novelapdf Chapter 62: The Storm Is Brewing
Chapter 62: The Storm Is Brewing
After saying that, he turned his head sharply, his gaze fixed intently on Meng Xuande.
"Lord Meng!"
Zou Yun's voice suddenly became extremely solemn.
"I need you to immediately contact those who are tracking us, tell them I am here, and bring them here as soon as possible."
Meng Xuande's pupils suddenly contracted.
Upon hearing this order, his first thought was that the Grand Master wouldn't want to transfer him away and then sneak off with the others.
Meng Xuande subconsciously tensed up, his brows almost furrowing together.
He stared intently into Zou Yun's eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of cunning or guilt.
However, all he could see was composure and pleading.
Meng Xuande's Adam's apple bobbed, and after a long silence, he finally nodded emphatically.
"only!"
"very good!"
Zou Yun seemed to have anticipated his reaction and immediately turned to Feng Zhixue.
"Feng Jun, wait a moment. Take all the medicinal materials that Zheng Jun brought to a certain room and assist me."
"only!"
Feng Zhixue nodded without any hesitation, as if he wasn't the one who had been teased earlier.
"Jun Zheng!"
Immediately afterwards, Zou Yun's gaze fell on Zheng Ze, his solemnity undiminished.
"I need you to bring all the chieftains from the surrounding villages here. Remember, all of them! Not a single one can be missing!"
"only!"
Zheng Ze immediately bowed.
However, he then looked puzzled and asked, "Great Master, what excuse should I use?"
Qin law is strict. To summon all the people without authorization is no small matter. Without a reasonable pretext, it is very easy to cause panic and suspicion.
After a moment's hesitation, Zou Yun tossed the gold-inlaid dragon talisman from his bosom to Zheng Ze.
"So...so say that a star has fallen from the sky, carrying an ominous and unclean aura, which may bring disaster to the village."
"Now, the Imperial Grand Master is passing through this place. Showing compassion for the people, he has decided to exorcise evil spirits and dispel misfortune, ensuring peace for this region!"
"You are here immediately, without delay!"
"only!"
Zheng Ze carefully put away the dragon talisman, bowed again, accepted the order, and left in a hurry.
"And what about the child? Grand Master... what does the child need to do?"
Wei Shuqing, who had been anxiously waiting on the side, could no longer contain himself and rushed to Zou Yun's side to ask urgently when he saw that everyone had their tasks.
"Shuqing? Hmm...Shuqing..."
Zou Yun frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then solemnly said to him, "Uncle, I need you to stay by Meng Jun's side and keep a close eye on him for me at all times."
He paused, looked directly into Wei Shuqing's eyes, and emphasized his tone, as if he were entrusting him with some difficult task.
"How about it? Can you do it?"
"only!!!"
Seeing Zou Yun's serious expression, Wei Shuqing shouted, mimicking the mannerisms of the others.
"Phew, kids are so easy to fool."
Zou Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but a satisfied expression appeared on his face as he nodded slightly to Wei Shuqing.
"Yes, very good."
The serious expression on their faces made Feng Zhixue and Meng Xuande's lips twitch slightly.
"Go."
Zou Yun scanned the crowd once more and gave his final pep talk in a deep voice.
"only!"
The group exchanged glances and bowed simultaneously.
Having said that, they didn't waste any more time and immediately began to act according to their respective tasks.
Inside the small thatched hut, only Zou Yun remained, along with the mountain of medicinal materials piled up in front of him.
-----------------
A few days later, in the summer of the thirty-sixth year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, in Dongjun.
Lead-like clouds hung low over the open fields, completely blocking out the daylight, leaving only a gray haze between heaven and earth.
"Tap...tap...tap..."
The rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly tore through the deathly silence.
The red-banner courier, carrying the imperial edict, traveled day and night for thousands of miles to the residence of the governor of Dongjun, bringing with him the imperial edict personally written by the First Emperor.
The bamboo slips unfold, revealing characters as if cast in iron, cold and ruthless.
"The fall of a star is an ominous sign, bringing calamity and chaos to the people. Wherever a star falls, the villages and people within a ten-mile radius must be completely wiped out, leaving no one alive, in order to quell this celestial anomaly and secure the imperial throne."
