"That's the end of the story. Are you satisfied with it?"
"And then?"
"Exactly. What happened next? After the demon star was defeated, where did the national teacher go? You didn't even tell me. It's like telling a story without a beginning or an end. It's not even as good as the story told by the uncle next door in the village about the fox repaying a favor and cooking porridge for the farmer every day."
Dusk fell along the ridge and onto the dilapidated eaves. Below a few strings of dried vegetables were hanging. Several children gathered together, looking at an old man in a dusty robe sitting on a low stool under the eaves. They were somewhat dissatisfied with the story and shouted at each other. One of the little girls with pigtails blinked and asked timidly:
"Grandpa, then... will that national teacher become a god in the end?"
Hehehe…
The old man took a sip of cold water, put the broken pottery bowl on the ground, looked at the little girl and nodded, "I will." He looked at the children around him, patted their heads, got up from the stool, walked to the fence, led an old donkey tied there, and thanked the owner of the house.
"Master, thank you for the water. The bowl is under the eaves. I am leaving now."
When the group of children heard that the old man was leaving, they immediately put away their dissatisfaction, swarmed over, followed behind him, and gently shook the corners of the old man's robe.
"Grandpa, drink some more water." "Or, I'll ask my mother to make a bed for you and you can sleep at my house."
"My house is fine too."
"Well, my dad doesn't say anything."
Over there, a woman came out of the house and waved to the children to disperse, saying things like "Don't block the old man's way." "It's getting late, go home quickly."
After dispersing a group of naughty children, he turned around and the old man, like an old scholar, raised his sleeves and bowed to her, then climbed onto the old donkey and sat sideways, patted the donkey's head, and slowly left along the path outside the door in the gradually red glow of the sunset.
"What a weird old man." The woman murmured softly, shook her head, turned around and went back to the eaves to pick up the pottery bowl on the ground. There was a slight jingle in it, and several copper coins overlapped crookedly. "This... just a sip of water, and you still give me money..."
I chased the donkey to the gate of the courtyard, but there was no trace of the donkey on the path. The sunset glowed down, and at the end of the path covered with low green grass, I could faintly hear the sound of copper bells jingling in the distance.
"Walking so fast?!"
Tap… Ding ding ding…
The old donkey walked with its four hooves lightly raised and lowered, crossing the wooden bridge over the gurgling stream, happily swinging the copper bell around its neck. The evening breeze blew, and the trees rustled. An old man sat horizontally on the donkey's back with a seven-cornered bronze mirror hanging around his waist. He was reading a book in the setting sun. The snow-white beard on his face gradually fell off, and his pale hair turned dark blue again in the sunlight. The wrinkles disappeared, and his skin returned to its youthful appearance.
Sitting on the donkey's back, a picture of a scholar riding a donkey slowly unfolds.
Not far away, a wisp of green smoke turned into a human figure, and her embroidered shoes gently stepped on the green grass. Nie Honglian squatted down to look at the blooming wild flowers, leaned over to smell them, and after a moment, her beautiful eyes were like crescent moons, with dimples, and she ran forward, stretching out her arms, her skirt flying, and she laughed a sweet voice.
Hearing Yin Ling's chuckle, Lu Liangsheng raised his eyes from the page of the book, looked at the woman in front of him, and chuckled.
"Hong Lian is still the same as before."
The bookshelf was placed on the donkey's buttocks. As the voices were speaking, the small door under the shelf opened, and two short legs stretched out and hung outside the door. In front of the horizontal gourd, a toad wearing a flowery robe sat there, lit a pipe, puffed out a puff of white smoke, and spat out a mouthful of saliva with a "huh".
"You're already an old girl, but you haven't changed."
In front, the old donkey turned its head and neighed "Ah-ah-er", as if echoing the toad's words, and carried Lu Liangsheng leisurely along the country road.
