Chapter 153: Dragon Flame Lizard

Upon hearing that voice, Ximen Kankan's scalp instantly tightened; he raised his eyes to look, only to see his father, Ximen Yong, already walking in slowly, wearing a square cloth cap on his head and black-soled shoes on his feet.

Moreover, the moment Ximen Yong entered, he saw Ximen Kankan standing before the desk, holding a piece of paper in his hands and exclaiming in admiration with glowing eyes... Ximen Yong's gaze immediately locked onto that paper!

"Kankan, what are you doing?" Ximen Yong asked as he walked, his eyes flickering.

"Nothing... nothing at all..." If Ximen Kankan were to destroy this paper now, or directly smear it with ink, it would be tantamount to a confession.

But if his father happened to see him appearing in a Spring Palace Painting, he would definitely be hung up and beaten half to death...

Weighing the two evils, Ximen Kankan still prepared to destroy the painting!

But just at this moment, Duan Rong suddenly snatched the painting from his hands, placed it on the desk, held the brush with a suspended wrist, and began to dot and outline...

Ximen Kankan just wanted to stop him, but he saw Duan Rong's brush moving like a dragon or snake; first, he painted a moon-white scholar's robe on the naked Ximen Kankan in the painting, then he painted a tattered, ragged garment on the naked woman in front of him, then quickly outlined, adding several strands of white hair into the woman's dark hair on her shoulders, and then on the woman's face as she turned back, he painted wrinkles, and with every touch and pause of the brush, he quickly caused the corners of the woman's mouth and eyes to droop...

Just as Duan Rong finished painting, Ximen Yong had already reached the desk; Duan Rong shifted the tip of his brush, pretending to be inscribing a poem on the side of the painting, and one could see him writing in the blank space beside the painting: "In the study, I lie and listen to the rustling bamboo, suspecting it to be the sound of human suffering. Do not say a good deed is too small to perform; every branch and every leaf is always filled with concern."

Ximen Yong narrowed his eyes to look at the painting on the desk, only to see that the painting was indeed Ximen Kankan, wearing a moon-white scholar's robe, and beside Ximen Kankan was an old grandmother in tattered clothes; Ximen Kankan had one hand supporting her waist, as if he were helping that old grandmother to sit on a grand armchair in the hall, and that white-haired, aged grandmother was looking back at Ximen Kankan, her eyes filled with sorrow...

Ximen Yong looked again at the poem inscribed on the side of the painting and nodded repeatedly, saying: "The meaning in this painting is excellent, and the poem is especially well-written! What a line, 'every branch and every leaf is always filled with concern'! Kankan, Dad has told you time and again, for us in business, reputation is of the utmost importance! In disaster years, Dad also often gives alms to these poor people."

"How should I address this refined scholar?" Ximen Yong's gaze shifted to Duan Rong, and he asked with a kind attitude.

"This humble one is Duan Rong, greetings to Master Ximen!"

Ximen Yong nodded; Duan Rong looked to be about the same age as Ximen Kankan, yet he had quite an accomplishment in poetry and painting; although he did not know much about calligraphy and painting, those few lines of poetry just now were written with quite a bit of flavor, clearly showing extraordinary insight, with every word being a gem.

"Kankan! In the future, associate more with good teachers and helpful friends like Scholar Duan, and spend less time running to casinos and brothels every day with Jiang Qingyu and the others," Ximen Yong said, glancing at Ximen Kankan.

"Yes, this child understands."

Ximen Yong said: "Have this painting mounted and hung in the flower hall of the main courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Ximen Kankan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and glanced sideways at Duan Rong.

"Also, I came to tell you! Your father is going to the Prefecture City for a few days; you must look after the household carefully at home and do not cause trouble."

"Father, just go to the Prefecture City to handle your affairs; this child will certainly look after the house well," Ximen Kankan replied obediently.

"Hmm." Ximen Yong gave a light hum in his throat, took a stack of silver notes from his sleeve, and said: "This is this month's allowance, spend it sparingly..."

Ximen Yong put down the silver notes and then lifted his feet to walk out of Xueyan Residence.

Ximen Kankan watched Ximen Yong leave before he turned his head to look at Duan Rong; at this moment, the look he gave Duan Rong was practically as if he were worshipping a god!

