After the two men and the toad had eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to their room on the second floor of the inn. Lu Liangsheng asked the innkeeper to have someone boil some hot water. Hong Lian avoided the sunlight, took out her robe and put it behind the screen.
The inn was not big, with only two waiters. One of them was always the one carrying water in and out. Lu Liangsheng untied his outer coat, hung it on the rack, and looked at the waiter who was testing the water temperature and asked:
"Why are you alone? Where is the guy on the first floor?"
The guy tested the water temperature, withdrew his hand and wiped the water stains on his clothes, then walked past the scholar carrying the bucket.
"Hey, that guy just paid the shopkeeper and was about to leave. He said that there were ghosts in the city and that toads could talk. This guy is fine, but he has a problem with his brain. When he came here before, he said that his village was also haunted."
Lu Liangsheng smiled and glanced at the waiter's master. He probably guessed that someone had seen him talking during the meal, so he took out a ten-cent tip from his pocket and sent the waiter away.
"Master, next time don't speak in public. You'll ruin other people's jobs."
The Toad Taoist opened his eyes, crawled to the pillow where the sun was shining, and yawned.
"What does it have to do with my teacher?"
He stretched out his four flippers comfortably, then lay down and flapped his front flippers lazily.
"Hurry up and take a bath, then go meet that old scholar."
Here, Lu Liangsheng had already stripped naked and sat in a large wooden barrel, his head resting on the side, thinking about what had happened since he came to Beijing, "the destined person", "the guardian of the country", "the monster in the court"... and the current desolation of the capital.
Among them, it seems to be more or less related to myself.
After thinking for a while, Lu Liangsheng shook his head and smiled, deciding to wait until he had asked his mentor before making any decision.
After a moment, he suddenly felt a chill on his shoulder. The scholar looked sideways and saw that Nie Honglian had come in at some point. He was so scared that he quickly covered the water with a bath towel and sank to the bottom of the bucket unnaturally.
"Um... Hong Lian, it's not a good idea for you to come in."
Nie Honglian placed her finger on her lower lip and smiled, then moved closer and put her fingertips into the water, creating a few splashes. She blinked her eyelashes and looked at the scholar in the bucket seductively.
"When I was alive, I loved soaking in warm water like this. It felt like being hugged. Unfortunately, now I can't even feel the warmth. Sir, why don't you let me help..."
Before Youyou finished listening to her words, Lu Liangsheng sighed and spoke first.
"Don't be discouraged. There will always be a way to make you... make you human again."
Nie Honglian puffed out her cheeks, raised her red lips and snorted, then turned around, walked through the screen and left without looking back.
The scholar soaking in the tub frowned in confusion and rubbed his arms and armpits mutteringly.
"What did I say wrong? Women's personalities are really hard to understand."
Half an hour later, after bathing and washing, he changed into a brand new outfit. The Toad Taoist was already fast asleep. Lu Liangsheng told Hong Lian in the painting, "If Sun Yingxian comes looking for me, tell her that I'm going to look for my mentor."
The person in the painting seemed to still be angry, and a muffled sentence was heard.
"Got it... Sir."
There was no further news.
Lu Liangsheng sighed and pushed the door open. In the afternoon, almost every house was closed. There were even fewer pedestrians on the streets near the inner city. He couldn't find anyone to ask for directions for a long time.
When Wang Shuhua left the letter, he had not left Fushui County, so naturally he had no address. Now it was difficult for the scholar to find him in the huge Tianzhi.
"It would be nice if I could just leave one hair..."
The wind blew, and the yellow leaves on the ground floated over the backs of my feet and flew away into the distance.
After turning a corner, Lu Liangsheng saw a shop closing down from afar. He walked over quickly, but before he could say anything, the other party suddenly shrank back, patted his chest and looked at the scholar in front of him.
"How come he was a normal person, but he walked without making any sound? I was scared to death."
Lu Liangsheng had to ask for help, so he smiled and said a few words of apology. Then he asked about the direction of Shangshu Min Changwen's residence.
"So asking for directions is really scary. Go forward from here, along the inner city wall to the east, then go north on the first street, and find it yourself when you get there."
The shopkeeper pointed in the direction, looked up at the sky, stepped into the shop and slammed the door shut quickly.
Lu Liangsheng walked along a street along the inner city wall. Most of the shops he met on the way chose to close at this time. If it were in other counties, even the market outside the city would probably still be open for business.
The people in this city seem to be counting the time.
…It must be related to the monsters in the court.
While thinking, the scholar followed the direction the shopkeeper told him and came to the north of the inner city. There were several long and spacious streets, which should be the imperial streets for the emperor, princes and nobles to travel.
There is a street corner not far away. Compared with the streets outside, this place is clean and tidy. There are high walls and courtyards on both sides, and big red lanterns are hung high. Guangfu, who lives here, is probably not even qualified.
"There are so many houses, are we going to search them one by one?"
Lu Liangsheng found that in searching for someone, he had nothing with him, so even if he had magic, it would be useless. He couldn't just jump onto the city wall and shout the name of his mentor to the people below.
