Hearing footsteps outside, Qin Mu looked towards the gate with a smile.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"No need for formalities, Huai Dao!" Qin Yao was overjoyed to have guessed Qin Mu's purpose and thought he would have to wait two more days for a reply. He was delighted that Qin Mu had arrived in just one night and warmly helped him up.

"Brother Lingyun, Miss Qin!"

"Brother Huaidao, Young Master Qin!"

Qin Yao considerately only brought his two children, who were familiar with Qin Mu. However, Qin Yue appeared to be a very gentle and ladylike person, which surprised Qin Mu. He didn't expect her to have this side to her.

“Brother Huaidao, don’t be surprised. Some people always put on this act in front of Father.” Qin Yue guessed Qin Mu’s thoughts and said with a pout.

Qin Mu wisely avoided the topic, which could lead to future repercussions, and instead smiled and asked, "I heard that Miss Qin was unconscious. I wonder if you are feeling better?"

"Thank you for your concern, but I just couldn't bear the pain for a moment," Qin Yue said, still shaken.

Upon hearing Qin Yue's words, Qin Mu couldn't help but twitch his cheeks. The pain was so vivid in his memory that it could only be described as unbearable.

"I'm really curious, I wonder how you, Young Master Qin, managed to get through that?" After calming down, Qin Yue asked curiously.

"I don't know either. If I had to go through it again, I'd rather kill myself," Qin Mu said with a wry smile.

It was a soul-wrenching, bone-deep pain; if they hadn't been too weak to move at the time, some of them might have actually committed suicide.

Qin Yue believed Qin Mu's words because, given the circumstances at the time, probably no one had the strength to do anything else; everything was left to fate.

"Alright, let bygones be bygones. Let's not bring up unpleasant memories anymore. Everyone, sit down and talk," Qin Yao said.

"Your Highness, I've come today mainly to discuss three matters with you." Without any small talk, Qin Mu got straight to the point after sitting down.

"Please speak, Huai Dao. I am all ears," Qin Yao said with a smile, gesturing with his hand.

"I did obtain the secret realm inheritance, but I need to wait for a while. Otherwise, even if you asked me to set up a dungeon now, I wouldn't be able to do it well."

“No problem, Huai Dao, you’ve had plenty of free time, so just do it. There’s no need to rush.” Qin Yao nodded understandingly.

Many classical texts are obscure and difficult to understand. Even copying them verbatim can easily lead to misunderstandings and subjective interpretations, resulting in grammatical errors and potentially altering the entire meaning. This is especially true for newly acquired texts. After some time and familiarization with the text several times, copying it will generally prevent mistakes.

The Qin family also possesses the secret manual, and its vivid explanations and teaching methods are remarkably effective. Qin Yao believes that once Qin Mu understands it, he might even be able to add his own unique annotations.

Of course! There's another unspoken reason: Qin Mu will definitely look at it several times, select the best parts, and then pass it on to the Qin family.

"Brother Huaidao, you don't know, but Father already said yesterday that you have done the Qin family a great favor. Even if you don't hand over the copy to us, it won't matter. Besides, when we invited you into the secret realm, we didn't say that you had to hand over the inheritance copy," Qin Yue said with a smile.

"No, no, everyone else has made a promise, how can I be an exception? Now that I'm in, I have to follow the rules. I can't just go back on my word when I get out," Qin Mu said seriously.

"I knew Brother Huaidao wasn't that kind of person!" Qin Yue said happily.

"Ahem! Look at you! And look at Huaidao, when will you ever be able to behave yourself!" Qin Yao looked at his son, who was getting a little carried away, and his face darkened. He coughed twice and said.

Upon seeing his father's change of expression, Qin Yue immediately knelt down properly.

"Young Master Qin, what exactly is this inheritance?" Qin Yue asked curiously.

"The inheritance consists of a secret manual and a sect treasure; everything else is secondary. The manual mainly records military strategy, covering everything from recruitment and training to setting up camp, marching and fighting, and troop deployment. There are also some miscellaneous studies, but I haven't had time to look at them yet," Qin Mu replied after deliberately pausing for a moment.

He didn't answer immediately, pretending to be somewhat embarrassed, and sure enough! Qin Yue said gratefully, "Thank you for telling me the truth, Young Master Qin."

"What are the other two things you mentioned, Huai Dao?" Qin Yao asked.

"In the secret realm, I also obtained a batch of weapons and equipment, which I intend to present to the King," Qin Mu said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"I am already extremely grateful that you could give me a copy of the secret manual, Huai Dao. How could I possibly be greedy for anything else?" Qin Yao said solemnly, waving his hand.

"Your Highness, please don't be so quick to refuse. There are quite a lot of these weapons and armor. I wouldn't need them anyway. The Qin family guards the border, and wars are frequent. Consider this my way of showing my appreciation," Qin Mu advised.

So many weapons and armor, though most were damaged, even if kept, given his father's personality, he'd probably make him hand them over to the court. It's better to divide them into three: keep one for himself, one for Li Shimin, and one for the Qin family, thus gaining a favor.

There's not much skill involved in gift-giving; after all, nobody dislikes a free gift, and even if you don't reciprocate, you still have to remember the favor.

"Since Huai Dao says so, I will accept it without hesitation," Qin Yao nodded.

"I don't know where would be a good place to put it?" Qin Mu asked.

"Let's go! We'll go to the barracks and talk as we walk," Qin Yao said, standing up.

"Miss Qin, are you taking the Five Elements Pills to train Five Elements Warriors?" Qin Mu asked on the way.

“Yes, it’s not exactly a secret,” Qin Yue replied.

"Could it be that Brother Huaidao, you still have a large quantity of Five Elements Pills?" Qin Yue asked in surprise.

"The Five Elements Pill certainly exists, but there is a problem: taking the Five Elements Pill alone has significant side effects."

"What!" Qin Yue exclaimed in surprise.

"Huai Dao, you're talking about the two side effects: dying young and having no offspring, right?" Qin Yao asked calmly.

Qin Mu immediately understood that the Qin family had indeed figured out some of the drawbacks after nearly a thousand years of use.

"Their strength can only reach the entry level of general, and they will not make any further progress unless they consume large amounts of it," Qin Mu nodded.

"How come I didn't know there were such big drawbacks!" Qin Yue asked his father in surprise.

"There are many things you don't know! Do you expect me to tell you everything?" Qin Yao said irritably.

Qin Yue was used to his father criticizing him, so he shrank back and dared not provoke him.

"We are aware of this problem, but there is nothing we can do. Every year, a number of orcs infiltrate the pass, sabotage checkpoints, assassinate officials, massacre civilians, and create chaos. These orcs are quite strong, and ordinary soldiers cannot deal with them. Therefore, we can only use experts to deal with them."

"Over the years, even knowing the drawbacks, we've had no choice but to force the Qin family's geniuses to take elixirs," Qin Yao said sadly.