I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"This is a tough job."

Although Xi complained that Bai Zhou's demands were too harsh, she didn't seem to be keeping quiet about it.

"This is too long to explain, so I'll just pick out some interesting parts. But let me make it clear first: although I have some of her memories, they are fragmented, incomplete, and very few. So please don't be offended if I only tell you a short story."

Evening in the painting didn't know much, so she found a relatively complete story to tell Day.

■

This story begins nearly ten years ago.

At that time, Xi, having listened to her unreliable older brother, foolishly stayed in Gouwu City waiting for him. Because she was too bored at home, she decided to come out of the painting and go to the city to take a look.

That's why she happened to encounter that incident.

A great painter walking through the city took a fancy to a small ornament, but because he was short of money, he had to give up buying the actual item and instead drew it out with his brush.

Having gotten what he wanted, the artist had had his fill of exploring and decided to go back to his home.

But at that moment, the bustling crowd gathered at the entrance of the government office caught her attention.

Although she wanted to know what had happened, she was unwilling to ask the bystanders or join them in the crowd.

Out of curiosity, she found the nearest teahouse, took a table by the window, ordered nothing, and just looked outside.

After watching for a while, and listening to the discussions around her, along with what she had seen, she roughly understood what had happened.

The story goes something like this: a down-on-his-luck scholar, having nowhere else to turn, took a painting by a famous painter from his ancestors and went to a wealthy man to try and sell it to him.

The wealthy man was also a man who liked to indulge in refined pursuits. When he heard that the down-on-his-luck scholar had a painting by a great artist that he wanted to sell, he had the idea of ​​buying it. However, he didn't want to pay too much for the painting, so he planned to lower the price.

The scholar originally intended to sell it for two thousand taels of silver (approximately 850,000 Lungmen dollars), but the wealthy man lowered the price and was only willing to offer one thousand four hundred taels of silver (approximately 590,000 Lungmen dollars).

The scholar was unwilling to lose six hundred taels of silver so easily. He took the painting and left, while scolding the wealthy man for being insincere and cunning.

The wealthy man didn't mind, and simply told the scholar that he could come back if he wanted to sell it.

Half a month later, the scholar's only house was burned to ashes due to a fire, but luckily the calligraphy and painting were still there.

Penniless, the scholar had no choice but to go to the wealthy man again, hoping to sell his calligraphy and paintings.

But this time the price for the employee was even lower, only eight hundred taels of silver.

This isn't just lowering prices, this is exploitation!

But what could the scholar say? He had failed to sell the first time, so he had to swallow the bitter fruit this time, no matter how bitter it was.

There are only a handful of people in Gouwu City willing to buy paintings, and among them, the highest bidder is the wealthy man.

He had no choice but to sell it.

Now that you've got eight hundred taels of silver, shouldn't you be happy, buy a new house, get married, and find a stable job to live a good life?

Sigh, doing it that way would be too vulgar.

The down-on-his-luck scholar, upon receiving the money, did not prioritize purchasing property or starting a business. Instead, he foolishly hired a thief to steal the painting back, intending to then flee with it to another city under a different identity.

Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to judge character. After several days of trying to find a clumsy thief who called himself "Grasshopper," he went to do his job in the middle of the night. However, he got greedy and stole half of the master's leftover roasted feather beast, and was caught red-handed by the master's guards.

However, the wealthy man did not reveal the true identity of the thief. Instead, he attributed the identity to the scholar. No matter how the patrolling constable questioned him, he insisted that the painting had been stolen by the scholar.

The constables did not find the painting in his house, but they also did not find any paintings in the scholar's possession. Helpless, they could only temporarily pin the evidence on the scholar.

The wealthy man said he only wanted the two thousand taels the scholar would take from him to buy the painting, and he didn't want anything else.

The scholar had no choice but to give up his 1,400 taels of silver. He had spent 200 taels on food, drink, and hiring people these past few days, leaving him with only 600 taels. Where was he supposed to get the 1,400 taels?

The scholar shouted his grievances, while the wealthy man wailed and cried.

There is still no conclusive evidence that either of them is lying, which is giving the newly appointed County Magistrate Pelo a huge headache.

"And then? What happened next? Did the gentleman intervene?"

He asked curiously during the day.

This time, Xi's storytelling skills have greatly improved, and the story was quite interesting, successfully piquing Bai Zhou's interest.

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly."

In the painting, Xi took a sip of tea to quench her thirst, and then continued her story.

Having learned what had happened, Xi also became interested in the painting and wanted to see which painter had created this work worth two thousand taels of silver.

