Late at night, Ma the Fifth sat beside Li Banfeng, and beside Ma the Fifth sprawled Madam Bagworm Moth.
No matter how profusely Ma the Fifth praised this Madam Bagworm Moth, Li Banfeng still felt the urge to run for his life.
"Don't worry, brother. This Madam Bagworm Moth isn't like the one we ran into before. She's a gentle soul."
As he spoke, Ma the Fifth gently stroked Madam Bagworm Moth's body. A tremor ran through her, and with a fearful expression, she pleaded, "Darling, whatever you want tomorrow is fine, but today I really can't take any more."
Ma the Fifth shot her a slightly dissatisfied look, and Madam Bagworm Moth replied with an aggrieved face, "I truly can't take any more."
Li Banfeng stared at the bagworm moth. "If you can't take it, why don't you just leave?"
Flushing crimson, Madam Bagworm Moth lowered her head. "I can't bear to leave."
Ma the Fifth's talent was truly unreasonable. This Madam Bagworm Moth could have beaten a hundred Ma the Fifths, yet purely because she couldn't bring herself to lay a hand on him, she allowed Ma the Fifth to push her around like this.
Ma the Fifth sighed. "It's not entirely my talent. At the end of the day, it comes down to fate. If it had been that previous Madam Bagworm Moth, I would've lost my life long ago."
Hearing Ma the Fifth keep bringing up someone else, this Madam Bagworm Moth grew a bit unhappy. "Darling, you keep mentioning that other one. Is the one you're talking about named Linglong?"
Linglong?
Madam Bagworm Moth had a name?
Li Banfeng stared at the plump, burly moth for another moment.
Besides, the name Linglong didn't match a Madam Bagworm Moth in the slightest!
"Her name is Linglong?" Ma the Fifth was quite intrigued. "What is your name?"
Bashfully, Madam Bagworm Moth said, "My name is Yanzi."
Her name was Yanzi—Swallow...
Li Banfeng took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and tried to imagine this colossal swallow taking flight.
Ma the Fifth caressed Madam Bagworm Moth's cheek. "Yanzi, this is destined fate. You were fated to fly straight into my heart."
A shiver ran down Li Banfeng's spine.
Just how big of a heart did this man have?
Even while sweet-talking her, Ma the Fifth fished for information. "You mentioned Linglong just now. Did you two know each other before?"
Yanzi pouted. "Why are you bringing her up again?"
"I'm just asking out of curiosity."
"Of course I know her. We used to belong to the same pathway and even cultivated together. Linglong only moved here this year. I came here specifically to look for her, but I've been searching for days without finding a trace."
Of course you couldn't find her. She dropped by the Portable Abode for a visit and will never come out again.
However, Li Banfeng wasn't concerned with Linglong; he cared about the pathways. "You creatures have pathways too?"
"We do," Yanzi answered earnestly. "We were all originally Ascetic Cultivators."
Li Banfeng grew even more curious. "When you say 'we,' do you mean just you and Linglong, or all Madam Bagworm Moths?"
Yanzi replied, "All Madam Bagworm Moths are Ascetic Cultivators. Only an Ascetic Cultivator can turn into a Madam Bagworm Moth."
Ascetic Cultivators turning into Madam Bagworm Moths?
Li Banfeng realized that Madam Bagworm Moths were far less simple than he had imagined.
The wife had once told him that Madam Bagworm Moths were Class Two anomalies—their bodies grew in the newland, but their souls were not native to it. At first, Li Banfeng hadn't quite understood, but listening to Yanzi's account now, things began to click.
At the mention of Ascetic Cultivators, Ma the Fifth frowned. Ascetic Cultivators were the natural nemesis of Joy Cultivators.
Madam Bagworm Moth hurried to explain, "Darling, I know you don't like that pathway. In truth, I don't like it either."
"If you didn't like it, why did you choose Ascetic Cultivation?" Ma the Fifth asked.
Madam Bagworm Moth fell silent for a long time. Her face, previously brimming with tenderness, grew shadowed with gloom. "I originally planned never to mention these things again."
Ma the Fifth pinched her chubby cheek. "You can't even tell me?"
