There is a beast in the bright morning.

After temporarily repelling the Holy Ape King, Hao Chen saw that the fire-breathing dragon—well, it should be called the Little Fire Dragon now—didn't seem to have any malicious intent. Therefore, he decided to take it back to the Deer Man Shop first and then see how to deal with it.

On the way, Hao Chen became curious about the little Charmander and asked, "Hey, weren't you a Charizard before? How come you've degenerated?"

Hearing Hao Chen's question, the little dragon looked puzzled: "Small size can save energy consumption, that's what you said, big brother. And you're the one who taught me how to turn back into a little dragon, big brother. How could you forget?"

After pausing, the little dragon said in a sinister tone, "Besides, you said it yourself, big brother, this way I can better play dumb and catch the enemy off guard. When we're fighting, I can suddenly turn into a fire-breathing dragon and take them by surprise."

After listening to Charmander's words, Hao Chen didn't dwell on the issue of Charmander versus Charizard. Instead, he became curious about another question.

This little fire dragon seems to have known me for a long time, and may even know Tianlu, but I have no recollection of it.

Strictly speaking, although I have been in this world for over ten years, I spent ten of those years inside an egg, so I am only a little over one year old now.

The little dragon naturally knew that the reason why Hao Chen didn't recognize him was because they were in different timelines. When the little dragon first met Hao Chen, that Hao Chen was from a future timeline, not the present Hao Chen.

However, Little Fire Dragon wouldn't bring it up, since time is such a big deal, and if he's not careful, it might all be lost forever, causing him and Hao Chen to miss each other. It's better to let things take their natural course.

So the little dragon took the initiative to start a new topic: "Big brother, do you live alone now, or do you live with that little puppy named Tianlu?"

"Little puppy?!" Hao Chen couldn't understand it. Although Tian Lu looked a bit like a puppy, his personality didn't seem to fit the description of a puppy. How could he have such an embarrassing label?

However, upon closer reflection, even though Tianlu was carefully fed by the Si Mu Xiang, it never missed a meal.

Even in order to feed Tianlu, he would occasionally give Tianlu gold bars to eat, and the Treasure-Spitting Rat would often come to the Deer Man's shop to give Tianlu pearls to eat.

But Tianlu still seemed hungry, often begging for food from Sibuxiang or acting cute. Sometimes, to save money, Sibuxiang would try to trick Tianlu into eating dog food as a treat, and Tianlu would eat it without hesitation.

Hao Chen couldn't help but think: Looking at it this way, Tianlu really is like me, a pretty boy raised together by the Qilin and the Treasure-Spitting Rat.

When Little Fire Dragon saw that Hao Chen hadn't answered him for a long time, he had his own answer. It seemed that his older brother was living with that puppy.

The little dragon was a little resentful. He was quite cute himself, so why did his older brother like that greedy puppy?

Suddenly, the little dragon realized the reason: "That's it! It was because I wasn't by Big Brother's side before that Big Brother was bewitched by that puppy. Now that I'm here, I absolutely cannot let that puppy steal Big Brother away."

"Hiss, why do I feel a chill down my back?" Suddenly, Hao Chen felt as if something was watching him, making him very uncomfortable.

However, Hao Chen didn't take it too seriously, thinking to himself:

Hao Chen was still thinking about how to introduce the little fire dragon's identity after returning to the deer man's shop. Sending him back to the underworld seemed inappropriate, and more importantly, he seemed to be no match for the fire-breathing dragon.

But if this little fire dragon were to stay at the Deer Man's shop, it's uncertain whether the Qilin would agree, after all, the little fire dragon still carries the label of a ferocious beast that escaped from the underworld.

"Forget it, I won't think about it too much. There's always a way out. We'll see when the time comes."

Hao Chen shook his head, trying to stop himself from thinking about these messy things, and rushed back to the Deer Man Shop with all his might.

What he didn't know was that while he was thinking about where to keep Charmander, the little dragon sitting on his back was plotting against him.

Soon, Hao Chen returned to the Deer Man Shop: "I'm back!"

Hao Chen's loud voice startled the beasts in the deer-man's shop. Tian Lu rushed out first, followed by the Qilin carrying the cleaned Fu Zai.

Only Rabbit God, looking disheveled and annoyed, followed behind the four-legged creature, carrying the still-wet walnuts.

Tianlu ran up to Haochen and said, "Haochen, you're back."

"Well, I'm back."

Hao Chen nodded, then looked at Rabbit and Walnut and said, "By the way, Rabbit, what's wrong with you? Are you having a water fight with Walnut?"

The four-legged creature patted Fuzai's head and explained, "I saw that these guys were covered in watermelon juice from eating watermelon, so Rabbit and I took them to take a bath. But Walnut seemed to be afraid of water and didn't want to cooperate."

Walnut struggled in Rabbit's hand: "Hey, Walnut doesn't need a bath. Walnut can lick itself clean. Cats don't need baths."

Rabbit pointed at Walnut's head and said, "You naughty child, if you don't take a proper bath, you'll be a dirty beast from now on. Fuzai won't like a dirty Walnut either."

Hearing what Rabbit God said, Walnut looked pitifully at Fuzai. Seeing this, Fuzai also advised, "Walnut, Mom and Dad said that children are cute when they are clean."

