Chapter 355: The Deaf Man Sells Paintings (Third Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets!)
He wasn't quite sure. There were also a few demon clan scholars in the Grand Academy. Compared to other sects, the Grand Academy was quite unconventional in recruiting disciples—as long as one passed the Grand Academy's trials, one could become a scholar there.
That was why there were also many female students in the Grand Academy, accounting for about half. After leaving the Grand Academy, these women often became officials in various places, and many also joined the military and became generals.
However, judging by the books behind that cute little girl, they were stacked neatly, perfectly orderly—this was exactly Fox Ling'er's usual style.
But then again, Fox Ling'er couldn't read a single character. There was no way she'd carry a stack of books everywhere she went. That wasn't the little fox demon's style.
The little girl didn't see him. She parted ways with the other scholars, not heading toward the Divine Ability Residence, but instead going down the mountain. Qin Mu waited outside the Array Element Hall for a moment, but no one came out.
"Yu Xiu said Ling'er was listening to a lecture in the Array Element Hall. Since she's not in the Array Element Hall, then it must have been that little girl just now. She's transformed?"
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment: "The demon kings of the Great Wasteland really deserve to die. Ling'er is so young, and he already wants to marry her and make her his mountain stronghold wife."
He walked down the mountain, puzzled: "If it's Ling'er, she's not going back to the Divine Ability Residence. Where would she go?"
He quietly followed. He saw the little girl with three tails hopping and skipping all the way down the mountain. Suddenly she let out an "oops" and fell flat on her face, then crawled forward two steps on her hands and knees, her three tails wagging. Only then did she stand up, tentatively took two steps, and then "oops" again as she tumbled to the ground.
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He saw the little girl glance around, and seeing no one nearby, she ran forward on all fours, tiptoeing, her little hands and feet barely touching the ground, still hopping and skipping along, her three tails swaying back and forth, looking very proud and pleased with herself.
She must have transformed not long ago and hadn't yet gotten used to walking on two legs, so when she tried to walk like a human, she'd occasionally trip.
Now that she'd transformed, she looked like a little girl, but running on all fours was much more convenient than on two legs.
Fox Ling'er walked out of the Grand Academy and headed toward the city. But since there were more people outside, she stood up again, hopping and skipping, her three tails trembling behind her to maintain balance.
*Thump.*
Qin Mu saw the little girl face-plant into the ground again, only her three tails sticking straight up. Then the tails twitched and drooped down.
"Being human really isn't fun..."
The little girl mumbled as she got up, sneakily circled around an old tree, and from the other side of the tree emerged a snow-white little fox, dashing forward at full speed, dragging three long, fluffy tails behind her.
This time she was much faster. Before long, she arrived at the Capital's Curio Garden, buying some wine and dishes along the way, wrapping them up, and weighing out some fruit.
The Curio Garden was a secondhand market—selling antiques and cultural relics, some rare treasures, and spirit weapons. There were also some down-on-their-luck scholars selling calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books here.
"Did Ling'er come here to sell books?"
Qin Mu was puzzled, but he saw Fox Ling'er transform back into the three-tailed little girl upon arriving at the Curio Garden. She carefully weaved through the pedestrians, using magic to float her books as she walked deeper into the market.
When she reached Calligraphy and Painting Street, the little girl let out a sigh of relief, looking around. Suddenly her eyes lit up, and she ran toward a street stall.
Behind the stall was a down-on-his-luck old scholar, his face full of beard, crouching in the corner with both hands tucked into his sleeves, head lowered without saying a word, revealing two bright silver iron-cast ears.
Behind him hung several scrolls of calligraphy and painting. On the stall in front of him were several scrolls, with stones pressing down on the four corners of the stall to keep them from being blown away by the wind.
"Deaf Grandpa, sold any paintings?"
Fox Ling'er came to the stall, set down the wine, dishes, and fruit, and asked the old man.
The Deaf Man hurriedly began eating, not lifting his head: "Haven't met anyone with discerning eyes. You came at just the right time—I was about to starve to death."
"Deaf Grandpa should go sell paintings in front of the State Preceptor's mansion. State Preceptor Yan Kang would definitely be willing to pay a high price."
Fox Ling'er said this, then suddenly remembered something and said with frustration: "State Preceptor Yan Kang doesn't have any money either. His wife gave birth—they had a son—and he sent Old Man Fu to deliver an invitation to the Young Master. The Young Master wasn't home, so I went instead. State Preceptor Yan Kang wasn't home either. The wedding feast they held was quite meager—just plain soup and watery vegetables. Both mother and child looked malnourished. They said that because the State Preceptor was at war, the national treasury didn't have much money, so the State Preceptor donated his own savings. My heart softened and I gave the wife a big red envelope. She then clung to me, saying she wanted her son to recognize the Young Master as his godfather... Later, when the Emperor heard about it, the palace scrimped and saved some money, and only then could the mother and child eat their fill."
The Deaf Man said: "A gentleman remains steadfast in poverty; a petty man becomes reckless when poor. State Preceptor Yan Kang is truly a kindred spirit of mine."
Fox Ling'er curled her lip.
The Deaf Man took out some paper and said: "I've written some characters in dotted lines. You just need to trace over them."
The little girl spread the paper on the ground and was about to pick up the brush and lick the 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 several more times. Let me look at these books of yours first, and I'll explain them to you later."
