Chapter 42
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The cold wind howled as it swept past the eaves and squeezed through the door gaps, causing the oil lamp standing on the stove to flicker gently.
“Let me tell you, this afternoon’s head constable chased me up a mountain not long ago. If it weren’t for my master repeatedly warning me not to lay a hand on ordinary people, I could have beaten him so hard that he wouldn’t know which way was north…”
In the dimly lit kitchen, the shadows of five people were cast on the small table as they ate. Sun Yingxian’s offhand remarks caused laughter among the three, filling the small room with warmth.
Li Jinhua served her husband a piece of food and noticed her son silently picking at his rice.
“Liangsheng, what are you thinking about? If you don’t eat soon, the rice will get cold.”
Lu Liangsheng looked up, nodded, took a few bites, and smiled at his mother: “I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
After he finished speaking, he set down his bowl and chopsticks.
“Mom, Dad, I’m done eating.”
He then got up, walked over to the stove, and ladled a scoop of hot soup into his empty bowl. As the cold wind howled outside, Lu Liangsheng turned and waved his wide sleeve towards the slightly open window, which snapped shut with a ‘thud.’
As Lu Liangsheng walked towards the kitchen door, it creaked open by itself. He stepped out into the cold wind, and the door closed behind him, leaving the old couple, who had forgotten to eat, and the stunned Lu Xiaoxian inside.
Only Sun Yingxian snorted.
“Hmph… If I had a female ghost, I could show off too…”
His words suddenly stopped. While the family of three was still in shock, he quickly grabbed food from the plate with his chopsticks, put it into his bowl, and began to eat, revealing only his two eyes as he shoveled food into his mouth.
He saw a different scene compared to Lu Laoshi and Li Jinhua. For them, the window closing was due to Lu Liangsheng’s magical power, and the opening and closing of doors were all aided by the female ghost. Naturally, he didn’t find it particularly surprising.
Lu Xiaoxian came to her senses, hit the Daoist with her chopsticks, and then started grabbing food herself. Li Jinhua, seeing the closed door, put down her bowl and paid no attention to the Daoist and her daughter fighting over the food.
“Liangsheng must be troubled about something.”
Lu Laoshi nodded: “He’s been acting this way since he came back. Could it be related to Chief Registrar Wang…”
The woman merely sighed.
Outside, Lu Liangsheng carried the soup past the eaves. As the cold wind brushed against him, he pushed open the door, walked inside, and waved his sleeve. The oil lamp ignited with a small, bright flame.
The warm, yellow light illuminated the room. Under the blanket on the bed, the Toad Daoist was shivering. Feeling the light, he opened his toad eyes. Lu Liangsheng sat on the edge of the bed, holding a steaming bowl of soup.
“Master, have some hot soup to warm yourself. It’s got ginger and scallions in it; it tastes pretty good.”
The Toad Daoist turned his face away and grumbled: “I don’t want any.”
Nie Honglian, waving her long sleeves to cover her charming face, floated next to the young man, her eyes curving into crescent moons: “Master Toad must be throwing a tantrum. I’ve heard that the older people get, the more they act like children sometimes…”
“I’m not throwing a tantrum!” The Toad Daoist turned around under the blanket.
The young man smiled slightly and moved to the other side.
“Master, what’s really wrong?”
The blanket shifted a few times as the Toad Daoist sat up, hugging his short legs: “Why does your academic teacher look down on cultivators? If my powers were still at their peak, I’d have taught him a lesson. I’m old enough to be his grandfather!”
Honglian floated to the edge of the bed and laughed lightly.
“Sounds like what Daoist Sun said.”
“Don’t mention that stinky Daoist!” The Toad Daoist jumped up in anger: “Just thinking about it makes me mad. If he hadn’t grabbed my cotton-padded coat, I wouldn’t have fallen into that pool!”
Lu Liangsheng nodded with a smile: “Right, I’ll scold him later.” He then ladled some warm soup and handed it over, “You’ve vented your anger, but drink the soup first. You need the energy to argue with Sun Yingxian.”
“Do you think your Master is a shrew?!”
