There is a beast in the bright morning.

As Tianlu and the Four-Unlikes got closer and closer to his cave, Haochen sensed something was wrong.

Although he had kept his secrets well hidden, he was still afraid of the worst-case scenario. If his secrets were discovered, he wondered what the Four-Faced Beasts would think of him.

Hao Chen could almost picture the future, with the four-legged creatures pointing and gesturing at him.

"Look, I never expected that Haochen, who seems like such an upright auspicious beast, is actually a twisted pervert in private."

"Tsk tsk tsk, I never expected Hao Chen to be so keen on collecting that kind of thing."

"Haochen is really good at this, no wonder he likes to be all cuddled with Pipi."

"..."

The thought of being condemned by everyone by the divine beasts of the Deer Man Shop made Hao Chen feel dizzy.

"No, I absolutely cannot let them discover my secret, never."

Hao Chen quickly stepped forward and grabbed Tian Lu's leg, saying, "Brother Tian Lu, I've found a fun place. Let me take you there."

However, when faced with the choice between playing and eating the golden ball, Tianlu chose the golden ball without hesitation. Even though Haochen was desperately pulling on his leg, Tianlu remained steadfast and headed towards the cave.

"Haochen, let go of my paws. I'll play with you after I finish eating the golden ball."

"Brother Tianlu, I'll call you brother, okay? Can you please not go?" Haochen looked at Tianlu with teary eyes, thinking that he had already called him brother and was still so pitiful. Tianlu should, maybe, possibly give up? No way...

Seeing Hao Chen's behavior, Tian Lu thought that Hao Chen was reluctant to part with his gold, so he rubbed Hao Chen's fluffy head.

"Haochen, don't worry, I'll just eat a little gold. Really, believe me, I haven't eaten gold in ages."

After saying that, Tianlu shook his thigh, shook Haochen off, and walked towards the cave with a determined look in his eyes and drool dripping from his mouth.

Hao Chen was on the verge of tears, but he didn't dare to directly refuse Tianlu, otherwise how could he continue to hug his fragrant, exclusive Tianlu pillow? He could only pray that his secret would not be discovered.

The four-legged creature that came up behind witnessed everything. It rubbed its chin with its paws and thought to itself, "Haochen is so afraid of Pipi going to his cave. He must know that Pipi loves to eat treasures. So there must be some treasure inside."

The thought of this excited the Qilin, and it was already thinking about what excuse it could use to requisition Haochen's treasure.

The four-legged creature nodded towards Zhanhu: "Zhanhu, carry Haochen on your back, let's go see what treasures Haochen has."

Upon hearing this, Zhanhu immediately picked up Haochen in its mouth, put him on its back, and followed the four-legged beast.

As for why Zhanhu listens to Sibuxiang so much, it all comes down to the generous conditions Sibuxiang offered Zhanhu.

Free meals and lodging are just the basics, and preventing the antique vase from being broken by Zhanhu is merely an advanced condition; returning the divine sword to its rightful owner is the main goal.

After all this, Zhanhu, who originally relied on selling his body at the zoo to make a living, was homeless and penniless, could only say that it was surprisingly appealing.

Of course, there is also the most important point, which Zhan Hu has not told anyone: he met Hao Chen in the medieval period, and was even tricked by Hao Chen back then.

It wasn't until Zhan Hu saw Hao Chen again at the Deer Man Shop and sensed Hao Chen's aura that he realized that Hao Chen from the medieval period actually came from the lower reaches of the river of time.

Although he didn't know how Haochen managed to go against the tide and return to the medieval era, Zhanhu was more than happy to see Haochen make a fool of himself and even occasionally bully him.

It was only under these conditions that Zhanhu agreed to stay at the Deer Man Shop and occasionally listened to the strange creature's words.

Hao Chen, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality after feeling the jolt beneath him. However, upon realizing that he was actually lying on Zhan Hu, he immediately stopped thinking about anything else.

Hao Chen lay on Zhan Hu's back, burying his head in it and constantly sucking on Zhan Hu's fur.

For Haochen, whether it's Tianlu, Qilin, Rabbit Lord, or Zhanhu, as long as it's furry, Haochen will love it and always want to hug it and rub it hard.

