Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

I haven't been home for more than half a month, and the once clean and tidy little wooden house is now covered with a thick layer of dust.

The two chickens were kept in a coop and were fed enough, but perhaps because they had been kept in the coop for too long, they had both lost weight. When they saw Xu Lingguang come back, they started clucking loudly, as if they were dissatisfied.

Xu Lingguang quickly tied the little donkey to the tree, then let the chickens out, and took the eggs out of the henhouse and put them in a basket on the side.

The two chickens were finally free and fluttered around the yard with great enthusiasm, adding a touch of liveliness to the originally quiet courtyard.

Because Cui Ming was waiting, Xu Lingguang didn't have time to tidy up the house. After putting his things down and taking a sip of water, he went to the mountain hollow he remembered to pick the Wuxiang Grass. The hollow wasn't far away, only about a ten-minute walk.

Xu Lingguang's eyes lit up as he looked at the Wuxiang Grass covering the mountain valley. He squatted down, picked a plant, and after repeatedly confirming that it was indeed Wuxiang Grass, he happily began to harvest it.

Harvesting *Hymenochae nudiflora* requires skill; it must be removed by the roots. Its roots are peculiarly spherical and lack root hairs. If the roots are removed intact, *Hymenochae nudiflora* can be preserved for a relatively long time, but if the roots are damaged, it will wither immediately.

Xu Lingguang used a small shovel to dig along the roots, and after digging out the whole plant, including the soil and the bulb, he put it into the magic container given to him by Cui Ming for storage.

After a moment's thought, he decided not to be greedy and instead give Qianjinlou two hundred plants to check their quality first. He would then come back to dig more if they needed them later. He also needed to control the quantity, otherwise, if he obtained too much money at once, word would easily get out and bring him trouble.

Xu Lingguang carefully dug up two hundred plants of the Formless Grass and stored them in his magical artifact. He didn't feel tired while working, but when he stood up holding the artifact, he felt a sore back. He grimaced and rubbed his back, preparing to deliver the Formless Grass to Cui Ming before the sun went down.

He went back to fetch the donkey first. With a donkey to ride, there was no need to rely on his own two legs.

Watching him happily ride his donkey out of the mountains again, Yu Rong, who was perched on You Yu's head, nudged his chin with his hind paw and asked curiously, "Why is he digging up so much stinky grass?"

Yun Feng frowned in disgust and said, "It stinks!"

Zhaoling flapped its short, fluffy wings, and the parrot mimicked, "It stinks!"

Chenghuang's five senses were keen, and Youyu also felt that the place smelled bad, so he frowned and quickly left with the cub.

The so-called "stinky grass" is naturally what the cubs call the Wuxiang grass. The cubs occasionally come to this mountain valley. The naturally raised Chenghuang are unrestrained and their habits are naturally different from those of humans. The soil in this mountain valley is soft, and the cubs like to go to the toilet here.

Over time, patches of white plants gradually grew in this ravine. The cubs didn't recognize them and just thought it was where they pooped, so they called the plants growing in this ravine "stinky grass".

The cubs didn't know the value of "stinky grass," but Yu could guess it.

He guessed that this was probably some kind of medicinal herb. For Chenghuang, it was just a wild grass that grew everywhere, but it might be of great use to humans.

However, it seems that Xu Lingguang hasn't done anything he shouldn't have so far, so Youyu thought about it and followed him anyway.

Xu Lingguang handed the Formless Grass to Cui Ming. Cui Ming was surprised when he saw the magic weapon. Not only was the Formless Grass of top quality, but most importantly, it was very fresh, with each leaf gleaming with a lustrous light.

He was somewhat surprised: "Did you grow these yourself, young master?" Otherwise, how could they look as fresh as if they had just been picked?

That was a good reason, so Xu Lingguang took the opportunity to admit it, nodding mysteriously and saying, "I usually have nothing to do except cultivate myself, so I sometimes think about planting some flowers and plants in my spare time."

Cui Ming looked on with admiration; this Wuxiang Grass was no easy plant to cultivate. After praising Xu Lingguang, he took his leave, descended the mountain, and hurried back to Qianjin Tower.

Xu Lingguang was delighted with the large sum of money that was about to be deposited into his account. He rode his donkey slowly home as the sun set.

With a major concern resolved, Xu Lingguang was in high spirits and decided to treat himself.

Her husband got a sore throat, so he put the pot on the stove, ready to have a good meal.

Because he had made a deal with Qianjinlou, he was very well-off and bought a lot of things, especially ingredients. The Sumeru Ring that Yuyun gave him was very useful; ingredients stored inside would not spoil for at least half a month. So he bought a large amount of food, storing some in the Sumeru Ring and planning to dry the rest for winter.

