Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Xu Lingguang was really in a headache. He gave up and slept under the covers. When he woke up, it was already the next morning.

Still groggy from waking up, he instinctively reached for his phone on the bedside table to check the time, only to find it empty. He realized he was in a completely unfamiliar world. He sighed with a gloomy expression, but before he could dwell on it, his rumbling stomach urged him to find something to eat.

Xu Lingguang jumped out of bed and was about to go out when he was tripped by his heavy and complicated robes and almost fell.

He tugged at his dirty robes, sighed, and resigned himself to going back to change.

The bedroom looked magnificent, but it turned out to be empty shell; there wasn't even a change of clothes in the closet. Xu Lingguang had no choice but to tidy his robes haphazardly, then find a strip of cloth to tie his long hair loosely behind his head, thinking he should first go and ask his three cheap disciples about the situation.

He's a sect leader, after all. He can't be so poor that he doesn't even have a change of clothes, can he?

Xu Lingguang muttered to himself as he quickly went out the door.

After finally finding the person, they were told that there was indeed nothing there.

Xu Lingguang was struck dumb, his eyes widened, and he managed to utter each word with difficulty: "What did you say?"

Zhou Fuying crossed his arms, looking at him expressionlessly, and slowly repeated what he had just said, his eyes filled with deeply hidden malice: "In recent years, Qingyu Sect has been running a deficit. In order to keep the sect running, Master has already borrowed tens of thousands of taels of silver. Among those enemies who are blocking the way down the mountain, some have come to collect the debt. Half a month ago, when Master was defeated, those people looted all the valuables in the sect, and there is nothing left."

He borrowed tens of thousands of taels of silver...

Xu Lingguang was so shocked by this devastating news that he almost couldn't catch his breath. In his modern life, he had a very difficult time because he was poor. His parents divorced when he was very young, leaving him with his grandmother in his hometown, and neither of them wanted to take care of him. He managed to go to university and work on his own, finally paying off his student loans and accumulating some savings. But then he transmigrated to this world and was burdened with a huge debt again.

Not only did he fail to become a legendary protagonist after transmigrating, he also had to incur debts, with creditors even lining up at his doorstep.

Xu Lingguang turned and walked out.

Zhou Fuying raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where is Master going?"

Xu Lingguang chuckled coldly: "Go find a rope and hang yourself."

He's not going to live anymore; maybe he can go back after he dies.

Zhou Fuying raised an eyebrow, watching him walk faster and faster, but she wasn't in a hurry. She just said slowly, "Master, don't say such angry words. Even when a person dies, their soul remains. Those people are ruthless. What if they used evil magic to bind the soul..."

Xu Lingguang stopped in her tracks and turned back to look at him in alarm.

Yes, this isn't a materialistic world, but a world of cultivation. No one is surprised if someone who's been dead for half a month crawls out of their coffin again, and it's quite normal to have soul-binding spells.

Recalling the methods of torture in the cultivation novels he had read, Xu Lingguang shuddered and straightened his face: "You're right."

Zhou Fuying: ?

Xu Lingguang rubbed his empty stomach and continued, "Death won't solve the problem. Is there anything to eat?"

The topic shifted too quickly, and Xu Lingguang's expression was too serious and earnest, so Zhou Fuying was genuinely bewildered for a moment, wondering if the person in front of her was really the treacherous and cunning sect leader of Qingyu Sect.

But he quickly realized that this person was a master actor, a hypocrite who spouted benevolence and morality, so he laughed and said, "It's best if Master can think it through, otherwise Second Senior Sister will worry so much that she can't sleep. As for food... there is none. Master has long since entered the Divine Treasury Realm and does not like the five grains of the mortal world. Although we three brothers are not very promising, we have already reached the Qi Refining Foundation Establishment and can abstain from grains, so there is no human food in the sect."

Xu Lingguang: ...?

No, if it's that awesome, then why am I hungry?

Is this reasonable?

Xu Lingguang said with a long face, "But I'm hungry."

Zhou Fuying stared at him with a helpless expression.

Seeing this, Xu Lingguang thought to himself that this disciple was really young and didn't know how to read people's expressions. His master had said he was hungry, but he didn't even go find something to eat to show his respect. However, he was not the original disciple and felt guilty, so he didn't dare to order his disciple to find food. After muttering a few words to himself, he went to find food on his own.

He was in a hurry to fill his stomach and didn't notice that after he turned around, a huge black python hung down from the roof beam. Its black-scaled body coiled in the air, hissing and flicking its tongue: "He can bend and stretch."

They even used the trick of feigning amnesia, and they did it quite convincingly.

Zhou Fuying sneered, "I sent a message to Yu Yun, and she has already collected all the food and medicine in the sect."

Xu Lingguang's amnesia is fake, but it is very likely that he suffered severe injuries and lost all his cultivation.

