Chapter 186

"Anyone's paintings might be fake, but these few of mine, absolutely impossible!"

Second Master Feng was adamant. The crows in the sky changed their lines again this time, not talking about fake-busting, but directly starting personal attacks.

"Fool! Big fool Feng, being cheated and still counting money for others! Really a big fool!"

Second Master Feng was so angry that his braids were almost standing up.

"Get Gou Sheng's bird bow, I'm going to shoot birds today!"

"Not necessary, Second Master, really not necessary!" Seeing Second Master Feng rolling up his sleeves, Gou Sheng's father, Steward Cai, hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him.

The other guests also followed suit to persuade him.

Here, the Second Master was in a fit of anger, and a young man in a black brocade suit blowing a bird whistle walked in from outside the shooting gate.

As the saying goes, a woman is beautiful in mourning clothes. A man is beautiful in black.

At this time, Xu Qing was wearing a brocade suit of the same style as Xuanyu, looking radiant and spirited.

Seeing Xu Qing, Second Master Feng felt like he had seen a relative.

"Brother Xu, you are an old expert. Please take a look and see if these paintings of mine are authentic?"

Xu Qing was happy in his heart, wandered to the front, and his eyes wandered over the spread paintings.

"Good, good, good! Truly a wonderful brushwork, look at these flowers and birds, the feathers are delicate and lifelike, the colors are elegant and natural, and it makes people forget the vulgarity when watching it. Even if Meng Chuan and Shen Congzhou were alive, it would be nothing more than this."

"Look at this pine and bamboo painting again. The pine and bamboo in the painting are elegant, and there seems to be the rhyme of wind and bamboo sound. I think Zheng Sanjue, the bamboo monster, would also clap his hands and praise it!"

"And this fish playing with lotus flowers, cold river fishing alone..."

Xu Qing, who is proficient in painting skills, knew the family treasures well and pointed out all the subtleties of those paintings.

Second Master Feng listened with a flushed face, and his face was very glorious!

Look, what is an expert, this is an expert!

However, after evaluating the last painting, just when everyone was nodding and praising, Xu Qing's tone suddenly changed:

"Unfortunately, these paintings are good everywhere, but there is one point that is not good."

"Where is it not good?" Someone asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, they are all copied fakes. That's the only point that's not good. However, the flaws do not hide the merits. In terms of painting skills alone, this person's comprehensive ability is more outstanding than any of the masters of these authentic works."

"..."

Second Master Feng couldn't hear Xu Qing's words at all. He only heard the word "fake."

"Brother Xu, please look clearly, don't make a mistake."

Xu Qing walked to a painting and smiled: "True is fake, fake is true. If you really put the authentic and the fake together, how many people in the world can distinguish them clearly?"

"To be honest, I can't distinguish this painting either, but I heard that those masters of forgery like to leave their own traces in the fakes..."

Xu Qing reached out and pinched a corner of the painting, lifting it to a bright place to watch.

"Second Master, please look, what is wrong with this corner of the painting?"

Second Master Feng leaned to the front, almost sticking to the painting, but he didn't see any problems.

The other guests, after watching, had many speculations. In the end, it was just because they heard the word "fake" said by Xu Qing, and the seeds of doubt were planted in their hearts, so naturally, they felt something was wrong everywhere.

"In my opinion, it is the paper of this corner of the painting that reveals the flaws. The old paper of hundreds of years ago must have a patina like beeswax, while this corner of the paper is as bright as new, and the color is different from other places. It must be an old object."

An expert and elegant person who loves paintings stepped forward to comment. After Xu Qing finished listening to the other party's words, he silently pushed the corner of the paper exposed to the sun into the shadow. The next moment, the so-called brightness disappeared, and looking at the texture of the paper alone, it was no different from other places.

The expert who stepped forward to comment blushed and couldn't speak for a long time.

Several others followed suit and guessed blindly. Some said the brushwork was weak, it must be that the heart was empty when copying; others said the ink quality was different, and there were differences in the smell and color of ancient ink and modern ink.

