Previously a wine shop, it was now the backyard of a yet-to-open painting and calligraphy shop. Wang Xiaoer struggled to carry a sword over, and upon seeing his master come in, immediately put the sword down on the ground.
Sitting down on the ground with splayed legs, Wang Xiaoer wiped the sweat from his brow and explained to his master, "I wanted to move Master's sword to the secret chamber, but gosh it's so heavy I can't carry it."
Zhang San scoffed with a smile. He picked up the sword from the ground and said, "What did you think? I later went to check - this sword is called 'Star Color', one of the top 10 famous swords in the Martial World. It looks light but is actually heavier than many great sabers. The fact that you could even budge it with your strength is already impressive."
Wang Xiaoer's jaw dropped. Although he knew this sword was extraordinary, he didn't realize it was this incredible!
"Master, I want to learn the sword!"
Zhang San saw through Wang Xiaoer's thoughts with one look. He scolded, "You're as enthusiastic as a flickering flame! I just taught you concealed weapons skills recently - how's your progress on that?"
Wang Xiaoer replied, "It's decent, I guess. My flying needles are close to mastered, my darts still need a little work."
Zhang San nodded. As he was leaving the backyard, he took one last careful look at the sword.
The sword remained, but the man was gone.
With the man gone, the sword was still sharp, just like its owner.
...
...
What should the final painting be?
I've painted landscapes, waterscapes, wild beasts of the mountains and forests, cityscapes...
I'll paint a person.
Clothes fluttering in the wind, sword flashing bright.
Zhang San was going to paint such a person.
The other paintings came from everything Zhang San had seen in his twenty years of wandering, but he was a cold-hearted man. After passing through others' lives or ending others' lives, Zhang San gradually grew colder, ever colder.
But this time's painting would be of his friend.
Zhang San spent a long time on this painting, nearly an hour, with many starts and stops, hesitant strokes.
Unknowingly, it was already deep into the night.
Wang Xiaoer came over at some point and lit a candle.
On the cold winter night, beads of sweat appeared on Zhang San's brow, but his expression was increasingly focused.
"If I could choose again, I think I would still draw my sword."
This line popped into his mind somehow, and with it came the final stroke of the painting - it was complete.
It was an ink wash painting of a swordsman in white, his back to the viewer as he held his sword forward. Before him was a sheer, perilous cliff.
But the swordsman was unafraid, stepping dauntlessly forth.
The sharpness of the sword, the fearlessness of the man - perfectly captured in this painting!
It was a painting full of spirit, an excellent painting!
"Wow! Master, you're too amazing!" Wang Xiaoer had been lying on the table watching the painting take shape. He cried out in admiration.
Wang Xiaoer had seen many of Zhang San's paintings, but never one this incredible.
Overall, he couldn't put his finger on why exactly it was so good, he just knew...
Wang Xiaoer scratched his head. "Master, your painting has a certain aura, I just can't describe it."
Zhang San set down his brush and stared blankly at the painting. To be honest, he almost couldn't believe he was the one who painted this?
Just as Wang Xiaoer said, there seemed to be an aura emanating from the painting, hitting you in the face.
Since when did I get this good? Even Zhang San doubted himself a little.
Wang Xiaoer's eyes were glued to the painting as he said excitedly, "Master, such an amazing painting - let's hang it up and sell it! I bet we could get at least 100 taels of silver for it!"
Zhang San's brows furrowed slightly and he gently stroked the painting. The swordsman's back seemed to leap off the page, vividly lifelike.
Zhang San shook his head, strangely reluctant to part with it.
Wang Xiaoer asked, "You're not selling it? We could earn 100 taels!"
Zhang San said, "You misunderstand."
Wang Xiaoer looked confused.
Zhang San stated solemnly, "What I mean is, this painting is worth at least 300 taels."
...
...
That night, Zhang San went to sleep first while Wang Xiaoer hung up the paintings, preparing for the opening tomorrow.
