boom-
The morning sun had not yet shone on the clouds, dark rain clouds filled the sky, dull thunder rolled in, and on the official road with little shade from trees, there was an endless stream of Hu merchants and vendors from the Central Plains traveling to and from the Western Regions and Chang'an. A Hu girl who yearned for the prosperity of the Central Plains sat on a fenced cart and when she heard the thunder, she started to mutter something. The man driving the cart then looked up and shouted.
"It's going to rain soon. Let's go find a resting place ahead to take shelter from the rain."
"Got it, brothers at the back, work harder!!"
For a moment, shouts could be heard everywhere. Several carts were pushed and pulled by more than a dozen people, rushing along the road that had been traveled countless times. Soon, raindrops began to fall. Among the continuous raindrops, no one noticed that a huge goshawk flew across the rain, folded its wings and landed in the nearby woods. A moment later, a little boy in a Taoist robe ran out barefoot.
Following the direction I was running, I saw many vendors hiding from the rain on the official road. Several carts were squeezed together. The men and women driving the carts were pushing hard to get out of the potholes in the heavy rain.
"One, two, come on!"
"Big pillar, what are you doing? Use your strength. Let me move, and you should move a little!"
The stout woman turned around and saw the cart pusher looking at something on the other side of the road. She then turned her head to look and saw a little boy, soaking wet, standing by the side in the mist, staring at them blankly.
"Hey, where are you from, kid? Come here quickly, where is your parents?"
Qingfeng wiped the rain off his face, shook his head, and said in a childish voice with a sense of grievance: "There is no adult, the only master is lost... I am lost, big sister, can you take me to Chang'an? I am not familiar with the road outside."
"Go, go, what are you looking at?!"
The man driving the car turned around and urged her. The woman who heard the word "sister" glared at her husband fiercely. The latter shrank his neck and sat back without saying a word.
"Come on, get in the car with your sister, we are going to Chang'an as well."
The woman went over and pulled up the child. She looked at his pretty little face, pinched him with her hand, then held him in her arms and put him in the truck.
"Little kid, sit tight. The car is shaking a little. Be careful not to fall off." The waiter at the side saw how well-behaved he was and kindly gave him a few words of advice. Then he followed the shopkeeper and pushed the car forward.
The cart bed rose and fell with the creaking groan of the shafts turning. Qingfeng sat among a pile of goods and swayed with it. He obediently took a piece of oilcloth to cover the woman's head. Although it was of no great use, it made the accompanying merchants feel very fond of him.
After taking shelter from a heavy rain in a rest house, they waited until almost noon before setting off again. The men who were traveling with them who had snacks in their pockets would take some out and give them to the lovable little Taoist boy, teasing him and making the journey not so boring.
In the afternoon, after entering Chang'an, the heavy rain gradually stopped. The setting sun pierced through the clouds and cast its afterglow. On the winding official road, Qingfeng stood on the shaking cart, holding the fence and looking ahead. What occupied his field of vision was a huge city stretching out and bathed in the sunset glow.
His mouth was agape with joy. The only time he was out of Wujiang Mountain, he was only away from the area of a hundred miles. He had never seen the prosperity and greatness of the world.
'This is the human world that Master often talks about.'
Gradually, the bustling west gate of the huge city appeared. The approaching cart stopped and the little man quickly jumped off it and bowed to the kind merchant couple.
"Big sister, we are here. Qingfeng knows the way!"
"Well, if you can't find me, come out and look for me again. We will have to stay outside the city for two more days."
"Um!"
Qingfeng pursed her lips, shook her Taoist bun and nodded, then she spread her feet and ran quickly to the queue to enter the city. She looked at the time, then looked at the long queue in front of her, rolled her eyes, walked to an empty corner, and suddenly some smoke rose up, turning into a blue bird. It chirped twice, flapped its wings and flew to the top of the city, passed a team of patrolling soldiers, stood above the fluttering flags, blinked its bird eyes, and reflected the rows of houses, tall buildings and short pavilions, and the noisy voices of people.
"Wow~~"
The soldier standing under the flag held back a cry of surprise and said, "Huh?" He subconsciously raised his head and saw a green afterimage flying out.
Feathers trembled slightly in the wind, and a bluebird flew down the city wall. In the bird's blinking eyes, the houses became clearer in sight. The orderly interweaving streets and alleys were crowded with noisy people. An old man pushing a wheelbarrow asked his grandson who was going into the city with him to watch the road. The vendors at the stalls shouted loudly. A noisy group of men gathered around the wooden platform, applauding the bared-waisted Hu Ji and throwing coins to her.