A chill ran through the prefect's heart.
"this..."
His fingers, gripping the bamboo slip, trembled slightly, and his face instantly turned deathly pale. An entire area within ten miles, wiped out? How many innocent lives would that mean?
Faced with such an order, the governor of Dongjun hesitated, as if he wanted to say something.
However, when he raised his head and met the courier's eyes, which were as cold as ice, all his words were frozen in his throat.
The chill in those eyes was colder than the words on the imperial edict, proclaiming the fate of those who defied it.
After a moment of silence, the prefect lowered his head and managed to squeeze out a low syllable through clenched teeth.
"......only!"
Once the military order was given, there was no room for maneuver.
The empire's war machine began to operate with chilling efficiency.
"Boom—!"
At the edge of the wilderness, a series of deep, thunderous footsteps broke through the wind.
The entire Qin army advanced steadily in a square formation, the thousand-man ranks perfectly aligned, with not a single person whispering or straying.
Only the resounding thud of iron boots crushing the barren earth, uniform and rhythmic, carries a sense of crushing everything.
This was the war machine that allowed the Qin Dynasty to sweep across the six states. Just by standing there, it could freeze the wind and cause the wild grass to bend.
Even the gloom in the sky seemed to deepen.
In the center of the formation, the county magistrate in charge of the troops stood with his reins in hand.
He wore double-layered leather armor, his face was cold and expressionless, and his eyes were as deep as a cold pool as he scanned the mulberry grove at the edge of his vision.
It was an ordinary village.
The earthen-yellow low walls and thatched roofs are arranged in a staggered pattern.
The lanes and alleys are clear and winding, and the farmhouses, fenced courtyards, and wells at the village entrance are all intact, without the slightest damage.
Even some thatched roofs still had traces of cooking smoke remaining.
However, all that remains is deathly silence!
A chilling, deathly silence!
There was no sound of roosters crowing or dogs barking, no sound of women and children crying, and no sound of farmers scolding their oxen.
The entire village was deserted, with no one to be seen.
The wind swept through the empty alley, rustling against the thatched eaves, creating an eerie atmosphere in the deathly silence of the wilderness.
The entire army remained perfectly aligned, the armored soldiers standing as still as clay or bronze, with only the soft, crisp sound of armor plates clattering in the wind falling into the deathly silence.
But that murderous intent, which had been stretched to its limit, suddenly froze, with nowhere to land or be suppressed.
Instead, it added to the suffocating and oppressive atmosphere of an impending storm.
The county magistrate's eyes suddenly hardened with a cold glint, his knuckles slightly gripping the hilt of his sword, his aura growing increasingly fierce. He was like a tiger poised to pounce, yet facing an empty hunting ground.
Just then, a scout galloped back from the open field to the side.
"Report—!"
The scout's voice was hoarse and high-pitched.
"The entire village of Sangluo, without scattering or fleeing, gathered at Pingqiu Village, ten miles to the southeast! Old and young, women and children, farmers and laborers—not a single one was missing; they all came together there!"
He took a deep breath and continued, "The Commandant has ordered us to meet at Pingqiu Village."
The moment those words were spoken, the deathly silence of the wilderness shattered instantly.
They didn't flee or scatter, nor did they hide in the mountains; the entire village migrated together.
Ordinary villagers, without any orders or summons, how could they have such uniform actions? How could they have such a strange tacit understanding?
The gloomy sky hung lower and lower, the leaden clouds seemed about to fall, as if a storm was about to pour down at any moment.
The Qin army's thousand elite soldiers remained arrayed like mountains, their spears like frost, their killing intent undiminished.
However, the originally planned encirclement and attack suddenly reversed.
Pingqiu Village and its surroundings.
On one side stood the solemn and silent elite Qin army, while on the other side were ordinary people, bewildered and fearful, murmuring amongst themselves.
Heaven and earth were silent, and all things held their breath.
Lead-colored clouds hung low, and battle flags stood silent.
The raging storm had been accumulating power for a long time, waiting only for a moment to erupt!