The sunlight climbed up the towering city walls and spread out along the streets and alleys of densely packed houses. The reeds beside the Hibiscus Pond were reflected in the sparkling water and swayed gently. A toad with its short wings open and wearing a straw hat sat cross-legged in the grass, pecking at the grass with its head and dozing off with its eyes half closed. The fishing rod in its webbed feet suddenly moved. The toad's eyes widened and it stood up to pull, scaring away the dragonfly crawling on the straw hat.
The flapping wings carried the light body to the water surface, creating a circle of ripples. Qi You broke off a reed, shook it in his hand, and stretched it to the young man who was holding a book beside him.
Wow~~
There was the sound of a page turning. Lu Liangsheng raised his hand to push away the reed that was brushing the back of his neck. He continued to read the content of the book with a focused gaze. He asked about the things that worried him last night and also knew Yang Su's thoughts. Serving as a whetstone for the young emperor and reading history books often leads to a bad ending.
At that time, maybe I can only think of a solution at the last minute, and maybe I can still help the elderly.
"Qiyou, if someone you are very close to wants to do something very difficult, which may even cost him his life, what would you do if it were you?"
Lu Liangsheng turned his eyes away from the book, glanced at his master who was holding a fishing rod and pulling hard in the distance, and finally his gaze fell on the woman in a black skirt who was playing with the reeds. Over there, Qi You stopped, pouted her lips and looked at the morning sun in the sky, hesitating for a moment and saying "hmm".
"I'll just take him out to play. Isn't it okay if he plays until he forgets everything?"
As soon as her eyebrows opened, a smile appeared on her face. She dropped the reed and trotted over to the scholar and squatted down. "Old demon, are you going to take me out to play? Can you go without Hong Lian?"
"You are so much older than Hong Lian, why do you talk like a child... Oh, I almost forgot, your spirit hasn't fully recovered yet."
Lu Liangsheng looked at Qi You who was squatting beside him with her chin supported by her hands. He put down the book and touched her head.
"Wait for a while, and I'll take you out to play. Well, at least wait until I learn two magical powers."
He raised the book "The Magical Power of Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth" left by Lu Yuan in his hand. Qi You, who was enjoying the caress of the warm big hand on his head, nodded and said "hmm" softly.
While the man and the demon were talking, a cry of "Ouch" suddenly came from the distance, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling into the water. Lu Liangsheng quickly closed the book and stood up. He looked at the place where his master was fishing and saw a green bamboo pole swimming around on the lake, pulled by a taut fishing line.
And a series of bubbles gurgled up.
“Master?!”
Lu Liangsheng walked over quickly with the book in hand, and was about to perform the water-dividing technique when the surface of the lake suddenly broke open with a bang, and a black shadow rose into the sky with a large splash of water, reflecting the morning sun, and sparkling water poured down.
Quack quack… quack quack…
The ducks around screamed and flapped their wings and flew around on the water. Lu Liangsheng waved his robe and performed a trick to avoid the rain. Water drops from the air flowed over the scholar's head and fell to the ground.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, your master can't swim. He sank directly into the water palace while holding a fish."
On the head of the old dragon that rushed onto the surface of the lake, there was the Toad Taoist holding a carp. With a hoarse voice, he crawled to the shore. Lu Liangsheng reached out and took the master from his head, holding him in the palm of his hand, watching the water spraying out of the toad's mouth.
"My master was transformed from a stone toad in the Old Mother Temple of Mount Li. He is not a real toad. He would naturally sink once he fell into the water."
Lu Liangsheng explained and pushed his master's white belly with his finger. A gurgling sound of water came out of the Toad's mouth, and then he gradually woke up.
"So you don't know how to swim?"
The long shadow with its upper body erected high looked thoughtfully at the old toad that had just woken up. A faint white mist floated out from its mouth and nose with bared fangs.
"If I had known this secret, I wouldn't have been stepped on by him twice, which would have injured my demon bones. Sigh~~ Never mind. Now I have incense and two huge rivers to swim in. It can be considered a blessing in disguise. I have gained good fortune."
The stout and long figure spoke a few words, then slowly sank into the water. In an instant, only a few ripples were left. The Toad Taoist sat on his apprentice's palm, shook off the water on his head, and looked towards the water surface where the ripples were almost disappearing. He raised his round waist, snorted heavily, and sprayed out a stream of water.
"I am so powerful and majestic, do I have to be able to swim? Everyone has weaknesses. When I recover, I will give you two flippers!"
Lu Liangsheng looked at his angry master, thinking that he must have heard what Lao Jiao had just said. He was about to open his mouth to persuade him, when from afar, from the direction of Wanshou Temple behind him, a voice came: "Young Master! Master Toad!" A woman in a white flowered dress, with her sleeves fluttering, floated towards him through the reeds.
