Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

The horse pulling the carriage suddenly stopped abruptly, and the cuddled cubs tumbled out. If Xu Lingguang hadn't reacted quickly, they would have rolled right out of the carriage.

"what happened?"

Xu Lingguang held two cubs in one arm and lifted the carriage curtain with the other to check the situation outside.

Upon seeing the small figure peeking out from the snow, their surprised voices rose: "Jiong You? What are you doing here?"

What blocked the way for the spirit horse was actually the young beast of the Queen Mother of the West, which had been separated from the city of Xiliang.

No one knows how she crossed the vast snowfield to catch up with Xu Lingguang and his group. A layer of white frost covered the thick fur of the cub, and even its eyelashes were stained white by the frost.

She looked extremely tired and weak. She only glanced at Xu Lingguang before collapsing helplessly into the snow.

Xu Lingguang quickly got out of the car and carried her up.

It had only been a few days since they parted, but the cub had already lost a lot of weight and was lighter than before when he was held.

Xu Lingguang placed Jiongyou on the soft couch, checked her spiritual veins, and only felt slightly relieved after confirming that she was just too tired.

The children gathered around, looking at the unconscious Jiongyou and asking worriedly, "What happened?"

Yu Rong touched Jiong You's paw with her nose and exclaimed, "Jiong You is so cold!"

Upon hearing this, Zhaoling reached out a paw and touched it, then quickly withdrew it, chirping in agreement.

Lan Jian said, "It's probably because the cold air in the far north is too intense. She's young and her cultivation isn't strong enough, so she couldn't withstand the cold air after traveling all this way. Let her rest for a while and she'll recover."

Xu Lingguang nodded, temporarily suppressing his many doubts, and let the little ones stay with Jiongyou for the time being.

Seeing that Xu Lingguang had left, Zhao Ling tilted her head and thought for a moment. Then she spread her wings and jumped to Jiong You's side. Her two wings tried their best to wrap around Jiong You's body, and a faint red light appeared on her feathers.

The heat of the phoenix fire quickly dispelled the chill in Jiongyou's body, and the cub woke up in no time.

She opened her eyes and saw the little ones surrounding her with concern. Her eyes immediately welled up with tears, but she quickly held them back.

Zhaoling, nestled beside her, chirped and peeked over, nuzzling her with its head.

Jiongyou forced a smile, rubbed her head against his, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring you any gifts this time."

"We're very happy that you could come; no need for gifts."

Yun Feng looked at her with bright eyes: "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Jiongyou shook her head and said, "I feel much better."

Seeing that she seemed listless, the little ones stopped bothering her with questions and instead went to call for Xu Lingguang.

Upon hearing the news that Jiong You had woken up, Xu Lingguang did not rush to visit her with the children. Instead, he looked at Lan Jian and said, "It's not right that Jiong You suddenly appeared here."

Although they slowed down their pace, the speed of the spirit horse carriage was far beyond what Jiongyou could easily catch up with, not to mention that this was an extremely cold snowfield, where it was already difficult to find one's way, let alone keep up with their speed.

Jiongyou suddenly appeared and stopped the carriage; something just didn't seem right.

Lan Jian also found this very unusual. He frowned and said, "Why don't you go and ask them first?"

Xu Lingguang had the same idea. Jiongyou was a very kind and resourceful girl, and no matter what the reason was, Xu Lingguang still wanted to ask her first.

After the two reached an agreement, Xu Lingguang went with the kids to visit Jiong You.

After the cold air in her body was expelled, Jiongyou's condition improved a lot. However, she was noticeably less lively than before, keeping her head down and remaining silent. No matter what the little ones said, she didn't make a sound.

Even when Xu Lingguang came in, she trembled slightly and tried to back away in a panic.

But behind her was the carriage wall, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.

Xu Lingguang looked at the flustered cub and gently stroked her head: "Are you feeling better? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Jiongyou opened her eyes wide and glanced at him, then quickly lowered her head and said in a low voice, "No, I'm fine, thank you."

Xu Lingguang became increasingly certain that the cub had probably encountered something. He thought for a moment but did not directly point it out. Instead, he asked tactfully, "Didn't you say you were going to find the little leopard elsewhere? Why did you suddenly come to Wujian City?"

Upon hearing Xu Lingguang mention his younger brother, Jiongyou's ears twitched, and he stammered, "I... I searched and searched and... and then I found my way here."

The cub's explanation was rather forced, and her emotions were very off, but Xu Lingguang saw that she was much weaker than usual, so he didn't press her further. Instead, he smiled and said, "So that's how it is. We really are destined to meet. Otherwise, what would you have done if you hadn't met us in this vast snowfield?"

These words made Jiongyou lower her head, her long tail tightly wrapped around her body, looking very uneasy.

Xu Lingguang sighed softly and patted her reassuringly, "You should rest first, and we'll talk about it when you're rested."

When the power-generating light got up and left, it also brought out the little cubs that were surrounding it, so as not to disturb Jiongyou's rest.

Seeing that he didn't press the matter further, Jiongyou secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but when she saw Xu Lingguang leading the cubs out in a gentle profile, she sadly withdrew her paws.

He recalled the human's words: "If you don't want him to die, try to bring Xu Lingguang here."

"Remember, only he can come. If he alerts anyone else, this little leopard will die, understand?"

Jiongyou recalled the human's threatening words, buried her head in her paws, and her small body trembled slightly.

He felt that the human cultivator was not a good person. She was afraid that the cultivator would really kill her little brother, and she was also afraid that Xu Lingguang would be in danger after she tricked him.

The little cub, caught in a dilemma, sobbed quietly, not daring to make a sound.

Little did they know that Xu Lingguang and Lan Jian were standing at the door, having heard everything that was happening inside.

Xu Lingguang frowned and said, "She must have encountered something."

Lan Jian said, "We'll be arriving at Wujian City soon. Let's ask her after we've settled in."

Xu Lingguang nodded and said, "That's the only way."