Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

The black snake lay obsequiously at his feet, rolled over, and tried to twist itself into a pretzel shape, flicking its tongue at Xu Lingguang. Its beady black eyes showed no trace of shrewdness or cunning; instead, they appeared rather foolish.

Xu Lingguang was both annoyed and amused, and finally moved it aside: "Go away, go away, don't get in my way."

The black snake tilted its head to look at him, and seeing that he seemed to have stopped being angry, it hesitantly crawled into the house.

Having consumed so many Spirit Nourishing Pills, it prepared to find a favorite roof beam to continue sleeping.

Without the black snake's interference, Xu Lingguang concentrated and finished refining the ointment before sunset. The oil, baked with spiritual energy, dried and turned into a milky white paste with a faint herbal aroma.

Fearing failure, Xu Lingguang only made enough for two small porcelain jars.

However, judging from the taste, it was similar to what Yuan Jiu had described in his notes, so it should be a success. Xu Lingguang excitedly grabbed the cubs to try out the ointment.

He placed a large wooden basin in the yard, filled it with clear water from the stream, and shook the ointment: "Who wants to try it first?"

Mu Yun disliked bathing and hid in the back. Zhao Ling was a bird and too small, so the ointment was useless to him. Xu Lingguang's gaze swept back and forth between Yu Rong and Yun Feng.

Finally, Yun Feng jumped into the wooden tub first: "I'll go first."

Yu Rong was initially hesitant, but seeing Yun Feng jump into the wooden tub first, she became anxious, fearing it wouldn't be her turn, and jumped in after her, splashing water everywhere: "Me too!"

Xu Lingguang was both amused and exasperated, and could only clean the fur off the two cubs first.

This ointment is quite versatile; it can be used for cleaning or as a conditioner. Xu Lingguang first washed the cubs, then applied the ointment as a wet compress.

The cubs sat on clean mats, and Xu Lingguang changed the water and waited for about ten minutes before washing them.

When cleaning off the ointment, Xu Lingguang clearly felt that the cubs' fur was much smoother. He wrapped the two cubs in a cloth and dried them, then placed them on a recliner to let the wind dry them naturally.

The summer night breeze was cool, and after only half an hour, the cubs' fur had dried.

Xu Lingguang touched it; it was smooth and silky, with an amazing sheen, no less than Lan Jian's meticulously maintained fur.

Yun Feng was especially happy. She carefully licked the fur on her paws and exclaimed, "Just like my big brother!"

She didn't even want to get off the ground, afraid of getting her clean, fragrant fur dirty.

Xu Lingguang held her on his lap and re-braided her hair into a small braid—he was now very skilled at braiding hair and had even learned several different styles at Yun Feng's request.

Yun Feng sat obediently in his lap, rubbing her wet nose against the back of his hand, and said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "I want to wear a little butterfly."

Xu Lingguang then took a small butterfly hair tie from her jewelry box and tied it on her head.

Yu Rong, who was standing next to him, rolled over and groaned, "Wearing so many things is such a hassle."

Yun Feng glared at him: "You're as fat as a ball, of course you wouldn't understand!"

After saying that, she turned around angrily, showing him her backside.

Xu Lingguang suppressed a laugh, and after coaxing the two little ones to calm them down, he carefully sealed the other bottle of ointment, planning to send it to Lan Jian the next day.

Because of his sudden injury, Xu Lingguang hadn't been able to take care of Lan Jian during this time. Moreover, Lan Jian had saved him twice already, and Xu Lingguang genuinely wanted to thank him this time, which is why he made this ointment to please him.

Then we can go the extra mile and give him another spa treatment. Although it can't repay the debt of saving his life, it will make Xu Lingguang feel better.

Lan Jian was indeed very interested when he heard that he had made the ointment according to the recipe left by Yuan Jiu. Although his hairy face did not show much expression, Xu Lingguang could tell from the slightly upturned tone of his voice that he was happy, perhaps because they had spent more time together.

So he very proactively suggested, "Shall we try the new ointment today?"

Lan Jian nodded reservedly: "Okay."

Then, as if casually, he said, "I've read quite a few of Yuan Jiu's notes, and I never noticed that he actually recorded a recipe for an ointment in his notes."

Xu Lingguang was unaware that when the Chenghuang clan was still quite prosperous, Yuan Jiu had exchanged these ointments for many good things.

"Which notebook contains those recipes?"

Xu Lingguang took out his notebook and showed it to him: "It's all in this book. Besides the ointment I made, there are many others, but because some of the ingredients are too precious, I made this one to try first."

Lan Jian glanced at them and said indifferently, "Yuan Jiu has all these materials in his storage room. If you need anything, just take it from there."

Xu Lingguang paused: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Lan Jian crossed her two front paws and hummed softly, "There's nothing wrong with it. Many of the treasures he kept were originally mine. Now that he's gone, it's only natural that these things should be put to use, otherwise it would be a waste to leave them there."

Xu Lingguang scratched his head and said hesitantly, "Then I'll bring some of the materials needed for the new ointment later."

Lan Jian nodded.

Seeing that he stopped speaking, Xu Lingguang also stopped talking and began to take good care of him.

However, Lan Jian was clearly in a good mood and very interested today. When Xu Lingguang was sharpening his claws, he asked again, "What are you going to do about your injuries?"

Xu Ling didn't even look up, focusing on sharpening his claws, and replied casually, "Besides continuing to cultivate and earn more money to buy Rejuvenation Pills, is there any other way?"

Lan Jian stared at the back of his head.

Xu Lingguang was engrossed in his work, his long, black hair tied in a high ponytail hanging down his back. At this moment, because he was slightly turned to the side, the ends of his hair slipped down to one side, revealing a section of his slender, snow-white neck and half of his profile.

His skin was very pale, a sickly pallor. He had gotten a bit tanned from working in the sun and wind, but he looked relatively healthy. However, after recovering from his injury for half a month recently, his skin had returned to its original pale color, making him look as fragile as a sheet of paper.

But he had a pair of jet-black eyes, which shone brightly like stars in a snowy plain where the north wind howled, full of indomitable vitality.

His two completely different qualities make him seem very contradictory, so people can't help but linger on him for a while longer.

Lan Jian stared at him for a long time before looking away, and said calmly, "You're quite open-minded."

"Things will work themselves out when they reach the bridge," Xu Lingguang said with a smile.

Perhaps moved by his expression, Lan Jian glanced at him again and suddenly said, "Once your injuries have healed and your cultivation level has recovered, you can come to find me again."

Xu Lingguang was taken aback at first, but after understanding the implied meaning in his words, he suddenly looked up at him with bright eyes: "Do you have a way?"

Lan Jian avoided his gaze and shook his head: "It's not certain yet. We'll have to wait until your cultivation level recovers before we can talk about anything else."

Although he didn't make any promises, Xu Lingguang was still very happy: "Okay, I will work hard to cultivate. Thank you in advance."

His tone was so excited that Lan Jian couldn't help but glance at him, and saw that his eyes were indeed as bright as if they had been washed with water. He stared at him for a moment, then looked away again.

If Xu Lingguang's cultivation level is restored and he is still in his current state, he can make an exception and use a secret technique to reshape a body for him.

Even if he has indeed possessed another body, he will no longer need to worry about divine punishment and can continue cultivating.