The floating clouds blocked the sun, and the bright sky became overcast.
On the mountain trails, the old donkey grunted and neighed, chewed the grass he could still find, and walked slowly behind his master, wagging his tail.
On the shaking bookshelf, the Toad Taoist took a puff of cigarette, knocked the ash in the bucket by the door, and hummed a little tune leisurely with his short legs. With his slightly narrowed eyes, the Taoist carried the yellow cloth bag and walked through the woods, climbing up to the treetops to dig out bird nests.
"commit a sin."
Toad shook his head, yawned, threw his pipe behind him, stuck his head out and shouted, "Liangsheng, when are we going to stop and eat?"
"Are you hungry, Master? There should be a village ahead."
In the mottled sunlight cast through the branches, Lu Liangsheng was flipping through a book with great interest. The occasional birds flying by seemed attracted by the unique aura of the scholar, and some even flew down from the branches, perched on his shoulders, jumping around, and curiously peeking at the book in his hands.
Hearing his master's voice, Lu Liangsheng turned around and responded, startling the birds on his shoulder. He then looked to the end of the forest in front of him, where the path extended into the distance. The bright skylight illuminated the earth and quickly spread out along the undulating mountains and forests.
"This place seems to be..."
The scholar looked at the mountains and forests in the distance, took the map paper from his waist and spread it out in the palm of his hand. He pointed his finger along the direction he came from Chang'an, and finally stopped at a certain place.
"We have arrived at Huaiyi Prefecture."
Folding the map, Lu Liangsheng looked at a village with smoke rising from chimneys vaguely visible among the mountains and forests over there and smiled. No wonder the village looked so familiar after leaving the forest. It turned out that it was here that he met Sui An and Yang Su.
He turned around and called out to the Taoist who was still searching for game in the distance, and explained the situation. Through the open door of the bookshelf, the Toad Taoist and the returning Sun Yingxian looked at each other with serious expressions.
"It's a good opportunity to meet Sui'an's aunt and tell her how he is doing recently so that the woman won't worry."
The Taoist nodded: "Let's stop by... bah, and have a meal."
"Master, Old Sun, you... hey."
Lu Liangsheng didn't know what to say, but he had to eat and of course he had to pay for the meal. He grabbed the reins of the old donkey that were dragging on the ground and pulled the donkey to the main road. This was the border between Huaiyi Prefecture and Jin Prefecture. There were many merchants and travelers passing by on the road, but few of them could stay in this village.
A few feet before the fork in the road leading to the mountain village, there is a sign nailed to a wooden stake.
Seeing the wooden sign on the side of the road with the words "Anfu Inn" written on it, Lu Liangsheng couldn't help but laugh. There was no such sign when he first came here. He must have given his aunt the idea when he came back from traveling with Anfu and gained some experience.
“Although it’s not the best way to attract customers, it’s just right…”
"Liangsheng, have you ever thought about the future?"
As the scholar whispered, he suddenly heard the master's words from behind. The Toad Taoist climbed up the bookshelf, sat on it with his webbed feet dangling, looking at the golden fields that were rippling in the wind. He pushed them away in circles, stood up, put up his webbed feet, and the corners of his open robe were still blown by the wind.
"… I have experienced a lot. I have been confused, vicious, and moved. Now, in addition to repairing the demon pill, I just walk around and make up for what I lost in the past. What about you?"
Toad turned his head to look at the disciple who had stopped in front of him. His words surprised the Taoist who was following him. The scholar who was walking in front stopped, turned around and smiled, revealing his white teeth.
"I never thought about it before, but after Lu Yuan's experience, I had to make some plans. Since I'm already the national teacher, I'll do my best. For now, I'll go back to Qixia Mountain and suppress the monster star. I'll list some simple and practical spells I know, open a monster pacification department, recruit some talented children and pass them on, and try to find the monster star's energy with as many people as possible."
Sun Yingxian's eyes widened, and she jumped over anxiously, waving her hand in front of Lu Liangsheng: "Are you still asleep? Three disciples is already a big deal, but you want to take in so many at once?"
"Who said he accepted a disciple?"
Lu Liangsheng smiled and pushed his hand back, then turned around and pulled the old donkey towards the village entrance.
"I won't teach you how to practice, I will only teach you some magic to subdue evil spirits, or some useful techniques. If it can be spread, it will also allow more non-cultivators to subdue demons and monsters in the folks. Then you, Old Sun, will have to help."