Xu Lingguang is planning to have hot pot.

There were no hot pot broths available in this era, so he had to make them himself.

First, he threw the beef bones he bought into a pot to simmer, then stir-fried chili peppers with butter, ginger, garlic, and various spices. The chili peppers had to be stir-fried slowly over low heat until the aroma was released. Xu Lingguang loved spicy food, so he specially bought a lot of dried chili peppers. The aroma of the chili peppers was released by the butter, and then mixed with the fragrance of the spices, making it both pungent and fragrant. Xu Lingguang swallowed his saliva as he stir-fried it.

The cubs hiding in the shadows also swallowed hard.

Yu Rong stretched his neck out, his pale yellow paws gripping the fence, his nose twitching as if he wanted to squeeze half his body through to smell the strange fragrance. Yun Feng, annoyed by his lack of restraint, straightened up and sat in You Yu's lap, but his tail couldn't help swaying from time to time.

Zhao Ling was the slowest to react. He rolled over and said blankly, "It smells so good."

Yu Rong nodded in agreement, swallowed hard, and looked back at You Yu with longing eyes: "What is he eating? I want to eat too."

Youyu: "..."

He couldn't answer that question. Although he was older than the cubs, he had only been able to stably transform into human form in the last two years, which was why his older brother had taken him out to see the human world. But to say that he had much experience or knowledge was really an exaggeration. Lan Jian didn't want his younger siblings to have too much involvement with the human world.

Under the expectant gazes of the three little ones, Youyu's ears slowly turned red. He pursed his lips and said, "I don't know either."

Yu Rong said disappointedly, "You don't know either?"

Yun Feng couldn't help but say, "Big Brother definitely knows!"

Zhao Ling fluffed up her downy feathers and chimed in, "Ask Big Brother."

Seeing the cubs staring longingly at him, looking rather pitiful, Youyu decided to take them back: "Let's go back first. We'll talk to our elder brother another day, and he'll definitely be able to find us."

Yu Rong sniffed, reluctant to leave. He grumbled and clung to the fence, refusing to let go: "Let me take another look."

At this moment, Xu Lingguang had already poured the bright red and fragrant chili peppers into a copper pot, and then ladled out some bone broth from the side and poured it into the copper pot as well. The copper pot was placed on a small stove casually piled up in the yard, bubbling and boiling, while Xu Lingguang turned around to slice the meat.

The meat slices were very thin. As he sliced ​​the meat, he picked up a slice and dipped it into the copper pot to taste it. The meat slices were spicy and fragrant after being dipped in the hot pot, and he couldn't resist dipping another slice in the hot pot.

The dried chilies he received from the farmers were very spicy, and he kept making "hissing" sounds because of the spiciness.

The three little ones stared intently. Yu Rong licked her lips, then looked at You Yu, her eyes reddening with longing: "I want to eat too."

Youyu took out a few small pastries from his pocket: "Eat these first."

Yu Rong leaned over and sniffed. The snacks he used to love didn't smell good anymore. He pushed them away with his paws in disgust, and lay listlessly on the fence, watching Xu Lingguang eat meat bite after bite. He said with great grievance, "I want to eat that."

Youyu: "..."

He finally managed to coax the cubs back to their nests after much coaxing and cajoling. By then, Lan Jian had also returned and saw the cubs drooping in his arms, especially Yu Rong and Yun Feng. They were usually the most lively and energetic of the two, but now their ears were drooping and they looked listless.

"What's going on here?"

Lan Jian frowned. He took the cubs and carefully smoothed the unruly tufts of hair on their heads. Then he took a few shiny beads from a box and waved them in front of them: "I brought you gifts."

Yu Rong looked up, then lowered her head again, and said sullenly, "I want to eat meat."

Yunfeng wagged its tail and finally couldn't help but say, "I want to eat too."

Only Zhaoling was forgetful; she had already forgotten how greedy she had been just moments before. She fluttered her wings and flew to Lanjian's hand, her tender yellow claws grasping the crystal-clear bead. She covered her entire body with it, clearly enjoying the gift.

The little ones used to love colorful beads, and Lan Jian would always keep an eye out for pretty beads to bring back for them whenever she went out. But now, they've lost all interest in beads.

He looked at Youyu.

Youyu then recounted Xu Lingguang's whereabouts that day, emphasizing the pot of exceptionally fragrant meat Xu Lingguang had prepared, whose name he didn't know. He figured his elder brother was knowledgeable and would surely know how to get a pot for the children as well.

To everyone's surprise, Lan Jian also fell silent after hearing this.

Under the expectant gazes of his four children, he calmly said, "Wait here, I'll go take a look."