I come to see Bai Yujing today

Chapter 2 Hidden Dragon
Chen Zhian didn’t know what the changes that happened to the Jade Capital Map that day meant, and he spent the night as usual.

In his opinion, the hydrangea incident on Xiqing Street yesterday was just an insignificant episode and he did not take it to heart.

But today, when he woke up, he felt his head was heavy and aching for some reason.

"Caught a spring chill?"

As he speculated like this, he left the room as usual and saw that the spring was getting better and better. The wind was filled with the fragrance of flowers. During the spring equinox, the pear blossoms planted by his father in the courtyard were already as white as snow.

On the stone table under the pear tree, my father had already prepared a large pancake and a bowl of hot soup.

Chen Zhian turned his head and saw that his father was still wearing the simple white clothes, sitting on the futon in the room, preparing to teach and answer questions today.

The food on the stone table remains the same, and it has been like this almost every day for the past decade or so on Qihuang Street.

Chen Zhian smiled, ate the pancake in a few bites, drank the hot soup, and waved his hand: "Dad, I have already distributed the medicine, don't forget to take it at noon... I will be back late today, and there is a wanted poster of a fugitive in Huangmen that needs to be painted."

Chen Shuijun turned around and waved at him, then went back to teaching in silence.

Chen Zhian had already gotten used to his father's silence, so he cleared the dishes and went out to the Sunan Baigong Huangmen.

About a quarter of an hour after Chen Zhian left the house, someone came to visit the shabby courtyard on Qihuang Street.

The man seemed to be in his early forties, with a fair face and no beard, a solemn expression, calm eyes, and a noble air between his brows.

Nobility comes not only from a person's every move, but also from his clothes.

He was wearing a long gown with a touch of elegance. The hem of the gown was embellished with a few crane feathers made of brocade thread, giving it a sense of etherealness.

Behind this man were several martial artists, who were very respectful and didn't even dare to look at his back when walking behind him.

When they arrived in front of the courtyard, these martial artists stood still and allowed the man to enter.

Chen Shuijun also saw this person coming to the courtyard, but he just glanced at him indifferently and turned his head away, without even standing up to greet him.

The visitor was not angry. He stood in the courtyard and looked at the pear blossoms for a while, then glanced at the painting hanging in the east hall. He said with some regret, "Chen Zhian has a good character and good comprehension. It would be fine if you didn't let him practice, but you didn't even let him study... What's the point of being a Huangmen painter?"

"When you leave, he will be alone, without any skills or reputation, and will inevitably be taken advantage of by the world."

Chen Shuijun didn't even raise her head: "How to teach my son is my business."

"It is your job to teach your son." The visitor finally stepped into the East Hall, and said with some regret: "It's just that Li Bodu is coming to Sunan Prefecture this time, you should stay away from him for a while. He is here to pursue the warrior who is one of the [Nine Monuments and Thirteen Characters]. You can't guarantee that he will remember the past and step on you again."

"If you ask me, you should leave Sunan Prefecture as soon as possible. The abbot of Daci Temple wants to pass on his teachings to you. This is a blessing that countless practitioners cannot obtain in several lifetimes. Why do you need to stick to Sunan Prefecture?"

The man spoke in a serious and sincere manner, and seemed to have a close relationship with Chen Shuijun.

But Chen Shuijun frowned when he heard this. He slowly stood up, looked at the visitor, and said, "Chu Muye, you came here today just to persuade me to flee from Sunan Prefecture? His Li family is so powerful that even if I come to Sunan Prefecture, I will be driven away by the majesty of General Xuan Zi of Sunan?

You were demoted, and your courage was demoted as well?"

“You don’t know what’s good for you!” The middle-aged man, who was called Chu Muye by Chen Shuijun, was furious when he heard this and snorted coldly, “The reason I came to persuade you is that I don’t want to see you suffer!

You and I have known each other for more than 20 years, and I still don't know what you are thinking? Li Bodu has come to Sunan Mansion. Even if he doesn't come to see you, you will definitely go to see him.

With Li Bodu's domineering personality, even if he won't take your life due to the Li family's promise to Li Yinxi, I'm afraid you'll still have to lie in bed for three to five years.

What's the point of this?"

"If you stay in bed, what will Chen Zhian eat? You can't rely on the wages of a yellow door servant to support you and your son."

“If it were up to me, you should go straight to the Daci Temple and learn the Daci Dongting technique. Even if you can’t achieve the [Creation] Mystery, you can at least get a [Jade Palace] cultivation and reflect the divine appearance. Then you can ask someone to mediate, and the Xuantiandu Li family will have to acknowledge you as their son-in-law.”

