At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

The night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind was as sharp as a knife.

Su Mu carried a lantern and walked alone into the prison corridor.

The light from the lanterns flickered in the dim passage, casting intermittent light on the walls on either side.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell and the stench of rust, and rats scurried across the corner of the wall.

At the end of the corridor was a heavy iron door with three large padlocks.

When the soldiers guarding the prison saw Su Mu, they immediately stood at attention and saluted.

"General Su!"

Su Mu nodded and said hoarsely, "Open it."

The soldier took out a key, unlocked the three large locks, and pushed open the iron gate.

Su Mu walked in, and the light from the lanterns illuminated the interior of the cell.

Tuoba Han and Tuoba Lie were imprisoned in the same cell, separated by an iron bar.

The two men sat against the wall, their feet shackled and wearing only thin prison clothes, their faces turning blue from the cold winter night.

Upon seeing Su Mu walk in, Tuoba Han's body tensed slightly, and a hint of wariness flashed in his eyes.

Tuoba Lie slowly opened his eyes, looked calmly at Su Mu, and smiled slightly with a bitter expression.

"General Su, what brings you here so late?"

Tuoba Lie's voice was somewhat tired, but his tone remained calm.

"It's too dark, please light some lamps for the two princes."

The jailer behind him nodded and then quickly lit the oil lamp hanging on the wall.

Su Mu smiled, walked closer to the cell door, and said:

"I couldn't sleep, so I came to check on you all."

Tuoba Han snorted, leaned back against the wall, closed his eyes, and said nothing more.

Tuoba Lie shifted his body, straightened his back, and looked directly at Su Mu.

"General Su, please speak frankly."

Su Mu stared at Tuoba Lie, his eyes filled with admiration and regret.

"Tuoba Lie, I have a question for you."

"Please speak."

"If you were to replace your elder brother and become the King of the Northern Barbarians, what would you plan to do?"

Tuoba Lie's brows furrowed suddenly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He didn't expect Su Mu to suddenly ask this question.

"General Su, what do you mean by this?"

Su Mu did not answer, but continued to look at him with an unfathomable depth in his eyes.

Tuoba Lie remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"If I were the King of the Northern Di, my first priority would be to reform the domestic administration, appease the people, and cease the aggressive military campaigns."

"Secondly, we should make peace with the surrounding tribes and allow them to recuperate and thrive."

"Third, negotiate peace with the Great Qian, demarcate the borders, and agree not to invade each other. What the Northern Di need is peaceful development, not endless war."

Su Mu smiled and said with an approving tone:

"You're right. If you were the king of the Northern Di, the Northern Di would be stronger than it is now, and there wouldn't be so many wars. What a pity."

Tuoba Lie gave a bitter smile.

"General Su, are you praising me or insulting me?"

Su Mu didn't respond, but changed the subject, and the temperature in his eyes suddenly dropped.

"I've come to tell you some news."

Tuoba Lie's heart sank.

"What news?"

"A scout reports..."

"Sikong Yu has been beheaded by your Northern Di King for 'disrupting morale and undermining the army's fighting spirit'."

The cell was deathly silent.

Tuoba Han suddenly opened his eyes, and the color drained from his face instantly.

Tuoba Lie was also very shocked.

"Sikong Yu...is he dead?"

Su Mu didn't speak, he just nodded.

Tuoba Han suddenly stood up, the shackles rattling. He rushed to the iron fence, grabbed the bars with both hands, his face pale and his eyes wide open.

"Has our brother gone mad? We sent Sikong Yu back, and he actually killed him? He doesn't care about the lives of us brothers at all!"

His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, filled with anger and despair.

"His only thought was of his empire!"

Tuoba Lie remained silent.

He sat quietly, head down, shoulders trembling slightly.

It wasn't fear, it was anger, it was heartbreak.

He understood his elder brother, Tuoba Feng.

Ambitious and ruthless.

Killing Sikong Yu would cut off the path to peace talks.

This means that tomorrow, an army of 100,000 will be at the city gates.

And the two brothers will become sacrifices before the war.

"Brother...you're too ruthless..." Tuoba Lie muttered to himself.

Su Mu stood up, picked up the lantern, and turned to walk towards the prison gate.

"General Su!" Tuoba Han called out to him, his voice urgent, "What do you intend to do with us?"

Su Mu stopped walking without turning around.

You'll find out tomorrow.

He walked out of the cell, and the iron door slammed shut behind him.

The lock clicked shut, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

Only Tuoba Han and Tuoba Lie remained in the prison cell.

The candlelight flickered, casting their shadows on the wall, sometimes large, sometimes small.

Tuoba Han slumped against the wall, his hand slipping off the iron railing, feeling as if all his energy had been drained away.

"Third brother, do you think eldest brother will withdraw his troops to save us?"

Tuoba Lie did not answer.

Tuoba Han gave a wry smile, having already provided the answer himself.

He slammed his fist against the wall, sending brick fragments flying, breaking his knuckles, and blood streaming down the wall.

"Damn it! Damn it! I, Tuoba Han, have served him for so many years, and in the end, he doesn't even care about our lives!"

