Qin Yudie smiled and asked, "We'd like to ask something. Who wrote the words on this signboard?"
She hadn't expected much. Anyone who could leave such profound Dao charm on a signboard had to be a hidden expert, the sort who wouldn't casually reveal their whereabouts or name.
"You mean the words 'What are you looking at?'" Xu Yan couldn't figure out why this pretty girl was asking instead of coming into the shop to buy something. But thinking she might be a rich lady, he answered honestly, "I wrote them. It's my shop, after all, so of course I wrote the sign myself."
After he finished, he noticed that the two girls—especially the one who'd asked—seemed a little strange. Their expressions had stiffened, and they looked astonished.
Could they have been stunned by my peerless good looks?
A moment later, Qin Yudie realized she'd lost her composure. She smiled and asked, "Are you sure you wrote it yourself?"
She was doubtful. The man before her had no cultivation at all; he was clearly just a mortal, and very young. How could he be the one who'd written words imbued with Dao charm?
Xu Yan was baffled. "Of course I wrote them myself. You two don't need to fixate on the sign. If you don't like how it looks, I can rewrite it anytime."
He was starting to panic. He thought the two of them might have been offended by the words "What are you looking at?" Otherwise, why keep questioning him about the sign?
After hearing Lin Yansheng's definite answer, Qin Yudie and Mu'er exchanged a glance, each seeing astonishment and confusion in the other's eyes.
Then Mu'er's eyes darted about, a clever look flashing across her face. She asked Lin Yansheng, "Did you make all the calligraphy and paintings in this shop yourself?"
The moment she said that, Qin Yudie understood what she meant.
If this young man really had written the words "What are you looking at?", there might be other calligraphy and paintings imbued with Dao charm in the shop. A glance would be enough to tell whether they came from the same hand.
"Every piece in this shop is my own work. Would you two like to come in and have a look?" Xu Yan said as he stepped into the shop, throwing the door wide open.
Quite a few calligraphy pieces and paintings hung on the walls inside. This was only the outer hall; there were other things in the inner hall, too.
Qin Yudie and Mu'er followed him inside. As they looked at the calligraphy and paintings, the world before their eyes suddenly changed.
Boundless Dao intent surged forth from the works. There was the Way of landscape, the Way of living beings, and many other Great Daos.
Rivers imbued with Dao charm rushed onward, while towering mountains rose into the clouds and shifted. In an instant, it all disappeared.
On a gigantic vine, majestic and towering like the Heavenly Abyss, seven gourds grew. Then the gourds fell to the ground and transformed into human boys.
This was the evolution of life—the Supreme Great Dao.
Qin Yudie and Mu'er emerged from the Dao charm in the paintings, their eyes filled with indescribable shock.
Every one of these pieces was imbued with Dao charm, no less than the words on the signboard—in fact, they surpassed them.
Mu'er looked at Qin Yudie and sent her a Spiritual Power transmission. "Senior Sister, have we run into a hidden expert?"
"Shh!" Qin Yudie's expression suddenly turned serious. She, too, sent a Spiritual Power transmission. "The shopkeeper must be a hidden expert, a true powerhouse. Senior figures like him live in seclusion because they want to experience the mortal world. We absolutely must not bring up cultivation or Dao charm in front of him."
"Also, stop sending Spiritual Power transmissions. How could such a trivial trick deceive a senior? We'd only be showing off our meager skills before an expert, and might even displease him."
After sending Mu'er that message, she looked at Xu Yan with unmistakable respect and admiration.
Someone who had comprehended so many Great Daos and could incorporate them into calligraphy and paintings was an unfathomably powerful expert.
To have met such a person was her good fortune.
Xu Yan felt a little uncomfortable under Qin Yudie's gaze. "Miss, is there a piece you like?"
Meanwhile, he wondered, Why is this girl looking at me so intensely? Could she really have been won over by my peerless good looks?
Qin Yudie unconsciously treated herself as a junior before him. "I really love your calligraphy and paintings, Senior, but every piece is priceless. I'm afraid I can't afford them..."
"Senior? Priceless?" Xu Yan froze, unsure what the girl was going on about.
But then he saw Qin Yudie and Mu'er looking at his calligraphy and paintings again, both of them utterly entranced.
He understood. He understood everything.
So these two girls were calligraphy and painting enthusiasts, too. Their skill was probably average, but when they saw a master like him, calling him "Senior" and his work "priceless" was only natural.
Otherwise, ordinary people wouldn't even know what his "A Wolf Fighting Five Sheep," "Straw Hat Boy Travels the World," or "Electric Mouse's 100,000 Volts" were supposed to depict.
Only those in the know could appreciate how awesome he was.
He wasn't bragging. Aside from cultivation, he had reached the level of returning to the natural state and becoming extraordinary in pretty much every skill.
Well now, these girls were calligraphy and painting enthusiasts. He'd better act the part of a senior, Xu Yan thought. Then he said, "Since you both like calligraphy and paintings, I'll give you a piece."
As he spoke, he went to the painting table, picked up the piece he'd finished earlier—"Calabash Brothers Save Grandpa"—and held it out to Qin Yudie.
Qin Yudie was overjoyed and could hardly believe it. "Senior, this... are you really giving it to me?"
She thought to herself, To give away a priceless treasure just like that—he really is a hidden expert. He doesn't care about treasures at all.
Everything is at his whim. I wonder when I'll reach Senior's level.
"Of course. It's just a painting. Look how many I have here. Do you think I'd lie to you?" Xu Yan said indifferently.
This girl had an otherworldly air about her and might be a cultivator. Being able to win over a cultivator girl with his talent, and get her to call him "Senior," made him very happy. There was nothing wrong with giving her a painting he'd casually made.
Besides, he usually sold his paintings for only a few dozen copper coins. Finding a fellow calligraphy and painting enthusiast was already worth it.
"Thank you so much, Senior!" Qin Yudie replied, elated. She took "Calabash Brothers Save Grandpa" and examined it closely. Only then did she notice the signature in one corner: Xu Yan.
She looked up at Xu Yan and asked, "Is Xu Yan your name, Senior?"
Xu Yan was quite pleased with being called "Senior." A little carried away, he said, "Of course. You're a calligraphy and painting enthusiast, too. Would you put someone else's name on your own work?"
He liked this girl more and more. Her beauty was secondary; what mattered was that she understood his talent.
The mortals who usually bought his calligraphy and paintings knew nothing at all about calligraphy or painting, so he'd always found it hard to meet a kindred spirit.
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