The winding official road was steaming, the old trees beside the tea shed, the cicadas chirping on the branches, the resting merchants, the busy men sweating, took off the rag and wiped the sweat stains on their foreheads, and at the end of the road, the sound of neck bells jingled.

The mud dust stirred up under the donkey's hooves. A scholar wearing a blue robe under the white robe led the old donkey, and occasionally joked with the bearded man carrying a wooden box next to him, pointing to the outline of the city ahead.

"Then is Hegu County. Have you been there when Fellow Daoist Yan came?"

"No, I'm just rushing on the way, so how can I feel like this at this moment?" Yan Chixia put down the water bag and wiped off the water stains on her beard. Under the fierce sun, she felt dry mouth and tongue, and she felt a lot of powerlessness when she spoke.

Behind the two, Yuwen Tuo's light blue robe was clean and tidy, as if he didn't care about the scorching sun above his head. A long sword with a dragon head and golden handle hung around his waist, swaying gently as he walked. On the side, Li Sui'an passed Fushui County, he felt dizzy when he went out, and was listless all the way.

Qu Yuanfeng, who was following the two, was carrying a big bag. He was tall and had two or three bags hanging on his arms, which did not affect his walking at all. The distance of more than a hundred miles was nothing to his feet.

When they arrived at the city, Lu Liangsheng invited Yan Chixia to go in: "There is a senior academic in the city who hasn't visited for many years. Fellow Daoist Yan might as well go there together, right?"

Outside the city gate, he looked at the business trips, pedestrians, and soldiers checking in and out. Yan Chixia didn't want to be trouble, so she waved her hand and walked under the wall.

"No, no, Yan is waiting outside the city. I hope Fellow Daoist can be faster. I'm afraid Zuo Zhengyang can't hold on."

"Don't worry over there."

Lu Liangsheng comforted him, turned his head to look at the three apprentices behind him, and gave him some copper coins.

"For the teacher, you can buy some food everywhere."

"Yes, Master!"

The three of them took a few copper coins and saw that the master had led the old donkey's figure gradually blurred. He walked straight into the city gate. Li Sui'an threw out the dozen copper coins in his hand, and pinched it again, and grabbed the palm of his hand in the air.

"When I came over there, I saw someone selling good things..."

As he said that, he encouraged Yuwen Tuo and Qu Yuanfeng to go to the roadside stall not far away outside the city. Yan Chixia pressed her knees and sat on the wooden box with a golden knife. From time to time, he looked up to see the sky, shook his head and sighed.

In the city, Lu Liangsheng led the old donkey through the bustling street. The jingling copper bells rang outside the blue brick courtyard wall. Several dense pine branches were mottled on the street. He walked to the high door of the mansion in front, loosened the reins, and passed through the stone lions with moss on both sides.

Standing at the door, he reached out and knocked on the copper buckle on the lacquered door.

With a slight squeak, the door leaf moved away a small gap. The old doorman poked out his sight and looked at the scholar outside the door for a few times, feeling a little familiar.

"Young Master, are you looking for my master?"

"Does my father remember Lu Liangsheng?"

The old man in the door opened his mouth slightly and dragged it out a long "Oh" sound. Once reminded, he suddenly remembered this scholar who had almost become a son-in-law in the mansion.

He quickly opened the door and welcomed Lu Liangsheng in. The latter bowed and thanked him. Looking at the potted old trees in the yard, they were as green as before, and many places were elegant.

"His Master Zhou's health has been fine in recent years?" As the gatekeeper went down the stone steps under the eaves, Lu Liangsheng asked casually.

"It's okay, it's okay, but the master is feeling a little ill recently."

Lu Liangsheng was familiar with the path in the mansion and did not need to be directed by the gatekeeper. He searched all the way through it. On the way, he met the maids and servants who were once familiar in the mansion, and they ran away in surprise and joy.

"Hey, come and see who is coming to the mansion?" "Oh, isn't this Mr. Lu?!"

"I'm afraid I can't call you a young master..."

"What's that called?" "I don't know, don't talk, Mr. Lu is here."

"Aren't you still called Young Master?"

.....

In the slight sounds of maids and servants, they looked at the graceful scholar walking under the eaves of the corridor in the distance, asked others a few questions, turned their direction, and walked to the study.

Lu Liangsheng knocked on the door, and a familiar word came from inside: "Come in."

Squeak.

The old man, who was wearing clothes and coughing a few times, raised his face from the desk, and his hair was almost white for several years. When he saw the figure entering the door, his eyes lit up with a turbidity. He put down his brush in his hand, pulled the single clothes that were pulled on his shoulders, and quickly walked out of the desk.

"Why is Liangsheng here?! Sit quickly and sit quickly."

The scholar also had a friendship with him as a teacher and student. He invited the other party to sit down, took a teapot, and poured tea: "I haven't seen Liang Sheng for many years, and I'm living a good life now."

"You should ask the greetings by the younger generation."

Lu Liangsheng took the teapot from him, filled it with a cup, and presented it to the old man respectfully.

Zhou Rong tapped his fingers a few times, took the cup with a smile, and took a sip.

"Don't say anything about this kind of pedantic ritual. Sit down and don't stand and talk."

The old and the young sat down together. Lu Liangsheng sat opposite the old man and looked at it carefully. Since the death of his mentor, the old man in front of him has become much older in recent years, and his eyes are not as majestic as he used to be.