Tuoba Lie raised his head and looked at Tuoba Han's ferocious face, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

He remained silent.

At this moment, Tuoba Han's eyes lit up, and an idea came to him. He said, "Third brother, if you can escape and take advantage of the royal court's weakness to seize power from eldest brother, negotiate peace with Su Mu, and then rescue me, what do you think of this plan?"

Tuoba Lie was stunned.

Tuoba Han continued, "Su Mu just said that you are the most suitable person to be the King of the Northern Di. You are smarter than your elder brother, more strategic, and more popular. If you become king, the Northern Di will definitely become stronger."

Tuoba Lie shook his head, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.

Seeing this, Tuoba Han said urgently, "We can negotiate with him! Use me as a hostage, and we'll let you secretly return to the Northern Barbarians."

"While your elder brother is personally leading the expedition and the royal court is vulnerable, you should gather your old troops and seize power."

"Then, as the new king, you will negotiate peace with Su Mu..."

"Third brother, think about it. Eldest brother even killed Sikong Yu. He doesn't care about our lives at all."

"If the battle begins tomorrow, Su Mu will definitely push us to the front lines as hostages. Will our elder brother retreat? No! He'll just have his men fire arrows, killing us all along! Is it worth it for us to die at his hands?"

"But if you become the King of the Northern Barbarians, you can save the Northern Barbarians and also save my second brother. Su Mu is not an unreasonable person; he will agree."

Tuoba Lie remained silent.

He lowered his head, looking at the shackles on his feet, the thin prison clothes on his body, and the flickering oil lamp on the wall.

Seeing Tuoba Lie's silence, Tuoba Han assumed he was tempted and quickly said, "Third brother, don't hesitate any longer! The opportunity will be fleeting! I'll call for someone right now to bring Su Mu back..."

That's enough.

Tuoba Lie suddenly raised his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, his voice filled with rebuke.

Tuoba Han was startled by his gaze and involuntarily took a step back.

"Third brother, you..."

Tuoba Lie slowly stood up, looked at Tuoba Han, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Second Brother, what kind of person do you take me for, Tuoba Lie?"

"Although I am in prison and my life is uncertain, I have never thought of betraying the Northern Barbarians or my own people."

His chest heaved violently, and his voice grew louder and louder.

"You want me to seize power while the royal court is weak? What's the difference between that and treason? What's the difference between that and those usurpers? I, Tuoba Lie, would rather die than be a traitor!"

Tuoba Han froze, his face pale, speechless.

"Second brother, life and death are preordained. If eldest brother wants to kill me, I accept it; if Su Mu wants to kill me, I also accept it."

"But I cannot betray the Northern Barbarians, nor my own flesh and blood."

As he spoke, tears welled up in Tuoba Lie's eyes.

The cell fell silent.

Tuoba Han opened his mouth, wanting to persuade him again.

But he knew that once his third brother made up his mind, no one could change it.

Just then...

A crisp sound of weapons clashing came from the direction of the prison door, followed by a muffled thud of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Tuoba Lie suddenly turned around, his pupils shrinking.

In the corridor outside the cell door, two dark figures emerged from the darkness, moving with ghostly speed, and arrived at the cell door in the blink of an eye.

"Your Highness! We are late, please forgive us!"

The leader was dressed in a gray robe, with white hair and a gaunt face. He held a long sword with undried blood on its blade.

When Tuoba Lie saw that face, his eyes suddenly lit up with surprise.

"Old Xue? What are you doing here?"

The visitor was Xue Wuchen.

The Central Plains swordsman he took in in the Northern Barbarians, the master who taught him the Flowing Water Divine Sword, the elder he regarded as a close friend.

He never expected that Xue Wuchen would dare to come to the Mozhou prison to rescue him.

"Your Highness, this place is not safe to stay any longer. Let's leave first!" Xue Wuchen cleaved the chains on the prison door with his sword. The iron lock snapped, and the prison door swung open with a clang.

Behind him followed a dozen masked assassins in black, each wielding a sharp blade and with piercing eyes.

They were all trusted confidants of Tuoba Lie, who had cultivated relationships with the Northern Barbarians for many years. Each of them was highly skilled in martial arts and extremely loyal.

Tuoba Lie stood still, without moving.

He looked at Xue Wuchen's weathered face and the bodyguards behind him who had risked their lives to save him, and his eyes reddened slightly.

"Old Xue, you...you shouldn't have come. The outside is full of Su Mu's men. Once you come, you won't be able to leave."

Xue Wuchen urged, "Your Highness, stop talking about this! Let's go! Su Mu has deployed most of his troops to the city walls and camps, leaving the prison unguarded. This is our only chance!"

Tuoba Han also stood up, his face full of excitement, and tugged at Tuoba Lie's sleeve.

"Third brother, let's go! Let's go quickly!"

Tuoba Lie gritted his teeth, glanced back at the empty cell, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the cell.

"Walk."

Xue Wuchen waved his hand, and more than a dozen men in black escorted Tuoba Lie and Tuoba Han away from the prison!