The embroidered shoes fell gently to the ground, stepping on the soft soil and weeds. Hong Lian carried the basket to the scholar, held the bamboo basket and uncovered the blue cloth. Eight large white steamed buns were placed side by side inside, emitting a faint fragrance.
"Sir, Master Toad made this myself, come and try it while it's hot."
Hong Lian quickly took out a steamed bun, broke it into small pieces, and blew on the hot pieces. The Toad Taoist quickly opened his mouth and fed the steamed bun over his head into Lu Liangsheng's mouth.
"Is it delicious?" Hong Lian pursed her lips and looked at the scholar chewing. Her cheeks were dimpled with sweetness. Lu Liangsheng smiled and nodded. The steamed bun in his mouth was soft as cotton, and had a faint fragrance. He reached out and took the piece from the woman's hand. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he heard two dry coughs from his other hand. Then he remembered his master and hurriedly handed over the piece in his hand.
The Toad Taoist bulged his eyes and turned his face away.
"Humph, how can I accept this little ghost girl's gift... However, I am not an unreasonable demon. Since Liangsheng handed it to me, how can I refuse to accept it as a master?"
As she spoke, she stretched out her webbed hands to grab it, but caught nothing. She turned around hastily and found the bun was already in Qiyou's hand. She opened her mouth towards Honglian and stuck out a few small scarlet 'tongues' that swung around.
"It was given by the old demon, not by you."
She put it in her mouth, jumped up and down, shaking her bun, and ran to play with the old donkey.
"Xiyou is just like that, don't be angry."
Lu Liangsheng comforted Hong Lian twice, took the basket from her, picked up two steamed buns and handed them to her. Hong Lian pouted, but still took the buns. They walked to the river and sat down, looking at the rippling lake, talking and laughing softly, and rubbing their ears.
In a basket placed not far away, the blue cloth was shaken open, and the Toad Taoist was lying on his back with a bloated belly, eating the last steamed bun in big mouthfuls.
He glanced at the man and woman by the river through the gaps in the bamboo basket and shook his head.
"It's better to have a full stomach than to have a long love affair, burp~~"
By the lakeshore, Lu Liangsheng, who was chatting and laughing with Hong Lian, was actually thinking about other things in his mind. The incident of the four national masters wanting to bring down the prestige of the Sui Dynasty was a thing of the past, and it was also clear what the Duke of Yue wanted to do. It was time to calm down, consolidate his spiritual realm, and learn one or two magical powers.
After breakfast, Lu Liangsheng picked up the empty basket and took Hong Lian back to Wanshou Temple. The soldiers guarding the mountain gate stood straight, and their chests puffed out when they saw the imperial master coming back.
When I was changing shifts early this morning, I had heard that the three kingdoms of Tuyuhun, Yiwulu and Turkic were not sincere in paying tribute, and they brought people who practiced Taoism with them. They wanted to fight and undermine the prestige of our Great Sui Dynasty. Unfortunately, they were defeated by the magic of their own national teacher. The person who spread the news from the palace described the fight in vivid detail, as if he had seen it with his own eyes. You must know that the national teacher only displayed his magic when he took the stage that year, and he has never been heard of since then. Immediately, the whole city of Chang'an was in an uproar.
"Have you heard that the Tuyuhun State Master has a waist circumference of eight feet and a body height of eight feet. He is so ferocious..."
"That's nonsense. Who wouldn't be vicious if they look like that?"
"…Listen to me, it's not too late for you to speak later! You should know that my friend's second uncle's son's brother-in-law is working in the palace. He was shocked when he saw it. At that time, the sky was dark, there was thunder in Tianshan Mountain, and the wind was blowing hard. Our national teacher raised his hand and countless monkeys burst out…"
On the morning of the second day after the news came out, coupled with the new event of envoys from four countries coming to the city to pay tribute, the news became even more enthusiastic and spread quickly in the city. Those who knew the news first told their relatives, friends and others about it. They were so proud to see a group of people stunned by what they heard, and they felt so satisfied.
The sun rises above the clouds in the southeast of the bustling Chang'an city.
Lu Liangsheng carried the chair and walked out of the attic, letting go of the shade of the tree. He turned sideways and waved his sleeves. A low table flew out and landed steadily in front of him.
Hoohoo!
Ha~
Hey ha!
The swaying branches cast mottled shadows that just happened to fall on the paper. Eight big men from Lujia Village were exercising with their bare chests and shouting one after another. The Toad Taoist wrapped in a towel, sat on a low table, sneezed, and continued to squint his eyes to enjoy the warmth on his body.
As the pages turned, Lu Liangsheng held the book in one hand and read it attentively. Occasionally, a flash of inspiration came to him, and he would put down his pen to write down two important sentences.
Soon, a woman in a plain white dress came out with a teacup, handed it to the scholar to take a sip, sat aside, and quietly looked at the focused face.