Rustle…
The old tree on the top of the mountain swayed gently, and the leaves fell silently, landing on the scholar's shoulders. Lu Liangsheng sat on the stone, with his hands on his knees, just looking at the rolling clouds between the mountains in the distance. After a while, he stood up, slightly turned his head, and whispered: "Master, let's go down the mountain."
After getting over the feeling of seeing the mountains and rivers of his hometown for the first time, he followed the rugged mountain road he had come from, and went down to meet the four scholars. The four of them walked back and forth rubbing their hands, and when they saw the figure coming down from above, they hurried over.
"National Master, have you reached Mount Qixia?"
When they arrived at Qixia Mountain, it was only a hundred miles away from Fushui County, and the four people's hometown, Nanxiang, was also not far away. After being away for many years, they missed their home very much.
Over there, Lu Liangsheng smiled and led the old donkey along the foot of the mountain, and gave them a positive answer, which made the four scholars raise their hands and clapped each other in unison. Seeing the four people's joy, Lu Liangsheng gently hit the donkey's buttocks, and the old donkey, carrying the mermaid with its head tilted and chirping, took brisk steps and started to trot.
"National Master, wait a minute!"
The old donkey in front was trotting, and the four men tightened the luggage on their backs, shouted loudly, and quickened their pace to catch up. The mountain road was rugged, and the four scholars, who were originally weak, were able to keep up unknowingly. The four of them didn't even notice that they were walking all the way back from the west. Although they had the blessing of the art of shrinking the earth into an inch, it was not something that ordinary people could endure. Under the thin robes, their bodies were obviously much stronger.
The forest at the foot of the mountain gradually passed behind the group. After crossing two ridges, they could clearly see the western foot of Mount Qixia. Lujia Village was at the foot of the mountain behind them.
Without any further delay on the way, Lu Liangsheng, leading the old donkey and the four scholars, approached the boundary of the western slope.
The first thing he did when he approached was to reach out his hand and touch the magic circle that was invisible to the naked eye. The spiritual energy was still flowing, but not as smoothly as before.
"You can modify it when you have time. Yanzhi doesn't know how to control it."
The mountain breeze blows.
The woods and fields swayed in the field of vision. Lu Liangsheng retracted his fingers and walked into the magic circle. The breath spread along the spiritual energy that was invisible to the naked eye. Behind the mountain, on the farther hillside, the temple with red walls and black tiles was mottled with traces of wind and rain. The burning incense rose in the cauldron and slowly spread to the dead leaves accumulated on the tiles. Under the old pine standing at the temple gate, pilgrims came and went and put their hands together to worship.
On the altar in the temple, the drifting green smoke brushed away the clay statue, and the waving clay body suddenly flashed with divine light. A graceful figure with her skirt swirled up and rushed to the dome. After a moment, her long red sleeves and skirt fluttered as she slowly descended to the top of the temple. She looked towards the foothills in the west, her slightly frowned brows relaxed, and a smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
"Young Master..."
With a soft murmur, she spread out her long sleeves, floated up, and flew over the tree cage that was like an umbrella, heading towards a farther distance.
In the distant woods at the foot of the mountain, birds were chirping. Lu Liangsheng loosened the reins and walked up to the huge rock protruding outward. The scene below the mountain unfolded in his sight. The winding mountain road circled around acres of fertile fields to the north. There was a little smoke rising from the village at the foot of the mountain. In the fields, many young and strong men in the village were bent over and hunched over to harvest the crops.
In the distance, a tiny red dot was floating in the sky. The four scholars following behind could not see it. Only Lu Liangsheng knew who it was. Soon, before the person arrived, a clear voice was heard.
“Young Master!!”
The flying figure threw herself into the scholar's arms, hooked her neck, and hung her whole body on him. The faint fragrance and sandalwood penetrated into the nose. Lu Liangsheng gently stroked the woman's back, "I'm back late."
"Just in time, I was thinking about you, and you came back!"
Nie Honglian raised her pretty face from his arms, revealing beautiful dimples on her cheeks. She smiled sweetly, reached out and took Lu Liangsheng's hand and held it to her face.
"Sir, please touch..."
The cheek that his palm touched was tender and smooth, and waves of warmth came from it. Lu Liangsheng's eyes were immediately filled with surprise, "Hong Lian... I can touch you."
Unable to resist, Nie Honglian used a little force and angrily hit his hand.
"It hurts me."
