"Your Majesty, how are you these days?"
Stars crossed the night sky, and the mountains immersed in the bright moonlight were like winding and undulating giant snakes, which made people's hair stand on end. Lu Liangsheng walked on the steep slope in front of the mountain path, with his sleeves behind his back, looking at everything under the cold moonlight.
Hearing the Imperial Master's voice, the imperial guard following behind felt a little relieved, but he would still look around from time to time, worried that any demons or monsters might suddenly appear.
Hearing the words, he secretly glanced at the back in front of him, swallowed his saliva, and whispered: "Reporting to the Imperial Master, His Majesty is fine, but I hope the Imperial Master can return to the court soon."
Despite repeated urgings over the past two years, Lu Liangsheng is not holding back on his attitude. Instead, he has only recently completed most of what he expected. If he has enough time, he might stay at home for some more time.
After walking for a while, Lu Liangsheng stopped, without even looking at Liang Ping who was following him. He looked up at the bright moon hanging high in the night sky and the stars all around him.
Although the Ziwei star is strong, its position is slightly tilted, so there will definitely be hardships in it.
"Not telling the truth."
"Please forgive me, Imperial Master." Liang Ping bowed hurriedly, frowned and thought carefully, remembering what the eunuch close to His Majesty had said to him, "Imperial Master, when I came here, the four countries of Tuyuhun, Gaochang, Turkic, and Yiwu each sent envoys to the capital to pay tribute, but among them were the Imperial Masters of the four countries. Normally, when you meet the great Celestial Empire, why would you bring the Imperial Master with you? Your Majesty is worried that the other party wants to use a fight to undermine the prestige of our great country."
Four countries
Lu Liangsheng withdrew his gaze from the night sky, turned sideways to look at the imperial guard, and frowned slightly. Gaochang and Yiwu were small countries in the Western Regions. Even if they were prosperous, they were still small countries. The Turks had been defeated by Yang Jian and divided into two parts, east and west. As for Tuyuhun, when Emperor Wen was still alive, he had heard about them. They occupied the Southern Silk Road and collected heavy taxes to support the country. Although they were friendly to the Sui Dynasty, they restricted the expansion of the Sui Dynasty to the west...
"The four countries came to Chang'an at the same time. It seems that their purpose is not small. Is it to increase the confidence of their own people?"
Lu Liangsheng was well-versed in classics and sage studies, and he never liked foreigners. When his second disciple Yuwen Tuo killed 100,000 Turks with his own hands, he shouted, "Great!"
It's basically done here, so it'd be nice to go back to Chang'an to take a look, but I don't know if I can catch up.
After a moment's silence, Lu Liangsheng raised his hand and helped the guard stand up straight: "My master will return to Chang'an tomorrow. You should go to the nearest Fushui County to rest first, and then set off tomorrow morning."
"Then what can I, the Imperial Master, tell His Majesty..."
Before he could finish, Lu Liangsheng waved his hand and grabbed the flying Yuelong Sword from the woods. By the time Liang Ping came to his senses, it had turned into a stream of light and flew into the night sky.
The sound echoed in the night sky.
"No, my country teacher is faster than you."
Well…
The imperial guard stared at the imperial teacher who disappeared into the night sky, his mouth slightly opening and closing, before he came to his senses. Then he heard another rustling sound in the woods. He was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He held down the hilt of the sword at his waist and ran down the hillside in panic. When he reached the road, his mount had already run away and disappeared.
"Where's my horse..."
I stared blankly at the empty mountain road. The night wind blew, and the surrounding woods were full of rustling sounds. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and rely on my legs to run towards Fushui County.
The night was deep and dark, shrouding the mountain village. There were no lights on, and only the occasional barking of dogs could be heard.
Lu Liangsheng stood on the cliff of Xiaoquan Mountain opposite the mountain village, sitting quietly on the rock looking at the village. In fact, it was not only the four national masters mentioned by the guard who came to Chang'an, but there was another thing that made him somewhat worried, which was what Yang Jian told him about the Duke of Yue when he passed away.
He was a minister who had served the emperor for two dynasties, had made great contributions, and was also proficient in Taoism... He had heard a thing or two from others, and this time when he returned, he also wanted to advise the other party.
