Wen Chaoshen was almost completely certain of this point, because the Qi Kingdom was different from the other three kingdoms. Even a refugee like Wen Chaoshen from outside the county knew that the first thing for those who entered the Qi Kingdom's military was not to go to the battlefield. New recruits sent to the border, even if they didn't encounter battles, would only serve as cannon fodder against bandits and nomads, with less than one in ten surviving.

  The first thing these selected new soldiers did was receive basic education. The Langan Pavilion would send schors to teach them the simplest Thousand Character Cssic, for future military needs and daily use.

  Therefore, any soldier who served in the Qi Kingdom for more than a year would be literate and able to write.

  If they really needed to write to their families, there was no need to find someone to write for them. That's why Wen Chaoshen was so sure that the letter Mi Fang had received was not written by her son, Zhang Changgong.

  This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

  The first person Wen Chaoshen thought of was A Shui.

  Because A Shui had also received fake letters from her parents for several years, only to find out after returning that her parents had been dead for years. When this matter was exposed, it became a demon in A Shui's heart.

  For some reason, Wen Chaoshen sensed a dangerous undertone from these fake letters.

  A person like A Shui, with extraordinary skills, even though Wen Chaoshen wasn't deeply involved in the Martial World, he could tell that if A Shui wasn't injured, she would be among the most formidable in the Four Kingdoms. For someone like her, using her parents to keep her in check was quite normal... but what about Hunter Zhang and his wife?

  They were just ordinary people, with no money or power. Even if they had grievances, they would just endure them. Why go to such lengths to deceive them?

  Could it be that Hunter Zhang had some hidden identity?

  Wen Chaoshen thought this possibility was very small. The early winter snow in Kuhai County nearly killed him and almost drove Hunter Zhang and his wife Mi Fang to despair. If Hunter Zhang were truly some hidden master, he could certainly live inconspicuously in the city, but living hidden was for a simple life, not a miserable one.

  If all the hidden masters in the world had to live like stray dogs on the street, no one would want to live in seclusion.

  After all, masters are just tired of conflict, not masochists.

  As Wen Chaoshen stared at the letter in his hand, lost in thought, the wooden door suddenly opened. Both of them stopped what they were doing and looked toward the door. Hunter Zhang was holding a burp sack, likely containing frogs or something else, but the sack was defted, and combined with the numbness on Hunter Zhang's face, Wen Chaoshen could tell that Hunter Zhang hadn't had much luck today.

  He wasn't surprised by this.

  Having dug for frogs outside for three years, he knew better than anyone how hard they were to find.

  Upon seeing Wen Chaoshen, Hunter Zhang was a bit surprised, but then he noticed the letter in Wen Chaoshen's hand. After hesitating for a moment, he entered and sat by the stove, pulling two frogs from the sack and preparing porridge without resting.

  "Staring at these useless things all the time, what's the point of writing so many letters?"

  "How many years has it been, not even a shadow seen, don't even know if he's dead or alive."

  Hunter Zhang muttered impatiently, while Mi Fang held the letters like treasures in front of her, gring at him:

  "You chatterbox, nothing good ever comes out of your mouth!"

  "If something happened to Changgong, would we be getting his letters every year?"

  "If Changgong makes a name for himself and gets a position, won't it bring glory to you, you old man?"

  "And Changgong hasn't come home from the border for so long, what does that mean?"

  "It means our Changgong is successful and capable, the border can't do without him!"

  Faced with Mi Fang's spirited retort, Hunter Zhang hung his head, washing rice with melted snow, saying nothing.

  Wen Chaoshen watched Mi Fang's unwavering expression, his lips moved, and finally, he agreed:

  "Changgong's handwriting is indeed getting more beautiful... Old Zhang, I brought you some roast goose. It's cold, but you can steam it to eat."

  Hunter Zhang gnced at the roast goose Wen Chaoshen had pced aside and suddenly asked:

  "Do you have a house?"

  Wen Chaoshen replied:

  "I have a pce to stay."

  The two exchanged a look, and Hunter Zhang put down his work, went to the bedside, and took out an iron key hidden at the foot of the bed, handing it to Wen Chaoshen.

  "No one lives there, the house isn't big, but it has everything you need."

  "If you can't find it, go to the vegetable market in the west of the county city, the butchers there know me. Tell them, and they'll show you where I live."

  Looking at the key handed to him, Wen Chaoshen didn't refuse. He put the key away and thanked Hunter Zhang before getting up to leave.

  He didn't really need the key, but Wen Chaoshen understood Hunter Zhang. If he didn't accept the key, the roast goose he brought would be hard for Hunter Zhang to eat.

  The word "charity" was the greatest insult to someone like Hunter Zhang.

  "Aren't you going to eat something?"

  Hunter Zhang asked Wen Chaoshen, who was about to leave. The tter opened the wooden door, half his body already swallowed by the swirling snow.

  "No, I already ate when I came in the afternoon. The snow might get heavier tonight, so I should head back early."

  "You two should rest early."

  "Oh, by the way... Aunt Mi, can I borrow this letter for a few days? Changgong's handwriting is really beautiful, and I'd like to copy it to practice."

  "I'll return it to you another day."

  Hearing her son praised, Mi Fang's smile was so wide it almost couldn't fit on her face. She cheerfully said:

  "No problem, Chaoshen, take it to practice. I have more here, if you need them, just come to Aunt anytime!"

  With that, she gnced sideways at the silent Hunter Zhang and snorted:

  "See, I remember Chaoshen's handwriting is also beautiful. If he says it's good, then it must be really good!"

  Hunter Zhang seemed to be worn out by the wind and snow today, cking the energy to argue, so he didn't respond.

  After Wen Chaoshen thanked them, he closed the door and disappeared into the snowstorm.

  After he left, Hunter Zhang, facing the stove, remained expressionless. The firelight reflecting on his face seemed to reveal his complicated emotions. Listening to the sound of his wife collecting the letters and her muttering, his frost-den eyes concealed the sadness that almost surfaced.

  Bang!

  He threw another log into the fire, and the fmes instantly brightened, burning away all the emotions in his eyes.

  "We can't finish the goose in one meal, I'll go cut it in half."

  He said to his wife.

  kant202323