There was a slight rustling of branches and leaves. In the rosy glow of the sunset, Lu Liangsheng looked at the Taoist with red eyes. He was indescribably happy to see his old friend again. But when he looked at the long beard with a few white marks on his chin, he pursed his lips, tried to make himself smile, and just like before, he gently punched the Taoist on the chest.
"Getting older actually makes you look better."
"You have become younger, but you don't have the air of a fairy anymore." Although cultivators live longer than ordinary people, they will eventually show signs of aging. Sun Yingxian tilted her head and raised her sleeve to wipe the tears from her cheeks, smiling slightly: "Are you not leaving this time? Or are you planning to ascend to become a fairy? Be careful that when you get to heaven, those fairies you offended twenty years ago may cause trouble for you. I won't be around by then, and no one will help you."
The two men teased each other, were silent for a moment, and then laughed. Hong Lian, who was accompanying them, pursed her red lips and smiled along with the two men, then walked to the thatched cottage and started sweeping the weeds and fallen leaves in the yard.
Lu Liangsheng looked at the graceful figure and flicked his finger. The collapsed thatched hut and dead trees were reborn, growing tender branches and vines that twisted together and propped themselves up from the ground, returning to their original appearance.
"Just now you asked me if I would leave after I come back? I'm afraid I won't stay long this time..." Retracting his magic power, the scholar looked at the tender green leaves swaying in the wind, turned around and walked to the cliff over there, cleaned up his teacher's grave, pulled out a weed from the cracks in the rocks, held it in his hand, and said softly: "I just came back to take a look. I miss home. If I come back later, I don't know how things and people will change."
"Leaving so soon?" The Taoist followed behind, frowning, "Why don't you stay a little longer to accompany Xiaoxian and your parents?"
"I want to see you." Lu Liangsheng pulled out the second one, his hand trembled slightly, and then he pulled the grass up and threw it away, "... but I still can't stop."
The smile on Sun Yingxian's face gradually faded. The two hands hanging at her sides clenched into fists. She suddenly took a step forward and roared towards the figure in front of the tombstone, her voice suddenly rising.
"Lu Liangsheng! What's the difference between you and those emotionless gods you said before?! Besides, you haven't become an immortal yet. They are your parents and your sister, all your closest relatives. I don't believe you don't have them for even a day!!"
Lu Liangsheng looked at his mentor's tombstone, fell silent, turned around and patted Sun Yingxian on the shoulder. The latter pushed his hand away with his backhand, took two steps back, his gray beard shaking slightly in the wind.
"Do you know how hard they have waited for you for the past twenty years? Your mother has a hot temper, but she loves you the most. She has been looking forward to your return all day long, and her eyes are almost blind from crying. Your father walks his donkey outside every day, hoping to be the first one in the village to see you return! You told me you wanted to leave! Are you worthy of being a son? Are you worthy of what the scholar said when he walked out of Qixia Mountain?!"
After the Taoist finished speaking, Hong Lian and Toad in the thatched cottage looked over silently. Hong Lian couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she dropped her broom and ran a few steps: "Master Sun, there's nothing you can do about it. Heaven has forced him to go. You can't get involved in human affairs anymore!"
Old Sun turned his gaze to Lu Liangsheng: "Is that true?"
In the howling wind, Lu Liangsheng pursed his lips, met her gaze, nodded, walked sideways to the old pine tree on the cliff, stroked the rough tree trunk, and spoke slowly amid the rustling sound of leaves.
"In fact, I made an exchange with Heavenly Dao when I took the Human Emperor Seal in Guixu a long time ago. Otherwise, I would not have been able to take the Kongtong Seal. Later, on the Conferred God Platform, I made a promise to Heavenly Dao, which made the Conferred God Processing go smoothly. Now it's time to fulfill my promise, and... after absorbing the Monster Star, I vaguely felt that I was about to break through the Void Slashing Realm. This world can no longer accommodate me, and Heavenly Dao will not allow me to stay any longer..."
The Taoist's eyes turned red. He kicked him hard again, raised his head and cursed, "Damn God!"
boom!
The originally bright red glow suddenly dimmed, and a blue-white flash of lightning flashed in the clouds, as if issuing a warning, shocking Sun Yingxian so much that he immediately shut his mouth.
Over there, Lu Liangsheng smiled and said, "See, he's always watching me."
Soon, the dark clouds dispersed and the rosy clouds came down again. Sun Yingxian then lowered her sleeves and showed her face. She wanted to curse a few more times, but finally gave up and sat down on a big rock next to her in frustration. Thinking of how she had angrily cursed Lu Liangsheng just now, she simply apologized.
"It's okay. After all these years, everyone has some resentment in their heart. I actually like it when you scold me."
