"Li Guizhen, this is the tiger you drew? It's ridiculous …"
"You want to sell this kind of tiger for money? Are you bullying us because we have never seen a tiger before?"
"Exactly, how is this a tiger? It doesn't look like one at all. It doesn't look majestic at all. It looks like a dog …"
As soon as Xia Pingan opened his eyes, he saw that he was on the street. In front of him, there was a table with a drawing paper on it. There was a tiger drawn on the paper, and he was holding a pen in his hand. Many people beside him were pointing at him and whispering.
Xia Pingan looked behind him. There was a shelf behind him. There were two paintings hanging on the shelf. The paintings were of cattle. The cattle were drawn very well. It was very lifelike.
Xia Pingan understood at a glance that he was currently selling paintings on the street.
Li Guizhen grew up in the countryside. He liked painting. There were a lot of cattle in the countryside. Li Guizhen had seen a lot of them. Therefore, Li Guizhen learned to draw cattle. After drawing a lot of cattle, Li Guizhen gradually became famous in the countryside. He became a painter and usually came to Tiantai City to sell his paintings. It was considered a way to make a living.
At this moment, Li Guizhen was still young. He was only famous in the countryside of Jiangxi Province. He wasn't as famous as he was later. Liang Taizu couldn't help but invite him to the palace to chat and ask him questions.
Xia Pingan immediately understood his current situation.
Right in front of the painting stall, a man in satin who looked like a country squire pointed at the tiger on the paper and glared at Xia Pingan with dissatisfaction. He pointed at the painting and said, "Your tiger looks like a dead one. Those who don't know might think it's a dog. I've already told you that I'm going to buy this painting and hang it up. How can I show it to others with your painting? You're even asking for 100 yuan? I won't give you any money …"
The country gentleman snorted coldly and left.
Xia Pingan looked at the tiger on the painting in front of him. It … It didn't look like a tiger … It didn't have the spirit of a tiger … It was soft …
Li Guizhen had probably seen a tiger skin before. That's why he could draw this kind of painting.
At a nearby painting stall, an artist with a goatee who specialized in selling landscape paintings came over. He looked at the tiger painting in front of Xia Pingan and suddenly sneered. He raised his goatee proudly and said to Xia Pingan, "Boy, I guess you haven't even seen a live tiger before. You actually dare to sell tiger paintings. Do you know that people who buy paintings of tigers will hang them in the living room or study room for people to admire them? You're from the countryside. You'd better go back to your painting of cows!"
The people around him burst out laughing.
As his business failed, Xia Pingan resisted the impulse to draw another fierce tiger on the spot; instead, he directly tore that painting into pieces and started to pack up.
As he packed up the painting stall, Xia Pingan had a question. If he could draw a vivid fierce tiger and completely change the historical track of Li Guizhen, would he be considered to have successfully integrated with this Realm Bead?
After thinking about it for a short while, Xia Pingan came to a conclusion. Li Guizhen's painting of tigers was a historical allusion that inspired numerous people. Without Li Guizhen's later experiences, this allusion would not exist. Therefore, Li Guizhen who could draw tigers would become ordinary. What was the difference between him and other artists who could draw fierce tigers?
After thinking for a short while, Xia Pingan felt that the fierce tiger that he had drawn was not good enough for Li Guizhen to leave his name in history. He might fail to integrate with this Realm Bead. Therefore, he treated the process of integrating with this Realm Bead as a rare opportunity to pay homage to Li Guizhen and improve his painting ability.
Xia Pingan wanted to see how far he could improve his painting skills according to Li Guizhen's method.
In this world, especially in China, when children talked about painting, they would often think of the story of Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of eggs and regarded Leonardo da Vinci as the idol of painters. Li Guizhen was a strange name to many people. What many people didn't know was that 500 years before Leonardo da Vinci, there was a young man called Li Guizhen during the Five Dynasties of China. He had put in much more effort to learn how to draw than Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of eggs. That was the true spirit of craftsmen and masters.
Xia Pingan didn't know where Li Guizhen lived. Therefore, he could only ask people on the way back to his home.
"Li Guizhen must have lost his mind. He even forgot where his home is …" someone who knew Li Guizhen muttered in astonishment when he saw Li Guizhen asking about his home.
"I heard that Li Guizhen made a fool of himself at the fair today. He was so embarrassed that it's normal for him to lose his soul …"
Li Guizhen's home was in the countryside outside Tiantai City. It wasn't too rich, but it wasn't too poor either. His parents were still alive. They had over a hundred mu of land and a few cows. He had gained some fame as a painter in the countryside over the years, so he had some wealth.
After returning home, Xia Pingan searched Li Guizhen's bedroom and found a box of money that Li Guizhen had accumulated over the years.
