It was estimated to be May. After a heavy rain, Lu Liangsheng and his party passed through a dense forest. The fallen leaves were thick, and the big trees were covered with mosses and vines. The soaked forest was full of insects from time to time. After the rain, the sun was scorching, and when the four scholars walked out of the forest, they were almost soaked.
Soon, they came to a vast grassland. The grass was lush and waist-high. The hot air distorted their vision. There were clusters of crooked trees. In the field of vision, there was the rumbling sound of horse hooves coming from afar. Groups of ponies with black and white stripes on their bodies rushed past the five people and the donkey, shaking their manes on their necks.
"These horses are so strange!"
"Black and white, three brothers, if you can catch a few, we won't have to walk so hard."
"That makes sense!"
The four scholars looked at the old donkey carrying the bookshelf, muttered a few words excitedly, and hurriedly dropped their bags and luggage, said hello to Lu Liangsheng, and without waiting for the latter's reply, ran after the group of black and white striped ponies, and disappeared in the tall grass in a moment.
'roar-'
Suddenly, a roar of a ferocious beast sounded in that direction, startling the birds on several twisted trees nearby, who flapped their wings and flew away in panic.
Lu Liangsheng, who was walking in front leading the old donkey, frowned and looked back. The bushes over there rustled and shook. The next second, a scream of "Ahhh!!" was heard in fear. The four scholars were no longer as gentle as before. Their legs almost left an afterimage as they ran towards this side.
Behind them, a group of large khaki cats suddenly jumped out of the lush grass, baring their fangs and growling as they chased the four people. One of them was very sturdy and strong, with a circle of golden mane around its neck that fluttered as it ran, looking extremely majestic.
"Lion of the West."
When Lu Liangsheng was in Chang'an, he had seen a ferocious beast presented by the Hu people from the Western Regions, which was very similar to this one.
“Roar~~”
A lion's roar resounded, and the moment the mighty beast pounced towards the four scholars in front, a hand suddenly reached out and slapped the lion's head. The beast in mid-air was slapped hard and fell diagonally to the ground. It rolled twice with grass debris on it before it stopped. When it struggled to get up, it squatted on the ground and looked at another human who looked delicious in a daze. It stood up and took small steps and roared at the lioness who was following closely behind, then with its tail hanging down, it quickly returned to the bushes along the way it came.
Whoosh—
The four men over there were bending over and supporting their knees, or slumped on the ground, panting from exhaustion. They were just scholars, so how could they have such good physical strength? After being chased all the way, their heaving stomachs could hardly keep up with their breathing.
“Thank you for your help, Master…” “Those ponies are really good at running. They disappeared in the blink of an eye. As a result, the four of us rushed in and saw more than a dozen big cats sleeping there.”
"This shabby place is really scary."
Lu Liangsheng shook his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, shook his head, and continued to lead the reins, pulling the old donkey forward, saying as he walked: "This place is unfamiliar to both you and me. Everywhere we pass, there are wild animals and flying insects that we have never seen before. It is better to be careful."
"Yes, yes, what the Imperial Master said is true. My four brothers were indeed reckless."
The four scholars picked up their bags again, drank some water, looked around carefully, and hurriedly followed Lu Liangsheng in front of them, fearing that the big cats were still nearby watching them.
The sky was scorching hot, and from time to time there were herds of horses running like before. Occasionally, you could see horses with horns, walking in groups of three or two, leisurely grazing on the tender grass on the ground. When they heard the noise, they would shake their ears and raise their long necks to look over.
The old donkey looked at them excitedly, breathing heavily, and was about to step over with his hooves. He was only quieted down after Lu Liangsheng knocked him on the forehead. The four scholars who followed closely beside him could not help but talk.
"Master, look, those horses seem to have grown horns... Oh, if I go back and tell others about this, who will believe me?!"
On the swaying bookshelf, Taoist Toad propped up his chin and squinted his eyes to carefully observe the two wildebeests swinging their tails as they passed by.