After knocking on several doors, a doorman came out, glanced at Lu Liangsheng's attire, and shook his head in response to the questions he asked. Then he opened the door. Some of them directly asked for business cards, as they were not here to see their own masters, so they didn't even bother to say a word.
After visiting a few more houses, he found out where the residence of Shangshu Min Changwen was located. Along the way, he was surprised to find that the Min Mansion and the surrounding houses were somewhat different. The walls, houses and even the gates looked quite old.
He straightened his robe and knocked on the gate. A doorman carefully opened the door a little. Lu Liangsheng quickly gave his name, handed over the letter left by his mentor, and informed the other party of his purpose.
The concierge also knew a few words. He looked up from the letter and glanced at the scholar.
"Sir, I'm afraid it's a bit unfortunate. My master hasn't come back yet, and Lord Shuhua is not in the mansion either. He went out of the city to visit old friends."
Lu Liangsheng frowned, thought for a moment, and asked with a folded hand:
"Then may I ask, when will my mentor come back?"
"It's hard to say. Uncle Hua came back these few days, and it was already dark. He had dinner in the study."
"Is that so? Then please tell my mentor that Lu Liangsheng has been here and is staying at Yuelai Inn."
The concierge nodded, wrote down the name and address, then escorted the scholar outside the eaves to look at the sky.
"Sir, it's getting late, hurry back to the inn. If you encounter a group of monks on the way, either kneel down and bow your head, or get out of the way as soon as possible. Don't just stand there stupidly."
Listening to the old man's instructions, Lu Liangsheng nodded, turned around and bowed to express his gratitude.
"Thank you for the reminder, but I don't know if this team..."
At this time, the sound of golden cymbals and bronze gongs could be heard from a distance, and the gatekeeper said hurriedly, "Young Master, please go back as soon as possible and remember what I said."
He nimbly returned to the courtyard gate and closed the door. There was a faint sound of the bolt being inserted behind the door.
Lu Liangsheng didn't pay too much attention to the doorman's behavior. After all, the old man was just a doorman. How could he dare to let anyone into the house without the master's consent
"What on earth does this team look like... They can scare people like this under the emperor's feet, and the government and His Majesty don't care?"
Everyone is curious.
Lu Liangsheng boasted that he had seen many battles and had reached the foundation-building stage for quite some time. Even if he was defeated by a monster, he would have no problem escaping.
In an instant, he took a few steps and leapt onto the wall of a nearby house, then ran wildly along the top of the wall.
Beep beep beep…
The bricks and stones loosened and reached the end of the courtyard wall. The scholar's robe rustled. He jumped again and landed steadily on the street. In his sight, a strange team of monks spread out.
On both sides of the long street, the doors and windows of each household were closed. Some brave people looked out through the gaps and saw a scholar standing on the side of the road.
"My lady, come and see, there is a brave scholar over there, he is just standing there!"
"… Then get out of the way and let me see."
"It's so scary, someone might die..."
On both sides of the street, there were also pedestrians who did not have time to leave. They lowered their eyes to the ground and could not help but speak to persuade Lu Liangsheng who was not far away.
"Scholar, please kneel down." "Yes, don't act on impulse."
"If you offend the Master, you will be thrown into prison..."
Lu Liangsheng stood there without moving, his eyes fixed on the approaching team.
"Sure enough... There is such a strong demonic aura, I'm afraid there is no one human inside..."
View forward.
Countless white petals were scattered in the sky and fell to the ground. A pair of footsteps stepped on the petals and came over. An expressionless female monk in a black hat held up her instruments and staff. Suddenly, the footsteps, the chanting of scriptures, the sounds of golden cymbals and bronze gongs stopped abruptly.
Between the teams, figures stood in the street like wooden sculptures, in a dead silence.
At the side, Lu Liangsheng formed a spell with his fingers under his sleeves, and his aura sank.
The pedestrians kneeling nearby didn't dare to breathe, their faces covered in sweat, and they trembled as they tried to get away from this stupid scholar. They had already advised him, but he just wouldn't listen. He deserved to lose his life.
As the thought flashed through his mind, a woman in a blue plaid cassock suddenly turned around in the team on the street, looked at Lu Liangsheng, raised an orchid in her hand, and bowed slightly.
"Mr. Lu, the Dharma Master wants to see you."
As soon as these words came out, Lu Liangsheng was stunned for a moment. He followed the direction of the woman's finger and saw a large red-painted wooden sedan chair, which must have been specially prepared for him.
Not only did the other party know me, he also knew that I had come to Beijing...
But since it's an invitation, it means there won't be any danger.
Why not go for a trip
Lu Liangsheng calmed down, nodded to the woman, and strode over.
On both sides of the street or behind the cracks of the windows upstairs, everyone's heart was pounding wildly and everyone looked incredulous.
The scholar actually sat in the sedan chair in the abbot's team.
…
We are in sync.
At the same time, on the second floor of Yuelai Inn, the sleeping Toad opened his eyes.
"What a courageous little demon!!"