This idea was first proposed by Yang Jian to Lu Liangsheng. After being inspired, it has been lingering in his mind. However, it is not that simple to actually do it. First of all, magic is a difficult hurdle. The path of cultivation will wipe out many people. If you put aside cultivation and only use magic, it will be simpler. However, without the support of cultivation, the magic will hardly be powerful.
These are all complementary links, and Lu Liangsheng currently needs more time to consider this matter.
"You are sick. I will not teach others. If I have to teach, I will only teach my son. Good things should be passed down from generation to generation." Sun Yingxian naturally sneered at Lu Liangsheng's words, but when the scholar turned his head to the side with a "hmm?", he immediately closed his mouth and waved his hand.
"I am just complaining. You know, I say one thing and mean another..."
The toad sitting on the bookshelf snorted twice and cursed, "Coward." This made the Taoist curse him back with foul language.
"I don't know who boasted that he was a great demon, but was stared at and pecked by an old hen every day!"
"Fuck it, I don't want to kill anyone!"
"My dear mother! You can't beat me!"
"Bullshit, I can travel across 30,000 miles of heaven and earth with a roll of purple smoke. How could a little Taoist like you who has never even held a woman's hand know that?!"
“… Old Toad!!! I won’t talk to you anymore.”
…
Listening to the quarrel between a man and a toad behind him, the old donkey snorted a few times, and a pair of long ears drooped down to cover the ear holes. Lu Liangsheng sighed and said, "We are entering the village."
The toad, who had been standing on the bookshelf with his hands on his hips and his feet on tiptoe, had just calmed down. He swiftly climbed down the bookshelf and got into the compartment, slamming the small door shut. The Taoist also snorted, folded his arms and walked to the front, as if he did not want to go the same way as the toad.
This village hasn't changed much over the years. I walked along the village road and found the inn. A woman with gray hair was standing with her hands on her hips, swearing at a guest.
"You ate my food and you want to leave without paying? Do you think I'm running a charity?!"
"Why are you still glaring at me? I'm not bad looking, but that's no excuse for you to rip me off. Pay me now, you shameless bunch."
"Believe it or not, I'll tear off my clothes, run outside and yell at you for not paying for your meal and trying to climb into my bed?!"
The three men swallowed their saliva after hearing the scolding without giving the other party a chance to speak. They quickly took out a few copper coins from their belts and put them together with the other copper coins on the table.
"It's just a few cents, why do you have to scold me so harshly?"
Although the men were rough, they were no match for a woman who was good at throwing tantrums and cursing in the village. They paid the bill, took their luggage and ran out in shame. When they met a scholar or a Taoist priest coming towards them, they started shouting at him.
"Don't go there, this shop is very dark..."
In the inn, a broom suddenly flew out and landed at the feet of the three men. The woman rushed to the door, put her hands on her hips, and yelled at the three men who were running away.
This made Lu Liangsheng, who came over, stand there in embarrassment. The Taoist priest next to him listened to the woman yelling and cursing, and his eyelids were twitching.
"Damn it, that's called cursing... Compared to the old toad, I'm just chatting with him normally."
The woman standing at the door with her hands on her hips stopped cursing, but when she saw the scholar standing outside, especially the old donkey he was leading, she felt that he looked quite familiar. She squinted her eyes and looked at him for a while, then clapped her hands and hurried over to greet him.
"Oh, aren't you Sui'an's master? I haven't seen you for many years."
The woman changed her previous aggressive attitude, looked the scholar in front of her up and down, and quickly invited him in. "Master is still so young and handsome. The Taoist priest over there, please come in as well. Would you like to drink tea or wine?"
Sun Yingxian froze at the door, his lips trembling under his mustache.
You are old... You are old... You are old...
He was so angry that he almost started cursing on the spot. Thinking that he might not be a match for this woman, his face turned blue. He sat down opposite Lu Liangsheng in a depressed mood and glanced at the scholar who was ordering food.
He took the teacup from the table with some annoyance, moved his body away, took out the demon-conquering mirror from the yellow cloth bag, tilted it to his face and muttered.
"I am just a little older, so I don't know how good my aunt Sui'an is."
Soon, the woman came out of the kitchen carrying a wooden tray: "Master Lu, and Taoist priest, it's time to eat!"
The wooden tray was placed on the corner of the table, and the overlapping plates of home-cooked dishes were diligently spread out in front of the two of them. The tempting aroma wafted in the air, which whetted Lu Liangsheng's appetite even after he had been rushing all the way.