The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

Junior Brother Qin whistled, and a magnificent steed immediately galloped out of the jungle.

He carried a sack and rode back to Jiangcheng. After traveling for some time, he arrived at the misty, rain-shrouded east bank of the Yangtze River. From there into the city, one would find the continuous, long and narrow Huanghu Mountain range.

This mountain stretches and meanders, rising and falling naturally. Because its shape resembles a snake, it is also called Snake Mountain.

Junior Brother Qin rode his horse up Snake Mountain, and after traveling several miles, he finally arrived at the summit of Snake Mountain: Yellow Crane Tower.

From afar, the Yellow Crane Tower stands against the Milky Way, overlooking the river below, and connected to the city. Its exterior is majestic and imposing, with double eaves and open doors on all four sides. It is surrounded by a wall.

Inside the main gate, two pavilions and two corner towers are evenly distributed on both sides, and directly behind them is the ancient and majestic Yellow Crane Tower.

Although the Yellow Crane Tower has only two stories, it has a unique ethereal and majestic air because it is located on the top of Snake Mountain, where clouds and waves drift.

Junior Brother Qin led his horse to the main gate.

"Who goes there? State your name!" someone inside the door asked.

Junior Brother Qin announced loudly, "It's me. I've brought my senior brothers back."

"What! That's wonderful!" The person inside the door exclaimed with delight.

Immediately afterwards, the door opened, and four or five people dressed like Junior Brother Qin came out, all wearing red hats, yellow robes, white gauze, and black trousers.

"Go and call everyone out to welcome our senior brother," Junior Brother Qin instructed.

"Yes, Brother Qin!"

Several disciples carried the sacks into an open space in the center of the building. Soon, a large group of disciples poured out from the corner towers on both sides.

Before long, more than a hundred male disciples gathered in the square, all dressed the same as Junior Brother Qin.

Seeing that all his fellow disciples had gathered, Junior Brother Qin had two more vats of hot water brought to his side. He then patted the sacks on the ground with satisfaction and said with a smile, "My beloved senior brother, we're home."

With the arrival of the sack, a strong stench swept over the area once more. Junior Brother Qin covered his nose and quickly ordered someone to pour boiling water into the sack.

They kept pouring and splashing water until both tanks were empty, and only then was the stench suppressed to a level that was barely tolerable for everyone.

After the sack was opened, the three people inside shook the water off their heads and slowly woke up.

Seeing that he was surrounded by male disciples in red hats and yellow robes, each with sharp eyes, Lu Xiaosan couldn't help but shout, "Where the hell am I? Wasn't I... wasn't I sleeping in the hunting lodge?" Just as he was about to get up, he found himself tightly bound and unable to move.

"This is……"

"The Yellow Crane Sect...unbeknownst to many, ten years have already passed..."

Lu Xiaosan turned his head at the sound and saw that both Guai Badao and Fen Laoshan on either side had complicated expressions.

Fen Laoshan gave a wry smile, "As expected, we've come back after all..."

At the same time, the more than one hundred male disciples of the Yellow Crane Sect shouted in unison: "The disciples of the Yellow Crane Sect respectfully welcome the return of our two senior brothers."

Fen Laoshan and Guai Badao were filled with mixed emotions, but still looked bewildered and said, "We... have long since left the sect and are no longer your senior brothers, so why are you still flattering us like this?"

Junior Brother Qin asked from the side, "Senior Brother, do you really not have the three things the Sect Leader wants?"

Upon hearing this, Fen Laoshan narrowed his eyes and immediately cursed angrily: "You beast, don't even think about those three things!"

The eccentric Eight-Knife also puffed out his chest and shouted, "Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you."

The disciples on the field looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, Junior Brother Qin nodded to the disciples of the Yellow Crane Sect, and they all suddenly knelt down in unison, saying, "Then please, Senior Brother, take charge of the sect again!"

Both Guai Ba Dao and Fen Lao Shan showed astonishment on their faces at the same time, "What!"

Lu Xiaosan was completely bewildered, so he put on a sour face and said, "Hey? What the hell are you doing? If you want our help, untie us first!"

"No!" both Strange Eight-Knife and Pink Old Mountain shouted at the same time.

Junior Brother Qin glanced sideways and said, "Gag this monk so he can't interrupt again."

"You... Ugh!" Lu Xiaosan's mouth was gagged with a thick cloth, and he was hung on a wooden frame that no one knew where he came from.

Fen Laoshan said urgently, "What are you going to do to him? If you have a problem, come at us!"

"Hey, none of this has anything to do with him, you should release him quickly," said Strange Eight-Knife.

Lu Xiaosan kept making "uh-uh-uh" noises on the wooden frame, and it was unclear what he was complaining about.

Junior Brother Qin walked up to the two men, a resentful look on his face, and asked, "This guy is your brother, right? Humph, Senior Brother, aren't we enough brothers around?"

