"Is that kid your friend, Yue'er?" Qin Xiaotian asked after sitting down.
"Yes, Grandpa, Huaidao is my good friend," Qin Yue replied, patting the old man's shoulders. Of the entire family, only his grandfather truly doted on him.
"When you came up with that plan a few days ago, I thought you were just praising that young man. Turns out he really is a talented person."
"Yes, the entire reservoir construction plan and detailed farming plan were his creations; we only made some modifications and additions," Qin Yao replied.
"Hmm! Qin Qiong is probably here on behalf of the Emperor. There are some things he may not know. Yue'er, tell him everything that our Qin family knows about the secret realm at some time," Qin Xiaotian instructed.
"Grandson understands."
"Hmm, which of the people we invited have arrived?"
"The Liu family from the Southwest, the Sun family from Yazhou, the Taoist Chunyang Palace, the Mohist Xiangli, the Cihang Jingzhai from the Northwest, and the Jingnian Chan sect; the royal family is represented by Prince Li Xiaogong of Hejian and his eldest son, Li Chongyi," Qin Yao introduced.
"Other families either didn't invite anyone because they didn't have a suitable candidate, or it was just for birthday celebrations," Qin Xian explained.
"Okay, let's do it this way. Hopefully, someone will succeed this time," Qin Xiaotian said, waving his hand.
"Woo! Woo woo!" Just then, a desolate horn sounded urgently.
"What!" Everyone in the room stood up simultaneously, their expressions changing drastically. As the masters of Juyong Pass, they naturally knew what the horn sound meant, but they were simply shocked.
"Greetings, Master! Smoke signals have arrived from the front!" Without keeping them waiting long, a guard rushed to the door, bowed, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to report.
"Sound the drums to gather the troops! Quickly gather intelligence on the enemy!" Qin Yao commanded sternly.
"Here you go!"
The guard responded and ran away.
"Second brother, you and Yue'er, immediately appease the guests and invite the Duke of Yi to come and discuss the enemy situation; General Wang, impose martial law at Juyong Pass," Qin Yao ordered again.
"Here you go!"
As soon as the order was given, everyone in the room hurriedly left, heading off to their respective mission objectives.
"Bang! Bang bang!" The dull drumbeats were like blows to the heart, making people feel uncomfortable, but they also completely ignited Juyong Pass. Many people rushed towards the Prince Zheng's Mansion, and warhorses neighed inside the pass.
Many people who were working dropped what they were doing and ran home. Some who were already at home returned to their rooms when they heard the bugle call, then put on their armor, picked up their weapons, and appeared at their doorsteps, waiting for orders.
When the bugle sounded, Qin Qiong also stood up in surprise, his smile vanished, and he looked towards the door.
"What's wrong?" Qin Mu had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he didn't know why.
"This is a bugle call only sounded in an emergency!" Qin Qiong explained.
"This is the border region. Could it be that the beastmen have arrived?" Qin Mu asked in surprise.
"It can't be wrong!"
"My lord! Smoke signals have come from the front gate!" Just then, the guards outside the courtyard ran in, clasped their hands, and reported.
"Be on guard!" Qin Qiong ordered.
"Here you go!"
"My lord, my young master has gone out of seclusion and hasn't returned yet. I hope something has happened to him. Could you please go to the Qin residence to inquire about him?" Lu Ce said worriedly.
"My cousin went out of the pass? What did he go there for? How many men did he take? How long have he been gone?" Qin Qiong frowned and asked in succession. At first, he didn't see Luo Cheng and thought something had delayed him, but he didn't expect him to be out of the pass.
“Young Master has been out of seclusion for ten days, with only five brothers. Five years ago, Young Master discovered a place on the grassland with many Purple Leaf Heart Orchids. At that time, there were wolves chasing him, so he didn’t have time to pick them. This time, he thought he would go and see if they were still there,” Lu Ce explained.
"Honestly, taking only a few people and entering the grasslands, such grown men, yet so reckless," Qin Qiong said, frowning.
"You should know about the hunting trip in Youzhou that the young master wrote, right? This is the one that the young master took the young master with. It is said that the second half of the poem is about the young master. As you know, the young master is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. The purple-leafed orchid has the effect of increasing energy, and he wanted to give it to the young master." Lu Ce explained.
"Ah! My uncle went to the grasslands for me!" Qin Mu was surprised, not expecting this reason.
"Young Master didn't tell you because he was afraid you would worry."
"Don't be afraid. If a large force really enters the grassland, I'll be worried. But if it's just a few people, they'll be fine. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news," Qin Qiong said after thinking for a moment.
Although they were a little anxious, they waited patiently, knowing that the Qin family would surely tell them the details soon. However, for safety reasons, Qin Qiong's guards had already cordoned off the courtyard and begun patrolling with weapons.
"Duke! Brother Huaidao!" Qin Yue greeted him with a cupped hand.
"Brother Lingyun, what exactly happened?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"The wolf clan is attacking! They're only a hundred miles from Qianguan."
"Why is the wolf clan sending out troops at this time? This is not normal," Qin Qiong said, puzzled.
"Duke, my father requests your presence to discuss the war," Qin Yue said, bowing once more.
"It's my duty and I can't shirk it," Qin Qiong nodded in agreement.
"Please wait a moment, Duke. There is another matter concerning Brother Huaidao that I need your consideration."
"Is it related to Mu'er?" Qin Qiong, who was about to leave, stopped and looked at Qin Yue seriously.
"Besides celebrating my grandfather's birthday, there's another matter, but not many people know about it. This matter dates back a thousand years, when the six kingdoms were not yet unified. Once, the wolf clan, together with many other beast clans, attacked the Three Passes."
The situation was critical, and the First Emperor sent General Wei Liao to defeat the enemy. Some say that the beastmen were lured into the valley by Wei Liao, and the million-strong army was buried alive; others say that all the beastmen were banished to the void by Wei Liao.
Anyway, it's true that those more than a million beastmen didn't go back. The Xiongnu wolf clan was also severely weakened and it took them twenty or thirty years to recover. Moreover, after that battle, the Grand Commandant Wei Liao also disappeared. Qin Yue told a story from a thousand years ago.
"What does this have to do with me?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"What follows is related to this. After Wei Liao disappeared, he left a message: he set up a test near Juyong Pass, asking the First Emperor to help select a successor. This is the Qin family's secret realm, which can only be entered by people under the age of twenty."
For many years, the Qin family had sent someone into the secret realm every twenty years, but no one had ever succeeded in inheriting the legacy. Until a hundred years ago, their ancestor decided to seek outside help, inviting outstanding talents from all over the world to enter the secret realm,” Qin Yue continued.
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