She disdained getting involved in the disputes of ordinary people, but she was genuinely curious about where the painting was hidden.

So that night, she sent her capable henchmen, the mysterious Mo Liang, to the wealthy man's house to search for traces of the painting.

Then, she received some amazing news.

A small leopard, using its natural camouflage, overheard the conversation between the wealthy man and the scholar who had been temporarily released due to insufficient evidence, near the outhouse.

They were actually in cahoots! This lawsuit was just a setup they set up to divert the government's attention to the case and keep them from doing anything else.

The so-called painting never existed in the first place; their transaction involved transporting something illegal.

"Five-Stone Powder. That's the name of that forbidden drug."

Bai Zhou knew about that stuff. There were many formulas for Five-Stone Powder, but each one produced a hot and potent medicinal substance that would cause the body to heat up and produce a deceptive short-term effect, making people feel refreshed and invigorated.

But in reality, it's a form of chronic poisoning. Initially, one may feel strong and healthy, but long-term consumption will lead to weakness and fatigue, often resulting in paralysis and death. This stuff is a genuine harmful substance.

The laws of the Great Yan Dynasty state that any such medicines must be burned to eliminate their harm.

Furthermore, there are related regulations regarding the punishment of individuals involved in smuggling such drugs.

"After realizing she had been deceived, she sent a black-feathered beast to deliver the matter to the county magistrate's desk."

"After the wealthy man and the scholar were imprisoned, a major purge began in Gouwu City."

Xi, the unsung hero working behind the scenes, still couldn't find the famous painting he wanted in the wealthy man's collection.

Returning to the essence of the forty-eight days, the reasons for the changes in the body

"...Why aren't you back yet?"

Unable to sleep, Nian hugged her blanket, staring blankly at the painting on the table, speechless.

"Hmm... there's movement."

The painting changed, and Nian hurriedly turned over and pretended to be asleep.

"Sister... she's still not awake."

The call of daylight softened upon seeing the sleeping immortal.

A rustling sound rang out; it was the sound of the painting being put away.

He remained silent, his eyes closed, not moving an inch.

"Squeak~"

The window was closed gently, and footsteps slowly approached the bedside.

Then the blanket was gently lifted, and the tail was gently pulled up.

"..."

What does this idiot want to do?

Suddenly, many strange images flashed through Nian's mind.

If that silly little white thing really does that, should I wake up and catch him in bed? Or should I just continue sleeping and let him do what he likes?

"call……"

It felt very comfortable to hold the slightly heavier fairy, and the feeling of its tail, which had become a little rounder due to being fed recently, wrapping around my arm was also wonderful.

A delicate fragrance lingered around the immortal, a scent that was both metallic and floral, very pleasant. Moreover, this fragrance would become stronger or weaker depending on her emotional fluctuations.

For example, right now, the aroma has become slightly stronger.

Upon realizing the truth, a hint of a smile flashed in Bai Zhou's eyes.

His left fingertips traced the fairy's slender waist, grasped her soft hand, and clasped it together. His right hand encircled her waist, pulling her into his arms.

"..."

Feeling the warmth from his palms, the solid support of his chest behind him, and hearing his faint breathing in his ear, the pent-up frustration that had been building up over the years suddenly dissipated.

It's fine as it is.

As she thought this, after an unknown amount of time, her consciousness slowly drifted up until it disconnected from reality.

After sensing that the fairy in his arms had truly fallen asleep, Bai Zhou gently held her tighter and drifted off to sleep with her.

When the immortal regained consciousness, he felt that the room was empty. When he opened his eyes, he found that candles had been lit in the room.

Is it already evening? I slept for quite a long time.

The person beside me has long since left, I wonder what they've gone to do.

I suppose it's time for them to go buy dinner.

Nian sat up, rubbed her face, and tried to clear her mind.

How could you sleep for so long?

Even if you feel safe, you shouldn't sleep for this long.

He pondered this for years.

She had only recently ended a deep sleep, so she shouldn't need so much sleep.

Although I don't know what happened, it's best to find a way to check it out, so as not to fail at the most critical moment and hold back the daytime.

But there were no medical experts here, and ordinary doctors couldn't see her problem either.

Ugh, so annoying.

He gave up thinking about it that year.

Let things take their course for now. Once this matter is resolved during the day, she'll go see that guy who knows medicine.

I should be able to finish this trip before the end of the year.

Now there are only two mountains left. After we take care of the Northern Mountain, we can deal with the rivers one by one by following the river channels downstream.