The night deepened, and the noisy long street was gradually becoming less crowded. In the restaurant that had not yet closed, the shopkeeper who was weighing small change raised his big round face, listened to the noisy scene upstairs, smiled, bit the small change, and diligently took out a pen to write down the accounts.
"Eat quickly over there, and go back to bed when it's time!"
On the second floor, the Taoist put down his chopsticks, stood on a bench and shouted at the little faces with greasy mouths at the tables, urging the children to eat faster. After a while, more than two hundred children finished their meal and left the table together. They lined up obediently and followed Lu Pan and the other eight downstairs. They thanked the fat shopkeeper behind the counter and then left the restaurant.
Lu Liangsheng went over to check the accounts with the shopkeeper, bowed and said, "Sorry for bothering you." He went out and walked to the street with the Taoist, Hong Lian, Lao Zhu and Qi You who were waiting for him.
Late at night on the street, the occasional sound of night watchmen could be heard from afar. A Taoist priest stood by with his hands behind his head, holding a toothpick in his mouth. He glanced at the scholar next to him, and seeing his expression, he put his hands down and poked him lightly with his elbow.
"Where did you go in the afternoon? You came back with a pensive look on your face. I feel bad for spending money."
Lu Liangsheng smiled and said nothing.
Hong Lian, who was following on the other side, turned her head and glared at the Taoist fiercely. Zhu Ganglie laughed and said, "He must have encountered something unpleasant."
"Old demon, what's wrong?" Qi You asked from the other side of the street.
"nothing."
Lu Liangsheng looked at them and continued walking forward. He saw the lights on in the buildings ahead and thought about what the old man had said in the afternoon. For a moment he didn't know how to start talking to them.
They returned to Wanshou Temple in a lively manner. It was already late at night and everyone was asleep. Lu Pan and his eight companions who had returned earlier had already put the children to bed. They returned to the attic, and were very tired, especially Zhu Ganglie. He had been busy preparing meals for more than 200 people. Even though he had magical powers, he was still tired. He said hello to everyone and closed the door. After a moment, he began to snore.
The Taoist was also tired, having been exposed to the elements for half a month. He couldn't wait to lie down on the bed. He went up the stairs, yawned, waved at Lu Liangsheng, and pushed the door open.
Here, Lu Liangsheng returned to the bedroom, the candle was already lit, and Hong Lian, who had walked in first, came over to greet him with some water. She took off his outer green shirt for him, her eyes curved into crescents, and she was holding back a smile.
Lu Liangsheng washed his face with water and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Hong Lian suppressed her laughter and stretched out her slender finger to point to a bed. On the edge of the bed, the Toad Taoist was sitting wrapped in a sheet, with only a pair of toad eyes showing, nodding his head as he dozed off.
I guess he woke up halfway and didn't see anyone, so he was waiting on the bed.
"Master."
Lu Liangsheng flicked his fingertips to remove the water stains on his face into the copper basin, wiped his hands, and went to the bed, intending to lay the Toad Taoist down to sleep. As soon as he touched him, the sleepy Toad suddenly opened his eyes, jumped down in shock, stood on one foot, and spread out his webbed feet.
"Which cultivator dares to attack me?"
Nie Honglian looked at him, pursed her lips and whispered, "Master, it seems that Master Toad is still confused."
Qi You, who had closed the door, turned around, squatted on the ground holding up her skirt, propped up her chin and tried to tease with interest, but Lu Liangsheng hit her on the head with his hand. She pouted and turned into smoke with grievance, and went to the bookshelf.
"Master, it's me."
Lu Liangsheng stretched out his hand and pressed back the Taoist Toad's webbed hands. With the gentle voice, the Toad's drooping eyelids finally opened completely. He saw the scholar in front of him clearly and smiled. He was about to speak, but then he remembered that he was the only one left in the empty attic. His face suddenly turned cold and he wrapped himself in the quilt and sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed.
"Is the food outside good?"
Hong Lian danced with her long sleeves and floated over, landing next to the scholar, hiding her delicate face, and laughed softly like a silver bell: "Master Toad is angry that the young master didn't call him. He is becoming more and more like a child."
