Confused and slightly panicked, surprised yet reserved, the three little girls opened their eyes one after another. When they saw a group of older brothers staring at them with wide eyes, they couldn't help but shrink back.
"How are you feeling?" Cheng Huaimo asked curiously.
"Get out of here, you're scaring them!" Yu Chi Lian slapped Cheng Huaimo away and glared at him.
Cheng Huaimo touched his nose and awkwardly backed away.
Looking at Yu Chi Lian's appearance and thinking about Cheng Ying, Qin Mu once suspected that these two had gotten together with Yu Chi Bao Lin and Cheng Huai Mo to avenge their fathers. And the two of them seemed to fall for it.
"I will never be afraid of my wife! Yes! Absolutely!" Qin Mu thought to himself, nodding vigorously to give himself a strong mental affirmation.
"Big brother, is something wrong?" Seeing Qin Mu's serious expression, muttering something and nodding, Qin Yuxin couldn't help but tug at him and ask.
"What?" Qin Mu came to his senses and asked Qin Yuxin blankly.
"Big brother, is there something wrong with me?" Qin Yuxin asked worriedly, thinking that there was a problem with her cultivation.
"It's alright! It's alright! Congratulations on officially becoming Confucian cultivators!" Qin Mu saw that everyone was looking at him and realized that he had been distracted and caused a misunderstanding, so he quickly said with a smile.
"Really? Big brother, have I really become a Confucian cultivator?" Qin Yuxin asked, covering her mouth in disbelief.
"Of course! If you don't believe me, concentrate and feel around here. Can't you feel a kind of energy? That's the aura of righteousness!" Qin Mu said with a smile, pointing to his chest.
"Really! Really! I...I...have become a Confucian cultivator!" Princess Pu'an opened her eyes and said with a sense of incomparable wonder.
"I...I felt it too!" Princess Dongyang said happily, and then the two little girls excitedly held hands and jumped up and down.
"Thank you, big brother!" Qin Yuxin was much more rational, her eyes filled with tears, her face smiling, and she said with her head held high.
"You're my sister, no need to thank me!" Qin Mu said gently.
"Thank you, teacher!" Princess Pu'an and Princess Dongyang calmed down from their surprise, exchanged a glance, and stepped forward to respectfully bow to Qin Mu.
"I wouldn't dare! Your Highness, you're being too polite," Qin Mu hurriedly said, avoiding the situation. Although Li Shimin had asked him to teach the princess, he hadn't mentioned formally becoming her disciple, and he didn't want to give anyone cause for gossip.
"Although Father Emperor hasn't issued a decree, our teacher has already given us instructions. This greeting is our sisterly expression of gratitude, and our teacher must accept it!" Princess Pu'an said gently, a hint of expectation in her eyes. Of course! She didn't understand matters between men and women yet; she simply wanted someone to rely on and secretly hoped Qin Mu would agree.
"It's nothing, Princess, please don't worry about it," Qin Mu said, waving his hand slightly. He still didn't want to be too involved with the royal family, at least subconsciously he wanted to avoid it, after all, he considered himself an equal.
After all, she was still a little girl. When Qin Mu refused again, Princess Pu'an was at a loss and looked at everyone in a panic.
"Silly girl, once you return to the palace and ask your father for permission, you can formally become his disciple, right? You're a princess! Becoming a disciple isn't that simple." Princess Changning wanted to give Qin Mu more leverage, so she squatted down and said with a smile.
Princess Pu'an felt relieved upon hearing this and smiled sweetly, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Aunt."
"Silly girl!" Princess Changning ruffled her hair. She had only met these two nieces once or twice before, but after spending time with them, she felt some sympathy for these two motherless children. Perhaps it was because they shared the same fate! But she was lucky to have a loving father and seven brothers.
“Huai Dao! It’s a good thing that the princess has embarked on the path of Confucian cultivation. We should return to Chang’an as soon as possible.” Zhai Changsun walked over and said in a low voice, a hint of undisguised joy on his face.
It makes sense. Although the decoys were effective, the nearly 100 Xuanjia soldiers were killed or wounded, so the merits and demerits can only be said to cancel each other out. But the fact that the royal family produced two princesses who entered the Confucian path at the age of nine is remarkable. It means that the royal bloodline is good and legitimate! It is also an auspicious sign! After all, it takes decades for someone under the age of ten to enter the Confucian path.
