The setting sun rolled in like a tide, dyeing the sky a red glow.
Hum! Ha!
The children lined up in a square, doing horse stance and throwing punches with their sleeves rolled up. Eight burly men walked around with their arms crossed, correcting the mistakes in posture, and occasionally stern voices were shouted at.
The rosy glow shone on the treetops, and the birds flew down. Yang Guang, in casual clothes, stood in the distance with his hands behind his back, watching the children waving their fists and making childish humming sounds, and he couldn't help but smile.
“Chengdu, what do you think of these kids?”
Two steps behind him, Yuwen Chengdu, the leader of the guards, glanced around. Apart from Taoist Sun who knew magic, the eight strong men over there also had some skills. When he heard the question, he smiled.
"Your Majesty, these children may become the pillars of our Sui Empire in the future."
“You!”
Yang Guang glanced at him from the side, his smile widened, and he nodded twice with his hand: "Just like your father, he loves to say nice things and doesn't want to offend anyone."
After walking around the square, he returned to the main building. He had heard from his father that this Wanshou Temple fell from the sky and was a temple obtained by the national master after he eradicated a cult. After walking around, he didn't feel anything special. It was almost time to go back to the palace. Yang Guang was wondering whether the national master had returned from the underworld, so he decided to go over and take a look.
"His Majesty!"
A hoarse and old voice suddenly came from the bottom of the stone steps. Amid the sound of footsteps coming up the steps, a burly old man in armor climbed up the last step breathlessly, immersed in the sunset glow.
"Han Qinhu, I'm here to meet your Majesty!" The old man wiped the sweat from his forehead and came over to salute.
The evening breeze blew through the woods with a hint of coolness, and amid the rustling sound of leaves swaying gently, Yang Guang stepped forward and helped the old man up, looking at him with some reproach in his eyes.
"Zhu Guo has just recovered from a serious illness, why is he running around? What if he catches a cold again?"
Over there, the rough old face with wrinkles was smiling brightly, not caring about any illness at all. He straightened his slightly hunched back a little, laughed heartily, and patted his chest a few times with his hands.
"Haha, Your Majesty, you don't know what kind of person I am. I can't keep my words to myself. If I have something to say, I have to say it. Otherwise, I will get sick from holding it in."
"So, what urgent matter does Zhuguo want to see me for?"
"It's something that happened outside. I've heard about it."
Han Qinhu has been getting older in recent years. He had a serious illness a while ago and almost died. His nephew was supposed to come and see him, but after he recovered from his illness, no one came. Instead, he heard news about a rebellion by bandits. He got excited and came here.
"Your Majesty, I am old now, and there is not much I can do. I can only catch up with a battle at the end. I dare to ask Your Majesty for this job, so that the villains outside know that the founding veterans are still here."
Yang Guang was slightly moved, but seeing that this famous general did not want him to take up arms again, he took the old man's hand, patted it twice, and shook his head and said, "General, you care about the country. I remember it in my heart. Now you are a founding hero. I still hope that Zhuguo can live out his years in peace. Let the young generals do these things. It is also what they should do. Come! Send Zhuguo back home."
Two guards came over, and before Han Qinhu could say anything, he was taken to the mountain gate below. Halfway through, he turned back and wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. Seeing that the emperor waved his hand to disagree, he could only stamp his feet, sighed, and slowly disappeared in the mountain path.
"Your Majesty, I think it is indeed difficult for the old general to go into battle again." Yuwen Chengdu looked at the old man hidden by the drooping branches below and said with a smile: "The old general has some skills, but he is too old after all. Besides, the enemy we are facing is not an ordinary bandit."
Yang Guang frowned at the somewhat defiant words. He turned around with a frown and saw a hunched figure slowly walking out of the door. A smile suddenly appeared on his displeased face and he quickly walked towards him.
"National Master!"
"His Majesty."
Lu Liangsheng walked out from under the eaves, bowed, conjured up a table, chairs and hot tea under the old pine tree, stretched out his hand, and invited the emperor to sit over.
"Imperial Master, can you see my father in the underworld?" After Yang Guang sat down, he didn't even look at the teacup beside him. Thinking about the things in the underworld, he became more and more anxious. In a moment of excitement, he knocked over the teacup, spilling it all over the table.
"Your Majesty, I cannot even enter the gates of hell."
Speaking of the underworld, Lu Liangsheng had a headache. He raised his sleeve and flicked his finger lightly, and the teacup stood up again. The tea that had flowed across the table quickly flowed back into the cup. "The two gods Shentu and Yulei are guarding the pass. They are following the order of the Emperor of Mount Tai and will not let me enter, let alone enter the underworld."
Lu Liangsheng did not hide what happened next and told him everything verbatim. He also told Yang Guang every word of Huang Feihu, the Emperor of Mount Tai. The netherworld below is the most mysterious to mortals. After all, everyone will go there in the future, which made Yang Guang and Yuwen Chengdu very nervous.
However, as an emperor, Yang Guang calmed down for a moment, and recalled Huang Feihu's words word by word, narrowing his eyes, "Imperial Master, Emperor Taishan hinted that there are no people from us in the underworld."
“Yes.”
Lu Liangsheng nodded and said, "It turns out that the Emperor of Mount Tai has some connection with these gods, but he is a god on earth and does not want to see the lives of the world die in war. After I came back, I kept thinking about his words. I didn't expect Your Majesty to understand it at all."
It was rare for the emperor to hear Lu Liangsheng praise him. He was stunned at first, but then he reacted, stroked his beard, smiled, and waved his hand.
"Don't praise me, Imperial Master. I am always in the court, and I am used to this kind of thing."
But speaking of the latter, the problem still lies before the two of them. Lu Liangsheng has the Kongtong Seal, which can seal the divine power in the human world. It is not difficult to place the spirit of a dead person in the underworld. The difficulty lies in who can take on the task
Yang Su
The first person that Lu Liangsheng thought of was naturally the Duke of Yue. However, in the past few years, he has most likely entered the underworld and reincarnate. The others who had intersections with him did not have significant abilities, or they were not dead yet... After the two of them discussed it, they found that there was no shortage of people, but there were no ghosts to use. They would not get rid of Hong Lian, right
If a female ghost without virtue entered the underworld and obtained a position as a god, the underworld would probably be in an uproar.
"Your Majesty, Imperial Master!"
Suddenly a voice was heard. Lu Liangsheng, who was lost in thought, and Yang Guang, who was sitting opposite him, turned their heads and looked in the direction of the old voice. In front of the stone steps over there, Han Qinhu, who had left long ago, was standing there and bowed towards them.
"If you trust me, let me go."
The square was filled with the noise of children, who had a break and were running around, playing and laughing in groups. Amid the red leaves, the woods rustled in the wind.
The old man standing in the rosy glow clasped his hands and slowly bowed.
"Han Qinhu, the Supreme State of the Sui Dynasty, is willing to die and go to hell—"