"Forget it. Let's go."
Su Mu glanced over, then waved to Xiao Wu and turned to leave.
Su Mu had no particular intentions toward the woman in the painting.
Her figure and little feet went without saying; they suited Su Mu's tastes perfectly. It would have been a lie to say he did not covet her body.
The problem, however, was that Su Mu was only a soul. What use was coveting her body? Better to keep her out of sight and out of mind.
Xiao Wu froze at his words. "You don't want to buy her?"
As she spoke, Xiao Wu turned to look at the woman in the painting again. In terms of beauty, she was definitely top-class.
Su Mu waved a hand. "What's there to buy?"
"Everyone passing by, don't miss out! This woman in the painting is accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting! When you're bored, you can play a game with her or have her grind your ink. In short, buy her, and you'll have yourself a talented lady!"
The burly man began hawking loudly again, probably hoping to drive the price up a little.
Su Mu had already taken a step away, but at those words, he drew his foot back.
"I'm buying this painting."
Su Mu spoke to Xiao Wu beside him with a calm expression.
"Didn't you just say you weren't buying it?" Xiao Wu was puzzled. His earlier words had not sounded like a lie, and that was why she had begun to think a little better of him.
After all, she was a woman herself, and watching a scene like this made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"I thought it over carefully. I'll buy the painting and put it there. Just leave it there. Hey, it'll be fun!"
Xiao Wu's face was expressionless. Since Su Mu wanted to buy it, she could only stand beside him and bid.
"I bid one tael of gold!"
"I bid three taels!"
Bids rose one after another, but once the price reached five taels of gold, no one raised it again.
No one bid against Su Mu out of malice, so after paying five taels of gold, he obtained the painting without trouble.
"Your painting." Xiao Wu handed it to Su Mu. Her expression was unreadable, and her tone was rather icy.
Su Mu did not mind. After putting the painting away, he was quite happy.
"You overpaid for that painting, and you're still happy!"
Seeing his expression, Xiao Wu bristled with anger and spoke coldly.
"It's only five taels of gold. Small change!" Su Mu did not care.
He had earned quite a bit of gold here. By a rough count, he had over ten taels. The money would only sit there anyway, so being able to buy something useful to him was the best possible outcome.
"Come on, come on. Let's go home."
Holding the painting, Su Mu could hardly wait and hurriedly took the lead back.
"So impatient!"
Xiao Wu could only watch helplessly and follow Su Mu all the way back.
Once Su Mu returned to the courtyard, he glanced at Xiao Wu. The meaning in his eyes was clear: Shouldn't you give me some privacy?
That look infuriated Xiao Wu. She stamped her foot, turned, and left.
Su Mu knew she had misunderstood, but he had no intention of explaining. After closing the door, he immediately took out the painting and examined it.
"Greetings, Eldest Princess!"
Elsewhere, after leaving the courtyard, Xiao Wu soon arrived before the Eldest Princess.
"What is it?"
The Eldest Princess's tone was cool, and her words were extremely brief.
"That fellow went out for a stroll today and bought a painting of a lady that had become a spirit."
Xiao Wu lowered her head as she reported.
At this, the air around the Eldest Princess abruptly chilled, and frost rose over her lovely face. "That fellow!"
The Eldest Princess extended her Divine Sense over Su Mu's little courtyard and soon located him.
If that fellow really was so vile, she would have to teach him a proper lesson and stop trying to find a way to form a body for him.
Although such things were common in many places and were none of her business, Su Mu was her subordinate, so she could interfere in his affairs.
Yet when her Divine Sense spread over the courtyard, she froze.
In the courtyard, Su Mu hung up the painting and said to the lady inside, "Come out. Let's talk."
The painting before him did not stir at all, as though it were merely an ordinary painting.
Su Mu felt a little awkward, but remembering that she had only emerged after the burly man threatened her earlier, he felt considerably better.
"If you come out now, we can still have a peaceful chat. But if you wear out my patience and I bring that cultivator from earlier over, you'll have plenty of physical suffering in store. Why put yourself through that, right?"
Su Mu spoke patiently. "Whatever you think I'm after, just come out first, and we can talk. How about it?"
Su Mu's words worked. The painting before him stirred, and the woman from earlier stepped gracefully out on her delicate feet. Yet her gaze remained deeply wary as she looked at him.
"Talk about what?"
This was the first time Su Mu had heard her speak. Her voice was somewhat ethereal.
"Don't worry. I'm only a soul. Even if I wanted to do anything, I couldn't, right? I just wanted to ask-you can read, can't you?"
The lady looked Su Mu over and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Whatever else might be said, the fact that he was only a soul did indeed make her much safer. "I have lived in the painting since childhood. Since gaining awareness, I have seen countless works of calligraphy and famous paintings, as well as countless scholars. Reading is naturally no trouble for me."
Su Mu was instantly delighted. "Good! I brought you back for no other reason. From now on, teach me to read!"
"Read?"
The lady froze. As she looked at Su Mu, her body began to tremble slightly, as though she were holding back laughter and could not stop herself from shaking.
At that moment, in the pavilion, the Eldest Princess's beautiful eyes curved as well, and a teasing smile appeared on her face.
"That fellow actually can't read!"
Su Mu felt rather embarrassed. He, too, thought being unable to read was somewhat embarrassing, which was why, upon hearing that she was accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, he had thought of buying her so she could teach him.
"Can you or not?"
Forcing down his embarrassment, Su Mu asked.
"I agree."
The lady studied Su Mu, her bright eyes filled with laughter. "Young master, did you know that even the old men in the villages can read? Quite a few also have fine handwriting, and when the time comes for sacrificial rites, their sacrificial texts are beautifully written. I never imagined that you would be unable to read."
Su Mu felt even more embarrassed. What could he do about being unable to read? How many days had he even been here?
"All right, start teaching me to read now. Remember, you mustn't tell anyone about this!"
Su Mu waved his hand and brought over a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, having her begin teaching him.
At his words, the lady floated gracefully down before the desk like a fairy. Compared with Su Mu's ghostlike way of flying, hers looked far prettier.
In the pavilion, the Eldest Princess withdrew her Divine Sense. "All right. If he bought a painting of a lady, so be it. It's a trivial matter."
The Eldest Princess could tell that Su Mu had not lied, but hearing him say he could not read still struck her as rather funny.
Just as the lady had said, in their villages, even an old man could write a fine hand, let alone recognize written characters.
Xiao Wu was puzzled. The Eldest Princess had been somewhat angry at first, so why had her anger vanished afterward?