"Someone! Prepare the horses!" Qin Yao shouted loudly. Then he gestured and invited, "I would like to trouble you all to come and offer your advice."
"You're too kind, Your Majesty."
"please!"
A group of people rushed to the other courtyard.
"Second brother, is it the Prince Zheng?" Bu Fang asked as he went to greet him upon hearing familiar footsteps.
"It is indeed I, the King. Is Huai Dao still here?" Qin Yao asked in a deep voice.
"Your Highness, Huai Dao is still in the courtyard and hasn't been moved. Please take a look at him," Bu Fang said, bowing respectfully.
"No need for formalities, I will do my best," Qin Yao said with a flick of his sleeve, then walked towards the courtyard.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment!" Master Yuan stopped Qin Yao.
"Your Highness, please calm down. Let's observe for a while," Master Yuan said softly, facing Qin Yao's questioning gaze.
"Master Yuan is right." Qin Yao nodded, and then the group looked towards the courtyard.
Qin Mu was still under the tree, leaning against the trunk, gazing up at the sky with his head tilted to the side. Even from outside the courtyard, one could see that Qin Mu's eyes were blank, clearly not knowing where his gaze was. After a while, he gestured with his hands, seemingly writing, and sometimes his brows furrowed, muttering to himself.
"Is this young man trying to comprehend something? Let's not disturb him," said a well-to-do middle-aged man who had come with them, stroking his beard.
"He's trying to comprehend something, but this shouldn't happen!" Qin Yao said in surprise.
"Your Highness, do you know the reason for Huai Dao's actions?" Bu Fang asked in surprise.
"What Huai Dao comprehended should be the inheritance of a secret realm. The inheritance of a secret realm is taught face-to-face by predecessors. I have never heard of such a situation. You are more familiar with him, do you know what he has been learning recently?" Qin Yao shook his head and said.
“I don’t know. We brothers are all rough men. Even if we were shown what Huai Dao wrote, we wouldn’t recognize it at all,” Bu Mang said, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Have you ever heard him mention anything about cultivation other than Confucianism?" Qin Yao continued to ask.
“Huai Dao’s practice of Confucianism is a recent development, only within the last two months. I haven’t heard of him cultivating anything else.” Bu Mang looked at his brother, Bu Fang, who was also shaking his head, clearly unaware of the practice as well. He then turned back to explain.
"That's really strange. I've never heard of any problems with the inheritance of secret manuals." Qin Yao shook his head in bewilderment.
"Your Highness, could it be that Huai Dao's inheritance is incomplete? Or was the secret realm a trap a thousand years ago?" Bu Mang asked, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
"Absolutely impossible!" Qin Yao replied decisively.
"Your Highness, please forgive me. My second brother spoke without thinking." Bu Fang hurriedly cupped his hands to apologize, then turned and scolded Qin Yao before Qin Yao could reply, "Huai Dao didn't even say the inheritance was incomplete, yet you're spouting nonsense here. Apologize to His Highness now."
"Forget it! You're just being too concerned!" Qin Yao waved his hand magnanimously, not taking this small matter to heart.
"He's not practicing cultivation."
"Oh! Daoist Master, you can tell what's wrong with him?" Bu Mang asked.
"He's trapped in his inner demons!"
"Inner demons?"
"This is a Taoist concept, also known as the 'obstacle of perception' in Zen Buddhism."
"Obstruction of perception?" The group stared at him blankly.
"Indeed, he was looking for an answer, but he ended up finding a bunch of answers, and these answers seem right, yet they all seem wrong; it's really strange, how can someone so young have so many things he can't figure out?" Master Yuan sighed.
"We don't know how to address you, sir. Please lend us your help, we would be extremely grateful," Bu Fang said, bowing respectfully.
“No need for formalities, layman. Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would have taken action anyway,” said Taoist Yuan, helping Bu Fang up.
"This is Yuan Tiangang, the Fire Well Master, and this is Yan Liben, the Grand Craftsman," Qin Yao introduced.
"Ah! It's Master Yuan, one of the Five Immortals of Taoism, in person! My apologies for my disrespect!" Bu Fang exclaimed in surprise and quickly bowed again.
"Please don't stand on ceremony, everyone. I will do my best. Actually, it's quite simple to help him. The first option is to wait for him to come to his senses, which would be ideal. However, I think the first option is probably not very practical. The second option is very simple: just knock him out." Yuan Tiangang reached out and smiled.
"Ah! It's that simple?" Bu Mang asked, stunned.
"Otherwise, how much trouble do you think it would have to be? He's not sick, and he's not poisoned."
"Yue'er, take him downstairs and get some rest." As soon as he spoke, Qin Yao had already carried Qin Mu out.
"Truly amazing!" Yuan Tiangang shook his head and exclaimed as he looked at the unconscious Qin Mu.
"Master Yuan, what do you mean by this?" Qin Yao asked, puzzled.
"To be so captivated by what one has learned must mean that one has learned a great deal and knows a great deal, and is deeply immersed in seeking answers but cannot find them; to be able to do this at such a young age is truly something I have never seen before in my life," Yuan Tiangang explained.
"Master Yuan, are you saying that Huai Dao's performance is very impressive?" Bu Mang asked.
"This situation can only occur in Taoists who have ascended from True Person to True Lord. Isn't that amazing?"
"That's really impressive!"
"So amazing!" Bu Fang and Qin Yue exclaimed in surprise.
"That is precisely why he cannot see through it. After all, he is too young and his knowledge and experience are limited. What he knows is all from books and his own understanding. But he is unable to recognize these principles."
"Master, when Huai Dao wakes up, will he be the same as before?" Bu Fang asked worriedly.
"After he woke up, we immediately advised him not to think about it anymore, so he wouldn't repeat the mistake. Of course, this is an obsession in his mind, and he will always think about it unintentionally. So the possibility of him repeating the mistake is very high," Yuan Tiangang explained.
"Is there really no way? Daoist Master, you are one of the Five Immortals of Taoism, surely you can help Huai Dao, right?" Qin Yue asked expectantly.
“There is a way, the best and most convenient one is to help him resolve his doubts. Once we know the answer to his question and tell him, the problem will be completely solved. Another way is to seal it, temporarily sealing this memory of his, and then unsealing it after he has learned a lot. Perhaps by then he will already know the answer,” Yuan Tiangang suggested.
"That's wonderful! With Father and Daoist Master, we can definitely help Huai Dao solve his problem," Qin Yue said happily.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple!" Yuan Tiangang said with a serious expression and a slight frown.
"What have you discovered, Daoist Master?" Qin Yao asked.
"Did the King notice just now that he has spiritual energy on him?"
"He does have spiritual energy. I was so focused on knocking him out that I completely overlooked it," Qin Yao said after a moment's thought.
"Is he practicing both Confucianism and Taoism?" Qin Yue asked curiously.
“That’s right, that’s the problem,” Yuan Tiangang nodded.
"Can't one cultivate both Confucianism and Taoism?" Bu Fang asked.
“It is certainly possible to cultivate both Confucianism and Taoism. However, generally, when people cultivate both Confucianism and Taoism, they only learn the truths within them and do not cultivate the righteous energy and the true spiritual energy of Taoism at the same time,” Yuan Tiangang explained.
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