Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Lan Jian felt a burning sensation in her stomach.

At first it was alright, but as time went on, the burning sensation became stronger and stronger. He frowned, pressed his abdomen, and endured the discomfort while meditating.

But it doesn't seem to have any effect.

Just as he hesitated about whether to revert to his original form and rest, Xu Lingguang's voice came from outside: "Chongxue? Are you in your room?"

Lan Jian immediately sat up, carefully tidied her clothes to make sure everything was in order, and then opened the door.

He stood at the doorway, looking down at Xu Lingguang, appearing no different than before, without even frowning: "What's wrong?"

"Youyu said you ate too much and aren't feeling well?"

Xu Lingguang looked him up and down, but found nothing unusual about him, and a look of doubt appeared in his eyes.

Lan Jian was a little dissatisfied; how could You Yu talk nonsense?

It's as if he can eat a lot.

That little bit of meat was just a starting point for an adult roe deer.

However, I don't know what was added to that bright red hot pot broth, because my stomach felt so uncomfortable after eating it.

But he felt that Xu Lingguang and the children were all fine, so why was he the only one who felt unwell after eating?

So he didn't want to talk about it.

How could the dignified leader of a clan be inferior to a mere child?

Lan Jian pursed her lips, choosing to uphold the dignity of the clan leader: "No."

Xu Lingguang couldn't see anything wrong and said with some doubt, "Okay, tell me if you feel unwell. This hot pot broth is too spicy. It's your first time eating something this spicy, so your stomach might feel uncomfortable."

Lan Jian calmly hummed in agreement and watched him turn and leave.

*

When she went to bed that night, Yun Feng groaned that her stomach was upset.

Xu Lingguang held her on his lap and gently rubbed her stomach: "We can't let you eat hot pot for a while."

The little ones love spicy food, and when they encounter something they like, they never know when they're full. Now they're starting to complain of stomach aches.

Yun Feng, who had been lying listlessly in his arms, curled up and rubbed against his arm, immediately tried to clear the name of the hotpot: "It has nothing to do with the hotpot!"

Xu Lingguang was amused by her and gave a long "hmm": "Then why does your stomach hurt?"

Yun Feng's eyes darted around, and when she saw Yu Rong's big head, she pointed at him and said, "It was Yu Rong who kicked him!"

Yu Rong only heard half of what she was saying, and immediately sat up and glared at her: "I didn't! She's talking nonsense!" The second half of the sentence was directed at Xu Lingguang.

Fearing that Xu Lingguang wouldn't believe him, he even pulled Mu Yun and Zhao Ling to testify: "Tell me, did I kick Yun Feng or not?"

Mu Yun heard everything, rolled her eyes at the silly goose, and said, "I don't know." Then she slipped into Xu Lingguang's sleeve.

Yu Rong could only look at Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling had no idea what they were talking about and just kept making random "chirping" noises.

Yu Rong was extremely aggrieved; her ears and tail drooped down as she looked at Xu Lingguang and said, "I didn't kick her!"

Xu Lingguang couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter while hugging Yun Feng.

Yun Feng rolled her eyes at Yu Rong and said, "How can you be so stupid? Don't cry if we don't have hot pot to eat in the future!"

Xu Lingguang put Yun Feng down: "I bought some spirit beast milk during the day, I'll go and cook some for you."

In the past, if Xu Lingguang ate something too spicy and his stomach felt uncomfortable, he would usually drink a cup of hot milk.

Although there was no cow's milk here, there was still milk from various spirit beasts. He was just thinking about making some snacks, so he bought a small bucket and stored it in his Sumeru Ring.

He cooked a pot of spirit beast milk, and thinking of the little ones' tastes, he added a little bit of sugar.

The steaming hot spirit beast milk gurgled and emitted a sweet aroma.

Xu Lingguang poured a cup for each of the little ones, and thinking of Chong Xue who hadn't appeared yet, he also sent him a cup.