Chu Muye spoke with deep sincerity.

Chen Shuijun seemed not to have heard his words. Instead, he looked up at the sky and said, "My students are coming soon. You will inevitably miss their classes if you stay here."

Chu Muye put his hands behind his back and shook his head.

"Be careful. Li Bodu's fleet will arrive the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Now the situation in Sunan Prefecture is changing, and several powerful men have come, whether it's the swordsman who 'flew a sword in the air and awakened the sleeping dragon in the green lake', the warrior who 'had the strength to pull up mountains and rivers, and the courage to conquer the world', Li Bodu who commanded the 90,000 pine and locust army in Suwu Prefecture, or those bandits in Xipenglai who called themselves 'iron horses and mud snakes', you should not mess with them."

Having said this, he walked out of the East Hall and picked a pear blossom from the courtyard.

The pear blossoms were more beautiful than snow, and Chu Muye suddenly remembered that back when they were in Yankong Academy, Miss Li Yinxi of the Li family loved pear blossoms the most.

He sighed in his heart and was about to leave.

Chen Shuijun's cold voice suddenly fell into his ears.

"Everyone in the streets is saying that the court wants to reinstate you. You've hurried here today. Are you going to serve as an official in the court?"

Chu Muye did not turn around, but just waved his hand at him: "I know you are disappointed with the court, but now that Prime Minister Song is in power and has made drastic reforms, it is much better than a few years ago. When I go to Xuan Tianjing, I can realize our ambitions..."

Chen Shaojun watched Chu Muye go away from afar. He looked at the pear blossoms in the yard and suddenly whispered to himself.

"Yinxi, wait a little longer, and Zhian will be able to completely digest the medicinal power, transform his roots and build his bones. With the jade bones as the foundation, he will be able to receive the immortal's guidance of the Mysterious Chapter when he is in the innate stage... Then, I will be able to come and see you."

-

"Why is this man so fierce?"

Chen Zhian stood in the Huangmen Painting Academy, looking at a portrait on the table in the middle of the academy.

There were two other people beside him, one old and one young.

The old man was the chief worker of the Huangmen Painting Academy, named Liu Sichi. He was dressed in yellow at the moment, holding a paintbrush in his hand and looking at the portrait carefully.

Another young man, who was about the same age as Chen Zhian, explained, "I went to the government office to receive the wanted portrait and asked carefully. This person is Qi Tianchong, the Sky-Swallowing Tiger who ranks twelfth among the twenty-four generals of Western Penglai!
He came to Sunan Prefecture, but no one knows what he is going to do."

This young man was called Wang Huan, and like Chen Zhian, he was a laborer in the Huangmen Painting Academy. Huangmen was affiliated with the workshop of the Sunan government office, which had a hundred laborers' courtyards and was where Chen Zhian worked.

"These fierce bandits from West Penglai have done all kinds of evil things, including robbing, murder and arson. When he came to Sunan Prefecture, the wealthy families in Sunan Prefecture were all on edge. However... his luck is not good either. In a few days, General Xuan Zi, Li Bodu, will also come to Sunan Prefecture. If he dares to show up, he will inevitably be beheaded and skinned by General Xuan Zi, and become a dead tiger."

Wang Huan smiled broadly.

Liu Sichi, the chief worker at the side, knocked on his head and said, "Hurry up and paint. We need to finish ninety-six portraits today and paste them all over the ninety-six streets of Sunan Prefecture. If you are late, you will not be able to hand in the work and will be punished by the head of the Huangmen."

Wang Huan rubbed his head and muttered, "There are only three painters in total, and their salary is extremely low. They are also required to paint so many portraits. This job is really not for humans."

Liu Sichi, the chief worker, sneered, "It's better to eat the government's food than to sell paintings and calligraphy on the street. When I was selling paintings on Xiqing Street, I sometimes didn't open for seven or eight days in a row, and I was hungry all day. Now I'm a prostitute, and I get a salary of 1.5 taels per month. Isn't it better than begging on the street?"

Wang Huan's voice became even quieter: "You are the only one who gets paid one and a half taels of silver. Chen Zhian and I only get one tael of silver."

Liu Sichi was furious: "You young boy, if it weren't for your aunt's intercession..."

"Hurry up and draw. If you're late you won't be able to hand in the work." Chen Zhian interrupted Liu Sichi's scolding, spread out the hemp paper, took out a unique charcoal pencil from his arms, and started drawing.

Wang Huan and Liu Sichi were colleagues of Chen Zhian, so they had naturally seen Chen Zhian painting many times.

