Chapter 46: Borrowing Little Fifth Girl’s Fortune

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“Li siblings cannot be kept.”

On the way back, Old Madam Su murmured solemnly.

…

Su Residence, Guest Room.

After simply bandaging Zhang Hongzhuang and Little Dou’er’s injuries, Li Sumei said heavily, “Uncle and Little Dou’er have serious internal bleeding. We don’t have enough medicinal herbs. We’re missing turmeric, notoginseng, and lithospermum. We need to find these herbs quickly to stop the bleeding.”

Old Madam Su grew anxious. “Then… then hurry into the city—”

Li Sumei shook her head. “The city gates are locked at this hour. We can’t get in. We’ll probably have to go up the mountain instead. But even in the best case, without these herbs to stop the bleeding, uncle and Little Dou’er won’t make it past three hours.”

These herbs were typically found in winter, common in their Central Plains hometown, but it was uncertain whether they could be found here.

“Damn it! Just crippling Li Ergou’s hand was too lenient!”

No one had expected the situation to be so critical. Second Brother Su cursed in regret.

Old Madam Su looked at the unconscious Zhang Hongzhuang lying on the heated brick bed and at the wind and snow outside the window, her heart filled with inner turmoil.

In the end, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists. “Everyone, go eat and sleep. I’ll keep watch here.”

“Mom, let me—”

Wu Chunhe, Fourth Brother Su, and Fifth Brother Su wanted to go up the mountain, but Li Sumei noticed something was off about her mother-in-law’s expression. She gave them a look and pulled them outside, hiding near the door to eavesdrop.

They saw Old Madam Su sitting quietly at the bedside, sighing. She held Zhang Hongzhuang’s hand, her aged, weary eyes red and wet. In a hoarse voice, she said, “Little brother, don’t worry. It’s not that your sister wants to let you die. But look at the weather outside. Anyone who goes up the mountain now is basically walking to their death. Since we got Little Fifth Girl, our family’s luck has improved, but I can’t ask my sons and daughters-in-law to risk their lives for you. They owe you nothing. Still… I recognize those herbs. Later, I’ll sneak into the mountains myself. If I really can’t find them… I’ll come back and see you off one last time…”

Hearing this, the Su family was shocked.

“Mom actually wants to send us away and go into the mountains alone? Isn’t that a death wish?!”

Wu Chunhe suggested, “Should I go in and tie her up?”

Second Brother Su twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Wife, are you looking to experience what it’s like to be beaten by Mom?”

Wu Chunhe elbowed him. “What are you saying? If you’ve got the skills, then conjure up the herbs!”

Second Brother Su scratched his head. “I… sigh, I really think crippling Li Ergou’s hand was too easy! If I’d known uncle would be this badly hurt, I should’ve killed him on the spot!”

Wu Chunhe rolled her eyes at him.

While the couple bickered, Fifth Brother Su suddenly thought of something. Instinctively, he touched the protective charm pouch hanging over his chest and rushed into the room, ignoring everyone’s surprised looks. He rummaged through Zhang Hongzhuang’s body until he found the pouch that Liu Yingying had used to place a charm inside. When he opened it—swish—the charm inside had turned into a blank sheet of paper!

In that instant, Fifth Brother Su felt a chill on his scalp.

“Fifth, what are you doing?”

Old Madam Su was startled and quickly snatched the charm to return it to the pouch, but when she saw it had become a blank piece of paper, she froze. “This is…?”

“Mom, just as I thought! Last time I caught a thief in the cellar, Li Ergou almost killed me with one slash. It was this charm that activated and saved me. That’s why I wasn’t harmed. That night, I discovered the charm had turned into a blank piece of paper. The symbols that Little Fifth Girl drew had disappeared completely. I just remembered that uncle might be in the same situation. Sure enough!”

Fifth Brother Su quickly explained, then glanced gratefully at his daughter in the cradle, who was chewing on her little foot. “If our girl hadn’t given her great-uncle that protective charm, he might’ve died from Li Ergou’s punch tonight.”

The Su family members eavesdropping outside couldn’t sit still after hearing this. They all pulled out their own charms to check. Fortunately, their charms were intact, the symbols still there. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Sumei, grasping the meaning, immediately picked up her daughter from the cradle and stared intently at Fifth Brother Su. “Renxiao, what do you mean? You want to take our daughter up the mountain?”

Fifth Brother Su nodded. “Yes, wife. Our daughter really does carry some kind of fortune. The charm she casually drew could protect both me and uncle from danger. If it were only me, it might be a coincidence. But two people? That’s no coincidence.”

