The morning light poured through the gaps in the clouds, and the flat road gradually became uneven. From afar, the Gobi Desert and the grassland merged into one.
As the morning gradually brightened, Lu Liangsheng stood there holding the reins, looking down at the map unfolded in his hands, then looked around and walked forward.
The old donkey followed slowly behind, shaking his copper bell. From time to time, he turned his head, shook his mane and ears to shake off the mermaid's curious hand, and breathed heavily, as if to warn her not to do anything naughty.
The bookshelf placed on the side of the donkey's buttocks was swaying. The Toad Taoist hung his two short legs, pulled the rope around his waist, and stuck his head out. He looked at the scholar in front of him who occasionally buried his head in reading the map, and muttered: "You said that the master was lost."
Then, the voice opened and called out, "Liangsheng, can you tell the way?"
“Soon.”
In front, Lu Liangsheng responded, put away the map, folded it and put it in his arms, frowning slightly. The road ahead was covered with withered grass and sparse forests in the distance. It was still the same as before. After going east from Constantine, he entered the territory of Sassanid Persia, learned the local Persian, and asked about the way to the east. As long as he kept going east and crossed the Pamir Plateau, he could enter the Western Regions, and then pass the Yumen Pass to enter the northwest of the Sui Dynasty.
However... judging by the distance we walked, several days have passed, and we haven't seen the so-called plateau at all. On the contrary, it seems that the terrain is getting lower and the climate is becoming warmer and more humid.
At noon, it started to drizzle. Lu Liangsheng led the old donkey to a dense forest in front to shelter from the rain and rest. In the lead-blue rain, the little mermaid happily jumped into the puddle, wagging her tail and splashing around.
The rain curtain fell from the sky, splashing water on the banana leaves and flowing down along the tilted leaf tips. The four scholars reached out to scoop up the rain water falling from the leaf tips and drank a sip. They quickly took off their robes and threw them aside, and simply poured water on their bodies and scrubbed them.
The sound of rain falling in the banana grove gradually died down. This heavy rain came and went quickly. Wang Feng, Ma Liu, Zhang Ti, and Zhao Tang spread their palms, watching the raindrops falling slowly drop by drop. They hurriedly ran out of the forest with their bare chests and looked up at the sky.
"Oh my god... How could there be no water at this critical moment?!"
"What does this have to do with God? This dragon that controls the clouds and rain must be playing tricks on me!"
"Well, let's make do with it for now. Put on your robe quickly, so that the barbarians won't see my body naked."
"That makes sense. It would be embarrassing if I told anyone about it. I need to put it on right away."
While they were talking, Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting in the banana grove, also felt that the weather here was strange. However, the rain had stopped and it was almost time to rest, so it was time to move on. While talking to the Toad Taoist who was holding half a pancake and grinding it slowly, he put the book on the bookshelf.
"Master, it's almost time to rest. We should set off."
"Uh-huh."
The Toad Taoist held the hard cake in his hand, glanced at a frog hopping over under a wet banana tree, looked at the half cake in his hand, and spat out the crumbs.
Alas, it’s good to have the little Taoist priest around.
He jumped off the stone and walked towards the bookshelf with his flippers on his back. Suddenly, a green light shone from inside, and the Toad Taoist jumped back reflexively.
Lu Liangsheng was just calling the little mermaid who was playing in the water outside when he turned around and saw his master standing there on one leg with his hands raised.
"Master, what kind of martial arts are you practicing?"
As he spoke, he saw a faint light coming from the bookshelf. Lu Liangsheng was familiar with this divine power. He opened the small door on the other side of the bookshelf and took out a small statue of a woman and placed it on his palm.
"Hmph." Toad glanced at it, put down his hands and feet, and put them behind his back again. He didn't bother to pay attention, turned around and walked to the small door, and tied the rope skillfully, "So it's the barbarian god."
"Isis?"
When Lu Liangsheng closed the small door for his master, a sporadic voice came from the small statue standing on his palm, "Eastern hermit, Isis wants to say goodbye to you. You have left the limit of my divine power... I hope to see you again in the future..."