Zhanhu felt Haochen's little movements on his back and had an indescribable feeling. He thought to himself: Haochen is still the same. He becomes weird whenever he encounters something with long hair. Oh well, let him be. As long as he doesn't go too far.

Hao Chen, who was lying on Zhan Hu's back, could sense Zhan Hu's tolerance towards him. Although he didn't know why, he thought, "Since you're not stopping me, Zhan Hu, then I won't be polite."

Thinking of this, Hao Chen's lips curled into a wicked smile. He placed his paws on Zhan Hu's back, feeling the soft touch of the paw pads. Then he lowered his tail and used it to sweep across Zhan Hu's belly.

"Hiss... Haochen, don't go too far, or I'll pluck your tail hairs and make you a bald-tailed dog."

Stimulated by Hao Chen's tail, Zhan Hu instantly sensed that the little Zhan Hu was about to raise its head, and dared not let Hao Chen make any more moves on its back.

Although Hao Chen heard Zhan Hu's words, he had no intention of listening: "Hmph, you say you don't want it, so where is my face? And you actually dared to say that my handsome, dashing, and charming Pixiu is a dog? I'll bite you to death!"

As he spoke, Hao Chen pushed hard on Zhan Hu's back and instantly climbed onto Zhan Hu's head, biting down on Zhan Hu's ear. Of course, calling it a bite would be more accurate as sucking it.

When Zhan Hu felt the touch on his ear, his body stiffened. Feline ears are very sensitive. Hao Chen not only put his ear in his mouth, but also gently scratched it with his tongue.

"hiss!"

Hao Chen's actions instantly evoked Zhan Hu's memories. Back when he was with his master, his master loved to rub his ears whenever he sat on his back.

Hao Chen's action of licking his ear reminded Zhan Hu of his master once again.

When Hao Chen was licking Zhan Hu's ear, he felt Zhan Hu's body stiffen, but Hao Chen didn't pay attention to it. He only stopped when he heard Zhan Hu whimpering softly.

Hao Chen reached out his paw and touched Zhan Hu's face. When he felt the wetness on Zhan Hu's face, Hao Chen's mind went blank and he was instantly dumbfounded: Why is he crying? I just licked Zhan Hu's ear, it shouldn't be that he's crying.

The thought of making Zhan Hu cry made Hao Chen feel helpless. He quickly stopped what he was doing and got off Zhan Hu.

"Zhanhu, I'm sorry, please don't cry."

Facing Zhanhu, Haochen could clearly see the tear tracks on Zhanhu's face. He hadn't expected Zhanhu to actually cry, which made Haochen a little anxious.

Hao Chen tugged at Zhan Hu's paw, and Zhan Hu, as if receiving some strange command, immediately bent down and lay on the ground.

Without saying a word, Hao Chen pressed his face against Zhan Hu's big head and kept licking away the tears on Zhan Hu's face: "I'm sorry, Zhan Hu, don't cry, I was wrong, I didn't mean to bite your ear."

Zhanhu shook his head and said calmly, "It has nothing to do with you. I just miss my master."

"Master? Chi You?"

Zhanhu nodded: "My master used to love rubbing my ears and pinching my paws."

At this point, Zhanhu said to Haochen somewhat embarrassedly, "Haochen, could you, could you, could you rub my ears again? I miss my master."

After saying that, Zhanhu closed his eyes, seemingly embarrassed. After a long while, he didn't feel the rubbing on his ears. Zhanhu was disappointed and thought that Haochen had refused: "That's right, my request is so strange, who would agree to it?"

Just as Zhan Hu was feeling disappointed, he suddenly felt warmth and pressure coming from his back, followed by what felt like his ears were being kneaded.

Hao Chen couldn't find Zhan Hu, the male tiger exuding strong masculine hormones, so he made such a childish and cute request. However, this suited Hao Chen's taste perfectly, so Hao Chen naturally had no reason to refuse.

Therefore, after being distracted for a while, Hao Chen excitedly climbed onto Zhan Hu's body and started petting the big cat, completely forgetting about his secret cave.

And so, as Tianlu and the Four-Faced Beast arrived at their cave, Haochen was still excitedly stroking Zhanhu's ears and paws.

Zhanhu lay on the ground, exposing his belly, forgetting all his unhappiness, letting Haochen pet him. He even purred comfortably like a feline when he was being petted.