Was Grandpa the God of War's Brother?

The words sent an uproar through the room.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Every gaze snapped to the tiny engraved words.

"Marshal Qin, the God of War?"

Yue Xiaofei froze.

He had seen that name in his history textbook.

"Marshal Qin Lie, one of the Ten Marshals?" Lin Xiaolu cried.

"That's him! The God of War himself!"

Lin Tiejun nodded, his voice filled with unprecedented reverence.

"When we fought the Japanese Invaders, he led a division straight through a hundred thousand enemy troops without losing a single soldier!"

"Just hearing his name was enough to strike fear into the enemy!"

"Later, as one of the Ten Marshals, he devoted himself to the country until his dying breath!"

"I've seen his handwriting. These strokes, this force—there's no mistaking it!"

Shock appeared on Lei Zhen's face too.

"Marshal Qin lived simply. He never gave anyone gifts, let alone his pistol!"

"Back then, countless generals begged him for just a few words in his hand, but he refused!"

"How did Old Master Yue come to have a pistol from him?"

Yue Xiaofei's heart was racing.

Army commander!

It looked like just one extra word compared with regimental commander.

But the two ranks were worlds apart.

If his grandfather really had been an army commander, the benefits due him would be entirely different!

The family genealogy would have to start a new page with him!

Even Provincial Number One of Jiangbei Province would have to respectfully call him "senior"!

Thump!

Just then, Yue Qinhu sat bolt upright in his wicker chair, snatched the pistol from Lei Zhen, and cradled it like a treasure.

"My gun! Brother Qin gave it to me... Nobody's taking it!"

"Brother Qin?"

Lin Tiejun's eyes lit up. "So the old regimental commander still remembers Marshal Qin?!"

Just then...

Yue Qinhu lowered his head again and muttered, "Fight the Japanese Invaders! Charge! Brother Qin said when the war was over... we'd go home and farm..."

Lei Zhen and Lin Tiejun exchanged a look. Both saw the same astonishment in the other's eyes.

It seemed...

Yue Qinhu not only knew Marshal Qin, but called him "brother"!

That was no ordinary relationship between a commander and his subordinate!

Marshal Qin had been the commander-in-chief during the Defense of Jiangcheng!

Could Marshal Qin have invited Yue Qinhu back after he retired to his hometown, with Yue Qinhu eventually becoming an army commander?

Then why had he hidden his identity and settled for life in an urban village?

"Grandpa..."

Looking at that hunched back, Yue Xiaofei suddenly felt his nose sting.

The man he had been protecting was not merely an elderly man with dementia.

He was a hero with a secret!

A Legend whom even Marshal Qin had called his brother!

The people who bullied the Yue Family would never know—

The man they had trampled on was a monument to heroism!

Lin Tiejun took a red cloth bundle from inside his jacket and slowly opened it. Inside lay a rusted cartridge casing.

"Old regimental commander, you gave me this casing back then!"

"You told me, 'Bullets may rust, but our backbones must never bend'!"

"I've carried it for seventy years, close to my heart every day!"

Yue Qinhu's fingers touched the casing and suddenly trembled. A flicker of clarity passed through his clouded eyes.

"Bullets... Fight the Japanese Invaders..."

"Yes! Fight the Japanese Invaders!"

Lin Tiejun shook with excitement. "You were the one who led our charge!"

But Yue Qinhu's gaze soon clouded over again.

He leaned back in his wicker chair and began humming that off-key marching song:

"Forward! Forward! Forward! Our troops march toward the sun..."

Hearing the song, Lei Zhen gently set the pistol back on the table and made up his mind—

That gun!

It was Marshal Qin's gift to a hero!

He would never take it back!

"Grandpa, if Old Master Yue was an army commander, why is there no record of him?" Lin Xiaolu asked.

"At that rank, he should have received the benefits due him even after retiring!" Lin Tiejun frowned deeply. "Something's wrong here!"

"Could someone have deliberately erased Old Master Yue's history?" Lei Zhen suggested.