Once a cultivator has established their foundation by drawing in Qi, they can shed their mortal form and absorb the essence of heaven and earth to refine their body, no longer needing to eat the five grains of the human world. However, Xu Lingguang entered the Divine Treasury Realm at the age of only 123. He always held himself in high esteem, despising the filth and stupidity of mortals. When he occasionally passed through the human world, he would keep his feet off the ground and his clothes clean, let alone eat the five grains of the human world.

Now that Xu Lingguang has lost all his cultivation and can no longer abstain from grains, he wants to see how Xu Lingguang will endure it.

"Has the news been sent out?" Zhou Fuying asked, as if remembering something.

Song Nan flicked his tongue and said coldly, "The word has spread. Those who are impatient should have arrived at Qingyu Sect by now."

The claim that the debtor came to their door was false. The reason the Qingyu Sect was besieged half a month ago was because they leaked the information that the Jade Unicorn's Toe was on Xu Lingguang.

Legend has it that the Jade Unicorn's Toe is a treasure for cultivation. Using the Jade Unicorn's Toe to assist in cultivation can not only gradually improve a cultivator's aptitude, but also extend lifespan. There are even rumors that directly consuming the Jade Unicorn's Toe can directly leap two major realms, and even a half-immortal in the Void Realm would greatly benefit from it.

However, for hundreds of years, the Jade Unicorn's Hoof has only been known by name but never seen in its true form. Everyone covets it but cannot find its whereabouts.

It was only when Song Nanchu was browsing through the Qingyu Sect's records that he discovered the legendary Jade Unicorn's Hoof was likely in the Qingyu Sect, kept by successive sect leaders.

However, Xu Lingguang was cautious and suspicious by nature. Unable to ascertain the truth about Yu Linzhi, he simply released the information in a mix of truth and falsehood, luring those with ulterior motives to deal with Xu Lingguang.

It turns out that there are quite a few cultivators who covet the Jade Unicorn's Toe. Xu Lingguang was mediocre in his youth, but after succeeding as the sect leader of the Qingyu Sect, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. He entered the Divine Treasure Realm at the age of only 123, which further confirmed the possibility of the existence of the Jade Unicorn's Toe.

Within a month, several groups of people, both openly and secretly, came to seize the treasure. Xu Lingguang was exhausted from dealing with these people, which exposed his weaknesses and gave them an opportunity to take advantage of him.

Zhou Fuying curled her lips, her eyes flashing with malice: "There's going to be a good show soon."

*

Xu Lingguang turned the kitchen upside down, but couldn't find a single grain of rice.

He was hungry and frustrated, and sat at the kitchen doorway sighing.

Yu Jun walked over from a distance, carrying clothes in her hands. Seeing him sitting on the ground with a dejected look on his face, she stepped forward with concern and asked, "Master, why are you sitting on the ground? Has your old injury flared up?"

Xu Lingguang looked at her with a melancholy expression, too embarrassed to say that he was dizzy from hunger, and mumbled, "No, I'm just tired, I need to rest for a bit."

Yu Yun breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that he was less nervous, and handed him the clothes in her hands: "Those thieves swept away all the valuables in the sect, not even sparing Master's robes. I had to ask my senior brother to find some ordinary clothes for Master to use temporarily. Although Master's robes are tattered, I know some needlework. I can clean and repair them and they might still be usable."

Xu Lingguang almost burst into tears upon hearing this. How poor must they be? The dignified sect leader didn't even have a change of clothes, and his only robe had been patched and mended for three years.

It's so sad that it makes anyone who sees it cry.

His heart ached and his nose stung. He waved his hand and said in a muffled voice, "No need, no need, I'll wash it myself. I can sew too, just give me the needle and thread."

Although Yu Yun was very composed in her words and actions, she looked quite young. Xu Lingguang estimated that she was only sixteen or seventeen years old, which would be high school age in modern times. Although Xu Lingguang himself was only twenty-four years old, he felt embarrassed to ask a girl who could be his younger sister to do anything, so he could only blush and refuse repeatedly.

A strange light flashed in Yu Yun's eyes, but she did not insist any further. Instead, she spoke of her senior and junior brothers: "Your senior and junior brothers are rough and unruly, and they may not pay attention to many trivial matters. If Master needs anything, just tell me."

She said softly, "I used to take care of Master's daily life myself. Now, even though I am in trouble and down on my luck, I will do my best to find whatever Master needs, even if it means going through fire and water."

Although Xu Lingguang thought Zhou Fuying was tactless and didn't know how to be filial to his master, he never really thought about asking his three disciples to do anything for him. Now, seeing Yu Yun standing there weakly and saying that she would go through fire and water for him, he was startled and repeatedly refused: "There's no need for that. Just take care of yourselves and don't make me worry."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his stomach let out a loud growl, creating an extremely awkward situation.

Xu Lingguang blushed with embarrassment and stammered, "I...I'm a little hungry..."