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

As the sun rose higher, its rays shone directly down from above, making the ground scorching hot.

On the open ground in front of the granary, grain sacks were piled up into a small mountain.

The cooks were drenched in sweat, but they were all full of energy and had smiles on their faces.

Su Mu did not go to move the grain.

He walked to a towering tree, leaned against its thick trunk, and slowly sat down.

The sword lay beside him, the blood on its blade dried, gleaming darkly in the sunlight.

He leaned his hunched body against the tree root, tilted his head back, looked at the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, and let out a long breath.

He needs to rest. If he encounters other enemies along the way, he will still be the first to charge.

A gentle breeze blew by, carrying the fresh scent of mountain forest plants, brushing against his full head of white hair and the wrinkles on his face.

Su Mu squinted and looked towards the east.

Heading east from here, after crossing several mountains and walking for dozens of miles, you'll reach Qin Family Village.

What's the village where he lived for decades like now?

Is the jujube tree in the yard still there?

Is the old well at the village entrance still as sweet as before?

Is that old yellow dog still squatting at the village entrance sunbathing every day?

Su Mu's mind drifted to the house he lived in with his granddaughter Qingxue and the little things they did together!

Thinking of Qingxue, Su Mu's heart clenched.

Has that girl arrived in the capital yet?

How much hardship did you endure along the way? Did you cry? Did you get sick?

Were the two Xiao sisters good to her? Did they feed her well? Did they dress her warmly?

The image of his granddaughter's little face appeared in Su Mu's mind.

She has a round face, big eyes, and two shallow dimples when she smiles.

Her hair was always tied in two small buns with red ribbons, which swayed as she ran.

Su Mu's eyes immediately reddened.

He raised his head, gazing at the eastern sky, his eyes filled with longing.

"Grandpa..."

"Grandpa!"

A crisp, clear voice rang in my ears.

Su Mu suddenly turned his head.

A little girl was standing to his right.

The little girl was dressed in coarse linen clothes covered in patches. Her face was dirty, covered in mud and grass clippings, and her hair was messy, as if it hadn't been washed in a long time.

But those eyes were big and bright, like two black grapes.

Su Mu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Qingxue?"

He blurted it out, his voice trembling.

He reached out, wanting to touch the child's face.

He stopped halfway through reaching out his hand.

Because he realized that the little girl in front of him was not Qingxue.

Qingxue was a little older and taller than her.

But when this child stands here, the innocence in his eyes is exactly the same as Qingxue's when she was a child.

The little girl was startled by Su Mu's reaction, took a half step back, bit her lip, and looked at him timidly.

Su Mu snapped out of his daze, forced a smile, and tried to make his voice sound as gentle as possible.

"Little one, what's your name? Why are you here all alone? Where are your family?"

The little girl lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her small hands, and remained silent.

Su Mu looked at her, his heart aching terribly.

In those chaotic years of war, countless children lost their parents and were displaced.

"Little one," Su Mu's voice was hoarse, as soft as the wind rustling through the treetops, "call me 'Grandpa' a few more times, so Grandpa can hear it, okay?"

The little girl looked up at him, then looked down again.

After a moment of silence, she spoke, her voice small and soft, like a newly sprouting blade of grass in spring.

"grandfather……"

The word "Grandpa" brought tears to Su Mu's eyes.

He seemed to see Qingxue's face.

"Come here to Grandpa, let Grandpa give you a hug."

Su Mu stretched out his hand, his thin hand slightly open, a kind smile on his face, his eyes full of tenderness.

The little girl was a bit timid at first. She stood there hesitating for a moment, twisting the hem of her clothes with her little hands and shuffling her little feet on the ground.

Seeing the old man's smiling face, she finally mustered up her courage and threw herself into Su Mu's arms.

Su Mu gently put his arm around her and patted her thin back.

The child is so thin; you can feel his ribs through his coarse clothes.

Su Mu lowered his head and asked softly, "What's your name?"

"My name is Er Ya." The little girl looked up at him with her big, dark eyes and answered in a childish voice.

"Er Ya, what a nice name." Su Mu smiled. "Why did you come to this desolate place alone? This place is so dangerous, what if you run into bad guys?"

Er Ya tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I don't know either. I just walked and walked here, and when I saw you sitting here all alone, you looked very sad, so I came over to say a few words to you."

"Er Ya is really lovable."

Su Mu touched her messy hair, his voice slightly choked, "You still know to come and comfort Grandpa."

"Er Ya! Er Ya! What are you doing? How could you... how could you disturb that old general?"

An old, panicked voice came from the right.

Su Mu turned his head and saw an old man with a hunched back, dressed in coarse gray linen clothes, hurrying towards him.

He carried a tattered basket on his back, containing a few wild vegetables and a rusty sickle. His hair was completely white, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as Su Mu's.

The old man's gaze kept drifting to the blood-stained saber beside Su Mu, his eyes filled with fear.

He didn't recognize Su Mu, but he recognized the knife—the knife used to kill, still stained with blood.

"Sir, sir, please forgive me!" The old man approached, quickly put down his basket, and knelt down shakily, his head hitting the ground. "My granddaughter is ignorant and disturbed your rest, sir. Please forgive her! She is young and doesn't know any better. If you must punish someone, punish her..."

As he spoke, his forehead was already hitting the mud, each blow louder than the last.

Su Mu quickly released Er Ya and reached out to help the old man.

"Little Li? Li Ergou? Is that you?"

His voice carried a hint of disbelief.

The old man raised his head, his cloudy old eyes filled with confusion.

He squinted and stared at Su Mu for a long while, his mouth slowly opening as his expression changed from fear to shock.

"You...you are...Old Master Su from Qin Family Village?"

"It is indeed this old man." Su Mu stroked his beard and smiled. "Su Mu."

