Descend to Earth (IV)
Heqi's voice was unusually urgent, even a bit angry, and it reached Heshu's ears through the voice transmission.
"What...what happened?"
He Shu was startled and almost fell off the branch. He knew the priorities of things, so he quickly jumped off the peach branch, tiptoed, and quickly slipped into the depths of the bamboo forest behind the hut.
He held his breath and concentrated, quickly scanning the surroundings with his consciousness. After confirming that the bamboo forest was deserted, he continued to ask:
"What's going on?"
"Madam Xi sent a message saying that a drought demon seems to have appeared in the north. She asked us to inform the mortal envoys in charge of flowers in various places that there may be abnormalities in the flowering time."
"You've only been in office for a short time. I was planning to go with you, but time is tight and the task is heavy..."
"Understood."
He Qi was just being polite. The incident happened suddenly and she was too busy to care about anything else. As soon as she got the answer, she quickly ordered:
"For some reason, the immortal messenger from Luzhu Mountain has been unable to be contacted. Since you happen to be there, it is your responsibility to find the mountain god here to inquire about the situation and directly inform him of the unusual occurrence."
"But I must warn you, the deity of Luzhu Mountain has a strange personality, and contacting him will be extremely difficult. Be prepared. If you haven't found him within a day, return to the inn and report."
"By the way, the mountain god is Taoist Master Xuantongzi of the Luzhu Mountain Taoist Temple."
He Qi said this and unilaterally cut off the voice transmission without waiting for He Shu to reply.
It seems that the situation is really urgent.
He Shu thought so, took a last look at the small house hidden by layers of bamboo leaves, turned around and flew towards the mountain.
"Hey, big stupid bird, where are you flying to?"
A sharp and somewhat coquettish female voice suddenly sounded from the woods behind him without any warning.
"This is my territory! There's a saying in the human world—"
"I opened this mountain and planted this tree. If you want to pass through here, you must leave money for passage!"
Although the voice was shrill and charming, the words it uttered were pure evil.
He Shu's heart tightened. He had important matters to attend to and didn't want to get entangled. He flapped his wings and was about to leave quickly.
Seeing that He Shu ignored it, the monster rushed forward and its sharp claws, flashing with cold light, brushed against the side of his face.
For a moment, He Shu felt a gust of wind on the back of his neck. He dodged by turning sideways with his celestial bird instinct. The sharp claws brushed past his cheek, leaving behind a few strands of broken hair and a trace of blood.
The whistling wind cut his skin, and blood beads rolled down his cheeks and fell onto his white clothes, blooming like a red plum blossom.
"Big Stupid Bird, calling you stupid is really unfair to you. I think you are very good at pretending to be deaf and dumb!"
He Shu looked at the little demon who had come to him and was talking nonsense, and raised his hand to wipe the blood from the side of his face.
This little demon had little experience in Taoism, but his body movements were quite good. Although he dressed like a bandit, he was dressed gorgeously, with jade hanging all over his body, which made a jingling sound.
I don't know how such a tiny cat demon who can't even transform into a human form became the king of this mountain, and how he has the confidence to openly rob people in the territory guarded by immortals.
"I see you're a good-looking woman, so I'll give you another chance. If you give me the jade token you have hanging around your waist, I'll consider showing you mercy and letting you live... Otherwise, don't blame me for being cruel!"
"Ignorant little demon."
He Shu got angry after being disturbed by this. He snorted coldly and flapped his wings. A strong wind suddenly arose from the ground, making the surrounding green bamboos dance wildly and the bamboo leaves rustled like a sudden rain.
Without seeing how he moved, his fingertips had already grasped a bamboo leaf.
The bamboo leaf flew out of his hand quickly, faster than lightning, with a sharp sound that broke through the air, and went straight to the cat demon's eyebrows, but it deviated when it just touched the loose hair on her forehead, and cut off the bun band on her head with incredible precision.
He Shu's magic skills are good, and it is more than enough to deal with such a little demon, but he has no intention of killing it. He just wants to punish it a little so as to get away as soon as possible.
"you--"
The cat demon obviously didn't understand He Shu's good intentions. She screamed, twisted her body strangely, and leaped onto a higher branch not far away like a stream of light, shouting:
"My hair bun! This is the 'Flowing Clouds Chasing the Moon' bun that Qingle personally combed for me! You damned bird, how dare you touch my hair? I'll never let you go!"
He Shu ignored her threats. Seeing her stroking her messy hair with a look of reluctance in her eyes, he turned around and continued his journey up the mountain.
"You've ruined Qingle's kindness to me. Even if I cut you into pieces, it won't ease the hatred in my heart!"
The cat demon looked at He Shu's ruthless back with hatred. The anger gushing from his eyes seemed to have substance, nailing him to the body, wishing he could eat him alive.
Knowing she was no match for him, she cast one last glance at He Shu, let out a sharp "meow", and suddenly turned into a grey shadow. After a few leaps, she disappeared into the depths of the dense branches and leaves.
After this interruption, more and more people came to the road, and the hunters who had taken a lunch break came to the mountain to continue their work for the day.
The silent forest suddenly became lively. Because there were too many people and too many eyes, it was inconvenient to use lightness skills. He Shu had to hide deeper into the dense forest, pinch his fingers and transform into his true form of a white crane, flying silently to the top of the mountain.
