In October, the autumn wind turned the foothills yellow. The apricot leaves all over the mountain reflected the warm morning sun and swayed slightly in the wind, like a golden ocean, undulating and rolling along the mountain range.
The mountain path on Cangyu Mountain is winding and steep, and there are few tourists visiting the mountain. Most of those who travel on the stone path are fruit farmers from nearby mountains. They carry goods on their shoulders, and two heavy bamboo baskets sway up and down as they walk.
"Sir, are you going up the mountain alone? The road above is not suitable for walking, so be careful."
I saw a scholar coming up from below, leading an old donkey slowly up the stone steps. An old farmer carrying a load on his shoulder gave him some instructions with a smile. I thought they were here to enjoy the scenery on the mountain.
"Thank you for your concern, old man."
Lu Liangsheng held the reins and bowed to the old man who was walking beside him. When he watched the other person leave, he spread his hand and flicked out a finger. It was a magic trick in "Qinghuai Bugeng" that could make the other person concentrate and have sharp eyesight, so that he could go down the mountain safely.
I also used this magic when I was studying hard.
The wind blew through the mountains and forests. In late summer and early autumn, the last cicada sounds rose and fell. Lu Liangsheng, who had already reached the mountainside, looked up at the towering mountains around him, but still could not feel where Chengyun Gate was.
"This kind of large sect hidden in the mountains, the barrier to prevent ordinary people from entering by mistake must be extremely mysterious... It's probably difficult to find it with ordinary qi-seeking techniques. By the way, Master, have you ever been here before..."
“Never been here!”
Before Lu Liangsheng finished the second half of his sentence, the words of the Toad Taoist were heard from the bookshelf compartment. Through the gap in the small door of the compartment, the toad, with its white belly exposed, scratched its cheek, and after saying this, it turned over and yawned listlessly, then fell asleep again in the sound of cicadas.
Know, know, know~~~
Da da da… Da da…
Lu Liangsheng touched the water stains on his face and raised his head. Raindrops were falling from the sunny sky.
The water drops hit the leaves, splashing water stains, and then, more and more frequently, turning into the sound of rain falling in the forest, and a layer of mist rose. Lu Liangsheng took an oil-paper umbrella from the bookshelf, opened it, covered his head, and continued walking forward, leading the old donkey.
"It's raining halfway up the mountain."
Looking outside the mountain, it is gradually getting gloomy on this side, while the other side of the mountain is covered with golden sunshine. There are green mountains and green waters, and mist is rising halfway up the mountain, just like a fairyland in a painting.
After looking for a while, Lu Liangsheng suddenly laughed: "It should be there."
As he said this, he raised his hands and respectfully bowed towards the sky.
"Thank God for the guidance."
Boom—
A muffled thunder rolled across the sky, which scared Lu Liangsheng. He was afraid that it was really the heaven greeting him, so he quickly called Lao Lu to follow him, cast the spell of shrinking the earth into an inch, and went to the front in a flash. When they were almost approaching the mountain shrouded in sunlight, he retracted the spell, shook off the water stains on the umbrella, picked it up in his hand, and walked slowly to the front.
He stopped at a fork in the mountain road, smelled the faint scent of sandalwood, and raised his hands towards an upward stone staircase.
"Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain has come to visit Chengyun Sect."
"Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain comes to pay his respects..."
“…Visiting Chengyunmen…”
"... Cloud Gate..."
The voice was not loud, but it echoed in the mountains for a long time. On both sides of the stone steps extending straight upward in front of the scholar, a mountain gate carved out of white rock and surrounded by clouds suddenly appeared. On the plaque in the middle of the gate, there were lacquered red characters - Chengyun Gate.
The scenery of the forest and mountain road opposite also changed and unfolded rapidly like a scroll painting. In the field of vision, there were lush and tall forests, the chirping of birds, the quaint and heavy mossy stone steps, and a figure holding a bowl, squatting next to the stone pillar under the mountain gate.
The man raised his pointed and monkey-faced face, and suddenly saw the scholar leading the donkey standing opposite him. Several noodles choked him and sprayed out of his nostrils, hanging outside and swaying. The two of them were eerily quiet.
Sun Yingxian: “…”
Lu Liangsheng: “…”
The old donkey poked its head out from behind, turned up its lips to reveal a row of teeth, and neighed in a groaning voice, as if mocking him.
“Old Sun, what are you doing…” Lu Liangsheng stared at him for a long while before he managed to speak.
