Chapter 59 : Doubts

Jiang Aimin stood next to Chen Banghua, his expression clearly showing concern.

“No, our injuries aren’t serious. Most of the blood on us is from the wild boars. We just need to go back and apply some medicine,” Chen Banghua said quickly.

“The smell of blood here is too strong, we should leave as soon as possible,” Yun Siying reminded them, scanning the area.

“Siying is right. If you two still have some strength, carry one of the wild boars down the mountain. Otherwise, the blood on our clothes will be hard to explain,” Chen Banghua said to Li Dazhuang and Jiang Aimin.

“Leave it to us. Thank you for saving our lives today.” The two bowed deeply, then picked up the most injured wild boar and began heading down the mountain.

Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua leaned on each other and followed closely behind. Yun Siying took up the rear. After walking a short distance, she discreetly used her mental power to store all the remaining wild boars into her personal space. Then she used her wood ability to grow plants over the bloodstains, concealing all traces of the scene.

—

“Director Liao, how is the investigation going into the false hospital records involving Yun Siying and Shu Ruxue?” Nangong Ruochen sat in the director’s office, facing Director Liao.

“Captain Nangong, this is everything we’ve uncovered over the past few days,” Director Liao said, handing over a file.

Nangong Ruochen flipped through the report, his brows furrowing. “Is this information accurate?”

“It is. I personally questioned the two nurses and the midwife involved. Xu Ziying gave birth to a child who died about six months ago. The three staff members received money both before and after the birth. They were instructed to claim she had given birth to a girl if anyone asked. They may have accidentally mixed up the identities of two children. Although the couple didn’t take a child with them when discharged, I contacted the captain of the Hongxing Brigade. He confirmed that the couple returned home with a baby that day.”

“…Keep this matter confidential for now,” Nangong Ruochen said, leaving with a puzzled expression. If Xu Ziying’s child had died, then whose child was Siying? And how did Shu Ruxue end up with Li Gang and his wife?

One thing was certain, Siying was not Li Gang’s biological daughter. There must be secrets about Li Gang they had yet to uncover.

—

Meanwhile, far away in the army, Nangong Ruoyi had learned why Siying had once stayed in a guesthouse. It turned out she wasn’t the Shu family’s biological child. Ever since Shu Ruxue returned to the Shu family, she had constantly slandered and framed Siying. Eventually, Siying had been whipped by Aunt Tang, leaving her body covered in wounds. No one tended to her for an entire day and night.

Her wounds became infected, leading to a high fever of 40°C . She eventually walked out of the house on her own and was taken to a clinic by a kind neighbor. Later, she volunteered to go to the countryside in place of Shu Ruxue to repay the Shu family for raising her. She also publicly severed ties with them through a published announcement.

When he saw the countryside address, he was surprised wasn’t that the same place his brother had been sent to? It seemed he would need to write a letter asking his brother to look after her and to send her the money he had promised.

She had left the Shu family with nothing but the money earned from selling her work. No wonder she’d acted so desperate for money that day.

—

As Li Dazhuang and the others carried the wild boar down the mountain, some villagers working in the fields saw them from afar.

“Yunfeng, Hongying aren’t those your Dazhuang and Aimin? Looks like they’re carrying a wild boar!”

At the sound of the shout, all the villagers stopped what they were doing and looked up. The word “wild boar” had caught everyone’s attention.

“They really did kill a wild boar! Uncles, brothers let’s go help carry it down!”

“Okay, let’s go.” The strong men put down their tools and rushed toward the edge of the forest.

Others followed behind. After all, it was a wild boar they’d be having meat tonight.

When they saw the three blood-covered people coming down the mountain, everyone was shocked. Someone shouted in alarm, “Three people are injured by wild boars! Go notify the village captain so they can be sent to the hospital!”

“I’ll go call the captain right away!” a young man said, sprinting off.

Soon, the villagers gathered in front of the group. Seeing Yun Siying and the others covered in blood was a frightening sight. Li Hongying stepped forward anxiously and asked, “Siying, are you hurt? Is it serious?”

“Don’t worry, Aunt, I’m fine. The blood on me is from the wild boars. Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua are slightly injured nothing serious,” Yun Siying replied. She noticed that while some villagers were genuinely concerned, most of their attention was on the wild boar.

“I’m so glad you’re not hurt. We were scared to death,” said Wang Yunfeng, looking at the three with relief after seeing her own son was safe.

Li Dazhuang and Jiang Aimin put down the wild boar, panting for breath. Jiang Aimin said, “Mom, Comrade Yun and the others saved Dazhuang and me today. If they hadn’t killed that wild boar, we wouldn’t have made it back alive.”

“Yeah, Mom, Brother Aimin’s right. We wandered a bit too far today and unexpectedly ran into a whole group of wild boars twenty of them, all adults. It was incredibly dangerous. Luckily, Yun Siying and the other two managed to kill them all,” Li Dazhuang added, still shaken by the memory.

“What? Twenty wild boars? That’s a huge amount of meat, it could feed the whole village for ages!”

“Li Dazhuang, are you just making things up? There were only three of you and one is a female educated youth. How could the three of you have that much power?”

“If you really killed that many wild boars, why’d you only bring back one?”

“Li Goudan, quit spouting nonsense. The deep mountains are full of wild beasts. Dazhuang and the others risked their lives to carry even one boar down, and you think that’s not enough? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is up there? If you’re so capable, why don’t you go kill a few wild boars yourself and share them with the village? Then maybe I’ll call you a real man,” a middle-aged man snapped, clearly displeased.

“Uncle Li, I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously,” Li Goudan quickly backtracked, clearly terrified. He was most afraid of this second uncle. If he said another word, he’d probably get beaten with a stick at home, just thinking about it hurt. Better to keep quiet!

“It wasn’t as dramatic as Dazhuang made it sound,” Yun Siying said, stepping in to stop him from saying anything more. “We only killed two wild boars and got a few injuries in the process. We were worried the smell of blood would attract predators, so we rushed down the mountain. The three of us grew up in military families and learned a few tricks from our elders, but even so, after fighting off two boars, we were completely exhausted and could only bring one back.”

“Dazhuang just saw that everyone was in a good mood and wanted to joke around,” Jiang Aimin added quickly, realizing the three didn’t want the full story revealed. “The wild boars we left behind were probably eaten by other animals by now. It’s really dangerous up in the mountains, so I don’t recommend anyone going up there.”

Although Li Dazhuang didn’t understand why they were downplaying the situation, he always followed Jiang Aimin’s lead. Scratching his head with a sheepish grin, he said, “It’s not the first time I’ve brought back a wild boar. I got a bit proud and wanted to show off a little.”