He landed on a tree branch outside the temple and first tried to send a message to the mountain god, but just as Heqi said, he concentrated and sent the message several times, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response. In order to make it easier to find him, Heshu had no choice but to transform into a human form again.
He walked along the path into the Taoist temple. He hadn't taken two steps when he met a round-faced Taoist priest. He quickly stopped and stopped the priest, asking:
"Excuse me, is Xuantongzi in this temple?"
"The Lord."
The young Taoist priest was polite. He did not show any impatience at He Shu's sudden interruption. He first made a formal arrangement, then lowered his eyes and whispered:
"The Taoist priest was out traveling a few days ago and was not in the temple."
"Wandering? Did Taoist Xuan... tell us where he'll be wandering?"
“No.”
The round-faced Taoist priest stood there with his eyes still downcast after he finished speaking. Seeing that He Shu didn't continue talking, he turned around and wanted to leave.
He Shu was stunned after hearing this and was at a loss for a moment.
"etc--"
But he quickly came to his senses, and seeing the young Taoist priest about to leave, he could only shamelessly chase after him, following behind him and continuing to ask:
"Did the Taoist priest say when he would be back?"
“No.”
The young Taoist paused when he heard the question, and slightly turned sideways, with a barely perceptible hint of helplessness on his face.
"Does the lord have something urgent to ask the Taoist priest?"
"yes."
"Could you please explain what it is?"
He Shu thought about it, but couldn't think of any good reason to make excuses.
If you talk about unimportant things, people won't take it seriously, but if you talk about important things...
He didn't even know what this Taoist temple was used for, and making up a reason would only make people laugh at him.
After a long silence, he finally touched his nose helplessly, lowered his eyes, and shook his head in embarrassment.
"If you want to interpret divination, read incense, tell fortunes, or pray for blessings, Master Baopu and Master Zhengyang in the temple can do it, but if it's a private matter, I'm afraid the client will make a wasted trip."
The round-faced Taoist priest left after he finished speaking. This time, He Shu did not try to keep him. He had asked all the questions he needed to ask. Perhaps only the mountain god himself knew where Taoist Master Xuantongzi was.
"Where will it go?"
He Shu murmured and continued walking into the temple.
Although he knew that there was little hope, but waiting was futile, he had to suppress his anxiety and hope to catch a trace of his departure or a lingering breath in this former residence of the mountain god.
The bluestone road in front of him was winding. He Shu walked up the stone steps and looked up to see the mountain gate with mottled vermilion paint. The copper bells hanging on the eaves swayed gently in the breeze, making tiny sounds, as if someone was whispering in his ear.
There were pilgrims coming and going along the way. He followed the crowd, but had no intention of watching. He passed through the courtyard shaded by ancient cypress branches, walked around the small pavilion, and a magnificent palace stood before him.
Unlike the simple elegance of the Nine Heavens Temple, the temples on earth are much more gorgeous, with flying eaves, brackets, carved beams and painted rafters. The roof is covered with blue-grey ceramic tiles, which sparkle faintly under the sunlight.
He Shu stayed in the city for a few days and all he saw were some civilian huts. The largest building he encountered was a three-story teahouse. This was the first time he had seen such a magnificent building, so he couldn't help but look around curiously.
The plaque on the main hall was inscribed with the words "Sanqing Hall" in large gold lacquer. The characters were strong and powerful, and the momentum was so majestic that even a layman like him couldn't help but look sideways when he saw it.
But He Shu quickly looked away, holding his breath and sensing the atmosphere inside the temple while walking forward.
There was a wide platform built right in front of the temple, with several bronze incense burners several times larger than a person placed in the middle. He had seen slightly smaller ones of this kind in the inn, so he walked past them without paying much attention and came to the stone steps of the main hall.
The massive Sanqing Hall, built atop a high platform, made people seem even smaller than dust. He Shu walked along the edge of the platform, which was surrounded by exquisitely carved bluestone railings, the patterns on the railings vividly depicting life.
Turning around, his eyes were attracted by a relief on the stone railing, and he couldn't help but climb up the stairs.
The appearance of this little crane is carved very nicely.
He Shu thought so, nodded with satisfaction, squatted down with a lingering feeling, touched the cold stone sculpture with his fingertips, and slowly traced the shadow of a crane with its wings spread out, ready to fly, on the flowing cloud pattern.
Each feather was lively and seemed to be trying to break free from the stone.
He suddenly remembered the Ninth Heaven and slowly withdrew his hand.
The cool touch still lingered on his fingertips, and as he felt the delicate movement of the little crane's wings, ready to take flight, He Shu's yearning for the mundane world of fireworks and the freedom of coming and going quietly surfaced. Compared to the cold and orderly Nine Heavens, the vibrant and unknown here captivated him even more.
He gradually became lost in thought and unconsciously tilted his head, with the tip of his nose almost touching the bluish-white spot.
His eyes slid aimlessly along the gaps in the carved railings, and finally stopped on the platform not far away.
The smoke rising from the bronze incense burner surged like waves, and a tall and thin figure slowly emerged in the milky white mist, with plain wide sleeves brushing against the curling column of smoke.
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