"Since you're asking, darling, how could I refuse? When I was young and foolish, I met a black-hearted man. I gave him everything I had to give, and he took everything he could take. Once he’d bled me dry, he cast me aside.
"I felt that living in this world was destined to be nothing but suffering. Egged on by a few words from others, I thought I had seen through the mortal realm and joined the Ascetic Cultivation pathway.
"Once you become an Ascetic Cultivator, you can't speak of romance or love. Even if you marry again, it's just settling to get through the days together.
"A lifetime of suffering, a lifetime of cultivating—and either way, there was no medicine for regret. After an Ascetic Cultivator woman dies, if she accepts her fate, she crosses the bridge to reincarnate. If her heart remains unreconciled, she heads to the newland.
"There is a type of bagworm moth in the newland born without a soul. A woman from the Ascetic pathway can possess one and continue cultivating."
Aching with sympathy, Ma the Fifth planted a kiss on Madam Bagworm Moth. "Do you still have to suffer after becoming a bagworm moth?"
Li Banfeng snorted. "Given how fat she's eaten herself, she probably hasn't suffered much."
Yanzi blushed. "I've already died once, so what is there left to brood over? Why should I keep suffering? Now that I'm a bagworm moth, I'm going to enjoy myself to the fullest and do whatever I please!
"If I want to eat, I'll eat my fill. If I want to play, I'll run wild. If I want a man, I'll seek them out to my heart's content, and if I want to bear children, I'll have them without holding back."
Ma the Fifth praised her warmly, "Splendid! That's exactly the forthright spirit I love about you!"
Li Banfeng chimed in, "How about I find somewhere else to stay so the two of you can enjoy yourselves here?"
Ma the Fifth answered magnanimously, "We're brothers! Even if you stay right here, I can still enjoy myself!"
Yanzi shook her head repeatedly. "Not today, truly. Darling, let me rest for the night, and we can continue tomorrow."
It was late into the night. Yanzi returned to the woods and went to sleep.
Li Banfeng said, "I want to make a trip to Lüshui City. Are you coming back with me?"
Ma the Fifth shook his head. "I want to cultivate in the newland for a while longer. Tomorrow, I'll have Xiao Genzi return to Lanyang Village to gather some hands and tidy up both our plots so we at least have a place to stay."
"Can you manage out here by yourself?"
Ma the Fifth glanced toward Yanzi sleeping soundly in the distance, smiled, and said nothing.
Of course he could. He was in even better shape than Li Banfeng.
This was his territory; as long as he sprinkled blood, the local spirit would protect him.
Even without spilling blood, Yanzi would protect him.
So long as he didn't leave his plot, Ma the Fifth was safer here than in the Ma family compound.
But would Li Banfeng be safe going to Lüshui City?
Although tensions with the Lu family had temporarily cooled, Ma the Fifth was still somewhat worried. "If you don't have pressing business, it's best not to go to Lüshui City right now. I have a feeling the prominent families are about to stir up trouble."
"I actually do have urgent business. I need to buy paintings."
"Buy paintings?" Ma the Fifth blinked. "How is buying paintings considered urgent?"
"Extremely urgent. I'm obsessed with looking at paintings right now. If a day goes by without seeing one, I can't even stomach my meals."
The words sounded familiar. Ma the Fifth recalled how Li Banfeng had bought the gramophone; back then, no matter how much Ma the Fifth tried to dissuade him, nothing could stop him.
"Old Seven, some of the things you do are just too bizarre. I really can't wrap my head around it."
Li Banfeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You slept with a Madam Bagworm Moth, and you're calling my actions bizarre?"
"Do you want to buy works by famous masters, or ordinary hanging scrolls?"
"If I'm going to Lüshui City, naturally I want masters' works."
In reality, Li Banfeng wanted to learn how to paint.
The Western drawing techniques taught by the pendulum might take two or three years to learn, if not longer. Li Banfeng wanted to pick up some quick-and-dirty painting skills.
"Masters' paintings..." Ma the Fifth pondered for a moment and thought of someone. "There are quite a few renowned painters in Lüshui City, but in my opinion, the one whose work carries the deepest artistic conception is Old Master Qiao Guangyuan, especially his landscape paintings..."
"No landscapes," Li Banfeng waved a hand. "I need someone skilled at figures."