For the next two days, Xia Pingan didn't go anywhere. He waited at home and prepared the things he needed to enter the mountains. Li Guizhen's parents knew that Li Guizhen had been ridiculed, so they comforted Li Guizhen with a few words.
On the fifteenth day of the month, there was a fair in the city. The entire Tiantai City was bustling with noise and excitement. People from all around rushed to the city to participate in the fair. Xia Pingan brought some money and the things he needed to enter the mountains and returned to the city.
Today, the flow of people in the city was several times more than usual. The streets were bustling with noise and excitement. Young women, young women, and businessmen all came.
Xia Pingan walked around the city for a while before arriving at the market where mountain goods were sold.
The people selling mountain goods here were all farmers and hunters from the mountains.
Xia Pingan walked around the market and found that an old hunter's business was very good. The old hunter was in his fifties. He was strong and energetic. He carried a kitchen knife on his back and looked simple and honest. He sold a few leopard skins, two wolf skins, a few golden pheasants, and two rabbits. The golden pheasants and rabbits were kept in two cages. The other leather goods were directly placed on the ground for sale.
Because the old hunter's items were always cheaper than the others, many people came to buy from him. Moreover, they all seemed to be acquaintances, so they didn't bargain much. Some of the other people's business had just started, but the old hunter's items were all sold out.
After selling his goods, the old hunter packed up and went to a nearby shop to buy some salt, a jug of wine, and some cloth. Then he prepared to go back.
"Uncle, please …" Xia Pingan walked out from the side of the street and stopped in front of the old hunter. He bowed to the old hunter.
"What can I do for you, little brother?" The old hunter hung the wine gourd on his waist and asked.
Xia Pingan smiled, "I saw uncle selling things on the street just now. You sold them faster than others …"
"Haha …" The hunter uncle laughed heartily. "Every item costs a little less. We're all old customers, so there's no need to be so calculative. With this little effort, I can go up the mountain to hunt a leopard and make up for everything. Little brother, if there's anything you want, I can leave it for you the next time I hunt …"
"Uncle is a forthright person. Do you know where there are tigers in the nearby mountains?"
"Of course there are in Mt. Dumb Insect. Why do you ask?" The old hunter was curious.
"To be honest, I want to go into the mountain to see what the tiger looks like. I want to observe it closely. I wonder if Uncle can take me into the mountain to have a look. Just treat it as me hiring Uncle to take me into the mountain. I'll give you a sum of money …"
The old hunter's face suddenly became serious, "Don't joke with me, little brother. That Dumb Insect might kill you if you see it. Are you tired of living?"
"Uncle, don't worry, I'm not tired of living. I just want to see what the tiger looks like. I'm a painter, but the tiger I draw doesn't look like a real one. People always laugh at me, so I want to see it!"
"Little brother, you're a painter?" The old hunter's face suddenly showed a bit of respect for an "intellectual".
"This is my drawing of a buffalo. I'll give it to you as a gift!" Xia Pingan took out a framed drawing of a buffalo and gave it to the old hunter.
The old hunter wiped his hands on his clothes and took the drawing. He opened it curiously and then praised, "Not bad, not bad, this old buffalo is really good. Little brother, you're good at drawing, but it's still too dangerous to go into the mountain to see the tiger. I'll be harming you if I take you there."
"Uncle, listen to me, I don't want to go in front of the tiger. I'm not that brave. I just want to see the tiger in the mountain. I just want to build a wooden hut on the tree. I'll look at the tiger from the hut and make something to attract the tiger. If the tiger can't come up to the hut, I won't be in danger!"
The old hunter's expression changed. He touched his bearded chin and thought for a while, "Build a hut on the tree and look at the tiger from the tree. That's fine. But little brother, are you sure you want to go?"
Xia Pingan nodded with determination, "I've made up my mind. I must go!"
"Okay, then follow me, I'll take you there …" The old hunter said straightforwardly.
… …
Only three days later, a small treehouse appeared on a mountain called Immortal Peak, which was more than fifty li away from Tiantai City. The treehouse was built on the crown of a tall Phoebe Phoebe more than ten meters above the ground.
The trunk of the Phoebe Phoebe Phoebe was thick and straight. Tigers couldn't climb up.
Tigers often appeared near Immortal Peak. The old hunter and his son worked together with Xia Pingan to find a place for Xia Pingan.
Xia Pingan gave the hunter uncle a sum of money and asked the hunter uncle to send him food and ink every three days. If he hunted a pheasant or hare, he could also send it over and treat it as selling it to him. Here, he used pheasants and hares to lure the tiger.
The old hunter agreed at once. Xia Pingan's request was easy. Moreover, Xia Pingan didn't want them to work for nothing.
On the day Xia Pingan lived in the treehouse, the old hunter caught a pheasant and tied it to a nearby tree. He then sprinkled some of its blood nearby, saying that it would attract the tiger.
After that, Xia Pingan waited for the tiger on the tree … …
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