Lu Liangsheng put away the yellow papers on the table, looked at the door and smiled. In fact, even without using this yellow paper, he could still use the magic of searching with a spirit crane or burning incense to find the way to find the Taoist priest, provided that the distance was not more than dozens of miles.
After everything was arranged and he checked out, he led the old donkey and followed the servants of the Zhou Mansion who were carrying the bookshelf across the long street to the Zhou Mansion. In the distance, under the eaves of the living room in front, Zhou Chen had come out to greet him.
"You won't blame me for letting Liangsheng come here using this method, right? Haha!"
"Mr. Zhou has invited me, so I dare not refuse to come."
"You haven't eaten yet, the food is ready in the hall."
The old man and the young man exchanged a few polite words and returned to the hall to chat and eat breakfast. The old man was slightly stunned when he saw the scholar take out a big toad from his sleeve and put it on the table.
Not only was it rare to see a toad of this size, but its half-open eyes also emitted a cold light that made him feel creepy, as if he were food on a plate in front of it.
Seeing the old man's expression, Lu Liangsheng explained, "Mr. Zhou, this toad is something I carry with me, just like some people like rabbits and hounds. Moreover, this toad is quite large and rarely seen outside, so I like it in my heart and have been carrying it with me for more than three years. My mentor Uncle Hua has also seen it, but he doesn't like it."
"Wang Shuhua has seen it too..." Zhou Zhen stroked his beard for a moment, then withdrew his gaze from the toad and said with a smile, "This big toad is indeed rare. Toads have been considered auspicious since ancient times. Placing them at home also has the profound meaning of warding off evil and attracting wealth. I am not the kind of person who is unreasonable."
As he spoke, he picked up a piece of crispy biscuit and waved it temptingly above the Toad Taoist, laughing out loud.
"Haha... Liangsheng, actually when I was in the capital, I heard a rumor that there was also a big toad in the palace decades ago, but it was a sculpture of a moon-gazing golden toad. Unfortunately, it was stolen. The rumor was so convincing that I remembered it when I saw the living creature in your hand. I am a little out of control."
The old man was saying something irrelevant to cover up his previous loss of composure. Lu Liangsheng understood it in his heart, but he did not expose it. He just smiled and responded to the words, and asked about Zhou Rong's condition.
However, when it comes to Miss Zhou's illness, the old man stopped eating with his chopsticks and looked at the young scholar opposite him.
"My daughter's condition has improved a lot. She was able to walk this morning. But last night... there were a lot of water stains outside her room for no reason, and there was also an old woman's dress. Why did Liangsheng go to the toilet that night and come back so late?"
It was unknown when other people disappeared from the hall, and Lu Liangsheng did not respond directly to this question. He just drank a mouthful of porridge with a normal expression and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Save people."
Zhou Zhen pursed his lips and stared at the scholar.
"Is there really a demon causing trouble?"
"No, there is someone behind the scenes causing trouble."
"Why?"
"There is something foreign under your daughter's boudoir."
The two men exchanged words as if in a riddle. The toad coiled beside the scholar took advantage of the old man's inattention and stretched out its long tongue to roll a piece of fatty goose meat into its mouth. It squinted its eyes calmly and chewed slowly.
After breakfast, Zhou Zhen remembered every word Lu Liangsheng had said before and quickly called the old steward.
"Move the young lady's boudoir to Madam's for a few days. Without my order, no one in the mansion is allowed to enter or leave the side yard at will, and no one is allowed to be curious about any strange sights."
The steward was stunned by the series of instructions. Of course, having lived to such an old age, he also knew the rules. He responded to the master's words and left immediately to convey the matter to the servants below.
The old man was calm and steady, and didn't take sneaky things seriously. Instead, he knew that there were people behind the scenes who used evil magic to harm his family, and he was angry and worried. After all, human hearts are sometimes more vicious than ghosts.
After leaving the living room, he caught up with the scholar who was heading to the side yard, and they walked together, with a hint of worry on his face.
"Will that person cast magic again tonight?"
Lu Liangsheng couldn't guarantee this. He looked at the lush green courtyard, where scattered leaves fluttered through the gaps in the trees, casting patches of sunlight, and frowned slightly.
"The old woman's water-spraying technique has been broken. The other party must have known about it."
At this point, Zhou Zhen stopped, looked at the scholar's back, and said with a deep breath: "Liangsheng, do you really know magic?"
When the question was asked, the originally quiet courtyard became even quieter, with only the rustling sound of the drooping branches and a leaf floating down, passing through the old man's sight.
The scholar walking in front seemed blurry. If he hadn't been looking at Lu Liangsheng beforehand, it would have been as if there was no one there at all.
"This is the magic..."
The old man stood there in a daze, as if he had not yet come to his senses, while the young man over there had already walked through the courtyard path and entered the side yard. The maids over here had already moved all the things in their young lady's boudoir away and put down new bedding and sheets.
When they saw the scholars coming in, they greeted them cautiously, then left as fast as they could, holding their things. Their hearts were pounding. Only after they went out of the crescent-shaped gate of the side yard did they breathe a sigh of relief and then whispered and chatted with the sisters who came out with them.
"The one just now is Lu Lang, whom the master invited... The expert that Xiao Gouzi mentioned last night is him."
"… So young, feels like only one or two years older than us, is it really that weird?"
"How can you describe him as so strange? If it weren't for this expert, Madam and Xiao Huan would have probably..."
"Stop talking, stop talking. The thought of that old woman spraying water is frightening..."
"That scholar may be a remarkable man. I heard he is a man of great talent..."
The few of them continued talking intermittently. In the distant side yard behind them, Lu Liangsheng took out the books and scrolls from the bookshelf and laid them out one by one. Nie Honglian, standing in the shadow, was also helping to clean up. She put the brushes and inkstone on the desk, blew away the dust on the book covers, put them on the shelf herself, turned around on tiptoe and looked around, freezing her picture of the scholar's back, her heart filled with joy.
The Toad Taoist yawned lazily.
"It's still early in the evening, take a nap first."
He stood up slowly, jumped to the spot where sunlight shone through the window onto the ground, and then lay down to bask in the sun on the pimples on his back, which appeared dark purple.
In the corner of the room, behind a screen depicting a solitary boat in spring, a bean-sized figure rode out slowly on a matching pony. He was fully clothed and armored. He raised his head and looked at the robe hem, legs, and person stretching upwards walking in front of the huge window frame.
He pulled the reins, which were as thin as a hair, and raised his hand.
Behind the screen that seemed to connect heaven and earth, several chariots and horses came out and lined up behind the little man, with flags fluttering. Extending behind him were hundreds of bean-sized figures, densely arranged in formation, holding spears and swords, and marching in unison.
It was a solemn and murderous scene.
Amid the neighing and raising of horses' hooves, a giant woman in a white dress floated over. The wind she brought with her caused people and horses to fall to the ground, and the horses neighed in fright.