"Captain Huang?" An Le looked at Huang Xian, who had hurried over through the spring rain, and froze slightly.
The other man looked rushed, clearly not here specifically to greet him.
"Young Master An, I just went to the inn but did not find you. The waiter told me you had headed toward West Lake, so I hurried here to find you."
Captain Huang said with a chuckle.
Having finished speaking, he clasped his hands, his face full of smiles. "First, congratulations to Young Master An for being chosen by Lin Manor to paint commemorative portraits for those young masters of the Lin Manor who are about to set out for war."
"An was merely fortunate. Madam Hua and Old Madam thought highly of my paintings, which gave me the opportunity to remain at Lin Manor and paint."
"I must also thank Captain Huang for bringing me into Lin Manor."
An Le held his oil-paper umbrella and bent slightly in thanks.
"Ah, it was only a small favor. Ninth Girl had asked me to find Young Master An in the first place. Huang was merely leading the way, hahaha."
Receiving An Le's thanks, Captain Huang was in high spirits as he laughed.
"May I ask why Captain Huang was looking for An?" An Le asked.
"Right, to business. I truly have something I wish to ask of Young Master An. Young Master An's paintings are famed for their realism, and I would like to invite Young Master An to paint a portrait."
Captain Huang said seriously.
"A portrait?"
An Le was puzzled. "For whom?"
Captain Huang wiped his face, shaking off some spring rain, and said, "Young Master An, to be honest, Huang took it upon himself to ask you to paint a portrait of a suspect wanted by the Black Office."
"The suspect has no definite appearance, but someone gave a verbal description. I would like to ask Young Master An to paint the suspect based on those descriptions. Young Master An's paintings are renowned for their realism, so perhaps you can reconstruct more of the suspect's appearance."
Hearing this, An Le suddenly understood. So it was a wanted portrait.
The difficulty was not particularly great. Even if the portrait was off, it would not have much impact, since no one knew what the suspect truly looked like in the first place.
But if there were descriptions of distinguishing features, An Le was confident he could capture seven or eight parts of the likeness, making the pursuit much easier.
An Le did not refuse. Captain Huang had shown him kindness, and he agreed to this request.
"Then once I leave Lin Manor today, I shall go straight to the Black Office to find Captain Huang. We can make the portrait then."
An Le Said with a Smile.
Seeing An Le agree so readily, Captain Huang could not help but feel delighted. He only felt that this youth was someone worth knowing.
"Hm? Young Master An, have you successfully opened your qi and blood?" Captain Huang noticed the concealed yet unexpressed qi and blood within An Le's body, and could not help but be shocked.
He remembered An Le saying that he had only just begun cultivation enlightenment. Yet after merely one day, he had stepped into the first realm of body tempering.
This talent was a little monstrous!
"Yesterday, Madam Hua gifted me a cultivation manual. I used it to step into the first realm."
A smile also appeared on An Le's face. The joy of a breakthrough was all the greater when shared with someone.
"It seems Young Master An was merely slow to begin enlightenment. Now that you have truly begun cultivating, your talent is exceptionally fine. What a pity you started too late." Captain Huang found it deeply regrettable.
The two chatted for a while longer, and An Le casually plucked the last wisp of Time Qi from Captain Huang.
Having obtained An Le's promise, Captain Huang still had official duties to attend to, so he took his leave.
In Lin'an Prefecture beneath the unending spring rain, amid crisscrossing alleys, among lofty buildings with flying eaves reflecting the sun, and between pedestrians in rain capes carrying umbrellas.
An Le held his oil-paper umbrella and strode forward.
Treading through the trickling rainwater, he gradually walked toward the depths of the quiet long street.
"An Le, a native of Chong Prefecture. Last autumn, he passed Chong Prefecture's provincial examination and became a Juren scholar before coming to Lin'an. Skilled in poetry and painting. Had never undergone cultivation enlightenment, unable to temper his body, not a cultivator."
At the side of the long street stood a towering restaurant with hexagonal double eaves, carved beams, painted rafters, and lavish, noble decor. Its name was Drunken Dragon Pavilion.
Lin'an Prefecture had three famed towers: Wanghu Tower, Lin Hua Pavilion, and Drunken Dragon Pavilion.
Because Drunken Dragon Pavilion stood near the depths of the long street, neighboring many residences of the high-born, its business was quite good. Those who came and went were all distinguished figures, while its wine and dishes were of exceptional quality, so its prices were also steep.
Rumor had it that Drunken Dragon Pavilion had ties to the palace, and one could even drink rare wines found only within the palace: Rose Dew and Drunken Flowing Clouds.
Liu Qingyan had spent a huge sum to reserve a window seat on the third floor of Drunken Dragon Pavilion. On the table sat a plate of sliced pig head meat, a dish of stir-fried beef, and the palace wine Drunken Flowing Clouds.
Before Liu Qingyan lay An Le's information.
"This youth is actually a Juren scholar? They want me to break a Juren scholar's hands? I..."
Liu Qingyan's face darkened, and his emotions were tangled beyond measure.
He had thought this youth was like any ordinary painter, with nothing remarkable about his status. Who would have expected him to be a young Juren scholar?
"Still, fortunately, this boy is not a cultivator. That makes things much easier."
"Mr. Luo also promised me that once I finish this dirty deed, he will arrange for me to leave Lin'an Prefecture safely. I... have no choice."
Liu Qingyan sighed. A casual wave kicked up by the struggles of the powerful could leave people like them unable to control their own fates.
