During the Qin Dynasty, he was in charge of the net.

Who would have thought.

Lian Po, who once commanded armies on the battlefield and intimidated the feudal lords, shed his armor and fame and sought a secluded mountain village to become a farmer.

After seeing his old friend, Lian Po built two simple thatched huts not far from the foot of the mountain, one for himself and one for Li Ji.

In Li Ji's observations over the past few days, Lian Po seemed to have truly become an old farmer tilling the fields.

In the morning, Lian Po would carry a wooden bucket to the mountain spring halfway up the mountain to fetch water. Although he was old, his back was still straight, but his graying temples could not hide the sense of vicissitude.

When drawing water, Lian Po's wrist strength was extremely skillful, and even Li Ji was surprised by his steady, accurate and ruthless movements.

On his way back, carrying two large buckets full of spring water, Lian Po still walked steadily, without the slightest sign of stumbling.

Li Ji usually followed behind Lian Po, listening to Lian Po recount some strange and unusual things he had encountered during the march. He listened silently most of the time, occasionally responding with a word.

Because Li Ji understood that Lian Po didn't need his agreement; he just wanted to speak.

Perhaps people talk more before they die?

After returning home, Ahe will come over to cook.

Ahe's home is not far from here; it takes less than 15 minutes to walk there.

As for why it was Ahe, it's because neither Lian Po nor Li Ji could cook, and their cooking was terrible.

Li Ji was lazy, so during his missions he would buy dry rations at the market to keep on hand. If he ran out of dry rations, he would just pick some fruit in the mountains and kill a couple of rabbits to fill his stomach.

Lian Po was unaware that his cooking was terrible. He ate the half-cooked rice and the dry, bland vegetables without a hint of salt, but Li Ji found it very unpalatable.

Just then, Ah He came over and saw their embarrassing situation. She chuckled and from then on, Ah He cooked all their meals.

Ahe cooked over a fire, while Lian Po chopped firewood in the courtyard. Li Ji noticed that Lian Po never used brute force when chopping wood; he simply rotated his wrist lightly, and the axe landed precisely on the grain of the wood, splitting it in one stroke.

This is an astonishing discovery; Lian Po's strength may be even more terrifying than imagined.

Li Ji asked himself, if he could chop the same amount of firewood as Lian Po at the same speed, he wouldn't be able to do it as easily and effortlessly.

On a sunny afternoon, Lian Po would move a chair to the courtyard and sit there, stroking a bamboo sword in his hand.

That was a sword his wife had crafted for him years ago, hidden in his bamboo walking stick. Why a bamboo sword instead of an iron one? Perhaps his wife wanted to remind him that he was getting old and that the two of them should retire.

But Lian Po never listened to her advice until she passed away.

The bamboo sword is now worn and faded, and he rarely shows it to others, only tracing the patterns on the blade with his fingertips.

At this time, Ahe would sit next to Lian Po and do some needlework, mending Lian Po's tattered coarse cloth clothes.

Her mother said that General Lian was a great hero of Zhao, and her father's death could not be blamed on him. Without the general, Zhao would likely have suffered even greater losses.

Her mother said they couldn't help the old general much, so they could only do some menial tasks to express their gratitude.

After the old general's clothes were mended, Ahe would look at the strange man in black robes who was standing in the courtyard sunbathing and did not say a word.

She doesn't know the person's name now; the old general only said that he was a close friend of his despite their age difference.

It's strange, aren't there? Can people of different ages be friends who don't even speak to each other?

Out of kindness, Ah-He went over to the man in the black robe and asked if he also needed help mending his clothes.

Li Ji refused.

Ah He was almost laughing in anger. This person had a huge hole in the back of his clothes. Did he call that unnecessary?

She cooked all the meals for him and the old general, so why be so polite with her now?

Ahe stepped forward and gently tugged at Li Ji's clothes, intending to tell him that there was a hole in his clothes. As a result, a red and black pattern appeared on the clothes when she pulled.

It was a huge spider coiled on its web.

Li Ji's expression changed.

"I don't need to, and I don't want to say it a second time."

The other person's cold tone and suddenly gloomy face made Ahe feel wronged and want to cry.

