Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

There was only one person named Lanjian in the clan's territory.

He sat under a huge hibiscus tree, polishing a sword.

Seeing Youyu return, he lazily raised his head, his cascading silver hair slid down his shoulders, revealing his inhumanly beautiful face: "Why are you only coming back now? Did Xu Lingguang invite you to stay for dinner?"

Youyu straightened his back and answered respectfully with his head bowed, "No, I was just worried about Yu Rong and the others, so I observed them for a while longer."

He hesitated slightly, but still said, "Isn't it too risky to entrust the three of them to the care of a human cultivator? Besides, that human cultivator saw us at Qianjin Tower and asked about us today. I didn't reveal my brother's identity."

Lan Jian lowered his eyes and continued wiping the sword, saying, "It's alright, I know what I'm doing. If you're worried, just stay in the clan territory and keep an eye on things for a while. I'm going on a long trip tomorrow, so I'll leave the clan territory in your care."

Hearing this, Youyu didn't refute it further. He pursed his lips slightly, his expression somewhat worried: "Is Brother going to the Land of No Return again?"

He had seen more than the cubs. When his elder brother brought him back to the clan's territory, he had already been struggling to survive in the ghost market for almost ten years. He had seen life and death and witnessed the worst of human evil, and he had long lost the innocence of a cub.

Yu Rong and Yun Feng had only recently emerged from their seal, and their minds were still immature and unaware of the dangers of the world. Lan Jian would deliberately avoid them in many situations. However, he was not a purebred Cheng Huang; he was simply lucky enough to have his bloodline revert to its ancestral form, which is why his elder brother had the opportunity to bring him back and raise him.

Over the years, his elder brother has entrusted him with many things, and he has not deliberately kept his annual trip to the underworld a secret from him.

Youyu was always careful to keep his distance, and he never asked questions unless his elder brother said so. But in previous years, his elder brother would be weak for a long time after returning from the Land of No Return. He hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help but ask, "Would you like me to come along?"

Lan Jian sheathed her sword, looked up at him, and suddenly smiled.

Youyu was a little flustered, not knowing what he had said wrong that made his brother laugh. He pursed his lips awkwardly, and his ears turned a little red: "I... I just wanted to help my brother share some of the burden."

Lan Jian walked up to him. The fifteen-year-old boy only reached his chest. His face still had the immaturity and naivety of a young man, but he insisted on acting like a mature adult.

“You’re still young.” Lan Jian patted his head. “A cub should act like a cub. You don’t need to worry about these things.”

Youyu pursed her lips and said, "I'm already fifteen years old."

Lan Jian laughed: "The young yellow cub only grows up at five hundred years old, you are still very young."

Yu shut his mouth in embarrassment, but he was a little unconvinced. According to human age, he was already an adult who could start a family and establish a career.

Lan Jian picked up her sword, turned and went out, gently patted his shoulder and said, "You've worked hard these past few days. Get some rest now that you're back."

*

Having unexpectedly encountered Zhou Fuying, Xu Lingguang rushed back without having time to do any shopping.

After resting at home for a few days, he chose another time to go down the mountain to buy supplies. This time, however, he was smarter and carefully checked the small bamboo basket on the donkey's back to make sure there were no calves hiding inside before humming a song as he went down the mountain.

Fortunately, there were no unexpected events this time. Xu Lingguang bought a lot of ingredients with spiritual energy and brought gifts for the cubs, returning home with a full load.

Just as they were distributing gifts to the cubs, Youyu suddenly came over, looking somewhat serious: "Your elder brother wants you to go to the clan's territory."

Xu Lingguang found it a bit strange; today wasn't the day he was supposed to be giving Lan Jian her first nursing appointment. "Is there something wrong?"

Youyu said, "My brother said he needs you to take care of him."

Xu Lingguang found it increasingly strange. It wasn't time yet, so why did they suddenly want to do the treatment ahead of schedule?

But seeing that Youyu didn't seem willing to say more, he didn't ask any further questions, tidied up a bit, and went to the clan's territory.

We'll find out when we get there.

Youyu did not come along; he stayed in the cabin to play with the cubs. Xu Lingguang went there familiarly, but found that Lanjian was not in the room where she usually nursed.

