The cold wind blew in through the window, and the candlelight flickered.
Lu Liangsheng walked down the attic. Incense was burning in the hall shrine, and shadows pushed away the candlelight like smoke, covering the corner. An old general stood in the middle. When he saw the figure coming down the stairs, he bowed and said, "God Huairou greets the national master."
"Flying General!"
Lu Liangsheng bowed to him, then spread his hands and asked the other party to sit down and talk. After all, he was a famous general of the Western Han Dynasty, but unfortunately he lost his way in the final battle of Mobei, missed the military opportunity and committed suicide at home in anger. No matter what, the other party's contribution is indelible, and he still has to be respected.
He reached out his hand and brushed the teapot. The originally cold tea gradually became warm. He poured a cup and handed it to the other person, then sat down beside the Taoist priest.
"The flying general went to the north to cause trouble. What happened when he came back late at night?"
The aroma of tea filled the old general's mouth and nose. The light brown color of the tea faded away in a blink of an eye. Li Guang then put down the teacup and talked about his attack on Liang Shidu and Liu Wuzhou's army in the north with the Wujiang River God and "Wenhou" Lu Bu.
"These gods set up camps and deployed their troops with many loopholes. They still followed the ideas of people in their previous lives and underestimated the enemy. They were ambushed by the three of us. It's a pity that we have only a short time to be gods and have no ghost soldiers to command. Otherwise, this general and the other two generals would have killed them and razed their camps!"
This made the Taoist on the side couldn't help laughing. That's right. Most of these people were deified during the Shang Dynasty. When it comes to military tactics and setting up camps and battle formations, they can't compare to the elite soldiers and generals of later generations. Their battle formations have been changed countless times.
"... Well, speaking of which, if I had the Yin God's method of distinguishing positions when I was still alive, I would have been able to become a marquis once I arrived in Mobei..."
Seeing him sighing with his face raised, Lu Liangsheng's mouth twitched when he talked about his own affairs, "General Fei, please get to the point."
"hehe!"
Li Guang reacted and couldn't help but smile, "I have a lot of emotions in my heart, but I said something off topic. I hope the Imperial Master won't mind it." Then he talked about the four people he had met by chance in the enemy camp, who had traces of gods on their bodies.
"I wanted them to come back with me, but somehow they didn't catch up. However, these four people said they knew the Imperial Master and were very familiar with him. I wonder if it's true?"
Four people
Still in the Star Army
Lu Liangsheng and Sun Yingxian looked at each other, and their minds quickly screened through the people they knew. After a moment, their minds were fixed on the appearance of four figures.
Even the Taoist figured out who it was, "Those four scholars?!"
"Yes, the four people I met were quite elegant, indeed dressed like scholars."
It really was those four guys. Even after experiencing great storms, Lu Liangsheng was still surprised at these four scholars. How did they get into the enemy camp and even sit in the central military tent.
"Old Lu, what's going on with those four guys?" The Taoist looked at the Yin God opposite him, leaned close to Lu Liangsheng, and asked in a low voice.
The latter was also thinking about this question.
"General Fei said that these four people have divine positions. That means there are four divine positions. They can get them at the same time... If I remember correctly, it should be that they fought with the Four Heavenly Kings of Nantianmen at sea and deprived each other of their divine positions. Maybe their methods exploded, and by mistake, the divine positions fell on these four people."
Lu Liangsheng paused, took a sip of tea, then smiled and waved his hand.
"Let's put this matter aside for now. These four people have been unlucky since I left Qixia Mountain to take the exam, but they have always been able to turn danger into safety. They have experienced a lot. His body is there, but his heart is definitely here. He will definitely do something beneficial to us."
"Really don't worry about it?"
"The four of them are blessed by heaven, so nothing should happen to them."
Lu Liangsheng calculated on his fingers the fortune of Wang Feng and the other three, and replied to the Taoist with a smile. It was still two hours before dawn, so he returned to the room to continue drawing the topographic map. In the candlelight, the Toad Taoist was already fast asleep on the small bed, so he quickened the drawing speed.
Oh oh… Oh oh oh…
Roosters crowed in the distance. Lu Liangsheng looked up and saw that the sky outside the window was already getting light. He put down his brush, collected the painting scroll, walked out of the room, came to the shrine in the hall, and burned the painting scroll. In the flickering flames, a group of children in the square outside were rarely seen running along the lotus pond under the leadership of Lu Pan and his eight companions. They were arranged in two squares according to their height and age, and quietly watched the flames coming from the hall.
The ashes swayed, swirling in the morning breeze that passed through the hall and drifting out of the window. Lu Liangsheng lit a stick of incense and inserted it into the incense burner. The Taoist came down, tidying up his robe, and followed Lu Liangsheng out.
