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

"Grandpa, what happened to us?"

Xiao Zhi Qiu rubbed his temples, opened his eyes groggily, and saw Su Mu squatting in front of him, looking completely bewildered.

"My head is so dizzy... I feel terrible..."

Su Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that she was awake.

He pointed to the corpses on the ground: "These people drugged your breakfast, trying to kidnap you and send you to some Tiger Head Mountain."

"What?"

Xiao Zhi Qiu followed his hand and looked over, then sat up in surprise.

There were seven or eight corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, their blood still wet.

Xiao Zhi Qiu was instantly jolted awake, her face turning deathly pale. She grabbed her sister's arm and shook her violently, crying, "Sister! Sister, wake up! Something's happened!"

Xiao Zhixia was shaken back and forth by her, and finally opened her eyes with a frown.

"Sis, look!"

Xiao Zhixia followed her sister's finger and looked over, her pupils suddenly contracting.

The ground was littered with corpses and blood.

She instinctively covered her mouth, swallowing back the scream that was about to rise in her throat.

"What... what's going on?"

"I don't know either!" Xiao Zhi Qiu shook his head, his voice trembling.

The two sisters' gazes fell on Su Mu simultaneously.

Su Mu stood to one side, leaning on his horse-slaying saber, his body hunched over.

He slowly began to speak, recounting the whole story.

Drugged, tied up, sent to Tiger Head Mountain, he intervened, one by one slashed...

Xiao Zhixia and Xiao Zhiqi felt a chill run down their spines.

Seven or eight strong men, armed with knives and in their prime, were all killed by a centenarian as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

If Xiao Zhi Qiu hadn't witnessed Su Mu kill the Northern Di general with a single blow, he would never have believed it.

"Thank you so much, sir, for saving my life again." Xiao Zhixia stood up and respectfully cupped her hands in thanks.

"The world is a dangerous place, and the society is in chaos." Su Mu's voice was earnest and earnest. "You two girls need to be more careful in the future. You won't always be able to find someone to rescue you."

Xiao Zhixia nodded solemnly: "Grandpa's teachings are correct, we will remember them."

Xiao Zhi Qiu, however, was not as composed as her sister.

She kicked the dishes on the table, sending shards of porcelain flying all over the floor, and angrily shouted towards the counter, "Manager! Come out here!"

She wanted to settle accounts with this shady establishment.

If the shopkeeper hadn't conspired with those people to drug them, how could they have fallen for it?

"No need to shout anymore," Su Mu's voice came from behind. "The shopkeeper and the waiter have both been killed by that group of people."

When Su Mu went to the kitchen to get water to give them medicine to induce vomiting, he found the bodies of the shopkeeper and the waiter in the backyard.

Those people had already committed heinous acts in order to plunder the post station.

Xiao Zhi Qiu opened his mouth, wanting to curse, but in the end he only managed to utter one sentence: "In this world... it's not uncommon for thieves to double-cross each other."

"Take your things, let's get going." Su Mu turned around and walked towards the stairs. After taking two steps, he stopped and turned back to say, "I'll escort you to the fork in the road to the north. From here on, you'll have to walk on your own."

The two sisters exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and turned to go upstairs to pack their luggage.

Su Mu knocked on the door and said, "Qingxue, I'm leaving."

Su Qingxue stood up, picked up her packed bundle, opened the door, and followed closely behind her grandfather.

He turned around, picked up his broadsword, and went downstairs.

Before leaving, Su Mu searched the leader's corpse for a while and found a few silver ingots and a bag of loose silver.

That was ill-gotten gains that this group of people had looted from the post station; it must have been at least a hundred taels.

He stuffed the silver into Su Qingxue's bundle, patted it, and said nothing.

The four men mounted their horses and left the post station.

The morning breeze was cool and clear, dispelling the strong stench of blood behind them.

……

An hour later, they arrived at the crossroads.

The road on the left leads to Qinghe County.

The road on the right leads north to the capital.

Su Mu reined in the horse.

Old Ma stopped, snorted, and his breath dispersed in the morning mist.

Xiao Zhixia and Xiao Zhiqi also reined in their horses, turned them around, and looked at Su Mu.