He looked around somewhat bewildered, and could only try calling out, "Chief Lan?"

Lan Jian's voice came from afar: "I am under the Fusang tree."

Xu Lingguang looked towards the source of the sound and saw that one of the walls in the originally closed room had suddenly disappeared, and a path had appeared where the wall had been, leading to a giant tree that blocked out the sky.

Every time Xu Lingguang passed by in the corridor, he could see this towering tree from afar.

After seeing so many, he would occasionally wonder if such a huge tree was real or just a mirage.

But now he knows it's true.

He walked along the thick bluestone path to the tree and saw the giant beast with silvery-white fur lying weakly on the bluestone platform under the tree. Its silky fur was stained with dark red blood clots, turning into strands that clung to its body in a disheveled state.

Xu Lingguang was a little alarmed: "You're injured?"

In his mind, an ancient divine beast like Chenghuang should be at the top of the battle power rankings, so what other being could possibly harm Chenghuang?

But Lan Jian was clearly unwilling to say more. His eyes were half-closed, and he seemed listless. His voice was also much lower than usual, and he even sounded a little aggrieved: "Could you please clean up the bloodstains for me?"

He seemed unable to bear the bloodstains on his body, his tail thrashing impatiently in small, rapid movements.

Xu Lingguang looked at the still-bleeding wound on his back, opened his mouth, and whispered, "Your wound is still bleeding. Just treating the surface bloodstains won't be enough..."

He wasn't a doctor after all, and the sight of the gruesome, bleeding wound and large patches of congealed blood made him feel anxious and short of breath. He suggested, "Shouldn't we find a doctor to take a look first?"

Lan Jian glanced at him: "Which doctor would dare to come into Ailao Mountain to treat my injuries?"

Xu Lingguang: "..."

He swallowed hard and said, "I'll give it a try. I'll treat your wound first; we can only deal with the bloodstains on your fur once the bleeding has stopped and the wound is bandaged."

Lan Jian was a little unhappy, but this minor injury would gradually heal if left to air out for a few days.

However, Xu Lingguang had been taking good care of his fur recently, and he was particularly annoyed by the sight of it stained with blood, so he couldn't wait to call someone over to help clean it up.

But Xu Lingguang insisted, so he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

Previously, whenever Xu Lingguang came, Lan Jian would prepare the ointments and tools needed, so he came empty-handed this time. Now, he needed to treat Lan Jian's wound, but he didn't even have clean cloths or gauze.

Finally, having no other choice, he went back to get his spare external wound powder and found a jar of liquor he had prepared for making drunken crabs before hurriedly returning.

Lan Jian lay there motionless with her head down, only turning her head slightly when she saw him return.

Xu Lingguang carried the boiled water and gently wiped the fur around the wound with a cloth. However, there was so much blood that the fur around the wound was stuck together with congealed blood. Xu Lingguang had no choice but to say, "The wound is too big. We need to shave the fur around it."

To everyone's surprise, Lan Jian suddenly opened his eyes and almost glared at him, saying, "No need to shave."

Xu Lingguang frowned: "We can't treat the wound without shaving the hair."

Lan Jian: "Then let's not deal with it."

Whether he was tired or sleepy, his voice sounded a little muffled as he said, "Just clean up the bloodstains."

Xu Lingguang found him utterly unreasonable. How could someone be injured and not treat the wound, only thinking about cleaning the fur?

He shrugged helplessly: "But the wound won't stop bleeding. Even if I clean it up for you, it will get dirty again very soon."

Lan Jian understood the reasoning behind what he said. Every time he was injured before, he would lie under the tree for a few days and wait for the wound to heal on its own before cleaning it. This time, he just thought that someone would help him and he wouldn't have to endure it for so long.

But who knew that Xu Lingguang would be so audacious as to want to shave his hair!

Lan Jian turned her head to look at the tree trunk and said, "Then come back in a few days when your wound has healed."

"..."

Xu Lingguang was speechless.

At this moment, Lan Jian's noble and aloof persona collapsed in front of him. What kind of little chick is this? How come he is even harder to coax than a baby?

He won't listen to a single kind word :)