Chapter 58: The "finishing touch" technique—I don't know where he learned that bad habit from. ...
Beneath the gauze curtains, a cool fragrance lingers.
The light that filtered in was scattered and blurry, falling on Lin Feiran's calm brows and eyes. It was a look he had painted himself, a look completely different from her original appearance.
Her eyebrows were lowered, adding to her somber air; her high nose bridge gave her an undeniable sharpness. As the ink brush fell downwards, it erased her lip pearl, tightened her lip line, and pulled down the corners of her lips. Thus, her once-plump, pearly lips were transformed into an overturned boat shape, losing their gentleness and determination, but instead exuding a cold, authoritative aura.
He wrote in such a way not only to make it unrecognizable, but also to teach them to retreat at the mere sight of him and not dare to provoke him.
To be fair, he did think Lin Feiran was too aloof and too kind-hearted, which was not wrong.
If a person walking in this world is unfortunate enough to suffer a misfortune, they need to grasp at a straw that they can completely trust. She will be such a person, but before that, she will first become a target of criticism and a stepping stone.
For a monk, these principles can sometimes become a fatal weakness.
Therefore, he should make her eyes long and narrow, removing the clear light from them, and use ink and water to create a murky and shrewd effect, so that she would see herself in the mirror every day, experiencing three parts meanness and learning seven parts selfishness.
But at the most crucial moment, he suddenly stopped writing.
In fact, he had known for a long time that Lin Feiran was painting in the courtyard, but he didn't understand why she was so obsessed with painting. So, when everyone was asleep at night, he had nothing to do, so he quietly went to her courtyard, sat alone in the pavilion, and admired the painting.
At first, the objects in the paintings were a corner of the courtyard, autumn ponds, trees, and velvet flowers. He painted whatever he saw. Gradually, the objects in the paintings became freehand, splashed ink landscapes, fishing boats, peanuts on swords, and trees falling among the clouds, strange yet interesting.
After the scenery, there are portraits of people.
There is the leaping Xuanzhen, the nocked arrow Biqing, the frowning Xun Feifei, and him sitting alone by the window, pretending to sleep with his eyes closed.
Ru Xian watched it quietly for a long time. Although the brushstrokes in the painting were somewhat stiff, the expression was actually excellent, unlike the dull and lifeless image she later described.
Below several portraits is her self-portrait.
She was clearly trying to use her own appearance as a base to redraw a non-existent person. He could even glean some difficulty from those messy lines. He pieced them together and still asked her to draw a few, but they looked quite distorted and horrifying.
Seeing the paintings is like seeing the heart. As he turned each one over, he knew that she wanted to paint a different version of herself, but no matter how she painted, she could not escape her original appearance, and he could still recognize her at a glance.
Towards the end, she even gave up a bit, combining herself with the popular items, adding animal ears and canine teeth to the portrait. Putting everything else aside, the whole person did become more vivid and interesting.
The self-reflective annotations on the painting reveal that she didn't understand. She didn't understand why, when the brushstrokes landed on her face, they couldn't escape the original image.
But he knew perfectly well what was going on in his heart.
She couldn't draw it, not because she couldn't imagine it, nor because she was confused, but simply because she hadn't realized that her current appearance was the one that best suited her in her heart.
But he doesn't need to point it out; she is Lin Feiran, and she will figure it out herself.
Therefore, on the day he left the city, he didn't ask any questions, but simply took the pen and drew another face for her.
That's why he stopped when he was doing the finishing touch.
If we're talking about disbelief, distrust, and refusal to accept, isn't his behavior, like that of Xue, even more stubborn and arrogant than hers? What grounds does he have to erase it? He should leave something behind.
Therefore, he did not describe her eyes.
The eyes are where the soul resides. The moment she opened them, it was as if the mist and rain of the mountains and forests were blowing in, enveloping and permeating her. The deliberate affectation and harshness of the moment were immediately washed away, and an unnamed tenacity and calmness emerged from her character.
Perhaps this is why it's impossible to add the finishing touch to a painting of a dragon.
