Chapter 355: The Deaf Man Sells Paintings (Third Update, Asking for Monthly Votes!)
He wasn't entirely sure. The Grand Academy also had a few monster race scholars. Compared to other sects, the Grand Academy was quite unconventional in recruiting students—as long as one passed the Grand Academy's trials, they could become a scholar there.
Thus, there were also many women in the Grand Academy, making up about half of the students. After leaving the Grand Academy, these women often became officials in various places, and many also entered the military as generals.
However, judging by the books behind that cute little girl, they were stacked neatly and orderly, not a single one out of place. This was exactly Fox Ling'er's usual style.
But Fox Ling'er couldn't read a single word. There was no way she would carry a stack of books everywhere she went—that wasn't the little fox's style.
The little girl didn't see him. She parted ways with the other scholars and didn't head toward the Divine Abode, instead going down the mountain. Qin Mu waited outside the Array Origin Hall for a while, but no one came out.
"Yu Xiu said Ling'er was listening to a lecture in the Array Origin Hall, but she's not there. So it must have been that little girl just now. She's taken human form?"
Qin Mu was stunned. "That demon king in the Great Wasteland really deserves to die. Ling'er is so young, and he wanted to marry her and make her his mountain fortress wife."
He walked down the mountain, puzzled. "If it was Ling'er, and she's not going back to the Divine Abode, where would she go?"
He quietly followed. The little girl with three tails hopped and skipped all the way down the mountain. Suddenly, she let out an "Ah ya!" and fell flat on her face. Then she crawled forward a couple of steps using her hands and feet, shook her three tails, stood up, took two tentative steps, and then "Ah ya!" again as she flopped to the ground.
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He saw the little girl glance around, and when she saw no one was watching, she started running forward on all fours, tiptoeing with her little hands and feet barely touching the ground, still hopping and skipping along. Her three tails swayed back and forth, looking quite proud and smug.
She must have recently taken human form and wasn't yet used to walking on two legs, so she occasionally tripped when walking like a human.
Now in human form, she looked like a little girl, but running on all fours was much more agile than using two legs.
Fox Ling'er left the Grand Academy and headed into the city. But with more people around, she stood up again, hopping and skipping, her three tails twitching behind her to keep her balance.
*Plop.*
Qin Mu saw the little girl face-plant into the ground again, with only her three tails sticking up. Then the tails twitched a few times and drooped down.
"Being human isn't fun at all..."
The little girl grumbled as she got up, sneaked around an old tree, and came out the other side as a little white fox. She dashed off in a flash, dragging three long, fluffy tails.
This time, she was much faster. Before long, she reached the Rare Treasures Garden in the capital, having bought some wine and food along the way, wrapped them up, and weighed out some fruit.
The Rare Treasures Garden was a flea market for secondhand goods, selling antiques and artifacts. There were also some rare treasures and spiritual weapons for sale, as well as some down-on-their-luck scholars selling calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books.
"Did Ling'er come here to sell books?"
Qin Mu was puzzled. He saw Fox Ling'er turn back into the three-tailed little girl at the Rare Treasures Garden. She carefully weaved through the crowd, using a spell to carry her books as she headed deeper into the market.
When she reached Calligraphy and Painting Street, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief. She looked around, and suddenly her eyes lit up. She hurried over to a street stall.
Behind the stall sat a down-and-out old scholar with a full beard, crouching in a corner. He had his hands tucked into his sleeves, his head bowed in silence, revealing a pair of shiny silver metal ears.
Behind him hung a few scrolls of calligraphy and painting. On the stall in front of him were several rolled-up scrolls, with stones holding down the four corners to keep them from blowing away.
"Deaf Grandpa, did you sell any paintings?"
Fox Ling'er came to the stall, set down the wine, food, and fruit, and asked the old man.
The Deaf Man quickly started eating, not even lifting his head. "Haven't met anyone who knows their worth. You came at the right time. I was about to starve to death."
"Deaf Grandpa should go sell paintings in front of the National Teacher's mansion. Lord Yan Kang would definitely buy them at a high price."
Fox Ling'er said this, then suddenly remembered something and said with annoyance, "Lord Yan Kang doesn't have any money either. His wife gave birth to a son, and Old Man Fu brought an invitation to the young master. The young master wasn't home, so I went. Lord Yan Kang wasn't home either. The wedding banquet was very meager, just plain soup and water. The mother and son both looked malnourished. They said the National Teacher was at war, and the national treasury didn't have much money, so the National Teacher donated all his savings. I felt soft-hearted and gave the wife a big red envelope. She then pestered me to have her son recognize the young master as his godfather... Later, the Emperor heard about it, and the palace scrimped and saved some money, so the mother and son could finally eat their fill."
The Deaf Man said, "A gentleman remains steadfast in poverty; a petty man becomes reckless when poor. Lord Yan Kang is truly a kindred spirit."
Fox Ling'er curled her lip.
The Deaf Man took out some paper and said, "I've written some characters in dotted lines. Just trace them."
The little girl spread the paper on the ground and was about to pick up the brush and dip it in ink. The Deaf Man quickly said, "Don't use ink. Just trace along the dotted lines with the brush. That way, you can do it a few more times. Let me look at these books of yours first. I'll explain them to you later."
Fox Ling'er knelt on the ground, diligently tracing the Deaf Man's characters.
"Buying a painting!"
Fox Ling'er heard this voice and was both surprised and delighted. She quickly looked up and saw a young man standing in front of the stall!
"Young Master!"
