Qin Xian kowtowed and did not get up: "I have failed to do what the elders entrusted to me, and I am willing to accept the punishment."
"Now you know you're going to be punished!" Qin Shaoji slammed his teacup on the table. "Why didn't you investigate before? Instead, you helped others protect Hua Changle! You even dared to undermine Qin Ling. You think you're all grown up now?"
"Great-grandfather! Your grandson wouldn't dare." Qin Xian crawled two steps on his knees.
"But at that time, we were surrounded by wolves, and the God-Making Faction and the people of Gallia were also coveting Chang Le. To avoid them discovering anything, I didn't..."
With a wave of his hand, Qin Shaoji sent Qin Xian flying and tumbling away: "Do you know how much of a golden opportunity you missed by failing to detect Chang Le's fusion ability?"
"If we can confirm this before she enters the secret realm and obtain evidence, we can gain the upper hand and be the first to master the fusion!"
"This summit meeting won't be swept under the rug by her so easily!"
Qin Xian coughed up blood from the pain, struggled to get up and then knelt down again: "But, but that way the God-Making Faction and Gallia will find out too."
Qin Shaoji's eyes were cold and sharp: "So what if Gallia and the God-Making Faction find out? It's still in the hands of my Qin family!"
Qin Xian said with red eyes, "But! I can't let the whole Central Plains fall into a passive position for the sake of the Qin family!"
"Nation, nation; nation before family—that's what my great-grandfather taught me!"
"You bastard!" Qin Shaoji slammed his hand down and pinned Qin Xian to the ground.
The knees left cracks in the ground, and the bones creaked under the strain.
“Uncle,” Qin Ling said at this moment, “Young Master is going to enter the secret realm tomorrow. If he gets injured now, it may delay important matters.”
Qin Shaoji then stopped.
Qin Xian was in so much pain that he couldn't get up.
Qin Ling sighed inwardly and said, "Uncle, what the young master said earlier makes sense. The Gallia family has been secretly dealing with the Vera family recently, and they have big plans. We must be extra vigilant."
Qin Shaoji's fierce gaze fell on him, and Qin Ling, with his head lowered, insisted:
“Uncle, I think the most unpredictable danger right now is not Chang Le, but the mutants who have suddenly become rampant recently. If they have connections with the God-Making Faction and the Meli Federation, but the Qin family is unaware of it, that is the most dangerous thing.”
Upon hearing what Qin Ling said, Qin Shaoji's anger shifted to the god-making faction.
Another elder, observing the situation, said angrily:
"This God-Making Faction first colluded with the Sun family, then attracted the extraterrestrial Bion, and now they've released mutants. The God-Making Faction is a bunch of third-rate bastards, and they're becoming increasingly out of control! If only we had known, we should have wiped them all out during the extermination operation back then!"
Qin Xian was taken aback: "The operation two hundred years ago? Wasn't it said that all the core members were eliminated?"
What do you mean by "should be completely wiped out"?
The elder's eyes darted around before he said, "After all, some remnants of our forces escaped from the Central Plains, leaving behind future troubles."
"Alright." Qin Shaoji interrupted, waving his hand. "Qin Xian, go down and treat him first. Don't delay the matter of the secret realm."
He paused, then emphasized, "Qin Xian, if this attempt to create a mysterious realm fails again, the punishments from the previous attempts will be added together!"
Qin Xian, his breathing labored, leaned down and said, "Grandson understands."
Qin Xian left, still injured. After receiving treatment, he returned to his room, dismissed the servants, and sat down on the balcony, quietly gazing at the starry sky.
On the other side, Qin Shaoji left the hall and flew to the rooftop pavilion of the management committee's star-gazing building.
The old man leaned on the railing, gazing down at the brightly lit city of Hua'an. The expression in his dim, aged eyes was unfathomable.
"Old Qin, are you here again, sulking?"
The light golden liquid flowed down, transforming into the figure of Ying Miao, the elder of the Ying family.
Ying Miao wore a red, modernized cheongsam, her figure still retaining the elegance of her youth. Even with wrinkles on her face and snow-white hair, it only added to her refined and mature charm.
Qin Shaoji turned his head away with a cold face and remained silent, seemingly a completely different person from the humorous, witty, and amiable old man in the courtyard during the day.
But Ying Miao wasn't surprised at all, as if she knew very well that Qin Shaoji's humor was just a disguise.
Ying Miao leaned against the railing, her back to the city view, and said in a lazy voice, "What's wrong? Did you see Xiao Gu and the others protecting Chang Le in the courtyard, but you didn't have any evidence of Chang Le's fusion and were put on the defensive? Are you angry?"
Ying Miao guessed correctly, which only fueled Qin Shaoji's anger.
Ying Miao observed for a moment longer and said with certainty, "You scolded Qin Xian again. You blamed him for not prioritizing the task you entrusted to you."
Qin Shaoji exploded like a lit firecracker: "Shouldn't he be reprimanded? Fusion is something that shouldn't be applied to an individual, especially to an unstable, impetuous, and clueless child!"
For the sake of the entire Central Plains and my family, I entrusted him with this important task and trusted him, yet he merely went through the motions. Shouldn't he be punished?
Ying Miao scoffed: "Do you still need to use that high-sounding rhetoric in front of me?"
Qin Xian is a good boy, clear-headed, and considerate of the bigger picture; you clearly know that. Isn't that why you chose him to succeed you?
"Then he should put the Qin family first, instead of helping that outsider Hua Changle!"
“Hey, hey, hey,” Ying Miao reminded him, “His name is Chang Le, and the surname ‘Hua’ was just imposed on him.”
"The fusion shouldn't be left to such a young girl!" Qin Shaoji repeated, emphasizing his words.
"Tsk." Ying Miao was also a little impatient. "Qin Shaoji, the older you get, the more stubborn and short-tempered you become, right? You still won't listen to me!"
"Let me remind you, Qin Shaoji, from the very first time fusion appeared, it was controlled by a certain person."
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