She sat upright in the tent, the soft light falling on her brows, reflecting the fine sweat on her forehead, tracing down her face, and finally settling on her chin, dripping onto the back of his hand.
During the break between the exorcisms, she must have seen her own spiritual veins covered with strange patterns and heard his chanting and whispers.
Removing a foreign object that has been embedded in the spiritual vein for many years and has almost become one with it will naturally be painful. However, when he removes the curse, the pain will be several times that of hers. But he is already used to such pain, so he doesn't say anything.
He hadn't expected that her face could have an analgesic effect. Gazing at her, as his thoughts drifted, the torment on his body would lessen.
She pressed her lips tightly together, not making a sound, for fear of disturbing his recitation.
Lin Feiran has always been extremely patient.
When she was pricked by a needle for the first time, she might have cried out softly, but that was because she had never experienced the pain of being pricked by a needle before. It wasn't until the second time that she was able to endure it.
Just like breaking a curse, the second time was clearly more intense than the first, but she was not nearly as in pain as she had been the first time.
I don't know where he learned this bad habit.
He blinked rapidly, beads of sweat dripping from his eyelashes. Looking at her, he murmured to himself, "She is indeed a good child."
One of the spirit orbs placed beside the two of them silently went out, signifying that another hour had passed.
“…Alright.” Ru Xian withdrew her hand, her voice hoarse.
Suddenly, a strong wind arose inside the tent, violently blowing up the peach-colored gauze curtains, which clung tightly to the bed rails, allowing the bright sunlight to stream into the bed and scorch one's back.
Lin Feiran sat there, her spiritual veins temporarily opened, and spiritual energy surged into her. Her complexion gradually improved, and after a quarter of an hour, she finally relaxed her brows, her face glowing with satisfaction.
She opened her eyes refreshed, feeling much lighter and more agile.
Compared to her, the situation of Xue was much worse.
He sat cross-legged in front of her, his lips completely drained of color, his whole body exuding a sickly pale pink, like the frost about to dissipate into the mountains and fields at dawn. Even so, he did not fall down, but stared at her intently, his brows and eyes carrying a sharp and proud air that made people only dare to admire him from afar, not to look directly at him.
"How is it?" he asked.
"Just like last time, my spiritual energy is abundant!" Lin Feiran stood up, his face and ears slightly flushed, a blush that came from the surging spiritual energy that couldn't be released.
Ru Xian nodded upon hearing this, got up from the bed, and his soaked light shirt clung to his body, outlining the smooth lines of his arms. The next moment, the lines were stripped away, and the open windows on all sides suddenly closed, blocking out most of the sunlight.
He paused slightly as he took off his clothes, glanced at Lin Feiran, and said quite naturally, "If you have no energy to spare, just like last time, fetch me water to bathe."
Remember, three buckets of cold spring water can only be mixed with seven buckets of boiling water. It can't be too cold. There's a brocade box near the wall; take it and add the water. Add five drops to the celadon bottle, half to the apricot bottle, and the whole thing to the black and gold bottle. Stir the plum-colored water with a thin twig and then add one drop.
As soon as he finished speaking, he changed out of his wet clothes and stepped out from behind the screen, looking at her strangely: "Why are you staring at me? You can memorize a book after reading it twice, do you need to repeat those two sentences from just now?"
Lin Feiran was currently in a slightly tipsy state due to the intoxicating spiritual energy, but she still retained a sliver of clarity: "Is this a soup recipe? What will happen if I add the wrong ingredients?"
"..." Ru Xian, unusually, felt a bit of understanding and didn't mind her mentioning the words "making soup." She only replied with the second half of her sentence, which was ambiguous: "If you added the wrong ingredient, just wait for me to die in the bathtub. At that time, no one will use you as a sword, and you will be free."
Lin Feiran was slightly taken aback. Although she didn't know if his words were true or false, she saw that his face was pale and his eyes were tired. She didn't dare to delay and immediately rushed downstairs.
As Ru Xian watched her retreating figure, he sat down at the table, his eyes slightly closed. He took out a silver tube about the size of a palm from his mustard seed bag. As soon as he opened it, thirty-six silver needles, as thin as hairs, flew out, barely visible to the naked eye.