"If you want figures, Old Master Fu Taiyue is a master at them. With just three or four strokes, he can bring a person to life. But his works don't come cheap."
At the mention of "three or four strokes," Li Banfeng perked up!
That was exactly the technique he wanted. In a crisis, producing a powerful combatant in three or four strokes—wouldn't that maximize the potential of his fourth-tier technique?
"Where does this old master live?"
Ma the Fifth gave Fu Taiyue's address to Li Banfeng and urged, "Master Fu Taiyue has a somewhat aloof and proud temperament, and his paintings aren't cheap. If you truly want to buy his work, you'll need to exercise plenty of patience."
Great artists almost invariably possessed a bit of eccentricity; Li Banfeng didn't mind that at all.
After spending the night in the newland, Li Banfeng escorted Xiao Genzi back to Lanyang Village the following day and traveled to Lüshui City alone.
Following Ma the Fifth's directions, Li Banfeng found Old Master Fu Taiyue's residence.
After knocking on the door for a good while, a servant finally emerged. "Are you here to request a painting?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I'm here to learn painting."
The servant looked him up and down and said, "Wait here for now."
After waiting outside the door for over half an hour, the entrance finally opened. The servant led Li Banfeng into the foyer, where he waited for another half-hour before the servant finally brought him to the main hall.
Despite the long wait, Li Banfeng uttered not a single complaint.
To study under a master, one had to endure such trials.
Old Master Fu Taiyue was in the middle of painting. The servant gestured for Li Banfeng to remain quiet. Li Banfeng carefully admired the paintings in the parlor and inspected the unfinished piece before the old master.
After looking around, Li Banfeng turned and walked out.
Fu Taiyue put down his brush and sneered, "Young man, without even this much patience, you dare dream of becoming my disciple?"
"It isn't a lack of patience; I simply don't want to learn from you." Li Banfeng wasn't grumbling; he was speaking from the heart.
Fu Taiyue froze, staring at him. "This humble old man may lack talent, but pray enlighten me on why."
Li Banfeng looked at one of the paintings in the parlor. "I can't make head or tail of your art. Did you paint a person, or a mountain?"
The old master chuckled. "This old man painted the Mountain God. Shaped like a mountain, yet bearing the spirit of a man—the divine essence of the Mountain God resides within this scroll."
Li Banfeng examined it closely; what he said did make some sense.
The shape was a mountain, yet the brushstrokes outlining the landscape traced the features of a human face, genuinely exuding an elusive majesty and presence.
"Quite nice," Li Banfeng offered in praise, but continued walking away nonetheless.
The old master's work certainly possessed profound artistic conception; the whole room was filled with it.
However, that was useless to Li Banfeng. Painting something so abstract would hardly help him in combat.
Seeing Li Banfeng leave without a backward glance, the old master set down his brush and hurried after him. "Young man, you said 'quite nice' just now, yet you haven't explained what makes it good!"
"Everything about it is good—it's just far too profound. I haven't reached that level yet. Once I've studied for a few more years, I'll return to seek guidance from you, Old Master."
Fu Taiyue's expression darkened. Looking at Li Banfeng's retreating back, the servant jeered, "Someone like you ought to go learn painting on Painting Workshop Street. That place fits your station."
Li Banfeng turned back and asked, "Where is Painting Workshop Street? I'll go take a look."
He was asking in all sincerity, yet the question infuriated Fu Taiyue. Veins bulged on the master's forehead, and the Mountain God hanging in the parlor seemed to come alive, glaring furiously at Li Banfeng.
No, not seemed—it truly had come to life.
Sensing danger, Li Banfeng swiftly departed the residence.
Was this man a Dwelling Cultivator?
He hadn't dripped any blood on the painting just now.
Or was he from some other pathway?
Judging by the feel of it, his cultivation was far from shallow.
...
Li Banfeng arrived at Painting Workshop Street. The street was lined with numerous painting shops, along with plenty of stalls selling artwork.
Strolling past several stalls, Li Banfeng took a liking to a portrait of a beauty.
It was a traditional Chinese painting with relatively simple brushwork, yet rendered vividly lifelike. The woman depicted was exceptionally gorgeous, wearing a qipao with wavy, shoulder-length hair, large eyes, slender brows, and full lips. Above the left corner of her mouth sat a beauty mark, lending her an alluring charm.
