Chapter 131
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The Toad Daoist merely froze for a moment, then pushed himself up from the ground. He crawled over to the collapsed and slanted stone gate, reached out to touch the moss that covered its surface, and his gaze grew solemn.
“This shouldn’t be…”
Footsteps pressed against the grassy earth and scattered mud. In the corner of his eye, the toad caught sight of someone approaching—Lu Liangsheng had walked to the side. Even just by looking at the tilted stone gate, one could guess what had happened. Moreover, when he was still in the Min Residence in the capital, he had already heard his master mention that the cave dwelling might have been breached.
Hmm?
The scholar suddenly lifted the hem of his robe and crouched down. With a finger, he felt along the edge of the opened gate, pried off a patch of moss. Its hue differed from the rest—darker.
“Master, it seems someone forcefully broke through the restriction to enter your cave dwelling.”
From the southern lands to the north, Lu Liangsheng—now past twenty—was no longer inexperienced. At a glance, he could tell the dark moss was stained with old blood, dried and long left behind.
He flung the moss to the ground, rubbed the dust from his fingertips as he stood, his eyes scanning the surrounding moss. It wasn’t difficult to spot more patches of that same dark hue, scattered like mottled stains.
“Seems quite a few people died here.”
Over yonder, the long-silent Toad Daoist suddenly sprang into motion. He spread his webbed feet and ran over, his short legs tensing with a kick. He sprang upward, landing on the edge of the slanted stone gate. Then he wriggled into the gap, his pale belly tightening. His legs flailed wildly outside for a few moments before he managed to squeeze himself in.
Outside, Lu Liangsheng summoned the Veiled Moon Sword from the bookshelf and cut a tree branch nearby. With a flick and a hook of his sleeve, he pulled at the slanted stone gate, which shifted outward with a heavy rumble, just enough to open a path.
At that moment, Hong Lian also emerged, draped in her painted skin. With a graceful lift of her red sleeves, she landed lightly beside the scholar.
“Young Master, where’s Master Toad?”
“He went in.”
Lu Liangsheng struck a fire flint, sending forth a spark. His index finger lifted slightly, guiding a bean-sized flame to emerge at the tip. Pouring spiritual power into it, he lit the tree branch in his hand and, with Hong Lian in tow, stepped into the depths within.
The flame flickered within the pitch-black cave dwelling, stirring slightly. Perhaps it was the movement of the stone gate that had unsettled the air, for a cloud of dust now filled the space. Within the dim halo of the firelight, the scene was in disarray—cobwebs hung from shattered wooden shelves, and broken porcelain lay scattered across the ground.
Hong Lian helped sweep aside the drifting dust as the scholar stepped carefully over the shards and called out toward the depths.
“Master?”
There was no reply from within.
Lu Liangsheng’s brows knitted faintly. Exchanging a glance with the female ghost at his side, he carefully formed a hand seal—but just as he did, a peal of hearty laughter rang out.
“Ha ha ha—!”
Recognizing the familiar voice, the scholar quietly withdrew the technique formed at his sleeve, lifting the flame higher and walking a little farther in. Up ahead, he saw the Toad Daoist standing with hands on his round belly, laughing heartily before a meditation cushion.
Hearing his disciple’s footsteps, the toad turned his head, then yanked the cushion away and tossed it aside.
“Those damned thieves! They even took the bed I used to sleep on. Yet they didn’t think to check beneath the cushion. Liangsheng, bring me the gourd at your waist.”
Lu Liangsheng unhooked the gourd from his belt and handed it over, then crouched nearby, shining the firelight over the spot now exposed beneath the removed cushion. The stone floor there looked no different from the rest.
At the side, the Toad Daoist held the gourd and shifted closer, pressing it against the ground.
“Watch closely!”
There was no dazzling burst of light, no fantastical radiance like one might read about in tales of immortals. Only a faint pulse of spiritual energy, flashing the moment the bottom of the gourd touched the stone floor.
Ka—
A soft click echoed through the cave. Lu Liangsheng stood, just as the fire branch in his hand neared his fingers. Then, in the darkness, a pale cyan halo rippled outward, spreading across the entire cave wall.
“Has the restriction array been rearranged?”
Within the scholar’s field of vision, light gradually began to emerge. At his side, the female ghost started to tremble as if chilled by a cold wind, hugging her arms tightly as she slowly retreated.
