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

Night deepened.

On East Street in the capital, the street in front of Wanbao Pawnshop was deserted. The shops on both sides had long since closed. Only a dim lantern was still lit at the entrance of the pawnshop, its candlelight flickering in the night wind, illuminating the four characters "Wanbao Pawnshop" on and off.

Su Mu was wearing a black cloak with the hood pulled low, covering his full head of white hair and half his face, revealing only a pair of cloudy but cold eyes.

Liu Yuzhou stood beside him, also dressed in black, with a long sword at her waist, her face veiled, her eyes scanning the surroundings like a hawk.

"Mr. Su, this is the place."

"Wanbao Pawnshop is one of the Blood Robe Tower's secret agents in the capital. There is a secret room in the backyard, where Qingxue is very likely being held captive."

Su Mu didn't speak, staring at the door.

At this moment, he showed no anger, anxiety, or impulsiveness, only a chilling calmness.

He knew it all too well.

Anger impairs judgment, and once judgment is lost, mistakes are made.

The price of making a mistake was Qingxue's life.

He cannot afford to make a mistake; the closer he gets to life or death, the calmer he must remain.

"Where is the backyard?" His voice was hoarse and low.

Liu Yuzhou turned to the side and pointed to a small alley next to the pawnshop: "Go around from this side, there is a wall behind it, and the backyard is connected to several secret rooms. The Blood Robe Tower's important transactions are all conducted there. I've scouted the place before, so I'm quite familiar with the terrain."

Su Mu nodded, pulled down his hat brim, and the two silently turned into the alley.

The alley was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

The walls on both sides were very high and covered with moss. There was only a sliver of sky overhead, and the moonlight could not see through. It was so dark that you could not see your hand in front of your face.

Liu Yuzhou walked ahead, her steps light and almost silent.

Su Mu followed behind him.

After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a wall appeared ahead.

The wall was not high, about ten feet tall.

The faint glow of candlelight emanated from within the walls, along with the sound of low voices.

Liu Yuzhou stopped, turned around and glanced at Su Mu, then whispered, "Old Su, this is it, the backyard."

Su Mu raised his head, his eyes scanning the height of the wall.

He did not hesitate.

With a light touch of his toes on the ground, his hunched figure rose gracefully like a falling leaf.

Wudang Mountain's ladders soar through the clouds, leaving no trace on the snow, and it traverses waters on duckweed.

Su Mu's body did not pause in mid-air for a moment. He lightly touched the top of the wall with his toes, used the momentum to lift himself up again, silently flipped over the wall, and landed steadily in the shadows of the courtyard.

Liu Yuzhou stood outside the wall, dumbfounded.

He hadn't expected that General Su's lightness skill was so remarkable.

Liu Yuzhou swallowed hard, suppressing his shock, and with a light step, he also climbed over the wall.

His lightness skill is also quite good; it's one of his specialties!

He landed beside Su Mu and whispered, "Elder Su, the secret chamber is over there. I scouted it out before; the layout inside is..."

"Shh." Su Mu raised his hand, interrupting him.

His ears twitched slightly, and his eyes looked toward the room at the end of the corridor, where candlelight shone through.

There were voices inside, and more than one person was speaking.

"Let's go take a look."

The two used their lightness skills again to nimbly avoid the guards and land on the roof.

……

The room was brightly lit by candlelight.

A long table, a few chairs, and a stack of banknotes and contracts spread out on the table.

The masked man sat behind the desk, his bronze mask gleaming coldly in the candlelight.

Xu Zhaowen and Xu Zhaowu stood opposite each other, both dressed in casual clothes and wearing straw hats, looking anxious and glancing towards the door from time to time.

Where are they?

Xu Zhaowen stared at the masked man, his voice low and urgent.

"We paid a deposit, and you said you'd bring the person within three days. Three days have passed, and where is the person?"

The masked man didn't rush to answer, but instead waved to his men behind him.

A man dressed in black nodded, turned and walked into the back room.

A moment later, he came out with a little girl in his hand.

Su Qingxue.

She was wearing a light blue dress, her hair was a little messy, her lips were tightly pursed, and she stubbornly held her head high.

Her hands were bound with rope, leaving red marks on her wrists, but she didn't cry, make a fuss, or beg for mercy.

"The person is here."

"Your mission has been completed by the Blood-Clad Tower."

"After you pay the remaining silver, you can leave with your men. From now on, this matter has nothing to do with the Blood-Clad Tower."

Xu Zhaowen stared at Su Qingxue, looking her up and down, and breathed a slight sigh of relief after confirming it was indeed her.

But his brows remained furrowed, and his eyes flickered, clearly still worried about something.

"You didn't give anything away, did you? The Third Prince's men are searching the whole city for this girl. What if you left any clues..."

The masked man chuckled, his eyes behind the bronze mask filled with disdain.

"The Blood-Clad Tower never leaves a trace. If they had given themselves away, the Third Prince's men would have found us here long ago. Would we still be able to sit here calmly and discuss business then?"

Xu Zhaowu curled his lip, walked up to Su Qingxue, looked down at her, and stared at her with disgust in his eyes.

"You brat, we've spent a lot of money on you."