After listening, Xu Qing shook his head, and then under the eyes of everyone, he took a pen that had not been dipped in ink and pointed it at a lotus leaf in the corner of the painting.

Everyone didn't know why, so Xu Qing guided the texture of the edge of the lotus leaf and connected it to the water pattern.

And those textures that were originally unrelated formed a "Jiang" character.

Xu Qing continued to use the pen to circle on the painting.

Finally, it formed a person's name: Jiang Daqian.

The expert who had previously commented on the paper problem didn't believe in evil and said: "You are far-fetched. The strokes of this name are simple, maybe it's a coincidence. If you don't deliberately circle it, who can see the difference?"

Xu Qing was happy in his heart when he heard this, and turned to circle other paintings.

Those paintings, without exception, could find the three words Jiang Daqian.

After sending everyone away, Second Master Feng was both angry and amused:

"Since this painting is fake, Brother Xu, just say it directly. Why do you have to praise it to the sky, making me happy for nothing."

"Because I know that Second Master's playing with antiques and objects is fake, but seeking popularity and liveliness is true."

Xu Qing said happily: "Second Master is always alone, it is inevitable that he will feel lonely, otherwise he would not often hold 'appreciation meetings' to invite friends from all walks of life to gather."

Second Master Feng was silent for a moment, and said faintly: "If you didn't say it, I wouldn't have thought of this. Now that you say it, you really said it right."

"Whether this thing is true or false, I really don't care. I don't have any children, and no matter how many good things I collect, I can't keep them in the end. Now, besides giving them to familiar friends, I hold this 'appreciation meeting'."

"Brother Xu, you are not young anymore. Listen to your brother's advice, find a wife early, and have a bunch of children. Only in this way, when you are old, you won't be as depressed as your brother."

"When the time comes, if you have many children at home, I will adopt a godson, and maybe my family business can be changed to the Xu surname!"

Second Master Feng looked at Xu Qing happily, as if he were joking.

Xu Qing was speechless.

There is no such thing as a zombie getting old in this world. Even if there is one in a million, Second Master Feng is afraid that he won't be able to hold on until then.

Furthermore, whose zombie would have children?

A corpse immortal might be possible, but in this world of five turbid evils where heaven and earth are cut off, even the gifted cultivators cannot attain the Dao. How long will it take for a humble zombie like him, who is hated by gods and even heaven doesn't like, to break the shackles of heaven and earth and attain the Dao and ascend to immortality?

Not to mention a thousand years, ten thousand years, even a hundred years, Second Master Feng should have turned into a handful of yellow soil and returned to the underworld.

"Second Master, I see that you are still strong in your old age. Why don't you work harder and have a few more children? When the time comes, I will adopt a godson to support you in your old age."

Second Master Feng didn't hear the mystery hidden in Xu Qing's words.

"Don't tease me. How old am I? I don't even dare to go outside to pee on a windy day. Where do I have that ability? And have several, I can't even handle one!"

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, took out a small bottle from his sleeve, and said: "This is the Rejuvenation Powder I got from a Fire Gate Daoist when I was traveling. Second Master, try the effect. Maybe you can hold a big fat baby next year."

As an expert, Second Master Feng is no stranger to the Fire Gate. The eight inner gates of the jianghu include Jing, Pi, Piao, Ce, Feng, Huo, Jue, and Yao. The Fire Gate mainly focuses on the art of health preservation.

Things like alchemy and bedroom arts belong to the Fire Gate faction. Those who sell strong pills, aphrodisiacs, and laughing powder on the street are also disciples of the Fire Gate.

Second Master Feng didn't take it too seriously. After all, there are many people selling fake medicine these days. If you want to get real medicine, it depends on whether you have that luck.

Xu Qing casually threw the medicine bottle to Second Master Feng and let him eat it for fun.

As for whether it works... Except for corpses, Xu has always been in charge of killing but not burying other things.

"Second Master, this painting is quite good. Except for being a fake, there is nothing bad about it. Don't take it to burn for fire."