After this journey, Lu Liangsheng actually roughly understood why gods like Isis would decline. Firstly, they all rely on faith to exist. Secondly, dynasties change, beliefs change, and when a new country emerges, new sects will inevitably appear, gradually abolishing the original beliefs. The old gods gradually disappear as the last believers disappear.
In a word, they have been forgotten. In fact, in the Central Plains, if there were no temples and no faith, after generations, except for the ancestral gods passed down by word of mouth, the gods in the temples would gradually decline.
"I hope that one day I can reach the West and talk to you."
Lu Liangsheng smiled and nodded at the statue. The faint light on it flickered twice and then there was no movement. Then he found a piece of silk cloth to wrap it up and put it on the bottom shelf. After all, it was a medium that could communicate with Western gods and a witness to his journey to the West.
Well, it can be considered a specialty.
After tidying up the bookshelf, Lu Liangsheng whistled to call the old donkey. After putting it away, he called four scholars and walked out of the woods. The sky was clear and the previous dark clouds had dissipated. Under the bright sunshine, they continued to travel east along the barren grassland in the east. Gradually, there were dirt roads. Outside the mountains and forests, there were acres of dry fields on both sides of the road. There were still many farmers busy with their children in the countryside. If it weren't for the people here with high noses and deep eyes, dark skin, and speaking an incomprehensible language, one would have thought they had returned to the Miao area in the southwest of Kyushu.
Walking along the country road, there is a poor village located at the foot of the mountain not far away, with smoke rising slowly from the chimneys.
Moo~~
A sturdy bull was swinging its tail, and its family was grazing on the roadside. Farmers passing by put their hands together and saluted them respectfully. Most of the people working in the fields were pulling the plow and turning the soil, which puzzled Lu Liangsheng.
"They have oxen but don't use them, instead they pull the plow themselves, which is quite unusual here."
The toad, who had been sitting on the bookshelf for a long time, lay on top of the old donkey and glanced at him with a slanted eye: "Humph, maybe it's fattened up. When we eat the meat, working the cow for too long will make the meat too tough and hard to chew."
Speaking of food, Taoist Toad smacked his lips, stared at the cows over there, and swallowed his saliva.
"Liangsheng, it seems that I haven't eaten beef for a long time. Why don't we go to this country and see if there is any beef in the city? Buy some to eat on the road, preferably the kind that has been marinated. It's good to cook it casually and add the secret sauce that I made specially. It's a bit tempting just thinking about it."
The long tongue couldn't help but extend it to lick it, and the little mermaid sitting on the donkey's back followed suit, laughing and clapping. She had the illusion created by Lu Liangsheng, and to outsiders, she was just a beautiful girl sitting on the donkey's back.
In front, Lu Liangsheng turned around and responded with a smile.
"Okay, Master wants to eat. Let's see if there is a county town nearby."
The sun was setting in the west, and the rays of light were shining across the distant mountains. There were many villages on the road between the red forests and mountains, but there was not a single city to be seen. Instead, there were many Buddhist pagodas three or four meters high on the roadside, pointed or round. Sometimes there was one, and sometimes there were several in a forest. There were traces of worship under almost every pagoda.
"It seems that Buddhism here is more prosperous than in the Central Plains."
The sky darkened, and Lu Liangsheng and his companions did not find the city after walking all the way. After passing a dense forest in front of them, they could vaguely see a building with lights on. When they got closer, they saw a Buddhist temple with red walls and black tiles, and the sound of wooden fish being knocked could be heard from the temple.
"Master, it seems that you won't be able to eat your beef tonight."
The four scholars who had been following them were already exhausted, and they squeezed in hurriedly, pushing open the temple door. A dim oil lamp was placed on the tribute table, and the flame swayed a few times with the breeze brought by the opening of the door.
On the altar, a little white mouse dragged its tail and climbed up to taste the sesame oil. When it heard the movement of the door, it squeaked, jumped down quickly, and slipped under the table.
Amid the flickering oil lamp, in front of a clay Buddha statue, an old monk knelt on a cushion with his back to the temple door, striking a wooden fish and chanting scriptures softly.