The leaves of the phoenix tree swayed in the wind, and the swaying spots of light brushed across Lu Liangsheng's shoulders. He raised his head after hearing the word "Master", and saw Yuwen Tuo half-kneeling in front of him with his hands clasped in front of him, and nodded with a smile.
"Get up and carry a chair out from inside."
"Master, that's not necessary. I will just stand and talk."
Yuwen Tuo stood up and put down his hand. He looked at his master whom he had not seen for a long time. He had white hair and a silver beard. Although his face was cold, he was slightly moved. He said softly: "Master, you look... How did you become like this..."
Lu Liangsheng knew very well what kind of disciple he was. Ever since Lu Yuan's death, he had been living in seclusion, fearing that his supernatural powers would cause trouble and create chaos for him. However, if anything happened between fellow disciples, he would definitely stand out and take the lead.
"It's okay, just change your appearance and mindset, maybe you will have a different perspective on everything in the world."
This was naturally a joke. As Lu Liangsheng made a joke, his mind moved, and a chair flew out from the open hallway not far away and landed steadily next to him.
Yuwen Tuo cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Master, for the seat." He lifted the hem of his robe and sat down beside him. He knew that his master didn't want him to ask any more questions, so he didn't say much. He also sensed that his master had returned, so he came to visit in a hurry. He couldn't find a topic to talk about for a moment and didn't know what to say.
"Master, where are you coming from?"
After a while, Yuwen Tuo asked about what happened before. Lu Liangsheng flicked his sleeves and conjured up two cups of steaming hot tea. He gave them to them and said with a smile:
"I fought with the four generals of the Demon Clan, came back from the Far West, and stayed in Qixia Mountain for some time."
He briefly told his disciple about his experience, then paused. Lu Liangsheng smelled the faint fragrance of tea and took a sip: "When I came back... I went to Taiyuan to visit Yuan Feng. He was very good. Without his magic power, he could focus more on his thoughts. This was a good thing. He accompanied me for several miles after leaving Taiyuan."
"Alas, Yuan Feng also has a hard life."
Yuwen Tuo and Qu Yuanfeng had studied Taoism together in Mount Qixia since they were young, and returned to the capital together, living under the same roof for several years. Their relationship was closer than that of Li Sui'an, who was also a fellow apprentice. However, since they heard that he was safe in Taiyuan, they felt relieved.
Afterwards, the master and disciple sat under the parasol tree and talked for a while. Lu Liangsheng also asked about some things that happened in the court in recent years. Yuwen Tuo did not hide anything and talked about everything from the time Lu Liangsheng went to sea to the recent days.
"Your Majesty is a man of great talent and vision. He has made good arrangements for the canal project and benefited many people. However, this has caused dissatisfaction among some aristocratic families because there is no one to cultivate their farmland. They have even complained to the court several times... Your Majesty is very angry about this. So, Yuwen Shaoqing has organized a martial arts competition to cheer you up. It will start early tomorrow morning and they are going to select the best general in the world."
Lu Liangsheng held the teacup and frowned slightly, then suddenly smiled and shook his head.
"I'm afraid that Yuwen Huaji is paving the way for his son. What's the best in the world? In the end, it's just to give Yuwen Chengdu a title so that he can lead an army in the future. Hmm... I have seen that Yuwen Chengdu. His martial arts are not worse than Zuo Qianwei back then, but he lacks the courage to risk his life."
Yuwen Tuo also laughed.
"Master is right. Speaking of which, the Yuwen father and son are my relatives. Yuwen Chengdu has to call me second uncle when he sees me... He is older than him."
He paused for a moment, still smiling, and took the phantom teapot and poured some tea for his master.
"Master, I have been invited to attend the martial arts competition. Just as you said, I am afraid someone with real ability will take away the number one spot in the world. It will be held tomorrow. You may as well come and see the excitement. Practicing Taoism is boring, but it is quite interesting to see the excitement of these people in the martial arts world."
"Okay."
Lu Liangsheng thought about it and decided that he would go out tomorrow and go to the City God Temple to see what Ji Xin's achievements were. He could also go and watch the world's best martial arts competition to kill time.