"You little ghost girl, can you speak?" Toad Taoist turned back wrapped in a quilt, "This is what I call rejuvenation!"
So that's how it is. Lu Liangsheng smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. In his hand suddenly there was a bowl of food made up of various dishes, emitting a tempting aroma.
"When the food was served, a portion was prepared for the master."
Over there, Toad Taoist poked his head out to take a look at the bowl in front of him and snorted, "My disciple is the one who thinks things through."
The scholar watched his master take the bowl, eat bite by bite with chopsticks, then stand up and walk to the desk, pick up a book by candlelight to pass the time.
Amid the sound of softly turning pages, the Toad Taoist priest beside him was chewing his food with a bowl in his arms, looking indifferently at the scholar's profile illuminated by the firelight.
"Liangsheng, is there something on your mind?"
"Um."
Compared to the Taoists, the master had experienced a lot after all, and he turned his eyes to look at the flickering candlelight.
“… I just think of someone, and I feel complicated and uncomfortable.”
"Your mentor?"
Seeing that his disciple did not answer, the Toad Taoist swallowed the food in his mouth and chuckled: "It seems not, but it's not far off. Come, tell me about it."
Lu Liangsheng sat there in silence for a while.
"Actually it was Duke of Yue, Yang Su..." He spoke in a low voice, recalling the conversation with the old man this afternoon, and told his master everything.
I also have my own feelings about this.
"Master... You said that a person had worked hard all the way from his prime years, almost lost his life, and now he was old and should have been enjoying a peaceful life, but he was still thinking about this country, always thinking about making this country better and making the emperor better. Then, in the end, he became the emperor's grindstone and was stained with a stigma. Master, do you think it was worth it?"
There were still grains of rice on the side of the Toad Taoist's mouth. He looked serious, put down the bowl in his arms, and stood up: "Is it worth it? If it were a teacher, it would definitely not be worth it, but some people are different, like the old scholar. In his eyes, it is worth it..."
…
The night wind blew past the window, and into the mansion in the city with the words "Duke's Mansion" written on it. An old man sitting in the study was looking at the books all over the room. He blew out the candle, went back to the bedroom in the backyard, sat on the edge of the bed, looked at his old wife sleeping peacefully on the couch, stretched out his hand and stroked her. In the darkness, a smile appeared on his face.
The air is cold on a winter night.
In the imperial city, there were also people who had not slept yet. They got up from their beds, lit candles, walked to the wall, pulled out the sword from the rack, and looking at the face reflected on the sword, Yang Guang waved the sword twice, made a decision, and suddenly put the sword back into the sheath and held it in his hand. In the dim candlelight, there was the majesty of dominating the world.
…
"... Liangsheng, do you remember what your master said to you on the rooftop at night like this? The wisdom of living, no matter whether you are a human or a demon, only living people can stand up and walk their own path. The Yue Gong you mentioned, although your master doesn't understand his tricks, it is still the same path after all. Even if your reputation is tarnished, how can a cultivator care about these things? Even if people throw stones and rotten leaves at you in the future, you can face it with an open mind."
The Toad Taoist said this with a dignified look in his eyes, and added: "Since others have chosen this path, why should you bother yourself with trouble? You should congratulate them... Uwaa ...
As he was speaking, Toad yawned, and his words stopped abruptly. He stood there with his eyes gradually closing, his head slightly lowered, and he began to snore.
Well…
Lu Liangsheng was listening with great interest when his master fell asleep. He went over to put Toad Taoist into the bed and covered him with the quilt. He yawned and sat back at the desk. He flipped through the book for a while and listened to his master's snoring. After a while, he felt tired and lay down on the bed. He was too lazy to even cover himself with the quilt and fell into a deep sleep.
In the scroll on the wall, Nie Honglian sighed, floated out of the painting, sat quietly on the edge of the bed, looked at his profile, took the quilt to cover the scholar, pursed her lips and smiled, turned around, and blew out the candle on the table.
She walked with lotus steps, her skirt spread out, humming a tune softly, and went to the scroll.