Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

"Past names are not worth mentioning," Xiao Jue said indifferently.

"Now I am just a recluse in this secluded valley, and they call me 'sir'."

His gaze fell downstairs, where the figures of women in white, bustling about peacefully, came into view. A faint, almost compassionate tenderness flashed in his eyes.

"A nobody?" Lin Feng sneered. "A nobody colluding with the Di Rong, secretly amassing military power?"

Xiao Jue looked up at him, his gaze still calm, but with a hint of complex emotions, like weariness and self-mockery.

"What you found out was done by the former 'Prince Jing'. Or rather, it was done by me in the past, who condoned or even encouraged my subordinates to do it."

Lin Feng frowned: "What do you mean?"

Xiao Jue did not answer immediately. He looked at the swaying bamboo shadows outside the window, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke in a distant voice, as if telling someone else's story:

"My mother was a lowly palace maid. The late emperor had me in a one-night stand, yet he regarded her as a disgrace. After I was born, she was banished to the cold palace and soon 'died of illness.' I was thrown into a desolate little town in the north, nominally a prince, but in reality, I was like a prisoner."

"In those years, I hated. I hated the ruthlessness of the palace, the injustice of fate, and that I couldn't even protect my own mother. I felt like the whole world owed me something."

His tone was calm, but Lin Feng could hear the turbulent waves that had surged beneath that calm.

"So I secretly built up my network, befriended all sorts of people, and even... negotiated with the devil, trading with some Di and Rong tribes. I needed money, I needed people, I needed power. I wanted to one day go back, take back what I 'deserved,' and make those who wronged my mother and me pay the price."

Xiao Jue chuckled self-deprecatingly, "A very cliché story, isn't it? A prince harboring resentment, a standard villainous beginning."

"Those weapons, those people who risked their lives for you, were they all gathered up back then?" Lin Feng asked.

"Part of it is." Xiao Jue nodded.

"I do have some skills, some tricks, and some medical knowledge. By chance, I saved some people and helped others. Some people stayed because they were grateful. Others were attracted by the 'grand plan' I described at the time and were willing to follow me."

"And then?"

"And then?" A look of reminiscence appeared in Xiao Jue's eyes.

"Later, I saved more and more people. Some were injured or sick, some were pitiful people who had nowhere else to turn, especially women. Seeing them reborn in my hands, seeing the light shining again in their eyes... I suddenly felt that compared to destruction and plunder, creation and protection seemed to give my heart, which was filled with hatred, a moment of peace."

He paused, his voice even softer: "Hate is too exhausting, and it can't change the past. If my mother were alive, she probably wouldn't want to see me live my whole life in hatred, becoming another person I despise. Gradually, those obsessions faded. I began to feel that being able to protect this peaceful place in these deep mountains, giving these poor people a place to live and make a living, seems... not so bad."

"So you've given up your life of crime and become a hermit here?" Lin Feng asked, his tone scrutinizing.

"What about your earlier forces? Those still active dealers and assassins—you just left them to their own devices?"

Xiao Jue's smile faded, revealing a deep weariness and helplessness.

"A tree grows tall and branches out, and people have different ambitions. Some of my old subordinates are used to the life of danger and bloodshed, and they disdain the 'peace' I offer. Some businesses are deeply entrenched, where changing one part affects the whole, and I can't simply stop them as I please. More importantly..."

He looked at Lin Feng with a frankness that was chilling: "After all, they once entrusted their lives and futures to me, and followed me during my loneliest and most difficult times. Even though our paths have diverged now, and some things have deviated from our original intentions, as long as they are not so heinous as to be irreversible, how can I be so heartless as to personally sever them? All I can do is stop participating and stop pushing things forward."

"You say you've changed, how can I believe you?" Lin Feng said in a deep voice. "Anyone can talk nonsense."

Xiao Jue looked at him and suddenly asked, "General Lin, if you truly believe I am a heinous villain who has brought disaster to the country and colluded with foreign enemies, why didn't you draw your sword immediately downstairs? Why didn't you immediately capture me when you entered this bamboo building? What were you hesitating about?"

Lin Feng was taken aback. He did hesitate.

From the moment he first saw the valley and felt that strange tranquility, the taut string in his heart called "enemy" began to loosen.

"Because there's no killing intent here," Xiao Jue answered for him.

"Because the people you see have no fanaticism in their eyes, only peace. Because although you don't believe me, you can't completely equate everything here with the conspiracy and bloodshed you're investigating. Your intuition tells you that things may not be as simple as they seem."

Lin Feng remained silent. He had to admit that Xiao Jue had hit the nail on the head.

Xiao Jue got up, walked to an inconspicuous bamboo cabinet by the wall, opened it, took out a flat iron box, walked back and placed it on the small table in front of Lin Feng.

"Open it and take a look."

Lin Feng hesitated for a moment before opening the iron box. Inside was only a letter. The envelope was old, and on it was written "To my son Xiao Jue," the handwriting delicate and fragile. Lin Feng did not open it, but he noticed a dark brown mark in one corner of the envelope, which looked like dried blood.

"This is the only letter my mother left me, and it was the last letter she entrusted to someone to smuggle out before she was murdered."

Xiao Jue's voice was soft, yet it struck Lin Feng's heart with a heavy blow.

"She said she didn't hate anyone, she only wished that I would grow up safely, not be consumed by hatred, and not become like the people who hurt us... It took me many years to truly understand her words and barely manage to do so."

He picked up the letter, his fingertips lightly brushing the envelope, his eyes swirling with emotion, which ultimately settled into a deep, desolate silence.

"General Lin, I don't ask you to believe me. You have your duties and judgment. As for the past, and those forces that have strayed from the right path, I can't completely absolve myself of responsibility; after all, it all started because of me. If you want to continue investigating, I will not stop you. In fact..."

He raised his eyes, his gaze clear as he looked at Lin Feng: "If you can find solid evidence, clean up those old subordinates I can no longer control, and set things right, then... perhaps I should thank you."

Lin Feng was completely stunned.

He had imagined countless scenarios for what would happen after they met—fight, interrogation, sophistry, threats… but he never imagined it would be so calm, so…entrusted?