Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Lan Jian's face darkened completely as he stared coldly at Deng A. His amber eyes were tinged with a faint gold from the killing intent, and if he weren't worried about revealing his identity, his pupils would have bulged out.

Xu Lingguang noticed his unusual behavior and immediately took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

Lan Jian's jaw tightened, and her gaze slowly shifted from Deng A. When she met Xu Lingguang's eyes, a hint of barely perceptible grievance and dissatisfaction appeared on her face.

Deng A dared to provoke him to his face, and Xu Lingguang actually tried to mediate!

In ancient times, such blatant attempts to undermine someone's foundation were met with a death sentence.

Young and impetuous, Cheng Huang harbored a fierce nature, but was reluctantly forced to suppress it because of the hand that was tightly holding his.

Xu Lingguang was not unaware of Lan Jian's dissatisfaction, but this was someone else's territory after all. If they were to fight over such a small matter, it would not sound good to others and would be difficult to resolve.

Moreover, since it was caused by him, Xu Lingguang felt that it would be better to resolve the issue personally and permanently.

He concealed his hand, which was clasped with Lan Jian's, behind his back using his wide sleeves. He gently scratched Lan Jian's palm with his fingers, but his gaze turned to Deng A, who was looking on with great interest. He said directly, "Elder Deng, if I haven't misunderstood your words, perhaps you should ask me first."

Deng raised an eyebrow and, surprisingly, readily agreed, asked, "What does Master Xu mean?"

Xu Lingguang bluntly stated, "I'm not familiar with you at all, not even a friend, so what else could we be talking about?"

He paused, then added, "If it weren't for Master Fu vouching for me, I would have suspected that you were intentionally trying to sow discord between me and Lan Jian."

His words were straightforward and frank; he didn't even mention romance or poetry, he almost pointed at Deng A's nose and cursed him, asking if he was crazy.

Deng A never expected that someone who seemed so gentle could speak so sharply.

However, he wasn't angry. On the contrary, he felt even more that it was indeed a treasure. It was just a pity that someone else had gotten there first, and he felt a real sense of regret.

He had been somewhat attracted to Xu Lingguang since their first meeting, and later intended to make contact with him. However, Fu Jiyu kept subtly hinting at him, and he thought that Fu Jiyu needed Lan Jian's help after all, so it was not good to poach him at this time to avoid ruining their cooperation. Therefore, he temporarily put aside his romantic thoughts and went elsewhere to seek pleasure.

Who knew that after Fu Jiyu finally finished her business, he finally got his chance, only to find that the atmosphere between the two was completely different from before, clearly indicating that the unspoken understanding had been broken.

How could he not be angry?

Deng A came from a prominent family and was also blessed with good looks. He had never been unlucky in love, so he was naturally unwilling to accept it.

Others may be afraid of Lanjian, but he is not.

That led to the verbal probing earlier.

He thought that if things didn't work out, he could at least vent his anger on Lan Jian, so he could at least get some satisfaction out of it.

If it succeeds, then everyone will be overjoyed.

However, things are developing in a way that is completely different from what he expected. He thought he would be facing Lan Jian, but instead he is facing Xu Lingguang.

Without even a polite refusal, Xu Lingguang practically had "Stay away from me" etched on his forehead.

Not only that, he also acted as a protector, shielding the menacing owner of the Qianjin Tower behind him.

The man who had been as subdued as a rooster with its neck being choked earlier suddenly perked up after hearing Xu Lingguang's words. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, revealing undisguised smugness and provocation.

Deng was frustrated, but also found it somewhat absurd.

This was the first time a beautiful woman had looked at him without affection, only wariness, as if he were some heinous villain.

However, he wasn't the type to pester someone relentlessly. Xu Lingguang had already been so blunt; continuing to pester him would only embarrass him.

Deng then covered his mouth with his fan and smiled, saying, "Master Xu, you flatter me. I was just delighted to see such a beauty and misspoke. Now that she is already taken, I would never do such a tasteless thing as stealing someone else's partner."

He bowed slightly and said, "Besides the spiritual herbs promised by the hall master, Master Xu, you may choose three more and put them on my account. This is partly to apologize and partly to congratulate you both on your new marriage. What do you say?"

Deng A took the initiative to back down, and Xu Lingguang was not one to hold a grudge.

Besides, he didn't think he really had that much charm to make Deng A so unforgettable. He'd heard that Deng A was a seasoned womanizer, and who knew what had gotten into her that she suddenly decided to do this.

Since the other party wanted to offer a miraculous medicine as an apology, Xu Lingguang accepted it.

"There's no need for an apology, but I'll accept it as a congratulatory gift. If I ever have a wedding in the future, I'll definitely send Elder Deng an invitation."

His words were perfectly flawless.

Deng A hesitated, glanced at Lan Jian, and thought sourly, "This owner of Qianjin Tower is already of unparalleled status and wealth. I never thought that one day when she was looking for a Daoist partner, she would be able to find someone like Xu Lingguang."

It's really...enviable.

Lan Jian met Deng A's gaze, gave him a sharp warning look for a moment, and then took Xu Lingguang's hand and continued forward: "Let's go, don't waste time on irrelevant people."

As she said this, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

The previous look of grievance and dissatisfaction in its eyes had disappeared. If it were to return to its original form, its tail would probably be held high.

Xu Lingguang noticed this and gently shook the two's clasped hands.

Because of Deng A's interruption, Xu Lingguang picked out three more medicinal herbs, bid farewell to Fu Jiyu with satisfaction, and returned to Qianjin Tower with Lan Jian.

Fu Jiyu watched the two leave before turning to look at the listless Deng A, and said sarcastically, "I told you long ago, don't touch what you shouldn't touch. How does it feel to try to steal a chicken and lose the rice instead?"

In other words, Deng A, having become accustomed to unrestrained behavior, actually dared to try and snatch someone from that person.

Deng A scoffed resentfully, "How come he gets all the good things?"

Fu Jiyu rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay him any attention: "If you're still not satisfied, go ahead and try to take it. But if you really piss someone off, don't even mention that you're from Jin Yaotang."

After saying that, she didn't bother with the gloomy Deng A and walked away gracefully.