The rosy glow of the sunset shone down on the city walls, and the shouts of people walking in the streets could be heard faintly. The door of the side courtyard of the Min residence opened slightly, and two crouching figures poked their heads out to look. One of them, who was slightly smaller in stature, stepped out in small steps, looked at both ends of the street, and waved back.
"Miss, please come out quickly. Uncle Ding and the others are not patrolling here."
Min Yuerou flashed out from the back door, hushed to the maid, and pulled her out along the side street with few pedestrians, running towards Quchifang.
As the sun sets, colorful flags flutter along the long street. The street vendors are preparing to pack up and leave. The woman holding her husband's arm urges him to go home quickly to cook for the children. The old man pushing the cart hurried past with a unique groan from the creaking of wood. In the red glow, Min Yuerou pulls her maid Tu Ling and walks quickly across the street. The latter follows behind breathlessly, calling out breathlessly:
"Miss, run... run... slowly. Master Lu... is stationed in Chang'an... It's not like we can't see him."
"Who... who wants to see him... it's rare to go out, I want to go to Furong Pond to watch the sunset..."
The woman in front took a breath, slowed down, and looked back with a little breathlessness at the little maid who stumbled up to her. She raised her hand and tapped her on the forehead.
"I told you to eat less on weekdays. You can't run after just crossing two blocks."
Seeing the maid catching up, Min Yuerou stopped running and continued to walk forward with her hands on her waist. Tu Ling rubbed her forehead, looked at her own back, curled her lips, and muttered: "She doesn't go on weekdays, but she sneaks away as soon as the Madam leaves..."
"What did you say?" In front, Min Yuerou turned her face slightly.
The little maid hurriedly stopped and waved her hands in panic.
"Miss, Tu Ling said Aunt Wang asked me to eat more every day. She said that I should eat more when I am still growing. Only then will I be beautiful and have a good figure in the future. Then my future son-in-law will be interested in me and take me as a concubine... If Tu Ling has another child in the future, she will have someone to rely on..."
Once he started talking, he couldn't stop. He put his index finger on the corner of his lips and said:
"Now that I have someone to rely on, I won't have to worry about you anymore."
"I am old and have to rely on my child to survive, but Tuling will still serve the young lady from morning to night..."
"Then the lady should not despise Tu Ling for being clumsy."
"Well, if we really have a child, what should we name it?"
…
Min Yuerou rolled her eyes and covered her forehead, not wanting to talk any more. The chattering little maid glanced at the young lady, secretly smiled, clenched her little fist proudly and raised it at the side of her leg, followed briskly, jumping up and down from time to time, and humming a few little songs for the young lady.
Quchifang is next to Furongchi. Lu Liangsheng was appointed as the Imperial Master, but the time was actually quite tight. Throughout the dynasties, few emperors appointed Imperial Masters, and even if they did, the appointments were not very detailed. Naturally, many things had not been arranged yet, and there was almost no manpower to allocate.
The master and servant walked through the alley. They could smell the cool breeze from the lake blowing on their faces before they got close. They passed a house where a quarrel and fight were happening. Two women stopped to listen out of curiosity. It was probably a woman who was having an affair and was caught by her husband who followed them, so a fight broke out.
"That woman should be drowned in the river. Shameless!"
"Don't forget, there's a man... If we have to sink, we have to sink together."
Min Yuerou made a decision as if she were the Lord of Heaven. Then, she called Tu Ling, who wanted to watch for a while longer, and left. The little maid holding a bag of salt-fried beans said "Oh", rewrapped the snacks and put them close to her body, looked back a few more times every three steps, and just as she turned around, she suddenly cried out "Ouch" and bumped into the back of the lady in front of her.
"Miss, why did you stop for no reason? Rabbit Bell almost broke his front teeth."
Min Yuerou had practiced martial arts and had been out in the world for a long time, so she was much stronger than an ordinary woman. She just felt a little pain in her back, and she raised her chin forward.
"Look over there."
Tu Ling came closer with her mouth covered, and saw the direction the young lady was looking at, on the road leading to the Hibiscus Pond, four dark-skinned scholars were gathered together furtively, occasionally tilting their heads to steal a glance at the Taoist temple in the distance.
"Go ahead now..."
The other three nodded, shook their heads, and followed suit in muttered words.
"I'm afraid it's not a good idea. How can a scholar like me do such a self-degrading thing?"
“… But it’s better than being scolded by Old Man Min.”
"Who's going then?"
"How about we go together?"
"Just going empty-handed?"
"Nonsense, do we have money? Imperial Master, does he need that little money?"
Wang Feng, the oldest of the four, rubbed his chin. He was always calm and steady, and looked at the other three scholars.
"It's a bit abrupt. I think we should first check whether the Imperial Master is in the temple, so as to avoid the embarrassment of going there and not seeing him."
