Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Sangzhi sat in the corner, hugging her knees, and softly hummed in agreement.

“You’re not poisoned. Tomorrow morning, you can walk straight in this direction until the sun is about to set, and then you’ll see the village.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Lingguang again, limped to his feet, rummaged through the basket, and found a worn-out bow and arrow: "This is the bow and arrow my father used; everyone in the clan recognizes it."

"Just say that my dad sent you here. Even though you're ugly, they should take you in because of my dad."

As if making a defense, Sangzhi added in a low voice, "As long as you're not poisoned, they won't be too hostile towards you."

Xu Lingguang took the old bow and stared at him.

The person sitting in the corner was just a tiny blob, and when he hugged his knees and curled up, he didn't look much bigger than Yu Rong and Yun Feng.

But his tone was mature; even though he was already struggling to take care of himself, he still tried to plan and arrange a place for him, an adult, in a very serious manner.

Xu Lingguang asked, "I'm leaving, what about you?"

Sangzhi's ears twitched, her chin resting on her arm, and she said nonchalantly, "Of course I'll stay here."

If given the chance, he would like to build a thatched hut.

When he becomes too poisoned to move, he should lie down in a thatched hut and die in his own home.

Of course, he didn't intend to share these secret plans with Xu Lingguang. He snorted and said, "I don't have much food stored up, enough to feed such a big ugly monster like you."

Xu Lingguang found his awkwardness somewhat cute, so he quickly reached out and touched his ear before he could react, saying, "I didn't say I wanted you to raise me. I have a fasting pill."

He took out a bottle of fasting pills and shook it.

Sangzhi had clearly never heard of the Bigu Pill, and showed a dismissive expression: "What is this? It doesn't look as appetizing as dried meat, and it won't fill you up."

Xu Lingguang ate a fasting pill himself, and then quickly stuffed another one into his mouth: "Why don't you try it and you'll see? It'll fill you up."

The Bigu Pill didn't taste very good, and Sangzhi was about to spit it out when he opened his mouth. Xu Lingguang pinched his mouth to stop him from spitting it out: "Don't spit it out. Wasting food is not a good habit. This Bigu Pill can last for three days."

Sangzhi's eyes widened, and she swallowed the words with a mixture of disbelief and skepticism.

As soon as Xu Lingguang let go, he immediately spat twice in disgust: "It tastes awful."

Xu Lingguang muttered, "It's not that bad, is it? As long as it fills my stomach, it's fine."

The main problem was the limited availability of ingredients; otherwise, he could have refined several more flavors and improved the taste.

But now we're lucky to have anything to eat at all, so we just have to make do.

Given the current situation outside, risking hunting to fill one's stomach is not a wise choice.

Sangzhi was about to refute him, but her rumbling stomach seemed to be soothed after swallowing the fasting pill.

He checked it and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

He muttered to himself, touching his stomach, "I don't think I'm hungry anymore."

After realizing what was happening, Sangzhi opened her eyes wide and looked at Xu Lingguang: "It's more filling than eating meat."

He hadn't eaten meat in a long time, and going hungry was a regular occurrence for him.

The only food he had was dried meat that his parents had dried before, but he couldn't bear to eat it and kept it at home.

If the thatched hut hadn't been destroyed, he had planned to save the dried meat for his dying moments.

Seeing the little brat's surprised expression, Xu Lingguang felt a surge of pride. He raised an eyebrow and said, "See? I wasn't lying to you, was I?"

He glanced at the dried meat that the little brat had placed next to him like a treasure, and said, "I think that dried meat has gone bad. You can keep it as a souvenir, but don't eat it anymore. These fasting pills should last us for a while."

After saying that, he patted the seat next to him and beckoned, "Come sit here, let me see your injury."

Xu Lingguang had researched many poison pills for self-protection and naturally had some knowledge of poisons. He was very curious about what kind of poison Jie Gou was wearing.

To everyone's surprise, Sangzhi's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him warily: "The poison of the hook is contagious. The priest said it's a curse with no cure. Once you're exposed to it, you can only gradually weaken and die."

Before his father died, the poison had spread to half of his body, and his skin had turned into cracked tree bark, which was very terrible.

Before applying medicine, Daddy usually wouldn't dare to stay at home. Instead, he would hide far away to the side, apply the medicine, and then wrap himself in thick clothes before daring to let Momdy get close to him.

Sangzhi knew how potent the poison was, so she tried to keep her distance from Xu Lingguang to avoid accidentally passing it on to him.

Seeing that he looked so afraid of being poisoned, Xu Lingguang smiled and wrapped his hands in cloth: "I know, I will be very careful. I just want to see what kind of poison it is and if there is any way to cure it."

Sangzhi clearly didn't quite believe him; her eyes held a hint of doubt.

But Xu Lingguang insisted. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly sat down, carefully rolled up his trouser leg, and repeatedly instructed:

"Just take a look, don't touch it."

Xu Lingguang hummed in agreement and bent down to examine the injury on his leg.

The entire left calf of the mulberry branch had atrophied due to the corrosive effects of the poison, and a small part of it had begun to spread to the thigh. The bluish-gray skin was wrinkled like old tree bark, and a long, unhealable wound was split in the middle of the bark, which was the place where the hook had scratched him.

Due to the effects of the poison, the wound failed to heal, and the skin and flesh turned bluish-gray, faintly emitting the same fishy stench as Jie Gou's body.

Xu Lingguang gently touched the wound through the cloth: "Does it usually hurt?"

Sangzhi shook her head: "It doesn't hurt much anymore. After a while, it will become numb, just dull, not as flexible as the other leg."

How long have you had those scratches?

“One year, two months, and twelve days,” Sangzhi said without hesitation.

Xu Lingguang looked up at him; this day was the anniversary of his parents' death.

This little brat seems to have accepted the fact that his parents are gone, but in reality, he remembers even the exact date.

"The toxin doesn't spread very quickly."

Xu Lingguang then asked, "Have you tried removing the poisoned area?"

Sangzhi nodded: "Others in the village have tried it, but the poison spreads even faster after it's dug up, and they died in less than half a month. If you don't dig it up, you can apply the herb to the wound every day and live for a few more years."

"Hookgrass? The herb I applied to my legs yesterday?"

"Yes, this kind of grass only grows in Fengqiu, and its color is very similar to that of the fur of the Jie Gou, so we call it Jie Gou grass."

Xu Lingguang: "Are there any more Jie Gou grass?"

Sangzhi shook her head: "We used up everything we found before yesterday."

Xu Lingguang thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go find some hook grass first."

The *Jie Gou* lives in Fengqiu, and this herb grows near it and is similar in color to the *Jie Gou*'s fur. Considering that this herb can delay the onset of poisoning, it is certainly not a coincidence.

It can mostly counteract the poison of the hook.