Outside, Li Jinhua, Lu Laoshi and Lu Xiaoxian were standing not far away with their bags on their backs. Lu Liangsheng came out to look at them, then his eyes swept over the two formations of children of all sizes opposite, and a smile appeared on his face.
"I didn't ask you to run around the lake this morning. Are you surprised? Actually... there are more difficult things for you to do. You... should go out and broaden your horizons. What you learn in the temple is limited after all. If you want to grow further, you need to go out and explore the world on your own."
"Sir, are you asking us to leave Chang'an because you are afraid of those gods?" Among the children, there are also older ones who naturally know more.
There were also childish voices in the square, shouting crisply: "We are not afraid!"
"We know a little bit of Taoism, so we can help you fight them!" "I'm good at boxing and kicking!"
A bunch of kids were talking at once and shouting all kinds of words, which made Lu Pan, the Taoist and the others' eyes moist. Lu Liangsheng pursed his lips and pressed his hand in the air, and the noisy voices gradually quieted down.
"Those gods outside are the adults' business."
Lu Liangsheng said this, took a deep breath, still with a smile on his face, he walked past a child and touched him on the head.
"… You can't control it now. Follow Taoist Sun to Chang'an. The older ones can go out on their own. Let me make it clear first, you can't do bad things. This is what the master doesn't like. Also, when you are outside and encounter demons and monsters, don't be soft-hearted. You must stay calm. Demons are cruel and ruthless, insidious and cunning. If you suffer a loss, you will lose your life. Do you understand?!"
Seeing Lu Liangsheng, who had white hair and beard and an old face, speaking gently, many children raised their hands to wipe their eyes, and sobbed and cried.
After staying here for a few years, although the eight masters are sometimes fierce, they are friends of the same age here, sleeping on the same bed, and being punished together for doing wrong things. They have already regarded it as their own home. If those gods didn’t come down to make trouble, how great it would be. Everyone would study together, play together, and grow up together...
"No matter what happens on the sir's side, you should all travel the world peacefully to slay demons and monsters. Of course, if you encounter a good demon or monster, you must not kill them randomly."
After giving them a few instructions, Lu Liangsheng asked them to check the books, writing brushes, ink, and talisman paper, then looked at the Taoist priest. The latter sighed and waved to the child over there, "Follow me."
A large group of children lined up in an orderly manner and followed Sun Yingxian to the mountain gate below. When they were about to reach the stone steps, they suddenly stopped, looked at Lu Liangsheng with his hands behind his back, knelt on the ground, knocked their foreheads, and used the titles that the teacher did not allow them to call them in the past.
"Master, let's go!"
"Let's go." Lu Liangsheng waved his sleeves silently, and when all the figures had left, he walked towards his parents and sister. "I originally wanted my parents to live in Chang'an City in their old age, but it seems that this is not possible now. When we return to Qixia Mountain, please say hello to all the villagers on my behalf."
Knowing her son's duty, Li Jinhua, who was a hot-tempered and talkative person, said nothing at this moment. She just touched her son's hand. Lu Laoshi, who was standing by, sighed, pushed his wife, and pulled his daughter and grandson: "Don't look, let's go."
"Father and mother!"
Lu Liangsheng looked at his parents walking towards the stone steps, and suddenly spoke, stepping forward and cupping his hands: "Dad and Mom... take care, everything is peaceful here, Liangsheng will return to Qixia Mountain."
The old couple nodded silently, supporting each other as they walked down the stone steps step by step. Lu Xiaoxian turned around and shouted to the figure still standing above.
"Brother... take care of yourself too!"
He took his son's hand and shook it: "Yun'er, say goodbye to your uncle!"
The little baby in the woman's arms was still dozing off. With sleepy eyes, his mother pulled him and shook his little hand a few times, then he lay on her shoulder and continued to sleep soundly.
…
The noisy Wanshou Temple suddenly became deserted. Only Zhu Ganglie, Nie Honglian, and Zhu Erniang were left on the square. However, she could not leave the city and could only stay in the temple.
"We also..."
Just as Lu Liangsheng was about to open his mouth, there was a rustling sound in the woods. Two figures stepped on the tree cage, and jumped down at the moment the branch bent and swayed. One of them had a leopard head, round eyes, a thick beard, and carried a wooden box on his back. The other one had one arm, holding a knife, and wearing a bamboo hat.
"Friend Lu, if you want to accomplish great things, how can you do it without us two?"
In the sunlight that gradually appeared through the clouds, standing on the left and right were Yan Chixia and Zuo Zhengyang.
"Okay!" Lu Liangsheng showed a gentle smile, raised his hand and bowed to the two of them, "You are old acquaintances of mine, I won't be pretentious, please follow me out of the city!"
Hahaha-
Hearing this, they both laughed, clasped their fists together, and said in unison: "Let's go together!"
The morning sun is shining through the clouds.