The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

By the time they returned to the village, the sun had almost set. Using only the faint, dim light, the two arrived at the Yang family mansion at the village entrance.

Just as Lu Xiaosan was about to swagger in, Wen Ying stopped him, "Brother Lu, wait a moment."

"what happened?"

Wen Ying tapped his forehead. "You, you, we don't even know who we're giving it to yet. How can we be so reckless? What if there's some danger inside? Let's observe the situation inside the house first before deciding on our next move."

Lu Xiaosan thought for a moment, rubbed his hands together, and looked at Wen Ying with a mischievous grin. "Little Golden Retriever, why don't you give me the letter first so I can take a look?"

Wen Ying instinctively protected the letter, and said reproachfully, "You gave me the letter and then you dumped me, didn't you?"

"I..." Lu Xiaosan couldn't find a reason, so he could only kindly advise, "Little Golden Retriever, who knows what might happen tonight? It's too dangerous for you to be here."

Wen Ying pouted and said angrily, "Then if you think it's dangerous, go back first. I'll deliver the message by myself, okay?"

"No way!" Lu Xiaosan blurted out.

Wen Ying put her hands on her hips and smiled with satisfaction: "That's right, if you don't want me to be alone, why would I want you to be alone?"

Lu Xiaosan had no way to defend herself.

Wen Ying took out a white pill from her bosom and handed it to Lu Xiaosan. "Here, take the medicine first, so that Brother Lu won't suddenly fall ill again tonight."

After Lu Xiaosan took the pill, he asked again, "Little Golden Retriever, we went to so much trouble to get the lily grass just to make this pill. Will I get better if I just stay sick?"

Wen Ying shook her head, somewhat disappointed, and said, "No... this medicine is only to suppress your convulsions and spasms; it cannot cure your illness..."

Wen Ying immediately added, "But don't worry, as long as you take your medicine on time, I can guarantee that you won't die from the illness. Once I find a cure, I will definitely be able to save you from this suffering."

Lu Xiaosan's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but grasp Wen Ying's hand. "Really? Then I can't live without you."

Wen Ying blushed and shyly withdrew her hand. She turned around and hurriedly changed the subject: "Brother Lu...you...you really won't...cause trouble for that farmer again?" She thought for a long time and could only think of this sentence.

Wen Ying asked casually, but Lu Xiaosan replied seriously, "No, if he really is a wicked demon, then I will still continue to look for him. I just promised not to use the method of tracking him."

Wen Ying smiled and clasped her hands in a gesture of respect, "Master Lu is truly both trustworthy and kind-hearted. I admire you greatly."

Lu Xiaosan laughed heartily, "I wouldn't dare call myself a great hero. I'm just very interested in things like exorcising demons."

He and Wen Ying climbed over the wall of the Yang family mansion together, observing the people coming and going inside.

At this moment, only one room in the Yang family mansion was brightly lit by candlelight, and two figures could be vaguely seen in it.

After staring for a long time, an elderly man finally emerged from among them, walking with unsteady steps.

"It was him!" Lu Xiaosan and Wen Ying exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Seeing him holding a round fan and beaming with joy, I realized he was the old man who told stories at the village entrance during the day.

"But there's still someone inside. Is this letter for the old man or for the person inside?" Lu Xiaosan wondered.

Seeing the old man walking further and further away, Lu Xiaosan became anxious and said to Wen Ying, "Little Golden Hair, you stay here and keep an eye on that old man. I'll go see who the other person in the house is."

Wen Ying bit her lip and said, "Okay, remember to be careful in everything you do, and don't be reckless. Preserving your life is the most important thing."

Lu Xiaosan nodded in agreement, took Wen Ying's letter, and went to the front of the house where candles were lit.

Lu Xiaosan peered inside and saw that the person inside seemed to be writing something at a table.

He was about to make a move when suddenly a voice came from inside: "Young man, since you're here, come in."

Lu Xiaosan was taken aback. "That voice... it's He Lai, the one with the limp. Good heavens... so he's in cahoots with that old man. No wonder he was bragging to him at the village entrance."

“Since the old man brought this message by blowing on the crane, it’s probably meant for the crane. And it’s good that he wants me to go in now, it’ll save us a lot of trouble.” Lu Xiaosan gave Wen Ying on the wall a reassuring gesture and stepped into the house.

The room was simply furnished, with only a simple bed and a bookcase.

Helai was sitting at the table, reading a book, and the bright candle on the table cast his long shadow on the wall.

"Young man, it's been so long! I've missed you terribly," Crane said with a warm smile.

"Yes, it's been several hours since we last met. I've missed Hero He terribly," Lu Xiaosan replied.

"Haha, I would never dare to call myself a hero. I'm just someone who does what I'm supposed to do."

Lu Xiaosan immediately retorted, "Hey! Don't be modest. That old man said during the day that you are as majestic as a god. How can a title of hero stop you?"

He Lai replied seriously, "Oh? The old man said he had watched my match, so he wanted us to stay here."

Lu Xiaosan glanced at him sideways and said, "He's not some shill you're using to fool kids, is he?"

He Lai said seriously, "Of course not. By the way, young brother, what brings you here so late at night?"

Lu Xiaosan stepped forward and handed over the letter. "Here, someone asked me to give this to you."

He Lai looked slightly suspicious. He took the letter and checked it several times to make sure there was no poison inside before opening it to read.

