"Where does he live?!"

Su Tie became excited, "Ruyi, everything he said is right! Where does this old sage live? I must go and properly thank him for saving my life!"

“From what the old man said, it must be some kind of fairy mountain or cave, which we probably can’t go to on our own. And he said he gave you some of the spiritual herbs he’d been growing for a long time, and he was quite reluctant to part with them.” Su Ruyi continued, attributing all the credit to the fictitious old man.

"I knew it! My waist, legs, and arms were all broken, but now they're all fine! Human medicine definitely can't do this!" Su Tie's eyes gleamed.

"In my dream, the old man sternly warned us not to go up the back mountain again because there were wild beasts and it was dangerous. He also said that he had taken you to his house. He clearly told me that you would wake up yesterday and come back from the back mountain. So I went to the mountain pass early this morning to wait for you, but unfortunately, I was forcibly taken away by General Shen's guards!"

Su Ruyi shrugged, "As a result, by the time I got back, you'd already been snatched away by that Ding guy!"

"..."

Su Tie was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "Ruyi, I know Xiuping is lying to me. I think she probably discovered me by accident and took the blame for saving me. That girl is always so cunning."

Hearing Fifth Brother's somewhat indulgent words, Su Ruyi felt goosebumps all over her body.

"Fifth Brother, since you know, why don't you expose her?" Su Ruyi asked curiously.

“Ruyi, Xiuping is a pitiful person, but she is also very smart. She has lived alone since she was seven or eight years old. What kind of hooligans and scoundrels in the village hasn’t she dealt with? She’s only able to protect herself because of her intelligence!” Su Tie’s lips curled into a smile.

"How do you know she didn't save you?" Su Ruyi didn't want to talk about this with him and changed the subject.

“There was no trace of two people living in her shack, and in that tiny place, my head and feet were sticking out when I slept inside. How could I have gotten so pale?” Su Tie stretched out his hands.

Under the moonlight, the once dark and thin young man had indeed become much fairer and more muscular, with his muscles clearly much larger.

Su Ruyi then realized that perhaps because she was turning her fifth brother over every day, the changes were not obvious day by day, but compared with when she found her fifth brother, they were huge.

"Are you really going to marry her?" Su Ruyi felt that Su Tie seemed to have made up his mind, and at this moment she was in a state of turmoil.

"Yes, Ruyi, she's already carrying my child." Su Tie dropped this bombshell without warning.

"..." Su Ruyi staggered. "Are you sure... it's yours? You've been missing for so long..."

“I don’t think she would lie to me about something this big. Although she has some minor flaws, she has never made a mistake on matters of principle.”

Su Tie smiled and said, "Ruyi, you're going to have a little niece!"

"They even know the gender?" Su Ruyi was shocked.

"I don't know yet, but I hope it's a daughter. I want to raise my daughter well, to keep her from going hungry and being scolded, and to let her grow up happily. I want her to wear pretty dresses and braid her hair into cute little braids..." Su Tie said, his eyes already crinkling with laughter.

"When was the last time you had sex?" Su Ruyi didn't care about anything else; she felt that her fifth brother must be being cuckolded.

"Aren't you ashamed to ask such questions? What kind of questions are these for a young girl like you!" Su Tie blushed deeply with embarrassment.

"Fifth Brother, when you married Ding Xiuling, did you know she was pregnant?" Su Ruyi persisted.

“Isn’t she… fat?” Su Tie was dumbfounded.

“When I saw Ding Xiuling, she looked to be at least six or seven months pregnant.” Su Ruyi gave Su Tie a deep look.

"..." This time it was Su Tie's turn to be silent.

After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "It was just that one time with Xiuping, and she bled!"

Su Ruyi shook her head and sighed: "Fifth Brother, don't be angry. I heard from Master that Ding Xiuping started getting food and drink by having illicit relationships with some lazy men in the village when she was eleven or twelve years old."

"Those are all rumors!" Su Tie clenched his fist. "Dr. Jin is also an irresponsible old man. How could he spread such bad things about a young girl!"

“My master wasn’t just spreading rumors, because four years ago, Ding Xiuping went to one of his apprentices in Sanhe County to buy abortion pills, and my master happened to discover it in secret.” Su Ruyi steeled herself and told him anyway.

"No, that's impossible!" Su Tie gritted his teeth and said, "This is a rumor! It's slander! It's defamation!"

“It’s because my master’s disciple, my second senior brother, prescribed her an abortion pill. My master thought he was killing a living being, so he broke up with him, and the two of them never saw each other again.” Su Ruyi said softly, “My master told me about these things before, but he only told me tonight that the female patient who caused the falling out between him and his disciple was Ding Xiuping.”

"No! That's impossible! Your master must have mistaken me for someone else! Xiuping was still a virgin when she was with me!" Su Tie stared blankly ahead.

He had almost come to believe Su Ruyi's words in his heart, but emotionally he still couldn't accept it for the time being.

Ding Xiuping lived alone in a shack by the river and almost never went to work. Even on days when she had to work, she would just get by by gathering pig feed like a child.

But she not only had plenty to eat and drink, but also new clothes to wear from time to time.

She always told Su Tie that it was because her father had left her money before he died.

However, no amount of money can withstand such extravagant spending!

But when I think of Ding Xiuping's delicate and beautiful face, her soft and sweet voice, and her...

Su Tie suddenly slapped himself twice across the face.

I can't think about it anymore!

"Ruyi, what evidence do you have for what you're saying?" Su Tie felt his mind cool down.

"If you want evidence, why don't you investigate it yourself!" Seeing that her fifth brother had finally stopped acting impulsively, Su Ru let out a long breath, her heart settling back into her stomach. "Fifth brother, I'll help you however you want!"

"Let me think...let me think..." Su Tie squatted down, grabbed a blade of grass, and chewed it.

Two years of rural life have completely changed Su Tie; now he acts like a true farmer.

That night, Yu Min stayed in Jin Dachun's guest room.

Su Tie did not return to Ding Xiuping's shack by the Da Ding River, but instead slept in another guest room in the courtyard.

Su Ruyi took out the bedding that Su Tong had left behind and made it up for him.

Su Tie took a cold shower and got into bed.

The bedding was clean and had a faint scent of soap.

Su Tie covered his face and wept silently.