Chapter 49
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
A faint breeze stirred the mist in the forest.
The Daoist, dragging a peach wood sword, only then noticed the scholar standing at the temple gate, Nie Honglian, and the Toad Daoist. He was momentarily taken aback but quickly approached them.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
Seeing his old friend made Lu Liangsheng quite happy, though he was a bit puzzled about how he had ended up here.
“That’s what I should be asking you. Didn’t you go off to subduing demons and eliminating evil in the world? Why are you still here?”
He then invited him into the temple.
Meanwhile, Sun Yingxian took a few steps forward, his expression suddenly changing as he remembered something important. He waved his hand repeatedly and said: “You go ahead. I forgot something very important.”
In the view of Lu Liangsheng and the others, he turned and ran into the forest on the opposite side. After some rustling sounds, he emerged, adjusting his waistband and saying, “I was in such a hurry earlier that I forgot to clean up…”
Nie Honglian glared at the Daoist: “Disgusting!”
Given his actions and the remark: “forgot to clean up…”
It wasn’t hard for Lu Liangsheng to guess what had happened, and he couldn’t help but laugh. He returned to the campfire and took out some bowls and chopsticks from a small compartment under the bookcase.
“Just in time for dinner. Sit down and eat together.”
The Daoist, having fastened his waistband, was not polite and sat down cross-legged, sniffing the porridge in the pot.
“How come there isn’t any meat? Fortunately, on the way here this afternoon, I passed by a village and caught some in the fields.”
Saying this, the Daoist pulled out a few peeled pieces from a pouch at his waist. They were white and about the size of a palm, which he tore into several pieces and threw into the pot.
A fragrant meat aroma began to rise from the pot.
Lu Liangsheng broke a dry branch and threw it into the fire, then watched as Sun Yingxian ladled some porridge into a bowl and repeated the question he had asked at the temple gate.
“…How did you end up here?”
“You might not believe it when I say it.”The Daoist took a sip and moved closer, saying: ”But I was traveling for two years and passed through He Valley Prefecture. I remembered Lu Family Village and went to visit old friends. On the way, I had a stomachache and went to relieve myself. Unfortunately, I ran into those four idiots who were in a panic, claiming there were demons here. So, true to my duty of subduing demons and protecting the righteous Dao, I pulled up my pants and came over.”
Nie Honglian spat at him from a distance.
“Subduing demons and protecting the Dao… With the way you rushed over, do you think we’ll believe you?”
Sun Yingxian, standing by, could only give a dry laugh. Whether it was a female ghost or just a woman saying it, it was still a bit awkward to respond to.
Lu Liangsheng scooped up a bowl of meat porridge, gave it to the Toad Daoist, and asked: “By the way, where have you been these past two years?”
“Northwest.”
The Daoist buried his head in his bowl, making clinking sounds with his chopsticks as he scraped the bottom. He finished quickly, wiped his mouth, and served himself another bowl.
“…I first went to other places, and then only went to the Northwest in the last year. I ate sand for a year, but…”
At this point, Sun Yingxian, squatting by the fire with his bowl, smiled with great pride: “…but I’ve made rapid progress and have already reached the Foundation Building stage.”
The Foundation Building stage has two smaller realms: one is ‘Perceiving Emptiness’, and the other is ‘Strengthening Reality’. In these three years, Lu Liangsheng had only reached the ‘Perceiving Emptiness’ minor realm. He was eager to join the autumn examinations and also had plans to improve his cultivation.
As he thought about this, the Toad Daoist suddenly spoke, chewing on the meat from his porridge as he asked: “This meat is quite good. What kind of meat is this? I’ve never had it before…”
“Never eaten this kind of meat?” Sun Yingxian picked up a piece from his own bowl and showed it to the Toad Daoist: “Field frogs.”
Hearing this, Lu Liangsheng was momentarily stunned and looked over at his master.
