"Sir... Mingyue just said it unintentionally..."
The waterfall fell vertically from the cliff into the pool. In the mist, Lu Liangsheng stood on the rock beside the pool. When he heard Yanzhi's voice, he raised his head and smiled: "Children talk like this, how can I take it to heart?"
Then, he turned his gaze back to the ever-lasting water curtain, stretched out his hand and waved it, the rapidly falling water curtain splashed open with a splash, and a scroll painting with clear and spiritual energy flew out and landed steadily in the scholar's hands.
"Yanzhi, you and your son don't have to worry about me removing the magic circle. I'm just changing the rules of spiritual power."
Lu Liangsheng unfolded the scroll and looked at the war scene with the white flag flying on it. "I came back this time because I have some troubles in my practice. I need to use the spirit gathering array to provide spiritual energy."
The demon star that fell from the sky that day could actually be seen or sensed by any living being with a little bit of cultivation in the remote Qixia Mountain. However, Lu Liangsheng did not mention the matter of the demon star fragments except for Yun Ji, the head of Chengyun Sect. It was really inconvenient to say more about other people or demons, especially since it could help improve one's cultivation, for fear that it would attract people with ulterior motives.
As he thought about it, the scholar's hands did not slow down. Magical light burst out from his fingertips. He modified the magic patterns hidden in the painting on the canvas and put them back into the nodes of the waterfall magic circle. The sun in the sky had risen into the clouds. He came down from the rock, talked with Yanzhi for a while, and then took the little boy Mingyue and Lu Pan and the other eight people to the other two hills.
The remaining two spirit gathering nodes still need to be completed together.
When they returned to the foot of the mountain with Mingyue and the eight uncles and aunts, they saw Honglian standing on the roadside from afar. The merchants and travelers passing by could not see her and walked straight by.
"Sir, are you done?"
"It's still early."
Lu Liangsheng came down from the foot of the mountain and walked to the middle of the road. He waved his sleeves backwards, and a gentle breeze blew over Lu Pan and the other eight people. The dust particles on their shoes flew away one by one. However, his eyes were always on the woman in front of him. With his other hand, he held her and walked towards the temple behind Hong Lian Temple as if taking a walk.
"Didn't you go back to the temple? Why are you running out again?"
There were many people around. Hong Lian turned her head and glanced behind her. She saw Lu Pan and his eight companions who were listening with their ears perked up, as well as Xiao Mingyue, who straightened his back, slowed down his pace, and quickly looked in the direction of Lujia Village.
Knowing that they were eavesdropping, Hong Lian felt a little embarrassed and whispered, "That is..." Then she stretched out the "yes" in her gentle voice, put her hands together behind her back, looked forward, and suddenly changed her words, and snorted, "I won't tell you!"
After a long while, there was no response. He leaned forward and looked at Lu Liangsheng beside him.
"Sir, why are you silent?"
"I'm thinking about something."
Looking at the merchants who came to Lujia Village to collect fish, Lu Liangsheng said something softly, smiled and bowed to the merchants who were snoring at him, walked down the muddy road at the foot of the mountain, went up the stone steps under the Honglian Temple, and continued: "I just came back yesterday, and I didn't tell you that the reason I came back to Qixia Mountain this time was because of the monster star."
Hong Lian has been with him for a long time and they like each other. Ever since he read Lu Yuan's experience and felt the loneliness between the lines of his words, Lu Liangsheng cherishes everything he has more and more.
Just as Lu Yuan said, he wants to take a different path from the other person. Not only will he go on his own, but he will also take the people around him with him. Even if he accompanies them to grow old and leave this world, it will only be a fulfillment of his life and it will not be a regret.
The scholar held Hong Lian's hand tighter, walked past a few pilgrims who came here to see the temple, passed through the temple where the sandalwood smelled lingering, and walked up to the mountainside which was gradually turning yellow.
"The energy of the demon star is indestructible. Over time, it will flow with the air and breed in other places. It will attach itself to objects and turn them into demons. It can make people who are usually honest and kind become cruel and ruthless... In case of an emergency, I sealed a stream of the demon star energy in my body and tried to see if I could suppress it. If it works, I think..."
He paused for a while, pursed his lips, and looked back at the rolling Qixia Mountains. Pieces of withered yellow leaves swayed across his vision, creating ripples.
“… I want to seal up all the demon star fragments that have fallen on Kyushu.”
"Don't worry, let's try first... This time it should take a long time." Lu Liangsheng smiled, and after a moment, he said softly: "Walk with me again." He held Hong Lian's hand tightly, pulled her and disappeared into the golden birch forest.