But even so, when Chen Zhian's slender charcoal pencil fell on the paper, he had already drawn the general outline of Qi Tianchong with just a few simple strokes.

The charcoal pencil rubs against the hemp paper, making a rustling sound. In just a moment, a lifelike portrait appears on the paper under the simple lines.

The two of them were amazed, but did not dare to be negligent and also started painting with brushes in hand.

A whole day passed like this.

A crescent moon gradually rose into the sky, illuminating a transparent gray cloud.

The gray clouds blocked the moonlight, making the sky look a little gloomy.

"The palace has ordered Chen Zhian to go and hand in the painting."

One day while painting, Wang Huan looked at the portraits on the table and rubbed his wrist weakly.

Liu Sichi was old, and he retired after painting only a dozen or so paintings. As he was the chief artist, he naturally had this authority.

But when he heard Wang Huan's words, he couldn't help but frown and look at Chen Zhian: "Does anyone else in the mansion know you, Chen Zhian?"

Chen Zhian was confused and just shook his head.

Liu Sichi lowered his head and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Since they specifically asked you to deliver it, just do it. Be quick on the way and don't delay."

Chen Zhian did not waste any time and rushed to the Sunan government office with a thick stack of straw paper portraits.

The Huangmen who managed the government workers was on Xingyuan Street. If one took the main road, it would take a long time and a long detour, but there was an alley connecting several streets. Although there were few lights, it saved a lot of distance.

Chen Zhian hurried over, passed through the quiet alley, and arrived in front of the government office.

He introduced himself as a Huangmen worker. The middle-aged knife-wielding guard at the government gate looked him up and down and asked, "The government has specifically asked Chen Zhian from the Huangmen Painting Academy to come here. Are you Chen Zhian?"

Chen Zhian nodded.

The middle-aged guard holding a knife pointed to the doorman beside him and said, "Give the portrait to him, and please follow me."

Chen Zhian was a little puzzled. He put on a smile and was about to ask, but the middle-aged guard with a knife suddenly asked him, "Are you the son of Mr. Chen from Qihuang Street?"

Chen Zhian nodded.

The middle-aged knife-wielding guard smiled and said, "I also live in Qihuang Street, and my son is studying in your father's private school.

Chen Zhian took a closer look at him and smiled, "So you are Xiao Zhuan'er's father."

The middle-aged guard holding a knife led Chen Zhian into the mansion and asked curiously, "How do you know that I am Xiao Zhuan'er's father?"

Chen Zhian has a simple face: "Xiao Zhuan'er looks like an adult's child. His eyebrows, eyes and nose are not exactly the same, but they are about 60% similar."

The middle-aged guard holding a knife looked pleased: "My surname is Zheng, my name is Zheng Yuan, I am the guard of the front yard of this government office, you can just call me Old Zheng."

Chen Zhian quickened his pace, came behind Zheng Yuan, and asked in a low voice: "Sir, where are we going?"

Zheng Yuan said without even turning his head, "You are a laborer in the Huangmen Painting Academy. The workshop supervisor ordered me to take you to the workshop to paint a portrait of a young man... Are you a good portrait painter?"

Chen Zhian said modestly: "It can't be called very good, but it is similar."

Zheng Yuan slowed down his pace and turned back to say to him, "In that case, I might as well take advantage of that young master. When you return to Qihuang Street, can you also paint a picture for my little Zhuan?"

"What's the difficulty?" Chen Zhian agreed and asked, "Which young master is this?"

"It's Mr. Zhou Xiujing from the Zhou family."

Chen Zhian had naturally heard of the name of the Zhou family in southern Jiangsu. At this time, the two of them had already passed through the front yard and passed by the central hall. Zheng Yuan walked here with light steps and whispered to Chen Zhian: "Don't make a noise, the co-magistrate is meeting with all the celebrities in the southern Jiangsu mansion today.

The prefect is privately entertaining important guests, so don't disturb them."

Chen Zhian nodded and followed Zhou Yuan through the central hall to the six-room courtyard. He saw a house with green bricks and tiles not far away with its door wide open and several people sitting inside.

Even from a great distance, Chen Zhian noticed a young man in gorgeous clothes at a glance.

The young man also looked across the hallway at Chen Zhian with a sinister look in his eyes.

Chen Zhian raised his eyebrows. He had seen countless people in his previous life, so he naturally saw the disdain and disgust in the young man's eyes.

"What the hell."

He thought to himself, "How did I, a commoner, offend this noble man?"

(End of this chapter)