The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

The person standing there wore a straw hat. A blue beaded ball hung on his left, and a string of gold prayer beads adorned his right.

He himself was dressed in a tattered monk's robe, with one foot in a shoe and the other wrapped in cloth.

Wearing a straw hat and with a fierce look in his eyes, he angrily scanned everything in the restaurant.

Behind him, a long-haired little beggar sat casually by the car, his clothes tattered but not shabby, his exquisite face serene as still water.

At this moment, he was leisurely swinging his little feet, looking completely nonchalant. It was as if he was telling the world that as long as this monk was standing in front of him, he had nothing to fear.

Meanwhile, the music and dance on stage gradually came to an end, the melody became slower and slower, and the sound became increasingly faint.

Until finally, there was no more sound.

Only the two uninvited guests watched the dance music. Lianxue and Yulei, as usual, stood in the center of the stage, smiled and bowed, and then turned their gaze to the two new guests.

This monk, who looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, had the Dharma name Lu Xiaosan. His appearance and demeanor were just like the smell emanating from him: foul, the kind of foul smell that could be detected from afar.

Several years ago, he discovered that his close fellow disciples in the temple were actually bandits who had taken over the temple and were robbing passersby.

So, during the most important first ten years of his life, he only gained a monk's appearance and a bandit-like personality.

But when the temple was destroyed and people died, a string of Buddhist beads that had been soaking in the latrine for many years decided to choose him as its master.

Because it had been soaked in the temple's cesspool for many years, these foul-smelling prayer beads had become the most filthy religious implements in the world.

If this magical artifact fell into the hands of others, it would be nothing more than a pile of excrement. But in the hands of this young mistress, it became a weapon that made all the demons in the world tremble with fear.

Lu Xiaosan had carried Buddhist prayer beads for many years, and his body had become filthy and foul-smelling. So, the stench wafted over even before he arrived – that's a perfect description of him.

But even such a filthy monk has friends, namely the beggar named Chang'an behind him.

Chang'an, who is just over ten years old this year, always shows people with a smiling face and treats people with a peaceful and cheerful attitude.

But only he himself knows how many thoughts he harbors that contradict his outward appearance.

Is this maturity? But in front of Lu Xiaosan, he was clearly just a clueless, curious child. In his eyes, it seemed like Lu Xiaosan was the only person in the world.

You say his maturity is an act, but when his biological father died in front of him, he didn't show any expression at all. No one knows what he was thinking at that moment.

Faced with his dying father's instructions, he simply nodded expressionlessly, agreeing to take the magical artifact, the Blue Glowing Pearl, left by his father to Qiantang.

The two children met outside Chang'an City, and coincidentally, one didn't mind and the other didn't abandon them. They simply came together and decided to travel to Qiantang together.

However, when they arrived in Luoyang, the two were troubled by the body verification. After many twists and turns, the body verification that finally ended up in their hands turned into two slave certificates: slaves of the Immortal Pavilion.

The soldiers at the city gate mistook them for runaway slaves and drove them here at breakneck speed.

Logically speaking, being able to become a slave in the Immortal Pavilion is already considered a high-class person in the city. Not only would they be accompanied by beautiful women on a daily basis, but they could also walk around the streets with impunity.

So the soldiers were just putting on an act and didn't dare to actually hurt the two of them.

To their surprise, the two children had such fiery tempers that they rode straight into the Zhexian Tower without a word.

Even the most beautiful pheasant is still a pheasant; it can never become a phoenix. A slave is a slave; no one is inherently more noble than another.

Having been a bandit for so long, Lu Xiaosan couldn't stand this humiliation, which led to the following scene:

He stood on the carriage and shouted at the top of his lungs, "You scum from the Zhexian Tower, get out here right now!"

Although the sound was loud, only the echoing sound responded to him.

He spat, jumped off the carriage, and walked toward the stage, with Chang'an following behind him at a leisurely pace.

The nobleman hiding in the shadows saw the two delicate young ladies on the stage and Lu Xiaosan with an angry expression, and couldn't help but shout: "You madman, don't hurt these two ladies!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Lei turned to the nobles and feigned tears, saying, "Gentlemen...gentlemen, you have been so kind to me. I really...I really don't know how to repay your kindness..."

Lianxue remained calm, but politely turned to the distinguished person, smiling and bowing.

Although the two top performers said those things, they showed no fear whatsoever. On the contrary, one looked expectant, while the other remained calm.

Lu Xiaosan ignored their interaction and went straight to a table, picked up a piece of pastry, chewed it, nodded in praise, and then handed the whole plate of pastries to Chang'an behind him.

After tasting it, Chang'an's cold and stern face finally broke into a smile. "Delicious!"

The nobles looked at each other, these people who were well-fed and clothed and only thought of lust, could not understand these two children who were suffering from hunger.

Yu Lei's eyebrows relaxed slightly, her face showing pity. She whispered to Lian Xue beside her, "Sister, look, that little beggar is so handsome, why does he choose to fall into depravity with that filthy person and wander the streets?"

