"I won't stay for a few days this time. I might leave tomorrow."
In the last rays of sunlight as they fell over the hilltops, Lu Liangsheng, who was walking on the ridge of the field, withdrew his gaze from the old donkey. He felt the small hand he was holding, which tightened a little, and he turned around to look at the woman behind him.
"I came back this time because I was invited by the emperor to drive out the Taoist monks who were causing trouble in Fulinzhou. You also know them."
Nie Honglian followed behind, raised her other hand, and pointed at herself, somewhat confused.
"I know him too?"
hehe.
Lu Liangsheng chuckled twice, nodded, walked ahead, turned towards the village, thought of master and apprentice Chen Jing and Chen Fu, and sighed.
As they walked, he told Hong Lian what they had done.
"In fact, it's understandable that Master Chen Fu and Master Chen Jing want to restore their country, but the country has experienced more than 300 years of war and chaos, and the people have finally been able to live in peace after being reunited. If war breaks out again, the people in the south will suffer again. The tax burden and labor are not easy..."
Hearing the young master speak so easily, just from the two words "Chen Jing", Hong Lian knew his difficulties in her heart.
"Sir, what happened next?"
"I beat his master and he's either dead or injured... I don't think he'll achieve anything in his lifetime."
Lu Liangsheng spoke calmly. Seeing Hong Lian looking at him with some concern, he smiled, held the woman's hand, tightened it, then loosened it, and put it behind his back. His eyes became steady as he looked at the yellowing farmland in the sunset glow and the swaying green of the distant mountains.
"… Chen Jing and I have known each other for a long time. He was only about six or seven years old at that time. He was active and playful, but he was not a bad person. When I came here, I also thought about how to deal with him, but if we really meet, we can only fight. Hong Lian, look at these acres of fertile fields, and the roads that have been walked by countless travelers and vendors. If a war breaks out, they will be gone. Food and fodder will not be able to enter the farmers' granaries, and the young and strong people in the family will carry weapons and set foot on this once busy mountain road. Many people who originally lived here may die in a foreign land, and even their bodies will not be able to return."
"My mentor Uncle Huagong and I walked this path together. He told me the contrast between cultivating the Tao and becoming an immortal and serving as an official and benefiting the neighbors. Neither of us was convinced, but now that I think about it carefully, it is actually the same path..."
Insects chirped in the fields one after another. After walking on the muddy road leading to the village entrance, Hong Lian leaned on Lu Liangsheng's arm and listened quietly. Lu Liangsheng seemed to have not talked so much for a long time. Perhaps he felt that he could let go more in front of her and say whatever was in his heart.
"That's right, sir."
Fast forward to the village, Hong Lian suddenly remembered the red glow that Jian Yi had mentioned in the previous conversation, "What do you mean by the red glow with a tail?"
As he spoke, he raised his head and looked up at the sky in confusion. In the sky that was alternating between red and dim yellow, he couldn't see anything beyond the clouds.
At the side, Lu Liangsheng looked at the thing with a red tail in the sky, put his arm around Hong Lian's shoulders, smelled the soothing faint fragrance of her black hair, and curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile.
"You can't see it... Maybe after I became the Imperial Master of the Great Sui Dynasty, I was connected with the dynasty's destiny, so I saw that guy. I just don't know if other cultivators can see him after flying to this world. What if they can't see him?"
"Hehe..." He chuckled and then said:
“… I’m afraid I’ll have to find out the truth alone.”
As we approached the village entrance, village women who were making shoes and weaving linen clothes, as well as children who were coming home from school, all came to greet us. In just half an hour, the news that Lu Liangsheng had become the national teacher had spread between the two villages. It would probably not be long before the news reached the city through the mouths of merchants, and by then the county magistrate of Fushui County would have to come.
That was a very proud thing. Seeing Liangsheng walking with the Honglian God in the temple, they naturally would not go up to disturb them. The villagers had known about these things for a long time, but they just didn't tell others.
Otherwise, those people would be so shocked that they would be unable to close their mouths.
…
Hong Lian walked through the drying dam, listening silently all the way. When she was about to turn into the alley leading to the fenced courtyard, she suddenly stopped, broke free from the scholar's hand, and stared at Lu Liangsheng without blinking. The latter turned his head.
"What's wrong?"
"Sir, you just said that if you are connected to the dynasty's destiny, you can see..." Hong Lian thought of a way to help the scholar, and waved her white hands excitedly, "Then can you try to confer the title on Taoist Sun and Master Toad? Even if Master Toad can't do it, you still have so many like-minded friends. Then, won't they all be able to see the thing of Queen Yun?"
