Chapter 215: The Old Toad’s Treatment

Caw—— 

The night was deep, and the mountain winds howled through the forests, the rustling treetops whispering sha sha in the darkness. An old crow perched upon a branch cried out harshly, its gaze fixed upon the only source of light—the small temple. 

Warm yellow firelight spilled from the temple doorway. A small pot suspended above the campfire bubbled away with pu pu sounds. Honglian, who cast no shadow, flicked her long sleeves as she twisted her waist, humming a little tune. The old donkey lay crouched by the base of the wall, braying erh-heng angh-heng in applause toward her. 

Lu Liangsheng broke apart the remaining dried mutton flatbread and sprinkled it into the porridge before glancing over at the Toad Daoist warming himself by the fire. 

“Master, why have you been so quiet lately?” 

Sitting beside the fire, the toad stretched out his webbed feet to warm them, rolling his bulging toad eyes before snorting. 

“So you finally remembered your master still exists, huh?” 

“I’ve been thinking about the war along the way and didn’t pay much attention.” Lu Liangsheng stirred the pot, mixing the crumbled flatbread thoroughly into the thin porridge before scooping up a little to taste. 

Over there, the figure humming her tune cast a flirtatious glance over. Her toes tapped lightly against the ground as she swayed her way over and crouched down beside them. 

“Didn’t Young Master say he wouldn’t involve himself in the rise and fall of dynasties?” 

The Toad Daoist shot his disciple a glare. “He’s just a hopelessly soft-hearted good person.” 

After saying this, he rubbed his webbed hands together and got up to open the partition door. From a small chest, he rummaged out a somewhat thicker floral robe and slipped it on before sitting back down again. 

Lu Liangsheng set the wooden ladle back into the pot and smiled. “One still has to weigh such matters carefully. If the common people are not like the Yang Jian I witnessed, then the people of Chen will suffer disaster… If fewer people can die, that is a heaven-reaching merit. It’s far better than obsessing every day over divine pills and miraculous medicines—robbing and stealing for them. Cultivation gained that way… how could it truly be called the Dao?” 

The Toad Daoist, who had just sat down, froze for a moment. 

‘His mother’s… this old master relied on eating demons and eating people to increase my cultivation and reach where I am today… Is the brat cursing me?’ 

He secretly glanced toward his disciple from the corner of his eye. Seeing that Lu Liangsheng was not looking his way, he quietly let out a sigh of relief. Pressing both webbed hands atop his crossed knees, he straightened his posture, his huge belly sticking out proudly. 

“What Liangsheng says is indeed correct. Thinking back, your master rose from nothing more than a mindless toad crawling out from a filthy mud pit to reach where I stand today, advancing step by step. Otherwise, how could I possess my current cultivation? One must harbor kindness to reap good karma. Only by achieving great virtue may one stand beneath Heaven and Earth without bowing the waist. Even the Heavens themselves would have to yield you three parts of respect!!” 

After speaking, he lowered his head and let out a sigh, his expression solemn. 

Lu Liangsheng stirred the bottom of the pot and turned his head slightly. “Oh right, Master, why didn’t you add any seasoning?” 

“Hmph!” 

The firelight flickered across the face of the Toad Daoist. He snorted and narrowed his toad eyes. “What I said that day was merely an excuse. It wasn’t some seasoning. Did you really think your master is greedy for food…” 

Yet just as the words “…your master is greedy for food” fell, Lu Liangsheng over there busily ladled out a bowl of porridge and handed it to Honglian. Holding the second bowl in his hands, he asked: “Master, the meal’s ready. Do you want to eat?” 

The Toad Daoist abruptly cut off his own words. He hurriedly sprang up from the ground, spread his webbed feet, and scampered over at top speed. 

“I want to eat! I want to eat! Gwa!” 

He clasped the delicate little red-rooster bowl that belonged to him, deeply inhaling its aroma, his tongue practically hanging from the side of his mouth. Seeing this, Lu Liangsheng and Honglian exchanged glances, the corners of their mouths curling upward in secret laughter. 

“Master Toad always looks so funny.” 

The Toad Daoist, carrying his bowl as he sat off to one side, glared over with his bulging toad eyes. “What would a little female ghost like you understand? This old master is treating food with respect!” 

While the ghost and the toad bickered, Lu Liangsheng poured clean water into the pot to wash it. His movements suddenly paused as faint sounds drifted into his ears from outside the temple. 

The night wind swept through the wild forest, and from time to time, the mournful cries of wild foxes echoed out. 

Rustle—— 

Within the gloomy woods, grass and branches swayed noisily as the figure darted swiftly through the forest. Suddenly, a sharp whistling tore through the air behind him. Instinctively, he threw himself forward. 

Bang! 

An arrow slammed into the tree trunk where he had been standing moments earlier, the shaft still trembling violently. 

“He’s over there!” “Catch him! He’s a spy from Sui!” 

“Don’t let him escape——” 

“Split up and pursue him!” 

More than a dozen torchlights emerged from the distance. The figure that had rolled across the ground staggered back to his feet, clutching his arm as he fled forward. Violent gasps poured from his mouth. Bursting past several large trees ahead, he saw within the dark outline of the night a building lit by firelight. 

‘If I head over there and create some chaos, I can delay the pursuers…’ 

The thought flashed through his mind and vanished. His footsteps unconsciously quickened as he dashed over, rushing beneath the eaves and leaning against the doorway. 

