The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

Wen Ying pursed her lips, her face filled with sorrow, then turned her head to the side and remained silent in a huff.

Lu Xiaosan's words completely extinguished her burning emotions.

But Lu Xiaosan didn't care at all. He raised his sword in the air, and the blade just happened to block out the setting sun.

As dusk fell, the blood on the sword slowly flowed down the blade into Lu Xiaosan's palm, until the red sword turned white again.

Looking at the Frostbite Sword before him, Lu Xiaosan shook his head and couldn't help but sigh, "It's a fine sword, but I've never liked using swords. This sword won't stay with me for very long..."

He picked up the blood-stained scabbard from the ground and sheathed the sword with a "whoosh".

He approached Wen Ying, holding the sticky sword.

"Let's go, little golden retriever," Lu Xiaosan said coldly.

Wen Ying kept her head turned to the other side and didn't answer...

Seeing that she suddenly ignored him, Lu Xiaosan was a little scared and quickly asked, "What's wrong with you? Little Golden Retriever, shall we go...?" Her voice was much softer than before.

After a long while, Wen Ying slowly uttered two words: "Where are you going?"

Lu Xiaosan was stunned. "Yeah, where should we go? Why don't we just go home and start living our lives again..."

He did indeed avenge the fox demon swiftly, but because of his recklessness, the whereabouts of the two hunters could never be known again…

Lu Xiaosan gave a wry smile, "What... what should we do?"

Just as he was deep in thought, "thump thump..." came the sound of horses' hooves from ahead again. It was the young swordsman from before turning around and returning.

The boy held a whip in one hand and the white eagle from before was perched in the other.

The white eagle was covered in wounds, but its eyes remained resolute. Fortunately, the four eaglets perched on its wings were unharmed.

Lu Xiaosan laughed and said, "Brother, why are you back again?"

The young man laughed twice on horseback, then slowly dismounted, steadying himself on the arm with the white eagle crouching on it. "Because there are still some things I need to ask you to do."

Wen Ying hurriedly went up to him, "Give me this white eagle, I'll treat its wounds."

The boy handed the white eagle to Wen Ying. Lu Xiaosan said "Oh," and then said, "So, brother, you came all the way back just for this white eagle."

The boy said, "When I was halfway there, I saw the white eagle you saved falling from the sky, so I caught it... Hmm... It seems to be too badly injured to fly."

At this point, the young man shook his head and smiled, "However, that's not the main reason. There are other reasons why I came back."

Lu Xiaosan asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is there anything I can help you with, brothers?"

The boy chuckled self-deprecatingly, then pointed in the direction he had returned from and said, "I'm not afraid to admit it, brother, but there's a cliff ahead, and it would be quite difficult for me to cross it now..."

"Haha, brother, I believe that in time you will be able to cross this cliff," Lu Xiaosan laughed.

The evening breeze ruffled the boy's disheveled hair, but it couldn't budge his tall and straight figure in the slightest.

He looked confident and said arrogantly, "What is a mere cliff? In the future, I will traverse every inch of this Tang Dynasty and let everyone know that I exist in the Tang Dynasty!"

Looking at the spirited young man in front of him, Lu Xiaosan couldn't help but feel his blood boil. He said with a determined look, "That's right! What the hell is a cliff? If you ask me, I'll not only traverse the entire Tang Dynasty, but I'll also explore the oceans that surround it!"

"Hahahaha!" They laughed, their eyes radiating an unwavering confidence and determination to succeed. They both firmly believed in themselves and each other; they could do it! They absolutely could!

The young man patted Lu Xiaosan on the shoulder and said happily, "When I first met you, little brother, I just wanted to stay far away. Now it seems I was wrong."

Lu Xiaosan asked curiously, "Why do you want to stay far away?"

"Seeing a nun means you'll always lose at gambling; seeing a monk means everything will go wrong, hahahahahaha!"

Lu Xiaosan wasn't angry at all, and laughed along with him, "Hahaha, brother, you're certainly outspoken."

"Even though I'm a fake monk, I still believe in this stuff. Last time I ran into a nun in town, and she spent the whole day driving small cars, it infuriated me... And..."

The two talked about these things and then chatted for a long time with laughter.

Especially Lu Xiaosan, he hadn't had such a pleasant conversation with anyone in a long time.

He said, "At first I thought you were avoiding me because I smelled bad, but I never expected it to be like this, hahahahaha!"

Upon hearing this, the young man's expression darkened, and he said with disdain, "Hey, brother, the odor on you is something only vulgar people would care about. How could you think of me as one of those vulgar people? A person can be dirty for various reasons, but their heart must be pure."

Lu Xiaoda laughed loudly, "Yes, yes, hahaha, after all, I've seen too many vulgar people!"

