Over the past few days, sometimes fewer than ten people came to have their portraits drawn.
Even though Duan Rong had already resorted to hunger marketing, doing his best to keep the buzz spreading through the streets, there were only so many target customers. It was only a matter of time before business began to decline.
Duan Rong was not worried. For one thing, he had expected this; for another, his purse had already begun to swell. For the time being, he did not need to fret over silver for cultivation.
Even when there were few customers, Duan Rong would sit idly until You Hour before packing up his stall.
After packing up, Duan Rong returned to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency. He put his things in the dormitory, went to the dining hall for dinner, then headed to a corner of the Martial Arts Field and began standing in horse stance.
Duan Rong had stood there for about an hour when a crisp, sweet voice suddenly rang out before him.
"Honest Lad!"
The moment Duan Rong heard it, he knew that other than Zhu Xiaoqi, who else could be calling him? Before he even opened his eyes and dispersed his qi, a smile had already appeared on his face.
Duan Rong opened his eyes and dispersed his qi. Sure enough, Zhu Xiaoqi stood beneath the shadows of the banyan tree before him. The dim yellow lamplight and shifting tree shadows wove together over her body, creating a hazy kind of beauty.
A hint of the night's ambiguity slipped into Duan Rong's smile as well.
"Idiot!" Zhu Xiaoqi chided him. "Second Miss woke up this morning and told me to come find you!"
"I ran over to this Martial Arts Field twice during the day, and neither time did I