The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

He downed three bowls of wine in a row, and as the effects kicked in, he felt his vision blur, his head spin, and his steps become unsteady.

In a daze, he saw many red soldiers, brandishing knives and charging towards him.

After finally escaping far away, I saw a bunch of roasted chicken legs running on the ground.

He chased after them for a long time, and in a hazy state, he saw two rows of girls in green standing in front of him, smiling and greeting him.

Of course, he didn't want to upset the girls, so he walked up to them with a grin.

……

The cool night breeze had already reached the top of Phoenix Wing Mountain.

A cool breeze swept through the grass and trees, dispersing the white mist. But more importantly, it awakened the drunken Chang'an.

Chang'an shook his head, squinting his slightly tipsy eyes as he looked at everything before him, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "I...I...how did I get back! How did I get back?...!"

"Wait a minute! Where did those green maidens go? I don't remember anything!"

He recognized the small house before him, swallowed hard in fright, and said, "Green Maiden is gone, now only... Mosquito Princess remains..."

He shook his head and sighed, "If Senior Sister Hua weren't acting so irrationally, she would indeed be an unparalleled beauty... It's just a pity..."

He took a deep breath, strode to the front of the house, and called softly, "Senior Sister? Senior Sister? Are you asleep?"

There was no response from inside, so I went to open the door, which was ajar.

The scene before Chang'an left him dumbfounded: the bedsheets were torn, and white cotton wads were scattered everywhere in the room. The furniture, askew and crooked, was covered with sword marks of varying sizes.

Even the walls were not spared; they were covered with countless sword marks, as well as numerous bloodstains of varying sizes.

Chang'an was somewhat alarmed and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Senior Sister? Senior Sister! Where...are you?"

After searching the room to no avail, he looked at the blood on the wall and thought, "This must be mosquito blood."

"No, this is all my blood!" A cold voice suddenly rang out from behind.

"Oh my god!" Chang'an took several steps back, and a disheveled girl in tattered clothes suddenly appeared outside the door.

The girl held a torch, her head tilted to the side, and her posture was languid.

A sudden gust of cold wind blew by, ruffling the girl's messy hair...

Only then, illuminated by the firelight, could one see that the girl's beauty remained captivating, but her pale face was devoid of any life. The last vestige of color had transformed into countless bloodshot veins, creeping across her wide-open eyes.

"A ghost...a ghost!!" Chang'an exclaimed in shock, then looked more closely and quickly smiled apologetically, "Hehehe, Senior Sister...it's only been...less than a day, how come you...have become so...haggard..."

Hua Chan stared blankly at every corner of the room with her mouth slightly open, ignoring Chang An's words.

Chang'an grew increasingly frightened, but she still forced a smile, picked up the food basket, and said with a smile, "Senior Sister... look, I brought back our food. By the way, where are Xiao Hei and Lao Bai?"

As he spoke, he opened the lunchbox, and soon a pungent, fishy stench wafted out from the vegetable basket.

"This...this is full of horse and cow dung!" Chang'an stammered.

Then, a look of utter horror crossed his face: "What...what did I do with these cattle and horses after I got drunk...?"

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I really thought I'd gotten some skill into bringing the food up the mountain intact. Turns out... I was still drunk. Sigh..."

"Junior brother, come out." Hua Chan's voice was icy, his eyes still scanning the room.

Looking at her blank yet determined gaze, Chang'an asked doubtfully, "Senior Sister, what...what are you planning to do?"

Hua Chan said expressionlessly, "I'm going to burn this house down."

"Why...why??!!!" Chang'an was shocked.

Hua Chan said indifferently, "I want to die together with these mosquitoes!" She spoke the most vicious words in the calmest tone.

"No, no, this is not only counterproductive, but it will absolutely not work." Chang'an hurriedly stood in front of the door, afraid that this silly girl would really do it.

Hua Chan's blank gaze lingered on him for a long time.

But Chang'an sensed a chilling murderous intent in it, which terrified him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

“You’re right, this won’t work…” Hua Chan slowly turned around, holding a torch in her left hand and a sword in her right, and swayed away.

Chang'an finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly caught up, saying with a grin, "Senior sister, ouch... be careful not to fall."

He hovered around Hua Chan like a mosquito, rubbing his hands together and asking with a smile, "Senior Sister, Junior Brother wants to discuss something with you, what do you think?... Hmm?... Senior Sister?"

Hua Chan was quietly gazing at the mountains and forests below, her gaze still firm.

"Oh no!!"

Sure enough, the next second Hua Chan threw the torch into the jungle.

Just as the torch was about to be lit, Chang'an suddenly jumped out, caught it, rolled several times along the slope, and then stood still.

As a result, the chill in Hua Chan's eyes intensified, just like the gentle, cold wind that was blowing.

"Why?" Hua Chan looked down at him coldly.

Chang'an, still shaken, gasped for breath, "That's what I wanted to ask you too! Why did you do that?!"

Hua Chan remained calm, "Only by burning this mountain can we completely eradicate those mosquitoes..."

Chang'an exclaimed in surprise, "If everyone were like you, what would become of this world?! Can't we try some other methods?"

Hua Chan's eyes flashed with anger as she said bitterly, "I've tried all other methods all day, but these mosquitoes are impossible to kill! Only a flame that devours everything can wipe them out!"

After saying that, she turned and walked into the house, as if to prepare new torches.

Chang'an hurriedly stomped out the torch in his hand, making sure that not a single spark remained, before rushing after him.

"Senior sister, senior sister? Senior sister!...Hua Chan, stop!!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Chan slowly turned her cold and ruthless face away.

Chang'an slowly revealed the three palace tokens and smiled, "Senior Sister, you must recognize them, right?"

Hua Chan nodded listlessly.