Then he turned to Fourth Brother Su. “Fourth Brother, do you remember the last time we went hunting in the mountains? Right after we set the traps, a wild boar fell in. We chased it and even found chestnuts. We’ve hunted many times before, but only twice has something like that happened—once on the day Little Fifth Girl was born when we found a dairy goat and sweet potatoes, and the second time when we took her up the mountain and caught that wild boar.”

Fourth Brother Su thought back and was stunned. “You’re right! Sister-in-law, maybe we should let Fifth take the child up the mountain and give it a try?”

This was a matter of life and death. Li Sumei couldn’t argue further, but still worried deeply. She turned to Old Madam Su. “Mom, what do you think?”

Truthfully, the ones who interacted with Little Fifth Girl the most weren’t her or Fifth Brother Su, but Old Madam Su and Liu Yingying.

There was no need to ask Liu Yingying—of course she was against it. As soon as Fourth Brother Su spoke, she pinched him and glared.

Old Madam Su said nothing.

She thought back to when her granddaughter clashed with the nanny of Ying-jie on the main ship and discovered the golden silkworm parasite.

She also remembered when they’d moved into the Yun family estate. Her grandson said his sister had caught a snake under the ginkgo tree, but afterward, no one could find that snake no matter how they searched.

The Yan family would never lie. They had thought the snake was hiding in the tree and chopped it down, but still found nothing. Thinking back now, that snake was most likely dealt with by Little Fifth Girl.

Thinking of this, Old Madam Su looked at Li Sumei. “Fifth daughter-in-law, this is a serious matter. Let me ask the child, okay? If Little Fifth Girl doesn’t agree, I swear I won’t insist or let Fifth take her up the mountain.”

Li Sumei pursed her lips and handed Little Su Huan to Old Madam Su.

After becoming a baby again, even a cultivator ancestor would occasionally become naive and slow.

Little Su Huan was wiping away her drool in Grandma Su’s arms when she was asked whether they could borrow her fortune to go into the mountain and find herbs to save her great-uncle and Little Dou’er. She finally understood the situation. Then she saw her dad holding a charm that had turned white—obviously it had protected her great-uncle—and her chubby baby face turned solemn. She clenched her little fists and nodded, “Yiya!”

Old Madam Su couldn’t believe it. “Sweet granddaughter, did you… agree?”

Little Su Huan nodded again. “Yiya~”

“That’s wonderful, Yanhuan! Grandma thanks you on behalf of your great-uncle!”

Old Madam Su teared up with joy and couldn’t help calling her by name.

If Little Su Huan weren’t still so young, she would’ve gotten down on her knees and worshipped her like a god.

“Yiya-yiya~”

Little Su Huan wiped away her tears and waved her tiny hand, indicating she wasn’t used to emotional displays, making Old Madam Su laugh through her tears.

Actually, saving people benefitted her too.

Ready-made virtue—why not collect it?

Besides, she wasn’t short on herbs in her space. It was better to have the Su family gather them from the mountain than produce them out of thin air, which would make them lazy and reliant.

No one knew what Little Su Huan was thinking. They only felt this tiny child was so great at this moment. All her uncles, aunts, and four brothers looked at her with genuine admiration.

Liu Yingying couldn’t help but sigh, “Our Little Fifth Girl is so kindhearted at such a young age. Maybe one day, she’ll save the world.”

Save the world?

Little Su Huan’s eyes lit up. That was an extremely rare and mighty act of virtue!

If she’d had a chance like that in her past life, she’d have ascended already.

Seeing her grape-like eyes sparkle with longing, the Su family all chuckled, completely in love with her.

Li Sumei felt both helpless and comforted. She put the hood and little mittens back on her daughter, wrapped her in a small padded jacket, and helped her into her little cotton shoes. Then she used straps to tightly fasten the shoes and gloves around her wrists and ankles, securing her sleeves as well. Afterward, she wrapped her in a cloak to ensure she wouldn’t get cold. Only then did she take the baby carrier and find a comfortable position to fasten the child to Su Laowu’s chest.

At the beginning of the Hai hour (around 9 p.m.), Su Laowu, Old Madam Su, Wu Chunhe, and Su Lao’er donned their cloaks and took Little Fifth Girl up the mountain.

Before setting off, Su Laowu promised Li Sumei, “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely protect our daughter. Whether we find the medicinal herbs or not, I’ll bring her back in an hour.”

“Go ahead, and keep a close eye on both our daughter and Mother.”

Li Sumei gently stroked her daughter’s little head and reminded him softly. She handed him a torch and stuffed a jar of warming wine into his hands. Then, together with Su Laosan and the couple Su Laosi, she walked them to the door to see them off.