As He Lai read the letter, he sometimes frowned and sometimes smiled, and by the end, it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or sad.

Finally, he put down the letter, his face filled with anticipation.

Lu Xiaosan found a chair to sit down, crossed his legs, and asked, "What does this letter say?"

He Lai was slightly puzzled. "Young brother, haven't you read this letter yet? Let's take a look together."

Lu Xiaosan's eyes widened instantly, and she pointed at herself, saying, "I...I'm that kind of..."

"Knock knock knock." A knocking sound suddenly came from outside the door.

"Who is it?" Lu Xiaosan shouted instinctively.

"I...I'm here to find He Lai...the hero." A childish voice came from outside the door.

"Come in, little one," said He Lai.

The door opened, and a six- or seven-year-old boy walked in, covering his nose. It was Ananda, whom he had seen during the day.

Lu Xiaosan was instantly stunned, pointing at him and saying, "It's...it's you, you little lecher! You even called him...a hero? Oh, so during the day you and that old man were playing good cop and bad cop!"

Ananda did not answer, but covered his mouth and nose and walked straight to Helai, then took out a red flower from his bosom.

He Lai was slightly startled. "Little friend, what are you doing?"

Ananda pinched his nose, lowered his head, and stammered, "Hero Helai, I was a bit mischievous during the day, insisting on telling them you weren't a hero. Now, all the children in the village don't want to talk to me anymore... They all want me to apologize to you, otherwise they'll never speak to me again..."

"Do they know I'm here?" Tsuru asked.

"No, I just found you here myself. So I quickly picked a bunch of flowers..."

He Lai was both amused and exasperated. He patted the child's head and said, "Little friend, don't be sad. Tomorrow, I will personally go and explain things to you and clear your name."

Ananda's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, "Really!"

"Of course it's true! Shall we pinky swear?"

"good!",

The two made a pinky promise, while Lu Xiaosan watched from the side, finding it all rather childish.

After making a pinky promise, Ananda held up the red flower and said shyly, "Hero Helai, please accept this flower. When you explain tomorrow, be sure to say that this is a gift I personally gave to you, Hero Helai."

Helai quickly glanced at the flower branches, and only after confirming that they were ordinary flowers did he smile and say, "Alright!"

Ananda couldn't resist being mischievous again, and deliberately dodged the crane's hand that was about to take the flower.

As they continued their playful dodge and catch, Tsurugi's childlike spirit was awakened, and the two of them actually started playing together.

Lu Xiaosan, standing to the side, was completely bewildered. He shook his head and was about to go out to check on Wen Ying's condition when what suddenly happened before him sent chills down his spine.

He saw Helai smile and reach down, so Ananda gently pushed upwards, and the flower slipped away from under Helai's armpit and climbed up.

At first glance, it appears to be a typical scene of children playing happily.

But look at the wall behind them: there is a small, thin figure, passing through the shadow of the crane's armpit with a flower.

In that world of shadows, Crane had already been separated from her human arm.

Lu Xiaosan shouted, "Watch out!"

Upon hearing this, He Lai looked around the room and suddenly his eyes widened in surprise.

With a "whoosh," his arm fell off without warning, and blood instantly splattered all over the wall.

Lu Xiaosan was shocked, thinking, "He didn't even touch the flower in reality, only his shadow touched it. Will something similar happen in reality? What kind of sorcery is this!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Helai remained calm and didn't utter a sound. He immediately shielded Ananda beneath him and said, "Be careful, there's an assassin!"

Lu Xiaosan shouted, "Idiot, the assassin is right under you!"

Ananda's lips curled slightly upward as he quickly jumped out from under Helai and said coldly, "Hero Helai, are you satisfied with my apology gift?"

The voice was still childlike, but the tone was completely different from the innocent child's voice just now. It was full of cold, chilling composure and calmness, making it impossible to imagine that this was a young child!

He Lai was slightly taken aback, then smiled wryly and said, "So it was you who did it..."

Ananda said calmly, "Hero, according to my rules, I should kill one of your closest relatives first. But judging from your past, your only close relative now is this arm!"

"Your rules?" He Lai turned his head again and saw the blood-stained shadow on the wall, then said self-deprecatingly, "So it's... the infamous... Red Shadow Lone Demon. I've heard so much about you. I was blind and fell for your trick..."

Now that he was confirmed to be the murderer, Lu Xiaosan nodded and rushed forward with his Buddhist prayer beads in hand.

Ananda turned his head and stared at Lu Xiaosan expressionlessly, saying, "You're next. Goodbye."

"Go to hell, do you think I'm afraid of you?" Lu Xiaosan was about to smash down the Buddhist beads.

Suddenly the door opened, and Wen Ying barged in, shouting, "Brother Lu!"

Lu Xiaosan hurriedly turned around, "Little Golden Retriever, get out of here quickly."

In the brief moment of respite, Ananda fell straight backward. Upon landing, he transformed into a dark shadow and merged into the wall, sliding outside along with his shadow.

At the same time, his cold-blooded voice echoed from inside the room: "Hero, take care!" There was not a trace of emotion in his voice; it was blatant mockery.

He Lai rose and bowed with one hand, saying solemnly, "Take care!"

Ananda then changed the subject, saying coldly, "Little monk, we'll meet again soon..."