The four of them whispered to each other for a while, unaware that there were two women watching them in the distance. They turned around and looked at the road leading to Wanshou Temple and saw that there was no one there. They lifted up their robes and ran as fast as they could, diving into the reeds outside the stone railing by the lake, making a rustling sound. They squatted on the ground, holding up a few reeds to cover their bodies, and slowly moved along the lakeside towards the front of the mountain gate with their butts sticking out, unaware that several large bubbles were bubbling up on the surface of the lake behind them and that waves were pushing towards them.
"Four funny guys..."
Min Yuerou looked at them with her arms folded and could not help but mutter a curse. While Tu Ling on the side covered her mouth and laughed, in the distance, in the Wanshou Temple bathed in the sunset glow, a large cauldron for alchemy was set up on the square with a huge fire burning underneath. The soup was boiling and a lot of meat and vegetables were tumbling in it, and then they were fished out and put into bowls.
Lu Pan shook the copper spoon, picked up the thick pile of duck meat and vegetables in the bowl, and stuffed them into his mouth in big mouthfuls, which made the Toad Taoist stand on the stool, his eyes widened, and he pulled the apprentice next to him with his webbed feet.
"Liangsheng, quickly get some for me. Forget the meat, I'll do it myself!"
As he said this, he bent his legs and was about to jump up when he was pushed down by Lu Liangsheng.
"Master, don't worry. I'll serve it to you right away. If you want to go up, it will be an extra dish."
He stood up, took the copper spoon and scooped a few pieces of meat from the cauldron. The Toad Taoist held the exquisite red rooster bowl with his webbed hands, looked at the fragrant duck meat inside, then sat back with satisfaction. He blew on it a few times and swallowed it into his mouth in one gulp. The hot meat moved left and right in his mouth.
Over there, Lu Liangsheng put down the copper spoon, picked up the wine glass and clinked it with Zuo Zhengyang and Yan Chixia next to him.
"I'm sorry to have you two come all the way here. I'd like to offer you a toast first!"
Lifting his wide sleeves to cover the cup, he raised his head and drank it all in one gulp. Zuo and Yan looked at each other, laughed, and raised their glasses: "In fact, we were here the day Brother Lu was appointed as the Imperial Master, but we just wandered around the city for a few days to see the splendor of Chang'an."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.
When the two men came over, Lu Liangsheng explained the matter to them. Although the three of them were quite different in age, they had a friendship that had risked their lives several times together, so naturally they would not refuse.
Yan Chixia seemed to be very jealous of evil, so he smashed the small table in front of him into pieces with a slap.
"Since that person knows about the great catastrophe of heaven and earth, and has kidnapped Master Zhenhai, if we really want to go there this time, we might as well go now."
Zuo Zhengyang held the wine glass, thought for a while, and agreed with Yan Chixia's decision.
"This should be done as soon as possible. Since it concerns the fate of heaven and earth, we must figure it out."
Lu Liangsheng frowned and looked at Lao Sun, who also nodded. As for Qi You, she was chewing a duck's foot with relish, but she didn't care.
Zhu Erniang also knew the location of Wuse Village. Since all the people here are here... uh, there is still one person missing, Old Zhu. It doesn't matter. He should be in the northwest too. It won't be too late to call him when the time comes.
Having made up his mind, Lu Liangsheng no longer hesitated and looked at the eight strong men over there: "Uncle Pan, you stay here. If His Majesty sends someone to look for me, just say I will be back in a few days."
The eight of them were not stupid. If they followed them blindly, it would only cause more trouble. Lu Pan patted his chest and said, "Liangsheng, don't worry. The eight of us will definitely take good care of this place for you."
Lu Liangsheng nodded, bowed and thanked him, then turned his head to look at Sui'an. He was going to go. As for the Wuman man Shelong, although he was also a cultivator, he had no friendship with him, so it was inconvenient to ask him to go.
"Shelong, Sui'an is going to go to the northwest with me. If you like it here, you can stay here. If you miss your hometown, you can leave at any time."
On the other side of the cauldron, Shelong, who had changed his clothes, looked like a Central Plains person except for his dark skin. He was already used to the etiquette here, and quickly stood up and bowed and replied:
"National...National Master, Shelong came out to seek help in establishing a country. National Master needs help, and I am willing to help. After that, I wonder if you can let me meet the Emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty."
The Taoist spat out the bone and laughed: "You are quite direct, barbarian, but I like it!"
The future is uncertain, and one more person means more strength. Lu Liangsheng is of course happy for the other party to lend a hand, even if it is a mutual benefit. On the way, he also wants to learn about the Miaojiang witchcraft and how it differs from the Central Plains magic system.
Arrange everything in the temple properly.
Soon, Lu Liangsheng reached out and stuffed his master, who was holding the bowl, onto the bookshelf, then led the old donkey to the mountain gate. Behind him, Yan Chixia with a sword case on his back, Zuo Zhengyang with one arm and a long sword on his back, Sun Yingxian in a Taoist robe, Li Sui'an holding a green sword and wearing a green robe, Wuman Shelong with disheveled hair and dressed as a warrior, and the fat monk Fajing... They lined up behind him one by one, looking at the woods and fields blown by the evening breeze, and strode towards the towering mountain gate, talking and laughing.