Zhai Changsun was very excited, which is why he urged Qin Mu to return to Chang'an as soon as possible, fearing that something unexpected might happen.
"No problem, the training is almost over anyway! Let's pack up tomorrow and set off the day after tomorrow, how about that?" Qin Mu said after thinking for a moment.
Anyway, the training is almost over, and we've eaten most of the wild beast meat. The little bit of cured meat left won't be enough to last us until we get back to Chang'an.
"Alright! I'll send a message back to Chang'an first, and have someone meet me on the way, just in case something unexpected happens," Zhai Changsun muttered to himself.
“Write four letters and give them to me. I’ll have them delivered. It’ll be a good opportunity to test the training results,” Qin Mu said, pulling back Zhai Changsun who was excitedly leaving.
Qin Mu's idea was to have them disguise themselves and return to Chang'an via different routes to see who could do it the fastest. Ten people formed a small team, and four of these teams were elites he had selected. While their martial prowess wasn't the strongest, their intelligence, agility, and physical strength were what he valued most.
“No problem.” Zhai Changsun readily agreed to such a small matter.
"Big brother, how should we cultivate next?" Qin Yuxin asked again as they returned to the campfire.
"Hehe! What are you thinking! You've only just stepped into the world, don't be too ambitious. Just focus on your studies and gradually cultivate your noble spirit." Qin Mu said with a smile, stroking his sister's hair.
"Oh! By the way, you should all be embarking on this cultivation journey with righteous thoughts, which should be called righteous energy, so you must always guard your original intentions! This will make your cultivation very stable. If your mindset becomes unstable one day, it may affect your cultivation," Qin Mu reminded him again.
"I understand, elder brother!" Qin Yuxin nodded quickly in agreement. Princess Pu'an and Princess Dongyang also nodded in agreement.
"Alas! How pitiful! This time, we sisters have come out empty-handed!" Yu Chi Lian complained deliberately.
"How could you say you didn't get anything? Didn't you and your brother have a lot of fun these past few days?" Cheng Ying said with a grin.
"You make it sound like you didn't have fun!" Yu Chi Lian rolled his eyes. Every time he saw his older brother talking to Cheng Ying, he felt a surge of anger.
"I've had a batch of weapons made. You can take a look when you get back and see if there's anything you like," Qin Mu said with a smile.
"Come on! Your people were borrowed from my family. Do you think I don't know their forging skills? Those weapons, are they any better than the sword with the back of the hand?" Yu Chi Lian said with a pout, and then glanced at Princess Changning with a wicked smile. The sword with the back of the hand had already been given away by Qin Mu, and Princess Changning had accepted it as a token of their love, always keeping it at her waist.
"Ha! Forget it! You'll regret it later!" Qin Mu sneered.
"I want it! Only a fool wouldn't take it if it's free!" Seeing her older brother constantly giving her meaningful glances, Yu Chi Lian quickly changed her mind.
That batch of weapons were all modified from images Qin Mu had dug up from his memory. While the materials weren't top-tier, they were better than ordinary ones. The key was their design; aside from the main body, each one had a cool, imposing presence. That's right! They were good-looking and impressive!
The "main body" is like the blade of a sword, while the "attached parts" refer to the edge, guard, or a small halberd at the front. Compared to normal designs, they are significantly larger and have more exaggerated shapes, such as a snake sword, or a long handle added to the back of the blade. (Refer to *Mojin: The Lost Legend*, anime style!) They might not be very suitable for combat, but they are definitely visually appealing.
After chatting for a while, they all went their separate ways. Of course, some of them hid away to be all lovey-dovey, and Qin Mu was completely captivated by this uncontrollable passion. Aside from not actually exploring the Peach Blossom Spring, he did everything else. Qin Mu was quite impressed with his own perseverance. Worried that Cheng Huaimo and Yuchi Baolin might cause a death, he frequently took Princess Changning on patrols, startling pairs of lovers flying away from the corners of the tents.
There was no training the next day; the soldiers were given a day off to rest and pack. Cheng Lin and Qin Mu then wrote out the musical score and recruited the soldiers who had previously played the drums to train them.
Most people were reluctant to leave the mountainous area where they had spent a month. Of course, everyone wanted to go back, since humans are social animals and prefer places with more people. No matter how good the wilderness is, it can't compare to the city.
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