Fox Ling'er knelt on the ground, tracing the Deaf Man's characters, looking very serious.
"I want to buy 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 pounced into Qin Mu's arms. Just as Qin Mu caught her, the little girl transformed back into a white fox, wriggled out of his embrace, and wrapped herself around his neck.
She had jumped up too hastily and knocked over the Deaf Man's ink, staining several sheets of paper black. The Deaf Man hurriedly cleaned up, complaining: "Ling'er, you're too naughty. These sheets of paper cost money too, and now they're dirty..."
"Deaf Grandpa!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily and, without waiting for the Deaf Man to react, picked him up and gave him a firm hug. The Deaf Man wasn't quite used to it and struggled free, saying flatly: "You're here."
"Village Chief Grandpa is here too!" Qin Mu said excitedly.
The Deaf Man's face darkened, and he snorted: "He came out too? Is he here to laugh at me?"
Qin Mu knew he had strong self-esteem, so he smiled and said: "The 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 goods. I'll paint door gods—I'm sure they'll sell."
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He took Fox Ling'er, who was nuzzling around his neck, and held her in his arms, gently stroking her little head, and said with a smile: "Ling'er is learning to read from Deaf Grandpa? Do you recognize all the characters in the books?"
Fox Ling'er transformed back into a little girl, smiling sweetly: "I recognize them all, but the meanings are a bit hard to understand. These past few days I've been coming here often to ask Deaf Grandpa to teach me."
Qin Mu set her down, his eyes flickering, and said: "Deaf Grandpa, selling calligraphy and paintings like this won't work. There are few people with discerning eyes after all. And with the war going on recently—in prosperous times, paintings; in chaotic times, gold. The past two years have also been plagued by disasters, so there aren't many wealthy people around. If you want to sell them, you need to use some tricks."
He gathered up all of the Deaf Man's calligraphy and paintings, set them aside, and picked up the brush to paint.
As he painted, butterflies flew out from the paper, fluttering around the stall. Then sparrows also flew out, chirping and twittering, drawing the attention of passersby, who exclaimed in wonder.
Qin Mu kept painting, and more and more birds flew out from the paper—swallows and sparrows dancing in the air. Then a great swan spread its wings and flew out from the paper, its wingspan reaching seven or eight feet, drawing gasps of amazement from all around.
The Deaf Man sneered: "Showing off! I'm not like that flashy Blind Man—I don't need to show off like this. Those with discerning eyes will recognize quality naturally, and those without, even if they beg me, I won't sell to them!"
Qin Mu turned a deaf ear. A rainbow-colored phoenix flew out from the paper, soaring back and forth through Calligraphy and Painting Street, attracting even more pedestrians.
Qin Mu picked up the brush and painted a deity—a door god. The door god actually jumped out of the painting as well, towering and imposing, forcing the crowd to step back!
"Your skill isn't there yet!"
The more the Deaf Man watched, the angrier he got. He snatched the brush from Qin Mu's hand and painted a door god himself. Instantly, a divine and demonic majesty erupted, pressing the crowd in the street back continuously. A deity over a hundred zhang tall rose up from the paper—phoenix eyes, curly beard, a divine blade draped over his elbow—warding off all evil, radiating awe-inspiring divine might.
"Now *this* is a door god!"
The Deaf Man swept his brush across, and the door god instantly descended with a *whoosh*, landing back on the paper, lifelike. At the same time, the butterflies, birds, phoenix, and door god that Qin Mu had painted all collapsed into splotches of ink.
Who was superior and who was inferior was clear at a glance!
Qin Mu marveled, and the surrounding crowd also marveled. Immediately, someone stepped forward wanting to buy the door god painting, naming a price that left the Deaf Man utterly stunned. He had been selling paintings here for over two months, and if Fox Ling'er hadn't discovered him, he would have starved to death. He never expected that the first painting he sold would fetch such an astonishing price.
Fox Ling'er was also startled. She quickly stepped forward to haggle, and the price turned out to be many times more expensive than dragon saliva, making people gasp in disbelief.
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 the Glutton Bag, and the little girl stuffed all of the Deaf Man's paintings inside.
The two exchanged glances, blinked, and were of one mind.
Rare goods are worth hoarding. If they sold too many, they wouldn't be worth much anymore.
Qin Mu pulled the Deaf Man and started walking out, laughing: "Deaf Grandpa, now that you have money, let's go buy some fine fabric to make you a few new sets of clothes, then have a good meal, and then go back to see the Village Chief. There's one more thing—on the ship in the Land of No Worries, I saw a painting path completely different from yours. You paint the world, letting all things step out of the painting, while the painting path of the Land of No Worries is the world *within* the painting."
The Deaf Man originally didn't want to go with him, but upon hearing this, he immediately became interested: "The world within the painting? There's such a painting path? Tell me more!"
Qin Mu went to the fabric shop to buy fine cloth, cut it himself, and made the Deaf Man several sets of clothes. He also drew out the Butcher Knife to shave his beard and trim his hair, tidying up the old man until he looked clean and sharp. Only then did he bring them back to the Grand Academy, saying: "Deaf Grandpa, if you can combine the painting path of the world within the painting, you'll definitely be able to advance another step. This time, the State Preceptor asked me to forge the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon, and I'll need your brush as well—first, paint a Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon!"
————Third update here, once again begging for monthly ticket support!