“Young Master, Hong Lian cannot remain here. I will take my leave first.”
“Master…”
Seeing the pained expression on her face, Lu Liangsheng turned his head to look at his master. The Toad Daoist stood up, snorted, and slowly turned around.
“This blessed land of the immortals is reserved for us, master and disciple alone. That little ghost girl should wait outside!”
Having said this, he lifted his face to gaze at the ceiling of the cave. Lu Liangsheng withdrew his gaze from the departing female ghost at the entrance, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of azure light.
He followed the Toad Daoist’s gaze upward. A faint cyan halo gathered above, then spread outward, transforming into rippling azure waves. The pitch-black cave ceiling was pushed aside as if it were the night sky, gradually blossoming with starlight. Points of light emerged, forming the Northern Dipper constellation, illuminating the entire space.
The Toad Daoist slowly closed his toad-like eyes, taking a deep breath, as if reliving the feeling of his peak years. With a casual wave of his hand—
A gentle breeze swept across the ground.
Within the cave abode, shattered bookshelves and porcelain, even the cobwebs hanging in the corners, began to sway. It was as if time itself was reversing. In the scholar’s eyes, everything flew back into place: tables and chairs reassembled themselves, and cracks visibly mended before his very eyes.
The collapsed stone door, with a muffled rumble, stood upright once more, sealing off the cave entrance with a thunderous boom.
Gazing at the restored cave abode, the Toad Daoist walked a satisfied circle, his webbed feet slapping on the ground with a “plap-plap” sound. He stroked the smooth porcelain, then turned to look at his disciple.
“Liangsheng, what do you think of this place?”
The scholar had often heard his master boast about the glories of his prime, but it always sounded like tall tales. Now, however, he was truly awestruck.
“Master, has your spiritual power been restored?”
The Toad Daoist froze for a moment, then turned away in annoyance. “Restored my ass!”
He lifted his webbed feet and waddled over to the gourd, rummaging around with his rear stuck in the air. After pushing something aside, his short figure seemed to step into thin air and vanished from the scholar’s sight.
“Liangsheng, stay where you are and wait for your master. Do not wander about.”
As his voice echoed, Lu Liangsheng looked up, glancing around. The air trembled with a series of noises.
“Clang! Clang!” “Bang! Bang!”
“Thud—boom—thud thud—”
Amidst the sounds of rummaging, the Toad Daoist’s figure was nowhere to be seen, but his incessant muttering could be heard.
“Not this one…”
“Huh? How did this thing end up here?” “Put it away. There’s more, there’s more…”
“Found it.” “Take this one out as well.”
“Hahaha, I knew it was still here!”
Could it be that this cave abode contained another hidden realm? Lu Liangsheng didn’t know much about the so-called blessed lands, but when he tried to circulate the Heavens and Earth Righteous Path technique, he felt no acceleration in the gathering of spiritual energy.
“Could it be that this place is just where Master stores his things?”
The sound of rummaging abruptly ceased, and the Toad Daoist’s voice came from somewhere unseen: “Liangsheng, move aside!!”
A ripple of spiritual energy began to gather.
The scholar’s eyelid twitched. He hurriedly stepped away from where he had been standing, raising his sleeve to shield himself just as a fierce wind rushed toward him.
Rumble rumble rumble…
The strong wind whipped his hair, and then the clattering and jostling of countless objects followed in quick succession. Only when something bumped against the tip of his shoe did the cacophony finally subside.
Lowering his wide sleeve, Lu Liangsheng was greeted by a mountain of books, small bottles of elixirs, sabers, spears, swords, halberds, abacuses, dice, staffs… Every now and then, something would slide down and land at his feet.
Even with his usual calm and composure, he couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
“So many… Master, where did you get all these? Weren’t they stolen?”
Crash—
Atop the small mountain, the Toad Daoist pushed aside several items that looked like magical treasures and pill bottles, clutching a pearl slightly larger than his own head. He darted out and leapt down with a thud, carelessly waving his webbed hand.
“Would I ever keep good things all in one place? All of this—now belongs to you!”
With that, he sat cross-legged, gazing at the pearl cradled in his webbed hands and taking a deep, satisfied sniff.
“My cultivation now depends entirely on this.”
