Chapter 20: Lin Pingzhi’s Investigation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After all the things were done, Ye Xiu found an excuse to enter another room.

The happiest part of doing business was counting the money afterwards. When he got the money, it would feel like all the hard work hadn’t been in vain.

This time, as a regular customer, Lin Suxin didn’t spend money, but she had brought two new customers, and they had all spent money. He had to find an opportunity to reward her. The next time she brought people over, she would be even more motivated, it would be a win-win situation.

However, he couldn’t just reward her with gold coins. If her friends found out, then his reputation would be affected. What should he give her?

Ye Xiu thought to himself as he walked.

After thinking for a while, he couldn’t think of anything. Ye Xiu put this thought aside for the time being and took out the Magic Bank’s gold card to check.

The balance inside had increased. His saving had reached 410,000 gold coins. He could consider expanding his shop or buying a house in the city. The outer city was also safe, but it wasn’t as safe as the main city. How about closing the shop early today and took a walk in the city?

Ye Xiu touched his gold card and couldn’t help but smile.

After thinking about it, Ye Xiu finally chose to close the shop early and go to the city to take a look at the houses. Even if he didn’t buy a house now, he should at least have a look first.

After that, Ye Xiu calmly walked out of his room. He just happened to see Lin Suxin and the other two carefully putting away the paintings. He smiled and nodded his head.

“Keep these paintings properly. Don’t let anyone know for the time being.”

They had to keep the paintings as secret for now. It was best not to let their elders know. He would have to explain a bit more to avoid any trouble.

Li Fei and the other two nodded their heads, “Senior, we understand.”

“Do you guys want to read some books?” Ye Xiu asked.

Bai Xing and Li Fei didn’t know how to respond. did senior want them to stay and read more?

Ye Xiu was planning on closing the bookstore, but since the three of them were here, it wouldn’t be good to chase them away.

Lin Suxin noticed that when Ye Xiu left, he subconsciously pulled the door frame and stopped halfway. She knew that Ye Xiu was about to close the shop.

She tugged at the corner of Li Fei and Bai Xing’s clothes and spoke first, “Senior, it’s okay. We don’t want to bother you.”

“We’ll come visit you the next time we run into a problem.”

There wasn’t much point in staying any longer after today’s harvest. It was better to go back and properly comprehend the power of the laws on the painting.

Furthermore, Senior Ye also wanted to rest. If they stayed any longer, they would be very insensible.

Ye Xiu chuckled and nodded his head, “Sure, you guys can come next time. I also have some matters to attend to. I’ll close the shop in the afternoon to deal with them.”

Li Fei and Bai Xing, who were originally puzzled, suddenly understood why Lin Suxin wanted to hold them back.

The three didn’t stop and turned around to leave.

Ye Xiu left Xiaobai in the shop and closed the door as well. It would be troublesome to bring Xiaobai along when he was looking for new house.

Just as he left the shop, he saw Lin Suxin and the others standing by the roadside. They were discussing something in a low voice. Ye Xiu asked, “Do you have any other matters?”

Bai Xing said in a low voice, “Senior, we are discussing your painting. There are many things that we know but can’t do. It’s quite frustrating. How should we solve this?”

After she left the shop, she quickly looked at the painting and tried to memorize it so that she could recall it at any time.

She was able to sense the law when she was looking at the painting, but she lost it when she looked away.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall it. It was as if some power had erased her memory.

Lin Suxin and Li Fei were in the same situation.

Ye Xiu was stunned for a moment. His mind spun.

He had been wondering what the three of them were doing together. It turned out that they were trying to copy his ink wash painting.

She was able to know her limitation. Perhaps this Bai Xing had some foundation. She might be able to copy half of his techniques. If she wanted to copy the whole thing, how could that be possible?

It was just like sketching. It was the same as drawing a water cup. A professional artist could draw it as if it was real. An amateur artist could only draw a cartoonish water cup.

When a passerby saw this, they would have an idea, “It’s so easy. It’s just drawing a cup.”

When they did it themselves, they would realize that even though their brains knew how to draw, their hands didn’t.

Ye Xiu was like a professional artist. Bai Xing was an amateur artist, while Li Fei and Lin Suxin were passersby.

It was impossible for them to copy a professional painter’s work at their current level. However, the three of them had just spent a huge sum of money. They were customers who had paid a lot of money. He couldn’t discourage them. He had to think of a way to deal with it.

Ye Xiu thought for a moment and said, “Then you’re heading in the wrong direction. That’s why you feel this way.”

“At my level, it’s no problem to express my skill. However, you can’t just look at the painting. The painting is just a form of expression. The bigger painting is the entire world. You can start from the object in the painting. You can first understand the object before looking at the painting.”

“Start from the dead thing, then to the living thing, and finally to the person.”

Copying the motionless object, then the animal, and finally the human figure. Only then could they become better.

Hearing Ye Xiu’s words, Lin Suxin and the other two looked at each other. Their faces were filled with joy as they bowed in unison.

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior. We will definitely remember your teachings.”

The corners of Ye Xiu’s mouth twitched. He was a bit speechless. Weren’t they tried to copy his techniques? Was there a need to be so excited?

However, seeing that they were willing to pay, he was excited.

Seeing that the three didn’t ask any more questions, Ye Xiu said goodbye to them and then walked to the center of the city. After he transmigrated here, he hadn’t been to the city to take a good look. There was no other reason. The main reason was that he had been under too much pressure to survive. After borrowing money to open a bookstore and learning ink wash painting, he had been through a lot. Now, he finally had some money now. That was why he dared to visit the city.

When he first came to the city, he didn’t have any money in his pockets. Since he couldn’t afford anything, he might as well not look.

After Ye Xiu left, the three of them also left together. On the way, they deliberately avoided the crowd and whispered to each other.

“What did Senior Ye say just now?”

“I think what Senior Ye meant was that at his level, he could easily reflect the law of time. But we haven’t reached that level yet. We can’t understand it just by comprehending the painting. Are we going to start from the world?”

“No, we should first observe the time flow of the object, then the animals, and finally go back to our own bodies.”

“The world does have time, but it’s too vast and extensive. Small object can reflect time very well. We should first come into contact with law of time and then look at the painting scroll. It should work.”

“Then we should start from the fruit and see how it will be displayed under the passage of time.”

“Senior is indeed a master. In just a few sentences, he has pointed out a correct path to comprehend the law of time.”

“I’ll go back and enter closed-door cultivation. See you in half a month.”

“Okay, see you in the Mage Pavilion in half a month.”

The three of them chatted and laughed as they bid each other farewell at the intersection.

Not long after they left, a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe appeared. He was Lin Suxin’s father, Lin Pingzhi.

He seemed to have made some progress along the way. The root of everything was in that inconspicuous bookstore.

After looking in the direction his daughter left, Lin Pingzhi turned around and headed to the bookstore.

If the black mage was really planning something, he had to stop it!