The square was decorated with lanterns and the 70-80-meter-long round table was bustling with activity. There had been no big celebrations in Canglan Mountain in the past ten years. Now that the head of the sect was marrying off his daughter, the disciples were making a rare fuss. Especially when Wei Huang left the table and returned to his room, he became even more relaxed. He held the wine and drank with his fellow disciples. Some of them thought of their sad memories and looked at the wooden building with the word "囍" pasted on it in the distance. They cried and cursed again. Not far away, four scholars pulled up their sleeves, took the whole chicken in a heroic manner, and ate it in front of everyone...
Lu Liangsheng looked at the commotion, picked up a chicken leg and placed it next to his master, then looked over there with a smile at the wooden building and the red lanterns hanging under the eaves.
The candlelight flickered slightly inside, shining on the door with the words "On the wedding night, a jade dragon rides on a phoenix on the bed" written by Four Scholars pasted on it.
A red candle was inserted in a tightly sealed rice bowl, with drops of red wax sliding down, lighting up the bridal chamber with a warm and yellow glow. The girl, sitting on the wedding bed, with her feet together and a red veil covering her head, glanced at the groom standing against the door, her voice as soft as a mosquito's.
"Come here, why are you standing there like an idiot? I'm not a man-eating monster."
"I... uh... ah..."
Li Sui'an moved his feet a little stiffly, stammering and unable to speak, then moved over and sat next to the bride, and there was no next step.
Wei Lingyun, who had been waiting for a long time, felt a little embarrassed and annoyed, so she slapped the back of his hand: "You're just a piece of wood, why are you still sitting there? Take off my veil quickly, I'm suffocating."
"Oh, oh, oh..." Li Sui'an hurriedly took off the veil from the bride's head. Looking at the girl wearing a flower crown and applying rouge, she was more beautiful than before. For no reason, his heart was pounding. He swallowed and stammered, "What should I do next?"
"Didn't your master teach you?"
"My master has never been married, what can he teach me?" Li Sui'an muttered, subconsciously glanced at the window frame, and then quickly shut his mouth. If he had known earlier, he should have followed Taoist Sun to read those yellowed books.
Just as she was thinking about it, her robe suddenly tightened, and she was pulled down, pushed down to the bed with the bride, one above and one below. They looked at each other for a moment. Wei Lingyun quickly closed her eyes, raised her face slightly, and moved her red lips forward, but she could not feel any contact. When she opened her eyes, she saw Li Sui'an still looking at her with a red face.
"You are really pretty, but your mouth is not feeling well, so it is so high."
The girl sat up angrily, ripped off the flower crown on her head and threw it to the ground, then pounded the edge of the bed with her fists, "You're going to make me die!"
He yelled, turned around and pushed Sui An down there.
"I'll teach you!"
"Okay... I love learning things the most... Hey hey... why are you taking off my clothes!"
"sleep!"
"I'll do it myself... Don't take off your pants..."
The bed frame suddenly shook and the girl cried out in pain, as if she was hitting the man with her hands.
“Be gentle!”
"Take your hands off me, you're pressing down on my hair!"
The warm yellow light illuminated the window lattice, then dimmed. The occasional sound was drowned out by the noise outside. After a banquet, Lu Liangsheng took his sated master, left Shelong and the four scholars behind, and went back to the room first. He lit the oil lamp, collected the several books on the table, and put them one by one into the bookshelf.
"Master, it's time for us to go too."
Toad, who was about to lie down, was stunned. He looked at the night outside, sighed, stood up again, rolled up the small bed, jumped off the bed with it in his arms, and stuffed it into the small compartment.
"I am leaving now when I am living comfortably. What a hard life it is for me, the teacher."
"When we get back to Qixia Mountain, Master, please have a good rest."
Lu Liangsheng packed up his last book, lay down on the bed, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling in a trance. It had been a long time since he saw such a lively scene. He missed his parents, sister, and Hong Lian at home.
The night was deep, and the chirping of insects in the corner stopped. The eastern sky gradually turned white. When the sunlight shone through the clouds, it pushed the edge of darkness to spread across this ancient sect.
The door with the wedding couplet pasted on it creaked open, and Li Sui'an walked out of the room refreshed. He turned around to look at his wife who was still lying in the quilt, and snorted with satisfaction.
"Take off my pants and I won't lift you for the whole night!"
Outside, the banquet was in a mess, and many of the people from the sect who had drunk too much last night fell asleep on the table. Shelong was among them. It seemed that the Wuman people were getting angry and would drink until dawn.
Li Sui'an went over and patted him awake, then walked to the room where his master was, pushed open the door, and saw the bed neatly made, and the table, chairs, and teacups were all there in place. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned around and ran back. He ran into Wei Huang who was coming out of the main building, and he quickly bowed to him.
"Guardian..."
"Huh?" Wei Huang glared at him. The latter reacted and quickly changed his words: "Father-in-law, may I ask why my master is not in the room?"
"He left before daybreak, taking the four scholars with him."
Upon hearing this, Li Sui'an was about to leave, but Wei Huang stopped him: "Come back, no need to chase after him." As he said that, he took out a letter from his sleeve.
"This is what your master left for you. Take it and have a look."
Reaching out to take the letter, the young man slowly unfolded the paper. The handwriting on it was vigorous and powerful, and it was indeed written by the master.
"I, your disciple, personally wrote to you:
As your master, I would like to congratulate you on your wedding. Unfortunately, I have been away for a long time and have many important things to do. I have left you a letter, which does not count as leaving without saying goodbye. Please do not come after me. You should take good care of your wife and concentrate on practicing Buddhism.
Now that you have started a family, you should not be as bad-tempered as you were in the past. You should behave like a husband, learn to take responsibility, and stand upright. Otherwise, I, the teacher, will come and punish you.
When you have time in the future, bring your wife to visit me, your brothers and sisters, and have a drink and talk in Chang'an."
After putting away the letter, Li Sui'an had tears in his eyes. Ignoring Wei Huang's dissuasion, he turned around and ran to the mountain gate, looking at the Canglan River winding outside the mountain, and shouted loudly.
"Master—"
Master, Master~~
The sound echoed among the mountains. In the distance, a scholar walking along the river, leading his old donkey, stopped at the sound of the bell. He seemed to hear something, turned back and smiled.
As a master, I have already paved the way for my apprentice. There is not much left for him to do. It all depends on him to figure it out on his own.
As for the sword-wielding technique, it was returned to Canglan Mountain.
Ding ding dong dong~~~
The sound of the bronze bell gradually faded away. Standing at the foot of the mountain gate, Li Sui'an, who was looking into the distance, knelt down with a plop and kowtowed heavily to the east.
…
Wow~~
The river was flowing rapidly, the sky was rising between the clouds, and the birds flying through the sunlight looked down at the group of people walking along the river bank below. Amid the tinkling of bells, Lu Liangsheng looked up at the sky. Xin Ting strolled through the foothills, and when he was tired, he sat under a tree with four scholars, holding books and explaining allusions. Sometimes when they came across a sunny place with unique scenery, they would slow down their pace and take a closer look.
Summer goes and autumn comes.
Along the way, the mountains are rolling, and the green gradually turns golden, like a caressing golden ocean. Pieces of dead leaves float down with the wind and land on people's shoulders.
Lu Liangsheng was walking in the woods, leading his old donkey up the winding mountain. He stood under a tree with swaying dead leaves, looking at the familiar sea of clouds in the distance. The sun shone on his face and he smiled.
Even the Toad Taoist priest who was lying on his shoulder grinned.
That is Qixia Mountain in my hometown.