All the disciples had venomous and resentful eyes, as if an invisible rage was rising in their hearts.

“That’s right, he’s our brother,” Guai Ba Dao and Fen Lao Shan said firmly in unison.

The disciples were instantly shocked and furious. Junior Brother Qin gritted his teeth and asked on behalf of the disciples, "How did you all get to know each other?"

After thinking for a moment, Fen Laoshan said calmly, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you the reason."

Because Fen Laoshan knew that if they found out that Lu Xiaosan was the murderer who killed the man in black, he would probably not have a good ending.

Upon hearing this, Junior Brother Qin grabbed Old Man Fen's collar, his eyes wide, and said, "Who cares how you two know each other! If you want him to live, do as I say!"

Old Man Fen glanced at him sideways and asked, "What do you want?"

Then, Junior Brother Qin whispered a few words to Old Man Fen and Strange Eight Knives before cutting the ropes on their legs.

Guai Badao stood up, looked up at the sky and sighed, then said, "Brother Shan, all of this really... couldn't be avoided."

Fen Laoshan stared blankly at the ground, lost in thought. After a long while, he stammered, "Sect...Master...Junior...Brother..." For some reason, a smile appeared on his face again.

Guai Badao came up and helped him up, saying, "Let's go, let's figure out how to save 'Old Man' first."

Lu Xiaosan kept making loud "uh-uh-uh" noises from behind. Guai Badao and Fen Laoshan turned around at the same time and said softly, "Don't worry, big brother, we'll get you out soon."

Upon hearing the two address Lu Xiaosan as "Big Brother," the disciples on the field clenched their fists, their anger flaring.

"Let's go."

Strange Eight-Knife and Pink Old Mountain walked side by side and went up to the Yellow Crane Tower together. Only Lu Xiaosan was left hanging in the square.

With his mouth gagged, Lu Xiaosan had a thousand words to say, but he couldn't utter a single one.

He was curious: this wasn't supposed to be a place for monks and nuns, so why were there only men here? Also, why did they all call the two brothers "senior brothers"? They were so young, yet they were already the most senior people here.

And the most puzzling thing is why these people got so angry when they heard that the two brothers had a brother like them?

Inside the Yellow Crane Tower:

Upon entering, they found themselves in the place they were most familiar with: the place where their master preached.

Old Man Fen smiled and said, "Do you still remember when your master chased you around with a ruler because you stole food?"

"Haha, of course I remember. If it weren't for Brother Shan and the other senior brothers pleading for me, my ass would have been covered in blood again."

Fen Laoshan smiled and said, "Those were good times."

Then, Old Man Fen noticed the huge painting hanging in the hall. His deep eyes flickered slightly, and he sighed softly, saying, "But later..."

The lower half of the painting depicts the Yellow Crane Tower, towering majestically into the clouds. Above it, a red-crowned crane with yellow feathers gracefully approaches from afar.

The crane is painted very lifelike, but to see the whole thing, you have to go up to the second floor.

Seeing that Fen Laoshan was engrossed in watching, Guai Badao nudged him and said, "Let's go, these things will be settled soon."

The two walked heavily to the second floor, and the various things they saw along the way always brought back their childhood memories.

Upon arriving on the second floor, the air was filled with the scent of rouge, and following the aroma, I found myself in an elegant room.

Seeing the bright red makeup in the room, Guai Badao said, "How strange, this is not Master's room back then. How come it looks like a woman's boudoir now, with even a dressing table?"

Fen Laoshan looked somewhat worried. "Our sect has always only accepted male disciples. No one leaves the sect and no outsiders enter. I suppose our sect leader couldn't hold back any longer, so he's keeping a mistress here."

The two walked around the house again, but finding nothing of use, they went back out.

Now on the second floor, the top part of the giant painting comes into view: a crane in the painting has a person standing on its head. The person is stroking a white beard and looks like a hermit, riding the crane westward.

Looking further up, above the immortal in the painting, stands a beautiful figure.

The figure seemed to move slightly. The two rubbed their eyes and realized that the figure was not a painting, but a real person in front of them—a woman with an extremely beautiful back view.

A woman in a pink dress stood gracefully, gazing wistfully into the distance from the viewing platform.

"I suppose... this must be the girl who was hidden here."

Fen Laoshan said loudly, "Young lady, do you know where the sect leader is now?"

Upon hearing this, the woman turned around gracefully, her beautiful eyelashes gently lifted, revealing her exquisitely beautiful features.

The woman smiled sweetly, her bright eyes and white teeth gleaming. Her penetrating gaze was fixed steadily on Pink Old Mountain.

Fen Laoshan was completely dumbfounded, exclaiming in shock, "It's...it's you, Sect Leader...Junior Brother..."