Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

The two first searched the area around the cabin carefully. Although they found nothing, they did find some traces of animal activity.

Then they expanded the search area, with each person on one side, and split up to search separately.

Xu Lingguang was in charge of the east side, while Lan Jian was in charge of the west side.

Both of them were very familiar with the Ailao Mountains. Although their meticulous search slowed them down, they returned to their agreed-upon location after nightfall.

Lan Jian's expression wasn't too good, because he hadn't found anything on the mountain. There were some traces of strange beasts, but there were already quite a few strange beasts in the Ailao Mountains, so these traces didn't prove anything.

He could only look at Xu Lingguang silently.

Xu Lingguang shook his head: "I haven't found it here either."

After saying that, he noticed that Lan Jian's face darkened instantly, so he quickly added, "However, I asked a few small beasts that have developed intelligence, and I did get a few clues."

"what?"

"The little beasts said that a few months ago, a bullying outsider appeared in the mountains. After beating them all up, it forced them to call it 'King'."

Xu Lingguang said, "Later, the other side stayed in the mountains for a while and felt that it was not interesting to just be king in the mountains, so they ordered them to guard the mountains and went out themselves."

"Although those little beasts have developed intelligence, they are still quite ignorant. They can barely communicate, but they can't describe what the new king looks like. However, based on the characteristics they describe, they do resemble the Qilin somewhat."

Lan Jian was silent for a moment, then said, "This personality sounds like Si Yuan's."

Even when Si Yuan was still a cub, he often provoked fights everywhere, trying to become king and tyrant.

Lan Jian and Si Yuan had a fight when they first met. In the end, Si Yuan was beaten so badly that he cried and begged for mercy, acknowledging that Lan Jian was his equal and that they could be kings together. Then he turned around and went to fight someone else.

When he couldn't beat them, he would ask Lan Jian for help. Although Lan Jian never bothered to participate in his childish games, Si Yuan was just too much of a jerk, and Lan Jian was forced to help him a few times against his will.

Xu Lingguang said, "Shall we continue searching down the mountain?"

It's only been a few months. If it really is Si Yuan, he might still be in Qingyu City at this time, not far away.

Lan Jian thought for a moment and then said, "No rush, let's go back and rest first. I'll send a message to Manager Zhao and ask him to keep an eye on things."

Seeing Xu Lingguang's puzzled expression, he added, "If it really is Si Yuan, he certainly won't behave himself. We just need to have Manager Zhao send someone to investigate whether there have been any unusual activities by demons in Qingyu City and the surrounding cities recently. We can then eliminate them one by one."

This is indeed a good way to save effort. Given the arrogance of the king mentioned by those small beasts, if he really leaves Ailao Mountain, he will definitely cause quite a stir.

Xu Lingguang nodded and said, "Then let's do it your way. Tomorrow we'll go to Qingyu City first to check out some information and buy some things."

Afterwards, the two returned to their clan's territory together.

When I got back, I saw the little ones sleeping peacefully on the cushions, while Youyu was sitting at a table reading a book. As for Qitu, it was nowhere to be seen; I wondered where it had gone off to play again.

Hearing the two return, the sleepy little ones twitched their ears and sat up one after another.

Yu Rong eagerly pledged his loyalty: "I've been obedient and haven't gone anywhere!"

Yun Feng retorted, "We've been playing here the whole time; we haven't run around."

The little Qilin, still half asleep, nuzzled against Xu Lingguang's calf, making soft, whimpering noises.

Xu Lingguang patted each of the little ones' heads: "Why don't you go to your room to sleep?"

Mu Yun, like a large, furry worm, crawled up to Xu Ling's bare feet and said with a fawning smile, "Of course, it was to wait for you!"

Sui Chun was unmoved by the cub's flattery. He wagged his tail and became more curious about the Star-Shattering Fruit: "Is there any progress on that Star-Shattering Fruit?"

When the kids heard him bring up something he shouldn't have, they all secretly glared at him in perfect unison.

Zhaoling and the chicks were so anxious that they opened their mouths to pull at his tail feathers.

Sui Chun's tail nimbly dodged, swaying left and right like a cat toy. Zhao Ling and the chick pounced left and right, but couldn't catch it no matter what they did. They quickly forgot what they were supposed to do and focused on catching Sui Chun's tail.

Xu Lingguang found it amusing, but seeing the guilty looks on Yu Rong's and the others' faces, he thought that although the little brat was a bit naughty, he had accidentally done a good deed. Otherwise, it would probably have been delayed for several more days before he went to the cabin.

So he stopped scaring the cubs and said, "Let's let this go this time, but there can't be a next time."

Sui Chun, observing his expression, noticed the joy in his eyes and asked with a quick glance, her red eyes darting around, "What have you discovered?"

Xu Lingguang said, "We have made some discoveries, but they haven't been confirmed yet. We'll let you know when they are."

He picked up the little Qilin, who was nestled against his legs, her head nodding sleepily, poked her round belly, and said with a smile, "Maybe the little Qilin will have a..."

After a pause, Xu Lingguang was still unsure about Qilin's seniority, so he turned to Lan Jian and asked, "Is he my older brother? Or my uncle?"

Lan Jian narrowed her eyes slightly: "Of course it's my brother."

If the little Qilin calls them "brother," wouldn't they be considered inferior to Si Yuan if they called him "uncle"?

Xu Lingguang belatedly realized the problem, and said very firmly, "There might be another older brother, but we haven't found him yet."

After coaxing the sleepy little ones back to rest, Xu Lingguang and Lan Jian also went to rest.

It was only at this point that Xu Lingguang belatedly realized that he was sleeping in Lan Jian's room tonight.

Although the two of them had shared a room in Fufeng City, that was outside. Now that they were back in Ailao Mountain, on Lanjian's territory, Xu Lingguang belatedly felt embarrassed.

He first took a bath and changed into soft, light nightgown. When he came out, he saw that Lan Jian had already taken off his outer robe and was sitting at the table reading a book, wearing only an inner shirt.

Her long hair, which had been tied up, was now loosely draped over her back, the ends falling onto the thick, soft carpet.

Just then, moonlight streamed down through the light-transmitting hole above his head, floating behind him, making him look like a bewitching water sprite.

Xu Lingguang stared intently for a while before walking over and saying, "I'm ready, you can go now."

His gaze casually swept over the book in Lan Jian's hand. Before he could even see it clearly, he saw the other person quickly close the book, hold it in his hand, and walk out.

Xu Lingguang thought he had forgotten to put it down and reminded him, "Why did you bring a book with you when you went to take a bath?"

Lan Jian paused, turned back, placed the book on the shelf furthest from Xu Lingguang, and then left.

Xu Lingguang stared at the book with a puzzled expression. The cover had an obscure title written in traditional Chinese characters, suggesting it was an ancient book.

But when he glanced at it just now, he felt that all he saw were simplified Chinese characters, and there seemed to be some familiar patterns.