Soon, the village with smoke rising from chimneys faded into the distance at dusk, and was gradually obscured by the mountains. This time on the way back to Qixia Mountain, he had already crossed the Yangtze River and was only a hundred miles away from Hegu County. Coming out of Wujiang Mountain, he also passed by Chang'an, where the city walls were reinforced and repaired, and the road to the Western Regions was crowded with carriages, horses, and camels. Looking at the large "Sui" flag fluttering on the city wall from afar, Lu Liangsheng still did not step into the city. He just inquired about the current emperor's health and chose to leave. After returning home and seeing how the Grand Canal was built, perhaps he would go to the capital to see and meet Yang Guang, but the emperor would definitely be old.
The sky gradually darkened.
The stars and the moon hang in the night sky, and the undulating mountains in the dark night are like wild beasts hiding in the shadows, and from time to time there are a few wolf howls.
Past the village, there was another stretch of barren mountains and wilderness. Lu Liangsheng got on the donkey and walked into a bamboo forest in front, holding the reins. Clusters of emerald green bamboos stretched all around. In the night wind, leaves fluttered down on his shoulders and feet.
"Master, please stay here for tonight."
Lu Liangsheng waved his sleeves to sweep away the dust, and the wind blew away the bamboo leaves on the ground to create a clean space. He then spread out his blanket and put the bookshelf aside. Soon, he lit a bonfire, set up a small pot, and started cooking.
"Sir, I will go find some firewood."
Hong Lian floated into the woods. The bookshelf creaked. Toad Taoist changed his clothes and came out with his hands behind his back. He sat beside the fire. Amid the sound of the boiling rice pot, he tilted his head to look at his disciple who was flipping through the pages of a book by the firelight.
"Why have you been walking so slowly these past two days? Are you a little scared to go back?"
The cool moonlight shone through the gaps between the swaying green bamboos above, and the surrounding bamboo forest rustled softly in the wind. A scholar over there turned a page and hummed softly, his eyes fixed on the paper, as if he was reading a book, or thinking about a problem.
After a while, Hong Lian came back with a few dead bamboos, and Lu Liangsheng spoke on this side.
"Twenty years have passed in the past. I wonder how my parents are doing... and Xiaoxian and Old Sun."
It was still a little chilly that spring night. The toad stretched out its webbed feet to keep warm by the fire, rubbed its webbed feet and hummed.
"You have gone to heaven and you can't feel how time has passed. Why are you worried? Why don't you ask your master how you have survived the past twenty years in the mountains?!"
Lu Liangsheng smiled and raised his head: "Then how did Master get here?"
"I ate it!" Hong Lian, who was adding firewood, chuckled and spoke first.
snort!
The Toad Taoist glared at her, picked up his flippers and turned in one direction, causing the old donkey crawling beside him to grin and moan, and the atmosphere became lively. The long night gradually passed in the flickering firelight and the fragrant rice porridge. When the sky began to turn red in the east, the bonfire went out and the bookshelf was put back on the donkey's back.
After packing up his luggage, Lu Liangsheng didn't lead the old donkey, but let it follow beside him. He patted the bronze mirror on his waist and said, "Tuo'er, we are going back to Qixia Mountain."
He said softly, and the seven-cornered bronze mirror hanging on his waist hummed twice. The toad with legs crossed in the cubicle tilted his head to look at it, tapped the pipe and shook out the ashes inside, "Look how excited Tuo'er is. Speaking of which, I haven't seen the beautiful scenery of Qixia Mountain for a long time. I miss the thatched cottage in the mountain."
Hong Lian floated above the old donkey, then descended and landed next to Lu Liangsheng. She put her arms around him, turned around and made a face.
"Master Toad is probably missing Aunt's food. Hmm... maybe he's also missing the white hen at home."
"You little ghost girl!"
The Toad Taoist puffed up his cheeks and simply retreated into the small compartment, slamming the door shut. A man and a donkey walked out of the bamboo forest and looked out from the gentle slope. They could vaguely see the official road, but the bronze mirror on Lu Liangsheng's waist was still shaking, and then there was a sound.
"Master, there is a demonic aura, and someone is performing a magic trick."
The morning light shone through the clouds and fell on Lu Liangsheng's handsome face. He looked into the distance, his thin eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he just hummed lightly.