Qin Shou and Wen Qing left.
Before he left, he ultimately did not move the gentle grave.
Wenrou had instructed Wenqing before her death that her ashes should be buried in Lingzhou, as she wanted to stay and watch over Wenqing's father in his hometown.
"My dearest, before you depart, let me paint a picture for you in your homeland as a keepsake."
"Master, you can also paint?"
"Haha, of course! My painting skills are unparalleled; I have already attained sainthood."
Qin Shou did not lie to her about this. When Xiao Xuan formed his Golden Core, he was rewarded with a bronze-colored Luck Card. Qin Shou drew a skill that was very useless for cultivation: [Painting Dao Sainthood].
Because it was rather pointless, I didn't tell you readers, afraid you'd accuse me of padding my writing. But now it doesn't matter, because I'm doing it openly and honestly. ?乛?乛?
"Okay, then please paint a picture for me, Master."
I'm really looking forward to the warmth.
She carried a stool and sat in front of the courtyard gate, her long legs together, her fingers lightly resting on her knees, her waist slender, her spine straight, her long black hair cascading down her back like wispy clouds, her eyebrows and eyes exquisite, her cold beauty tinged with a captivating sweetness.
To her left was a lush, blooming mulberry tree, and to her right was another lush, blooming mulberry tree. Behind her lay a dilapidated, crumbling courtyard and an old wooden door weathered by time…
The setting sun cast its last rays, illuminating the girl's head, face, hair, shoulders, dress, the old courtyard behind her, and the mulberry tree beside her...
The beauty of the setting sun shines red, surpassing even the fleeting beauty of passing years.
Ten meters away, Qin Shou watched this scene with a smile on his lips, and picked up his brush to paint.
Possessing the skill of "Mastering the Dao of Painting," and being a supreme expert in the Nascent Soul Realm, Qin Shou's every stroke subtly draws upon the power of heaven and earth.
Qin Shou painted this picture very carefully.
In his paintings, the girl's lips curve into a smile, her bright eyes shining, a beauty that surpasses all the starlight and moonlight in the world.
Half an incense stick later.
The brush touches the paper, and the painting is complete.
Strange phenomena appeared in the heavens and earth.
The scroll was enveloped in rosy light, with wisps of Taoist charm flowing through it.
"Is it ready, Master?"
"alright. "
"Let me see."
Wenqing took the scroll and looked at it with great interest.
The self in the painting has a sense of floating and moving, as if it is about to step out of the painting.
"Master, your drawing is amazing!"
She murmured tenderly.
She then beautifully put the scroll away.
"I'm glad you like it."
Qin Shou tapped Wen Qing on the head, then laughed and said, "Let's go home."
...
Three days later.
Zhang Duan arrived at the place somewhat awkwardly, carrying a wooden box.
But when he nervously pushed open the courtyard gate, he found that the place was already deserted.
"Wen... Sister Wen..."
Zhang Duan murmured something and tried calling out several times, but all he got in return was a long silence.
The guard Zhang San stood watch at a distance.
He dared not approach, for he could sense the oppressive aura emanating from his prince.
"Phew~"
After a long while, Zhang Duan took a deep breath, a melancholy look spreading across his eyes, and called out, "Zhang San, where is she?"
Only then did Zhang San dare to step forward and respectfully reply, "Your Highness, Miss Wen has left, and I do not know her whereabouts."
Zhang Duan turned around, his eyes gradually hardening. "Didn't I tell you to guard this place?"
Zhang San broke out in a cold sweat. "Your Highness, Miss Wen's master seems to be quite extraordinary. As soon as my divine sense gets within a thousand meters of this courtyard, it is automatically shattered by a force."
My subordinate suspects that he might be a powerful cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, or even at the late Nascent Soul stage.
"The Nascent Soul Realm?"
Zhang Duan breathed a sigh of relief, "As long as it's not something that happened to Sister Wen, that's good."
"Your Highness, I have another matter to report."
"explain. "
"Your Highness, the Zhang family's direct descendant, Zhang Erhu, the magistrate of Tianshui County, stationed at the Tianwei General's Mansion in Kyoto, led dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators and a Zhang family retainer who appeared to be at the Golden Core stage to this location three days ago."
"Huh? What are they doing here?"
Zhang Duan frowned, his melancholy vanishing instantly, his eyes sharpening. "Sister Wen has been captured by the Zhang family?"
Feeling that chilling aura, Zhang San immediately lowered his head even further.
"Your Highness, no."
"Tell me the specifics of what happened."
"Yes, Your Highness." Zhang San bowed and explained, "The cause was that Zhang Erhu's son, Zhang Yaoshou, harassed Miss Wen in the street. Miss Wen's master cast some kind of evil spell, causing everyone on the street to feel a strange aversion to Zhang Yaoshou... In the end, Zhang Yaoshou was beaten to death by the guards beside him."
Then, his spies saw Zhang Erhu personally come to arrest people, accompanied by the Zhang family retainers stationed in Tianshui County.
For some unknown reason, the next day, news spread from the Zhang family in Tianshui that Zhang Erhu had died, but there were no signs of a struggle at the scene.
"If I remember correctly, Zhang Erhu is a cultivator at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage, right?" Zhang Duan asked.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Zhang San replied. “Therefore, I suspect that Miss Wen’s master might be a Nascent Soul Realm expert, because only such a being could instantly erase all traces of these people.”
"The Zhang family of Tianshui?"
Zhang Duan narrowed his eyes slightly. This family was particularly special in the Great Duan Dynasty, as evidenced by the fact that their surname was the same as that of the royal family.
It is said that the ancestors of the Zhang family had a deep connection with the ancestors of the Zhang imperial family. It can be said that half of the Great Duan Dynasty was conquered by the Zhang family of Tianshui with the help of the ancestors of the Zhang imperial family.
It is precisely because of this that the Zhang family of Tianshui has been able to prosper for thousands of years, living as long as the nation.
They could even secretly influence the successor to the throne.
"However, whoever dares to harm Sister Wen in the slightest, I, Zhang Duan, will exterminate their entire clan."
Zhang Duan clenched his fists secretly, his eyes suddenly becoming extremely sharp.
Immediately, all her emotions coalesced into a sigh of profound loss, "I wonder if I'll ever see Sister Wen again in this lifetime?"
"Your Highness, there is something I'm unsure whether I should say."
"explain. "
"Your Highness, I implore you to contend for the throne. For if Your Highness contends, you may die, but if you do not contend, you will certainly die."
Moreover, Your Highness faces assassination attempts every year. Is Your Highness destined to live like this forever?
They were unaware of His Highness's power, but I know that His Highness's talent, martial arts skills, and literary talent are no less than, and may even surpass, the Empire's most outstanding eldest prince…
Zhang San spoke at length, his expression resolute.
Zhang Duan, with his hands behind his back, asked leisurely, "Sister Wen, would you like that spot?"
"Your Highness, once you ascend the throne, I will offer you the entire kingdom as your dowry. I believe no woman in this world could refuse."
"Yeah,"
Zhang Duan murmured, but what he sought was never the supreme throne, but rather a childhood dream: to marry the person he wanted and live a simple, ordinary life.
"I remember Sister Wen saying when she was little that she also wanted to sit in that emperor's palace..."
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