“What kind of creature is a field frog?” The Toad Daoist took a closer look at the meat he was chewing, noticing the webbed feet still attached. His short, stocky form froze, and veins bulged on his forehead.
The next moment, he grabbed a small branch from the ground, jumped up, and began wildly swinging it at the Daoist’s head!
“You actually made this old man eat one of my own kind. You have ill intentions!”
Although it didn’t hurt, Sun Yingxian still covered his head and dodged, shouting: “I am respectful of the elderly and kind to the young. I would never… Wait, you’re not a field frog—why are you hitting me?!”
The Toad Daoist paused, he glanced at his disciple from the corner of his eye, coughed awkwardly, dropped the twig, and started to walk away.
“I’m just telling you, don’t kill animals indiscriminately.”
He shook his head, sighed, and smiled at Lu Liangsheng: “After being a toad for over three years I, your Master, almost thought of myself as one…” Saying this, he tossed the remaining meat in the bowl back into the pot.
Lu Liangsheng looked at the frog meat floating in his bowl of porridge: “I’ll cook another pot for Master later.”
“No need.”
The Toad Daoist sat down and slapped his webbed feet down: “It’s just a bit bland; add some more salt.”
The Daoist covered his head, sat back by the campfire, and wiped the marks left from the beating on his face.
“I just got beaten for nothing…”
This remark made the Toad Daoist glare with his toad eyes, causing Nie Honglian and Lu Liangsheng to chuckle quietly. After a moment, Lu Liangsheng continued the conversation with Sun Yingxian.
“By the way, what’s the situation in the Northwest? Why did you come back?”
“It’s a bit chaotic there. For the past two months, there hasn’t been a drop of rain. Several cultivators who went there tried to perform rain-making spells, but it didn’t help… Now, with spring planting not done, if there’s no harvest in the latter half of the year, there will likely be great upheaval.”
Lu Liangsheng frowned, staring at the flickering flames.
“What about the court?”
“I haven’t seen them.”
Sun Yingxian put down his bowl and lay down on the dry hay spread on the ground, his hands behind his head, with a tone of complex and unspeakable emotions.
“…Anyway, when I was coming back, I didn’t see anything on the road. It will be hard to get through this year in the Northwest.”
Outside the temple, the leaves rustled, while inside, it was relatively quiet. The Toad Daoist, unconcerned with these matters, finished eating, turned over, and fell asleep.
Lu Liangsheng silently watched the flames and suddenly said with a smile: “There are plenty of capable people in the court. Why should two idle mountain folks like us worry about it?”
The Daoist on the other side of the campfire also found the topic a bit heavy and quickly changed the subject.
“…By the way, how did you end up in this dilapidated temple?”
“To participate in this year’s autumn examinations, to take the imperial exam.” The scholar spread his hands: “Otherwise, how would we have run into each other?”
Upon hearing Lu Liangsheng mention academic matters, Sun Yingxian quickly covered his ears and turned away.
“Stop talking. Just hearing about your stuff makes my scalp tingle… And by the way, once we get to Lu’s Village, I won’t have the chance to eat your mother’s cooking anymore.”
Lu Liangsheng laughed and picked up a book to read by the firelight.
“Why not come with me to He Valley Prefecture? After the provincial examination, we can return to Lu Family Village together.”
“Let’s talk about it later…”
Sun Yingxian, clearly exhausted from the journey back, said a few more words before falling into a deep sleep, the sound of his snoring mixed with the faint rustling of pages.
Nearby, Nie Honglian quietly watched the scholar’s focused profile while resting on the altar, her lips curving into a smile, revealing a pair of dimples.
“…So good-looking.”
Soon after, golden light appeared on the distant eastern horizon, piercing through the clouds and scattering the black edge of darkness inch by inch.
The old donkey brayed excitedly, and the group inside the temple had already packed their things. They crossed the mountains and headed toward the northern county town, chatting and laughing along the way, making for a lively and bustling scene.
Recruitment of Editors: https://gravitytales.com/recruitment-of-editors/