Conceptual melting pot, the fusion of all realms starting from the Qin Dynasty.

"After all, a place that can imprison the former crown prince of Yue must be heavily guarded."

"It's not something you, Sister Yan Lingji, can do alone."

The thought that Yan Lingji might be captured and imprisoned in a crystal cell filled with water made Chen Hao feel uneasy.

Chen Hao now regards Yan Lingji as his only family in this world and doesn't want her to suffer any harm.

Although Yan Lingji possessed the art of fire control and was a master of the Innate Realm, she was still somewhat overwhelmed when facing a large number of heavily armored soldiers.

After all, this world is merely a martial arts world, not a fantasy world where individual martial arts can destroy mountains and rival nations.

"But..."

Yan Lingji hesitated for a moment. "If I don't do this, how can I find out the exact location where Crown Prince Tianze is being held?"

"Of course, it's thanks to this calligraphy and painting studio!" Chen Hao smiled confidently.

Yan Lingji looked at Chen Hao with her beautiful eyes full of doubt.

Chen Hao continued to explain: "Using the paper from the calligraphy and painting workshop, as well as the painting techniques that are ahead of this era, we can make connections with the powerful and influential people in Xinzheng City."

Chen Hao hung a landscape painting in a freehand style directly opposite the entrance of Qingpingzhai.

Then he confidently said, "It should be much easier to find out what happened ten years ago from these powerful and wealthy people."

"With your fire charm technique, Sister Yan Lingji, it should be a piece of cake to ask those powerful and wealthy people who have no cultivation and weak will."

shock!

Yan Lingji looked surprised. "You can do that?!"

Chen Hao smiled and carefully hung a portrait he had personally drawn for Yan Lingji on a corner of the wall. "Moreover, if I want to continue to grow, I also need to collect some classics from various schools, as well as martial arts manuals."

"There is also knowledge related to medicine, pharmaceuticals, forging, and Qimen Dunjia."

"Sigh~!" Chen Hao sighed helplessly, "All the knowledge of this era is hidden in various schools of thought and deep within the palace, making it extremely difficult for ordinary people to access it."

"Now all I can do is rely on this calligraphy and painting studio to see if I can fool more people."

Yan Lingji completely ignored Chen Hao's various complaints and stared intently at the portrait of her that Chen Hao had just hung up.

Looking at the portrait of herself, dressed in a fiery long dress, alluring and lifelike, Yan Lingji revealed a joyful expression:

"Xiao Chenhao, when did you draw my portrait? How come you didn't let me know?"

"Moreover, this portrait is so realistic, it looks exactly like me."

"How come I didn't know you had such skills?"

Chen Hao smiled proudly, "I took some time yesterday to draw this, just to give you, Yan Lingji, a surprise."

"As for painting skills, I learned them when I was in school and taking extracurricular classes."

With his newfound control over his body from martial arts training, his extraordinary agility, and the assistance of the Great Sage, Chen Hao can now proudly declare that he is the Painting Saint of this era.

...

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Chapter 017: The Calligraphy and Paintings That Received Attention, and Nongyu

Yan Lingji took her portrait down from the wall and said seductively to Chen Hao, "This portrait is mine now!"

"Even if Xiao Chenhao paints a portrait of me in the future, he cannot hang it in this calligraphy and painting gallery for exhibition."

Yan Lingji rolled up the scroll depicting her portrait, then walked to Chen Hao's side, lifted Chen Hao's chin with her right hand, and said in a sweet voice, "Do you understand?"

Gulu!

Looking at Yan Lingji so close to him, Chen Hao swallowed hard and nodded helplessly, "Understood!"

After saying that, Chen Hao quickly tucked his lower body in and retreated.

"Haha~ Haha~~!"

Seeing this, Yan Lingji smiled happily.

Just then, someone outside noticed the various paintings and calligraphy hanging inside Qingpingzhai and came in to ask, "What kind of business do you do here?"

Chen Hao took a deep breath and quickly went to meet him:

"We sell calligraphy and paintings here..."

...

Not long after, in a room in Zilan Pavilion.

Zi Nu and Wei Zhuang sat facing each other, quietly listening to the music played by a young girl beside them.

Crisp and melodious, like a chirping bird, melodious and gentle, with a lingering aftertaste!

Even these words are slightly insufficient to describe the sound of the piano played by the girl.

And this young girl is none other than Nongyu, the top courtesan of Zilan Pavilion.

