Chapter 67: Blood and Tears Congeal Danqing Wonderful Heart
No matter how Chu Chen patted his chest and gave assurances, the scholar was still doubtful.
So, Chu Chen simply stopped talking and the group walked on the bamboo forest path.
The winding path leads to a quiet place. After a while, the bamboo sea disappeared and was replaced by a large area of elegant bamboo houses and bamboo buildings.
"Mr. Chu, congratulations on being promoted to Exorcist Mage and Right Judge of the Arctic Exorcist Academy. Our Nine Nether Alliance has another young hero who has been promoted to Immortal Official."
Qingying, the dragon girl, suddenly arrived in front of the two of them and congratulated Chu Chen with a smile.
"Princess Ying, please don't make fun of me. It's nothing for me to be a ninth-grade immortal official."
Chu Chen was polite and humble.
"That's true! The ninth-grade immortal officials are too young." Qingying Longnu smiled and continued: "If Mr. Chu accepts the funding from my father, in the future, let alone ninth-grade, seventh-grade, even fifth-grade
, even a third-grade immortal official can do it.”
"Hahaha, I haven't seen you for a few days, and Princess Qingying's words have become more and more lively."
"What's the matter? Mr. Chu, I used to speak harshly?"
"That's definitely not..."
In the past few days, the two of them have become friends in Jiuyou Ling and chatted. Their relationship is much closer than before, and they talk more casually.
Zhang Xiucai on the side was dumbfounded.
He naturally knows Qingying Longnu.
I can't say I know him.
It was just that the scholar had heard about Princess Qingying unilaterally. He knew that Princess Qingying was the only daughter of Lord Long, the jewel in his hand, and the proud daughter of heaven. Others did not know her at all.
Zhang Xiucai watched Chu Chen and Qingying Longnu chatting casually and warmly, and a huge wave surged in his heart.
There are two surprises.
First, my friend Chu Chen was indeed favored and valued by Lord Long, but he did not accept his funding;
The second is that Chu Chen and Long Nu talked so familiarly and casually.
Before, when they rushed to the Dragon King's banquet, Chu Chen didn't know Princess Qingying.
In less than a month, what happened?
Why did Chu Chen enter the Nine Nether League without accepting funding from Lord Long?
Zhang Xiucai was full of confusion. He felt that he had missed a lot and was a little confused.
...
Not long after, the dragon girl Qingying led the two of them into the bamboo house and bamboo building, and came to an octagonal pavilion.
A middle-aged man was drinking alone at the pavilion.
A group of graceful girls with delicate features came and went like butterflies in flowers, offering melons, fruits, tea and wine...
"Little friend Chu, please sit down wherever you like when you come. Hey, this is..."
Chu Chen pulled the scholar and introduced:
"Long Jun, this is my good friend Zhang Linsheng. He is a Confucian scholar, but he is obsessed with the art of painting. He has entered the Tao through painting and has a good talent in painting."
"This junior doesn't know much about this, so I just wanted to bring it to you for you to take a look at and see how talented my friend is in Danqing and whether he can continue."
"If he really can't do it, I have to persuade him to go back to the imperial examination, so as to unite the candidates and become a scholar."
Since Chu Chen planned to recommend his friend, he must have used various spring and autumn brushwork to beautify the scholar and portray him as a painting fanatic who abandoned Confucian classics and was obsessed with the art of painting.
"Junior Zhang Linsheng has met Mr. Long!" Zhang Xiucai glanced at Chu Chen gratefully and bowed to Mr. Long in a somewhat reserved manner.
Long Jun smiled kindly: "I like to make friends with young talents the most. No need to be polite, just sit down."
The two of them sat down one after another.
Long Jun first congratulated Chu Chen on his promotion to the Immortal Official and encouraged him a lot. During this period, he did not neglect the scholar. He would say a few words to the scholar from time to time. He was very thorough and well-rounded, which flattered Zhang Xiucai.
After some small talk, Mr. Long became a little interested in the humble and polite scholar, and he became interested in taking the exam.
So, the palace maid removed the melons, fruits, and wine, and brought pens, inks, paper, and inkstones.
Facing Long Jun's examination, the scholar was so nervous that when he just held the pen, his hand was trembling slightly.
It was Chu Chen who patted him on the shoulder, and the scholar took a deep breath, abandoned all the distracting thoughts in his heart, and focused on the drawing paper on the stone table in front of him.
Lifting the pen and dipping it in ink, a breath of awe-inspiring energy condenses on the tip of the pen.
Put pen to paper!
At this time, Zhang Xiucai seemed to be a different person, and the nervousness and embarrassment just now disappeared without a trace.
In his eyes, there was only a blank sheet of paper.
The thin white paper seems to have become a world.
He holds the brush and paints freely, calmly and confidently.
This kind of self-confidence is not like the past self-confidence mixed with low self-esteem, but a self-confidence that naturally exudes from the inside out, and is confidence in the field in which he is best at.
This was the first time Chu Chen saw Zhang Xiucai painting, and at this moment, he was slightly surprised.
He didn't know how to paint or understand painting techniques, but he was a member of the Taoist sect, and he could faintly sense the feeling of "harmony between man and nature" in the scholar.
Regardless of the avenue or path, whichever school or sect practices the method, it is extremely rare to be able to faintly enter this realm.
The Dragon Lord and Qingying Dragon Girl on the side were much more knowledgeable. Seeing the scholar painting at this moment, a look of surprise appeared on her face.
In the beginning, whether it was Lord Long or Qingying Longnu, who was willing to meet the scholar, it was all for Chu Chen's sake.