Chang'an was overjoyed. "Very good. Next, I want you to...do whatever you want! I'll always support you from behind, hehehe." His tone suddenly changed, and the last half of the sentence was extremely flattering.

All because Hua Chan also took out a golden, dazzling three-dragon-head token from her bosom, which was larger and brighter than the one in Chang'an's hand.

Hua Chan tilted her head and asked suspiciously, "When did Master get you one of these too?"

Chang'an chuckled awkwardly, "This...this wasn't...given to me by my master..."

Hua Chan stared at his token for a long time before saying disdainfully, "Such a boring thing, yet you made more than one."

“Senior sister, if you’re tired of looking at this badge, you can hand it over to your junior brother for safekeeping,” Chang’an said respectfully.

Hua Chan said, "This brand is still somewhat useful to me for now."

"Wh...what's it for?"

Hua Chan coldly said, "Whenever those old guys come up the mountain begging me to come down and teach, I can easily send them away with this sign."

At this point, Chang'an's smile became increasingly forced. "Well... well, it really is quite good."

Then Hua Chan added, "However, that's not the most important function of this brand."

"The main function? What is that?" Chang'an was greatly puzzled. He couldn't fathom who Hua Chan would use this brand to issue orders to.

Hua Chan didn't answer, but slowly turned around and casually threw the token down the mountain.

Chang'an watched the parabola fly out and thought to himself that even if it had wings, it definitely wouldn't be able to catch it this time.

At that moment, a dark figure suddenly leaped out from the shadows, caught the token in its mouth, and landed smoothly.

Little Black wagged its tail and handed the token to Hua Chan. Hua Chan smiled slightly, patted its head, and then tossed the token away. This continued...

Chang'an was so shocked that his mouth remained agape for a long time. After a while, he awkwardly put his token into his pocket.

As Hua Chan tossed the token aside, he asked coldly, "So, what did you say you wanted to discuss with me? Are you planning to plead for these mosquitoes?"

Chang'an was so frightened that she quickly shook her head, "No, no, no, I came because...because..."

Hua Chan glanced at him sideways, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Junior brother, you're here to ask me to come down the mountain on behalf of those old guys, aren't you?"

Chang'an scratched his head, forcing an awkward smile: "This...this...Senior Sister, there aren't only old guys down the mountain, there are also many little guys the same age as us. You'll definitely like them, hehehe."

Hua Chan shook her head. "Not interested." As soon as she finished speaking, she happily took the token that Xiao Hei had brought back.

Chang'an was stunned for a while before continuing, "Interests can be cultivated gradually, and besides, they also said that you, Senior Sister..."

Seeing the strange look on Hua Chan's face, Chang'an had a sudden inspiration. She changed her tone drastically and said with gestures, "They say that you, Senior Sister, are not only ugly in appearance but also in heart, and that you can't even wield a sword like a mosquito. They said that even if you only used your bare hands, they could beat you so badly that you'd run away in terror!"

After saying these words, Chang'an's heart was in his throat.

He hoped his provocation would work, and he also hoped that Hua Chan was a reasonable person who understood the principle that every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor.

"Really?" Hua Chan seemed quite happy.

"It's absolutely true, Senior Sister! Especially that guy named Wang Xiaofan, he jumped up and started pointing at you and cursing!"

Hua Chan, who was used to being praised and surrounded by others, was actually quite moved.

So she smiled again, and this smile was even more beautiful than the brightest starry sky.

“Very good. After I burn this place down, we’ll set off.”

"Wait wait wait wait!"

"what happened again?"

Chang'an immediately pointed to the sky and swore: "Senior sister, I promise... no, I swear, as long as I'm here, I guarantee that you will never be bothered by mosquitoes again! If I break my oath, then... then let me stay up for three days and lock myself in a mosquito nest for one night!! No... two nights!! I just beg you not to burn the mountain!"

Seeing his earnest and sincere vows, Hua Chan couldn't help but sigh, "This is indeed the most cruel vow I've ever heard to myself..."

"lets go."

Hua Chan started walking with mechanical steps, her gait unsteady and extremely stiff. It was clear she'd been driven mad by mosquito bites.

Chang'an saw that her hair was oily, her face was dirty, and her whole body was a mess. Compared to his own disheveled appearance, she was no less disheveled.

"Wait a little longer, senior sister."

"What's wrong with you now?" Hua Chan frowned slightly, seemingly getting a little impatient.

Chang'an said, "I'm just auditing the class, so of course I can dress casually. But you're going to give a lecture, so why are you dressed like this too?"

"you mean…"

"What I mean is, senior sister should take a shower, change her clothes, and make sure she looks clean before going to class."

"You're right, but..."

Chang'an asked with a smile, "Could it be that Senior Sister is too lazy to do it?"

Hua Chan stared blankly into the distance for a long time before slowly replying, "I don't know how to do it..."

Chang'an exclaimed excitedly, "I know! I can teach you!"

"what can you do?"

Seeing Hua Chan's icy gaze fixed on him again, he quickly changed his words: "Ahem, I mean, how could you not know how, Senior Sister? Have you never taken a bath since you were a child?"

Hua Chan shook her head. "I have a good friend who has always been the one to take care of these things for me."

Chang'an was stunned again, and forced a smile, "So that's how it is... Then... how can I find this good sister?"

Hua Chan raised her head and looked at the brightest oblique point in the lake sky, which was the moon over Qiantang.

After gazing for a long time, she murmured, "It's about time...it's about time."

"Almost what? Ah! Senior sister, what are you doing... Ah!!!"

Seeing Hua Chan suddenly appear in front of Chang'an, he casually tossed him into the bottomless abyss below the mountain.

This time, Xiao Hei didn't intend to pick him up either.