Who are you?

The brush had long since been washed, and the paper was laid out. Only the ink remained to be ground.

But Mr. Cheng was no lovely lady attending him, so Lin Zhishui naturally had no intention of asking him to grind the ink. He could only do it himself.

"Mr. Cheng, you said earlier that you once sought freedom, hoping to follow a path to the heavens and become a spectator above the clouds."

Lin Zhishui lowered his head slightly, slowly grinding the ink without looking up. With the air of a master, he said evenly, "But you recognized your own limitations and were willing to abandon that ambition to preserve your family's legacy. That degree of self-awareness is admirable in itself."

Cheng Buxiu gave a faint, bitter smile.

He knew that his talent might be considered decent within his family, but after more than three hundred years of cultivation, he was still only at the third Heavenly Pass. He was almost certainly destined never to break through the Five Passes in this lifetime, let alone survive the tribulation and ascend.

"Suffering often comes from the gap between our fantasies and reality. Sometimes, an ordinary life is a blessing, and letting go isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Lin Zhishui racked his brains for more inspirational platitudes. "There's no need to force what you cannot obtain. After all, what passes you by is scenery; what stays is your life. Once you've seen all the scenery, perhaps you'll be willing to appreciate a stream flowing gently on and on."

As soon as he finished, he felt that something was a little off...

Wait...

I think I accidentally quoted a song lyric...

Cheng Buxiu, however, showed no particular reaction. He merely pondered for a while, then cupped his hands and said sincerely, "Your insight is profound, Senior. I have learned much."

Surely an immortal master like Senior Lin, who had experienced life in the mortal world and roamed freely through the Heavenly Realm, had already seen most of the scenery the world had to offer. That must be why he had chosen to become the humble proprietor of a calligraphy and painting shop in this secluded, shabby alley, in a mundane world that was both ordinary and extraordinary...

Perhaps this was the gently flowing stream that Senior Lin enjoyed.

For a moment, he felt as though he had gained a glimpse of this secluded master's state of mind, and a little understanding dawned on him.

You learned something from that? Lin Zhishui had no words, but he inwardly counted himself lucky.

Fortunately, Mr. Cheng hadn't realized that this "guidance" came from Faye Wong's "Red Bean." Or perhaps he had never heard the song...

Before long, the ink was ready.

It was smooth and lustrous, with a faint scent of agarwood.

"I admire your self-awareness."

Lin Zhishui picked up his beloved brush from beside him. As he slowly soaked its tip, he said, "But your temperament is somewhat impetuous. You should think carefully before acting. When there is no road ahead, don't wait until you hit a wall to turn back."

With that, he raised his brush and wrote a single large character on the paper in one fluid motion-

Retreat.

Then Lin Zhishui set down his brush and said with a smile, "Sometimes, only by taking a step back can you see the boundless sea and sky."

Cheng Buxiu gazed at the character "Retreat" on the paper. Merely from the variations in the ink, he could sense the wondrous, pure Dao Resonance it contained. It likely concealed some unknown, mighty divine ability.

This calligraphy will be my ultimate safeguard from now on...

Having made that decision, he took a deep breath and cupped his hands in profound gratitude. "Thank you for granting me this calligraphy, Mr. Lin. I will always remember your kindness."

Lin Zhishui gave an almost imperceptible nod, then said, "All that's left is the inscription. What's your name?"

"My name is Cheng Buxiu. I'm also Cheng Qiyue's father," Cheng Buxiu said at once.

"I know."

Lin Zhishui nodded gently, then lifted his brush and added the inscription.

Cheng Buxiu immediately noticed the Dao Resonance in the "Retreat" calligraphy slowly drawing inward and concealing itself. The piece seemed to become an ordinary work of calligraphy, and only he could now activate the Dao Resonance within it.

At this sight, a thought struck him. The "A bright moon rises over the sea" calligraphy he had seen hanging in his daughter's room had also appeared ordinary, with only faint traces of Dao Resonance perceptible. Perhaps... that was also because Senior Lin had added an inscription?

A mere inscription had given the calligraphy an owner. Yet he had sensed nothing unusual about this miraculous method of issuing an immortal decree. Truly, the Heavenly Dao was formless.

At that thought, Cheng Buxiu couldn't help praising him. "Mr. Lin, your brush truly communes with the divine."

"Calligraphy is merely a minor art."

Lin Zhishui gave a modest, serene smile, though inwardly he was bursting with delight. "You flatter me. I'm merely an unremarkable little calligraphy genius."

