The last bit of red from the setting sun faded into the night, and the vast night sky seemed to extend endlessly into the void. Occasionally, spots of sparks rose up, like stars dotted around, twinkling.
In the bare woods, a bonfire made of firewood was burning, illuminating the surrounding huts made of branches and furs. A group of men and women, shirtless with only animal skins covering their private parts, with white dye smeared on their faces, excitedly waved their arms and legs, cheering and dancing around the bonfire.
Several sedan chairs woven with branches and vines were placed not far away, with a simple wooden platform beside them. Several dark figures came up with fruits in their hands, bent over, knelt on the ground, and respectfully placed them in front of five clothed figures. Then, they touched their heads to the wooden board and slowly retreated.
"Liangsheng... can these things be eaten?" The Toad Taoist sitting on a leaf picked up an oval fruit, smelled it, and knocked on it with a bang, bang, bang sound, with a serious look on his face.
“So hard?!”
Soon, he broke it open, and the hard shell snapped open, revealing the apricot-yellow flesh with many seeds. Toad suspiciously scooped a handful into his mouth, it tasted sour and astringent, but also a little sweet, and then he nodded in satisfaction: "It's edible, but there's no meat in it. Look at these people, they're dark-skinned and skinny, and I can't even see them if they weren't standing in the firelight."
Lu Liangsheng smiled but said nothing. It was obvious that the reason why his group was treated so hospitably was because they had fallen down with the ship before and were seen by the other side, who thought they were gods. However, it was good to have a place to eat and stay now, except that there were too many mosquitoes.
Buzz buzz buzz…
There were mosquitoes flying around his ears like crazy. Lu Liangsheng turned around and drove away the mosquitoes with a flick of his robe sleeves. The four scholars behind him then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you for your help, Imperial Master."
"I never thought we would end up in the hometown of Kunlun slaves. I just don't know how far it is from the Western Regions..."
"What are you worried about? With the Imperial Master here, it won't be a problem for the four of us to go back. Just think of it as a trip here. Don't worry, brothers."
"Well, the customs and habits of this wild place are also very good, hehe..."
When you first arrive, everything is new, especially the singing and dancing over there. Even if you don't understand, you can't help shaking your head. The Toad Taoist sitting in front of Lu Liangsheng picked up something that looked like a sausage, bit it casually, and squinted his eyes comfortably. Under the wooden platform, several dark Kunlun slaves muttered to each other. One of them pointed to the sky at the old black man in the tribe, stretched out his palms and pretended that a boat was floating down, and described the scene vividly, and even pulled a child to testify.
Soon, an old man took out a long strip woven with green leaves and vines from the leather house and hung it around the neck of the old donkey under the creeping wooden platform, muttering a prayer. The old donkey flapped its long ears, looked at them in confusion, stuck out its tongue, rolled the thing into its mouth, lay on the ground on its side calmly, swinging its bald tail leisurely, and chewed slowly, ignoring the shouting black people.
Without a language barrier, Lu Liangsheng didn't know how to communicate with them. He also had some injuries on his body, so his supernatural power of telepathy was not suitable for him at the moment.
"Wait till dawn and head north to see if the Kunlun slaves were sold to the Western Regions and the Sui Dynasty. This means there are trade routes. If we encounter merchants traveling to the Western Regions, they will return to the Central Plains in just over a month."
After figuring this out, Lu Liangsheng felt relieved. As long as he remained in his original territory, returning to the Sui Dynasty would not be a difficult task.
Then, he told his idea to the four scholars who were eating fruits and watching the Kunlun slaves dancing behind him. Naturally, the four scholars had no objection and were eager to follow the imperial teacher. Not only would they be able to return to the Central Plains, but they would also be able to see scenery that ordinary people would never see in their lifetime. This would be enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lives.
The four of them immediately raised their hands and bowed, "It's all up to the Imperial Master."
"Well, wait a minute. You guys should rest early. Tomorrow morning, go back to the coast and search the boat for something useful, then leave."
The discussion was over and the meal was almost finished. Lu Liangsheng walked down from the wooden platform. The men, women, old and young who were gathered around the campfire stopped one after another. In Hunan, each pair of eyes was surprisingly bright.
I originally wanted to go to the shed made of animal skins to meditate and repair my injuries, but I was stared at by so many eyes. I felt a little embarrassed. I was treated so warmly, and I had to return the favor.
The scholar thought for a moment, then walked over to Lao Lu, lifted up the bookshelf, and took out a scroll of paintings on it. On it were some paintings of snacks that he usually prepared for his master to satisfy his cravings.