After chatting for a while, it was getting late, so Yuwen Tuo said goodbye and left. Lu Liangsheng saw him off and called Li Yuanba, who was holding Lu Pan above his head and moving him up and down. Upon hearing this, Li Yuanba hurriedly put the strong man on the ground and turned around and shouted, "Don't leave, come back later!"
Dizzy Lu Pan leaned on Lu Qing's arms. When he heard this, he quickly pushed Lu Xi next to him and said, "You go later."
As he spoke, Li Yuanba ran to the stone steps of the mountain gate and jumped in front of Lu Liangsheng like a monkey, restraining his temper and becoming well-behaved.
"Master, why do you want to call Yuanba?"
Yuwen Tuo at the side was also a little confused. Lu Liangsheng smiled and touched the top of the boy's head. "Yuanba, the one in front of you is your second senior brother. He has unparalleled divine power and outstanding martial arts in the human world. If you encounter bottlenecks in the future, you can go to Yuwen Mansion to find him for help."
"Master, is this my junior brother?" Looking at the young man with thin cheeks, thick eyebrows, small eyes, and a tuft of yellow hair, Yuwen Tuo's lips curled up into a smile.
… When a master accepts a disciple, he really only looks at talent.
Over there, Li Yuanba couldn't stand hearing what others said the most. He raised his little face, looked up and down at the young man in front of him, and snorted softly.
"Master said that you have unparalleled power. Do you dare to compete with me in strength? I am also born with supernatural power. Whoever loses will call the other brother."
hehe…
Yuwen Tuo looked at him with a wider smile, but he had no intention of making gestures. He turned his eyes and bowed to Lu Liangsheng, "Master, I will take my leave first."
After saying that, he nodded to Li Yuanba again, turned around and walked towards the stone steps below. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared under the intertwined shade of the trees and went far away to the mountain gate. Soon, a light shout of "Gee!" was heard, and he rode away on horseback.
"Coward, don't dare to fight!"
Li Yuanba folded his hands across his chest and said something disdainful, then he was hit on the head. He covered his head and looked at his master who was leaving with his hands behind his back, and hurriedly caught up with him.
"Master, am I wrong?"
"Hehe... The divine power you understand is different from the divine power that your master talked about." Lu Liangsheng, who was walking slowly in front, sat back on the chair, took the scroll and basked in the sun, quietly flipping through the scroll. When the unconvinced little disciple came over, he said softly, "You will know tomorrow when you go with your master to take a look."
The sky was bright, willow trees swaying on the water's surface were filled with the chirping of cicadas, the outer street of Yiningfang was as noisy as a busy market, yamen runners were patrolling the streets with knives and sticks in hand, and as their eyes swept over the streets, the outlaws leaning against the street curb restrained their gazes and turned to talk to other people. In the noisy tavern, the guests who were drinking from bowls clapped their weapons and shouted at others, scaring the waiters so much that they had to stop them from a distance, and only after the yamen runners shouted what they wanted to say did the situation calm down.
The noise spread to the second floor, where people walked up the stairs carrying weapons, raised their hands to greet the people who came to greet them, and said, "Nice to meet you!"
After announcing his reputation in the martial arts world, some people stood up and clasped their fists in a heroic manner, giving polite responses such as "I've heard a lot about you."
There are quite a lot of people on the second floor here. They are all outlaws, some are well-known figures, and some are local heroes and celebrities. They are dressed in different clothes and toast each other with fists. Some of them have old grudges against each other. Most of them sneer and say something cruel like "We'll see the truth in the ring tomorrow."
On the second floor, at a banquet next to the screen, a young man with a long sword on his back sat as upright as a pine tree, drinking tea and eating food leisurely with a girl named Xue'er. Occasionally, he would glance at the outlaws who had just come up, but he was too lazy to even take a look.
Amidst the noisy voices, a sentence came out: "I heard that the current Yuwen Grand Master will also watch the martial arts competition tomorrow..."
The young man with a long sword on his back put down his chopsticks, frowned and looked at the few outlaws who were talking not far away.