Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

After passing this hot potato to Manager Zhao, Xu Lingguang felt a great sense of relief.

Thinking that he could make a lot of money by auctioning off the giant crossbow, Xu Lingguang touched his newly bulging purse and decided to buy himself a set of self-defense gear first.

This world is too dangerous, and I am too fragile. I can save money on anything else, but I can't skimp on protective gear.

On the recommendation of Manager Zhao, Xu Lingguang bought a magic robe and a top-grade defensive magic treasure, spending a total of five thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

The magic robe can withstand a single blow from a cultivator at the Divine Realm level; while the defensive magic treasure is a jade crown, which can not only withstand attacks but also be used in conjunction with a teleportation talisman to instantly teleport away from danger.

These two items were exactly what Xu Lingguang wanted. He put on the robes and the jade crown, looked in the mirror, and almost didn't recognize himself.

This body looks almost exactly like his original appearance, except that the modern Xu Lingguang has short hair, wears a T-shirt and cargo pants, and has a more sunny temperament. This body, on the other hand, has long, black hair, and because of its age, its features are more defined. Its eyes droop slightly, and when it doesn't smile, it appears aloof and cold. If its gaze is even colder, it will reveal a hint of gloom.

Previously, Xu Lingguang always wore a high ponytail and simple farm clothes for convenience, which greatly diminished the original temperament of this body.

But now that he is wearing a brocade robe and has his hair tied up with a jade crown, the subtle sense of gloom seems to have deepened.

Xu Lingguang stared at himself in the mirror and felt a little creeped out for some reason. He quickly rubbed his face and then broke into a big smile.

His eyes sparkled when he smiled, instantly dispelling the cold, gloomy feeling. The person in the mirror looked like a pampered young master raised in a wealthy family.

When Manager Zhao saw him come out, his eyes showed surprise.

He had noticed Xu Lingguang's handsome appearance before, but since Xu always dressed simply and rode a donkey, his good looks were somewhat overlooked. As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and even Buddha statues are gilded. With this change of clothes, Xu Lingguang's inherent nobility was undeniable.

Manager Zhao saw him out courteously, but when he saw him lead the donkey tied to the door again, his lips twitched. He felt that the donkey and Xu Lingguang were not a good match, but such reclusive masters might have their own quirks, so he didn't dare to say anything. He just said politely, "If it is inconvenient for Young Master Xu, you can leave the donkey with us."

Xu Lingguang didn't feel anything was inconvenient. He thanked Manager Zhao and led the little donkey to the market to the east.

He planned to have a nice meal first, and then go on a big shopping spree.

But today seems a bit strange. Usually, few people pay attention to him when he walks on the street, but today several people are openly or secretly looking him over.

Xu Lingguang looked down at himself and didn't see anything wrong. He then looked back at the little donkey, which was carrying a basket on its back and walking briskly; everything seemed normal.

I don't notice anything abnormal.

Xu Lingguang looked around blankly, about to continue walking, when he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that the medicinal herbs in the bamboo basket seemed to have moved, and a small tuft of pale yellow down floated up.

Xu Lingguang: ?

He frowned and walked over, parting the herbs in the bamboo basket. He saw a pale yellow furry ball huddled among the herbs, blinking its round eyes and smiling ingratiatingly at him.

"Yu Rong, what are you doing here?"

Xu Lingguang wanted to pull him out, but then realized that the young Chenghuang cub probably couldn't be shown in public. So he pretended to get something and secretly stuffed Yu Rong into his wide sleeves. Luckily, he had just bought a new robe today, and its wide sleeves were enough to hide a small Chenghuang cub.

Yu Rong squirmed excitedly inside his sleeve: "I want to go down the mountain and take a look."

His older brother refused to take him down the mountain, and since he didn't know the way, he thought he could sneak out of the small bamboo basket to broaden his horizons.

Yu Rong said excitedly, "I saw someone selling candied hawthorns!"

Xu Lingguang had a splitting headache and gritted his teeth as he said, "If Chief Lan finds out, she'll be angry." Moreover, seeing how Lan Jian wouldn't let the cubs go down the mountain or allow outsiders to enter, he was also worried that if the yellow cubs showed themselves, it would cause some bad consequences.

"I'll take you back." He immediately stopped buying anything and wanted to return to Ailao Mountain first.

But Yu Rong started whimpering. He snuggled into Xu Lingguang's hand in his sleeve and rubbed it against him, saying, "I just want to take a look. If you don't tell my brother, he won't know."

