第19章 家族壮大,惊天秘闻

By the shores of Green Mountain Lake.

A gentle breeze drifted in, leaving the water unruffled.

After exchanging the passcode, Qin Xian's tightly wound nerves visibly eased somewhat, though she did not completely lower her guard. She first asked a few simple questions. "Where did you come from? Did you encounter any obstacles along the way? Is Daoist Wang well?"

One question here, another there.

They sounded casual, yet every one of them was a probe.

Qin Tiehan answered each one earnestly, without seeming to make anything up. Especially when he mentioned Wang Congyun, the respect and gratitude in his voice could not have been faked.

Only then did Qin Xian gradually set her mind at ease... Five years had passed, yet that dark, thin young Daoist had not forgotten her and her children after all.

"Madam Qin." Qin Tiehan cupped his fists and gave a solemn salute, his face full of unease and sincerity. "There's a reason our group traveled all this way to the Northern Jiang Forbidden Zone. Daoist Wang personally observed us for a long time before bringing us here to find you... In our hearts, we're completely convinced by and deeply respectful of both Daoist Wang and you."

"Daoist Wang even cleared away our old identities and gave us new names! From now on, we're all members of the Qin Household. We all bear the surname Qin."

Qin Xian waved her hand, signaling that he need not rush to say such things. She raised her hand, spread her fingers, then slowly curled them inward, making a signal toward those behind her.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!

The ground beneath their feet suddenly shook violently!

Qin Tiehan felt everything around him tremble fiercely. It surged and subsided like an earth dragon turning over, followed by an endless, low rumble rolling through the earth. The land rippled strangely, waves spreading outward.

The farmers retreated several steps in fright, only to realize that although the ground shook fiercely, their footing remained unusually steady. Not a single person fell.

Then an even more astonishing sight appeared!

On the wasteland west of the lakeshore, the earth split open to either side. Soil and rocks churned as a row of houses slowly emerged. A vast stretch of farmland beside them also rose from underground before everyone's eyes, its ridges neat and distinct, its crops lush and green as they swayed gently in the wind.

Qin Tiehan's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open in shock. "Imm... immortal arts! It's immortal arts!"

The farmers behind him all sucked in cold breaths. Someone's legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees.

"Lord Field Steward!" someone whispered. "This is Lord Field Steward's immortal art!"

Qin Tiehan came back to his senses, and the way he looked at Qin Xian was now completely different.

He had never personally seen that renowned Lord Field Steward display his methods, but according to the rumors, even that Daoist master had never possessed such effortless skill—hiding houses and fields, overturning an entire tract of land, causing such a great commotion while keeping everything as stable as a mountain.

This was clearly the ability of an immortal!

"The Qin Household of Green Mountain Lake truly is extraordinary!" he said sincerely. "To actually have a Lord Field Steward with immortal arts this profound!"

The crowd looked at one another in amazement, each marveling in silence. Then they all let out long breaths and finally relaxed completely.

So that was how it was.

They had not come to seek refuge with destitute survivors. They had truly found someone to rely on.

Amid the commotion, Xiao Tuyun and Qin Yi emerged as well.

Xiao Tuyun quietly shrank farther into Qin Xian's arms, burying her face in her mother's shoulder as though she were shy and afraid of strangers. Yet her little hand secretly squeezed Qin Xian's palm.

Once, twice, three times...

Qin Xian understood at once. This girl was usually mischievous beyond measure, but when it truly mattered, she knew exactly what was going on.

She clearly did not quite trust these outsiders.

Qin Xian caught her meaning and whispered by her daughter's ear, "Tuyun, don't reveal your abilities in front of anyone for now. Stay with your brothers and sisters these next few days."

"...Mm, Mother. I understand."

Qin Xian patted her back, pretending to comfort her, before straightening and addressing Qin Tiehan and the others. "There are ruins of some abandoned houses to the west, separated from here by a stretch of marshland. Settle down there first."

She did not say much, but her arrangements were clear. With the marshland between them, neither side would disturb the other in daily life.

The farmers were not picky. Having a place to settle was already an enormous kindness. They immediately shouldered their luggage and farm tools and followed Qin Yi westward.

Before long, the lakeside rang with clanging and the sounds of moving things. The abandoned houses, deserted for many years, came alive again beneath their hands. Every one of them was skilled, their movements swift and nimble as they eagerly cleaned up the area, repaired the broken houses, and moved in.

Much later.

Only after the activity in the west gradually settled did Qin Xian call Qin Tiehan aside alone.

"Brother Tiehan, sit. Let's talk."

Qin Tiehan sat as instructed, but only half his backside touched the stone. He remained slightly hunched over, looking exceedingly restrained.

Qin Xian did not immediately get to the point. Instead, she chose a harmless question. "That Lord Field Steward you mentioned earlier—what exactly does that mean?"

Qin Tiehan froze for a moment, then answered at once.

