In the pitch-black cave, bursts of colorful light emanated from the mountains of magic weapons, elixirs, and classics, like the shining moon, casting the short shadow of the Toad Taoist priest on the cave wall.
"Master?"
Lu Liangsheng pushed aside the thick vines hanging from the cave entrance, took out the fire starter and blew out a flame, then moved it to the palm of his hand to illuminate the surroundings, then turned around and called the Taoist who was slumped on the ground.
"Why are you still sitting here..."
"Here I come."
The Taoist stood up, patted his butt, and followed in. He looked at the pile of magic weapons and elixirs that were taller than him, walked around, looked them up and down, clicked his tongue, and tilted his head and lowered his eyes.
"Old Toad, are you going to return all these to them?"
At the side, Lu Liangsheng walked past him with a torch, picked up a porcelain bottle and tossed it in his hand, then took over the conversation: "I have talked about this matter with the headmaster of Chengyun Sect before, and now it is just the right time to do it together. It's just that there are too many, and I don't know who they belong to. I guess Master doesn't know either. Here, take a bottle to fill your stomach first."
"You let me take the medicine without knowing its effects?"
Sun Yingxian quickly stretched out her hand to grab the porcelain bottle thrown in the air. There was no label on it, and she had no idea what the elixir inside was used for. She quickly threw it back into the "hill" over there, squatted down and searched and picked it up casually. She seemed to see something familiar in her peripheral vision. She dropped a book in her hand, moved her feet, and grabbed a round bead that was half buried under several magic weapons.
The thumb is larger, as if it can sense the warmth of a person's hand, emitting a deep blue halo, illuminating the Taoist's pointed and monkey-cheeked face.
"Hiss... Why does it look familiar..."
Not far away, the toad with only his flippers on his back was looking at the mountains of magic weapons and elixirs with a bit of melancholy. Those secret books were gone, and he knew all the spells in them anyway, so he felt sad about the rest. He turned back to his flippers, picked up a porcelain bottle, and sighed.
"This is my life savings, Liangsheng, can you keep half of it?"
Lu Liangsheng walked over to the sighing master and squatted down, also looking at the "hill" in front of him and laughing.
"I know Master is reluctant to give them up, but leaving these things here will just gather dust and have no use at all. It is better to send them back. Firstly, it can ease the relationship with those cultivators. Secondly, they will be more useful in fighting against the demon star fragments than leaving them here."
After saying that, the scholar was silent for a moment: "...Besides, it doesn't belong to us."
"Alas, Master also knows." Toad Taoist sighed again, and as he turned his back, Sun Yingxian's voice rang out: "Hiss... Why does it look familiar? I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."
The toad subconsciously tilted its head and saw a small bead in his palm. It opened its mouth and shot out its long tongue, instantly rolling the bead, which was glowing azure blue, into its mouth.
"Old Toad, what are you doing?"
Old Sun roared, and Lu Liangsheng also looked over: "Master?"
Over there, Toad Taoist had beads in his mouth, his cheeks were bulging and twitching, and words were uttered indistinctly.
"Of course I eat... it's delicious... I can't waste it..."
The Taoist squatted there with his head tilted, glanced at the scholar Lu with some doubt, then looked at the "hill" in front of him and scratched his cheek a few times.
"Can it be eaten? I remember it was a magic weapon... It seems that I haven't seen enough of the world."
After muttering a few words, he stuck his butt out and continued to search in the "hill" to see if there was anything he could use. Seeing that his apprentice and the young Taoist priest were not paying attention, the toad took a step back, turned sideways and spit out what was in his mouth, then raised his leg and kicked it into the corner.
He came back as if nothing had happened, stood between the two of them, and coughed twice: "Liangsheng, why don't you just stop sorting them, just put them all in your Qiankun sleeve, and then throw them all to the old man from Chengyun Sect and let them get busy."
Sorting and classifying is indeed a bit cumbersome, not to mention that when all these things are put into the Qiankun sleeves, they will just be piled up together.