This was clearly making Liu Qingyan take the blame, but could he refuse?
If he refused, he feared he would die even faster than that youth.
He lifted a blue-and-white porcelain cup, narrowed his eyes, and took a sip of Drunken Flowing Clouds. With that sip, five taels of silver were gone.
He picked up two or three pieces of beef and put them into his mouth, chewing as he looked out the window.
From this spot, he could see the Quiet Street Entrance perfectly.
To reach Lin Manor, one had to pass through the Quiet Street Entrance. Quiet Street had earned its name because it lay exactly at the division between the lanes of residences belonging to officials and nobles and the bustling main roads.
Common folk and street vendors did not dare enter Quiet Street, afraid their noise would disturb the high-born.
The high-born themselves also rarely walked through Quiet Street in their daily lives.
This stretch of road was sparsely populated, the best place to make a move.
"Young Master An, if you must blame someone, blame yourself for stealing this old man's opportunity and disrupting the plans of the high-born..."
"What a pity, those hands capable of painting such fine works."
Liu Qingyan shook his head. Thinking of An Le's hands, which had painted sketches so lifelike they could pass for the real thing, soon to be broken, he could not help feeling a surge of pleasure. He drank two more cups of Drunken Flowing Clouds in succession.
As a painter who had monopolized the business of painting the ladies and Flower Queens aboard the drifting flower boats, Liu Qingyan naturally had quite a few methods. Besides his superb painting skills, he had also colluded with gangs and kept some thugs.
Quite a few painters who had tried to compete with him for business had suffered. Some had their hands broken, others had stones tied to them and were sunk in the lake. Even beneath the gleaming splendor of a city, there would be trails left by stinking rats. Liu Qingyan himself was a stinking rat draped in the identity of a master.
That noble had sought him out and made him choose: repay five hundred Primordial Spirit Treasures, or break An Le's painting hands.
For Liu Qingyan, there had not been much of a choice.
Of course he would return to his old trade and break An Le's hands!
Though he might offend Lin Manor because of it, with Young Master Qin shielding him, his safety would be assured.
He swallowed the beef in his mouth, lifted his wine cup, and glanced toward the cold, desolate Quiet Street. Amid the endless spring rain, a figure carrying an umbrella appeared.
Dressed in green and holding an oil-paper umbrella, he came strolling leisurely, like a great flower blooming beneath the spring rain.
"Having entered Lin Manor to paint and attached himself to Lin Manor, the youth must be riding high on the spring breeze right now."
"But soon, he will have much more sorrow to taste."
Liu Qingyan narrowed his eyes. A flash of coldness passed through them as he drained the Drunken Flowing Clouds in his cup.
With a slap.
The wine cup was slammed heavily onto the table. He watched the coming spectacle on Quiet Street through the slanting, endless rain.
An Le held his umbrella as the oily spring rain gathered into streams that flowed through the cracks between the bluestones.
The surroundings grew increasingly quiet. Pedestrians gradually disappeared, cut off from the clamor and bustle. Deep within Quiet Street were the residences of the high-born. The high-born loved quiet, so noise could not draw near.
His green robes fluttered, their sleeves dampened slightly by the spring rain.
As he walked, An Le pondered how to distribute the three wisps of Time Qi he had just absorbed.
The Cultivation Genius Dao Fruit had been infused with three wisps, slightly improving An Le's cultivation talent.
In addition, both the "Five Animals Body Tempering Technique" and the "Sword Waterfall Diagram" could be infused with Time Qi, yet An Le had never infused either of them. As for the Sword Dancer Dao Fruit, he had not infused that either.
There were simply too many things that needed improvement.
This made him sigh softly. There was still too little Time Qi.
Today, when he entered Lin Manor, he had to absorb as much Time Qi as possible.
However, he could not pluck Madam Hua's Time Qi again. Plucking it once left her weak for an entire day; it was too great a waste of opportunity.
Hm?!
An Le, immersed in thought over how to allocate the Time Qi, suddenly froze.
The slight Spiritual power cultivated through Entering Stillness gave rise to a warning in his heart!
He abruptly turned his head.
In an empty alley off Quiet Street, three burly men dressed in short jackets stood with colored triangular scarves covering their mouths and noses, grinning at him viciously.
For these habitual criminals kept by Liu Qingyan, breaking the hands of a frail painter was something they knew like the backs of their hands.
They enjoyed listening to the cries of agony from those lofty-minded scholars.
"Are you An Le?"
The leader, a burly man with a red triangular scarf over his face, spoke.
"Someone bought your hands. If you know what is good for you, hold them out and let us break them. Then you can avoid a beating."
As the burly man spoke, he suddenly charged out of the alley.
The falling spring rain was smashed apart by his body, faintly forming a hazy humanoid mist around him!
In only a few steps, he rushed to An Le's side.
His huge fist shot forth. It was the opening stance of the commonplace Zhao Ancestor Long Fist. Though it lacked qi and blood empowerment, he threw it with convincing form. He expected to see the terrified, despairing face beneath the oil-paper umbrella, followed by a miserable scream.
However.
Beneath the oil-paper umbrella, the youth's brows tightened as he looked at the red-scarfed burly man rushing toward him, then tilted his head.
Five Animals Fierce Tiger Thirteen Forms!
His qi and blood circulated, and strength surged forth!
It was as though a tiger's roar echoed through the mountain forest!
The fine spring rain on the youth's body exploded into watery powder!
The burly man only felt that the frail youth before him had abruptly transformed into a striped fierce tiger!
Before you continue