"Old Su! It really is you!" Li Ergou's voice trembled, and his eyes instantly reddened. "You...you're here? And...you're in the army?"

Su Mu chuckled and waved his hand, "This is a long story. But what did you all do here in this desolate wilderness?"

Li Ergou sighed, a long and heavy sigh.

He bent down, straightened the basket, and pointed to the few wilted wild vegetables inside.

"We ran out of food at home, so I brought Er Ya here to look for some wild vegetables. We climbed over several mountains before we finally found this few."

He gave a wry smile, his wrinkles deepening.

"Old Su, these days... are tough."

Su Mu frowned.

He subconsciously felt that it was the bandits of Qingfeng Village who had plundered the town, making it impossible for the people to live in peace.

"What? Did the bandits of Qingfeng Town ransack your town?"

Li Ergou shook his head and replied, "Bandits from Qingfeng Village?"

"They never looted any house in our town. On the contrary, they sometimes gave food to poor families and even helped kill a lot of northern barbarians."

Su Mu was stunned.

Li Ergou continued, "Old Su, you may not know this, but You Zhongyi, the leader of Qingfeng Village, is the son of the mayor of Qingfeng Town. Three years ago, the mayor was framed for murder by the magistrate of Qinghe County and died in prison. In a fit of rage, You Zhongyi stormed into the county government office and killed a constable. He was wanted by the whole city and that's why he went to Qingfeng Village to become an outlaw."

"He was highly skilled in martial arts. Once he went up the mountain, he defeated the original chief Hu Biao and took the position of the leader."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"For the past three years, You Zhongyi has been protecting our Qingfeng Town. When the Northern Di people came to rob our grain, he led his brothers to fight them. When bandits came to harm the people, he drove them away. The people of Qingfeng Town all remember his kindness."

Su Mu recalled what the young man had said when he fought You Zhongyi earlier: "There are few good people in the Daqian army. I'd rather be an outlaw than work for those corrupt officials."

It turned out to be the case.

It wasn't that he was born wanting to be a bandit; it was the world that forced him to take to the mountains.

"Then how did you end up eating wild vegetables?" Su Mu continued to ask.

Li Ergou's eyes reddened, and tears welled up in them.

He stretched out his withered hand, wiped the corner of his eye, and his voice choked with emotion.

"My son and daughter-in-law both died at the hands of the Northern Di people, leaving only me and my granddaughter Er Ya to depend on each other for survival."

"I'm old and frail, and I can't even farm anymore. I can only take Er Ya around to dig for wild vegetables. Sometimes if we're lucky, we can dig up a handful and make a pot of soup. If we're unlucky... we go hungry."

Su Mu glanced at Li Ergou, then at Er Ya, who was standing beside him tugging at her grandfather's clothes.

My heart is filled with countless emotions.

This scene was exactly the same as before, with him and Qingxue.

The same white-haired grandfather, the same thin granddaughter, the same dependence on each other for survival, the same struggle to find enough to eat.

Su Mu took a deep breath and stood up.

"Tie Niu! Come here!"

Zhao Tieniu was carrying grain next to a pile of grain sacks when he heard the shout. He put down the sacks and ran over in a few quick steps.

"Mr. Su, what are your orders?"

"Go and carry a bag of grain."

Without saying a word, Zhao Tieniu turned around and ran back to the granary, carrying a bag of white rice over and placing it in front of Su Mu.

The rice bag was heavy, weighing at least sixty or seventy pounds.

Su Mu bent down, patted the rice bag, turned to Li Ergou, and said with a smile, "Little Li, take this bag of rice back with you and let Er Ya have a few good meals."

Li Ergou stared at the bag of white rice, completely stunned.

With a thud, Li Ergou knelt on the ground, his head hitting the dirt with a loud thud.

"Old Su... Old Su... You are our savior..."

Er Ya followed her grandfather's example, kneeling down and kowtowing in a childish voice, "Thank you, Grandpa! Thank you, Grandpa!"

Su Mu quickly bent down, grabbed Er Ya's arm, and pulled her up.

"Er Ya, get up quickly, stop banging your head, help Grandpa carry the rice home, eat well, grow up quickly, and take care of Grandpa."

Er Ya stood up, nodded vigorously, and a big smile appeared on her little face, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Yes! Grandpa, we can finally have a proper meal!"

Li Ergou stood up, carefully put the bag of rice into the basket on his back, and carried it on his back.

The rice bag was heavy, and he bent over even lower.

But he had a smile on his face, tears and smiles mixed together, flowing through the wrinkles on his face.

"Old Su, I, Li Ergou, will never forget your great kindness in my lifetime..."

Su Mu waved his hand and urged, "Let's go, it's getting late. Be careful on the road and hurry home. Don't let Er Ya go hungry."

"Hey! Hey! Come on, Er Ya, let's go home!"

Li Ergou took Er Ya's hand and turned to walk back.

After taking a few steps, he turned back and bowed deeply to Su Mu.

Er Ya turned around, waved her little hand above her head, and said in a sweet voice.

Goodbye, Grandpa Su!

Su Mu stood there, his body hunched over, and waved to the grandfather and grandson.

"Old Su, you're so kind." Zhao Tieniu stood to the side, watching the grandfather and grandson's departing figures, scratched his head, and said in a simple and honest way.

Su Mu withdrew his gaze, shook his head, and gave a wry smile.

"Kindness? It's nothing more than two poor old men comforting each other."

"Go, get to work quickly, we need to go back to camp to report."

"Alright!"

Zhao Tieniu hurried back and shouted, "Everyone, hurry up! Old Su said we need to get back to camp and report!"

"good!"

The cooks answered loudly.

A bustling scene unfolded in front of the granary!