The wind turned the leaves yellow, and they swayed with a rustling sound. Then they broke away from the branches and floated away into the distant sky with the wind. In the direction they flew, one could vaguely see the towering city walls and the rows of houses.
In the mansion with the word "Zhou" written on it, the last dead leaf of the sycamore tree in the backyard fluttered to the ground. From a row of houses not far away, there was a sound of wailing. An old man had come to the end of his life on this road in this world.
The upright memorial tablet was placed under a framed calligraphy that was the old man's favorite during his lifetime.
—The brilliant rays of light last for thousands of years, and the mighty power of God shakes the universe.
As time passed, the brand new memorial tablet gradually became old, and the mounted calligraphy and paintings finally gathered dust. The autumn passed, and the place was covered with white snow. The roads leading to the north and south were also covered with ice and snow, and there were few people. The new year was about to arrive.
In the temple located in the mountains in the north, in the white woods, the accumulated snow was shaken down by the sudden ringing of the evening bell. In the temple between the red walls and black tiles, the fat monk Fajing had a sad face, with the mudra of compassion on his face, standing in front of the body of an old monk who was about to pass away.
Boom—
The sound of the bronze bell rang.
The old monk from Zhenhai with white beard and beard opened his eyes. His once majestic eyes became clear. He looked at the Buddha statue in the temple, clasped his hands together, lowered his head and uttered a Buddhist chant.
“Amitabha…”
There was no more sound, only the heavy bell sound, distant and long, echoing in Wofo Mountain.
In the gradually falling winter evening, the New Year is approaching, and people who have been busy all year are crowded in the streets, walking through the streets with their loved ones and carrying New Year's goods. Lu Xiaoxian picked up a candied haws, licked it, and jumped to the next stall to buy some snacks. The Taoist followed behind, trembling as he touched his purse.
On the busy street, Hong Lian revealed her Dharma body, took Lu Liangsheng's arm, and walked into a shop with a sign of "Shubaozhai". The shopkeeper who was fiddling with an abacus saw the scholar's familiar face and cried out, almost hiding in the back hall. He was greeted by the scholar's gentle tone, which was very different from the boy's previous willfulness.
Not long after, the sky gradually darkened and enveloped the earth. A donkey cart loaded with New Year's goods stopped in the yard. In the warm yellow kitchen, the round table was surrounded by the people closest to him. Lu Liangsheng filled his father, mother, sister, and Taoist priest with wine that he hadn't touched for a long time, and he began to say auspicious congratulations.
It was late at night and the lights were shining through the window lattice onto the courtyard outside. The woman in the painting was sitting at the table with soft lotus steps, her chin propped up and a smile on her lips, watching the scholar who she never got tired of looking at, holding a scroll and reading aloud.
Occasionally, the scholar's gaze would meet hers, and their eyes would intertwine, bringing a warm atmosphere to the winter room.
Winter goes and spring comes. New buds sprout from dead branches. Birds fly from branches and sing softly. Tightly closed windows open. Scholars in blue and white robes hold brushes and ink to write beautiful words, exuding the fragrance of ink. People who have turned over a year walk out of their houses, feel the spring in the mountains, and pick up hoes to go to the fields.
In Chang'an, the city walls with remaining snow stretched out. In the majestic imperial city, Yang Guang sat on the dragon throne, looking at the ministers kneeling below. He issued one decree after another after ascending the throne, and his imperial power became more and more powerful.
Soon, he returned to the back garden after court was dismissed and climbed up to the attic where his father once stood. Looking out, he saw the outline of an endless city. That was the prosperous world under his feet.
Min Yuerou walked lostly on the street with densely packed streets and alleys. She didn't even hear the maid calling her. She finally got out and mustered up the courage to go to Wanshou Temple. Unfortunately, the place was deserted. The man who made her happy had already left.
After a moment, the woman seemed to be bumped on the shoulder. She raised her head and saw a familiar figure walking in front of her. As if he knew that he had bumped into someone, the man stopped and looked at the stunned woman.
"I'm really sorry, young lady. I, Lu Yuan, would like to apologize to you."
The man in the white robe with water patterns on it cupped his hands politely. In the busy street, the two men looked into each other's eyes, oblivious to the people passing by.
We are in sync.
Thousands of miles away, among the rolling foothills, a scholar was sitting under an old pine tree reading a book. He looked to the north, then turned his gaze and sat on the edge of the cliff. Occasionally, when he raised his eyes, he saw the rising and falling sea of clouds.
The old pine tree swaying in the wind sprouted new branches, then gradually turned yellow and floated away to the grave.
Spring goes and autumn comes, day after day, year after year.