In the woods behind her, Mingyue squatted in the grass looking at the gentleman over there. She wanted to go forward several times, but was stopped by her mother Yanzhi. She shook her head and pointed to the other side of the cliff.
Not far away, Hong Lian, in a white dress, floated up the cliff, walked over gently, and sat next to the scholar.
"I'm leaving tomorrow." Lu Liangsheng turned his head and reached out to hold the back of the woman's hand, which had already felt a little solid. "I'm always worried about Chang'an. You..."
"I'll go with you."
The sudden words made Lu Liangsheng stunned for a moment, and even the mother and son who were squatting in the bushes and peeking were stunned. Hong Lian pursed her lips and chuckled, slightly raising her chin.
"After so many years of worship, I have become quite accomplished. Don't underestimate me."
Ghosts cannot learn the magic skills of the Taoists in the world of the living, but with the blessing of incense and as they gradually improve their Taoism, they will naturally learn some skills. For example, Hong Lian’s best skill is to enter dreams, which is fundamentally different from the Rakshasa’s ability to send evil spirits in dreams to scare people.
"Well, then your body will continue to enjoy the incense in the temple, and your spirit will remain attached to the flower and bird paintings. Come with me to Chang'an to take a look."
Hearing the young master's agreement, Hong Lian jumped up excitedly, hugged Lu Liangsheng and kissed him on the face. Then she came to her senses and shyly floated off the cliff, caught up a gust of wind and quickly escaped to the temple.
hehe…
Lu Liangsheng touched the cheek that was kissed and laughed.
…
Oh oh oh… oh~~
It was a slightly cool morning, and the golden morning light pushed through the village along the mountains, driving away the darkness. Amid the crowing of roosters, the village gradually became noisy.
The Taoist pushed the door open with dark circles under his eyes. The golden sunlight shone on his face. He couldn't help but yawn and stretched comfortably. Then, he heard the sound of tinkling copper bells.
He lowered his eyes almost subconsciously.
Downstairs on the second floor, an old donkey was jumping back and forth excitedly in the yard, holding the reins in its mouth. Soon, Lu Liangsheng walked out of the eaves carrying two bookshelves and hung them on the donkey's back.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
The Taoist straightened his robe, and walked down the stairs carrying the fence on his back. The toad in the house also came out swaying with a purple gold gourd on its back, jumped onto the rope hanging outside the bookshelf, climbed into the compartment, and kicked its webbed feet hard outside before sitting in.
"Little Taoist priest, take good care of the house. Liangsheng and I have something to go out for, so we won't take you with us."
"I've never been without my own principles before. Wait a minute!!"
Sun Yingxian became anxious and turned around to go back upstairs. Just as she took a step, the door to the second floor opened. Lu Xiaoxian was leaning there with her hands crossed and coughed twice.
The Taoist hesitated for a moment, withdrew his foot from the wooden steps, turned around with a serious look on his face.
"Forget it. I'm newly married recently, so I won't join you in the fun."
Toad untied the gourd and stuffed it inside, then took out his pipe and knocked on the door frame, shaking out the ashes inside: "I heard from Liangsheng that the imperial masters of the four countries have come to Chang'an, and the emperor is anxious to recruit Liangsheng back, maybe to fight."
Old Sun swallowed, rubbed his feet on the ground, glanced at his wife standing upstairs, sighed, and sat down on the steps.
"I can't go, Mr. Lu. If that Four Nations Mage dares to cause trouble, I will teach him a lesson!"
"Haha, you better stay at home."
Lu Liangsheng put on the reins, packed his luggage, waited for his parents to get up, said goodbye to them, and then led the old donkey out of the village.
On the roadside, Lu Pan and his eight companions had been waiting with their chests bare, revealing their thick muscles, carrying bags on their backs. Soon, Hong Lian floated into the scroll on the bookshelf and hummed a little tune briskly, just like before. The Toad Taoist hung his legs, shook his head leisurely, and puffed on his pipe.
Lu Liangsheng led the old donkey and walked onto the main road, bowing and saying goodbye to the villagers who were seeing him off in the distance. The old donkey looked at the end of the road, pawed the ground with its hooves, neighed excitedly, and shook the bell around its neck.
Ding ding dong…
The clear sound of copper bells echoed on the roads and in the mountains, gradually fading away.