"So, there is another me over there?! I have lived for more than a thousand years? I am old and dying?"
The night wind blew through the courtyard, the old tree swayed its branches, the old donkey poked its head out of the straw shed and chewed hay, glancing at the lighted kitchen, the dim firelight shone through the doorway, Li Jinhua scooped the last dish from the pot, brought it to the table, and tapped the Taoist on the head who exclaimed.
"If Xiaoxian goes there, won't she have two husbands?"
Hearing this suddenly, Sun Yingxian raised her face in horror and looked at the scholar opposite her. The bowl and chopsticks in her hands shook. She lowered her voice and asked.
"Where is the father-in-law?"
"Why do you have to involve me in this!" Lu Laoshi glanced at his smiling old wife, who subconsciously turned towards his son with the bowl in her hand. When she heard whether he had heard it or not, wrinkles on her old face appeared from smiling. She picked up a pair of chopsticks and ate the rice in big mouthfuls, eating heartily. Only after being hit by Li Jinhua did he restrain himself a little.
"Look how proud you are. Let's listen to what Liangsheng says." The old woman wiped the oil stains on her hands on her apron, took the bowl and sat down. Over there, Lu Liangsheng ate the dish that Kouhonglian brought for him, put down his bowl and chopsticks and continued to talk about what happened after his ascension.
"... Actually, if Lu Liangsheng doesn't leave now, I can't come back either. Otherwise, one of them will definitely disappear. At that time, I didn't reach the fairyland, but the farther void. I saw countless demon stars eroding various worlds... So I fought with one of them."
Speaking of the fight between the donkey-turned-unicorn and the demon star in the void, everyone was so frightened that they broke into a cold sweat. Li Jinhua, who had just eaten two mouthfuls of food, put down her bowl and chopsticks and went straight out. When Lu Laoshi called her, the woman turned around and said, "The old donkey has worked hard, and we can't treat him unfairly."
Then he came back, brushed off some straw from his shoulders, and sat down again.
"Liangsheng, continue."
Lu Liangsheng looked at his mother, smiled, and continued talking about the first place they had visited.
"The creatures there are small as small as chickens, but big as mountains. They make rumbling sounds when they step on the ground. One of them has a mouth full of sharp teeth and can swallow an old donkey whole. After I slapped it, it ran away whimpering. I guess it's a coward."
The wind blew into the kitchen, and the oil lamp standing on the stove swayed gently. At the dining table, everyone put down their chopsticks, their expressions stunned, their mouths wide open, especially when they heard that the big iron block drank oil and could run on the ground by itself, and there was a big iron bird in the sky... It gave them a completely bizarre and novel feeling.
After half an hour of eating, Lu Liangsheng put down his bowl and chopsticks: "Mom, Dad, I'm done."
Then, he went to the stove to get another bowl of rice, turned around and walked to the door. The door opened by itself, leaving him holding the bowl in a daze, thinking about the world described by the scholar.
"I'm done eating too." Hong Lian raised her sleeve to cover her red lips, then stood up and followed him out. Li Jinhua watched the woman close the door and nudged her husband with her elbow.
"Old man, Hong Lian has become a human now... Can we have a grandchild now?"
Lu Laoshi held the bowl and chopsticks and nodded in agreement: "If there is a chance, I will go over there to see how the big iron block that eats oil runs on the road. Maybe I can make one myself."
After he finished speaking, the soft flesh on his waist was pinched. He grimaced in pain and turned to look at his wife.
"Why are you pinching me? What did I say wrong?!"
"Have a meal!"
Li Jinhua glared at him, but the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She picked up her chopsticks happily and hummed a tune while eating.
"It will definitely work."
Outside the tightly closed door, Lu Liangsheng walked past the eaves, and the door beside him creaked slightly and opened. The scholar who came in put the bowl and chopsticks and the food inside on the table. In the flickering candlelight, he stared at the screen of his mobile phone, stroking his chin, wondering why many of its functions were no longer in use.
"Master, it's time to eat."