Duan Rong himself was also quite proud. That was entirely his impromptu wit just now!

He was truly too clever!

In the past, there was Cao Zijian, who could compose a poem in seven steps; now there is...

Duan Rong glanced at the distance from the hall entrance to the desk, and after a rough calculation, it was at least twenty steps...

Even if it was twenty steps, wasn't that still very impressive?

After Ximen Yong left, Ximen Kankan chatted with Duan Rong for a while longer, and then Duan Rong took the green porcelain bottle of Dragon Flame Fat and left Ximen Mansion.

This Dragon Flame Fat was actually a rare species from the Western Regions, the fat of the Dragon Flame Lizard.

This kind of lizard only survives at a certain volcanic crater in the Tianwei Mountain Range of the Western Regions; its body length is less than one foot, and it is a type of small lizard.

Although Duan Rong only purchased two qian of weight, this amount was the subcutaneous fat scraped from seven or eight lizards; this amount of medicine, in the local area of Yong Province, would cost over twenty thousand taels, not to mention being transported back to a remote corner like Xiangu County.

However, Ximen Kankan, considering their friendship, only charged Duan Rong the cost price of twenty thousand silver; Duan Rong made an agreement with him to offset it with two fine Spring Palace Paintings, and Ximen Kankan accepted it gladly...

Duan Rong left Ximen Mansion with hurried steps and first returned to the original owner's dilapidated courtyard; Duan Rong closed the doors and windows, stood at the entrance of the inner room on the east side, raised his eyes to look at the roof beam, and almost simultaneously, his figure rose from the ground; in mid-air, the tips of his feet tapped against the wall, his figure swept across like a swallow skimming the water, and he landed steadily on the roof beam.

After devouring the Proficiency-level Cloud Snake Step, Duan Rong's Lightness Skill had clearly risen to another level.

As soon as Duan Rong landed on the roof beam, his figure flickered, and he stood in a certain corner, squatted down, pried open the wooden cover of a secret compartment, and took out the human-skin scroll Womb Treasury Sutra inside.

Duan Rong grabbed the human-skin scroll and descended lightly from the roof beam.

He used scissors to cut off the second layer of the cultivation technique, and then took out the sachet that Xiao Baijiao had given him from the inner pocket of his robe.

Duan Rong looked at the sachet in his hand, his expression shifted, and he sniffed it lightly; the clear fragrance of the herbs in the sachet had already faded quite a bit, and upon reflection, Xiao Baijiao had been dead for nearly two months.

The person has passed away, and their traces are also fading...

Duan Rong sighed lightly, took out the first layer of the cultivation technique of the Womb Treasury Sutra from the sachet, placed the second layer of the cultivation technique he had just cut from the desk inside, and pressed it under the herbs in the sachet...

Duan Rong pressed down on the sachet and put it back into his inner robe pocket; only then did he grab the large and small human-skin scrolls from the desk, his figure suddenly swept up, and he was already standing on the roof beam; Duan Rong folded the human-skin scrolls in his hand, put them into the secret compartment, then Duan Rong covered the wooden lid of the secret compartment, stood up, used his feet to smooth out the dust near the secret compartment, and only then did he flip over and land lightly on the ground.

Duan Rong locked the room door, left the original owner's dilapidated courtyard, and headed toward the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Duan Rong returned to Liu Lu, locked the courtyard gate tightly, then sat on the grand armchair in the main room, and took out the piece of human-skin scroll he had cut from the sachet to examine it carefully...

Inside this, there were not only the incantations and hand seals for the second layer of the Womb Treasury Sutra, but also the usage method for the Dragon Flame Fat...

Duan Rong sat on the grand armchair, pondering with flickering eyes, then suddenly stood up, walked to the large water vat at the kitchen entrance, scooped a wooden basin of clear water, and Duan Rong carried the basin of clear water into the Inner Room and placed the basin of clear water in the corner of the wall.

Duan Rong turned and walked to the front of the main room, his gaze sweeping over the high walls and weeping willows in the courtyard, closed the room door, and slid the bolt into place.

Afterwards, Duan Rong walked into the Inner Room, closed the doors and windows tightly, and only then stood beside the bed, taking off all his clothes piece by piece, until even his underpants were removed, leaving him completely naked...

(End of chapter)