These words scared Lu Liangsheng so much that he quickly withdrew his hand, but he saw Hong Lian chuckle softly with a smiling expression.
"Sir, I am just teasing you."
Cough cough!
Over there, on the bookshelf on the old donkey's back, Taoist Toad pushed open the small door and sat on the edge and coughed twice. Hong Lian then reacted, floated to the small door, bowed and saluted.
"Master Toad."
"Well, it's good to be polite..."
The Toad Taoist nodded, raised his flippers and was about to continue speaking when the woman from Fu Li stood up and floated straight towards Lu Liangsheng. Holding hands, the man and woman walked through the woods, rustling on the fallen leaves that covered the area.
“… This little ghost girl said you were polite.” Taoist Toad looked at the two figures in front of him, snorted and urged Old Donkey to follow.
The four scholars following behind could not see Nie Honglian who had just come over. They only felt a gust of cold wind with sandalwood blowing around them. Seeing the national teacher gesticulating and talking and laughing with the air, they shuddered suddenly.
"Did you see it just now?"
"No, even if I saw it, I would just pretend I didn't see it."
"I'm sure it's a female ghost. We've all seen it."
"Stop talking, don't look at anything indecent, don't listen to anything indecent."
No matter how much they were afraid of demons and ghosts, after all, they were familiar with the national teacher, so the four of them did not feel scared and followed him all the way down the mountain. Lu Liangsheng, who was walking forward, turned around, made a spell, and suddenly hid the four of them, including himself and the old donkey.
"Young Master, what are you doing?" Hong Lian was puzzled upon seeing this.
"Go back and scare my parents, and Xiaoxian too!"
However, just as Lu Liangsheng finished speaking, the woman next to him clapped her hands, as if she remembered something.
"I was so happy to see you back that I almost forgot to tell you that my uncle and aunt were gone. The two elders and Xiao Xian were taken to Chang'an by Taoist Sun to live, along with Uncle Pan and his family. It was several months ago."
"It's nice to go see the hustle and bustle outside."
With Old Sun coming to pick him up personally, Lu Liangsheng felt relieved. As they walked and talked, they entered the village and passed by familiar houses. Old Grandpa Lu had become even older. He was still sitting on the recliner, listening to the sound of reading in the private school behind the wall and feeling drowsy.
Walking back to the small courtyard with a fence, he saw that the gate was locked with a copper lock. Lu Liangsheng blew out a breath, and the copper lock fell to the ground, then he pushed the door open and entered.
The rosy glow illuminated the quiet courtyard. The cypress trees turned yellow and the dead leaves fell to the ground. Lu Liangsheng loosened the reins and let the old donkey carry the mermaid to Xiaoquan Mountain. He put her in the pond and asked Yanzhi to help look after her.
"After that, come to my cottage to find me."
After giving some instructions and watching the old donkey walk away with its long ears drooping in displeasure, Lu Liangsheng found the place where his mother usually put the broom and swept the fallen leaves in the yard. Seeing this, Wang Feng and others rushed into the house, found a rag and a small broom, and helped to clean. It was the busy farming season, and the neighbors did not hear any noise and come out to take a look.
As the sky gradually darkened, after cleaning the courtyard inside and out, Lu Liangsheng asked Wang Feng and the other three to stay there, while he walked to the mountain west of Qixia Mountain, looking at the dilapidated thatched cottage with withered vines. As he got closer, he saw thatched branches sprouting new branches and tender buds, which bloomed and swayed slightly in the red glow.
Taoist Toad stood in front of the thatched cottage, rolled up his sleeves and swept the yard with Hong Lian. He turned around and called his disciples twice, but no one responded. Hong Lian next to him put down the broom and pointed to a solitary pine on the edge of the cliff.
"The young master is there."
The old trees on the cliff fluttered their branches in the wind, as if welcoming the returning scholar. Not far away, in front of the tombstone bathed in the sunset glow, Lu Liangsheng squatted down, pulled off the vines that covered it, removed the grass, looked at the words carved on it, and said softly, "Teacher, your student is back to see you."
The toad holding a few dead leaves rolled its eyes and turned away. In its swaying sight, at the gate of the small courtyard with a fence, a white hen was looking at it hungrily.
His mother's...
The Toad Taoist cursed inwardly, threw a handful of dead leaves, and ran over with his webbed feet spread out. On the opposite side, a rooster's crowed, and a white hen spread its wings and pounced on him fiercely.
There was another long fight between dragons and tigers, and the fight was fierce.
Soon, darkness enveloped the entire world.