"Hey! Just because of the word 'fake', no matter how good it is, it becomes bad. If Brother Xu likes it, take it. I will collect some more another day. You have great skills, just help me take a look when you have time, so as not to let everyone laugh at the appreciation meeting next time."

Just like that, when leaving the Bird and Flower Street, Xu Qing had many scrolls in his hands and under his armpits.

Returning to the mortuary shop, according to the positioning of literature, martial arts, and feng shui, he hung the paintings in the most ominous way. In short, after hanging the paintings, the shop became much cooler. If an ordinary person came in, they would definitely shiver a few times.

May is the midsummer season.

Xu Qing stayed in the shop and meditated for a long time before opening his eyes.

On his left hand, the lingering black corpse aura retreated.

Replacing it was a faint floral fragrance similar to pomegranate flowers.

The fragrance brought by the Heavenly Fragrance Pill can change with the seasons and hours, sunny, rainy, frosty, snowy, early morning, dusk, thick and thin in order.

But when Xu Qing released the corpse aura, those floral fragrances would trace back to the root and leave no trace.

It seems that there are monarchs and ministers in people, and there are differences in status in smell.

When the monarch comes out, the minister hides; when the monarch hides, the minister comes out.

All kinds of things have traces to follow.

After the black energy on his hand dissipated, Xu Qing shook his head slightly.

After a person dies, certain parts of the body will be more difficult to rot than other places because of the concentration of spirit.

For example, the shoulder bones of those who often carry loads will rot last after death, and the leg bones of sedan chair carriers will rot last after death.

This kind of bone is the key to the zombie's cultivation of non-decaying bones.

Non-decaying bone is the place where essence and energy are concentrated. It must be nurtured by spirit and corpse energy for years and months. Only after years and months can it be refined to immortality.

This is a water-grinding effort. Only when the spirit and the corpse bone are completely integrated can the refined bone have the mysterious effect of accommodating spirituality and spirit.

"On the day the non-decaying bone is refined, its color is as black as ink jade, shining brightly. Now my bone is still not black enough."

Xu Qing shook his head, not in a hurry in his heart.

The refining speed of non-decaying bone is not only related to the progress of Dao practice, but more importantly, it is long-term spiritual cultivation. According to Xu Qing's understanding, it is probably a brain storage place.

When the non-decaying bone has spirituality, it will be considered refined.

Hiding his left hand in his sleeve, Xu Qing nurtures it whenever he has time. In addition, he also plans to collect some gloomy and evil items, such as those suppression objects used for suppression, which can just be used to soak his hands with the Indefinite Black Water.

Later in the evening, it started to rain outside the mortuary shop.

Xuanyu, who was traveling outside, rushed to the shop like crazy.

When it arrived at the shop, it shook off the water droplets on its body, then stretched out its small pink tongue and began to lick the wet hair on its body.

Xu Qing wondered: "Xuanyu, why don't you use the water-avoiding bead I gave you?"

The black cat stopped licking and said: "The water-avoiding bead is in the shop. I don't have a storage magic treasure. I can't always hold the water-avoiding bead in my mouth when I go out, and that bead is really too big!"

"Holding it in my mouth will make me drool."

Xu Qing pondered for a moment and said: "When I turn back, I will ask the embroiderer to sew a small bag for you to hold things. As for the storage magic weapon, I will ask Senior Sister Yizhen when I meet her another day. Maybe she has a refining method or a way to buy it."

Outside, it was drizzling, and in the shop, a zombie and a cat were chatting. He thought there would be no guests today, but he didn't expect a little girl to suddenly hide in the rain.

The girl was sallow and thin, her hair was knotted, about ten years old, like a little beggar.

The other party came to the door of the shop, didn't dare to cross the threshold, just stood under the eaves, and sneezed several times.

The weather in May is not cold, but it can't stand that there is no living person's vitality in the mortuary shop, and the feng shui is peculiar. Now that the gloomy wind blows, it is natural to catch a cold.

Xu Qing went around to the outside of the counter, just wanting to go up and ask, but he didn't expect the little girl before him to speak first.

