"That man came from the north, and he often has an old donkey with him. He is tall and straight, young and handsome. He is a scholar like you, and has a noble spirit. We cannot get close to him, only you can go over. The man under the willows in Jinhu must be him. Ask him for mercy, maybe he can save my family from disaster."
The light in the room was warm yellow. The woman was whispering softly. The scholar sitting beside her was staring blankly at the flickering candlelight. After hearing the description, he felt as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Old donkey
Scholar...
Isn't this the classmate Lu I met by the Golden Lake today
"Sir?"
Over there, the woman stopped talking and saw the scholar in a daze. She called out softly, "What's wrong with you?"
Jin Huaian shook his head and said, "It's okay, I was just thinking about something." Then he shook the woman's hand and asked, "Besides the old donkey, is there a big toad besides the scholar?"
"I don't know this either, so how do you know it?"
"Today I happened to meet a classmate..."
The scholar told the other woman about a scholar he met by the Jin Lake this afternoon, who also had an old donkey and was very graceful in his conversation. Jin Huaian got excited and pulled the girl aside to tell her that he was about the same age as the scholar and had taken the exam in the same year, but he failed, so he opened a school to educate people.
"I just don't know if this classmate Lu is the one you mentioned, but don't worry, I will go find him early tomorrow morning. I should stay in Huailing for a few days."
"I don't know if this is the person, so it's okay for you to try. If you don't know how to ask, just say they are from Jinhu."
The woman felt more at ease when she saw that there was some progress, but she had something on her mind and couldn't stay tonight. Then she said goodbye and left, walked along the eaves to the side yard of the building, walked between some trees, and disappeared.
Soon, the lights in the room went out, and the pitch-black night gradually turned darker as time passed. The clouds in the east turned pale, and the sun spread to the streets and alleys.
The deserted long street came alive. Amid the noisy street noise, Lu Liangsheng led his old donkey out of an inn, bought a few pancakes from a street vendor who opened a steamer, and ate them while sitting on the donkey's back. He then walked out of the city gate leisurely and continued the painting that he had not completed yesterday.
On the way, we passed by the demolished Wutong Temple and saw some pilgrims still standing in the ruins, carrying out the statues of the deity and burning incense to worship. It was obvious that the Wutong deity had been worshipped here for many years and had become deeply rooted in people's lives.
Lu Liangsheng sighed, patted the old donkey's mane and walked forward to the willows on the lakeshore yesterday. He set up the canvas on the stand and continued to sketch according to the unfinished ink marks on it. The lake was rippling, and lotus leaves were swaying on the water. His pen tip moved, sketching the distant view of the lakeshore, the pavilion, the flying birds, and the undulating mountains in the distance.
Since he started painting, Lu Liangsheng does not need to infuse any magic power to make the scenery he paints come alive. Occasionally, passers-by who pass by here and see his paintings cannot help but stop to admire them.
"This gentleman's painting is wonderful. If he painted a picture of a beautiful woman, I'm afraid I could hug her while she sleeps."
"You wish. This young master's painting is probably not cheap. You can't even think about it."
"It has spirit and rhythm, shape and color, it's wonderful."
Most of those who can leisurely stroll by the Jinhu Lake are literati, talented men and beautiful women who are well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They can naturally tell whether a painting is good or not. While her male companion was talking, the pretty lady among the crowd would secretly glance at the scholar who was chatting and laughing with others, biting her lips with a blushing look on her cheeks, showing shyness.
Huh~~
Suddenly a cold wind blew across the lakeshore, swaying the willow branches, and the elegant guests and beautiful ladies who were watching shivered.
"Hiss... This wind is really cold."
"It's getting colder now. Let's go sit in the pavilion, recite some poems, and drink some good wine to drive away the cold. Isn't that wonderful?"
“As it should be!”
The group of people were laughing and complimenting each other, and they bowed to Lu Liangsheng, then took their women to the pavilion in the distance. The women looked back several steps away, causing the bookshelf on the old donkey's back to rattle.
Looking at the group of people chatting and laughing as they walked away, Lu Liangsheng smiled, comforted Hong Lian in the scroll on the bookshelf, and took the wolf-hair brush to add some embellishments and details to the completed Jinhu painting.
"Lu... classmate Lu."
Lu Liangsheng heard a familiar voice and turned his head to look in the direction of the voice. The scholar from yesterday was walking slowly towards him with a reserved look on his face. "Student Lu, are you continuing with yesterday's painting?"
Seeing his nervous expression, Lu Liangsheng put down his pen and ink, clasped his hands and smiled.
"I didn't finish the painting yesterday, and I was worried about it, so I came here early this morning. But shouldn't you be teaching in the school? Why are you here?"
Having said that, he invited the other party to sit on a bluestone bench on the lakeside. Jin Huaian nodded repeatedly, and after some politeness, he sat down. Looking at Lu Liangsheng who went back to continue painting, he moved his lips and was about to speak, but suddenly a tourist walked by. He immediately swallowed his words back, hesitating and not knowing how to start.
After a while, when there was no one around, he looked at the scholar with focused eyes, clenched his fists, and suddenly stood up, "Student Lu, I... have... something to ask you."
"Oh?" Lu Liangsheng glanced at him, smiled and replied, then stopped writing with his brush and looked at him with interest, "You came here specially today, right? Ask."
"Student Lu is coming from the north?"
"yes."
"So... Classmate Lu came here, but is it because of someone else's grudge?"
Hatred
Lu Liangsheng was stunned for a moment. He thought that this teacher would ask something very reasonable, but it was a bit inexplicable. He couldn't help laughing and waved his hand: "I'm new to your place, and I have no grudge against you."
Did I ask the wrong question
Jin Huaian was a little unsure. Perhaps the enemy of Xia Gu's family was not this classmate Lu. Looking at the scholar in front of him, he rubbed his hands nervously. Suddenly, he remembered what Xia Gu said last night, and the four words "Jinhu people" came out of his mouth.
Over there, Lu Liangsheng suspended his writing brush, frowned slightly, and was about to speak, but Jin Huaian on the opposite side saw that he was silent, knew that he had found the right person, and immediately knelt on the ground with a thump.
The scholar in front of the easel quickly put down his pen and went over to help him up.
"Get up, get up quickly, why did you kneel down suddenly..."
"Classmate Lu, Huai'an wants to ask you a favor." Jin Huai'an couldn't get up, so he just knelt there, his forehead hitting the ground, leaving a red mark.
"Huaian, please let Xia Gu's family go."
Lu Liangsheng looked at Jin Huaian who was kowtowing continuously and did not stop him. From his words, he roughly guessed some clues. He sent someone to bring the seal and order, which alarmed the monster in the lake. The Xia Gu mentioned by the other party should be the family of the old dragon. It seems that she had an affair with the scholar, so she asked him to come and ask for help.
After a while, he glanced at Jin Huaian who was kowtowing, picked up the brush again and started painting, his lips slightly opened.
"Since you already know me, then you also know that the girl Xia who is having sex with you is the spirit of this lake."
"Spirit...Spirit?"
The head that was knocking down over there stopped, and Jin Huaian's expression froze. He stared blankly at the blood-stained bluestone floor tiles, unable to speak.