The white-haired old man stared at the painting in utter excitement, his eyes looking as though they might pop out at any moment.
"What a painting of a drawn bow shooting an eagle!"
His voice trembling, the white-haired old man said, "This painting contains a bleak yet heroic spirit. If one could contemplate it with a tranquil mind, perhaps one could touch upon a Great Dao no predecessor has ever trodden."
"Whoever painted this is unquestionably an unimaginably great master."
"I'm afraid they must have already comprehended the Great Dao and understood everything in this world!"
"To think such a person truly exists in this world! I would dearly love to see this master's true face!"
As he spoke, the white-haired old man could not help beating his chest and stamping his feet.
Xiao Shi and Uncle Jiu watched in bewilderment.
Was this painting really that extraordinary?
Hadn't Ye Qingyun just painted it offhand?
Although it was indeed very well painted, wasn't saying it contained the Great Dao a bit too much of an exaggeration?
"Master, this... shouldn't this just be an ordinary painting?"
Xiao Shi ventured cautiously.
The white-haired old man's eyes immediately widened.
"This is absolutely not an ordinary painting!"
"Whoever could paint this is unquestionably an unimaginably great hidden master!"
"This painting alone is worth several hundred years of my arduous cultivation!"
What?
One painting was worth several hundred years of arduous cultivation?
Xiao Shi and Uncle Jiu were truly stunned.
The two exchanged glances.
Could it be...
That Ye Qingyun, who seemed like a mortal, was actually an unfathomable, peerless master?
"Where did this painting come from?"
The white-haired old man stared intently at Xiao Shi, desperate to learn the painting's origins.
Naturally, Xiao Shi dared not conceal anything.
"Master, this painting was painted by a young man named Ye Qingyun."
The white-haired old man looked thoughtful.
"A young man? That probably isn't the master's true appearance. A master like that must have long since cultivated to a level that reaches heaven and earth. Changing his appearance would be child's play."
Xiao Shi was somewhat embarrassed. "Master, that Ye Qingyun is actually a mortal, the kind without a shred of cultivation."
The white-haired old man froze.
A mortal?
"Impossible!"
He did not believe it at all.
Could a mortal paint something containing the Great Dao?
Absolutely impossible.
Anyone who could paint something like this was unquestionably a master whom even the white-haired old man had to look up to.
The kind whose heights knew no bounds.
"Perhaps your discernment is too poor to see through the master's true appearance, and you mistook him for a mortal."
The white-haired old man said.
Hearing him say this, Xiao Shi and Uncle Jiu both began questioning their lives.
"Could that fellow really be a hidden master?"
Xiao Shi's delicate brows knitted tightly.
Uncle Jiu, however, gave a sudden start.
"Young miss, we encountered two demonic beasts on the way. I was originally no match for them, but they seemed to have been suppressed by some kind of power, and I easily drove them off."
Xiao Shi caught on as well.
Her eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.
"You're saying Ye Qingyun was secretly intervening back then?"
Uncle Jiu nodded repeatedly.
They gasped!!!
Xiao Shi was dumbfounded.
That would make sense, then.
Whether it was this painting or what had happened on the road, both were enough to show that Ye Qingyun was by no means as ordinary as he had appeared to them.
He was actually a hidden master?
"What are you talking about?"
The white-haired old man looked at the two in some confusion.
"Master, here's what happened..."
Xiao Shi promptly told the white-haired old man how they had met Ye Qingyun, along with everything that had happened on their journey.
After listening, the white-haired old man looked at them as though he wished he could slap them both to death.
Xiao Shi and Uncle Jiu were deeply embarrassed as well.
A hidden master had traveled alongside them, yet not only had they failed to recognize him, they had even treated him that way.
Thinking back on it now, both felt a wave of lingering fear.
"You two!"
The white-haired old man shook his head repeatedly.
"Fortunately, that master was magnanimous and did not hold it against you. Otherwise, how could you still be alive?"
The two could only repeatedly agree.
"With a master like this, I truly cannot rest easy without paying him a visit in person."
The white-haired old man carefully rolled up the painting and placed it in his storage pouch.
"Quickly, take me to find this master. I must personally ask him for guidance."
Xiao Shi was somewhat taken aback.
I was clearly the one who came to seek a master, so how did this end with my own master rushing off to pay someone else a visit?
"Master, then these apprenticeship gifts..."
"What apprenticeship gifts? This painting is the best apprenticeship gift you could give. Take everything else back."
"All right."
Xiao Shi looked helpless.
The white-haired old man was beside himself with impatience, urging the two to set out at once.
Upon learning that Ye Qingyun had appeared at the market at the foot of Floating Cloud Mountain, the white-haired old man seized Xiao Shi and Uncle Jiu, one in each hand, and soared into the sky.
Whoosh!
The white-haired old man flew straight through the air, carrying the two toward Floating Cloud Mountain.
Ye Qingyun returned to Floating Cloud Mountain.
Looking at his own nest, Ye Qingyun felt a wave of reassurance wash over him.
"There's no place like home."
After this trip out, Ye Qingyun had deeply felt the warmth of home.
Rumble, rumble!
He was terribly hungry, so he quickly ate something to fill his stomach.
After eating his fill, Ye Qingyun enjoyed a good sleep.
He slept all the way until noon the next day.
Only then did Ye Qingyun get up, feeling perfectly comfortable.
He pushed open the door and stepped outside.
Yet he discovered someone outside the courtyard.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing that person acting furtively and trying to pick pears from the tree, Ye Qingyun let out a shout.
The person jumped in fright and fell out of the pear tree, landing on his backside.
It was quite a hard fall.
The person cried out in pain and sat on the ground, unable to get up.
Ye Qingyun hurried over.
He discovered that it was actually a child.
He looked only seven or eight years old.
Filthy and dressed in rags, with disheveled hair and a grimy face, he was the very picture of a little beggar.
The child trembled, his face somewhat contorted from the pain of his fall.
"You've got some nerve, coming here to steal my pears!"
Ye Qingyun said with a sneer.
The little beggar rubbed his leg and staggered to his feet.
"I didn't steal."
"I caught you red-handed, and you're still saying you didn't steal?"
Ye Qingyun laughed in exasperation.
The little beggar snorted.
"Fine, I stole them. So what? Why don't you just beat me to death?"
Ye Qingyun was speechless.
Well, now.
So young, and already a shameless tough nut.
Ye Qingyun did not actually intend to blame him. After all, becoming a beggar at such a young age was truly rather pitiful.
"What's your name?"
Ye Qingyun asked.
"I don't have a name."
"No name? Then what does everyone call you?"
The little beggar wrinkled his nose. "They all call me little bastard."
Ye Qingyun shook his head helplessly.
"Then what's your surname?"
The little beggar's expression froze.
"My father's surname was Guo."
"Then where are your parents?"
"They're both dead."
A measure of sympathy welled up in Ye Qingyun's heart.
He walked beneath the pear tree and picked a dozen or so pears.
Then he fetched a bag of rice from the house.
"Take these to eat. If you run out, you can come back here."
Ye Qingyun handed the things to the little beggar.
The little beggar looked somewhat startled and uncertain.
He did not even dare reach out to take them.
"From now on, don't steal anymore."