thing is just a thought. However, considering His Majesty's current age, I'm afraid he can't wait for him to implement it. The only thing we can do is to lay a solid foundation for the prosperity of Kyushu and make the people rich and hopeful. This is the most practical thing."
The light was shaking. Old Sun looked at the scholar who turned around to pick vegetables, then looked at the vague waterway on the ground and twirled his moustache hard.
"Fuck you... this guy is trying to create a living dragon vein, longevity and immortality."
Live forever
Lu Liangsheng, who was squatting on the side holding some vegetables, his eyes lit up. This was a good name. It would usher in a peaceful and prosperous era. Who wouldn't want it to live forever
Then, he shook his head and smiled: "It's only the first day of being the Imperial Master. What's the point of dreaming of eternal life? I don't know how many years it will take to get there."
While the scholar was thinking over there, the Toad Taoist ran over to the lamppost on the table, put the duck eggs in his arms next to the fire, raised his toad face and fed the Taoist.
"Little Taoist priest, come and help me boil the eggs. Remember to stir them evenly and fry them until they are golden brown. Oh, yes, do you have any chopped green onions? Remember to add more. Also, use less salt. I've been eating light food lately."
However, the Taoist priest, who was busy working, kicked the duck egg with his moving foot before he could finish his words, and the duck egg rolled to the foot of the stove and broke into pieces.
"That's my mother's egg!!"
The angry shouting suddenly stopped. Lu Liangsheng looked back and saw the Taoist who was looking down at him. Just as he was about to retort, he saw a fluffy light yellow duckling crawling out of the broken eggshell. It flapped its wings unsteadily and blinked at the Taoist Toad.
Taoist: “…”
Lu Liangsheng: “…”
Chirp~~
The little yellow duck ran to the stunned Toad Taoist on its webbed feet, swaying from side to side, retracted its feet, curled up into a ball and lay on the ground, rubbing affectionately against Toad's white belly.