Lu Liangsheng stood there in a daze. He had never thought of this method. Although he didn't know if it would work, he could give it a try.
"There is always a loophole..."
"Sir?"
Hong Lian waved her white little hand in front of him. Lu Liangsheng came to his senses, hugged the girl and picked her up. Hong Lian had no physical body, and her body was as light as smoke when she was lifted up and turned twice.
After putting her on the ground, Lu Liangsheng gently scratched her nose.
"Hong Lian, when did you become so smart?"
The woman put her hands behind her back, slightly raised her pretty face, wrinkled her nose at him, and snorted softly.
"I have always been very smart, but you just discovered it." Her eyes rolled around, dimples appeared on her cheeks, and she leaned over and laid on the scholar's shoulder, blinking her eyelashes lightly and speaking in a soft voice.
"What reward do you have, sir?"
Lu Liangsheng thought about this method, and when he heard the word "reward", he nodded.
"Reward! I must reward you! I will burn a few more incense sticks for you tomorrow!"
Seeing the young man turning around and walking towards the courtyard gate with a smile, Nie Honglian's cheeks puffed up and she stomped her feet a few times in anger. When she saw the scholar enter the courtyard, she brushed her long sleeves and quickly followed him with lotus steps.
As night fell, Li Jinhua came out of the kitchen, stood under the eaves and yelled.
“It’s time to eat!”
Just like in the past, the Taoist priest and Zhu Ganglie sneaked down from the attic, and when they saw Lu Xiaoxian, they walked into the kitchen with serious faces to help. Lu Laoshi was pulled by his wife's ear, so he had to leave the crooked frame and follow them in.
The oil lamp in the kitchen was lit, Qiyou was serving rice, Honglian was floating in the air with the bowl in her hand, Toad Taoist was sitting under the oil lamp, staring at the dishes on the table, a chicken feather spitting out from the corner of his mouth, and his bean-sized toad eyes were looking under the stove, where a hen with its wings folded was looking at him viciously.
The wind squeezed in through the door gap. In the dim light, a group of people crowded the kitchen. Hong Lian sang a song for Lu Liangsheng in a whimpering voice, which attracted Li Jinhua and Lu Laoshi to applaud. The Taoist held the bowl and picked up the dishes frantically with his chopsticks while everyone was listening to the song.
After Lu Liangsheng and the others finished listening, they picked up their bowls and chopsticks, and only some leftovers were left on the plates.
"Sun Yingxian!"
Old Pig put down his bowl and chopsticks heavily, rolled up his sleeves, let out a dry howl, and pounced over. Old Sun hurriedly picked up the porcelain bowl piled high with food, quickly put it into his mouth, and rushed out.
"Liangsheng! Kill this little Taoist priest! My meal is gone..."
The Toad Taoist put down the red rooster bowl, stood on Lu Liangsheng's shoulder and roared. Even Li Jinhua and Lu Xiaoxian took the broom and fire stick from behind the door and chased after him, waving the broom heads and running around the yard after the Taoist.
For a moment, the courtyard was bustling with noise, and all the dogs in the village were frightened and started barking wildly.
Not long after, the Taoist priest squatted in front of the stove holding a broom, pursed his lips and lowered his head, not daring to move. Li Jinhua simply cooked a few more dishes before they finished the dinner.
Lu Liangsheng returned to the room, flicked the wick, and lit the fire to illuminate the room. Hong Lian followed in with a smile. She had no intention of going back to the temple. She spread her skirt, turned around, and went into the painting, then poked her head out again.
"Sir, go to bed early."
"I'll go to bed soon."
Lu Liangsheng made the bed and put his angry master, who was holding his flippers, next to the pillow. He took off his coat and hung it at the end of the bed while talking about the method Hong Lian had told him today.
"If it is feasible, with everyone's combined strength, we may be able to find out what that red light is and how it got here."
Toad hummed as he held his little pillow, turned it over and put it away, rubbing his webbed feet on it.
"What is there to be afraid of? When I take a bite, I'll know my origins. Why bother with this? Just go to sleep."
Lu Liangsheng, who had lifted the quilt and crawled inside, was sitting on the edge of the bed and taking off his shoes. He could already hear his master's snoring.
Shake your head.
He blew away the light on the table, lay down on the bed which he hadn't slept in for a long time, and leaned sideways comfortably.
"The bed at home is still more comfortable."
As for the wandering old Taoist priest changing his name, I'll think about it when I have time.