"Sir? Is that you, sir?"

Xu Qing was surprised. Who is this child? Why does she seem to know him?

Xuanyu stopped licking its hair and stared at the two of them.

"Who are you?" Xu Qing was full of doubts.

The sallow little girl saw that Xu Qing didn't recognize her, and her voice became timid again.

"Wang Liang is my brother. Doesn't sir remember me?"

Wang Liang... Xu Qing suddenly remembered that when he was in Wanshou County, he had buried a couple who were deeply in love. The couple had a pair of children, one of whom was named Wang Liang.

The child was quite smart. Seeing that he could lift a coffin weighing hundreds of catties by himself, he begged to be an apprentice to learn skills.

Xu Qing was used to being free, so how could he be willing to accept a human as an apprentice? Maybe he would have to support his apprentice in his old age, which would be too annoying.

So at that time, Xu Qing only taught Wang Liang martial arts skills, as well as some strength pills, qi-nourishing pills, and other pills.

Two years have passed, and Xu Qing had long forgotten about this, but he didn't expect that one day Wang's little sister would meet him again in this appearance.

"Where is your brother? How did you end up in this state?"

Wang's little sister said: "Brother followed a noble person out earlier, and there has been no news for more than a year."

"Noble person? Do you know who it is?"

Wang's little sister shook her head and said: "Brother didn't say, only said it was a virtuous person with both benevolence and virtue, who wanted to invite him to work together. Since then, brother has never come back."

Xu Qing frowned. Why does this sound like he was abducted and sold by a human trafficker?

"After brother left, he left two hundred taels of silver, and an old man with a lame leg left by the noble person. Later, Wanshou Township was changed to Wanshou County, and a group of people suddenly came to the village, saying they wanted to change the village into a street market..."

After Xu Qing finished listening to Wang's little sister's account, he understood the matter inside.

After Wanshou Township was promoted to a county, people who sought profit came to collect the township houses to seek profit. The village houses that were originally worth a few taels of silver were suddenly raised to dozens of taels.

Wang Liang left home and didn't return. There were only his little sister and grandmother at home, and an old man with a lame leg of unknown origin. Wouldn't they become the target of those with intentions?

Wang's little sister didn't want to sell the ancestral home, so the Wanshou County tooth agency often sent tooth agents to lobby, and in the end, they even invited rascals to come and make trouble and threaten.

When those rascals brought dung buckets and were about to splash them on the gate of the Wang family's courtyard, the old man with a lame leg who was responsible for watching the house suddenly turned into a jianghu expert and beat those who came to make trouble until they were peeing and urinating.

But this matter was not over. The tooth agency sent experts one after another to find the field. After several setbacks, a person came from the capital, who was said to be the proprietor behind the Wanshou County tooth agency.

That person was quite capable. When he came to the Wang family and just met the old man with a lame leg, the two said a few words, and in the effort of passing by and putting a shoulder, the old man fell to the ground and lost his breath.

Without the old man's protection, how could Wang's little sister and grandmother be the opponents of those evil people?

They tore down the old house, snatched the two hundred taels of silver hidden in the rice jar, and drove Wang's little sister and grandmother out of the city...

During this period, Wang Liang still did not appear. Wang's little sister's grandmother became ill with worry and didn't survive the year before she passed away.

Wang's little sister had no silver, couldn't bury her grandmother, so she had to put grass on her head and sell herself to bury her relative on the side of the road.

It was at this time that a kind passerby came up to talk, saying that there was a credit notice for burying first and paying later on the bulletin board at the gate of Linjiang County. There was no need to sell herself, just send the bones to the shop, and the shopkeeper would naturally help handle the funeral.

After Wang's little sister learned about this, she groped all the way and found Xu Qing here.

"Where is your grandmother's remains now?"

"In a small temple outside the city."

Xu Qing looked at the rain that was getting bigger and bigger outside, turned his head and said: "Erniang, you take care of this little girl for me, I'll be back soon."

After saying that, Xu Qing put on a coir raincoat and turned to go out of the shop door.

(End of chapter)