"Very possibly!"

Lin Tiejun's gaze sharpened. "No ordinary person could have done that!"

Lei Zhen approached Yue Qinhu. "Old Master Yue, think carefully. Do you remember Marshal Qin Lie?"

"Qin... Qin who? Don't remember..."

Yue Qinhu stared blankly and mumbled to himself.

"Ah..."

Lei Zhen sighed. "Marshal Qin passed away years ago. It looks like we'll have to find his descendants and ask them!"

The Qin Family was among the most powerful families in the country!

Lei Zhen had some standing in the military, but he had no ties to the Qin Family. Getting an audience with Marshal Qin's descendants would be nearly impossible.

Still, he did not give up. He turned to Yue Xiaofei.

"Xiaofei, I'd like the Guards to search the house for old belongings. Maybe we'll find a clue?"

"Of course!"

Yue Xiaofei nodded without hesitation.

He had a feeling the plaque, medal, and pistol were not the only treasures his grandfather had hidden.

Perhaps an even bigger surprise lay somewhere in this humble house!

"Search carefully!" Lei Zhen ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

Several Guards got to work at once, moving swiftly but gently for fear of damaging anything important.

Yue Xiaofei, Lin Tiejun, Lei Zhen, and Lin Xiaolu watched with nervous anticipation.

"Found something!"

A Guard emerged holding an old wooden chest. It was locked and looked to be quite old.

Lei Zhen stepped forward to examine it. The longer he looked, the more astonished he became.

"This... This is made of thousand-year dark cedar! It's exceptionally rare and worth a fortune—even more valuable than that Pillar of the Country plaque! I can't believe Old Master Yue owns such a treasure!"

Yue Xiaofei was stunned.

He had thought his family owned next to nothing. Who would have guessed that an ordinary-looking chest was an antique?

"Whatever's inside might prove the old regimental commander's identity!"

Lin Tiejun was excited too. "Xiaofei, open it!"

"Okay."

Yue Xiaofei nodded.

Everyone held their breath, wondering what they would find.

What secret could a chest worth a fortune hold?

Yue Qinhu's old appointment papers?

Letters from Marshal Qin?

Or perhaps evidence that could clear Yue Changlong's name?

Click!

Yue Xiaofei finally opened the chest.

There were no military medals inside, nor any yellowed appointment papers.

Only two objects lay on the dark red velvet lining.

A phoenix crown!

A Golden Key!

The crown was an exquisite work of art, breathtakingly beautiful.

Most dazzling of all were the nine lustrous beads at its crest. One look was enough to tell they were extraordinary.

The key was no ordinary object either!

Made of solid gold, it was engraved with intricate dragon-scale patterns.

"What is this..."

Lei Zhen froze.

He had imagined countless possibilities, but women's jewelry had never crossed his mind.

"This is what the old regimental commander kept hidden all his life?"

Lin Tiejun was baffled too.

"I remember!"

Yue Xiaofei slapped his thigh. "This chest was part of Grandma's dowry! Grandpa said she brought it with her when they married and wouldn't let anyone touch it!"

"Your grandmother?"

Lin Tiejun's face relaxed into a smile. "That's right! The old regimental commander once mentioned someone he loved. He said he'd marry her when the war was over!"

"He always carried an embroidered handkerchief. Your grandmother must have made it!"

"Oh my god! It's a Dzi Phoenix Crown!"

Lin Xiaolu's startled cry rang out.

She rushed to the chest and reached toward it, but did not dare touch it.

"Grandpa, look!"

"The phoenix's eyes are pigeon-blood rubies! And there are nine dzi beads set into the crest!"

"When I went to Longdu last year, I made a point of visiting the Forbidden City's jewelry museum. Its crown jewel is a Dzi Phoenix Crown! Fewer than five still exist worldwide!"

"Three years ago, one missing a pearl sold at an overseas auction for a billion!"

"The dzi beads on the Forbidden City's crown have cracks. It isn't in nearly as good condition as this one!"