Chapter 197: As Before

In the night sky, the morning stars and full moon faded into the blackness, while in the east a pale fish-belly white spread, letting through a thread of dawn light.

The feeling of weakness had already receded somewhat. His spirit slowly recovered within the darkness. Faintly, he could hear the old donkey’s braying, and from time to time, Honglian’s calls of: “Young Master.”

After a moment, he could feel a cool, damp towel gently wiping his face and hands.

‘It’s fine now… Pudu Cihang is dead, and the Emperor is dead as well.’

‘…Only that Sacred Flame Exalted Venerable of the Fire-Prayer Cult ended up picking up a bargain.’

‘Right… Master!!’

The instant the thought flashed through his mind, Lu Liangsheng’s awareness snapped back, and he woke, opening his eyes. Through the broken roof, a strand of golden morning light illuminated the surrounding mess. In his slowly rising field of vision, a snapped beam lay slanted across a shattered stove, and a wooden bed had broken clean in two, coated in dust.

Pulling aside the Daoist robe covering him, Lu Liangsheng rose along the wall and walked toward the slightly open crack of the door. Birdsong trilled outside, and there was also the scent of medicinal herbs.

Creak…

He gently pushed the door open.

“Heh! Hup! Heh!”

In the courtyard overgrown with wild grass, the Toad Daoist wore a short little jacket, basking in the morning sun. His webbed hands rested on his round belly as he twisted his waist in circles, his pale stomach wobbling. He stretched out a frog leg to press downward, then, from time to time, hopped a few times in place.

On a nearby tree, the Daoist had a blade of grass clenched between his teeth, a half-read book covering his face as he lounged lazily on a branch, one leg cocked and swaying.

The old donkey lay on its side among the weeds, chewing the grass at its mouth absentmindedly. Then it stood up, saw the figure standing at the doorway, and excitedly flicked its tongue as it ran over in delight.

Under the eaves, Honglian crouched on the ground, tending a small fire and simmering medicinal soup, puffing gently at the flames between breaths.

What happened last night was something a ghost like her simply could not touch. A Rakshasa ghost sounded formidable, but if truly placed before beings on the level of the Toad Daoist, Pudu Cihang, or the Sacred Flame Exalted Venerable, she would not even qualify to be glanced at.

Hearing the footsteps and the faint sound of the door, she subconsciously lifted her face. Shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks as she revealed a smile.

“Young Master!”

She rose, stepped around the bonfire, and in one motion threw herself into Lu Liangsheng’s arms. Hooking her arms around his back, she pressed the side of her face against his chest. With the painted skin wrapped around her, this was a solid, tangible embrace.

Eyes closed, feeling the warmth coming from the scholar’s chest, Honglian tightened her hold.

Lu Liangsheng stroked her hair and said with a smile: “It’s fine now. No need to be nervous.” As he spoke, his other hand reached out toward the old donkey that had run over. “And you too!”

He patted the donkey’s head twice. From the courtyard came two dry coughs—ahem, ahem.

The Toad Daoist stood with one webbed hand behind his back, the other resting beneath his chin as he coughed lightly. Honglian quickly released her arms and slipped out of the scholar’s embrace, taking small, hurried steps as she ran back to the medicine pot.

A smile spread across Lu Liangsheng’s face as he stepped out from under the eaves. His wide sleeves fell open to either side as he cupped his hands and bowed deeply to his master.

“Master, how is your body?”

“I’m fine, fine. I got up even earlier than you.” The toad finished his morning exercises and let out a huge yawn. “Just a bit hungry…”

Though his demon core had been damaged, and it had originally been a certain-death situation, his disciple had used a spell of shared fate—binding the souls of man and demon together. As long as one did not die, the other would also endure forever.

However, this spell had a drawback: it was equivalent to splitting the caster’s lifespan in half and giving the other portion to the one being saved.

“You really are muddle-headed.”

When speaking of this matter, the Toad Daoist could not help but hop up and smack his knee with a webbed hand. Yet seeing his disciple smiling at him, he helplessly turned and sat on the steps beneath the eaves, propping his chin in his hand.

“Even if you don’t become a True Immortal, your lifespan would only be about a hundred years. Saving me means you can live at most twenty-odd more years… Soft-hearted fool. How did I end up taking in a disciple like you?”

There was not the slightest trace of blame in his words. Rising, hands clasped behind his back, he shook his head and walked back into the house. From a compartment in the bookshelf, he retrieved a black-patterned gourd. Hugging it in his arms so it blocked his view, he waddled back over and set it in front of his disciple.

“Liangsheng, this gourd is a Dharma treasure refined from your master’s natal divine ability. Now that our souls are connected, you can use it as well.”

The scholar raised a brow. “It can swallow Heaven and Earth, and all things within?”

The Toad Daoist rather proudly patted the gourd with a thump, gave a slight nod, and looked toward the morning sun. “Hm-hm. Naturally.”

At that, he smacked his lips and coughed dryly. “However, you can’t use it for now. Last time it was struck by heavenly lightning and hasn’t been repaired yet… When you have time, fix it, and then you’ll be able to use it.”

