Chapter 163: The God of Spring Palace Paintings

Duan Rong looked at the busy servants at the entrance of the manor, each holding various items, and asked, "Are you moving house?"

"No! I'm going on an outing! I asked Jiang Qingyu to come with me, and that fellow actually cursed me for being sick," Ximen Kankan said, looking somewhat indignant.

Duan Rong rubbed his nose and gave a silent laugh. It wasn't exactly the crisp, cool weather of autumn; going on an outing at a time like this, wasn't that just being erratic?

"I had Shi Kang go to the Escort Agency to find you a couple of days ago, but you weren't there? I thought you had gone out on an escort mission again."

"No. I went out to take care of some business." Those two days, he had naturally been in Wild Boar Mountain.

"Come with me. We can have a picnic, fly kites... I even brought the cooking utensils..." Ximen Kankan invited him enthusiastically.

Under normal circumstances, Duan Rong naturally would have refused, but this time he had something to ask Ximen Kankan, so he smiled and nodded in agreement.

Seeing Duan Rong nod, Ximen Kankan was overjoyed. He grabbed Duan Rong's hand and said, "Big Brother, you have taste after all. Unlike that fellow Jiang Qingyu, who only knows how to go to Huaying Pavilion to find that Lan Ying. I can't even stand that spineless look of his; no wonder Lan Ying doesn't pay much attention to him."

If Jiang Qingyu heard these words, he would likely vomit blood from anger on the spot!

Ximen Kankan pulled Duan Rong onto the carriage in front, which had two beautiful maids inside to serve them.

The carriage behind was driven by two servants, following the first one.

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan chatted inside the carriage. Only then did Duan Rong learn that the two beautiful maids were the ones who usually served Ximen Yong. Ximen Kankan had actually taken advantage of his father being away to have these two maids serve him on an outing—wasn't this undermining his own father?

The two maids had never seen Duan Rong before, but seeing Ximen Kankan speaking to him so cordially and warmly, they were slightly surprised, their bright, flickering eyes sweeping over Duan Rong from time to time...

The two carriages stopped by a small grove near a lake in the suburbs. The servants lit a fire and set up a pot, while the two maids flew kites by the river, their clear, beautiful laughter ringing out from time to time...

As for Ximen Kankan and Duan Rong, they chatted while catching fish and rabbits. Duan Rong looked at Ximen Kankan from time to time and realized that when this kid was spearing fish, his gaze was bright and focused, even more attentive than when he wielded his saber.

Both of them possessed martial arts, and before long, they had caught two large fish, two rabbits, and a pheasant.

Ximen Kankan led the servants to start preparing the game, while Duan Rong took the opportunity to go to the riverbank to play with the two maids flying kites...

When Duan Rong had finished playing and returned to the side of the grove, he saw a large pot of fresh fish soup simmering there. Ximen Kankan was sprinkling spices on the charred-yellow roasted pheasant and rabbit. The fresh, delicious scent of the fish soup mixed with the charred aroma of the roasted meat... Duan Rong's mouth immediately began to water.

Seeing Duan Rong return from the river, Ximen Kankan smiled and asked, "Did you have fun?"

"It was alright!" Duan Rong plopped down on the grass beside Ximen Kankan.

Ximen Kankan glanced at the figures of the two maids still flying kites by the river and said to Duan Rong beside him, "It's not like I wanted to bring them! They heard I was going on an outing and insisted on coming along to fly kites!"

"Actually, you don't need to explain," Duan Rong said, biting on a piece of foxtail grass. He meant that to explain was to cover up.

Ximen Kankan naturally understood the meaning behind Duan Rong's words. He sighed and said, "They are my father's women; I have always kept a respectful distance from them."

Duan Rong leaned forward and glanced at Ximen Kankan, noticing his solemn expression; he wasn't joking.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted. He recalled that along the way, Ximen Kankan hadn't said more than a few words to those two maids, and upon arriving at the river, he had seemed to intentionally distance himself.

At this moment, the two maids seemed to have finished playing and walked back, wiping away their fragrant sweat.

Afterwards, the group had lunch by the river. The delicious game made even Ximen Kankan, who was accustomed to fine food, feel a refreshing change of pace.

Ximen Kankan had also brought melons, fruits, and tea in the carriage; after the meal, everyone had some desserts.

After lunch, Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan lay on the grass by the grove, chatting aimlessly about everything under the sun.

"Duan Rong, what is your dream?" Ximen Kankan asked suddenly in a low voice.

"Dream?" Duan Rong bit the foxtail grass in his mouth and laughed silently to himself. Wasn't this Teacher Wang Feng's question?

"Yeah." Ximen Kankan rested his right hand under his head and turned to look at Duan Rong.

"My dream is to become a god," Duan Rong said in a calm tone.

Ximen Kankan chuckled and said, "You are already a god!"

"Is that so?"

"You are the God of Spring Palace Paintings," Ximen Kankan said.

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong was almost choked by his own saliva.

Ximen Kankan continued, "My dream is just to live out this life naturally."

"When I'm a bit older, I'll help my father manage the business of the Raw Medicine Shop. Then I'll marry a wife and have children. It would be best if I could marry Xia Shuangshuang, but if I can't, it doesn't matter."

"Actually, I don't like practicing martial arts at all. But, if my father tells me to do it, I will do it. When my mother died, she told me to listen to my father."

"When I was little, I couldn't understand why my father made me learn this and that. Especially when practicing martial arts, he was so strict with me! It was simply an inhuman life!"

"However, in these past two years, I've gradually come to understand my father! He is doing it for my own good!"

"So, even if it's something I don't like, if he tells me to do it, I will definitely do it!"

As Ximen Kankan spoke, he was suddenly struck by a sense of surprise. He didn't know why he was sharing these deep, inner feelings with Duan Rong...

Duan Rong was also touched upon hearing this, and he even felt a faint sense of envy toward Ximen Kankan.

Although he had lived two lifetimes, he had never had a family. He didn't actually ask for great wealth or status; a simple, warm family would have been enough, but he had never tasted the warmth of a family.

Duan Rong looked at Ximen Kankan and realized that this kid wasn't as dissolute as he appeared on the surface; he actually had his own principles. Although he was obsessed with Spring Palace Paintings and often acted strangely or erratically, his nature wasn't bad.

Duan Rong suddenly remembered a sentence he had read in his previous life, said by a man from the Ming Dynasty: "One who has no quirks is not worth befriending, for they lack deep affection; one who has no flaws is not worth befriending, for they lack True Qi." He deeply agreed with this.

"Shall we spar a bit?" Duan Rong sat up and said. He had just reached the Great Accomplishment realm and his hands were itching.

"I already told you, I don't like practicing martial arts."

"Just to help digest the food..."

"Alright then!"

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan stood on the grass by the edge of the woods, holding their sabers. Suddenly, a flash of light from Duan Rong's saber appeared as he attacked Ximen Kankan!

Ximen Kankan's short, stout body leaped up suddenly, agile as a rabbit, and the Moon Blade Curved Saber in his hand flashed with afterimages!

The two of them clashed instantly, the crisp sounds of weapons meeting echoing in layers...

Ximen Kankan was astonished. Unlike the previous times where Duan Rong would make progress just by thinking about it, this time, Duan Rong's saber technique was by no means a minor improvement; it had clearly ascended a major level!

It had only been a few days! How bizarre!

Ximen Kankan's competitive spirit was stirred. His saber technique became even sharper, and his gaze grew bright and keen.

(End of chapter)