The black fog dissipated, and the human king standing on Mount Tai, holding the imperial seal in his hand, gradually disappeared from Lu Liangsheng's sight.
His sight brightened, and when he came to his senses, his consciousness had already left the Qilin Cloak's small world. He couldn't help but frown: "That's it? Gone?"
Wow~~
On the other side of the bed, Taoist Toad got up yawning, slapped his lips, put on a short gown, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked dazedly at his disciple who was standing there looking at his robe.
He smacked his lips, still sleepy.
"Finally you understand that you need to practice? Come on, tell me what confusions you have encountered... Wow~~" He yawned again, his eyes narrowed into slits, and when he opened them again, he saw his robes neatly folded on the round table, and the door over there was shaking slightly.
"Hey, where are the people?"
"He went out."
Qi You propped up his chin and looked at the door that had not yet been closed, with a smile on his lips: "Hong Lian really has good taste, she even walked so beautifully."
Over there, when Toad Taoist heard this, he was stunned for a moment with a confused expression: "You..." When he looked at the tree demon, the latter's slender white hand popped out lightly.
A ray of green light shot out, and the Toad Taoist was sitting on the edge of the bed. His body swayed a few times, and he put on his coat halfway, then lay back, stretched his limbs, and fell into a deep sleep.
Lu Liangsheng had no idea what had happened in the attic. He walked out of the hall, greeted Sun Yingxian who was doing a set of boxing and kicking exercises over there, and went down the stone steps to the mountain gate.
The soldiers guarding nearby lowered their heads and called out, "Grandmaster!"
When Lu Liangsheng arrived, they immediately gathered together to talk about the news of the emperor's death. The palace announced the emperor's death to the world in the early morning. Everyone in the city, from the peddlers to the gentry and officials, already knew about it. There were even other different versions circulating in the palace.
"You know, when His Majesty passed away, the Queen and the Crown Prince just stood outside the door waiting, but the one who stayed with him inside was the Imperial Master."
"The one at Hibiscus Pond?"
"There are still a few more, isn't it? I heard that after your majesty passed away, the state teacher even asked the city god to send a ceremonial guard to take back your majesty's soul."
"Oh, that sounds scary."
On the second floor of the restaurant, the waiter put down a few side dishes. Two people were talking at the next table. One of them stopped the waiter and ordered some breakfast, then turned around and continued the conversation with his friend.
"So the Imperial Master is very important?"
"How could that be possible? I heard that he was just a child of the Han family. Later, he met a master who taught him how to call the wind and rain, and to attract wealth and gods... He learned a lot of great skills."
"Does the Imperial Master still accept disciples?"
"… I haven't heard of it. Are you going there, brother?"
"Can't I?"
“… You’re already forty-three.”
In the streets, teahouses and restaurants, people who knew each other gathered in groups of three or four to gossip about this matter. Compared to the fact that the emperor was passing away and there were ghost messengers coming to welcome him with ceremonial guards, it aroused people's curiosity even more. After all, such things were very rare.
Lu Liangsheng walked through the streets and markets, mostly chatting and gossiping like this. He walked through several long streets, went out through the east gate, and followed the road to Mount Li until he came to the foot of Mount Li. The reason he came here was the secret mentioned in the Qilin Cloak, but it was very short and he couldn't make any sense of it.
However, when it comes to the First Emperor, the Old Mother of Mount Li should know the most. Ying Zheng's ancestor was Fei Lian, and Fei Lian's grandmother was this old mother.
Pilgrims walked together on the stone-paved mountain path. On the way, a woman in a yellow skirt carrying a teapot came out of a teahouse. She thanked the waiter who saw her off, glanced at the scholar who was walking alone, smiled slightly, and walked up the mountain carrying the teapot.
"I have met the girl many times, but I still don't know her name."
On the quiet mountain road, monkeys were calling in the woods in the distance. Lu Liangsheng followed the woman in the yellow skirt and politely bowed to her. "Of course, if I have been reckless, you don't have to tell me, young lady."
"Master, you can just call me Xiaodie."
The girl in the yellow skirt is a pink-spotted yellow butterfly from the fairyland of Mount Li. She was enlightened by her mother and has been serving her ever since. She knows clearly why the National Master Lu came to her.
He smiled lightly and pointed to the path leading to the Old Mother Temple on the mountain: "The State Master wants to find the Old Mother, why follow me, go there."
"Thanks for letting me know."
Lu Liangsheng bowed and thanked him. When he raised his head, the girl in the yellow skirt holding the teapot had disappeared among the intertwined branches and grass. She smiled, turned around and walked towards the Laomu Temple.
This road is not the main road leading to the temple, and there are few pedestrians and pilgrims. Lu Liangsheng stopped before he was halfway there. On the side of the road ahead, an old woman was sitting on a stone with a cane to rest. She had a brown cloth wrapped around her forehead and her gray head tilted slightly. She looked at the scholar with cloudy eyes and lightly tapped her calf.
"As I get older, my legs and feet become less flexible, and it's hard to even burn incense."
Lu Liangsheng naturally knew who was sitting on the stone, so he went over and squatted down with the old woman on his back, "Since you are tired, let me carry you."
"Okay."
The old woman was not polite either. She picked up her cane and leaned on the scholar's back, letting Lu Liangsheng carry her to the main road ahead. Thinking about the purpose of her visit, she turned her head slightly and couldn't help asking:
"Mother, Liangsheng is here. I am confused about something and would like to ask for your advice."
He did not hear the old woman on his back speak for a long time. When he turned his head to the side, he saw that the Old Mother of Mount Li had her eyes closed as if she was sleeping. Lu Liangsheng had no choice but to shut his mouth and continue moving forward. He walked along the main road where pilgrims came and went and arrived at the Old Mother Temple. Only then did the old woman on his back speak.
"Put me here."
Lu Liangsheng squatted down, and his back relaxed. The old woman who came down had a basket in her hand. She walked to the temple keeper outside the temple, handed over a few coins, bought three incense sticks and put them in the basket. Like an ordinary devout old man, she lit the incense and inserted it into the stove, then stood outside the temple for a while with her hands folded.
Lu Liangsheng followed her around several temples without saying a word. He came out of the temple after more than half an hour and slowly followed his mother into the woods outside the temple.
There was a rustling sound of footsteps, stepping on the fallen leaves. The old woman put down the basket, stretched out her hand to sweep away a layer of fallen leaves, found a mushroom, put the basket down, and there was also a sound.
"Were the mushrooms I gave you last time delicious?"
Finally speaking, even though Lu Liangsheng had a good temper, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "Fresh and delicious."
"Smooth talk."
The old mother looked at him, stood up and walked to the other side. Lu Liangsheng rolled up his sleeves and hurried forward to help. It was not easy to use magic power, so he used his bare hands to dig up the soil and carefully picked the mushrooms growing under the rocks. He had grown up in the mountains when he was young, so picking these was easy for him.
"Ying Zheng wants to be the eternal emperor and seal the heavens."
"What?"
Lu Liangsheng had his hands full of mud and was holding mushrooms when he suddenly heard his mother speak. He was stunned for a moment, but before he could react, the voice on the other end continued speaking.
"He wanted to succeed King Zhou of Shang and become the reincarnated emperor, but he didn't want to be the eldest son of Haotian and be bound by heaven... Unfortunately, he was too eager for quick success and ultimately failed."
The wind blew through the woods, shaking the branches and leaves, making a rustling sound.