"We were just playing around," Xiao Yin mumbled.
"We didn't mean any harm," Xiao Yang added, his voice small.
Lin Mu sighed, rubbing his temples. "You two need to understand that not everyone will tolerate your antics. What if I hadn't arrived in time?"
The twins lowered their heads, clearly remorseful. "We're sorry, Master."
"What did you steal?" he asked next.
Lin Mu knew that the twins often went exploring with Little Shrubby and gathered anything interesting they found. Even in the city markets, they had bought a lot of trinkets and items they found intriguing. Lin Mu had given them more than enough money to spend, and since Little Shrubby guided them around, they had no issues. Plus, the people of the capital city were more than used to tamed beasts doing chores for their masters.
In fact, there were even many delivery services that employed various beasts to do the work.
But outside the order of the city, things were a lot more straightforward. As long as one had the strength, they could take whatever they wanted.
As beasts with proud and strong bloodlines, it was something innate within the twins, and they couldn't exactly go against it easily. Especially considering that they were still children.
In human age, they might be over forty years old, but for a beast that lived as long as they naturally would, they were the same as five-year-old children who just wanted to play. Of course, they did have the intelligence of fully grown adults due to being immortal beasts, but their personalities were something that would take longer to develop.
Even human children did the same, taking things without a care, not knowing that it was even stealing. Or, even if it was stealing, they still wouldn't have the capacity to understand that it was bad.
"We took some flowers," Xiao Yin spoke.
"And fruits," Xiao Yang added.
Lin Mu looked at the two, feeling like there was more.
"And bones," Xiao Yin admitted under the gaze of her master.
"What else?" Lin Mu was sure the two wouldn't stop at just this.
"A few shiny things," Xiao Yang added. "That's all."
"Is that accurate?" Lin Mu questioned the Blue Drake.
"Yes, Venerated Ancestor," the Blue Drake replied while keeping his head buried. "They took some Nine Petal Cerulean Lotuses, Mud-less Bright Fox Nut Fruits, bones of the prey I ate before, and some of the treasures and gemstones I had kept," he explained.
"Return them," Lin Mu ordered.
"Okay…" The twins heeded his words and took out all the items they had taken from their storage tools.
The Blue Drake looked at the items appearing out of thin air and was surprised. "So that's how you took them all without me noticing. And here I thought you swallowed them."
The Blue Drake, being a beast, didn't really use spatial storage tools. For a beast overlord of a region like him, there was no need for a human cultivator's tools, and he preferred to keep his wealth safe in the more 'orthodox' way of hoarding it up in a cave.
It was a habit that came from his bloodline, and he couldn't easily get rid of it.
The twins, of course, had sensed the massive amount of treasure hidden deep in the lake and decided to get it. They happened to arrive at just the time when the Blue Drake was out hunting, so there was no one to guard it. There were no security formations or protective methods either, other than the natural ones, such as the depth of the cave and the fact that no beast or human would usually dare to tread within the Blue Drake's territory.
Even the humans that lived nearby were wary of the beast and took the designated trade routes to avoid violating the rules set in the past. As long as they followed the rules, the Blue Drake would not do anything to them. This was also why the merchants had managed to trade with the Blue Drake and obtained materials mostly found in the Blue Drake Forest. They had a free pass to do their job in exchange for payments.
Because of this, the Blue Drake had managed to accumulate a lot of fortune during his time in the Dao Wind Empire.
"Check them," Lin Mu asked the Blue Drake.
"Your word is all that I need, Venerated Ancestor," the Blue Drake replied, not taking them right away. "If you wish for it, you can keep them all as tributes, Venerated Ancestor. Please think of them as gifts for your disciples," he added quickly.
While he would certainly be losing some amount, it was nothing pared to gaining favor from a being that had the Azure Dragon Bloodline within him. Of course, if the Blue Drake realized that Lin Mu only had the aura but not the actual bloodline, he would probably curse his luck.
Lin Mu turned back to Qu Ben. "I don't need the tributes; you can keep them." He then took a breath and continued. "I also apologize on their behalf. They are young and playful, but their intentions were not malicious."
"How can that be, Venerated Ancestor? It was I who overreacted!" Qu Ben flinched. "You needn't apologize to me for something as trivial as this."
"In fact… I humbly accept any punishment you deem fit." Qu Ben dove deep into bootlicking.
Lin Mu shook his head. "There is no need for punishment."
Qu Ben's sapphire eyes glimmered with gratitude. "Thank you for your mercy, Venerated Ancestor."
Seeing that the Blue Drake was in his own illusion, Lin Mu let it be and faced the twins.
"Good. Let this be a lesson for all of you," Lin Mu said firmly, addressing the twins.
The tension dissipated, and the once-hostile confrontation transformed into a moment of understanding.
With the situation resolved, Lin Mu finally turned to the elderly man at the scene who had been standing silently to the side.
"Who might you be?" Lin Mu asked, finding the old man familiar as well.
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