"Ling, let's go down. In a moment, lunch will be ready, and you need to stretch your limbs too."

"Sure."

Ye Ling tidied himself up and went down the stairs with her.

The sun was hotter than usual around noon. The house was surrounded by a thicket of tall bamboo which managed to prevent direct sunlight from hitting, so it actually was not too hot.

The gang sat by the table, patiently waiting for Ye Liu, Ye Mo, and Li Wazi to return for lunch.

Next to them, Little Lian was feeding Little Huzi minced pork congee that was specially made for him.

The minced pork in the congee had been cooked until it became soft enough for the baby.

With a diet of breast milk and complimentary food, Little Huzi was fed to the fullest during every meal. He had put on weight recently and was as chubby as they came, making him seem extra flattering and cute.

The more she noticed how cute the baby was as he ate his congee, the more she longed for her own baby to be born!

Everyone in the yard was paying close attention to Little Huzi. It was only when they heard Hei Xiaomeng's loud bark that they steered their gaze away.

She thought the men had come back, but when she looked past the gate, she saw Ye Yang instead.

"Yang?"

When she saw him, she flung herself at him excitedly. "Yang, you're finally back. I missed you a lot."

Ye Ling and Aunt Li went to greet him too. They helped take over the amount of game he had hunted.

On his shoulder was a small boar about sixty to seventy jin. In his basket, he carried several hares and pheasants.

"I'm filthy." Ye Yang gracefully avoided her touch.

He was sweaty all over. He had not had a bath in days, so there was a funky odor about him. The boar was freshly killed too, its blood spilled over his body. He did not want to stain his wife's fair skin and clean clothes.

Liu Duo twitched her jaw.

Filthy?

So what? I don't mind!

She could not be bothered by it now. After lunch, she would settle with him!

"Yang dear, you've hunted a lot of game, how can we finish it in time? We can't keep it for long," Aunt Li said as she unloaded his basket.

Ye Ling noticed that his brother had hunted a lot indeed. Softly, he said, "Aunt Li, you can take some home, and give a bit to Aunt Ye too, as well as Liu Duo's parents. We can keep whatever's left."

Ye Yang had no objection to that. He silently set his game aside and went to wash up by the well.

"Yang, why don't you take a bath? I'll get some clothes down for you," Liu Duo said before going upstairs.

He would not let her touch him because he considered himself filthy. Surely, a bath would take care of that, right?

She had wanted to give him a hug just now, but he avoided her!

How frustrating.

Nevertheless, she felt lucky that Ye Yang had returned safe and sound.

After his bath, Ye Yang came out refreshed and sat down indoors, his handsome face void of expression, as usual.

He had noticed just now when he came back that Ling looked different, so he asked, "Were you sick?"

"I was." Ye Ling nodded with a bit of regret. "But I'm all better now, so don't worry, Yang."

Ye Yang turned to his wife, looking for an explanation.

Ye Liu and Ye Mo were nowhere to be found either. Ye Yang was a little surprised and puzzled, but he did not bring it up.

He was never worried about Liu and Mo. He knew they could handle anything. He had only ever been worried about their youngest brother, Ling.