"Grandpa," Xiao Zhixia clasped her hands in greeting, "it's still a few days' journey from here to Qinghe County, please be careful along the way."

Su Mu nodded.

He turned to look at Xiao Zhixia and Xiao Zhiqi, reminding them, "It's a long way from here to the capital."

"Be very careful on your journey. The world is not peaceful. If you can avoid it, take a detour. Don't be reckless and don't meddle in other people's business."

He paused, his gaze falling on Su Qingxue.

"Also... please take good care of Qingxue for this old man."

Su Mu loosened the reins, clasped his thin hands together, and solemnly bowed to the two young girls.

"I entrust this matter to you two."

Xiao Zhixia's eyes immediately reddened.

She dismounted, knelt on one knee, clasped her hands in return, and said firmly, "Grandpa, you have saved my sister and me twice. You are our savior. We can never repay this kindness in our lifetime."

"We will definitely bring Qingxue back to the capital safely and take good care of her. Don't worry!"

Xiao Zhi Qiu dismounted and replied with a grin, "That's right! Grandpa, you can rest assured, from now on, Qing Xue is our own little sister!"

Su Mu looked at the two little girls, his eyes slightly reddening.

"Alright." Su Mu's voice trembled slightly. "After I finish the war, I will definitely come to the capital to find you."

Su Qingxue could no longer hold back.

She threw herself into her grandfather's arms, clutching his clothes tightly with her little hands, burying her face in his chest, her shoulders trembling, crying silently.

Su Mu hugged his granddaughter, his withered hand gently patting her back.

One, one, another.

His movements were slow and gentle, as if he were caressing a rare treasure.

"Qingxue, be good." His voice became hoarse. "Grandpa doesn't abandon you. Grandpa has to take care of something important. Once it's done, I'll come to the capital to pick you up."

"It's safer for you to go to the capital with your two older sisters than with Grandpa."

Su Qingxue looked up, her eyes blurred with tears, at her grandfather's wrinkled face and his full head of white hair...

Then she nodded frantically, choking back tears, and said, "Grandpa, you must come to pick me up... you must come..."

Su Mu helped his granddaughter up from his arms and wiped the tears from her face with his sleeve.

Xiao Zhixia walked over and took Su Qingxue's hand.

Su Qingxue kept turning back to look at herself, tears streaming down her face.

Su Mu waved to her, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Xiao Zhixia and the other two mounted their horses. Su Qingxue sat in front of Xiao Zhixia, her small hands tightly gripping the horse's mane, her eyes fixed on her grandfather.

"Grandpa, take care!"

Su Qingxue's voice was carried away by the wind.

"drive!"

The two horses neighed and galloped off towards the capital.

Dust billowed, obscuring their figures.

Su Mu, mounted on his horse, hunched over, gazed at the road the three had taken for a very long time.

Until the dust settled, there was no one left on the road.

He slowly withdrew his gaze.

"drive!"

Su Mu spurred his horse, and the warhorse neighed loudly, galloping towards Qinghe County.

……

On the way to Qinghe County, there were Northern Di people everywhere.

He rode his black warhorse, along mountain paths and through dense forests in valleys, avoiding main roads, wandering around, hiding during the day and venturing out at night.

On the tenth day at dusk, he finally found the military camp.

On a barren hill, Su Mu reined in his horse.

The setting sun sank behind him, turning half the sky a dark red.

Below the hill lies a wide, flat area.

On the flat ground, the camps stretched as far as the eye could see.

The military flag fluttered in the evening breeze, embroidered with a large character "乾" (Qian), which gleamed golden in the setting sun.

In the camp, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, and soldiers came and went, their swords and spears like a forest, their armor like a wall.

"I have found the Great Qian Army camp."

He took a deep breath and muttered to himself:

"Now, there are no more worries."

"Then let's go all out."

He raised his head, a fire burning in his eyes.

"So what if you live to be a hundred?"

"I, this old man, will slaughter all the Northern Barbarians and carve out my own destiny!"

He spurred his horse and raised his saber high.

"drive……!"

The warhorse neighed, its hooves flying, carrying a centenarian with white hair and a hunched back, galloping wildly toward the Daqian military camp at the foot of the hill.