The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

"It's already curfew time, who's yelling for help?" Lu Xiaosan ran towards the sound.

As soon as they arrived at the alley entrance, a young maidservant rushed out from within.

When she saw Lu Xiaosan, she rushed forward, "Quick...quick, save my young lady."

The maid suddenly covered her nose and complained, "What's that smell? It stinks!"

Lu Xiaosan stepped forward with a smug look on his face and said with a smile, "Amitabha, female benefactor, what exactly happened?"

The maid covered her nose, looking at her with suspicion, "You...you're dressed like this, are you trying to scam people? Oh well...something is better than nothing, come with me."

As the two ran along the road, the maid explained, "My mistress and I ran away from the master without his knowledge, but unexpectedly a demon suddenly appeared, and my mistress suffered the consequences."

"Shouldn't a maid be protecting her master? Why did you run away?" Lu Xiaosan asked, puzzled.

"I...I...because...Miss is bewitched," the maid stammered.

"Oh? Possessed? What kind of ghost is that?" Lu Xiaosan asked excitedly.

The maid looked frightened and recalled, "The ghost was all green, and he was carrying a huge pile of dishes with his hand that was holding flames."

"And the most terrifying thing was his face. Like a green zombie, it showed no emotion whatsoever. It just floated straight toward us."

The maidservant frowned in confusion. "Do you think those dishes were brought from the underworld by him, just to tempt people to eat them? If someone accidentally gets contaminated with them... oh dear!"

Lu Xiaosan immediately burst into laughter, "Hahahaha, that ghost was a cook in his previous life. He cooked well and was a good person. But once he deliberately added meat to the little monk's food. The little monk was so angry that he killed him."

"King Yama saw that he was a skilled cook, so he appointed him as the Imperial Chef of the Underworld, who was in charge of cooking for the high-ranking officials in the underworld."

"Therefore, his passion for cooking did not diminish but increased, so he often returned to the mortal world to offer people the underworld dishes he made."

The maid believed her and asked in horror, "What will happen if someone eats it?"

"If you say it's delicious, he'll stay with you and cook for you every day."

"If you answer that it doesn't taste good, he will leave sadly, but he won't go far. He will stay hidden in the shadows, observing what you like to eat, and then suddenly jump out and cook it for you."

"Hehe, one is to follow openly, the other is to spy secretly. Which one would you choose?" Lu Xiaosan told the story with a grin.

"The second one!!"

The maid gradually calmed down. "Wait, how can you know so much at such a young age? Are you really a fraud?"

Lu Xiaosan grinned crookedly and said, "You can say I smell bad, you can say I'm not good-looking, but please don't say I'm a liar."

Having said that, Lu Xiaosan raised his hand to the sky and shouted, "Come on!"

A golden dot flashed in the north, and with a "whoosh," the Buddhist beads flew into Lu Xiaosan's hand, instantly intensifying the stench around them.

The maid gagged, covered her mouth and nose, and hurriedly said, "Okay...okay, I believe you now, hurry up and put it away..."

The two walked out of the alley and turned several corners.

"Look, that's the Green Ghost!" the maid said, pointing ahead.

Looking over, it was indeed Ning Konglou who had gotten lost.

He was carrying a complete set of Luoyang Water Banquet on a green boat, and a young girl was looking him over.

"Miss...Miss hasn't already eaten his food, has she?" the maid asked fearfully.

“Is that your young lady? Hmm…” Lu Xiaosan strode forward.

Beside Ning Konglou stood a girl in white, about fifteen or sixteen years old, holding chopsticks and tasting the Luo City dishes in front of her.

At that moment, the girl picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, looking very satisfied, without showing any fear.

But Ning Konglou was different. He was covered in sweat, his veins bulging, yet he still stubbornly maintained his pale face.

He looked both extremely angry and extremely distressed.

I'm afraid he might suddenly explode and kill the girl in white on the spot.

The girl was enjoying her meal when she cried out, "Ouch!" and was pulled aside by Lu Xiaosan.

Upon seeing this, Ning Konglou was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief, and his tense expression slowly relaxed.

Lu Xiaosan said to Ning Konglou, "Chef, most people don't know about your quirks, so you can't blame others for it."

The girl smiled and gently removed Lu Xiaosan's hand. "Little Master, you're overthinking it. This man is a good person."

With food crumbs at the corners of her mouth, she smiled sweetly, her expression as clear and pure as water.

Lu Xiaosan whispered, "This guy hates it when people get close to him the most."

The girl nodded after hearing this, but still insisted on walking towards Ning Konglou.

Seeing her approach, Ning Konglou involuntarily took two steps back.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaosan wondered, "So he can walk. Why did he deliberately stay there?"

The young woman bowed and said gratefully, "When I escaped from the manor, I was very hungry. Fortunately, you were kind enough to treat me so well, so I thank you in advance." She then bowed deeply to her waist.

Ning Konglou was stunned for a moment.

The girl licked her lips and smiled, "Big brother's cooking is so delicious. Will I have another chance to eat it again?"

Ning Konglou looked displeased because he hadn't made the dish.

"Miss! You can't say that!" The maid suddenly ran over.

The girl excitedly grasped the maid's hand, "Xiao Cui, I'm so glad you're alright."

The maid, Xiao Cui, kept shaking her head. "Miss, please repeat after me."

The girl tilted her head. "Say, say what?"

The maid walked towards Ning Konglou, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Your cooking is the worst, the worst, the worst."

The girl covered her mouth in shock, while Lu Xiaosan gloated behind her.

To say that someone else's food is delicious and your own food is bad in front of a chef is the greatest humiliation you can inflict on him.

Therefore, Ning Konglou gritted his teeth and stared intently at the two women.