"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. The main thing is to see whether it tastes good, the quality of the meat, and whether the various seasonings are tasty... As I was talking, I felt a little hungry."
"Well, after leaving the rain forest, it seems I didn't have breakfast."
Lu Liangsheng looked at the time in the sky. The angle was different from the sun he had seen in the Central Plains in the past, so it was difficult to tell the exact moment. However, when his master felt hungry, it was almost time for dinner, so he was usually quite accurate.
Over there, there was a big tree with a very thick trunk. A large spotted cat was lying on a branch and yawning listlessly. Suddenly, it saw five people and a donkey coming. It stood on the branch vigilantly and gave a warning growl, but seeing that it was useless, it had to pick up the food it had not finished eating yesterday, jumped down the tree, and ran quickly to the nearby woods.
Soon, a bonfire was lit. Lu Liangsheng picked up the small pot and poured the little remaining water into it to cook porridge. He tore some dried meat and threw it in. The aroma of meat wafted in the air. The Toad Taoist who was standing at the small door of the bookshelf stood on tiptoe to look into the pot. Looking at the dried meat floating on the surface, his face darkened.
"Why didn't you bring the little Taoist priest with you? There are so many game here. It's a perfect place to show off my skills. Hmm, I have to remember this place and come back when I have time."
After a simple breakfast, the group set out again. Without a reference, they followed the direction of the rising sun to identify the north. There were grasslands and forests, and there were many wild animals, almost all of which Lu Liangsheng did not recognize. There were also few records of them in books. He used the method of shrinking the earth into an inch, but after the sun went down, it still seemed as if he had not reached the end. Occasionally they met people, and they were all the same barbarians who had warmly entertained them before. They had dark skin and only wore animal skins, or even nothing at all. They fled when they saw them from afar.
However, some of them they encountered were ferocious, with paint on their faces, and they rushed towards them screaming and shouting with stone spears, sharp bones, and leather shields in their hands. They were all blown to and fro by the strong wind created by their sleeves. When they looked for them again, Lu Liangsheng had already disappeared on the grassland with the four scholars and the old donkey.
On the fifth day, when everyone was tired of seeing this wild place and discussing how big this land was and whether they should change direction, they passed through a not-so-big rain forest in front of them and found a river about two hundred feet wide.
The undulating water surface reflected the sunlight, creating sparkling waves, and there were a few pieces of driftwood floating. The four scholars, who had not washed for a long time, ran to the river excitedly, took off their dirty robes, and walked into the water.
"etc."
Lu Liangsheng called them, bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it into the water. The driftwood suddenly moved, splashing water, and rushed towards the place where the sound was just heard. A closer look showed that they had long tails and densely packed fangs on their limbs. Wang Feng, Ma Liu, Zhang Ti, and Zhao Tang were so scared that they hid beside Lu Liangsheng with their robes hugged, and swallowed hard.
"It turned out to be a pig dragon... There are quite a few in Dongting Lake, but none as big as this... It was a close call, I almost went down."
"Let's go. Maybe there's a city here if we go further ahead."
Lu Liangsheng understood one thing: wherever there is such a lake, there must be towns and villages, not cities. If he could meet people who were not as barbaric as before, he should be able to communicate with them.
Going up the river, there were gradually more palm trees on the river bank. Occasionally, one or two small boats with white sails could be seen passing by in the distance, confirming Lu Liangsheng's guess. The dull mood he had been feeling from walking on the hot grassland every day was finally relieved a lot, and he began to feel curious about the country on this land.
"National Master, look over there!"
Ma Liu stood on tiptoe and pointed to the distance across the river. Lu Liangsheng frowned slightly and vaguely saw the outline of another square, pointed building standing in the distance, bathed in the sun and among the golden sands, magnificent and majestic.
There is a faint fluctuation of divine power.
"Is there a god here too?"