Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Xu Lingguang's heart began to pound. Although he was very willing to have further contact with the big shot, it didn't mean he was willing to help him. What if it turned out to be a life-or-death question?

He blinked, cautiously probing, "My cultivation is low; all I know is cooking and farming. I would be honored if I could be of any help, but I'm afraid my abilities are mediocre and I'm not up to much use..."

He tried very hard to imply and evade the task, hoping the big boss would understand that he was just an ordinary person. He could cook, farm, and take care of his cubs, but he couldn't handle any dangerous work and would have to run away.

Lan Jian naturally understood his implied meaning, glanced at Xu Lingguang with surprise, and said in a low voice, "It's not a difficult matter, just a little troublesome. The weather has been hot lately, and I'm in my molting season, so I need someone to help me comb the shed fur."

Xu Lingguang: ? ? ?

A look of confusion crossed his eyes. After a long pause, he put himself in the kitten's shoes and thought about it before he understood.

Oh, so it's summer and the boss needs to shed his fur. Just thinking about that thick coat of fur, it must be really hot in the summer. If you don't groom it often, it might even get tangled.

Thinking of this, he secretly raised his eyes to look at Lan Jian, only to see that his fur was flowing and smooth, with a luster like fine silk, obviously without any knots.

Xu Lingguang wondered if the fur of the yellow dog was naturally tangle-free, or if Lan Jian groomed its fur every day.

He recalled his experience caring for the cubs and confirmed that even ancient divine beasts would get tangled if their long, thick fur wasn't groomed regularly. The cubs' fur would become a mess when they played, requiring careful grooming to restore its smoothness. For example, Yunfeng loved grooming and spent a lot of time each day brushing its fur to make it look shinier and more flowing, while Yu Rong's fur was much rougher, mostly frizzy. Yunfeng disliked this about him and would occasionally trim it for him.

Could it be that such a huge mythical beast as Lanjian grooms itself every day?

Xu Lingguang's eyes suddenly turned strange. He thought to himself, "No wonder he wanted me to groom his fur. Animals' claws are not as flexible as humans', so it must be very inconvenient."

With a mix of curiosity and sympathy, Xu Lingguang agreed without hesitation: "No problem, I can do something this simple. It's just that I might not have any experience since it's my first time doing it, so you might need to tell me what to be careful about beforehand."

Seeing his bright eyes and eager expression, Lan Jian hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I will prepare what you need and tell you the precautions. Come over the day after tomorrow afternoon, and then come every seven days thereafter."

Xu Lingguang nodded like a chick pecking at rice, but out of the corner of his eye he was glancing at the paws that looked as big as his own head. The paw pads of the young Chenghuang were very similar to those of felines, and Lanjian's paws... must be huge cat paw pads, right?

Huge and furry.

Xu Lingguang suppressed his excitement, and after agreeing on a time with Lan Jian, he politely took his leave.

Lan Jian felt that there was something strange about the way he was looking at him, but he didn't investigate it. He just nodded indifferently and told the cubs to teach Xu Lingguang how to find his way back when they took him back, so that Xu Lingguang could come to the clan's territory on his own in the future.

After Xu Lingguang and the cubs left, the cave became quiet.

Lan Jian relaxed her tense back, flicked her tail, and took a few unhurried steps, inadvertently walking to the box of lychee cakes placed on the small cushion.

Cheng Huang has a keen sense of smell. The faint sweet aroma of lychee cake wafted into her nostrils, and Lan Jian's nose twitched.

He transformed back into human form, picked up the lacquered wooden box, hesitated for a moment, and opened it to take a look. The translucent white lychee cake was wrapped in half a fresh lychee shell, which was bright red with a hint of pale green. The lychee cake inside was soft and white, and it looked very tempting and appetizing.

After a slight hesitation, Lan Jian picked one up to try the taste.

The texture is very soft with a slight elasticity. After tasting it, a sweet lychee aroma spreads, and the taste is better than the pastries that Lan Jian had in the big restaurants in Fufeng City.

It just seems like there's not enough sugar; it's not sweet enough.

Lan Jian frowned, and picked up another one with her slender fingers.

The lacquered wooden box wasn't big; it only contained eighteen pieces, each about the size of a lychee. For the fully grown Chenghuang, it was just enough to taste them before they were gone.

Lan Jian, still savoring the moment, took out a handkerchief to wipe her fingers.

