She looked at Xie Xiao, who was still staring at her without saying a word, as if he wanted to stare a hole through her face. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I think you really don't want to be friends with me."

Xie Xiao paused for a moment, then turned his gaze slightly away. "Heh, you noticed that too?" His voice trembled slightly, though he had managed to control it.

"Mm." Li Ruo nodded.

A surge of joy welled up inside Xie Xiao, who pressed his hand to his chest to keep the little deer in his heart from jumping out of his chest.

"How old are you?" Li Ruo asked.

Xie Xiao glanced around, a half-smirk playing on his lips. "Who asks this kind of question right away? If you're going to ask, at least find a secluded place."

Li Ruo: ...

Sun Ergou: I finally understand what "one is influenced by one's company" means. It turns out I've been led astray by my boss all along.

He knew the answer to that question, but Er Gou timidly reminded him, "Boss, the sis is asking about your age."

Xie Xiao was taken aback, then challenged him to a duel, "Of course I know, you're the one who needs to tell me."

"Well, I'm twenty-two. As for my birth date and time, I'll have to ask my mother." Luckily, his mother was in the village.

Li Ruo was a little confused. "The Eight Characters? In this special period, we should keep everything simple, so we don't need them, right?"

Xie Xiao glared at him: "Even if it's simplified, it can't be reduced to this extent. Without the eight-bearer sedan chair, what kind of nonsense is it for me not to give you your birth date and time! You give me your birth date and time too."

Is it really necessary to be so formal? Li Ruo laughed and said, "It's really not necessary. Anyway, we don't ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but we do ask to die on the same day, month, and year."

Xie Xiao's mouth gaped slightly. Ha, he had no idea that she liked him so much that they could die together.

There's no way around it; his charm is too overwhelming, like a never-ending flood, so it's no wonder she couldn't resist.

Li Ruo said, "I know you admire General Li. From now on, my father is your father. We can just pay our respects as a formality."

Xie Xiao: That's not wrong. A father-in-law is also a father.

"Okay then." Although it was still a bit rushed, the woman was so decisive, and his dawdling would seem pretentious.

Just then, the third leader shouted loudly from the doorway of the opposite house, "The noodles and chicken are ready! Come and eat!"

Li Ruoxin thought to herself, "It's truly a perfect storm of timing, location, and people. Look, there's noodles and chicken, we've got all the offerings."

She grabbed his wrist and led him toward the cabin.

"So eager, huh?" Xie Xiao's smile widened.

Although the brothers were a bit confused, seeing how worthless their leader was, they felt that no matter what, as long as their leader was happy, that was all that mattered.

The brothers went to invite Aunt Xie without the leader's permission.

Li Ruo asked the third leader to put the noodles and chicken outside, and also asked him for incense, wine and a bowl.

Before Xie Xiao could react, his finger was slashed.

"..."

He asked with a smile, "Is this a custom from General Li's hometown? Is it really that harsh?"

"Isn't this your custom?" Li Ruo dripped his blood into the bowl, then drained his own blood.

He stuck three incense sticks into the bowl and said, "Alright, since you're twenty-two, four years older than me, I'll reluctantly call you 'brother'."

In modern times, he would have to call her "sister".

Xie Xiao's smile froze on his lips.

He felt something was wrong after being slashed, and his eyes narrowed immediately. "Brother?"

"Yes, we'll become sworn brothers. From now on, my father will be your father, and you can openly and honestly respect him." There's no need to be secretive.

"A hero's origins are irrelevant; I don't mind if you're a bandit."

"Because I know that you will definitely not be an ordinary bandit in the future!"

Li Ruowei encouraged him repeatedly.

Xie Xiao's lips twitched: "...Thank you for thinking so highly of me!"

Half of the brothers were still laughing, while the other half, like their leader, were completely stunned.

The idiot half: Damn! Sworn brotherhood? Not marriage?

Fourth Leader: "Yeah, isn't it..." It would be awkward to say it out loud, so let's not.

Sun Ergou, who belonged to the first half and thought he was a sworn brother, grinned like a dog, "Boss, I knew it, my sister would become our brother and sister sooner or later."

But—oh dear, why does the eldest brother look so pale, like a gloomy sky about to rain outside?

Li Ruo looked at Xie Xiao, who was also staring at her with dark eyes and a pale face.

Holding her wine bowl, she urged, "Come on, what are you dawdling for?"

Actually, she also felt that Xie Xiao was acting a bit strangely, but since the blood had already been drawn and the incense had been burned, shouldn't the ceremony be carried out to the end?

Considering how much he admired General Li and even secretly sent food to the general's mansion, she made a great deal of effort to convince herself to become sworn brothers with him on her way to Black Wind Stronghold.

However, in the end, the ceremony could not proceed.

Xie Xiao suddenly laughed, clutching his stomach, "You guys go about your business, my wound has reopened, I'll lie down for a while."

After saying that, he collapsed to the ground and fainted.

"..."

"The boss, the boss!"

The brothers hurriedly carried their eldest brother into the house.

When Li Ruo looked, the wound had indeed reopened, and blood was seeping out.

Is this what they mean by "good things come to those who wait"?

Li Ruo quickly took out alcohol to clean his wounds and gave him anti-inflammatory medicine, but Xie Xiao still hadn't woken up.

The chicken is cold.

Remembering something, Li Ruo asked the fourth leader, "Besides that doctor, is there no one else here who knows medicine?"

The fourth leader thought for a moment, "There is one, but that girl is just a veterinarian. She caught a cold last night while helping a sow give birth and is now lying on the kang (heated brick bed)."

Li Ru's heart skipped a beat. "What's her last name?"

"His surname is Guan."

The female lead's surname isn't Guan, so is she not the female lead? Or is she hiding her identity? It's a bit different from the book.

In the book, the female lead took care of Xie Xiao during his first two injuries, which is why he recovered so quickly.

Saving lives was the priority, so Li Ruo didn't bother to investigate further. The doctor had gone to treat Ye Ling'er's injuries, so Li Ruo had no choice but to ask Sun Ergou to invite Liao Fusheng over.

Liao Fusheng arrived quickly, took Xie Xiao's pulse, and said, "Oh, it's nothing serious. Chief Xie just fainted because he was so angry. He's in good health, and as long as he rests, he'll wake up tomorrow."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But then again, what could have made the leader so angry? It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but he must have been so overjoyed that he laughed so hard he reopened his wound.

After thinking it over, Li Ruosi felt that Xie Xiao's expression during the sworn brotherhood ceremony was a bit off, so he asked Sun Ergou, "Did I misunderstand? Does your boss actually not want to be brothers with me?"