The little girl leaped up and threw herself into Qin Mu's arms. Just as Qin Mu caught her, the little girl turned back into a white fox, wriggled out of his embrace, and coiled around his neck.
She had jumped up too hastily, knocking over the Deaf Man's ink bottle and staining several sheets of paper. The Deaf Man hurriedly cleaned up, complaining, "Ling'er, you're too naughty. Those sheets of paper cost money, and now they're dirty..."
"Deaf Grandpa!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily and, without waiting for a response, picked up the Deaf Man and gave him a firm hug. The Deaf Man was a bit uncomfortable, broke free, and said indifferently, "You're here."
"Village Chief Grandpa is here too!" Qin Mu said excitedly.
The Deaf Man's face darkened. He snorted, "He ran out too? Is he here to laugh at me?"
Qin Mu knew he had a strong sense of pride, so he smiled and said, "Village Chief is at the Grand Academy now. Deaf Grandpa, pack up your stall and come with me to the Grand Academy."
The Deaf Man shook his head. "I can make a living selling paintings. I don't need you to support me. In two months, I'll start preparing New Year's goods. I'll paint door gods—they'll definitely sell."
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He took Fox Ling'er, who was nuzzling and fidgeting around his neck, and held her in his arms, gently stroking her little head. He smiled and said, "Ling'er, are you learning to read from Deaf Grandpa? Do you recognize all the characters in the books?"
Fox Ling'er turned back into a little girl and said sweetly, "I recognize them all, but the meanings are a bit hard to understand. Lately, I've been coming here often to ask Deaf Grandpa to teach me."
Qin Mu set her down, his eyes flickering. "Deaf Grandpa, selling calligraphy and paintings like this won't work. There are too few people who know their worth. Besides, with the recent wars, paintings thrive in prosperous times, but gold thrives in chaos. The past two years have been plagued by disasters, and there aren't many wealthy people. If you want to sell them, you'll need to use some tricks."
He gathered up all of the Deaf Man's calligraphy and paintings, set them aside, and picked up a brush to paint.
As he painted, butterflies flew out from the paper, fluttering around the stall. Then sparrows flew out, chirping and drawing the attention of passersby, who marveled at the sight.
Qin Mu kept painting, and more and more birds flew out from the paper. Swallows and sparrows danced in the air, and then a great swan spread its wings and flew out from the paper, its wingspan reaching seven or eight feet. The crowd around them was filled with exclamations of wonder.
The Deaf Man sneered, "Showing off! I'm not that flamboyant Blind Man who needs to show off like this. Those who know the value will recognize it; those who don't, I won't sell to even if they beg me!"
Qin Mu ignored him. A colorful phoenix flew out from the paper, soaring back and forth through Calligraphy and Painting Street, attracting even more pedestrians.
Qin Mu picked up his brush and painted a deity, a door god. The door god actually leaped out from the painting, towering and imposing, forcing the crowd to step back!
"Your skill is still lacking!"
The Deaf Man grew angrier the more he watched. He snatched the brush from Qin Mu's hand and painted a door god himself. Instantly, a divine, demonic majesty erupted, pressing the crowd back. A deity over a hundred zhang tall rose from the paper, with phoenix eyes and a curly beard, a divine blade resting on his elbow. All evil spirits fled, and his divine might was extraordinary.
"Now *this* is a door god!"
The Deaf Man swept his brush, and the door god instantly fell back onto the paper, vivid and lifelike. At the same time, the butterflies, birds, phoenix, and door god that Qin Mu had painted all turned into splashes of ink and fell.
The difference in skill was immediately clear!
Qin Mu praised him, and the surrounding crowd also erupted in admiration. Someone immediately stepped forward to buy the door god painting, and the price they offered left the Deaf Man utterly stunned. He had been selling paintings here for over two months, nearly starving to death if Fox Ling'er hadn't found him. He never expected the first painting he sold to fetch such an astonishing price.
Fox Ling'er was also startled. She quickly stepped forward to haggle, and the final price turned out to be many times more expensive than dragon saliva, leaving everyone amazed.
One painting by the Deaf Man was enough to last a lifetime.
Fox Ling'er sold the door god painting, collected the money, and immediately rolled up the Deaf Man's other paintings. Qin Mu opened his Gluttony Bag, and the little girl stuffed all the Deaf Man's paintings inside.
The two exchanged a glance and blinked, understanding each other perfectly.
Rare goods were worth hoarding. If they sold too many, they wouldn't be valuable anymore.
Qin Mu grabbed the Deaf Man and started walking out, laughing, "Deaf Grandpa, now that you have money, let's go buy some high-quality fabric to make you a few new sets of clothes. Then we'll have a good meal and go back to see Village Chief. There's also something else. On the ship from Carefree Village, I saw a completely different painting technique from yours. You paint a world, letting everything come out of the painting, while the painting technique from Carefree Village is a world within the painting."
The Deaf Man had originally been unwilling to go with him, but upon hearing this, he immediately became interested. "A world within the painting? Such a painting technique exists? Tell me more!"
Qin Mu went to a fabric shop to buy high-quality cloth, cut it himself, and made a few sets of clothes for the Deaf Man. He also took out his butcher knife to shave his beard and trim his hair, tidying up the old man until he looked clean and neat. Then he took them back to the Grand Academy. "Deaf Grandpa, if you can combine the painting technique of a world within the painting with your own, you'll definitely be able to advance further. This time, the National Teacher has asked me to forge the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon, and I'll also need your paintbrush to first draw a Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon!"
—The third update is here. Once again, I humbly ask for your monthly votes!