After all, Chu Chen is now a member of the Nine Nether Alliance and can be considered one of his own.
Even if the recommended person has average talent, they will meet and encourage him.
However, at this moment, Dragon Lord and Dragon Girl are a little surprised.
Not long after, Zhang Xiucai completed the painting.
It was a picture of a horse—similar to the one presented to Chu Chen and Huang Fugui.
Dragon Lord and Dragon Girl Qingying immediately took over the picture of the horse and looked back and forth.
Zhang Xiucai stood aside cautiously, clenching and unclenching his hands, and pulling on his sleeves. His whole person looked nervous and uneasy, without the calmness and confidence he had when he was painting just now.
Chu Chen secretly felt funny in his heart. It was clear to the onlookers that he had just observed the words and expressions and realized that the scholar might have fallen into the eyes of Lord Long.
As expected, not long after, Long Jun, who was immersed in observing, raised his head slightly, and said to Zhang Xiucai with a kind smile that he had never seen before:
"Zhang Xiaoyou, who did you learn your painting skills from?"
"I have never been a disciple of a famous painting master. I just started with the master when I was a beginner. Later, I studied painting on my own, which made Long Jun laugh."
Zhang Xiucai was quite embarrassed.
Dragon Lord and Qingying Dragon Girl looked surprised.
The young girl Qingying said firmly: "You have touched the threshold of the true meaning of painting, how come you don't have the guidance of a famous teacher?"
"The young student really has not become a famous teacher. If I could become a famous teacher, how could I..."
Halfway through Zhang Xiucai's words, he might have thought of something and said: "If you want to pay homage to a famous teacher, maybe there is one. A few days ago, I came across an incomplete scroll of calligraphy by a great Confucian in a ghost market. Outsiders don't know the real treasure. I, a junior, was lucky enough to pick it up.
I went back to observe and study, and my painting skills improved greatly, so I was lucky enough to get the painting."
"Oh ~ Zhang Xiaoyou, can you take a look at that calligraphy treasure?" Long Jun became interested.
"Of course you can! I will carry it with me, junior."
Long Jun had a rich fortune and respected status. Zhang Xiucai was not worried at all that the other party would take a fancy to the calligraphy treasure he had picked up, so he generously took out a torn scroll from the secret compartment of the book box and handed it to Long Jun.
Long Jun took it carefully and spread it out slowly.
After a long time, Lord Long put away the broken calligraphy treasure again and looked at the scholar with burning eyes.
"Zhang Xiaoyou, you are just a broken scholar and calligrapher, but you have such a good fortune. It seems that you are born with a wonderful mind and a genius in painting!"
Zhang Xiucai was so shocked that his voice trembled slightly:
"Senior Longjun, the wonderful heart of painting, you said that I can condense the wonderful heart of painting..."
Chu Chen also vaguely understood at this moment, the artistic conception of painting is the basic qualification of painting and Taoism in the branch of Confucianism, which is similar to the Confucian and Taoist literary heart condensed by the reputation of being a scholar, the reputation of being a scholar, and the reputation of being a Jinshi.
By condensing the wonderful heart of painting, a scholar does not have to work hard to gain fame. Instead, by gathering the heart of Confucianism and Taoism, he can practice all the way. There is no longer the shackles of "scholarship and fame", and there is no ceiling.
"Exactly! Little friend Zhang, if what you say is true, I assert that eighty-nine times out of ten you can condense the wonderful mind of painting. If I find another famous painting master for you, then there will be no suspense.
Long Jun spoke firmly and was extremely confident in his own judgment. After speaking, he smiled casually:
"You also attended my night banquet that day, hahaha, but I am blind and cannot recognize Lingyun Mu!"
Long Jun's laughter fell into Zhang Xiucai's ears, and it was no different from heavenly music.
Zhang Xiucai's body was trembling slightly, his nose was sore, and his eyes filled with tears.
If you don't do your best, you don't know the suffering of others.
When he was young, Zhang Xiucai was extremely intelligent, and his family had high expectations for him, hoping that he would succeed in his career and become famous.
It's a pity that scholars only like paintings, not Confucian classics, and don't like articles.
In the eyes of others, and in the eyes of family members, for Confucian scholars, studying Confucian classics and pursuing a career is the great path, while poetry and painting are nothing more than a trivial path.
In order to pursue his dream and become obsessed with alchemy, the scholar did not get the recognition and support of his family, and received only ridicule and ridicule from all sides.
Especially after failing the imperial examination and getting worse every time, the scholar was deeply disappointed and suffered endlessly.
Am I really a waste?
Is it really wrong for me to abandon the avenue of Confucian classics and dive into the narrow path of painting?
If I practice the art of painting, will I really be able to stand out one day?
Every night, in the dead of night, Zhang Xiucai would always ask three questions in his heart.
Be inspired again and again; be hit again and again;
Time and time again I am lofty and ambitious, and time and time again I am discouraged.
In the midst of struggle and suffering, he used pen and ink over and over again to vent his inner emotions on white paper.
Over and over again, boring, lonely and helpless.
Sometimes, even though there were tears in his eyes, he never stopped holding the brush in his hand, trying to complete the painting with tears in his eyes.
In the end, the mood swings were too great and the painting was ruined.
He had no choice but to sigh, mash the painting into a ball, regroup, and start to write again...
Stay with loneliness, be friends with loneliness, and be enemies with all kinds of suspicion, disapproval and disappointment from the outside world!
Over the past few years, there have been so many days and nights in spring, dawn, autumn and winter.
He always comes here like this.
It's ordinary and there is no smoke, but it is a truly magnificent struggle with blood and tears!