Chirp~~Chirp~~
The singing of birds breaks the tranquility of the early morning. The autumn sun shines on the swaying branches, casting mottled shadows through the window frames. On the bed covered with vines, green leaves sway gently in the wind.
Amid the chirping sounds, Lu Liangsheng yawned and walked out of the room. So did the toad standing on the window frame. The master and disciple both raised their arms and stretched.
Under the eaves, Hong Lian controlled the breeze to blow the small stove beside her, waiting for the man and the toad squatting by the water tank to finish washing up. She opened the lid of the pot, smelled the rising aroma, scooped up the food and put it on the stone table that had been used by Tuo'er, Sui'an, and Yuanfeng, and called out softly: "Young Master, it's time to eat."
"Master Toad has eaten."
“Here it comes!”
The Toad Taoist climbed up the stone bench, kicking his legs. Hong Lian handed the bowl to him. When she turned around, she saw Lu Liangsheng sitting under the eaves combing his hair. She smiled, stood up and grabbed the wooden comb.
"Let me do it myself."
She let her hair down again, and her delicate little hands combed it strand by strand and held it neatly in her palm. When she combed the next strand, a few strands of white hair were revealed.
Hong Lian held the wooden comb and her hands trembled.
"Sir, your hair..."
The Toad, who was holding Dada and digging for food over there, glanced at him from the side, picked up some rice grains and threw them on the ground for the white hen that was staring at him to peck at.
"No problem."
The scholar under the eaves just smiled and asked Hong Lian to continue combing her hair. When she was almost done, he stood up and tied the silk scarf on while speaking to Hong Lian and the master:
"I'm going to skip breakfast. I'm going to walk around and take a look at the spirit gathering formation." After saying hello, without waiting for the woman or the toad who was eating to speak, he went down the mountain in the blink of an eye.
The morning light shone on the withered yellow branches and leaves, and the Lujia Village at the foot of the mountain was already bustling with activity. The villagers carried their farm tools and brought their families with them to work in the fields.
Lu Liangsheng came to the village in the morning breeze. The houses were still the same as before, but many new houses had been built around the edge, which made it completely connected with the North Village.
Standing outside the door and windows of the private school, looking at the children reading aloud inside, then turning to the small courtyard at home, the four scholars also got up early to do their homework.
Walking in the fields out of sight of others, squatting down to the clear river, scooping up a sip of clean water, looking at the bright sunshine, and the familiar figures working hard under the sunshine, the depression in my heart is slightly relieved.
It's a pity that my parents are not here.
Soon, he went to Xiaoquan Mountain to see Yanzhi and the little mermaid swimming happily in the waterfall pool. After stabilizing his formation, he went somewhere else, as if he wanted to finish everything he could do.
For several days in a row, he walked through almost every corner of Qixia Mountain and renovated the Spirit Gathering Array. Afterwards, he went to the thatched hut where he first met Pu Du Ci Hang. Now the ruins had collapsed and been burned, and had become one with the ground due to wind and rain. A lot of weeds had grown there, and small animals and insects had made their homes there.
As if it was a premonition.
After a few days, Lu Liangsheng suddenly fell ill. This was unbelievable for a cultivator. He lost a lot of weight and lay on the bed dying. His magic power was exhausted overnight, and the mountains, seas and stars attached to his body became dim.
The Toad Taoist and Hong Lian were so scared that they followed him closely, and from time to time they transferred their magic power to nourish his body. During this period, four scholars also came over, but unfortunately they did not see Lu Liangsheng. They came to say goodbye. Since they were back here, they also wanted to go back home to see if it was still the same as before.
Time passed little by little, and all the dead leaves on the mountain fell. Lu Liangsheng was able to get out of bed and walk around, and gradually returned to his original state. His magic power, cultivation, mountains, seas and stars reappeared one by one, leaving the Toad Taoist dumbfounded, and he had no idea what was going on.
However, the scholar now has more white hair.
"Master Toad, what happened to the young master?"
The autumn wind was getting colder and colder. Hong Lian stood in the thatched cottage and looked worriedly at Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting cross-legged under a pine tree on the cliff in thin green clothes. She had heard about the group's experience of returning from the Western world, and also heard about their battle with the four generals of the Demon Family at sea, but why did they become like this? She felt heartbroken for no reason.
"I don't know either. After he retrieved the Kongtong Seal from Guixu, he became mysterious and wouldn't tell me what happened inside."
The Toad Taoist touched the fish whiskers at the corner of his mouth, but finally stood up with concern, jumped off the stone table, and walked over with his flippers on his back.
"Liangsheng, what happened to you recently? Is it related to Guixu?"
Under the pine tree with swaying branches, Lu Liangsheng slowly opened his eyes, looked at the rolling sea of clouds in the distant mountains, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Master, remember you once told Liangsheng that all living things in the world can enter the Tao. Flying in the sky may gain spiritual consciousness, and stonemasons can also gain insights from sculptures..."
"Really? How come I don't remember it?"