This time, I came here to see him and talk about family matters. After talking for a while, Lu Liangsheng stood up and squatted in front of Zhou Ying, asking him to stretch out his arms and put his fingertips on his pulse.

"Master Zhou is probably overworked these days, and his liver fire is rising, and he is old and weak, so staying up late and getting cold."

On the brown-painted wooden chair, Zhou Ying smiled and waved his hand: "The country was destroyed and the dynasty was destroyed. I am also worried that the new dynasty would be unkind to the people of my old dynasty, so I often write articles and call on those who study to run more and repay the people's injustice. Who would have thought that their bodies would not be able to withstand the tossing and trouble."

A warm air suddenly spread on his wrist. The old man stopped talking and opened his eyes to the scholar in front of him. He felt the warmth spread throughout his body along his arms, and the feeling of drowsiness and swelling suddenly faded away.

"Master Zhou will live a good life in the future. There will be no mistakes in the people of this place."

Lu Liangsheng withdrew his hand, put down the old man's cuffs and stood up, returned to his seat to serve tea and sip: "The unification of the world will only benefit the people, and Master Zhou is also famous. You might as well let the great tribes in Jiangnan open their minds and accept the new dynasty more."

"This is difficult."

Zhou Ying shook his head, "It's hard to say that there are complicated things here. In addition, Emperor Chen is not dead yet, and he can talk everywhere, which will inevitably cause some big clans to follow."

The old man's words are not unreasonable. Such worldly affairs in the world are often more complicated and difficult than practicing Taoism. Lu Liangsheng smiled and did not continue to talk to Zhou Rong.

After sitting in the study for half an hour, he offered to say goodbye. After all, there was still something important to do, so Lu Liangsheng didn't stay for a long time. The old man sent him out of the mansion, returned to the study, sat quietly on the chair, looked at the two cups of tea on the table with the remaining heat, and remembered the old friend who had passed away.

‘Mr. Shuhua, you have a good student.’

There are also lonely words and murmurs. Since my daughter re-elected her husband's family and got married, she rarely came back, leaving only her old wife to accompany her. The house always felt empty.

The warmth of tea lingers, the heat drifts outside the door, the treetops swaying in the wind, the birds holding cicadas and insects flew to the top of the tree. In the city, the old donkey walked through the bustling long street, walked out of the city gate, dozing, Yan Chixia, who was pecking her head, snapped her fingers in her ears.

"Wake up, it's time to leave."

Not far away, the three apprentices who were wandering around to watch the fun also returned. Li Sui'an also put some of the snacks he bought into the bookshelf compartment. The Toad Taoist looked at the dried fruit and molasses, and the corners of his mouth were grinning to the back of his head.

"It's still this disciple who can be a human being."

Tied a rope, pushed open the small door of the compartment, sat on the edge, hanging two short legs gently shaking, humming a song, 'Take the old donkey... and followed three apprentices, one cold, the other stupid, and the other smartest...'

While humming, he quickly picked some snacks and stuffed them into his mouth.

There are food and drinks along the way, and there are also boys who are familiar with Li Sui'an, which is quite comfortable, and much better than following his apprentice.

The journey later accelerated. After passing Tianzhi, the former capital of Nanchen, the road behind became more and more rugged and the surrounding mountains became steeper.

The summer rainstorm sometimes comes suddenly. After an afternoon, Tianqing stopped. Lu Liangsheng and others arrived in Heliangzhou at this time. Yuwen Tuo, who had always been silent and cold, suddenly stopped and took out incense, candles and paper money from his bag.

This was bought by the copper coins given by the master before. No wonder Li Sui'an bought snacks, and Qu Yuanfeng had not kept the money, so he only used it, but did not let people see it. Until now, everyone knew what he had bought.

"My parents took me back to visit relatives, but they encountered an unexpected accident here."

Watching the incense candles inserted on the ground burning, Yuwen Tuo opened a thick stack of yellow paper and lit it, burning it to an open space. The sound from the exit was choked, and tears flashed in the corners of his eyes.

Throwing the last piece of yellow paper into the fire, he raised his face to look at Lu Liangsheng who was with him.

"Master, do you know who killed my parents?"

Lu Liangsheng shook his head and helped him up.

"I don't know this, my master. The monk who sent you that day has seen those murderers, but they are all covered in their faces."

"Ketuo heard a Nanchen accent that day." Yuwentuo clenched his fists. Although he had made his mind clear after studying for the past three years, his parents' grudges made him feel a lot of anger.

"Since you plan to commit an offense, how can you catch the handle?"

Lu Liangsheng also had his opinion on this matter, and it is not impossible to leave it to his apprentice now. Yuwen Tuo is not as old as twelve or thirteen years old. It would be better to say it than to have a gap between master and apprentice.

"If you are worried about the teacher, you can only show that your actions are not secret and your language cannot be used as evidence. He can imitate it, and I can imitate it, so I guess that the real person who commits the crime is definitely not from Nanchen."

After hearing these words, Yuwen Tuo fell into thinking silently. On the side, Li Sui'an patted his shoulder.

"Master is right. This kind of thing was too fake at the beginning, and I can only deceive you when I was a child."

"Well, I can save it."

Immediately, I bowed to Lu Liangsheng and said, "Tuo, thank Master for his advice. After that, I want to go to the Great Sui Dynasty to see other relatives in my family."

"Um."

Over there, Lu Liangsheng nodded, took the reins, and pulled the old donkey to continue on the road.

"Take you out with you, just let you experience it. After Lanruo Temple, go."

Dingding Ding...
Chapter completed!