Then, he summoned a leaf from the air and motioned to the surprised black people to bring dozens of such leaves. Then he gently shook the scroll, and the drinks, fruits from the Central Plains, steamed lamb strips with rice flour, pickled sea bass, crab with rice sauce, shrimp cakes, lion's head... on the painting kept flying out and fell on the leaves, stacked up almost as high as a person's waist, emitting an enticing fragrance.
Smelling these new aromas, the surrounding black people pursed their lips and swallowed their saliva, but did not dare to step forward. They looked at Lu Liangsheng, knelt on the ground, raised their hands high and bowed continuously, muttering words that could not be understood at all.
As a way of repaying the hospitality, Lu Liangsheng casually bowed to them, turned around and walked towards the shed over there. Before leaving, the Toad Taoist stretched out his long tongue, rolled up a roasted chicken, sat on his disciple's shoulder, smacked his saliva, and took a bite.
The shed was low and pitch black inside. The moment Lu Liangsheng lowered his head and walked in, the Toad Taoist was tearing off a piece of steaming chicken. Then, the back of his head hit the top of the door with a bang and he fell from his apprentice's shoulder. He got up cursing, hugged the roast chicken, and followed him in.
"That girl, she didn't even know to open the door higher..."
When the animal skin that served as the door was lowered, the Kunlun slaves who had been kneeling and prostrating themselves on the ground finally got up and swarmed over to the pile of delicacies. Without even looking at what they were, they madly hugged them in their arms, sat on the ground, and stuffed them into their mouths in big mouthfuls. After receiving the gift of food, more black people sang and danced as they ate, and then they danced a prayer dance.
After a while, the elders of the tribe pulled a few girls to uncover the shed where Lu Liangsheng was, but they couldn't open it no matter what they did. Probably for fear of angering the gods, they dragged the girls to the other side where there was a thatched hut made of animal skins and thatch belonging to four other gods. They pushed the girls in, but the four scholars quickly waved their hands to refuse to push them out. They gestured in front of them and told them that the four of them kept themselves clean and devoted themselves to reading the saints.
"Mala di thick gurgle gurgle diarrhoea boom."
The old man nodded thoughtfully, leaned on his cane and sent the girl behind him away, which made the four scholars feel relieved and returned to the hut. However, after a while, the old man came over again, pointed at the house and talked to the two fat black girls behind him, imitating the gestures of the four scholars.
The two sturdy black women nodded, excitedly opened the curtain and rushed in...
"Wow, what is this thing pressing on me?"
"Master, help me!!"
“Woo woo woo woo~~~”
…
The noisy cries echoed miserably in the thatched cottage next door, but Lu Liangsheng in the other room could not hear them. He sat cross-legged on an animal skin, adjusting the magic power in his body and swimming it through his limbs and bones, soothing some of the injuries left by the previous sea-controlling Kongtong Seal.
The Toad Taoist yawned lazily, rubbed the fur on the animal skin with his webbed feet, and lay down on it comfortably.
"Liangsheng, how did you get the Kongtong Seal down there?"
Over there, the scholar who was sitting cross-legged took a deep breath, lowered his arms, loosened his fingers, slowly opened his eyes, heard the questions from his master, and stared straight at the door curtain opposite. Outside the fluttering gap, he saw lively and jubilant figures.
As if remembering some things that happened after he obtained the Kongtong Seal in Guixu, Lu Liangsheng stared outside for a while. After a while, he shook his head and smiled: "That's how I got it. Apart from the long road that seems to never end and will deprive me of any divine power or magic power, there are no difficulties. But Master is outside with the four generals of the Demon Family..."
Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~~
Lu Liangsheng turned around and saw that his master had fallen asleep on the fur. It seemed that the previous fight with the four generals of the Demon Family had consumed a lot of his magic power and physical strength.
"I really envy Master for being like this."
Lu Liangsheng murmured softly, took off his outer green robe and put it on his body, then casually lay down on the animal skin, looking at the spots of holes on the dome and the night sky outside the cave. Fatigue swept over his body like a tidal wave, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Lu Liangsheng woke up the four scholars, and while the Kunlun slaves on this side were still asleep, he led the old donkey back to the beach. He collected large and small bags of food, bedding, and clothes for changing in the cabin. Unfortunately, the mermaid who was still in the sea was no longer nearby, and might have swam to the depths of the sea.
After packing up his mood and luggage, Lu Liangsheng led the old donkey, and the four scholars followed with food and bags on their backs. They looked at the different scenery of Kyushu, walked through the scorching and bright sunshine, and set foot on this exotic land.
All the way north.