It Worked

The scholar looked up and studied Zhong Lin for a moment, then gave a dark chuckle. "What, you want to sell paintings too?"

Zhong Lin froze. Was his intention really that obvious?

As if sensing Zhong Lin's confusion, the scholar straightened up and smiled faintly. "You've been wandering around here for two days already. Still haven't made up your mind?"

Zhong Lin's heart tightened. He had thought he'd hidden it well, never imagining he had been noticed long ago.

"Compared to writing letters for others, selling paintings is indeed a good path. But if you sell them here, at most you'll only scrape together enough to keep yourself fed. If you want to earn more silver, you'll have to blaze another trail," the scholar said leisurely.

Though Zhong Lin had no idea why this scholar would tell such things to a stranger, he hurriedly cupped his hands. "Please, sir, enlighten me."

"Warm Fragrance Brothel."

The scholar spoke three words.

After a brief moment of thought, Zhong Lin knew the place. It was simply too famous; ever since arriving in Black Mountain County, he had heard its name openly and in whispers more times than he could count.

Warm Fragrance Brothel was, in truth, a pleasure house—and a rather upscale one at that. It was not the sort of back-alley den where one entered, completed a quick transaction of flesh, and left a few minutes later.

Warm Fragrance Brothel was favored for its warm, comfortable atmosphere, high-quality performances, and attentive service. It could be said to be the favorite haunt of Black Mountain County's scholars, refined gentlemen, wealthy merchants, and nobles.

It was said that after a single dance by one of its dancers, the silver she received in tips alone could amount to over a hundred taels.

Zhong Lin's eyes lit up. The scholar was right. Painting for ordinary people could earn him at most a few coins of silver, but the dancers at Warm Fragrance Brothel were different. A casual tip from them might be several taels of silver!

"Why don't you go?" Zhong Lin asked curiously.

The scholar lowered his head to look at his right hand and sighed. "I only regret that I was not born with a pair of skillful hands!"

Having said that, he ignored Zhong Lin and lowered his head to continue painting.

Zhong Lin did not press the matter. He turned and left.

Watching Zhong Lin disappear around the street corner, another scholar at the stall beside Scholar Xu's, who was copying books for someone, teased, "Xu Heng, since when did you become so warmhearted? Giving others directions and all. Aren't you afraid he'll steal your business?"

Scholar Xu Heng glanced at Zhong Lin's departing back and said disdainfully, "I'm not afraid he'll steal my business. He's just an eyesore standing there. Dark skin, prominent finger joints, calluses on his thumb and forefinger—one look and you can tell he's some hunter who sprang out of some mountain ravine. He probably doesn't even know what the books of sages look like, yet he wants to imitate others and paint. It's simply an insult to refinement."

"Not necessarily. What if he has a family technique? Like Wang Zhi, the mounter in the west of the city. Though he's blind, lame, and illiterate, his skill at copying paintings is enough to leave people like us gasping in amazement," the scholar countered.

Xu Heng smiled slightly. "So what if he has inherited some painting skill? That place is Warm Fragrance Brothel."

The scholar who had asked the question changed expression, as though he had thought of something. He shook his head and said no more.

Sweet Water Alley.

Zhong Lin returned carrying a pile of brushes, paints, and drawing paper. Without even bothering to eat, he plunged into the study converted from the western side room. Then he dragged over a stool and had Little Shi sit straight and proper as his model.

Zhong Lin had not been wandering around aimlessly these past few days. He had been looking for a business opportunity to make money.

With no capital, no strength, and no skills, he had ultimately set his sights on painting.

The painting techniques of this era resembled the ancient style of splashed-ink freehand painting: emphasizing spirit over form. Zhong Lin had seen Scholar Xu's work; it was painted with extraordinary verve, enough to make one marvel.

He could not compete with Chinese painting, but he could blaze another trail.

His previous life had been an age of information explosion, and he had seen no shortage of all kinds of artwork. Compared to freehand paintings, Zhong Lin planned to create meticulous Three-Dimensional Paintings, emphasizing just one word... likeness.

A likeness comparable to a camera.

By coincidence, Zhong Lin had once stumbled across a meticulous Three-Dimensional Painting on Douyin in his previous life and been utterly astounded. He had even specifically studied it for a time, though unfortunately, his enthusiasm had lasted only three minutes and he had not persisted.

Picking it back up now would naturally have been extremely difficult for Zhong Lin—but who told him he had a cheat?

Unwilling to waste the paper and paint he had bought, Zhong Lin found a tree branch and sharpened it. Then he squatted in the courtyard, where the ground had been covered with a layer of fine sandy soil. He planned to practice on the sand, since it could be reused again and again.

Facing Little Shi, who sat as his model, Zhong Lin used the sharpened branch to sketch stroke by stroke.

"Second Brother, are you done yet? My butt is so itchy."

"Bear with it."

"I need to take a shit."

"Hold it."

"I need to pee."

"Why are you so troublesome? Bear with it a little longer."

It was only after a full half hour that Zhong Lin put down the branch in his hand. Little Shi's outline had appeared in the sand, but that was not the important part.

Zhong Lin impatiently summoned the System Panel.

Host: Zhong Lin

Skills: Archery (Max Level), Flying Locust Stone (Max Level), Three-Dimensional Painting (Beginner)

Skill Points: ∞

"Good, it finally formed a skill. Add points for me."

Zhong Lin was overjoyed. At his command, the ∞ symbol beside Skill Points trembled, and the "Beginner" in the parentheses after Three-Dimensional Painting became "Max Level."

Then a flood of memories filled Zhong Lin's mind. In those memories, he painted every day, twenty-four hours a day. Other than eating and sleeping, he painted without pause.

Leaves, flowers and grass, mountains and rocks, cats and dogs, people...

One item after another, one figure after another, sprang to life beneath his brush.

As time passed, his paintings achieved an effect so lifelike they could pass for the real thing. A painted cat was enough to send the mice in a house scurrying in panic, while painted flowers could even draw butterflies and bees.

"System."

Host: Zhong Lin

Skills: Archery (Max Level), Flying Locust Stone (Max Level), Three-Dimensional Painting (Max Level)

Skill Points: ∞

Zhong Lin slowly opened his closed eyes. His mind was now filled with knowledge of Three-Dimensional Painting. When painting a face, the general shapes of different faces would appear in his mind.

When painting eyes, all kinds of eyes—phoenix eyes, peach blossom eyes, triangular eyes, watery eyes—would emerge in his mind.

When outlining the bridge of a nose, all manner of information about the three courts and five eyes, as well as the distribution of the facial features, came flooding in.

So long as someone described a person clearly enough, he could paint them with seventy or eighty percent resemblance without ever seeing them.

More than that, he also had complete mastery over the mixing of all kinds of paints.

He rose and returned to the study. Xuan paper lay spread across the table. He dipped a brush into ink and, holding it lightly, began sketching upon the white paper. Before long, a portrait of Little Shi was born beneath his brush. It was not an image of him sitting on the stool, but how he had looked yesterday while gnawing on a chicken leg—grease all around the corners of his mouth, his eyes bright and lively, so vivid that he seemed almost alive.

"Second... Second Brother."

Little Shi pointed at the painting on the desk in terror, as though he had seen a ghost. The expression on his face made Zhong Lin burst into laughter.

"It worked."