In the process, Wang Xiaoer discovered something interesting.
Holding a sheet of plain white paper Zhang San had bought yesterday in one hand, and comparing it to a painting Zhang San did when he was in the south in the other hand.
Wang Xiaoer muttered to himself, "The paper from the south and the paper from the central plains seem a little different."
Wang Xiaoer had asked Zhang San about this before.
Zhang San thought it was odd Wang Xiaoer would fuss over such a trivial thing, but still explained:
The south and the central plains had different climates, so the raw materials for papermaking were different. Thus, even if you bought the most ordinary white xuan paper, and the papermaking techniques were the same, the end products would still have slight variations.
But most people can't tell the difference.
Wang Xiaoer looked at them a bit longer but didn't think more of it. He then went to sleep.
...
...
The next day, the painting and calligraphy shop opened for business.
Zhang San kept his promise to Wang Xiaoer and brought all of Wang Xiaoer's martial arts storybooks to display in the front of the shop. Zhang San also went out to buy some miscellaneous books to mix in, since the location was in a poor neighborhood. Although it wasn't unheard of to open an art shop in the slums, having only paintings and calligraphy would be a bit odd.
To save money, Zhang San didn't hire drummers or dancers for the opening. He simply put up two large red flower balls at the entrance.
Naturally this also led to the desolate sight of an empty shop with no customers. But Zhang San didn't mind. In fact, many neighborhood residents brought over gifts.
Originally Zhang San intended to chat with them, but oddly, those neighbors didn't want to linger in the shop. They quickly left after dropping off their small gifts.
What a strange bunch, Zhang San thought to himself.
Returning inside, Zhang San pulled over a chair to sit on and began thinking over future plans.
He'd have to visit Knowing Hall.
Having seen Black Dragon Hall's people chased down by JinWan Pavilion earlier, it seemed there would be major moves in Tian Ruo City's underworld. He also needed to get acquainted with Tian Ruo Prefecture's various assassin organizations - after all, not wanting to be a professional killer meant relying on assignments distributed by the various groups for side income as a non-professional killer.
Lounging comfortably in the shop, Zhang San couldn't help but sigh. Nowadays, no matter if it was a painting shop, medicine shop, or any proper business, all would be exploited by officials and gangs. His skills were many, and it seemed the only way to steadily earn money was as a killer.
Lost in thought about this and that, Zhang San closed his eyes and enjoyed this brief moment of leisurely peace.
"How come...this place changed businesses?"
A middle-aged man walked into the painting shop, looking around at all the books and paintings, and couldn't help but ask the question.
Zhang San opened his eyes and looked towards the voice. His first reaction was...
A rich man!
Of course, this wasn't referring to the middle-aged man who had entered. His attire was very simple - just a plain gray robe, a basic hairpiece, and a white jade pendant at his waist.
But Zhang San's seasoned eyes could tell that the man's plain gray robe was made of top-quality Nan Commandery silkworm silk, the seemingly simple hairpiece had a glossy purple jade inset that was clearly high-end,
And the jade pendant at his waist, while looking ordinary like cheap trinket, was actually unique Book Fragrance Jade only found in Baiyun Prefecture down south!
This type of jade emitted a fragrance and could only be mined in Baiyun Prefecture. It was exclusively sold to officials - which showed its value.
In short, while the man was dressed simply, his outfit totaled over 3000 taels of silver, possibly even more. Most crucially, even rich people generally couldn't buy Book Fragrance Jade - you had to be nobility or high official to obtain it!
Zhang San stood up and smiled, "Sir, are you looking to buy some paintings or calligraphy?"
The middle-aged man bowed to Zhang San and said, "Are you the new shop owner? Pleased to meet you, my name is Ming Qing. We'll probably see each other often in the future."
Zhang San was startled.
See each other often - what did that mean?
And this person's name - Ming Qing? Qing Ming?
Who would pick such an ominous name?