Chongxue was still dressed in her daytime attire, but her hair looked a little messy and her clothes were somewhat wrinkled.

He took the steaming hot spirit beast milk, his voice low and slightly weak: "Thank you."

Xu Lingguang finally realized something was wrong. He looked him over carefully and saw that his lips were a little pale and there were beads of sweat on his forehead: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Before Chongxue could deny it, he added, "You're already like this, I'm not blind, where would I feel uncomfortable?"

Lan Jian remained silent, and under his intense gaze, reluctantly said, "My stomach is a little upset."

Xu Lingguang: "..."

He looked at the person in front of him incredulously: "So Youyu wasn't wrong, you were feeling unwell before. Why didn't you say so when I came to ask you earlier?"

Lan Jian lowered her eyelashes, not daring to meet his gaze, and remained silent.

Xu Lingguang originally had a mix of respect and fear towards him, after all, their status and cultivation levels were so different. Although they had gone through hardships together, Xu Lingguang found it difficult to be as naturally close to him as Youyu and the little ones, and always subconsciously maintained a certain level of politeness and courtesy.

But looking at him with his head down and not saying a word, Xu Lingguang felt for some reason that the person in front of him overlapped with a certain little cub.

Yu Rong and Yun Feng are like that.

The same applies to the older Youyu.

When they do something wrong, they lower their heads guiltily and don't know how to explain themselves, so they just stay silent. However, Yu Rong and Yun Feng are still the young ones, and they know that Xu Lingguang is soft-hearted, so they just pretend to be pitiful and get away with it.

At this moment, Chongxue lowered his head, his long and thick eyelashes covering his narrow eyes, making him look more gentle and harmless.

Xu Lingguang sighed. Seeing that he was still standing there, he simply stuffed the spirit beast milk into his hand and then pushed him back into the house: "Hurry up and go back into the house and sit down. Drink some hot milk first, and I'll see if I can find you some pills to take."

Lan Jian sat down on the chair with the small bowl of milk in her hands, took a small sip, and felt the rich milky aroma mixed with a hint of sweetness slide down her throat. Her burning stomach was indeed not so uncomfortable anymore.

He squinted comfortably, his gaze fixed on Xu Lingguang.

Xu Lingguang was searching for medicinal pills. After searching for a long time, he found a Five Elements Pill that could treat internal organs. It should be considered a mediocre treatment, so he handed it to him and said, "Take this."

Lan Jian took it without asking what kind of pill it was and ate it directly.

Xu Lingguang swallowed back all the explanations he had prepared.

Lan Jian finished drinking the rest of the spirit beast milk.

Xu Lingguang then asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

Lan Jian felt it for a moment, and the burning sensation was indeed fading. He nodded and said, "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Xu Lingguang was relieved, and the topic returned to the beginning: "Since you were feeling unwell, why didn't you tell me?"

Lan Jian's ears turned suspiciously red, and she hesitated to speak.

Xu Lingguang stared at him, and as he stared, an unbelievable guess suddenly popped into his head. He hesitated and said, "You wouldn't be... too embarrassed to say, would you?"

Lan Jian tacitly agreed.

After a while, he spoke up: "Are the little ones alright?"

Xu Lingguang said, "No, Yun Feng just had a bit of a stomachache, but she's fine now after drinking the spirit beast milk."

After speaking for a while, he suddenly understood why Chongxue was too embarrassed to tell him.

Is this person trying to compete with a little kid?

I feel embarrassed because I ate hotpot but my kids are all fine and I have a stomachache.

Looking at his increasingly red ears, Xu Lingguang had a feeling that he had inadvertently guessed the truth.

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to expose Chongxue, but he gained a new understanding of him and felt less distant from him.

Patting Chongxue on the shoulder sympathetically, Xu Lingguang said earnestly, "Don't be so formal next time."

It's not shameful that none of the kids can eat spicy food—

Hahahahahahahahahahaha.