Nongyu wore a moon-white short-sleeved long dress over an orange-yellow long dress, and a jade-colored hair ornament inlaid with white pearls. Her smooth, wine-red hair hung down to her waist. Her features were delicate and refined, and her starry eyes were calm as still autumn water.

Although Nongyu still had a childlike appearance, it was already clear that she was an unparalleled beauty.

Ding~ Ding~~ Dong Dong~!

As the piece ended, Zi Nu couldn't wait to praise, "Nong Yu, your musical skills have improved again; it's truly astonishing."

"No way?" Nongyu smiled shyly.

“Nongyu, you don’t need to be modest!” Zi Nu stood up and pulled Nongyu to where they were sitting: “There are not many musicians in this world who can surpass you now.”

“You, Nongyu, have already qualified to enter the Dao through the art of playing the zither.”

In this world, becoming a strong person is not limited to learning martial arts.

Whether it's reading, painting, medicine, formations, or playing the zither, as long as you have enough talent and a little bit of luck, you can enter the Dao through your skills.

At that time, those who entered the Dao resonated with heaven and earth and received the vital energy of heaven and earth, which can be described as ascending to heaven in one step.

For Nongyu, who lacks a strong martial arts lineage and has mediocre martial arts talent, entering the Dao through the art of the zither is actually a more likely path to becoming a powerful figure.

"Actually, there's another reason why we've gathered everyone here today..."

As Zi Nu spoke, she turned her gaze to Hong Yu, the maid who had been waiting by her side.

Hongyu stepped forward at the opportune moment and placed what she had been holding on the low table in front of Zinu.

"Sister Zi Nu, what is this?"

Nongyu looked at the books and scrolls on the low table with some curiosity, and then looked at Zinu with some confusion.

The books and scrolls were the first time Nongyu had ever seen them, so she naturally didn't know their purpose.

"This is..."

On the contrary, Wei Zhuang immediately picked up the book and started reading it after seeing the text on the cover.

Splash! Splash!

Half a day later, Wei Zhuang's expression changed repeatedly because of the book "The Analects" in front of him. He sighed and said, "I never thought that the entire Analects could be completely included in this small space. It's really unbelievable."

The Analects contains about 16,000 characters. Each bamboo slip can hold a maximum of 30 characters, meaning that nearly 600 bamboo slips would be needed to write the entire Analects.

The six hundred bamboo slips, in terms of weight, were almost the weight of an adult.

The weight and number of bamboo slips compared to the thin book in Wei Zhuang's hand immediately revealed just how arduous the task was.

"and this!"

Zi Nu slowly unfurled the scroll on the low table.

Then a beautiful and exquisite landscape painting, with its towering peaks, verdant mountains and clear waters, and serene atmosphere, appeared before everyone.

Feeling the refreshing scent of the mountains and rivers, Nongyu opened her mouth in surprise and eagerly asked Zinu, "Sister Zinu, where did you get this painting? Who painted it?"

Most of the paintings from this period were on lacquerware and murals. Although some were painted on silk and cloth, they also had their own unique characteristics. However, in terms of realism and artistic conception, none of them could compare to this landscape painting.

After all, how could the painting techniques of this period compare to Chen Hao's painting skills, which had been developed for more than two thousand years?

Wei Zhuang twirled the scroll and compared it to the book in his hand. "Same material!"

"Does that mean someone has invented a new material that is easy to write and draw with?"

“Hmm!” Zi Nu nodded. “That person called this material, which is easy to write and draw on, paper.”

"Why don't you guess who brought out these papers, books, and paintings?"

Zi Nu looked at Wei Zhuang with interest, wanting to know what kind of expression he would have after knowing the answer.

"Who is it...?"

Wei Zhuang frowned as he looked at Zi Nu, then, as if remembering something, exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be those two people who came to Xinzheng City a few days ago?"

“That’s right!” Zi Nu smiled charmingly. “Those two people opened a calligraphy and painting shop called Qing Ping Zhai not far from Zi Lan Xuan, which specializes in selling such books and paintings.”

"If you're interested, you can go and take a look."

Wei Zhuang frowned, looking at the books and scrolls with a puzzled expression. "What is their purpose in doing this? Why would they travel all the way from the border between Chu and Baiyue to Han to sell these things?"

"Wouldn't it have been better to choose Qin, Chu, or Qi?"

"Who knows?" Zi Nu shrugged gracefully and said helplessly, "All I know is that the already turbulent city of Xinzheng will become even more turbulent because of this calligraphy and painting shop."