Inside, he saw a scholar in blue robes and white garments, a little over twenty years of age, holding a pot. Nearby, a beautiful woman crouched on the ground with a bowl in hand, while a toad dressed in floral clothes sat upon the floor with a bowl placed before him. 

Ah-heng angh-heng!! 

An old donkey beneath the wall raised its head and brayed toward him. 

As a spy, his powers of observation were exceptionally sharp. With only a single glance, his scalp went numb. His pupils suddenly contracted as his gaze locked onto the ground behind the woman— 

There was no shadow cast by the firelight. 

“He’s over there! I saw him!” “Don’t let him escape!” 

The voices of the pursuers closed in from behind. The man abruptly threw the weapon in his hand to the ground with a bang, rushed into the temple, and dropped straight to his knees. 

“Immortal Master, save me!” 

Uh… 

That was certainly direct enough. 

Lu Liangsheng looked somewhat stunned. Glancing at the ground, he roughly understood how the man had figured it out. Setting the pot down, he turned his gaze toward the temple entrance. 

“You ask me to save you, but why are you being hunted down?” 

“To be honest, this humble one is a spy of Great Sui.” 

Since the other party was clearly a high cultivator, and the people outside had already shouted plenty, the man assumed everything had already been overheard. Naturally, he no longer dared conceal the truth and spoke frankly. 

“I was sent by my commanding general to gather intelligence on the situation in Chen territory, but someone discovered me and informed on me. That is why I’m being pursued.” 

As he spoke, the footsteps outside drew nearer. Still kneeling, he hurriedly shuffled several steps forward on his knees and kowtowed. 

“I beg Immortal Master to save my life. I was only carrying out orders and had no choice. If I survive, I will certainly report truthfully to my commander, Duke Qinghe, Yang Su.” 

“Yang Su?” Lu Liangsheng froze for a moment. 

The spy slightly raised his face. “That’s right, my commander knows Daoist arts—flying through the heavens and escaping through the earth are nothing impossible for him… Could it be that Immortal Master knows him as well?” 

“Of course I know him.” 

Lu Liangsheng had met Yang Su twice before and could be said to share a fair amount of acquaintance with him. Furthermore, he himself also supported the unification of the realm. If he refused to save the spy before him, it would feel somewhat unreasonable. 

Yet the ones pursuing him were soldiers of Chen, and Lu Liangsheng himself was a man of Chen… 

Thinking this far, he suddenly felt a headache coming on. 

‘It’s better if neither side sees me.’ 

Outside the temple doors, more than a dozen figures were about to reach the small temple. Lu Liangsheng let out a sigh and swept his sleeve. 

Instantly, a fierce gust of wind surged forth, whipping up dust from the ground. As the spy stared on in shock, it felt as though the wind had wrapped itself around his entire body. His vision blurred, and his body became light and drifting, as if he were flying. 

When he opened his eyes again and looked around, everything was pitch black. Somehow, he had arrived upon a mountain. Looking down toward the foot of the mountain, he could still faintly see a point of firelight flickering in the distant darkness. 

“This…” 

In the blink of an eye, he had been carried such an incredible distance? The spy was so stunned he could not even form a complete sentence. After a moment, he regained his senses, bowed respectfully toward the small temple glowing in the distance, then hurriedly tucked away the intelligence he had gathered and ran toward the northern riverlands, soon disappearing into the night. 

Below, at the small temple, one blade-bearing figure after another rushed inside. Within the temple, only the bonfire remained, its flames swaying slightly in the wind they brought with them. 

The temple was tiny. Any ordinary person inside could be spotted at a glance. Unfortunately, there was not even a ghostly shadow to be found. 

“Damn it, this is really haunted!” 

“We clearly saw him run in here… so how’s there nobody?” “Search again?!” 

“There’s still nothing. The place is only this big. Could he have flown away or something?” 

“Then who lit this fire?” 

The dozen or so soldiers of Chen searched the temple back and forth several times without finding the slightest clue. In the end, they could only leave and continue searching elsewhere. 

The sound of footsteps gradually faded into the darkness outside. 

Inside the temple, Lu Liangsheng sat atop the altar, revealing his form once more as he swept his sleeve and dispelled the invisibility spell. 

Beneath the wall, the old donkey stood with wide eyes and its tongue hanging out. Three legs remained planted on the ground while one leg was lifted high and bent awkwardly in the air, frozen completely motionless. 

It had been struck with an immobilization spell. 

The Toad Daoist sat blankly beneath the altar, staring fixedly at the overturned little bowl on the ground. The corners of his mouth twitched repeatedly. 

“His mother’s… this old master only managed one bite.” 

The figure atop the altar climbed down, picked up the bowl, and placed the small pot back over the fire. Lu Liangsheng rummaged through his bookshelf and took out a small sack of rice. 

“Since we’re not far from home anyway, I’ll make another pot for Master.” 

“Now that’s more like it.” 

Hearing his disciple’s words, the Toad Daoist’s mood improved somewhat, though he still looked regretfully at the porridge spilled all over the ground. Watching Lu Liangsheng washing the rice in profile, he sprawled himself down carelessly, stretching out his two short little legs and exposing his pale, round belly. 

‘Now this is the kind of treatment this old master ought to receive.’