Upon hearing Fuzai's words, Walnut quickly replied, "Then Walnut will be the cat who loves taking baths the most from now on. Fuzai, don't hate Walnut!"

Rabbit thought to himself that if he had known Walnut cared so much about Lucky Boy, he wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to bathe Walnut; he could have just brought out Lucky Boy directly.

Tianlu proudly raised his head and said, "Haochen, I've washed myself clean. Do you want to touch me? I'll charge you five gold bars for an hour."

Tianlu's words made Haochen's eyes light up, and his claws began to twitch. Ever since Tianlu learned that he had gold bars, he would come to him from time to time to ask for gold bars to eat.

In order to make Tianlu cooperate when he petted it, allowing him to enjoy the fluffy feel, he offered to exchange gold bars for Tianlu's cooperation.

After doing it many times, Tianlu got used to selling his body in exchange for gold bars, and Haochen was happy with such a transaction.

After all, besides eating them himself, he also wanted these gold bars to prepare for Tianlu and for the future Bixie.

At this moment, the Qilin asked, "Haochen, did you find the goods that Diting wanted on your trip?"

Hao Chen nodded, then suddenly shrank, revealing the little fire dragon sleeping on his back: "Here, this is the guy."

The Qilin looked at the sleeping little fire dragon on the ground and wondered, "This guy looks strange, but he's different from the one in the picture. He's much smaller and doesn't have wings."

Hao Chen explained, "That's what he looks like when he grows up."

After speaking, Hao Chen looked around and, not seeing Di Ting, asked, "Where's Di Ting? Did it go back?"

The four-legged creature shook its head: "No, Di heard that it's not easy for him to come to the mortal world, so he planned to take the opportunity to see Bai Ze."

Hao Chen pursed his lips and said, "It really is a Di Ting. But I have a question: since Di Ting likes Bai Ze so much, why doesn't it pursue Bai Ze, just like Rabbit Lord boldly pursued you!"

"That's enough, Haochen. Rabbit and I are just ordinary friends, it's not what you think." The four-legged creature blushed slightly and quickly explained his relationship with Rabbit, after all, he couldn't let his innocence be misunderstood.

Hao Chen rolled his eyes, feeling a little disdainful. Who would believe you if you said you were just ordinary friends? You two often go to hot springs and watch movies together. You still say you're just ordinary friends?

However, Hao Chen only thought about it in his heart; he dared not say it out loud, otherwise he would probably have to squeeze in with Rabbit Lord Zhan Hu tonight.

Meanwhile, Hao Chen and the Four-Faced Beast's noise woke up the little fire dragon.

When the little dragon opened its eyes, apart from its older brother Hao Chen and the puppy Tian Lu, it didn't recognize the others like Rabbit Lord, Qilin, Walnut, and Fu Zai.

Therefore, when the little dragon saw so many beasts chatting and laughing around Hao Chen, he felt particularly bad. He hadn't expected to have so many competitors.

"Oh no, how did Big Brother find so many pretty boys? Besides that puppy Tianlu, Big Brother also found a rabbit, a deer spirit, a kitten, and a fox."

At this moment, Tianlu noticed that the little fire dragon had woken up and said, "Haochen, that lizard has woken up."

Before Hao Chen and the Four-Faced Beast could react to Tian Lu's words, the little fire dragon exploded: "You little puppy, who are you calling a lizard? I'm a dragon."

"Milk, puppy?" Tianlu pointed to himself in disbelief.

Charmander said without any politeness, "No need to point, I'm talking about you, you little puppy Tianlu."

"You wretched lizard, how dare you call me a puppy! I'm going to eat you!" Tianlu was furious. No one had ever dared to call him a puppy before. This was even more insulting to the Pixiu than calling him a dog directly.

Charmander retorted without hesitation: "You think I'm afraid of you, you little puppy? Come on, let's fight! Whoever wins gets to be the boss."

Upon hearing this, Qilin and Rabbit looked at Hao Chen in surprise. Rabbit asked in confusion, "Are you this guy's older brother?"

Hao Chen tapped the little dragon on the head: "What nonsense are you talking about? Who's yours?"

The little dragon, whose head had been hit, rolled its eyes, then immediately knelt down on the ground, acting like a drama queen, and cried out, "Big brother, what did I do wrong? You actually hit me for a puppy! Don't you want me anymore?"

"Hiss~ What nonsense are you talking about!" Hao Chen couldn't help but gasp when he heard the little fire dragon say that.

The little fire dragon didn't explain anything, but continued to pretend to cry about how Hao Chen had heartlessly abandoned him. The little fire dragon even had time to give Tian Lu a provocative look.

Tianlu's eyelids twitched as he watched. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable anger rising within him. Unable to contain himself any longer, he lunged forward and slapped the little fire dragon across the face.

With a loud "smack!", the little dragon touched his face in disbelief; he had really been slapped.

The next moment, the little fire dragon stopped acting and started fighting with Tianlu: "You little puppy, Big Brother is mine, you better stay away from him."

"You stinky lizard, Haochen would never like you. He loves sleeping with me the most."

This scene stunned the Four-Faced Beast, Rabbit God, Fuzai, and Walnut. For a moment, everyone forgot to step forward to break up the fight.

Hao Chen was stunned to see Tianlu and Little Fire Dragon fighting for him, but at the same time he felt a little smug.

However, when it came time to go to sleep at night, Hao Chen's secret joy turned into his troubles.