Just then, a furtive commotion arose at the doorway. Lan Jian paused, put away the lacquered wooden box and handkerchief, leaned against the statue beside her, picked up a book, and glanced sideways at Yu Rong, who was lurking at the doorway: "Why are you back again?"

Yu Rong, who had tiptoed back, froze, craned her neck to look at him, and muttered, "Why hasn't Big Brother gone to sleep yet?"

Lan Jian put down her book and beckoned to him: "Come here."

Yu Rong reluctantly went over. Lan Jian looked at her chubby little brother, frowned, picked him up and put him on her lap, and took out a handkerchief to wipe his paws: "Why are you always so dirty?"

After wiping him, she weighed him again, her brows furrowing even more: "You can't get any fatter."

Even before the Mountain and Sea Realm collapsed, there were few cubs in the clan as fat as Yu Rong.

The yellow-skinned cubs are slender and elegant, and even though they may be a bit rounder when they are young, they are not as fat as a ball.

Yu Rong craned his neck to look behind him. He had actually come back secretly because he was thinking about that box of lychee cakes. Since his older brother didn't eat them anyway, it would be a waste to leave them there, so he might as well help him eat them.

But even after craning his neck and looking left and right, he couldn't see the lacquered wooden box that had been placed on the small cushion.

Yu Rong kicked its hind paw in frustration and looked at Lan Jian with a pleading look: "Where's the lychee cake?"

So it turns out they came back to steal some lychee cake.

Lan Jian pinched the flesh hanging down his stomach and said expressionlessly, "You can't eat anymore. I will tell Xu Lingguang to control the portion sizes of your three meals from now on."

Yu Rong's eyes widened, and she immediately struggled angrily and frantically: "I don't want to eat lychee cake anymore!"

After saying that, fearing that Lan Jian would drag her to find Xu Lingguang, she ran away in a flash and disappeared.

Lan Jian watched his retreating figure, and the corners of her mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.

*

After returning home, Xu Lingguang prepared to make the remaining lychee cakes.

When he went back inside to get the materials, he suddenly noticed something dark hanging from the roof beam. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was the black snake that had run away.

The black snake had a slender body, with only its belly bulging noticeably, as if it had just eaten a large meal and hadn't yet digested it. At that moment, it casually coiled twice around the roof beam, its head and tail drooping down, looking from a distance like a black rope hanging there.

Looking at this posture, Xu Lingguang felt a strange sense of familiarity again. He tugged at the black snake's tail and muttered, "Could it really be a relative of Song Nan? How come even their habits are so similar?"

Song Nanchu also liked to hang himself from the roof beam in the same way.

However, the black snake obviously wouldn't answer his questions. Seeing that pulling it didn't work, Xu Lingguang simply ignored it and went about his own business.

Anyway, it seems to be able to hunt for itself, so you don't have to worry about feeding it. If you want it to hang on the roof beam, then hang it there.

Xu Lingguang went out to make lychee cakes for the cubs. This time, since he didn't need to give them away, he didn't use fresh lychee shells for packaging. Instead, he placed the translucent, soft, and glutinous lychee cakes on a plate and distributed them to the cubs.

When he was distributing lychee cakes to the children, he realized that Yu Rong was nowhere to be found. Just as he was asking Yun Feng and Zhao Ling, Yu Rong rushed in from outside like a cat on fire. He didn't even bother to eat the lychee cakes and hurriedly snuggled into his arms, saying in a panic, "We shouldn't go looking for our eldest brother anymore."

Xu Lingguang asked why.

Yu Rong stammered, unable to speak, and after a long pause, finally said, "Big brother is bad! Yu Rong doesn't like him anymore." Then she looked at Xu Lingguang pitifully and said, "You shouldn't go see him either."

Xu Lingguang suppressed a laugh and made a helpless expression: "I can't, I still have to help Chief Lan tomorrow." He sighed softly: "I've already promised, I can't go back on my word."

To everyone's surprise, Yu Rong exploded at the mention of the fur on his body. His eyes widened in despair as he asked, "You think I'm fat too?"

Xu Lingguang: ?

He opened his mouth wide, trying to figure out which word he had used to express that meaning. Could it be "breaking one's promise and getting rich"?

At this moment, Yu Rong jumped down from his arms in grief and indignation, crawled into her little nest, and turned her butt towards Xu Lingguang.

Xu Lingguang: "..."

Should he hint to Lan Jian that the cub is old enough to learn some cultural knowledge?