He wasn't in a hurry to do anything; he just casually flicked the silver needles, silently watching Lin Feiran go in and out amidst the subtle buzzing.
A few buckets of water were nothing to her at this point; the real challenge was pouring out the clear liquid from the porcelain bottle.
She didn't know what these things were, nor was she sure how many drops counted. While hesitating, Ru Xian got up and walked to the bathtub, gathered her long hair to the left side, and looked at her on the right.
Only someone severely injured can use this cleansing liquid? Does removing the curse from her equate to suffering a severe injury?
Lin Feiran glanced at him and poured the clear liquid into the container one by one as instructed. After a short while, the water in the bucket turned from clear to white, with a hazy glow. Finally, he picked out a porcelain bottle with intertwined branches from the box and gestured for her to mix it in.
"This is Ningfang Dew, which brings out fragrance when used, so the amount doesn't matter."
Lin Feiran uncorked the bottle and sniffed it gently, then said in surprise, "It smells different from yours?"
Ru Xian paused, turned to look at her, and was about to ask a question, but then thought that she would probably only say that it was a different fragrance, and what else could she say?
"I have already taught you the method of sealing the meridians. Why not take this opportunity to settle things at once? You must control those thirty-six silver needles well. When inserting the needles, you must not be distracted and must not break them. You must seal the spiritual meridians in one breath and force the spiritual power to one place."
Lin Feiran nodded. As he introduced the silver needle from outside the screen, he had already taken off his clothes and entered the water. His snow-white hair was pulled back in front of him, revealing a smooth back.
She didn't notice the smooth, beautiful lines; she only focused on the acupoints sealed with silver needles, and said softly, "I'm going to begin."
After receiving his response, she responded solemnly and pointed out the first needle, which accurately pierced the Mingmen point in the spine. The meridians below twitched slightly, and a flash of inspiration appeared. She did not stop and followed up with several more needles, sealing the Zhongshu, Zhiyang, and Shendao points. Then she heard his breathing become slightly sluggish.
Lin Feiran looked at him silently: "If it hurts, you can make a sound."
"...No need, continue."
Lin Feiran knew the importance of the matter and did not stop. He used thirty-six needles in a row, from bottom to top and from outside to inside, sealing each tendon and blocking the eight major spiritual meridians, leaving only a tiny thread to keep him suspended in the state of questioning the mind.
After another hour, when the last silver needle fell, the sky suddenly darkened. With the windows and doors of the room closed, it became even more gloomy. Only the silver flowing down his back shimmered and sparkled, like fine scales.
As he withdrew his hand, a barely perceptible soft pant escaped from Ru Xian's mouth.
He glanced back at her, his voice even hoarser: "Well done."
"It's good that you're alright." Lin Feiran felt a little relieved. She moved her slightly stiff wrist and saw that he was resting in the water with his eyes closed. She didn't say anything more and walked to the window, opening a very thin crack to look outside.
Although it was daytime, the Spirit Orb was lit at midnight, indicating that it must have been the next day.
In the bright light of Kunming, a layer of night covered the north, which was why the room had suddenly darkened. The thick darkness in the sky did not stop and was silently spreading in all directions.
Suddenly, a pillar of snow-white light descended from the night, like a bolt of lightning, with a deafening roar, thunder, howling wind, and sand and gravel flying up. It stood firmly on the ground, and a faint ray of spiritual light emanated from beneath it.
Lin Feiran could see the faint light that appeared when the magic array was activated.
Not only her, but everyone in the city at this moment looked at that pillar of heaven, feeling apprehensive.
Amidst the flying sand and swirling stones, another figure leaped towards the Heavenly Pillar. This person had black hair tied with a ribbon that hung down their back, wore coarse linen clothes, and held a five-stringed pipa with gold thread in their arms. They then sat upright on the Heavenly Pillar, looking down at the crowd without saying a word.
Lin Feiran recognized her at a glance; it was Xie Kanhua.
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