"Meditation?" Qin Mu pondered the word, trying to recall the nuances. After a while, he smiled and said, "I see."
According to his understanding, sleeping is about emptying the mind and body, and getting a good rest; while during cultivation, the mental energy is always focused on every movement inside and outside the body. The feeling of being full of energy after stopping cultivation must be a result of abundant spiritual energy.
Meditation is different from spiritual cultivation. The main purpose of meditation is to empty the mind, which is equivalent to actively allowing oneself to enter a deep sleep state. Of course, people cannot go without sleep for a long time, as this is undoubtedly a burden on the mind. Even for practitioners, it will certainly have adverse effects in the long run.
Having understood this principle, Qin Mu gratefully bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Miss Qin."
"There's no point in giving pointers; I was just saying it offhand," Qin Yue said with a smile.
"Miss Qin, what brings you here today?"
"Have you forgotten? Didn't you say you were going to ask my seventh grandfather to modify the leather armor?" Qin Yue asked.
"Look at my memory! I actually forgot about this." Qin Mu patted his forehead and said.
"Let's go! I brought men with me this time, so there's no need to worry about assassination attempts," Qin Yue said with a smile.
“Assassins aren’t that stupid to come here to die. But I do have something to attend to today. Could you please help me, Miss Qin?” Qin Mu frowned, asking with some difficulty.
The main reason is that he's currently in high spirits, and inspiration for reading is flooding his mind. He really doesn't want to go out and interrupt his train of thought.
"No problem, go ahead and tell me," Qin Yue replied.
"I'll trouble Miss Qin to take these ten sets of leather armor over and ask him to make some alterations; also, my brother Lingyun and I ordered a few folding fans from my thirteenth grandfather, and I'll need your seventh grandfather to help make them as well. We'll use this Silver Wolf General's hide for the fan surfaces. I'll visit the two elders in person another day to express my gratitude." Qin Mu stood up and took out some of the leather armor that needed alteration, as well as the Silver Wolf General's hide.
"No problem, leave this to me. Seventh Grandfather and Grandpa Wang both love me very much." Qin Yue could tell that Qin Mu had been busy these past few days. Although she didn't know what he was cultivating, she agreed without hesitation.
"Thank you so much." After saying that, Qin Mu picked up his pen again.
Since he lacked knowledge, he decided to copy down more relevant books and read them thoroughly, repeatedly. He reasoned that reading a book a hundred times would reveal its meaning. He wanted to use this most basic method to deepen his understanding of the "principle."
Qin Yue left understandingly, having her belongings moved away. The courtyard fell silent again, except for Qin Mu's mutterings.
The Great Learning has only a little over two thousand characters, the Doctrine of the Mean a little over three thousand, and the Analects only fifteen or sixteen thousand. Of course! These are just the versions Qin Mu has read. Even copying them in small regular script didn't take him more than a few days. The Yin Fu Jing and the Tao Te Ching, these two Taoist classics, are also placed on his desk.
Each time Qin Mu read it, he felt he gained something new, but he also felt he didn't quite understand it; it was all like scratching an itch through a boot.
Days passed, and Qin Mu remained busy, reading, writing, and thinking, but he had stopped practicing swordsmanship.
"Brother, something's not right with Huai Dao!" Outside the courtyard, Bu Mang glanced worriedly at Qin Mu, whose subordinate was gazing at the sky, and whispered to Bu Fang.
"What's wrong with Huai Dao? Doesn't he read and write every day?" Bu Fang asked, frowning.
“He’s been spacing out for longer and longer periods, and his behavior is a bit erratic. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s wrong with him,” Bu Mang said, his brow furrowed.
“Tell me in detail,” Bu Fang asked, frowning as well. He was blind and could only hear, so he couldn’t sense anything unusual, but he trusted his brother.
“Huai Dao sometimes writes like crazy, and sometimes he’ll be lost in thought for half a day, scratching his head in distress. And in just a few days, he’s lost a lot of weight. This can’t go on. Even if his mind is fine, his body will probably break down,” Bu Mang said worriedly.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" Bu Fang stamped his foot in frustration.
"I only noticed it myself a couple of days ago. I just thought Huai Dao was working too hard. What should we do now?" Bu Mang asked anxiously.
"What do you and I know besides fighting? Why don't you hurry up and invite the King?" Bu Fang stared at Bu Mang with dead fish eyes.
"I'll go right away!" Bu Mang agreed and jogged away, while Bu Fang could only stand outside the courtyard, frowning and listening intently to the sounds inside, hoping to discover something.
At that moment, Qin Yao was entertaining guests when he suddenly heard a guard report that Bu Mang had urgent business to attend to. Knowing that Bu Mang was protecting Qin Mu, Qin Mu quickly had someone invite him in.
"What happened to Your Highness?" A middle-aged Taoist priest with an air of otherworldly wisdom asked curiously when he saw Qin Yao's somewhat flustered demeanor.
"The person who came is a guard of the eldest son of the Duke of Yi," Qin Yao explained.
"Could it be that another assassin has tried to kill Brother Huaidao?" Qin Yue said anxiously.
"It doesn't seem like it. We'll find out the reason soon enough," Qin Yao said, shaking his head. He was anxious too, but he didn't show it, except for a moment of surprise at the beginning.
Soon, the group heard a series of hurried footsteps.
"Greetings to the King."
"What happened to Huai Dao?" Qin Yue couldn't help but ask when he saw Bu Mang's anxious face.
"Something's wrong with Huai Dao. Please go and take a look," Bu Mang said anxiously.
"Don't rush, tell us slowly, tell us what happened first," Qin Yao comforted him.
"Here's what happened. For the past few days, Huai Dao has been isolating himself in the outer courtyard, constantly writing and meditating. At first, he was normal, practicing swordsmanship, writing, and reading during the day. But in the last two days, besides writing, he's just spacing out, has no appetite, and ignores everything around him. He's lost a lot of weight," Bu Mang explained.
“He looked rather haggard when I visited him five days ago,” Qin Yue added.
"This... could it be that there's something wrong with the inheritance he received?" Qin Yue said in shock.
"No, he's probably engrossed in something," Qin Yao said, shaking his head.
"Master Yuan, do you perhaps know something about this?" Qin Yao asked, noticing the Taoist stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"We've got a lead, but we need to see it in person to be sure," Master Yuan nodded slightly.
"Then let's go quickly," Qin Yao urged. He was also worried about Qin Mu's safety. Putting everything else aside, he had promised Qin Qiong that nothing would happen.
If something really happened to Qin Mu, even if Qin Qiong didn't pursue the matter, he wouldn't be able to get over it in his own heart. For a dignified king to go back on his word would be a very shameful thing for him. He would be ashamed to face Qin Qiong. Therefore, Qin Yao was still very anxious.
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