For the next few days, Ahe ignored Li Ji completely.

In the afternoon, Lian Po tended to the crops in the fields at the edge of the village.

He planted a lot of millet and wheat, which will grow neat and lush in a few months. At that time, he will probably be too busy to harvest them all by himself.

After finishing his work, Lian Po would lean against the edge of the field, squint his eyes, and look up at the setting sun.

He would think of the Battle of Changping, the Battle of Handan... and the late King Zhao and his comrades-in-arms.

Li Ji simply watched Lian Po quietly, never uttering a sound to disturb him.

However, even in peaceful days, there are occasional ripples.

One night, several wolves sneaked into the small village.

Perhaps attracted by the chickens raised by Ahe's family, the wolf went to Ahe's house.

All six chickens were killed by wolves.

Awakened by the noise from the chicken coop, Ahe went to investigate and immediately saw the bloody scene.

Feathers scattered all over the ground, white bones gleaming, and the eerie green eyes of a wolf—Ahe screamed in terror.

Upon seeing people, the wolf did not leave but instead set its gaze on the girl.

At this moment, Li Ji came over upon hearing the noise.

He didn't know if Lian Po had heard the sound. Although he heard Lian Po snoring, he still couldn't be sure.

That old man had many things on his mind, and sometimes even he couldn't see through them.

Upon hearing the sound, Li Ji hesitated for less than a moment before coming over, as he didn't want to miss out on Ah He's cooking tomorrow.

Li Ji simply stepped forward empty-handed, casually grabbed one of the wolves by the neck, and threw it away.

A wolf seized the opportunity to pounce on Li Ji from behind. Li Ji turned around and delivered a powerful kick to the wolf's stomach, causing it to fall to the ground and never get up again.

The remaining two wolves tucked their tails between their legs and ran away, never daring to return to the small village again.

That composure and ease left Ah He, who was standing to the side, dumbfounded, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

Li Ji is gone.

He came quickly and left quickly; Ahe didn't even have time to say thank you.

But in the following days, Li Ji clearly sensed a change in Ahe's attitude towards him.

Ahe insisted on mending Li Ji's clothes. Even though he had a cold face, Ahe still stood prettily in front of Li Ji, her pretty face showing a hint of shyness and a hint of stubbornness.

The two were arguing and unable to reach an agreement. Ahe angrily said to Lian Po, who was watching the scene from the sidelines, "Old General, look at him."

Lian Po just chuckled and said he wouldn't interfere in their affairs, then continued chopping wood.

In the end, Li Ji compromised; he didn't want to harm a young girl.

He had no choice but to put on Lian Po's clothes first, and then change his clothes and give them to Ahe.

Ahe held Li Ji's clothes and sewed them stitch by stitch, her little face showing great seriousness.

At this moment, Lian Po said with a smile, "Ahe sews Li Ji's clothes with even more care and attention than she sews his."

Ah He blushed deeply, not daring to look at the two of them, and simply kept her head down as she continued sewing.

After that, Ahe became bolder and bolder. She often pestered Li Ji, asking him his name and his background.

Li Ji usually remained silent, but when he got really impatient with the questions, he replied that his name was Qi.

This simple answer made the girl very happy. She finally knew his name. It seemed that even the old general didn't know it. Should she tell the old general? No, maybe she shouldn't tell him for now.

The girl left with a blush on her face.

Another day, Ah He asked Li Ji with a hesitant expression whether she wanted to see her mother.

Her mother was very grateful to Li Ji for driving away the wolves that night and wanted to thank him in person.

Li Ji refused.

A hint of disappointment appeared on Ahe's face.

After feeling down for a while, Ahe pestered Li Ji again, wanting him to take her to the market in the distance.

Ahe counted on her fingers; the old general's clothes were all too old. She wanted to buy him a new outfit, and also for her mother...

Finally, Ahe glanced shyly at Li Ji and said that he wore the same clothes all day and didn't even have a change of clothes, so she could buy him another set.

Li Ji fell silent upon hearing this. He looked at Ahe, but Ahe avoided his gaze and dared not meet his eyes.

In the end, Li Ji still refused.

The girl left, filled with disappointment and unresolved issues.