The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

After introducing themselves, Lu Xiaosan asked, "I don't think there are any other entrances to this prison. So, where did you two come from?" He asked while looking around.

"We didn't come in from the outside," said the eccentric man with a hint of wickedness in his voice.

Wen Ying looked puzzled. "Then... how did you suddenly show up?"

Strange Eight Knives and Pink Old Mountain turned around and looked at the dark corner together, saying in unison, "You two are probably not pigs in disguise. We just swaggered out of there."

Wen Ying asked curiously, "Then why didn't you come out sooner?"

Guai Ba Dao grinned wickedly and looked at the two of them with a cold gaze. "I like to keep watch in the dark. I only came out with Shan Ge after I saw you two idiots were about to die."

Lu Xiaosan's lips curled up. "So vicious. Humph, I knew there must be something in that darkness."

Wen Ying frowned slightly, subconsciously looking at the dark corner, and said, "Then... there can't be anyone else in there, can there?"

"That's all! Right, you two?"

"Yes." The two brothers nodded in agreement.

Without warning, Lu Xiaosan and his two brothers raised their hands together and stretched as if they had been electrocuted.

"Oh oh oh~" all three of them exclaimed in great enjoyment.

Nothing in this world is more pleasant than stretching after relaxing your mind.

The two brothers stopped standing and lay down on the ground, just like Lu Xiaosan.

Seeing the three of them suddenly sprawl out on the ground, Wen Ying couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Where did this tacit understanding come from?"

The three of them were too tired to say anything more, and remained silent for a long time...

Wen Ying looked at the two thoughtfully, then suddenly exclaimed, "You...you can go into the water, could you be those two missing hunters?"

The strange man suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes and shouted sharply, "Who are you? How do you know who we are?"

Wen Ying said happily, "Great, I've finally found you."

With a cold and extremely vigilant expression, Guai Badao asked, "You're looking for us? What do you want?"

Wen Ying added, "Please help us pick the flowing lotus grass. I heard that you are the only ones in the entire Jiangcheng who can pick it."

Upon hearing this, Guai Ba Dao's tense nerves finally relaxed. He exchanged a smile with Shan Ge, then proudly exclaimed, "Oh!"

He deliberately drew out the "oh" sound for an extremely long time, as if he was afraid others wouldn't know he had that ability.

Just as the two were waiting for his next words, Strange Eight-Knife smiled at Pink Old Mountain beside him and said, "How about it? Am I strong or not?"

Fen Laoshan did not answer.

Lu Xiaosan couldn't help but think, "He's already so arrogant and asking for credit before even getting the Flowing Lotus Grass for us. If we really get him to find the Flowing Lotus Grass, he'll claim a huge credit for himself."

So Lu Xiaosan decided to deflate his arrogance and said with a hint of mockery, "I thought you two had already fallen victim to that man in black, but I never expected to run into you at the bottom of this lake."

Upon hearing this, Guai Ba Dao angrily retorted, "We weren't harmed by them! If that little brat hadn't ambushed me, would I have been captured? Huh? You know what? We were..."

The eccentric man talked on and on, desperately trying to explain how he had fallen for the schemes of a villain, and that it was absolutely not because he was less skilled than the other man…

In any case, it can never be my problem.

Lu Xiaosan couldn't help but think, "I've been pretending not to like Wen Ying all the way here, but I never expected to run into such a stubborn person here."

Seeing his eloquent speech, Wen Ying rubbed her forehead, thinking helplessly, "Could the iron gag in his mouth be because of this...?"

Seeing that he was furious but still stubborn, Lu Xiaosan finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Hahahaha!!"

He laughed so hard he rolled on the ground.

"You brat, you still don't believe me?" Strange Eight-Knife turned to Pink Old Mountain beside him: "Brother Shan, tell him if I'm right or not, Brother Shan? Brother Shan!"

No matter how he called, he didn't hear Fen Laoshan respond; instead, he heard increasingly clear snoring.

"Brother Shan! How can you sleep! How can you sleep at your age!" Strange Eight Knives shouted.

"Huh! What's wrong? What's wrong?" Old Man Pink suddenly woke up, rubbing his eyes and saying in a daze.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaosan burst into laughter again, "Hahahahahahaha, ouch, ouch my stomach, I can't take it anymore, hahahahahahahaha!"

Guai Ba Dao was a little angry and said sternly, "Brother Shan, tell them how that guy disgusted us, to prove what I said."

Pink Mountain looked bewildered, squinting and saying blankly, "Which, which guy... ahhhhhh..." He then yawned comfortably.

Lu Xiaoda laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, no need... no need to prove it, anyway... we've already killed that man in black, so whatever you say is right, hahahahaha!"

He was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe, so Wen Ying quickly came over and patted his back to help him relax.

