Ding-dong, the sound of copper bells rang out on the official road.
From Hegu County to the west, among the passing merchants and pedestrians, a scholar in a clean green robe walked leisurely, leading an old donkey.
On both sides of the donkey's back, bookshelves were swaying gently, with a few scrolls inserted inside. Most of the luggage was probably in the attic under the bookshelves.
Lu Liangsheng looked simple and plain, a poor scholar with nothing valuable. The only thing of some value was probably the jade pendant with double fish pearls around his waist.
There was a Taoist priest walking with him on the side of the road. From time to time, he would run to the ridge of the field outside the road, dig out something from the cracks in the mud, take it to the small ditch next to it to wash it, then stuff it into a dirty leather bag and run back to continue walking with him.
On roads with few pedestrians, the Toad Taoist would sneak out, sit cross-legged on the old donkey's head, fold his arms calmly, and appreciate the surrounding pastoral scenery.
“… The atmosphere of the human world is quite nice.”
Lu Liangsheng turned around and looked at him.
"Master used to go up and down, and the scenery he saw was also different."
The old donkey shook his mane, and the Toad Taoist above him looked solemn, nodded, and looked at the outline of the mountain in the distance.
"When you reach the same level as your master in the future, you will naturally see it. The countless mountains and rivers are like a landscape painting, crawling at your feet. After looking at it for a long time, it is actually not as good as it is now."
"You're bragging again." Sun Yingxian ran back from the field on the other side. The leather bag around his waist was heavy, and it seemed that he had a good harvest. Toad Taoist stared at his bag, snorted, stood up, walked over the donkey's back, and slid into the small compartment by pulling the bookshelf.
"Catch fewer frogs. It's a sin."
With a bang, the small door of the compartment was closed.
The Taoist didn't bother to pay attention to the toad. All the way out of River Valley County, he ate more happily than anyone else, and clamored for more seasoning.
Muttering a few words, Sun Yingxian walked briskly to the side of the scholar.
"I say, how does it feel to be a juren master?"
"No."
What Lu Liangsheng said was true. After he won the imperial examination, he did not wear flowers or ride a horse in a parade, nor did he accept congratulations from the government office. Naturally, he did not feel anything. However, during the time he was at home, wealthy people from various villages came to visit him, mostly to marry off their daughters or to lease their land.
This is also one of the reasons why Li Jinhua kept urging him to get married quickly.
"Right now, I should go to the capital as soon as possible to meet my mentor, and then travel to the northwest. It would be great if I can do something."
"It's very chaotic over there in the northwest. I'm afraid there's no end to the things that need to be done."
As the two were talking, the sound of horse hooves and the clanging of cart shafts on the road behind them came closer and closer. Lu Liangsheng was leading the old donkey to the side. An old carriage passed by them, with four strong men on horseback beside them. They were dressed differently, but they had swords tied around their waists.
Sun Yingxian waved her sleeves to disperse the rising dust.
"You're running so fast, are you in a hurry to be reborn?"
At this time, it was almost noon and the autumn sun was still a little hot. Blown up by the dust, they lost the desire to hurry on and walked a little further, the two men and the donkey, plus the Toad Taoist who pushed open the bookshelf.
Under a big tree by the roadside, they lit a fire, put a small pot on the stove and started cooking.
The Taoist took out a few loaches from his bag and shook them in front of the toad.
"Let's change the taste today."
In a few seconds, he skewered the loaches with branches and roasted them over the fire. Lu Liangsheng took advantage of the time to spread out the map of the Southern Chen Official Road and marked his location with pen and ink.
"We still have to cross a state and seven counties. It will take two or three months to get there at normal walking speed. After dinner, I'd better use magic to catch up and then walk slowly along the way."
"Whatever you say, I will just eat."
The Toad Taoist held the branch with his webbed feet, turned the loach on it, and tilted his head to look at the Taoist: "Quick, put some oil on it, sprinkle some salt, it's going to burn."
He brought it over from the fire, tilted his toad face up, puffed up his cheeks and blew on it twice quickly, then sat down next to his apprentice quite comfortably, leaned against the scholar's thigh, took a bite of the roasted loach, with the word "comfortable" written all over his face.