The maid was so frightened that she backed away repeatedly, but the girl was not afraid at all. She stepped forward and hurriedly explained, "Brother, my girl is just talking nonsense."

"I have no money right now, so I hope you can leave your name and address. I will definitely repay this kindness in the future."

Ning Konglou's expression was uncertain. He swayed slightly, but in the end, he chose to fly away on green, leaving the girl standing there.

"Why?... " The girl subconsciously took two steps to chase after him, but he had already flown far away, so she had no choice but to stop.

"Miss!" A maidservant rushed up from a distance. "Miss, you must be careful. He will come looking for you again."

The girl was overjoyed and excitedly grabbed her hand: "How did you know he would come looking for me! Tell me quickly, quickly!"

Xiao Cui repeated Lu Xiaosan's words, and the girl became a little angry, "He is not an evil spirit, he is a living person, a... a very good... person."

"How...how can a person be covered in green flames and still fly?"

"That's his own skill!"

Xiao Cui looked ashamed and immediately pointed at Lu Xiao San, saying urgently, "Miss, it was him who deliberately used these Midnight Chef Souls to deceive me."

Lu Xiaosan simply smiled and did not reply.

Xiao Cui suddenly felt someone poking her back. When she turned around, she saw a fat cook with a pale face and a greenish body.

The fat cook's pale face was tinged with a rosy blush. He was holding a plate of food, grinning憨憨地, revealing a mouthful of broken teeth.

"I heard you were looking for me, young lady."

Xiao Cui was startled, and after calming down, she cursed without mercy: "You fat pig, how dare you come over and scare this girl!"

The maid slapped him, but the slap went through his face and landed on nothing.

Xiao Cui was instantly dumbfounded, "This...this..."

"Xiao Cui, who are you talking to?" the girl asked softly.

"Miss, you...you didn't see anything?" Xiao Cui's back was already soaked with cold sweat.

"No...no." The girl's expression didn't seem like she was acting at all.

Xiao Cui gasped instantly, then turned around, trembling. There stood the pale-faced, chubby chef, smiling at her. How could it be fake?

"Ah!" Xiao Cui screamed and ran away like a madwoman.

"Hey, Xiao Cui!" The girl wanted to chase after him, but in the end she chose to stop and came to Lu Xiao San, who was laughing loudly.

The girl asked anxiously, "Little Master, you know that man from earlier, right?"

Lu Xiaosan rolled his eyes. "I guess so."

"That's great! Could you tell me that man's name and where he lives? I'd like to... I'd like to thank him properly sometime."

Lu Xiaosan pondered, "This little girl is so bold. If I really tell her... wouldn't she just force her way into the Immortal Pavilion? Hmm, I'd better not."

So he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I think it's better not to tell you."

The girl bit her lip reluctantly, but still forced a smile and said, "Since you have your reasons, then I can't force you." With that, she untied the knot around her neck.

"What...what are you going to do? Are you planning to try something gentle?" Lu Xiaosan asked suspiciously.

She took a green pendant from her snow-white neck; it was a green jade pendant in the shape of a Buddha, symbolizing peace and good fortune.

The girl held the jade to her chest, saying with great reluctance, "For so many years, I have always worn it on my body for protection."

"Hey, you don't want it?"

The girl nodded and smiled, "I'm afraid I'll never see him again, so I'm asking you, little master, to please give this to him. It's just a small token of my appreciation."

Lu Xiaosan slowly took the jade. "Miss, what...what's your name?"

The young girl smiled sweetly, "Su Yi from the Su family of Hexi."

Lu Xiaosan was stunned. When he came to his senses again, Su Yi had already gone far away to look for Xiao Cui, leaving only the lingering fragrance of jade.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the fat cook, smiling, "Little Fatty, I was just saying it casually, I didn't expect you to actually be here."

The fat cook's smile concealed a deep fear. "Master, master, master, please tell me first. I only come out during curfew, and it's been a long time since I've scared anyone."

"But today... hehe, seeing that Master Lu is in a good mood, I'll just play along."

"Oh, well, I guess I should thank you, kid." Lu Xiaosan said with a smile.

The fat cook hurriedly said, "No, no, I just thought that since you're already here, why don't you try my new dish?"

Lu Xiaosan glanced at the vegetables in his hand that were already green and moldy, waved his hand and refused, saying, "Leave them for that old man Yama to eat, don't let them harm me."

The chubby cook scratched his head and chuckled, "Looks like Master Lu... isn't in a good mood."

Lu Xiaosan crossed his arms and sighed, "Little Fatty, the next time we meet will probably be down here."

The fat chef suddenly turned fierce. "Hmph, Master Lu, you wait here. I'll go and bring you the heads of Ning Konglou and Zong Wanli right now!"

He didn't seem to be joking. "Are you sure you can beat them? Ning Konglou is already some kind of top-tier expert."

The fat cook said dejectedly, "Then...then we'll have no choice but to go and take Zong Wanli's head..."

"After all, to us, everyone below Grade A is just a nobody..."

"Hmm?" Lu Xiaosan's face was full of doubt and provocation.

"Of course, you're not included!" the cook hurriedly flattered.

"Hmm—" Lu Xiaosan let out a long, satisfied sound, like an old ox.

"Then, Master Lu, I... I'll go kill Zong Wanli right now." The fat cook was overjoyed and could no longer contain his urge to kill.

"How dare you! Didn't I say before that we humans should handle our own affairs? You have no right to interfere!"

"But...but..."

"And I absolutely forbid you from harming humans for my sake. That's my bottom line," Lu Xiaosan said angrily.

The fat cook looked frightened and said somewhat dejectedly, "Yes, yes... I understand."

"I understand, I understand. Let's just pray we don't meet anytime soon." Lu Xiaosan waved and left, his figure slowly disappearing into the alleyway.