Snore~~~
Sun Yingxian sucked the noodles hanging under her mouth into her mouth and swallowed them whole. She used her other hand to pull the noodles out of her nostrils and put them on the ground together with the bowl and chopsticks.
Ahem…
The Taoist bowed his head and coughed twice, then said, "Didn't I ask you to come and burn paper? Why did you come straight here?"
The scholar didn't answer directly. He was still wondering why the Taoist was squatting outside to eat. He pointed at the bowl and chopsticks on the ground and said, "What's wrong with you..."
"Well, this is because I think it's too crowded inside."
Sun Yingxian picked up the bowl and chopsticks again, jumped onto a stone outside the stone steps, leaned against the stone pillar of the mountain gate, and laughed: "It's so comfortable to eat outside, with beautiful mountains, beautiful waters, and beautiful scenery. Ordinary people passing by outside can't see me, but I can still see them. Isn't it exciting to hear that?"
“Stop it!”
Lu Liangsheng patted him on the shoulder, twisted him around, and dragged him to the upper Taoist temple. As they walked, he asked, "Did you do something disgusting?"
"It shouldn't be a big deal..." The Taoist forced a smile. He was facing the inner mountain gate. Two boys guarding the mountain saw the scholar and came forward to bow politely. But when they saw the Taoist standing beside them, they snorted in unison and turned away.
However, he still led the way for Lu Liangsheng. The white tiles under their feet extended to a wide platform. There was a group of huge yin-yang figures in black and white, with a hint of spiritual energy rising. On the opposite mountain wall, on both sides of the word "Tao" written in seal script, there were densely packed holes, like a honeycomb. From time to time, one could see people holding swords and flying into the holes, sitting cross-legged in meditation, or setting up alchemy furnaces with smoke wafting out.
"Master Lu, this way please!"
The two Taoist children who came to greet him called out in a low voice, separated to both sides, and made a gesture of invitation to Lu Liangsheng. The scholar then realized that he had lost his composure. He smiled and nodded, and together with Old Sun, followed the two children to a six-story, four-cornered wooden building in front of them. The building had hollow carved window grilles, painted with blue and red paint, and had auspicious cloud patterns painted on it.
In the golden sunlight, it looks solemn and magnificent.
The door in the center of the first floor opened, and a man dressed as a Taoist priest came out. When he saw Lu Liangsheng, he bowed his head and saluted, then stood aside.
"Master Lu, the headmaster is waiting for you inside, please!"
"please!"
Lu Liangsheng stretched out his hand, loosened the reins, called Lao Sun and walked into the hallway. The smoke of sandalwood incense hanging from the dome was curling up. In front of the shrine dedicated to the word "Tao", an old man with gray hair and beard, wearing a dark blue open-necked Taoist robe and a white lingerie underneath, heard the footsteps, put the sandalwood in his hand into the incense burner, and then turned around.
"Master Lu, please take a seat."
After inviting the scholar to sit down, the head master Chengyun spoke in a much kinder tone. The old man and the young man had met each other two or three times. In some ways, the old man admired the scholar more.
"Master Lu, the purpose of our Chengyun Sect is to send out disciples to investigate the matter without the Master's advice."
Lu Liangsheng nodded, listened carefully to every word the old man said, took the tea brought by the Taoist boy and put it aside.
"This matter is extraordinary. In fact, it is not just my idea. His Majesty also asked me to contact fellow Taoists from all sides. After all, the people of the nine states are our foundation."
The scholar spoke sincerely, and the old man could hear it and nodded.
"Your Majesty is indeed a rare wise ruler, but I wonder how your health is. I happen to have a few prescriptions here. When the Imperial Master returns, I will give them to Your Majesty. Taking them will not only strengthen your body and bones, but also prolong your life."
Although he always treated people with sincerity, Lu Liangsheng did not dare to believe it easily, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is in very good health. When you come, you will go to Renshou Palace outside the city to escape the summer heat."
As the scholar was speaking, what he didn't know was that at this moment, outside the city of Chang'an, the emperor he was talking about was enjoying the beautiful scenery and chatting with several concubines who accompanied him.
At a certain moment, the porcelain bowl in his hand fell to pieces with a bang. Yang Jian covered his head and felt dizzy. He stumbled two steps and knocked down a concubine who came to support him. As he staggered, his swinging arms knocked over the small table. He could not support himself and fell to the ground, pressing down the tilted table top.
"His Majesty-"
A group of concubines, eunuchs, and maids rushed over in panic. Yang Su, who had something to report, was also panicked at this moment and shouted, "Brother—"
He ran up with his robe lifted up.