The Toad Daoist, after expressing his frustration, felt somewhat calmer. He took a sip of the soup, feeling warmth spread in his stomach. Looking at his disciple, he suddenly felt that his treatment was not worse than that of the old scholar.
He smacked his lips: “The taste is a bit bland. Next time, ask your mother to add more salt. When it comes to food, I’m an expert…”
As he opened his mouth for a second sip, voices from the courtyard outside reached the room. Following that, Li Jinhua and Lu Laoshi’s voices also became audible.
“Grandpa, why are you here? You didn’t call someone to help you.”
The voices entered the room, and Nie Honglian took the bowl over. “Young Master, go outside and have a look.”
“Alright.”
Lu Liangsheng nodded, gave a few comforting words to the Toad Daoist, and then got up to open the door. Grandpa Lu, leaning on his pearwood cane and supported by Li Jinhua and Lu Laoshi, slowly made his way to the eaves.
“After lying down for three months… my body is still alright… still alright…”
The old man sat there, his gaze cloudy but kind, looking at Lu Liangsheng as he approached. His toothless mouth broke into a smile, crinkling his wrinkles.
“I… came here to thank Liangsheng in person… If it weren’t for him, I might have already been buried in the ground.”
“Oh, Grandpa, there’s no need to thank us.” Lu Laoshi was not very good with words and quickly forgot what to say next after his initial comment.
Lu Liangsheng took over: “What my father said is right. There’s no need for thanks among family.” He walked over, squatted in front of Grandpa Lu, and touched the old man’s wrist with his fingertips to check his pulse.
He had never actually read medical books, but he had learned how to use his powers to observe a person’s physical condition from a chapter in <Emerald Heart Dream Nourishment>.
“Grandpa, your body is still somewhat weak. It’s best not to go out too often during this time to avoid catching a cold, which could make things worse.”
The old man was advanced in age but had never experienced too much turmoil. Having spent most of his life in the mountains. Hearing Lu Liangsheng’s gentle words brought him a sense of peace.
He grasped the young man’s hand, and after a moment, said: “Liangsheng… I’m sorry for all the trouble… Grandpa is also afraid of death. I wanted to see the village children growing up and the days getting better. I’ve heard that now every household in the village is doing well. Grandpa has nothing more to thank you for.”
He wobbled as he tried to stand from the chair, intending to bow in gratitude.
“Only…”
“Grandpa!”
Lu Liangsheng quickly reached out to support the old man. “Grandpa, this is what Liangsheng should do… what I should do…”
What I should do…
Murmuring over these three words, the lingering heart knot from the talk with his teacher in the fields finally came to a clear understanding.
“Whether it’s helping others through cultivation or serving the people as an official… don’t hesitate to do small good deeds.”
After he helped the old man back into the chair, Lu Liangsheng suddenly had a smile on his face.
Inside the room.
The soup bowl was empty. The Toad Daoist, touching his swollen belly, leaned back in the blanket, closing his eyes comfortably while recounting to the female ghost how he had taken Lu Liangsheng as his disciple. When he got to the night they encountered the centipede demon, he paused for a moment.
“…At that critical moment, he actually came forward.”
The female ghost, lying on the quilt with her legs bent and swaying lightly, propped up her chin and looked curious. “Why? Master, wasn’t he afraid?”
“Afraid? He… is just a fool with a good heart.”
The Toad Daoist glanced at the flickering oil lamp and smiled.
“Do you know what he said in the end?”
“What did he say?”
“He said: ‘You are my master…'”
The Toad Daoist sat up. Some memories were too personal to voice, so after thinking for a moment, he simply smiled. “In this lifetime, I only have this one disciple.”
The small flame of the oil lamp flickered, casting a warm glow within and outside the room. Far away, the silhouette of the mountains loomed over the village. In the distant city, where the lights of ten thousand homes illuminated the streets, a quiet courtyard held its secrets. Shadows danced against the thin paper windows, a faint reminder of life within.
Occasional barking echoed in the stillness as Zuo Zhengyang stared at the paper spread across his desk. It resembled a hastily drawn relationship diagram, crude but functional.
Soon, the brush tip stained with ink circled the three words Lu Family Village.
The candlelight reflected off his face, and his thick brows furrowed.
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