"Madam Qin has worked deeply in the agricultural path for many years, so you should know that farmers like us cultivate much like Daoist masters do... There's a way to advance, through inheritance, teaching, farming, and tilling. The ordinary rank is 'Farmer,' with knowledge of cultivation, crop identification, observing the weather, and so on. Above that is 'Field Steward'! They can sense the earth and use immortal arts! They can travel several miles underground and move earth to open paths! They're truly remarkable!"

"The Field Stewards we saw before all came from the Daoist sect of Lingjiang Temple, so that is naturally what we called them."

Qin Xian nodded without showing any reaction. "Are there many Field Stewards outside who can use earth escape arts and earth-moving arts?"

"Not many! But not exactly few either..." Qin Tiehan thought for a moment. "They were all trained by Daoist sects. Just among those I know, there are three who can use earth-moving arts. The strongest is named Li Xiaobing. I heard she was selected into Lingjiang Temple before the great calamity in Dajiang County. The Daoist sect raised her as the first agricultural-path True Person. She's quite famous outside!"

"But from what I just saw, even Daoist Li doesn't have your ability to hide houses and fields, Madam Qin. Your Daoist arts are far more profound than those Field Stewards'!"

Qin Xian did not respond. She silently calculated in her heart.

It seemed that even among Daoist sects, Xiao Tuyun's talent stood far ahead of everyone else, unrivaled at the very top.

It was only that the child's cultivation had not noticeably improved lately. They guessed that there had to be a higher rank above Field Steward, but no one had reached it yet. They had no idea what realm it would be, nor what kind of immortal arts it could bring...

For the short term, with her and Qin Yi, both eighth-rank, holding the fort, and Xiao Tuyun as their trump card, the newcomers would not be able to cause any trouble.

Once more time had passed and their authority had gradually been established, they would still be the true pillars of the Qin Household of Green Mountain Lake.

Qin Xian relaxed slightly, then changed the subject. "By the way, I remember that the first person from Dajiang County selected by the Daoist sect back then was named Chen Cun, right? He was quite glorious in the county at the time... How is he doing in the Daoist sect now? Has he become a Field Steward as well?"

Qin Tiehan's expression changed at once.

He fell silent for a while and looked around before leaning closer and lowering his voice. "Madam Qin, even if you hadn't brought this up, I was going to tell you... After I arrived, Daoist Wang ordered me to make sure I explained the matter of New Dajiang County clearly to you. He wanted you to understand the special nature of agricultural-path cultivators like us, as well as the Daoist sect's schemes! So you could be prepared."

Qin Xian's pupils shrank. "New county?"

What?

Why had a New Dajiang County suddenly appeared?

Could it be that after Dajiang County was destroyed, they had built a new one elsewhere?

Qin Tiehan's face was grave, and his tone grew heavy as he began recounting everything he knew.

Before he had even gotten far, Qin Xian's expression had changed drastically. She drew in a deep breath in disbelief.

As he continued, Qin Xian's face grew increasingly solemn, until it was almost as dark as water...

"This is a long story... It began more than four years ago."

After that strange calamity, Dajiang County had become ruined. Strange energy covered the land, and not a blade of grass could grow! Everyone believed that place would never recover, that it would be no different from the forbidden lands outside Jiang Prefecture that had lain abandoned for hundreds or thousands of years. It would never be saved.

But who could have known that more than four years ago, the Daoist masters of Lingjiang Temple discovered something strange... At the places where agricultural-path cultivators had died, the strange energy had actually dispersed!

Not only had it dispersed, crops had begun growing from the earth, and old trees had sprouted new buds.

The Daoist sect immediately suppressed the news, not revealing a single word outside. Internally, however, they secretly gathered skilled farmers from all over Jiang Prefecture and sent them batch by batch to the old grounds of Dajiang County, having those farmers rebuild a new county on that newly revived land.

At first, everyone was afraid, afraid that the strange calamity would return. But the Daoist sect dispatched many Daoist masters and True Persons to guard the place personally, clearing out the wandering strange creatures in the surrounding area. The conditions were indeed generous, and they had the favor of the Daoist sect as well... Little by little, everyone settled down.

Later, things changed with each passing day, and everything began to flourish again. That was how New Dajiang County was built.

That land seemed to possess true spirituality. Whatever they planted grew, and the crops were so vigorous it was frightening!

Moreover, it seemed to be blessed by the lingering will and fortune of the agricultural-path ancestors. Nearly everyone in the first group awakened their innate wisdom...

More and more people came later, and more and more awakened their innate wisdom. In just three short years, New Dajiang County had more than one hundred ninth-rank "Farmers." By the beginning of spring this year, the Daoist sect had publicly announced that there were already more than four hundred ninth-rank "Farmers."

Qin Tiehan's group of seventeen had been among them, but none of them had expected that this was the beginning of an even greater nightmare.

The flourishing of the agricultural path and the rapid rise of New Dajiang County had instead become the death sentence hanging over all their heads!