After finishing their lunch, Lu Liangsheng waved his robe to attract mud and put out the campfire. He then cleared the pots and pans, got on the old donkey, and asked the Taoist to follow up. They walked slowly and leisurely, and in the blink of an eye, the old donkey was already sixty or seventy feet away.
The sky was slanting, and after passing a county town, the sides of the road became increasingly desolate, until gradually even the fields could not be seen. There was more than one official road, and Lu Liangsheng weighed the route he had taken.
Then, they seemed to be lost.
"Old Sun... You came back from the northwest, don't you know the way?"
Sun Yingxian blinked in confusion and pointed at the ground: "I know nothing. I used the escape technique to drill directly from below in one direction. I am much faster than you, a donkey."
"Okay, blame me." Lu Liangsheng put away the blueprint of the official road. Fortunately, it was not dark yet, so he got off the donkey, found a stone and threw it on the ground.
The stone rolled twice and suddenly tilted, as if pointing in a certain direction.
The scholar dusted off his hands, pulled the reins and headed over there. The Taoist followed behind him. After walking for a while, they could vaguely see the outlines of several houses.
When I got closer, I saw an old man standing outside the fence. I didn't know what he was doing, just staring at the sunset.
"Go over and ask for directions."
Lu Liangsheng loosened the reins, walked over quickly, and raised his hands: "Old man, may I ask how to get to Fulinzhou?"
The old man seemed not to hear him, so Lu Liangsheng repeated the question again. The old man then suddenly turned around and opened his mouth slightly.
"Aha..."
Raise your finger and point to the mountains where the path under your feet extends.
It turns out he can't speak.
Lu Liangsheng didn't look at the old man for long to avoid causing misunderstanding. After thanking him, he pulled the old donkey and Sun Yingxian away. After walking along the muddy road for a while, the scholar couldn't help but look back. The old man was still standing there with a smile on his face.
"What are you looking at?"
The Taoist also looked back and said, "That old guy seems weird."
Lu Liangsheng shook his head and continued walking.
"There is no evil spirit or yin energy... maybe the old man has a weird personality."
At this time, behind the two of them, a couple came out of the house next to the roadside. Seeing the old man standing in the road, they hurried forward to help him back and blamed each other.
"Dad is a bit demented, and you didn't take good care of him. How could he get out? What if he gets lost?!"
"He disappeared as soon as I turned around. How would I know? You were just busy sleeping."
…
The setting sun swept across the western clouds like a tide, dyeing the mountains red.
Wow—wow wow—
An old crow stood on a branch and cried. With its blinking eyes, it saw two people and a donkey walking below.
"Ah, I'm going to go back and settle accounts with that old guy!!"
Sun Yingxian's scream startled a flock of birds from the withered yellow grass, and they flew up into the sky in black. All around were dead trees and old forests, a desolate scene. A rugged path that few people walked on was overgrown with weeds.
"Why don't we just go back and find him? He tricked us and we can use him to get a free meal!"
On the side, Lu Liangsheng didn't think too much about it. He looked at the sky and simply let go of the reins, letting the old donkey eat grass.
"It's getting dark, I'll just sleep outside for the night."
There happened to be a large rock over there, with a hollow underneath that could accommodate four or five people. They took the pots and pans off the bookshelf and carried them over.
"What are you still standing there for? Start cooking."
The Taoist sighed and leaped into the woods, making a lot of crackling noises. After a while, he came back with a bunch of dead branches and started a bonfire.
The food was cooked and a faint rice aroma wafted in the air. Soon, the two men and the toad finished eating. Lu Liang was afraid that they would be bored, so he took out a set of chess that he had bought when he passed by Hegu County.
With the help of the firelight, he fought with the Taoist on the chessboard, while Toad watched with his hands behind his back.
…
The sky was sinking into darkness and the sound of metal clashing could be heard on the road a few miles away.
Boom boom boom…
Four figures on horseback were fighting with more than a dozen black shadows rushing towards them. In front of the carriage they were protecting, the horses were frightened, neighed, and ran away with the carriage, deviating from the road and rushing into the wilderness.
"Protect the people in the car!"
One of the four guards shouted, and the remaining three immediately broke away from the battle and chased after the mad carriage.