The boy then licked his lips and said awkwardly, "But speaking of which, brother, you really have a certain scent that attracted me, which is the most important reason that drove me back."

Seeing his expression, Lu Xiaosan sensed that he might have some ulterior motive, so he cautiously asked, "What flavor is it that you can't forget, brother?"

The boy's face lit up with joy, and he reached out to Lu Xiaosan's chest...

Lu Xiaosan was immediately shocked, but he forced himself to hold back and decided to take another look.

The boy tapped his chest with his finger, three times.

He then looked up with anticipation, exclaiming, "This is true bliss!"

Lu Xiaosan followed the direction he pointed and pulled out the gourd of wine he had found at the hunter's house. He was immediately dumbfounded, "Hahaha, what was I thinking?"

Lu Xiaosan glanced at the wine, then at the boy's greedy expression, and couldn't help but shake his head in admiration, "Amazing! From so far away, you can still smell the wine from the blood and my stench. Brother, you're a genius! Just how good are you at wine?"

The young man stroked his mustache, threw his head back, and laughed loudly, "I am the Immortal of Wine! In terms of drinking capacity alone, no one in the entire Tang Dynasty dares to surpass me! Hahahaha!"

"It's a pity I didn't bring enough wine, otherwise I would definitely have a drinking contest with you until we're dead! Here!" Lu Xiaosan tossed the wine to the boy.

After accepting the wine, joy immediately spread across every cell of the boy's face!

I saw him bite the bottle neck with his teeth, tilt his head back, and gulp down the wine.

Spilled purple wine trickled from the corner of his mouth, sliding down his constantly bobbing Adam's apple. He stood perfectly still, with only the evening breeze ruffling his tattered white robe.

He downed the entire bottle of wine in one gulp, downing every last drop.

His face was slightly flushed, and he let out a long, satisfied sigh, his heroic spirit instantly filling the air!

"Truly, a hearty drink flowing into a hearty gut!"

The young man patted his belly, then patted Lu Xiaosan's shoulder heavily, his eyes filled with determination as he said, "Brother, come find me at Yellow Crane Tower in a few years! By then, we'll be different beings altogether! I'll take you boating on the river, listening to music and reciting poetry, enjoying fine wine and beautiful women—how delightful!"

"Okay! I'll definitely keep my promise then! Hahahahahahahahaha!" The two of them laughed loudly at the same time.

They laugh at all the youthful spirit in the world, saying it's all a gift from them.

The boy gazed into the distance, his eyes filled with unspoken meaning. After a long while, he finally said seriously, "Alright, I must continue on my way!"

Lu Xiaosan asked doubtfully, "Brother, aren't you from Jiangcheng?"

The boy shook his head and smiled smugly, "I originally came from Mount Dakuang. It was because I was reading Li Yong's article in the mountains that I accidentally discovered a mistake in it. I couldn't resist coming here to correct it for him."

"But I didn't expect that the old guy would get scared and hide far away from me. I even went to his house, but I didn't see a single fly. Hahahaha!"

Lu Xiaosan was completely confused. He didn't know where Da Kuang Mountain was, who Li Yong was, or who was right or wrong in their poems.

But he still said happily, "So, brother, you're going back to... Da Kuang Mountain... right?"

The boy shook his disheveled hair and laughed, "After wandering around for so long, it's time to go back..." With that, he turned and mounted his white horse.

"Brother! Wait for me to come out, then we'll have a good drink and a long talk!"

"Wait!" Lu Xiaosan handed the sword to him.

The young man frowned. "I, Li, always keep my word. If I say I'll give it to you, I will. How are you putting me in this position?"

Lu Xiaosan laughed and said, "I'm just borrowing your sword for protection because I see you've traveled a long way. You'll have to come back to return it to me in a few years."

The boy's brows relaxed, and he burst into laughter, "Hahaha, good, that's more like it, hahaha—!" The boy put away the sword.

At this moment, Wen Ying had finished treating the white eagle's wounds. The white eagle, carrying its four cubs, flapped its wings and flew into the air, circling the three of them twice. Then, a cry that pierced the sky rang out, and it flew into the endless sky.

As the two watched the white eagle's departing figure, it was as if they saw themselves bravely charging into the unknown, without the slightest hesitation...

They both seemed to share a tacit aversion to those sentimental farewells.

The young man tossed his hand aside and said loudly, "Until we meet again, gentlemen!"

He didn't look at it again after he finished speaking, and spurred his horse away.

Lu Xiaosan shouted, "Brother, what should I call you next time I need to talk to you?"

"Hahahaha!" A young man riding a horse in the distance laughed loudly under the setting sun, and then two words drifted back from afar: "Taibai!"