Lu Liangsheng nodded: "Okay." He stood up, let the Taoist priest, who had half of his body stuck inside the 'hill' with only his buttocks exposed, come out and step aside.
"Wait a minute!"
The latter pushed the magic books on both sides hard and retreated from inside, still holding a stick in his mouth. He dragged them outside and weighed them in his hand for a few times.
The shaft is similar to a walking stick, and the surface of the stick is engraved with talismans all around.
"This ghost-torturing stick is most suitable for my use." Old Sun held it in his hand with joy, and stepped aside to rub it up and down with great interest.
"If you like it, keep it."
Lu Liangsheng took out the Qilin cloak from the bookshelf outside and put it on. This cloak can be considered a magic weapon, but it is too ostentatious and he rarely wears it.
He walked past Lao Sun and stood in front of the "hill". With an idea in his mind, he raised the wide sleeve of his right hand, and the yin and yang on it seemed to rotate. The cuffs suddenly expanded and swelled. The mountains of magic weapons, classics, and elixirs piled up in front of him shook and bumped, loosened and fell towards Lu Liangsheng. At the moment of collision and bounce, they flew into the air one after another, and then shrank one by one and were sucked into the scholar's sleeves.
In a moment, the originally piled up hill disappeared completely.
Taoist Toad let out a breath, and looked at the pile of things that were finally gone. He was originally reluctant, but somehow he suddenly felt at ease.
Soon, everything was ready. The two men, the demon, and the donkey finally felt sleepy, so they made a bed on the floor in the cave. Lu Liangsheng took off his coat, spread it on the floor, and patted it: "Master, sleep on top of your clothes."
The somewhat melancholy Toad turned his head and looked at his apprentice who was making the mat for him. The corners of his mouth stretched out and he suddenly laughed. With such an apprentice, what use was there for me to have those things
He lay comfortably on Liangsheng's clothes, yawned, and fell over. At the side, Lu Liangsheng smiled and called the Taoist who was holding his rumbling stomach over there, to lie down next to his master and close his eyes.
In the night sky, the bright moon was gradually obscured by clouds, and there were faint sounds in the dark woods on the foothills. Soon, a light came from the east, pushing away the darkness of the world. In the distance, birds chirped softly as they flew over the treetops. On the platform outside the cave, an old donkey neighed, shook its bald tail, and chewed tender grass leisurely.
In the cave, Lu Liangsheng picked up his master who was still sleeping on the ground, put on a green shirt, walked outside, looked at the distant mountains illuminated by the morning light and the flocks of birds flying over the distant hills, stretched comfortably, put the Toad Taoist on the bookshelf, and turned back to wake up the Taoist.
After lighting a bonfire and having a quick breakfast, they went down the mountain together. When they were almost at the border of Chang'an, Sun Yingxian looked at the old donkey with a pale face and waved his hands repeatedly, asking Lu Liangsheng to stop.
"Right here, right here."
When the old donkey stopped, the Taoist staggered down, reached into his chest, grabbed out a few yellow talismans and slapped them into the scholar's hand.
"I will go to Chengyun Gate first. If you miss me, just burn some paper and call me."
Without any hesitation, he bowed, rolled up his wide sleeves, stumbled up into the air, and landed in the distant woods. Before Lu Liangsheng had gone far away, he suddenly ran back.
"I forgot to bring food."
After searching the bookshelf, he took out two large cakes and stuffed them into the cloth bag at his waist. Then he turned and left, saying from a distance: "Remember to burn paper!"
Only after the voice faded away and no one was seen coming back did Lu Liangsheng set out again. The route that everyone had discussed in Wanshou Temple was that Yan Chixia and the others would go south to the rivers and lakes after Zuo Zhengyang woke up, Li Sui'an and Shelong would go to the southwest Miao territory, Zhu Ganglie would go to the west, and Lao Sun would go to the north.
The only direction left was the east, which was the direction Lu Liangsheng was going to go. That was where the Wanfo Temple was located. He could visit Monk Fajing on the way. If the old monk Zhenhai was willing to meet him, he could probably persuade him to help him.