The Toad Taoist was stunned for a moment, then sat down next to his disciple, rubbing his chin and thinking for a while, then sighed, "I made it up to trick you into learning magic."
On the side, Lu Liangsheng didn't care, and his gaze towards the sky became deep.
"But after leaving the village, I have seen the pursuits of people around me over the years, such as Pudu Cihang, who used all means to transform into a dragon and soar into the sky, and my mentor Uncle Hua Gong, who pursued the suffering of the people and risked his life. There are also Chen Fu, Yang Su, Zhou Zhen, all kinds of people, with different thoughts in their hearts, but I saw something from them, something that I can't explain, as if it is hidden in my heart, and also like it is in the sky..."
Taoist Toad looked up at the sky. The thick clouds blocked the sunlight, making it look gloomy. He shook his head, stood up and prepared to leave. He couldn't persuade his disciple anyway.
'He is seriously ill and has white hair, making him look like an old man... '
These words were like a flash of lightning in his mind. His moving figure suddenly froze. He looked at the scholar who had closed his eyes again with a complicated look and slowly walked back to the courtyard.
"Master Toad, have you asked?" Hong Lian came forward and asked directly.
Alas~~
The Toad Taoist stood at the stone table, holding his webbed hands and half-squinting his eyes. He was standing under an old tree on a lonely cliff and shook his head.
"Birth, aging, sickness and death, live towards death..."
He said softly.
…
The sky grew darker, and the scholar sitting there remained motionless. When it was daybreak, a pine leaf fell on his shoulder and mixed with his white hair. Hong Lian swept the needles off his body and looked at his handsome face. Wrinkles gradually appeared at the corners of his eyes, and she couldn't help shedding tears.
As autumn passed, the motionless figure was covered with dust and dead leaves.
Soon, snowflakes began to float down in the bleak sky and earth. The crowds of people were surging in Chang'an in winter. People who had been busy all year took their time to accompany their families to buy New Year's goods. Lu Laoshi wore brand new clothes and walked around in front of his wife in a fashionable manner. Whenever he had time, he would sit down and imitate his son, spread out paper, and draw several pictures of car frames of different shapes.
The burning charcoal brought warmth. Lu Xiaoxian was wearing bulky clothes and sitting on a soft chair specially made by the Taoist priest, which was embroidered with a pair of small and exquisite tiger hats. Occasionally, she raised her eyes and looked outside. She saw the Taoist priest with a serious face, sniffing his red nose and teaching a group of half-grown children with his hands behind his back. He turned around to meet his wife's gaze and raised his chin proudly. The next second, he slipped, staggered and almost fell, which made Xiaoxian chuckle, and then glared back at him fiercely.
In another wooden building, Li Jinhua rushed out of the room with a spoon in her hand, chasing after Mingyue Tongzi who was holding a pig, cursing and yelling at him, turning back and shouting at the top of her lungs, "Dinner is ready!"
The voice was heard outside the temple. Amid the sound of "Huha", eight shirtless men, their children and a group of older disciples from the audience were running around the lotus pond. When they heard the call, they led the team back to the mountain gate in an orderly manner.
On the other side of the city, Wang Chengen, with snow-white hair, was in high spirits. He bid farewell to Yuwen Mansion, raised the banner that read "Gods don't ask", and decided to travel all over the world.
The winter sunset spreads, illuminating the snow and wind.
Mount Qixia was already covered in white. Toad Taoist was wrapped in a thick quilt, huddled in a small compartment of the bookshelf and snoring. The howling wind and snow blew through the window lattice and rushed to the cliff. His pale hair and beard trembled slightly in the wind, and was covered with frost.
Hong Lian came up on the snow holding an oil-paper umbrella, covering her head. She looked at his old face stained with snowflakes, took out a silk handkerchief and gently wiped it for him, then sat beside him. They looked at the wind and snow in the mountains together and talked a few words.
As time goes by, the winter snow melts away, it is no longer cold, the flowing water moistens the soil, the dead forests on the mountains sprout green, and it is another spring.
The Toad Taoist woke up and looked at his hunchbacked disciple, who ran to the mountains to catch some game, which he roasted and ate while lying in the old donkey's arms. He felt more lonely than ever before.
When I returned to the courtyard, I no longer saw the yelling women and the honest men arguing, nor was there the little Taoist priest with a big nose reading a book in a sneaky manner.
A rooster crowed softly and pecked him on the back. Across from him, a hen tilted its head and pawed the ground, crowing.
He returned to the room where he used to live, took out the hidden pills from under the bed, packed them up, jumped onto the hen's back, and walked to Qixia Mountain.
As time goes by and spring goes and autumn comes, the green mountains turn into yellow. Soon, they are covered with snow again, which then melts away, year after year.
The mountain breeze blew, and the solitary old pine tree on the cliff swayed gently, shaking its branches full of pine leaves. The spring sunshine filtered through the gaps between the trees, and fell like silver hair, gently caressing the person sitting alone. The figure was already an old man in his twilight years.