Chapter 030: Chilly Night Wind

"You keep saying scary things, you have no good intentions!"
Lu Liangsheng walked out of the stone bench and took a step back: "Master, Liangsheng has something to do at home, and I will rush back soon, so I won't bother you here."
The glow of the distant mountains in the west gradually sank into the hills. Night fell. In Lujia Village at the foot of Qixia Mountain, smoke rose as usual. Amid the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs, Lu Xiaoxian called on the hens to return to the coop. Li Jinhua did not cook, but quietly observed the kitchen. Seeing no movement, she gritted her teeth and ran to her son's room.
The setting sun dyed the sky red.
"That shouldn't happen... Once the bandits have robbed enough, they will naturally go up the mountain."
"Come for our North Village?"
While murmuring, Li Jinhua turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly she stopped, turned her head tremblingly, and slowly glanced at the wall. The hanging scroll and the face of the beautiful woman with long sleeves waving were exactly the same as what she saw that night.
The sleeping Toad Taoist was woken up by him holding him in his hand and waved his flippers, "Maybe it's a child playing... Let's go back and check and we'll know."
The tip of the knife points to the mountain village.
The people around him quieted down and looked at the man.
Five or six miles away from the people of Beicun, there was a group of more than thirty bandits. Liu Erlong rode on his horse and looked at the mountain village on the other side of the river, which was bathed in the glow of the sunset.
"This is... a master..."
The old man raised his eyes and looked at the young man on the stone bench opposite him, and tapped him lightly on the head with the book. Lu Liangsheng turned around and quickly stood up and bowed.
"Since the head of the village has said so, let's go back and get our weapons!"
Amid the chatter, Chen Tai suddenly slammed his hoe and shouted, "Stop talking!!!"
More than thirty bandits quickly jumped across the river, rushing over with murderous intent. The pile of stones in front of them were trampled under the feet of the spreading figures and scattered.
The soldiers at the city gate thought they were dizzy and rubbed their eyes. In the blink of an eye, the figure riding a donkey in front of them was more than ten feet away and disappeared at the end of the red sunset in an instant.
"Reporting to the Second Master, it is here. The several hundred taels of silver are all in Lu Liangsheng's house, and other people's homes also have one tael."
As the birds flew past, withered grass was splashed with dust. In the bleak autumn day, figures were running or riding horses silently forward.
"Master, I just felt that the magic formation over at Lujia Village was suddenly broken."
Chen Tai thought more than them and was a little nervous. He even trembled when he spoke out his thoughts.
Liu Erlong waved the whip, freed the scoundrel's hands from the reins, and grinned ferociously with his big beard.
He leaned down and stroked the horse's mane, then tilted his head to look at Lu Erlai: "Is this the place?"
The magical power that cannot be seen by the naked eye suddenly broke off...
"Let's go!"
"No, it seems that Captain Zuo from the county government is searching for a Taoist who can perform magic. Hurry and report it!!"
"That's because your daughter doesn't look that good..."
The man panted and shook his head, pointing to the village entrance in the south: "The bandits from Yazuilang in the north are coming down. I saw them go directly to Lujia Village."
Lu Liangsheng felt uneasy, but he could only do this now as they were too far away. As soon as he got out of the city gate, he found a secluded place, drew a talisman, pasted it on the old donkey's lower abdomen, pinched his fingers, and used the magic of shrinking the ground into an inch.
People from every household came out, and farmers who were returning home also hurried over when they heard this, their faces all turned pale.
"Listen to the teachings of the saints and do not be distracted. It is getting late today, so stay in this small courtyard for one night and go back early tomorrow morning."
"Are hoes and shoulder poles the same? There are many people in our village, and with the addition of people from Lujia Village, we can scare them no matter what."
Lu Liangsheng bowed respectfully, picked up the book and left the courtyard. As soon as he walked out of the gate, his expression became cold. He rode on the old donkey and took out the toad from the cloth bag on the donkey's back.
As he whispered, Er Lai on the other side nodded quickly, came forward flatteringly to hold the reins, and pointed in the direction of the village.
"...desires cannot be followed, ambitions cannot be satisfied, happiness cannot be taken to the extreme..."
Everyone in Beicun breathed a sigh of relief, but then became noisy.
"yes."
In a distant county town, in a quaint little courtyard on the edge of the city, someone's eyelids twitched and he looked towards the south.
"Don't panic, everyone!" A man named Chen Tai came over, put down his hoe, and his voice trembled a little.
After the matter was settled, more than 40 households in the village, with nearly a hundred people, young and old, men, women, and children, came out in groups of three or five, holding hoes, shoulder poles, and hatchets. After gathering at the entrance of the village, they shouted and rushed over.
Some people were also worried: "Even if we go there, we don't have weapons..."
“Teacher…”
"It's no different. Even if I'm dazzled, the matchmaker wouldn't be so frightened for no reason..."
As soon as they entered the village, they started shouting, "The bandits are coming down—"
Although the people in Beicun were unruly and illiterate, they all understood the truth and fell silent, looking at each other.
"It's so late..." The old man was serious and upright. He looked at the sky and nodded: "Well, since you are eager to go home, hurry out of the city before it gets dark. But after you go back, read more. If you have any questions, come to the city to find me at any time. I will sign you up for the child exam next year."
After all, the Youlv face was seen in Lu Liangsheng's room that night. The woman pushed the door open stealthily and went in. The furnishings inside were no different, except that it was a little cold, probably because there was no one in the room.
Under the camphor tree in the courtyard, an old man in a simple green robe held a book in one hand, his voice was vigorous and powerful. The evening breeze blew, and the fallen leaves floated on the pages of the book, interrupting his voice.
"It's true that we went up the mountain, but what if next year? Besides, when you drink the water, you should remember the well digger. A few days ago, the people in Lujia Village even gave us half of their own food rations to survive the winter. We can't just stand by and watch them die."
"The people of Lujia Village are going to be in trouble now."
"Old Chen , what do you mean?!" someone asked.
The woman's eyes widened instantly.
Then the head of the village came over, and everyone had to watch him make a decision. After a while, the head of the village nodded and said, "What Lao Chen said makes sense. Lu Liangsheng and the chief clerk have a teacher-student relationship, so it is only right for him to help."
The wind blew across the fields. Someone saw the figures passing by from afar and quickly squatted down and hid. They watched the other party quickly pass by the west of the village, drop their hoes, and run towards the village.
On the opposite side, Wang Shuhua had a serious expression and his hands behind his back.
"... Today I asked a matchmaker to help with matchmaking, but she was sent back. Now there's going to be something interesting to watch."
"… Act more aggressively, at least we can scare these bandits away!"
Chen Tai clenched his hoe tightly, glanced at the faces, and lowered his voice: "You are gloating here, what will happen if it's our village's turn next?"
"Loot the whole village, take all the food and valuables. If you don't give me anything, I'll kill you—"
The sudden discovery frightened Li Jinhua so much that her teeth started chattering, and then... the beauty in the portrait raised the corners of her lips and smiled.
"It's unlucky for your ancestors to have someone like you in Lujia Village." He raised his arm, pulled out the steel knife from his waist, and his voice suddenly became sharp.