The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

By the time the group arrived at the nearest pharmacy, the sun had already set.

The door was tightly shut. After a knock, a middle-aged man's voice, filled with extreme vigilance, came from inside:

"Who?!"

"Uncle, we're here to buy medicine," Chang'an said with a smile.

A moment later, the door opened a crack, and the person inside seemed to glance out twice before saying impatiently, "What medicine do you want? Tell me quickly!"

Wu Zijing was somewhat puzzled and casually asked, "Shouldn't a doctor first determine a patient's condition by taking their pulse and observing their appearance? At the very least, shouldn't they ask? What if they prescribe the wrong medicine and worsen the patient's condition?"

The person inside sneered, "Hmph, what time is it now? I'm already being generous by selling you medicine, you expect me to examine your face and take your pulse? If you want to buy, hand over the money now, otherwise get out!"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, when suddenly, with a "bang," the door slammed shut.

Everyone was a little unhappy, but Chang'an coughed twice and called out, "Uncle, the madam of Qiaohong Pavilion asked me to pass on a message to you."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at this junior uncle with surprise and suspicion.

Of course, the most surprised and suspicious person was the old man inside the house.

"Little brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!" The man's tone sounded anxious and somewhat agitated.

Chang'an said happily, "Really! The madam gave me a lot of candy and told me to make sure to pass on the message to you."

He described the madam's appearance in detail again before the man tentatively asked, "What...what did she say?"

The man could hardly contain his excitement.

Chang'an laughed and said, "Hehe, you have to answer one question for me first before I can tell you what's going on here?"

After a moment of silence, the person seemed to be biting their lip as they said, "Tell me first."

Chang'an asked, "Do you know where I can buy lotus grass around here?"

The man asked in surprise, "Flowering Lotus Grass? What Flowering Lotus Grass? What does this have to do with what you're trying to bring?"

Chang'an pretended to be a little angry: "You don't want to talk about it? Then I'll go report to the madam."

"Uh... wait, wait, wait."

"Figured out?"

The man sighed before saying, "I've never heard of anyone growing any kind of 'flowing lotus grass' here. It should only be found in other places. But... I heard that Mr. Chen, the owner of Huichun Medical Shop in the east of the city, often buys herbs from other places from wandering herb gatherers. You can try your luck there."

Chang'an pondered for a moment and said, "Huichun Medical Shop..." Then he smiled and said, "Thank you, sir." After saying that, he was about to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait, you haven't told me what she asked you to bring yet."

Chang'an laughed and said, "Oh, the madam said that next time you come, remember to bring more red dates and rehmannia root. As for the chives, you'd better keep them for yourself."

"Ah!? This...this...this..." The man sounded extremely incredulous.

After everyone left, apart from Wang Xiaofan and the drunken Feng Chi, everyone else looked at Chang'an with strange eyes.

Wu Zijing frowned and said angrily, "Junior Uncle? You... how could you have been to a place like Qiaohong Pavilion?"

Chang'an rolled his eyes and said leisurely, "Who said you have to go inside to know what the madam looks like? She was shouting so fiercely at the door, so naturally I have a deep impression of her."

Wu Zijin remained skeptical, while the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ah Mei then asked with a smile, "But how did Junior Uncle know that the person at the pharmacy must have been... been to that kind of place?"

Chang'an laughed and replied, "I don't know if he's been there or not. I only know that if I say that, he will definitely come out and answer my question."

Amei looked up and thought for a while before exclaiming happily, "That's right! If he hasn't been there, he naturally wouldn't want anyone shouting at the door that he's been to such a place. After all, the neighbors are all staying home and listening now."

Chang'an laughed and said, "Moreover, he must also understand the principle that children's words are innocent and that rumors can become false. Once the news gets out, he will be unable to defend himself and will have no way to express his suffering."

Wang Xiaofan seemed nonchalant, lazily asking, "Then why don't you ask him what exactly happened in Qiantang?"

Chang'an scolded, "How could you be so stupid? If I asked that, wouldn't it be the same as telling him that we, a bunch of unsupervised brats, came from afar? It would be one thing if we didn't get eaten by wolves on the way, but we also happened to be chosen by the madam here to deliver a message? Wouldn't that be too ridiculous!"

His reasoning was, of course, somewhat far-fetched, but fortunately, the person asking was Wang Xiaofan, which gave his words some credibility.

But no matter what, he couldn't say that he asked the question to prioritize saving his own life...

But some things are simply unavoidable.

Lan Tingting had already started asking questions: "Then what about the flowing lotus grass you mentioned?"

Chang'an scratched his head and replied, "This... I just made this up on the spot, just so he could tell us where the biggest pharmacy is. After all, we have so many injured disciples, and a small pharmacy like this might not be able to provide enough."

After all, he was already his senior apprentice. Those who believed him would naturally believe him, and those who didn't wouldn't ask any more questions.

When the group arrived at the Rejuvenation Clinic, the moon was already bright and the stars were few, and the main gate was naturally closed.

Wu Zijin asked, "It's curfew now, so Boss Chen won't sell us medicine."

Wang Xiaofan said with a wicked smile, "Unless he has also been to Qiaohong Pavilion."

Chang'an sneered, "We six penniless medicine collectors would be more than happy if it were curfew right now. It would be even better if Boss Chen were at Qiao Hong Pavilion!"

As he spoke, he ran to the courtyard wall, but then immediately froze in place.

He looked up again and saw that everyone had already jumped over his head, and at the same time they were all smiling and looking back at him.

Suddenly, the moonlight that had been falling on them disappeared, and someone grabbed their arm and lifted them up.

Wu Zijing held up the umbrella and gently stepped into the courtyard.

When she looked up, Zijing was looking at her, her smile containing a hint of tenderness, as beautiful as a clear stream in early spring.

Chang'an was startled and quickly broke free.

However, the laughter of his fellow disciples carried a hint of mockery. Chang'an awkwardly laughed and said, "I really didn't expect...this courtyard to be so big, hehehehe..."

"Isn't this basic lightness skill something anyone can do? No way, no way! There really isn't some senior uncle who can't even do it... then is he even human?!" Wang Xiaofan suddenly said in a sarcastic and cheeky tone.

Lan Tingting also snorted coldly, her face showing smugness.

Ah Mei suddenly peeked out, looked around, and asked in confusion, "Are we... missing someone?!"

Chang'an laughed loudly, "It seems I'm not the only one whose lightness skill is lacking."

Wu Zijing suddenly stared at the sky and exclaimed in surprise, "Uncle-Master, look!"

Feng Chi, oblivious to what had happened, was already drunk and sprawled on the roof in the center of the courtyard.

"Oh no! Brother Feng's lightness skill is too good, and because he's drunk, he's overexerted himself!" Wang Xiaofan said anxiously.

"Then why didn't you keep an eye on him? Were you afraid he'd spit in your mouth this time?!" Chang'an rebuked him mercilessly, feeling quite pleased with herself.

"I'll go get Senior Brother Feng down!" Just as A-Mei was about to set off, Wu Zijing suddenly said, "Shh! Someone's coming! Quick, hide!"