Qing Yu turned around, "Sect Master, are there any additions?"
Lu Ye stood up and faced all the disciples, announcing loudly, "Even if we are hidden in the alleys of the capital, every disciple of Sheng Men must persist in diligent martial arts practice and not slack off.
Living in this world is not easy, and it's a world of the survival of the fittest. Therefore, we must be strong. Only when every member is a strong person can Sheng Men truly become a powerful force in the martial world."
"Disciples obey the Sect Master's teachings!" everyone shouted in unison. They had all struggled out of hardship, and the days of being bullied were still fresh in their memories. If they could become strong, what did it matter if they shed a layer of skin?
The meeting concluded, and everyone dispersed to attend to their own matters.
Qing Yu let out a big yawn. He had stayed up all night preparing the speech for today's meeting.
Lu Ye handed him a waterskin and ordered, "Drink it."
Qing Yu's face lit up with joy. He gulped it down. The water must have been infused with health-preserving herbs by the Sect Master's wife again, because after drinking it, he felt revitalized, and all his fatigue vanished.
After Lu Ye wiped his mouth, he said softly, "The underground training grounds must continue to be dug and built. All future training will be moved underground, and no trace should be left in the residence."
"Yes, Sect Master," Qing Yu acknowledged.
Lu Ye then solemnly instructed, "Also, every disciple must learn ten new characters daily. They must be able to read and write to pass. Those who don't pass will not be allowed to eat dinner!
Disciples of Sheng Men cannot be illiterate. Otherwise, if all messages are passed using circles and crosses, who will understand?"
Qing Yu chuckled, "The Sect Master is very right. Last night, while preparing the speech, I didn't know many characters and used circles and crosses instead. I can understand them, but others might not."
Lu Ye snatched the speech draft from Qing Yu's hand and glanced at it. The first two sentences alone used two circles and three crosses. If he were to read this speech, he would probably read half of it as circles and crosses.
Lu Ye gave Qing Yu a speechless glance and shoved the speech back into his hand.
Qing Yu had been studying characters with him for almost nine years, and he was still at this level.
Alas, this person had great talent in martial arts, but learning characters seemed like a life-or-death struggle for him.
However, Qing Yu was considered good. Wei Han still couldn't write his own name. The character "Han" had been practiced countless times, but he always wrote the three horizontal strokes in the middle as two.
What kind of dense head was this?
If he had known, he would have swapped names with Wei Yi.
Wei Yi: I'd rather die than swap.
The only source of comfort was Qian Ye. He learned characters quickly and could even compose a few cheesy poems.
The only drawback was his tendency to show off, insisting that others appreciate the deeper meaning of his poems.
Qing Yu rubbed his nose, about to escape, when Lu Ye grabbed him, "In three days, my wife is inviting you brothers to her place for dinner. When you go, call her sister-in-law, not Sect Master's wife. Be alert and don't reveal anything."
"R-really?" Qing Yu's eyes gleamed with excitement. They had only met the Sect Master's wife briefly, and she had a black spot on her face at the time. Now that it was gone, she should be very beautiful.
Moreover, it was said that the Sect Master's wife was a great cook and a generous person. Could they often go over for meals from now on?
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, "Is there a lie in it?"
Qing Yu smiled sheepishly, "No, no, your subordinate is just too excited. Alas, it's a shame Qian Ye isn't here." Wei Han was still as silent as ever. If they went to the Sect Master's house, he would have to handle everything. Truthfully, he was also very bad at speaking. What if he said something wrong?
Lu Ye glanced at the compound's walls again and finally gave another instruction, "Add another meter to the height of the walls," and then left.
"As you command," Qing Yu responded.
Watching the Sect Master's back, he excitedly rubbed his hands and immediately turned to run back to choose clothes for the banquet in three days.
Although his clothes were similar in style and mostly black, he still wanted to choose carefully.
This was his first visit, so he couldn't leave a bad impression on his sister-in-law.
Lu Ye returned home. Bai Sheng had not yet emerged from the alchemy room, so he pushed the four giggling babies to find their mother.
Walking to the door of the alchemy room, Lu Ye bent down and said to the four cubs, "Cubs, Mother is inside the room. Quickly, call for Mother."
The four cubs sat in their strollers, their eyes immediately lit up. Their lotus-root-like little arms all waved joyfully, and they opened their little mouths, constantly "Ah, ah, ah-ing" towards the door of the alchemy room.
After "ah-ing" for a while, the door did not open, and the fourth cub's mouth began to pucker, tears rolling down one by one, "Waaah... waaaah..."
Lu Ye chuckled, patted the fourth cub's little head, and kissed him, then got up to knock on the door.
Bai Sheng opened the door with a bowl of medicine in her hand. Seeing her husband standing outside with the four cubs, all looking at her expectantly.
As soon as the four cubs saw her, they became instantly ecstatic. Their little arms and legs waved so vigorously that the stroller shook violently, and they continued to "ah ah ah" non-stop.
Uh, alright, the remaining medicine would have to wait until the afternoon.
The scene before her was too touching. She put down the bowl and rushed towards the cubs, "Oh, my little darlings, Mother is here!"
The four cubs also eagerly stretched out their little arms towards her. She couldn't hold all four at once, so she started with the eldest, holding each one and kissing them repeatedly.
After holding and kissing the four little ones, there was still a nearly 1.8-meter tall person beside them, waiting with a resentful expression.
Bai Sheng chuckled, put down the fourth cub in her arms, and went to hug the nearly 1.8-meter tall one. However, the nearly 1.8-meter tall one held her tightly in his arms, refusing to let go.
He even lowered his head and blocked her mouth.
The cubs turned to look at the scene before them and all let out "Ah ah ah" protests.
Mother belongs to them. Father is bad, always snatching Mother from them and kissing Mother incessantly.
The eldest, Hua Hua, looked at her three younger brothers and let out a forceful "Ah!" Immediately, the three younger brothers began to cry loudly.
With puckered lips and tearful eyes, they looked expectantly in Bai Sheng's direction, their little arms stretched out for a hug, looking as pitiful as could be.
Seeing this, Bai Sheng immediately abandoned the nearly 1.8-meter tall one and rushed towards her beloved cubs.
"Oh, oh, oh, Mother's little darlings, Mother is here, Mother is here, ha, oh, little babies, be good, ha."
Lu Ye looked at the four cubs in the crib and suddenly felt that the little guys were little rascals. At just over five months old, they were already fighting with him, their old father, for their mother.
Hmph, they were fair and tender, chubby, good at acting cute, good at crying, and incredibly adorable when they were cute. How could he, a grown man, compete?
Forget it, they were his own flesh and blood, his own flesh and blood.
After repeating "his own flesh and blood" several times, Lu Ye went forward and kissed each of his own flesh and blood on the face.
The four cubs frowned in disgust.
Daddy's beard was so prickly and didn't feel as good as Mommy's kisses. They didn't want Daddy to kiss them.