The cub tried everything to please him, clinging to his arm and rubbing against him affectionately: "I will be very good and won't run away."

Xu Lingguang stopped hesitantly, and just as he was pondering, Zhou Fuying's voice came from behind him.

"Xu Lingguang?"

Zhou Fuying's voice was cold. He looked at the familiar figure in front of him, his body tensed up instantly, and there was already killing intent in his eyes.

Xu Lingguang was startled and quickly held Yu Rong down, whispering a warning, "Don't make a sound," before turning around and greeting her with a "What a coincidence, you're here too" look: "Zhou Fuying, you're here to buy things too?"

Zhou Fuying stared at him coldly, without saying a word.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit tense.

Xu Lingguang found his expression a bit strange, but Zhou Fuying had always been so taciturn and unpredictable, so he didn't think much of it. Remembering that he still owed him a meal, he could only make small talk, saying, "I still owe you a meal from last time. When are you free to treat me?"

Zhou Fuying parted her lips and slowly said, "There's no time like the present."

"Huh?" Xu Lingguang didn't expect him to be so agreeable this time, and was immediately in a dilemma.

He was just being polite! Yu Rong is still in his sleeve!

Seeing his hesitant expression, Zhou Fuying slowly narrowed her eyes, her gaze lingering on that exceptionally familiar face: "Didn't you say you were going to treat me to dinner? Then let's do it today."

Xu Lingguang was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree: "Okay, let's go to Liuxianju. It's said to be the best restaurant in Qingyu City. I'll go and store the donkey first."

He planned to first deposit the donkey at Qianjinlou, then hide Yu Rong in his basket, and go have a meal with Zhou Fuying before coming back to pick up the child. But as soon as he left, Zhou Fuying followed him.

Xu Lingguang took a few steps, then stopped helplessly: "You don't need to follow me. Go to Liuxian Residence and wait for me."

Zhou Fuying looked at him with a half-smile: "I'm afraid you'll run away."

Xu Lingguang: "..."

Unable to find a chance to stuff Yu Rong back into the basket, and fearing that Zhou Fuying would discover that there was something in his sleeve, he had no choice but to lead the donkey obediently toward Liuxianju: "Never mind, I remembered that Liuxianju should be able to store donkeys, let's go directly to Liuxianju."

The feathered creature inside the sleeve, completely oblivious to Xu Lingguang's predicament, wagged its tail excitedly.

Xu Lingguang, with a yellow dog tucked into his sleeve, braced himself and followed Zhou Fuying into Liuxianju, where they requested a private room.

In the past, Xu Lingguang would have eaten in the main hall if he had been worried about the cost, but today Yu Rong was still hiding in his sleeve, and he was worried about something going wrong, so he gritted his teeth and asked for a private room.

Since he was already there, he decided not to treat himself badly. He picked out a few dishes he wanted to eat and then let Zhou Fuying order some.

Zhou Fuying casually ordered two dishes, her gaze fixed on his face: "Your injuries have healed?"

Xu Lingguang took a sip of tea to calm his nerves and said, "It's not that simple. I aggravated an old injury while refining pills recently, and it took me half a month to recover."

"Alchemy?" Zhou Fuying's tone was slightly raised.

Xu Lingguang nodded: "That's right, the Rejuvenation Pill is too expensive. I was thinking that if I could refine pills myself, I could save some money."

“Not just anyone can become an alchemist.” Zhou Fuying’s expression became even more enigmatic.

Alchemy requires controlling spiritual fire, demanding meticulous mastery of spiritual energy. Xu Lingguang, despite being severely injured, was still able to teach himself alchemy.

Xu Lingguang felt a little proud upon hearing this: "I may not be good at other things, but I seem to have some talent for alchemy."

After saying that, he remembered Song Nanchu and asked, "By the way, do you know about Song Nanchu?"

"What is it?" Zhou Fuying asked him.

"Is Song Nan looking for you?"

Xu Lingguang was about to tell him about what had happened recently, but he suddenly remembered what Song Nanchu had told him about Zhou Fuying. His original enthusiasm immediately turned into guilt.

He found it difficult to see himself and the original owner of the body as one person, so he naturally felt no guilt about the evil deeds the original owner had committed. But now, in front of the victim, who was this body's own nephew, he found it hard to pretend he knew nothing.

Xu Lingguang's eyes immediately darted around, secretly cursing himself for bringing up such a sensitive topic, and he quickly thought of a way to skip over this part.

But Zhou Fuying had already figured something out. He curled his lips and gently stroked the scabbard with his fingers: "You remembered, didn't you?"