Ji~~
Birds chirped excitedly, flew down from the sky to the crowded streets, and landed on the top of a tree, curiously looking at the hustle and bustle of the world that they had never seen before.
…
The setting sun shone through the rooftops. In the southeast of the city, the lake reflected the sunset glow, shimmering with light. In a Taoist temple on a raised terrain in the distance, Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting under the shade of a tree reading a book, raised his face, waved his hand, and put away the spell.
As a wandering rain cloud dissipated, Lu Liangsheng put the book into his sleeves, stood up and looked to the west, and Hong Lian, who was dozing with her chin propped up, woke up.
"Sir, what's wrong?"
"It's okay, a little guy came into town."
Hong Lian didn't know Qingfeng, and had only heard about Master Wuyuan in general. She was a little curious about who the little guy the young master was talking about.
"The name Qingfeng makes a perfect match with Mingyue..."
Lu Liangsheng smiled and thought of the little boy. He wondered if Lu Yuan had given him that name on purpose. As he smiled, he suddenly frowned slightly.
He turned around and said to Hong Lian: "I'll go take a look."
As he spoke, the scholar took a step forward, and his figure disappeared from Hong Lian's sight in the blink of an eye. When he reappeared, he was already outside the mountain gate.
"Didn't he ask him to repair Wu Se Manor? Why did he come to Chang'an..."
At the same time that Lu Liangsheng was thinking, the noisy west city market was bustling with people. A vendor at a stall was carrying a sesame oil pastry out of the pan. A green shadow flashed past in front of him, and the pancake in the tongs in his hand disappeared in an instant. Then, he heard a shout from the table next to him.
"Ouch, a bird came from nowhere and splashed oil all over me."
"Look, it's eating the biscuit. What a clever bird."
The customer who paid but didn't get the pancake shouted, "Grab it!"
The diners at several tables were in a commotion. They had seen birds before, but it was rare to see a bird snatching a pancake from someone's hand. A man nearby relied on his agility and spread his arms to pounce on the bird. The bird immediately grabbed the pancake and flew away to the long street. Just as it was about to fly onto the roof, someone among the onlookers grabbed a carrying pole and swung it over.
twitter!!
The bluebird flew away along the carrying pole, then turned its head and hit the people passing by on the long street. It was somewhat panicked and instantly turned into a wild cat and ran wildly.
"This world is full of dangers. It's just a piece of pancake. So many people are eating it, why don't you give it to me?!"
He weaved past the feet of passers-by and, holding a biscuit in his mouth, slipped into a nearby alley. Just as he was about to change into human form, suddenly several shadows, reflecting the lengthening setting sun, covered him.
A few yellow dogs bared their fangs, stared at the tabby cat in front of them and growled in low voices. Qingfeng, who had been chased all the way, felt a little annoyed. "I'm being chased by you, and you beasts dare to be mean to me!"
The cat bent its body and smoke exploded. The yellow dogs barked wildly for a few times. The next moment, they whimpered and tucked their tails between their legs. They kept backing away on all fours, then turned around and ran through the alley to the nearby courtyard gate, scratching it wildly with their claws.
The smoke was rolling, and suddenly a tiger's roar of "Roar--" resounded, frightening the yellow dogs so much that they urinated and spread their limbs, running out whimpering. On the long streets on both sides outside, the pedestrians and people passing by were also frightened by the tiger's roar and trembled subconsciously, and countless people turned pale.
"Did you hear that just now?"
"There... over there... in the alley, there's a tiger."
"Where did this beast come from in Chang'an? I must have heard it wrong..."
The word "吧" was dragged out, and in the dark alley in the distance, a pair of bright yellow lights flickered. In the ears, there was a heavy sound of something stepping on the ground, mixed with a low howl, and at the same time, a colorful tiger's paws overlapped and slowly revealed a terrifying figure.
"Ah..."
The tiger's mouth was slightly opened, revealing a pair of cold fangs.
The person who had just spoken was so frightened that he almost jumped up and screamed.
"There really is a tiger—"
He turned and ran. The pedestrians who had stopped to look at him curiously all screamed and shouted the moment he turned and ran. They ran everywhere and bumped into the stalls, causing items to fall to the ground. The vendor holding the soup pot was squeezed to this and that, and the soup splashed on the faces of those who were passing by.
For a moment, the whole long street was in chaos.