This perfectly suited Li Banfeng's needs.
The stallholder quickly stepped forward to drum up business. "Sir, has this portrait of a beauty caught your eye? You have fine taste! Since opening the stall today, I've already sold over a dozen copies. If you'd come one step later, they'd be gone!
"This painting usually goes for sixty, but you came at the right time. I have urgent business and need to pack up early, so how about a flat price of fifty-five? Sound fair?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I'm not here to buy a painting."
Hearing that, the stallholder's enthusiasm evaporated. "This is a painting stall. If you aren't buying, please look elsewhere."
Li Banfeng said, "I want to learn how to paint from you."
The stallholder stared in disbelief. "Learn to paint from me? Are you pulling my leg?"
"I'm not joking. Name your price."
The stallholder looked troubled. "How could I dare name a price? I don't know how to paint."
"You don't? Then who painted this?"
"I don't know who painted it either. Can't you tell, sir? This painting is printed!"
"Printed?" Li Banfeng scrutinized the painting for a long time. It still smelled faintly of ink, showing none of the coarse texture of mechanical print.
The stallholder was an honest sort. "I just told you, I've already sold more than a dozen copies. Could I paint a dozen copies of the exact same piece?"
Printed... that might not be out of the question either.
Li Banfeng looked at the stallholder. "Can you teach me how to print paintings?"
The stallholder sized Li Banfeng up. "Sir, are you here to make trouble?"
"I'm genuinely here to learn the craft."
The stallholder shook his head. "This is how I earn my bread. I don't teach outsiders."
Li Banfeng produced a thick stack of banknotes. "I'll pay."
...
Block printing was indeed a genuine craft.
Applying the ink, laying down the paper, and peeling off the sheet all required technique.
Yet this craft was far easier than painting from scratch.
Li Banfeng spent twenty thousand notes and studied under the stallholder for two days, mastering fifty to sixty percent of the block printing technique.
The stallholder gifted Li Banfeng over a dozen printing blocks, while Li Banfeng purchased a bundle of white paper and two large jars of ink, bringing them back to the Portable Abode to begin printing paintings.
Watching Li Banfeng bustle away in delight, the pendulum grew somewhat concerned. "Master, you're taking shortcuts. Can this really work?"
Li Banfeng focused on printing and paid the pendulum no heed.
The pendulum turned toward the gramophone. "Madam..."
*Chhh—*
The gramophone scoffed, "Forsaking the proper path to pursue crooked shortcuts—it will surely be an exercise in futility."
Despite her words, even the gramophone didn't know whether this method would work.
Though the painting was printed, it had still been produced by Li Banfeng's own hands.
After ten-odd minutes, a painting was finished.
Li Banfeng cut his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood onto the paper.
Focusing his mind, he waited a few moments. The paper rustled crisp and loud, and from within the painting, a three-foot-tall beauty slowly stepped out!
Li Banfeng was overjoyed, while the pendulum was thoroughly astonished.
"Pour me a cup of tea," Li Banfeng instructed.
The three-foot beauty immediately set to work, first dropping tea leaves into a cup and then pouring in water.
She really could pour tea!
Although she had poured cold water, her intelligence was leagues ahead of the one-foot maiden Li Banfeng had created earlier.
Sipping his tea, Li Banfeng directed the three-foot beauty to carry out chores.
Sweeping the floor, dusting—the three-foot beauty could handle it all.
With such good comprehension, fighting battles surely wouldn't be an issue either!
Just as Li Banfeng was reveling in delight, there was a sudden *crash*, and the three-foot beauty collapsed into a heap of scrap paper on the floor.
The gramophone sighed, "Oh, husband, with so little of your heart's blood invested, this charming beauty could only last this brief while."
The lifespan of the paper figure was also tied to the essence of his heart's blood.
Li Banfeng checked his pocket watch. The three-foot beauty seemed to have lasted less than five minutes.
The gramophone warned, "And that wasn't even in battle. If she were fighting, she'd crumble even faster—afraid she wouldn't even hold out for a single minute."
One minute.
Was that enough?
It depended on how it was used.
P.S. In truth, one minute isn't that short either.
Chapter 178