Painting Souls

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Qin Yi was indeed a painter. However, he wasn't the type to have any real passion for his art. After being transmigrated for so long, he only managed to sketch a distant view of Immortal Trace Mountain during his first month, which he hung on the wall as decoration. After that, he never painted again; all his artistic skills were used to drawing talismans. I wonder if his teacher would be furious if he saw this...

He probably wasn't very angry; he was just like countless others who landed jobs unrelated to their majors, not knowing what to do with what they learned in four years of university. At least he was putting his knowledge to use in drawing talismans...

So at this moment, he still felt a little close to this Young Master Beijing, after all, they were "colleagues".

Moreover, he sensed some Spiritual Qi in Young Master.

It wasn't true cultivation; it was more like someone who was about to grasp the basics but couldn't quite get into it, lacking only the guidance of a master. Qin Yi had originally intended to chat for a bit, and if he liked him, perhaps offer some pointers, which would be a legendary tale of "a sage touching my head," right?

As a result, Qin Yi's enthusiastic invitation was met with a cold reception.

Young Master ignored him, finished his steamed bun, and soon left amidst the laughter of the crowd.

The waiter brought over the dishes and said with a smile, "Sir, you mean well, but the young Young Master of Jing is very proud and won't easily accept favors from others."

"What kind of favor is it to receive a meal as a gift?"

Even a meal is a kindness.

"Hmm..." Qin Yi then asked, "What's the situation with this Young Master? He seems to have an extraordinary air about him, so why can't he sell his paintings?"

"This Young Master Jing is called Jing Ze. His family was once a prominent family in this area; both his parents are renowned calligraphers and painters, and they were always surrounded by visitors. They were quite famous," the waiter said. "Jing Ze himself became famous at a young age, possessing excellent calligraphy and painting skills, and was known as a child prodigy. But after returning from studying abroad a few years ago, I don't know which prostitute he slept with for several years, and his paintings haven't improved at all. You're an adult now, but your paintings are still almost the same as when you were a child. Who's going to buy your paintings?"

Qin Yi was taken aback. "So this is the classic 'genius turns into a loser' story...?"

"What did you say, sir?"

"Oh, it's nothing, you can continue."

"After his parents passed away, he couldn't sell his paintings and had no other means of livelihood, so his family's financial situation naturally declined. He refused to sell any of his belongings and insisted on making a living by selling his paintings, which eventually led to him being left with nothing but steamed buns."

Qin Yi nodded. "He's a man of principle, quite good."

He thought to himself, no wonder this Young Master from the capital seemed to be hesitating on the path of cultivation. If one can maintain a good mindset after such an experience, it can be considered the way to enlightenment in some way.

The waiter's expression was somewhat strange, hesitant to speak. He thought this was stupid, not a sign of integrity. It was only because the city lord had a past relationship with the Jing family and had given them some protection that others dared not act recklessly. Otherwise, without guards at his house, wouldn't all those famous paintings and antiques have been looted sooner or later even if he didn't sell them?

Qin Yi was just asking casually when something happened; he didn't really want to get involved in Young Master Young Master's affairs, and he certainly wouldn't argue with Xiao Er about values.

After finishing their meal, they stayed overnight at the inn for a short rest.

I've traveled thousands of miles these past few days, crossing several Nanli Kingdom. Even with my considerable cultivation, I'm still exhausted. Tomorrow I plan to visit Hongfa Temple to see if I can find a true cultivator and exchange some elixirs and Spirit Stone for a magical Law Treasure...

In the stillness of the night, lights shine in every home.

Qin Yi stood by the window of the inn, looking at the Buddha's Buddhist Light from Hongfa Temple in the distance.

I felt a little disappointed.

According to Xiao Er, the so-called "Buddhist Light" was the Sarira of a high monk, containing boundless Buddhist teachings, hence the Buddhist Light at night. However, upon Qin Yi's observation, it was merely a Sarira sealed with Radiance Art, possessing no Law Power whatsoever, and simply using light to deceive people.

From this perspective, the "high monks" inside are either swindlers or have only a little bit of low-level cultivation, mostly not even as good as Dong Huazi.

Liusu laughed, "It's not surprising. In this world, Buddhism and Daoism are mostly about swindling and deception. How many true practitioners actually mingle in the human world? If you go to a town and find problems with the Daoist Temples, and then go to a city and find problems with the Buddhist temples, then you're not just surrounded by immortals, you're a jinx!"