Lianxue glanced at her helplessly, then turned her gaze back to the outside of the building:

Under the moonlight, Fu Rou leaned lazily against the gap in the wall, listening to the officer kneeling in the courtyard pleading for forgiveness.

The officer knelt down and clasped his hands, saying, "Sir, these two fellows have questionable health conditions. I intended to stop them and find out what was going on, but... but... please forgive me, sir."

"It's nothing, they helped me get rid of two bedbugs, I'm more than grateful," Fu Rou replied softly, facing the house.

The sergeant whispered, "I understand... then... I'll... I'll take my leave now..." and then got up to leave.

"Don't rush..." Fu Rou said sweetly.

Fu Rou stretched lazily, revealing her alluring curves. The soldier swallowed hard, but out of fear.

He asked in a trembling voice, "M-Sir, is there anything else you need?"

Fu Rou smiled and said, "Hmm? Brother Jun, are you a high-ranking official or a wealthy merchant? Or a great man of both literary and military prowess?"

Upon hearing this, the sergeant broke out in a cold sweat. "None...none of that..."

"Then please leave behind your two legs, which are meant to protect our country, soldier!"

Upon hearing this, the sergeant was so frightened that he took two steps back, stammering, "This...this...this..."

"I was just joking, Brother Jun, you won't hold a grudge against me, will you?"

Upon hearing this, the sergeant immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."

"Since Brother Jun doesn't intend to hold a grudge against me, then I'll leave you with ten toes. You'll learn your lesson eventually." The vicious words were accompanied by a voice that was seductive to the bone.

"Ah!" the sergeant exclaimed, but finally gritted his teeth and kowtowed forcefully, saying, "Thank you so much for your mercy, sir."

He drew his sword from his waist, took a deep breath, and was about to strike when Fu Rou interrupted him, "Don't make a sound, or you might disturb the distinguished guests inside."

The soldier's face turned red and his whole body trembled. He followed her instructions and slashed down with his sword. All ten of his fingers, along with the shoe upper, were severed, but he didn't utter a sound.

"You can come and play anytime if you're free," Fu Rou said, then swayed back into the building without ever glancing at him.

The sergeant, however, was in so much pain that he was soaked in sweat and crawled out of the yard.

Fu Rou slowly walked up to Lu Xiaosan and asked with a smile, "Sir, you've come with such a grand procession, there must be something important going on. May I help you?"

Looking at the sexy woman in front of him, Lu Xiaosan sneered and downed his drink in one gulp. He then asked with a sidelong glance, "I'm asking you, aren't you just like them, a songstress?"

Fu Rou smiled and shook her head, "It's not that 'noble' yet."

Lu Xiaosan understood her meaning, and then snorted arrogantly, "So you're in charge then?"

Fu Rou nodded. "Our master is not available to come out right now. If you need anything, please contact me first."

"Choose me!" Lu Xiaosan deliberately imitated Fu Rou's coquettish tone.

Upon seeing this, Fu Rou couldn't help but smile coyly. Such a beauty displaying such a shy demeanor was even more alluring than having a half-naked woman placed directly into one's arms.

Ordinary men would want to take him to bed and pamper him if they saw him. Even so-called gentlemen would pretend to restrain their temper, but their lust was incredibly strong.

But this mistress, oblivious to romance, glared at her angrily and shouted, "Since you want to stand up for me, then help me out." With that, she pulled out two pieces of paper from her pocket and walked up to Fu Rou.

She crossed her arms over her chest, raised a flirtatious eye, and asked, "Hmm?"

Lu Xiaosan crumpled the paper into a ball, sneered, and said, "You can swallow these two balls of paper for your boss." Then he stuffed the paper balls into Fu Rou's mouth.

Fu Rou smiled gently, without flinching, and opened her lips slightly with a soft "ah," letting Lu Xiaosan stuff the paper ball into her mouth.

Just as the crumpled paper was about to be stuffed into Fu Rou's mouth, the nobles cried out in alarm, "No! Miss Fu Rou! Be careful, it's poisoned!"

Seeing that she didn't resist, Lu Xiaosan was puzzled and hesitated. But Fu Rou took the initiative to bite down, putting the paper ball in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, looking very cute.

Lu Xiaosan was somewhat surprised, and the smile on his face slowly froze.

He was about to say something more when he said, "This...what's wrong? Hmm? You can't stop smiling??"

Lu Xiaosan tried to stop smiling, but he couldn't muster any strength to speak. His face was as if it were glued on, and he couldn't move.

"Brother, why...why are you smiling so sadly?" Chang'an asked from the side.

Before Lu Xiaosan could even react, his whole body suddenly stiffened.

It was a feeling of utter weakness, yet also as if his muscles were about to burst. He tried to take a step, but collapsed straight to the ground, chest out, feet planted, his whole body arched in a bow shape…