"I hope your centenarian grandfather cherishes you, otherwise he might sell you to a brothel and at least recoup some of his investment."

Su Qingxue raised her head and met his gaze without flinching.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm.

"Go ahead and kill me now if you dare! You think you can use me to threaten my grandfather? No way! You bad guys had better keep an eye on me every day, or I'll kill myself and make sure you get nothing!"

Xu Zhaowu's face was ashen, and his eyes were practically spitting fire.

"You! You little brat, you dare talk back? I'll slap you until you behave!"

He raised his hand, ready to slap Su Qingxue hard across the face.

The wind howled as the slap landed; a twelve-year-old girl simply couldn't withstand it.

Su Qingxue closed her eyes, bit her lip, neither dodging nor begging for mercy.

In that very instant!

"boom!"

A loud bang came from the roof, like a thunderclap, shaking the entire room.

Tiles shattered, wood chips flew, and dust billowed.

A black figure descended from the sky, smashing half of the roof with a single palm strike, like a war god descending from heaven, and landed steadily in front of Xu Zhaowu.

Xu Zhaowu's hand was still raised in mid-air, and before it could fall, he was blasted back several steps by an invisible palm force, crashing into the wall. The back of his head hit the brick wall, making him wince in pain.

As soon as the man in black landed, he struck out with his right palm, the force of which was like a mountain. He sent the man in black who was holding Su Qingxue flying backward, crashing into the table behind him, scattering silver notes, contracts, and wine cups all over the floor.

The man coughed up blood, lay on the ground twitched twice, and then remained still.

Su Qingxue had already been pulled behind her by a thin but strong hand.

She recognized that hand.

That hand led her along the road, fed her porridge, and shielded her from the wind.

She remembers that hand even in her dreams.

Su Qingxue's eyes immediately reddened, but she tried her best to hold back her tears.

She looked up at the figure blocking her way.

A black cloak and a hood obscuring her face, but that hunched back, that familiar scent, that sense of security that made her feel at ease—who else could it be but her grandfather?

"Grandpa... I knew Grandpa would come to save me..."

Her voice was slightly choked, yet it carried a smile.

Su Mu lowered his head, looking at his granddaughter's cute little face, the red marks on her wrists from the rope, the tear stains at the corners of her eyes, and her eyes that were trying hard not to cry. His heart felt like it had been stabbed by a knife.

But he smiled.

"Don't be afraid, Qingxue."

"With Grandpa around, no one can hurt you."

He reached out and gently touched Qingxue's head, then turned around and slowly pulled down his hat.

His full head of white hair gleamed silver in the candlelight, and his eyes coldly swept over everyone in the room.

"You've arrested my granddaughter, and you dare ask who I am?"

"court death."

The masked man suddenly stood up.

His pupils contracted, and a chill ran down his spine.

Su Mu, General Who Guards the North.

The centenarian war god that the people of the North call him?

He had heard this name countless times.

But he never imagined that this person would appear silently on his territory, right in front of him.

"You...how did you get here?"

The masked man stammered.

Xu Zhaowen and Xu Zhaowu's faces were as white as paper.

They looked at Su Mu's wrinkled face and his cloudy yet cold eyes, and were utterly shocked.

"Su...Su Mu...what are you doing here?"

Xu Zhaowen spoke cautiously, already prepared for a battle with Su Mu.

Su Mu stared at them, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"You three, father and sons, have falsely accused me in the army and filed complaints against me in the court, but I can ignore them all."

"How dare you lay a hand on my granddaughter! If I don't kill you today, my hundred years of life will have been wasted."

Xu Zhaowu gritted his teeth and mustered his courage to let out a cold laugh.

"Old man, don't you even know where you are!"

"This is the Blood-Clad Tower!"

"The Blood-Clad Tower is swarming with assassins outside. Do you think you can get out of here alive? Today's the perfect day to settle all our old and new scores!"

He whirled around and shouted at the masked man, "Kill him! Kill him now! I'll add more money!"

The masked man gritted his teeth and waved his hand.

"Guards! Kill him!"

The doors and windows around them were smashed open at the same time, and more than a dozen assassins in black rushed in, wielding swords and exuding murderous intent.

They surrounded Su Mu and Su Qingxue, their blades gleaming coldly in the candlelight.

On the roof, Liu Yuzhou peeked out from the broken hole and his expression changed when he saw the scene below.

He leaped down and landed beside Su Mu, sword in hand.

"Elder Su, hand Qingxue over to me! You can focus on fighting the enemy!"

Su Mu glanced at him and shook his head.

"No need. I could kill all of these people with one hand."

He crouched down, looked at Qingxue, and spoke gently.

"Qingxue, watch closely as Grandpa kills the bad guys."

"From now on, you must never be soft-hearted when facing these bad people."

Su Qingxue nodded vigorously.

Before this, Su Mu felt that he could not let his granddaughter see the bloody scene of killing.

But now things are different; he knows he must cultivate Qingxue's courage in these situations.

After all, from this moment on, Qingxue is very likely to face a lot of bloodshed.

When there is no way to avoid it, why bother trying to avoid it?

At this moment, Su Mu slowly raised his right hand.

He's about to go on a killing spree!