This was the first time he had smiled so happily in all the suffering he had endured. Wen Ying couldn't help but smile with relief as well.

"A man in black?" Pink Mountain was taken aback.

He suddenly shouted angrily, "Oh, you mean that man in black? That damn man in black, while I was picking herbs and he wasn't looking, he sprinkled his poison on my herbs beforehand! I'm so pissed off! If it weren't for him..."

"Wait!" Strange Eight Blades suddenly interrupted, then asked Lu Xiaosan, "You just said that you've already killed him?"

"Not bad, it was split in two, and the brains exploded!" Lu Xiaosan said smugly.

Pink Mountain and Strange Eight Knives looked at each other and nodded knowingly.

Immediately, Fen Laoshan sat up, patted his chest, and said to Lu Xiaosan in a serious tone, "Enough said. Since that's the case, then we're all on the same side from now on."

Strange Eight-Knife sat up, his eyes fixed on the glowing Buddhist beads in Lu Xiaosan's hand, and muttered, "This brat might really have that ability."

He then smiled and squinted, "Not bad, you've passed my basic intelligence test. From now on, we're family."

"A family? Weren't you all so aggressive just now? How come you're a family now?" Lu Xiaosan laughed.

“Yes, that’s a really fast change of heart…” Wen Ying said.

Seeing that the two were hesitant, Fen Laoshan said in a serious tone, "Hey, we swore an oath that whoever helps us get rid of that person, we'll become sworn brothers with them!"

Without hesitation, Lu Xiaosan said, "Okay, I'll be the eldest brother, and you guys will be my second and third brothers, hahahahahahaha."

Fen Laoshan shook his head, somewhat anxiously saying, "Brother, in terms of age and seniority, we should be the eldest brother, you..."

"Wait a minute." Strange Eight Blades raised his hand to interrupt, then smiled at Lu Xiaosan and said, "You want to be the big brother, huh? Fine! Since you're the big brother, your two little brothers will follow you from now on. Wherever you go, we'll go. From now on, you'll take care of all our meals and sleeping arrangements!"

After he finished speaking, he deliberately stuck out his tongue, making a dog-like gesture.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" The three of them burst into laughter again, without any warning.

"Wow, that's shameless, hahaha," Lu Xiaosan thought to himself. "It's just a pity I can barely feed myself; if I were to feed and care for them too, well, tsk tsk tsk..."

"By the way, which of you two is the eldest brother and which is the second brother?" Wen Ying couldn't help but ask.

"We're both the eldest brothers!" Strange Eight-Knife and Pink Old Mountain said in unison.

Fen Laoshan laughed and said, "I'm the older one, and he's the younger one. Just treat us as one person. Hehehehe."

"Oh!" Lu Xiaosan nodded, then pointed to himself and said, "Then I am..."

"That's right, you must be the second brother."

"That's right, you must be the third brother."

Although the two spoke out at the same time this time, they had a disagreement.

Guai Ba Dao asked, somewhat puzzled, "Brother Shan, that fishman has already betrayed us. If it weren't for him, how could we be in this situation? Now, this young brother should be our second brother."

Fen Laoshan glared and said sternly, "No, I believe him. He must have been forced. Besides, what did he say when they became sworn brothers? How could he forget?"

Feeling somewhat disappointed after being rebuffed, the eccentric man said, "Fine, I thought you liked it this way..."

Lu Xiaosan pouted, "No, what I mean is that I am the eldest. From now on, the three of us will be the 'eldest brothers.' As for the second brother, let him continue to be our second brother. We will still treat him as a brother, but he will still be our younger brother."

Strange Eight Knives and Pink Old Mountain exchanged a glance and said in tacit agreement, "That's right, let's do as he says. We're all big brothers, there's no distinction of rank, hahahahahaha!"

"Without further ado, let's include your second brother's share as well, and now let's become sworn brothers. Come, come, come," said Fen Laoshan with a smile.

"Okay." Lu Xiaosan pulled Wen Ying along, ready to go up and become sworn brothers.

To his surprise, Wen Ying reluctantly shook off his hand and refused to go forward.

"What's wrong?" Lu Xiaosan asked, puzzled.

Wen Ying turned to the side, fiddling with her blonde hair as if deep in thought. After a long while, she said with a troubled expression, "I don't want to."

"Why?" Lu Xiaosan asked.

Wen Ying blushed and stammered for a long time before finally saying, "That man in black... I didn't kill him, so why would I... want to become sworn brothers with him..." After saying that, she turned her head to the side.

Lu Xiaosan scratched his bald head, "You always call me Brother Lu, why don't you want to become sworn brothers now?"

"Oh dear, women are such a hassle, always making us guess. Never mind her, if she won't bow, the three of us will!"