Qin Yi thought about it and realized it made sense; after all, it was Conan. He couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"What a pity, I actually hope they have something wrong with them, I need the Law Treasure now."

"Let's go take a look tomorrow. Even if they're not true cultivators, there's always a chance that such a magnificent place, which plunders the people's wealth, might contain some useful treasures. We can just rob them and use them for our own purposes."

"Stop talking nonsense." Qin Yi turned around and sat back on the bed, annoyed. "Sooner or later, you'll seduce me into becoming a devil."

Liusu sneered, "Don't end up 'smelling it' again later."

Qin Yi sat cross-legged and meditated for a night to recover. The next day, feeling refreshed, he went to Hongfa Temple.

The mountain temple was wide open, and a large square in front of it was teeming with tourists. This was because the peach blossoms on both sides were in full bloom, creating a vast sea of flowers that was breathtakingly beautiful. Many young women and married women strolled through the flower field, their faces reflected in the peach blossoms, their laughter echoing throughout, adding to the springtime charm.

As Qin Yi admired the beautiful scenery, he exclaimed in surprise, "It's not even March yet, and the peach blossoms here are blooming so early!"

Liusu did not answer, quietly gazing at the colorful sea of flowers, remaining quite silent.

I don't know what it was that made me think of.

Qin Yi's gaze was drawn to the stalls on the edge of the square.

The stalls sell incense, fruit, and so on, as well as painting stalls that draw portraits for tourists enjoying the spring outing, much like photo spots in modern tourist attractions.

Yesterday, I saw Jing Ze Young Master to the side, painting.

He wasn't the only one selling paintings; most stalls were surrounded by people, but his stall was sparsely populated with very few customers.

Was it drawn particularly badly? Qin Yi curiously leaned closer to take a look.

I was quite surprised after seeing it; it's very well drawn...

Qin Yi didn't know the state of painting development in this world, but it was obvious that it was probably stronger than his own world, because this was a world with extremely rich Spiritual Qi. People's "essence, energy, and spirit" were affected by this, and both the methods of depicting forms and conveying spirits would be different.

Jing Ze's painting has already given Qin Yi a sense of Gu Kaizhi's style. The brushstrokes are dense, like silkworms spinning silk, flowing like water across the land. The folds of the clothing of the figures in the painting are very detailed. The only flaw is... the eyes are lifeless.

But this is a level that someone achieved "in their childhood," which is simply divine.

Turning to look at the other people's painting stalls, Qin Yi frowned.

Well, most of them aren't necessarily better than Jing Ze, some are even much worse, but people are more willing to have their portraits drawn by them. The reason is actually quite simple: most people don't understand the profession; they just follow the crowd and listen to reputation. If they hear that Jing Ze's paintings haven't improved at all, like when he was a child, who would want to paint a portrait of an artist who paints like a child?

After Jing Ze finished painting the male customer in front of him, his stall was soon empty.

He sighed, but didn't stop painting. He grabbed a new scroll and began to draw a portrait of a woman passing by.

The woman seemed to sense something and glared angrily.

Jing Ze smiled ingratiatingly, "It's free."

The woman pursed her lips, said nothing, and turned to leave with her maid. Their whispers drifted back, "How could that young Young Master have become so lewd, stealing other people's paintings..."

Jing Ze remained expressionless, continuing to slowly finish the drawing he had just completed.

The light in front of me suddenly dimmed.

Jing Ze looked up and saw the man in the blue robe who had invited him to dinner yesterday standing in front of him, smiling at him, "How about painting one for me?"

"Okay." Jing Ze put away the woman's portrait he had secretly drawn earlier, and pulled over a new sheet of paper. "Three coins for one."

"Three coins?" Qin Yi shook his head. "Your paintings of men are indeed only worth three coins. But when you paint women, the paintings suddenly possess a soul, which wouldn't even fetch thirty thousand coins for one painting, yet you did it for free?"

Jing Ze suddenly looked up and squinted his eyes.

Qin Yi stared at him intently for a while, then suddenly said, "I want you to draw something that contains the essence of a soul. I'll give you three hundred taels of silver."

Jing Ze lowered his head, as if selecting paintbrushes, and slowly said, "Alright, guest, please wear women's clothing."