After hearing the apprentice's words, he turned around, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and sat at the corner of the table, eating his food while looking at the bright fluorescent screen.
The toad chewed the food with its mouth left and right, making a squeak of confusion.
"How strange! They were all fine before I came back. Could it be that they are like Liang Sheng's book and are no longer useful here? But there is no 'Little Ghost Girl Restoring Her Body' in it either."
The scholar who was tidying up his desk heard the whispers, turned around and smiled at the master sitting cross-legged at the corner of the table, "Maybe there is no signal." When he was there, Lu Liangsheng had heard some insights in this regard, but he did not delve into it.
The lamp on the table was moved to the bedside. He was just picking up a book and leaning against the bedside to read it when the door opened gently. The quiet candlelight flickered twice. Hong Lian came in with her fingers pinched and a somewhat embarrassed look on her face. When the scholar looked over, the woman leaned against the door with her back and slowly closed it.
The Toad Taoist priest at the corner of the table held the bowl, looked at his apprentice, then at the little ghost girl, and sucked a leaf into his mouth with a slurp.
"What is going on here?"
"Sir."
Nie Honglian leaned against the door, looked at the scholar opposite her, took a deep breath, clenched her fists as if to cheer herself up, a smile broke out on her face, revealing a pair of beautiful dimples, and she bowed slowly.
"Sir."
The voice called softly again, and walked over slowly with lotus steps. Lu Liangsheng frowned, and the thought of "What are you doing?" flashed through his mind. Hong Lian closed her eyes and came closer. When she was almost touching Lu Liangsheng, she tiptoed, raised her pretty face, and pressed her warm red lips against the man's cheek.
When her red lips lightly touched the warm skin on the other side, Nie Honglian shuddered. Her heart beat rapidly, her face turned red, and she didn't dare to open her eyes.
At the desk by the window, Toad Taoist was looking over there, his toad eyes glancing back and forth at the two of them, then he realized what was going on and widened his eyes, picked up the dishes and chopsticks, jumped off the desk, opened the door a crack, tightened his belly, and squeezed out cursing in his heart.
"What do you think... you're closing the door and letting me watch you two show off your affection?!"
He sat down under the eaves, took a big mouthful of rice, muttered, looked back at the lighted window, and cursed in his heart again.
'That's her daughter.'
Coo coo coo coo
The toad's face turned back, and the Toad Taoist was pecked on the forehead. The white hen came back to the yard from the mountain at some point, spread its wings and rushed up.
"You still dare to come!?"
The Toad Taoist rushed forward and a fight broke out in an instant. The ceramic bowl on the ground was overturned, and the chopsticks fell on the stone table over there. The whole yard was filled with the sound of bangs, and chicken feathers flew everywhere, scattering all over the ground...
Opposite the dark battle group, in the lighted window, Lu Liangsheng looked at the woman's red face. He put his hand against her face and felt a shiver. Unconsciously, he felt a sense of excitement and nervousness in his heart. He stared at Hong Lian's trembling eyelashes, leaned over, and kissed her rosy lips with his lips.
After a moment, their lips parted, and Hong Lian slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Lu Liangsheng who was looking at her straight at her, and shyly threw herself into his warm arms, burying her face in him.
"Sir... I think... I may not be ready yet."
"Who was so brave just now?"
Lu Liangsheng stroked the woman's black hair, smelled the faint fragrance on it, raised his sleeve to extinguish the candle on the table, and the room darkened. The woman suddenly screamed and was picked up and gently put on the bed. Soon, a rustling sound was heard, and Hong Lian was so nervous that she was about to cry.
"Sir... this seems strange... do you want to take off your clothes..."
"You can't sleep without taking off your clothes."
"... ah... so hot... Sir, I feel a little strange... numb... a little warm..."
The words were as soft as the buzz of a mosquito. Outside the window, the moonlight waded through the night like water. In the straw hut, Toad Taoist, covered in chicken feathers, was lying on the belly of an old donkey, gazing at the moonlight in the sky. The stars in the sky were twinkling and blinking at him.