Ying Yue didn’t understand Zhao Kuo’s confusion and asked, “Why do you ask me that?”

Her question made Ying Yue wonder if she had done something wrong.

Noticing the girl’s emotional shift, Jia Xu said to Zhao Kuo, “Since the lord has given it to you, you should accept it.” He added, “The lord has other plans for General Bai Qi.”

After hearing this, Zhao Kuo looked back at Ying Yue and asked, “Are you really giving it to me?”

Ying Yue, feeling pressured, finally nodded.

A moment later, Zhao Kuo hugged the resisting Red Hare and said, “Don’t worry, sister, I will treat Red Hare well!”

From today on, Red Hare was like his wife!

To be honest, for military commanders, war horses are almost as important as wives. At least… they can live without wives, but they can’t live without war horses, Zhao Kuo thought.

_

After confirming that Red Hare was truly a gift, Zhao Kuo cleaned a space in the stable for his new “wife.” He prepared plenty of horse grass and water. Then he left the stable with Ying Yue and Jia Xu to go to the armory, where they hadn’t yet finished counting the supplies.

On the way, Zhao Kuo excitedly shared stories about his new “wife,” which gave Jia Xu a headache.

It wasn’t until Ying Yue suddenly exclaimed, “Huh?” that Jia Xu felt relieved.

He followed her gaze and understood why she had said “eh” just now.

—Standing in front of them was Huo Qubing, who had left yesterday.

Ying Yue had already seen him, and the young boy who was born as a military general also noticed the beautiful girl across from him.

He immediately walked towards them. As soon as he spoke, Huo Qubing expressed his frustration, saying, “I think your place is too shabby. Not only is the bed hard and uncomfortable, but it also creaks. Can this even be called a bed?”

Thinking about his unpleasant experience from last night, the young boy couldn’t help but complain. He had never stayed in such a poor house in his life!

“As a man who fights in the army, why do you care about this?” When Zhao Kuo heard Huo Qubing’s words, he immediately responded in disbelief, his mouth moving faster than his thoughts, as usual.

Zhao Kuo had thought he was a picky person with many habits of a young master. However, meeting Huo Qubing today made him realize he was just a small witch compared to him. Compared to Huo Qubing, he was just a hardworking little prince.

Moreover, the system rated Huo Qubing as SSR, and Jia Xu had also mentioned yesterday that he was a very famous general.

But what kind of general was so delicate? Why was he so picky about the bed he slept in? Wasn’t it better than sleeping in the wild?

Huo Qubing raised his eyes at Zhao Kuo’s comment, his tone filled with more disdain. “Marching and fighting are for when there’s a war, but is it wartime now? What’s wrong with wanting a comfortable life when there’s no war?”

Then he glanced at Zhao Kuo and said in a harsh tone, “Who are you?”

He recognized this voice as the one belonging to the man who claimed yesterday that he was studying medicine.

In that moment, Huo Qubing’s opinion of Zhao Kuo dropped to zero.

When asked for his name, Zhao Kuo proudly raised his head and, looking down at Huo Qubing because of their height difference, answered loudly, “My name is Zhao Kuo!”

When the elegant scholar next to the beautiful girl heard Zhao Kuo’s name, he shook his head slightly, thinking Zhao Kuo would definitely lose.

This was mainly about the psychological aspect.

Although Huo Qubing had impressive military achievements in history books, he was only a 14-year-old boy, and his body was not fully developed. Compared to Zhao Kuo, who was 17 or 18 years old, he clearly had a physical disadvantage. So it was obvious that targeting the mind was the best strategy.

As expected, the next second—

Jia Xu heard the young boy across from him let out a long “Oh~,” looking at Zhao Kuo with a strange expression in his eyes, saying, “So it’s you, the one who only talks about war on paper.”

“What soldier?” Zhao Kuo asked.

Although the term “soldier” did not exist in their Warring States Period, hearing those four words filled him with a sense of unease, similar to the feeling he got when Jia Xu mentioned that the king with the surname Ying would unify the world.

Huo Qubing looked up. Even though he was a head shorter, he certainly didn’t lack in confidence. “Talking about war on paper means you can only talk about it theoretically. You will lose in real combat.”

Then he added, “This term is what we future generations use to describe you.”

This comment struck a heavy blow to Zhao Kuo’s pride.

Zhao Kuo had anticipated that if there were any records about him in history, they would surely be filled with unpleasant remarks—after all, his defeat was so tragic.

Therefore, he had mentally prepared himself long ago. He figured that if he ever heard future generations’ opinions about him, he would not let it bother him.

Zhao Kuo thought he had built an iron wall that could not be penetrated, but hearing Huo Qubing create a word to insult him truly left him feeling overwhelmed.

He could accept being called incompetent, useless, or even worse names, but it was disheartening to have a specific term made just to insult him.

Seeing Zhao Kuo suddenly wilt like a frostbitten eggplant, Huo Qubing raised his head, proud as a rooster that had just won a fight.

Zhao Kuo, naturally displeased with Huo Qubing’s arrogance, gritted his teeth and said, “Go fight Bai Qi if you have the guts.”

At that moment, Zhao Kuo began to appreciate Bai Qi. Although he could only feel anxious around Bai Qi, he realized that by mentioning Bai Qi, he could provoke others!

After Zhao Kuo spoke, Huo Qubing replied, “I would love to compete with Wu’an Jun ^[1]is a title meaning “Marquis of Wu’an”. of the Qin Dynasty, but we were born in different eras, so we’ll never meet.” He added a sarcastic remark, “Or can you perform a magic trick? Make a living Wu’an Jun Bai Qi appear?”

Zhao Kuo sneered, “I can’t turn into a living person, but Bai Qi is in this world right now. Unfortunately, you just happened to see him.”

Huo Qubing: “Who?”

Zhao Kuo: “That man you mistook for our lord yesterday.”

Huo Qubing: “…”

So that was Bai Qi. No wonder he felt such a strong murderous aura. This made sense.

The young boy thought to himself, who among all the military commanders in the world wouldn’t want to test his sword against the great Qin Wu’an Jun, known for always winning in battles?

_  

While Zhao Kuo and Huo Qubing were arguing, Ying Yue and Jia Xu had already left and were walking toward the armory where they had originally planned to go with Zhao Kuo.

“Wen He. is it really okay for us to leave the two of them there?”

Listening to the little girl’s unsure question, Jia Xu smiled gently. “Don’t worry, my lord. They are just arguing; they won’t fight. Young people are full of energy.”

Realizing Zhao Kuo and Huo Qubing wouldn’t actually fight, Jia Xu took Ying Yue away, not wanting to watch the argument.

Seeing too much of this kind of thing would give him a headache.

His comment made the pretty girl laugh. Ying Yue smiled brightly. “Wen He is young and energetic too, but he always sounds old.”

Jia Xu just smiled and didn’t say more. Soon, the girl moved on from the topic.

After a moment, she spoke up again, calling his name, “Wen He…”

Jia Xu replied, “My lord, feel free to speak your mind.”

Then, he noticed the girl looking up at him, her voice filled with doubt. “Did I do something wrong by giving Red Hare to Zhao Kuo?”

Jia Xu, surprised by her direct question, asked back, “My lord, why do you think that?”