"You guys are the ones who called me toad too!!"
The figure staggered backwards, covering his face. The short figure leaped into the air and fell to the ground. The flickering light of the flashlight illuminated a large toad with two fish whiskers hanging from the corners of its lips. Its robe fluttered as it nodded and looked at the fireworks blooming in the night sky.
"Considering that you four were respectful before, I will not pursue this matter. Please get out of the way and leave—"
The fireworks that lit up the night sky went out. In the middle of the road, the remaining three people supported their companion who had been slapped. They looked at each other and gathered together. Someone stole a glance at the ground and whispered, "A talking toad... I can't afford to offend him. How about letting him go?"
The other three came up and started talking.
"It seems that the file has not been prepared yet. He must be registered before he can leave." "With his temper, who among you will go?"
"How about coming together?"
"Who brought the manual? Check it out and see how to deal with this kind of situation."
The four of them whispered to each other for a while, and one of them took out a palm-sized booklet. The remaining three quickly blocked him behind them, with flattering smiles on their faces, rubbing their hands as they approached the toad standing on the ground opposite them with its webbed feet.
"Mr. Toad... has he had dinner yet?"
"Hehe... We didn't eat either, we just stayed at our posts."
"... By the way, how about we treat you? Then we can..."
Amidst the random chatter, the man flipping through the book shouted excitedly, "Got it!" He quickly stuffed the book into his trouser pocket, trotted over, squeezed past the three companions in front of him, and straightened his face.
Ahem…
"Sir, this is the case. The four of us are Z6 staff members. We are checking for people with energy reactions, including mutant beasts. For people like you who can talk and have independent thoughts, we need you to go back to the city with us to register."
At this point, the man bowed quickly and said, "Please don't embarrass us. This is our duty."
The tone was sincere, and he bowed and pleaded. The Toad Taoist, who was originally angry, could not lose his temper. He looked at the three people on both sides who were smiling apologetically. His bean-sized toad eyes narrowed and rolled around in his eye sockets. He walked back and forth with his flippers on his back and fell silent.
'Z6... Isn't this the Demon Suppression Division that Liangsheng and the young Taoist priest founded back then?'
"After all, they are my juniors. If I don't cooperate, wouldn't that be bullying them... This is inappropriate... How could I do such a thing? Do I still have any dignity left?"
"If I go... to Liangsheng's place, well... this old man's good disciple will probably leave some food for me."
After thinking it over quickly, the Toad Taoist nodded silently, kicked his feet, and jumped up to the height of the people's shoulders with a "huh". He stretched out his arms, floated back a bit, and slowly descended to the top of the old donkey's head. His robe fluttered, and he raised his frog flippers towards the four people in front of him.
"Forget it. Since this is your responsibility, I am not an unreasonable person. Tell me, what is registration and filing? Is it complicated?"
Toad's tone softened, and the four people's anxious hearts also settled down. A few breaths could be clearly heard, and the four people laughed and quickly gathered to both sides, trying to lead the donkey. The old donkey shook its head and the reins hit their hands. They shrank back in pain and had to move forward, explaining what registration and filing meant as they walked.
“… Actually, it’s just registering your name, gender, some experiences, and of course leaving some images.”
The Toad Taoist squinted his eyes and looked back and forth at them, rubbing his chin with his webbed feet as he listened to the chattering description.
It sounds like the same ID card that Liangsheng and his friends have
Well, Liangsheng has it, the little Taoist priest has it, so how can I not have it? Thinking of this, the Toad’s mouth opened a crack, a smile appeared, and the Toad Taoist nodded heavily at the four people.
"Then you lead the way!"
Fireworks rose up in the night sky, and the colorful light shone on Chan's face, which was a satisfied smile. He ordered the old donkey and, accompanied by these four people, walked to the city.
…
Whoosh~~
Papapapa~~~
The light of fireworks bloomed in the dark sky. In the desolate construction site, the majestic city that no one saw was also bathed in colorful light. The woman with the camera took her sister to walk on the street and take pictures. With a smile on her face, she looked around from time to time, as if looking for a figure dressed as a scholar.
On the adjacent street, Gongsun Zhi, dressed in a neat suit, walked with the woman beside him through the shops, watching her choose and try out rouge and powder. Soon, a paper soldier came over and invited him to go to the Southeast Hibiscus Pond together.
The lake reflected the fireworks, lighting up in a myriad of colors.
On the hill opposite, a mountain gate stands tall. At the end of the winding stone steps, there is a hustle and bustle. The pavilions everywhere are decorated with lights and red lanterns hung high. Under the eaves, musicians play the 竽, flute, or ring the chimes, interweaving into pleasant vocal music.
Large round tables occupied half of the square. A team of more than fifty stone figurines performed an ancient Northwestern dance in front of the pool. The rock brick ground made a rumbling sound when they stepped on it, and the high-pitched Qinqiang opera was heard from time to time, attracting cheers.
In the red light of lanterns, Lu Liangsheng smiled and bowed to Lu Bu, Guan Yu and others to wish them a happy new year. Seeing Gongsun Zhi approaching with the woman's arm, he lifted his sleeves and bowed to greet him, inviting him to sit at Zhao Yun's table.
"Master Lu, this place is really different. I haven't seen an ancient street scene for a long time."
Gongsun Zhi pulled Lu Liangsheng to sit down together and talked about his recent stroll around the city. He felt quite emotional and they chatted for a while. After they got familiar with each other, he no longer had the attitude of a newcomer.
He once lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, where he spent his entire life and died in his seventies. He had few days to enjoy himself, and he never had the chance to see the prosperous world he created.
“… The Imperial Master came here, but I was different. I became a horse thief in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and was still on the Han-Xiongnu border. I was either chased by the Xiongnu or by the Han Dynasty’s prefectures. Fortunately, I was the eldest son of Bai Ma Gongsun Zan, and later I was able to gain a foothold in the north… I fought and killed for many years, and later became an emperor… But I was not happy. There was nothing there except women. I spent my whole life like this. It’s really a loss.”
Gongsun Zhi laughed loudly, took the wine in the cup and drank it all. He had never drunk the wine from the Sui and Tang dynasties, but it tasted good. There was also a burly bearded man at the same table, who took the wine jar and filled Gongsun Zhi's glass.
"This is Dian Wei. When I found him, he was running around wearing straw pants. In the end, because of this glass of wine, I coaxed him to the north."
The giant who was being talked about was holding a wine jar. When he was told about the embarrassing situation of not wearing pants, he laughed a little embarrassedly, "It was Pan Wushuang who stole my tiger skin."
"Haha, when it comes down to it, you're still stupid." A burly man with broad shoulders and a big waist, like a mountain of flesh, started to shout.
The giant with the whisker glared and waved his hand to hit the fat figure next to him who was teasing him. Lu Liangsheng didn't need to guess, he knew who it was, the tiger-crazy Xu Chu.
There was a scuffle over there, and the scholar looked at Gongsun Zhi who was still watching them fight, and asked a question.
"Then how did you survive, Your Majesty?"
As soon as the words fell, there was a sudden silence around the round table. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Lu Bu, Zhao Yun... and all the people involved became a little nervous.
The atmosphere became frozen.