“Uh…”

Lu Liangsheng took the gourd and turned it over in his hands, playing with it. So, for now it could only be used to store medicinal pills. But that was fine—after all, it was still a Dharma treasure. Accepting it was the right thing to do.

As for how much shorter his lifespan had become, he did not mind. Cultivating the Dao was about following one’s heart. If he had not saved his master and left such a regret behind, then even if he cultivated a thousand years of sacred Dao, he would still not be happy.

Twenty-odd years were still enough to accomplish many things. Perhaps it might even be possible to make up for the lost lifespan.

Master and disciple sat beneath the eaves, basking in the sunlight and talking for quite a while. Over there, after Honglian finished boiling the medicine, she had the Daoist in the tree bring it to the thick-bearded man in the other room.

He was one of the people who had come that day to help slay demons and exterminate evil. Lu Liangsheng followed behind the Daoist into the room. On a pile of dry straw, the man had already awakened. 

Seeing the two enter, he barely managed to prop himself up and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Yan Chixia greets the two Daoist friends!”

Earlier, he had been struck by Lu Liangsheng’s spell, which had removed part of the force, so his injuries were not too severe. After drinking the medicinal soup to stabilize his internal injuries and resting for a moment, he began to speak of his origins.

“My master’s sect is only a small and insignificant one, far inferior to those great sects. That hateful centipede demon managed to hide in the capital for so long. I, Yan, passed through Tianzhi several times and never discovered it.”

The Daoist spat out the blade of grass and chuckled. “If you had discovered it earlier, you’d already be dead.”

Across from him, the man named Yan Chixia was momentarily stunned, then nodded with a smile. “That’s indeed true. My cultivation is shallow. Encountering such a great demon would truly have been courting death. It’s just a pity I realized it too late. Otherwise, several of my fellow disciples would not have died.”

“Mhm.” Lu Liangsheng did not quite know how to comfort him. Taking the empty bowl, he said: “The dead are gone; let them be laid to rest. Perhaps this matter will also make you and me more vigilant in the future. The calamities of demons and monsters have never ceased. Perhaps when we walk the path of eliminating demons and upholding the Dao in the future, we may meet again, Brother Yan. When that time comes, you must lend a hand.”

“Haha, I’m not one for lingering sentiment. A sigh is enough.”

Yan Chixia was broad-minded. Amid hearty laughter, he stood up, took the sword case leaning nearby, strapped it across his back, and cupped his hands toward Lu Liangsheng and the Daoist.

“The matters here are finished. I’ll return to retrieve my fellow disciples’ remains for burial and report back to my sect.”

Worried about his injuries, the scholar tried to persuade him to stay a few more nights. But the man was clearly someone who could not sit still. In the end, they could only escort him outside. Lu Liangsheng cupped his hands in farewell.

“Brother Yan, if fate allows, we shall meet again!”

On the road leading away from the small courtyard, Yan Chixia strode off with the sword case on his back. Without turning around, he raised a hand and waved. “Haha! At the ends of the earth—if fate wills it, we’ll meet again!”

“Right—where’s Zuo Zhengyang?”

Watching the burly man’s figure disappear into the forest beyond, Lu Liangsheng suddenly remembered there was still Zuo Zhengyang. As for Min Changwen and Min Yuerou, father and daughter, they were likely in the city in a state of frantic disorder. After all, the Emperor had died—official families would naturally treat such matters as their highest priority.

“He was taken back by the Min father and daughter.” The Daoist clasped his hands behind his head, turned, and sauntered back. “They’re all officials. He won’t die. But if we don’t eat, we might starve.”

Off to one side, the Toad Daoist, sprawled atop the donkey’s head, basking in the sun, lifted his eyelids and said calmly: “You only just realized? Go cook. Let this old master think about what to eat…”

A butterfly fluttered past in the sunlight. A thick tongue shot out with a swish, sticking to the insect and snapping it back into a mouth.

The Toad Daoist’s veins bulged. He suddenly sprang up and smacked the donkey’s head with a webbed hand.

“Damned thing! Of all things to learn, you imitate this old master sticking out his tongue?!”

“Hee-haw—ahh!”

The old donkey brayed, its tongue lolling crookedly as it bucked and leapt about the courtyard, trying to throw the toad off its head. The Toad Daoist clung tightly to its ears, one hand still coming down in swats.

“You’ve got nerve! Didn’t see you show off like this last night, did I?!”

“I’ll teach you to copy this old master! I’ll teach you to copy this old master!!”

The webbed hand came down again and again, yet the old donkey only grew more excited, charging about wildly with the Toad Daoist perched atop its head.

Sunlight poured down. Lu Liangsheng steadied his thoughts and sat on the steps, watching Honglian rush over to break up the scuffle, while the Daoist cooked off to the side. The small courtyard was as lively as ever. Nothing had changed.

“You certainly are lively here.”

On the road outside the courtyard, a light-green horse came to a stop. Min Yuerou tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a gentle smile as she held the reins and walked over, horse in tow.

“Though the capital is far livelier than you are.”