Cheng Buxiu marveled inwardly. This was the bearing of a true master. To call such a mighty divine ability a minor art-he was far too modest.

"Once the ink is dry, you may take the calligraphy and go," Lin Zhishui said.

"Yes."

A short while later.

Once the ink on the paper had dried, Cheng Buxiu put away the calligraphy and transferred 129,600 yuan to Lin Zhishui. Only then did he respectfully take his leave.

A little while after Cheng Buxiu left, Lin Zhishui immediately pulled out his phone and excitedly checked the text notifying him of the change in his bank balance.

His savings now exceeded two hundred thousand yuan, marking yet another new high in his life.

"No wonder there are so many swindlers. Turns out sweet-talking people makes a lot of money..."

Lin Zhishui couldn't help marveling to himself, then spat out a rebuttal. "No, I'm not a swindler! I have genuine skills. I'm just not famous yet. Once I become a truly accomplished calligraphy master, charging over a hundred thousand for a piece won't be excessive. Hmm... let's just call this charging in advance..."

Of course, his goal was to buy a decent apartment in the city, and two hundred thousand yuan was nowhere near enough for that.

The revolution had yet to succeed; this comrade still needed to work hard.

"I almost forgot. I haven't had breakfast yet."

Lin Zhishui rubbed his stomach, casually opened a certain food-delivery app, and ordered a breakfast combo from a certain fried-chicken chain for over fifty yuan without batting an eye.

He had more than two hundred thousand yuan in savings now, after all. Surely a slightly nicer breakfast wasn't too extravagant.

Half an hour later.

His phone rang. Nearly beside himself with hunger as he waited, Lin Zhishui picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was the delivery driver.

"Hello?"

"What? You can't find it?"

"Can you see number 72? Right, follow that road on the left and go a little farther in. That's where number 71 is..."

"Huh? It's not there? Did you go the wrong way? I said on the left."

"How can you not find it?"

"Ah, fine. I'll come out and find you."

After ending the call, Lin Zhishui stood up, speechless. What was wrong with delivery drivers these days? He had explained it so clearly, yet the man still couldn't find the place.

How could someone with no sense of direction even dare to deliver food?

But he had no choice except to go out and collect it himself.

As Lin Zhishui left, the pine tree beside the shop's door trembled slightly. A face slowly emerged from the bark of its trunk, opening bewildered, adoring eyes as it watched his retreating figure.

A while passed.

"Little pine tree, did you miss me?"

Suddenly, a girl's voice rang out, clear as a silver bell.

A veil of mist slowly appeared, then dispersed, revealing a pretty girl in an oversized green T-shirt and shorts. Her long legs were on display as though she were showing them off, and her fair skin shone so brightly in the sunlight that it was hard to look away.

The face on the pine tree turned slightly and stared blankly at her.

"What's wrong?" Yan Shanshui grinned and gave the pine tree a flirtatious wink with her right eye. "Didn't expect me to come back so soon, did you? Are you touched?"

A question mark seemed to appear on the pine tree's forehead as it slowly asked, "Who are you?"

The corners of Yan Shanshui's mouth twitched. She felt as though she had wasted her flirtatious wink on a block of wood. Well, it really was a block of wood.

She took a deep breath and said helplessly, "Did you forget last night? I'm the person who was in the shop last night. I even said I'd help you take human form. Have you forgotten your big sister already?"

The pine tree's face froze again as it searched its memories for a long while, then slowly said, "Oh, it's you. I'm sorry. I'm a little... a little..."

It seemed unable to find the words to describe its condition.

"Senile!" Yan Shanshui snapped.

"Yes, I think so." The pine tree's face nodded, then apologized a little forlornly. "I'm sorry."

"All right, all right. I don't blame you. You're made of wood, after all."

Yan Shanshui reached out and stroked its bark. "Don't worry. In a bit, I'll ask your master whether he'll agree to let you take human form. But... after asking my master last night, I found out that your master is far more powerful than I imagined. I wouldn't dare anger him, so I can only bring it up indirectly. If he refuses, don't blame me."

"Thank you," said the face on the pine tree.

"No problem. Once you've taken human form, just let your big sister give you a kiss," Yan Shanshui said with a smile.

No sooner had she finished than she turned to look into the distance. "Oh, he's back."

The face on the pine tree had already vanished, leaving it an utterly ordinary pine tree once more.