Oh oh oh~~oh~~
The loud crowing of roosters echoed throughout the misty mountain village. Smoke rose from every household. Golden light pushed the edge of darkness and enveloped the small fenced courtyard.
In the courtyard, the doors of the upper and lower rooms creaked softly and were pushed open one after another. Lu Liangsheng and Sun Yingxian walked under the eaves and stretched lazily together. The latter leaned on the guardrail and jumped down, landing next to the scholar. She picked up the bowl and scooped up some water. She held a slender willow branch and put it between her lips, moving it left and right for twenty or thirty times, drank a sip of water, and held it in her mouth.
"Gurgle~~"
The two of them looked down and exclaimed "Huh!" At the same time, under the eaves, Lu Laoshi dragged two finished wheels and asked the passerby to help him install them on the frame behind the house.
Li Jinhua in the kitchen had already cooked breakfast. When she heard the voices, she poked her head out and shouted, "What are you busy with? Eat your meal first!"
Lu Laoshi looked at the wheel he had been pondering for a long time, lowered his head and went back to the kitchen dejectedly. Lu Liangsheng packed up the twig pottery jar and saw the Taoist priest who had nothing to do following his father to the kitchen, so he called him to stop in a low voice.
"I won't have breakfast. I have to go out first."
After saying hello, the scholar glanced at his mother in the kitchen, pushed the door open and went back into the room, knocking on the scroll hanging on the wall.
"Hong Lian, go back to the temple by yourself later. I'll go take a look around."
As she spoke, she went to the closet to change her clothes. From the painting hanging on the wall, a beautiful woman's head popped out. A figure rummaging through her clothes floated down from above and came to one side with lotus steps.
"Sir, let Hong Lian come. I usually put away the clothes."
Hong Lian took out a light blue outer garment from the middle layer of clothes and bedding, and then took out an inner robe and gave them to Lu Liangsheng.
"Sir, don't you need Hong Lian to accompany you?"
"No need. They are trivial matters, a little complicated. I'll tell you later." Lu Liangsheng changed his robe and came out from behind the screen. While tying his silk scarf, he spoke to his master who was still sleeping soundly on the couch.
"Master, I'm going out for a while to inspect the spirit gathering array, check for omissions and make some modifications. Do you want to come with me?"
The toad, who was sleeping comfortably, lifted up its back corner, scratched its belly, turned over, and seemed to have heard the voice of his disciple. It raised its flippers and waved them casually twice.
Seeing Toad Taoist waving his hand, Lu Liangsheng decided not to disturb his master and continued to sleep. He said goodbye to Hong Lian, walked out of the room, pointed his finger at his sister Xiaoxian who had just got up from the bed next door and said "hush", then glanced at his mother in the kitchen who was not noticing, and quietly left the yard.
Passing through the village, Lu Pan and his eight companions who were doing morning exercises greeted them from afar, and surrounded them in a loud voice. Regardless of whether Lu Liangsheng agreed or not, they followed them outside.
"Liangsheng, you don't know how uncomfortable we have been staying in the village since we came back."
"That's right. When will you take us to Chang'an? Uncle Qing has been polishing that armor so many times that it's almost scratched."
After leaving the village, the eight people surrounded Lu Liangsheng and waved and gestured excitedly. Thinking of the outside world, they wished they could go home immediately to pack their bags and follow their nephew out. They felt quite honored to follow him like this.
"By the way, Liangsheng, where is the big toad? Why didn't you bring it out?"
"I'm sleeping in the house." Lu Liangsheng smiled. "I don't know how long I'll stay this time. If the eight uncles want to go out again, I don't mind. But at home, you still have to ask the aunts first."
"Why ask these old ladies? We can just make the decision ourselves!" Lu Xi patted his chest and shouted. Lu Pan, who was walking in front of the scholar, turned around and laughed loudly: "You make the decision? What's the decision? Why kneel down and talk?"
These words immediately caused the other six men to burst into laughter.
Lu Liangsheng walked among the eight people and laughed out loud. The relatives, fields, and hills around him all made him feel comfortable and relaxed.
The autumn wind blew the yellow leaves off the stone table in the small courtyard.
The Toad Taoist priest yawned, wore a large black robe with gold thread, and staggered out of the room with his flippers on his back.
Huh~~
He yawned again, glanced around, and smacked his lips: "Hey, where is Liangsheng?"
The door of the kitchen on the other side of the eaves opened, and when he saw the Taoist wiping his mouth coming out, he called out to him.
"Little Taoist priest, have you seen where Liangsheng went?"
"Go modify the magic circle."
Now that she was back in Lujia Village, Sun Yingxian had no time to pay attention to the old toad. After saying a word, she was called by Lu Laoshi who came out behind her, and took the two wooden wheels to the back of the house.
"Repairing the magic circle? Why don't you take me with you?"
The toad rubbed his chin and murmured, then shook his head. I'd better play by myself. As soon as I walked out of the eaves and was about to twist my waist, the broom suddenly swept over from the side, and the twisting black shadow was thrown into the vegetable garden.
"Liang Sheng didn't even think about bringing this little follower with him. It's so creepy to leave him in the house. It's better to go to the vegetable garden to catch some insects."
Li Jinhua put away the broom and looked at the big toad that was curled up in the vegetable garden, not daring to come out. Then she went back to the kitchen contentedly to wash the dishes and pots.
The toad coiled in the vegetable garden stared at the direction the woman left and grinned: "Damn it, if it weren't for the good man, I would never let you go!"
Coo coo coo
Suddenly, a few roosters crowed. Toad Taoist followed the familiar sound and subconsciously turned his head. He saw an old hen with white wings coming in at some point. She tilted her head and was carefully examining the bumps on the toad's back.
"What are you looking at? How dare you, a lowly beast, show off in front of me..."
Bang!
The chicken beak pecked hard, and the Toad Taoist was so angry that he stood up and glared with his toad eyes: "Don't provoke me, or I won't be able to stop you if I get angry."
He also had the aura of a demon star attached to him, and could not stand stimulation. Otherwise, if he started to make a fuss, it would be difficult to suppress him. Just as he finished speaking, there was another light "bang" sound above his head. The Toad Taoist covered his head and took a step back, with a pair of toad eyes glowing red.
"How dare you, a little chicken demon, act so violently in front of me? It would only take a wave of my hand to kill you. Believe it or not..."
Bang!
The chicken's beak pecked down directly. Toad Taoist shouted "Ah--" twice, rubbed his head hard, turned around and ran out holding his head. The white hen spread its wings and claws and chased after him, chasing him madly in the yard.
…
Xiaoquan Mountain outside the village.
The autumn wind blew the yellowing leaves slightly. Halfway up the mountain, eight sturdy men accompanied Lu Liangsheng to the Xiaoquanshan Waterfall. In the distance, there was the barefoot Mingyue and the fox-like Yanzhi waiting for him.
The little man looked at the gentleman who was approaching and asked the fox next to him in a low voice.
"Mom, what is Mr. Lu doing here suddenly?"
"Don't ask too much. We'll just watch what Mr. Lu wants to do."
After a few whispered words, Lu Liangsheng approached the mother and son, touched Mingyue's little head with a smile, and looked over there at the waterfall hanging on the mountain wall.
"Come here and change the magic circle a little bit."
Mingyue's face flushed red as her head was stroked by the big hand. It was obvious that the question she asked her mother just now was heard by her husband.