Lu Liangsheng patted his shoulder and sat next to him. The two big men with mismatched looks sat side by side, watching the rolling sea of clouds. After a while, the scholar spoke first, breaking the silence.
"Do you remember when you and I stood here and said that we would quit our official positions and retire, and then build a thatched cottage here to watch the sunrise and sunset? Now that I think about it... it seems like it was just yesterday."
After saying this, he started talking about some family matters, chattering on and on.
"By the way, how is Xiaoyun? Does he need my guidance? I think it's better for him to read more books. Of course, he shouldn't be like me, restricting himself in everything."
"Don't blame me for talking too much today. I want to talk to you later, but I don't know when. But you are also a cultivator, and you must live a long life. Who knows, one day I sneak away to the lower world, and you will still uphold justice and drive me back. But at that time, remember to prepare more wine. When I have drunk enough and eaten enough, you don't need to drive me away. I will leave by myself..."
Lu Liangsheng was the one who had been talking all the time. The Taoist who was sitting nearby and listening suddenly spoke up.
"Then what can come back to the human world?"
Old Sun looked over there, and Lu Liangsheng also looked at him, with emotions slowly fluctuating in his calm eyes. He slowly turned his head away, looking at the mountains covered with clouds, and was silent for a moment, speaking in a very low voice.
"I'll go up and take a look and come back. If I don't come back, I may not come back."
Sun Yingxian suddenly laughed out loud, slapped his thigh and stood up, "If others can become immortals, their eight generations of ancestors will be happy and be burned, but for you, it's like being executed."
Thunder rumbled in the sky again. This time it was not the anger of Heaven. It seemed that the first spring rain was about to fall. After a while, a drizzle fell. The Taoist smiled and said, "You can become an immortal. Anyway, I will spend my whole life in Qixia Mountain. But if you are bullied by Heaven in the future, bear with it. I will work harder to practice and maybe I can catch up!"
"What did you say?" Lu Liangsheng followed and raised his fist.
The Taoist also raised his hand, clenched his fist and pressed it against the Taoist, and they touched each other lightly: "Even eight horses can't catch up with my words!"
The sound of raindrops hitting the leaves in the forest was heard. The two people on the cliff didn't say much, but then they both started laughing and walked down the mountain together. The stream flowed over the wooden bridge. The mountain village in the distance was immersed in mist and rain vapor. Farmers returning home were walking on the muddy road in the field carrying hoes in the rain. They met an old couple leading a donkey and a woman who came out to look for them. They greeted them with a smile.
Then he stopped, stared blankly at the old couple and the woman, touched himself in confusion, and uttered a light exclamation.
"Xiao Xian, how come you and your parents weren't wet by the rain?"
Lu Xiaoxian subconsciously touched her shoulder, and there was really no trace of moisture. She turned around to look at her white-haired parents. Li Jinhua half-squinted her eyes, and her vision was a little blurry, but her ears were still sharp and she could recognize the voice of the farmer who had just spoken.
He smiled and spat at him.
"You old thing, you have no shame, I'll get wet so you can see..."
Suddenly, she stopped talking. Amid the sound of the pattering rain, she seemed to hear a familiar bell. She quickly reached out to her husband, "Lao Shi, did you hear the bell? It's on the mountain over there, where Liangsheng used to go. Come and have a look!"
Lu Laoshi was still as gentle as before, but he was much older and his brain was a little slow to react. He followed the direction his wife pointed and heard faint sounds. He couldn't see clearly in the heavy rain, so he called Xiaoxian to go and have a look together.
On the small path coming down from the mountain, she seemed to see her husband. Next to him was a handsome scholar, chatting and laughing with him. Behind him was an old donkey, which seemed to have seen this side as well. The scholar turned his eyes and gave a warm smile. The woman was stunned. Even though she had vaguely guessed that her brother might have returned when she was at home, when she really saw the familiar figure approaching, tears could not stop flowing.
Unable to suppress her emotions, she burst into tears, "Brother!!" and took a step forward, stepping on the slippery road, running towards the scholar in the rain, and hugged Lu Liangsheng's arms, crying as if she had been wronged.
It’s like going back to my childhood.
"Liang Sheng..."
Li Jinhua's tears rolled down. She raised her hands and groped the air, moving towards the blurry side. Then, a hand reached out to support her.
"Mom, the child is back."
Lu Liangsheng hugged his sister, held the old woman's hand in his arms, and spoke softly.
In less than a moment, the returning farmer ran back to the village carrying his hoe. The news that Lu Liangsheng, who lived twenty years ago, had returned immediately caused an uproar in the village.
People of all ages rushed out of every household. When the eight old men heard the news, they excitedly dropped the chairs they had brought back home and ran towards the west entrance of the village.