"Old Lu!"
"Lu Da scholar!!"
More than a hundred miles out of Huailing, the autumn air became more and more intense. Withered yellow leaves floated on the muddy road and were stepped on by horses' hooves. An old donkey walked leisurely, wagging its tongue and shaking the copper bell around its neck. Lu Liangsheng, who was walking in front, heard the Taoist's voice coming from behind him and slowed down his pace.
Looking back, I saw flying dust on the road. A figure with a crutch and a talisman attached to his leg was limping towards me. He caught up with the donkey in front, then slowed down, stumbled and sat on a stone by the roadside, tore the talisman off his leg and threw it aside.
"Nor... nor do you say wait for the Tao."
He took the water bag thrown by the scholar and took a sip: "I'm so tired..."
On the back of the stopped donkey, Hong Lian flew lightly out of the bookshelf, landed in the shade of a nearby tree, squatted on the ground and picked two wild chrysanthemums, held them in her hands and smelled them, then stretched out her hand to continue picking a few more. The old donkey poked its head out and rolled the flowers into its mouth with its tongue, which made the woman so angry that she slapped its head with her hand.
Lu Liangsheng smiled and gathered the reins as he walked past. He conjured up a chair and sat down next to the Taoist priest. "Who told you to run away? Didn't I tell you to rest for two more days in Huailing County?"
"This little injury is nothing. The old toad is in a worse situation!"
Hearing the Taoist's voice, a muffled voice came from the small door of the bookshelf over there: "Damn it, who was yelling so loudly last night!"
"I almost broke your legs, how can you not scream?!" The Taoist slammed his cane on the ground and pointed at the top of his head: "Who told you to climb so high for no reason? I was eating and drinking, how could I be prepared?"
Follow with your hands to make a big circle.
"Suddenly such a big person fell down, and he sat directly in my arms. I have never sat in such a position before!"
The small door of the bookshelf compartment over there opened with a bang, and the Toad Taoist had a bandage on his head with a bow on top, and he squinted his bean-sized eyes and stared at the Taoist.
After a long while, he managed to utter: "That motherfucker, quack."
"You want to get scolded again, old toad!" The Taoist was not afraid either. He leaned on his crutch, bent one foot, and hopped over.
"I am not afraid of you! I am your mother!"
"That's his mother!"
The man and the toad started to quarrel with each other, causing Hong Lian, who was standing with her hands on her hips and scolding the old donkey, to cover her ears and dive into the scroll as if she was not going to listen, and the laces were tied tightly by herself in an instant.
here we go again.
Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting by the road, watched the two of them quarreling, shook his head and raised his hand to retract the illusion under his seat. The moment he stood up, his expression froze, and his hand subconsciously touched his chest and abdomen. The sealed demon star's aura suddenly became restless and forced itself into the small world. Clusters of red light surrounded the sea of consciousness, and floating demon pills were running rampant.
The scholar lost consciousness, made a hand gesture under his sleeve, tapped his chest, his face turned pale and sweat oozed out, he walked to the bookshelf with unsteady steps, flipped out a book at random, and silently recited the famous sayings of the saints above while his veins bulged. While calming his mind, the noble spirit aroused slowly soothed his restlessness.
"Scholar Lu?"
"Liang Sheng?!"
The man and the toad who were arguing with each other on the bookshelf turned their heads away at the same time. Lu Liangsheng forced a smile and said, "It's okay. Keep going and return to Chang'an as soon as possible. I'm worried that Uncle Pan and the others can't feed those children."
After saying this casually, Lu Liangsheng exhaled the foul air that had accumulated in his chest and turned back into the elegant scholar he once was. He took the reins from the old donkey's neck and held them in his hand. The donkey stepped forward and shook its mane. The Toad Taoist quickly grabbed the door frame and steadied himself.
"You old donkey, luckily I was prepared, otherwise I almost fell into your trap again!"
Hum hum hum~~~
The old donkey tilted its head as if it sneezed in disdain, then turned around, raised its head, and followed its master, walking briskly with its tail wagging.
"That woman's..."
The Toad Taoist couldn't do anything with the old donkey. Two big bags swelled up on his face. He hugged his frog webs and leaned towards the purple gold gourd. In the next few scrolls, Hong Lian was hiding inside and laughed softly. The autumn sun shone on the foothills. People's voices, donkeys' voices, and the Taoist's "Wait for me!" walked along the mountain path covered with dead leaves.
There were several winding mountains ahead, and he could vaguely see the fields beyond the mountains. Smoke was rising from the villages and drifting into the mountains. Lu Liangsheng walked beside the old donkey, looking at the tightly closed door of the compartment, frowning as he thought about what had just happened, feeling a little confused.
"Master, the energy of the demon star has been in your body for two years, but I have never seen you being infected or having an attack..."
After walking a little further along the unknown foothills, the muffled voice of Toad Taoist was heard from inside a small door.
"Hehe, Master is such a master, how could I fail in this? Master is so tolerant that I can seal it a little more and it won't be a problem. You can't learn this. This is Master's innate magical power. Okay, don't dawdle on this. If you can't seal it, let Master do it. Hurry up and get on the road. Master is beginning to miss the food made by that old pig."
According to the master's analysis, it should be because of this size. The red demon star is sealed in his body, just like putting it into the vast and boundless starry sky. Normally, Lu Liangsheng should have put the demon star energy on himself to the Toad Taoist, but considering the master's Taoism, if he was affected by the demon star one day, it would be a real disaster.
"Forget it, I'll seal it on myself. If it gets out of control someday, at least I still have my master to help me."
Shaking off the thoughts from the journey, I gathered my mood and set foot on the official road back to Chang'an. I used the technique of shrinking the distance into an inch to make the journey quicker. A thousand miles was covered in just a day and night. After passing Huaiyi Prefecture, it was not too far from the capital. I passed Luoyang all the way, turned west, passed through one pass after another, and occasionally saw mountain villages and towns.
In the afternoon, the western clouds turned a burning red. In the direction of Chang'an, the undulating mountains of Mount Li were already visible. Lu Liangsheng looked at the time, said hello to the Taoist priest behind him while leading the old donkey, and went to the roadside tea stall to rest and drink some tea to quench his thirst.
The sunset dyed the mountaintops red, and amid the ominous cries of old crows, many travelers from all over the world were still sitting in the teahouse, resting here, talking about their experiences in various places and exchanging information with each other.
"… The price of cloth and silk has gone up in Hening Prefecture. I came here specially to buy some to sell. Is there any news from Chang'an recently?"
"Same as usual, but there is another piece of news, about the war in the northwest."
"Tell me about it?"
“Is it reliable?”
"Hey, I also heard it from a Hu merchant. As for whether it is true or not, who can tell for sure? I haven't seen it with my own eyes."
"Just hurry up and speak, don't interrupt me."
Seeing someone greet them, the vendors and bandits resting in the teahouse pricked up their ears and suddenly there was silence. The man who had talked about the Northwest War cleared his throat, glanced at them, and said in a low voice:
"I heard that the first few battles were very impressive, but in the end, it became more and more difficult. We couldn't capture a single city, and many of our people died."