Chapter 186: Painting

Lu Mi was still sighing at the high cost of those painting tools when he returned to the Golden Chicken Hotel.

The monthly salary Charlie got as a waiter at the Breeze Dance Hall was already considered quite good among people at the same level, but he would have to work for two months without eating or drinking to afford a roll of canvas!

In Lu Mi's impression, many painters were destitute. He didn't expect them to be able to afford a series of expenses such as canvas, brushes, paints, wooden frames, and human models.

Perhaps it was these things that made them destitute, and some had to rely on family support to survive? Lu Mi closed the door and placed the pile of items in his hand on the wooden table.

He eventually gave up on canvas and bought some of the cheapest brushes, paints, paper, and other necessities. Anyway, he didn't really want to be a painter and participate in exhibitions. As long as there was a carrier to sew the supernatural power obtained through the 'Peeping Secret Glasses' onto, that would do. As for whether it was fragile, whether the paint was good or bad, whether it would fade, or how it was drawn, those were all irrelevant issues.

Just like that, it still cost Lu Mi exactly 30 Fei Er Jin.

After mixing a palette of paints with multiple colors and spreading out the reasonably flexible white paper, Lu Mi sanctified the ritual silver dagger and created a circle of 'Wall of Spirituality' in Room 207.

He intended to test what he could paint and what effects it would have.

And according to the reaction of Lady 'Magician's' messenger to the Golden Chicken Hotel, Lu Mi believed that there shouldn't be any major abnormalities here, that is, there were a few more bedbugs. The source of the problem like Su Shanna Ma Disi was highly likely in some part of the Old Pigeon Cage Theater or some hollow underground.

Slowly exhaling, Lu Mi took out the tea-colored gold-rimmed glasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose.

In an instant, he felt the world spinning, as if he had turned upside down, falling from the sky to the depths of the ground.

During this process, Lu Mi saw the upside-down hotel, saw the tenants moving in the room and the underground bar in a similar posture, saw the stones, soil, and tree roots constantly extending to the ground, and saw the rats and insects everywhere huddled in the corners.

He fell deeper and deeper, enduring the nausea brought by weightlessness.

The next second, he saw huge brown-green roots, which extended in all directions, connecting to the distance and piercing into the void.

"Ugh..." Lu Mi experienced severe retching, feeling as if the dinner he hadn't digested yet had surged to his throat.

He hurriedly took off the 'Peeping Secret Glasses,' resisted the urge to vomit, and with the urge to paint, picked up the brush, dipped it in paint, and sketched on the white paper with a swish.

He gradually became spirited, and his spirituality extended to the tip of the brush without him knowing.

A few minutes passed, Lu Mi stopped and examined his 'masterpiece.'

"What kind of thing is this?" In the initial moment, he uncontrollably had such a thought.

After identifying it with difficulty, he barely recognized what he had drawn:

A gray-blue triangular house, a large green tree growing on the roof, and a rainstorm like mud.

Staring for a few seconds, Lu Mi suddenly felt his back of the hand itching and couldn't help but scratch it.

With this scratch, he immediately saw the skin become red and swollen, and his whole body became itchy.

"The supernatural influence of the painting?" Lu Mi's heart stirred, and he moved his gaze away.

At the same time, he moved his body, wanting to soothe the itching with the friction between his clothes and skin.

This had no effect, forcing Lu Mi to scratch a few more times.

And as he no longer stared at that 'oil painting' like a child's graffiti, the degree of itching gradually decreased and eventually disappeared.

"Sure enough, it's the painting's problem." Lu Mi breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself.

At this time, the urge to paint in his heart had disappeared.

He then turned his body and pondered the details:

"Must stare at that painting for at least three seconds to feel itchy all over...

"In a fight, this is hard to come in handy. I can't stick it on my face, right?

"If I set a trap in advance, it could play a certain role...

"I wonder if there are any paintings that don't need others to stare at them to take effect?"

After deliberating for a while, Lu Mi decided to try again.

He put on the 'Peeping Secret Glasses' again and had an experience almost identical to just now.

The difference was that he also saw deep darkness and figures walking in the darkness.

Amidst the retching, Lu Mi took off the tea-colored gold-rimmed glasses, pulled out new paper, and picked up the brush.

This time, he didn't let his inner urge play out, didn't paint entirely by instinct, but tried hard to think about what he hoped to get, doing his best to make what he painted close to the things in his mind.

Combined, Lu Mi painted a golden-red sun, and the halo surrounding the sun was colorful, with red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple all present.

By the time he dropped the last stroke, Room 207 suddenly became a bit warmer, and the coldness lingering nearby dissipated accordingly.

"Seems to have a simple effect of driving away ghosts..." Lu Mi made a judgment without much certainty.

He sat on the edge of the bed and observed the changes carefully.

As time passed, the warmth that made people feel a bit restless and uneasy began to weaken slowly.

Lu Mi tried to fold the painting with the back facing out, and the warm feeling disappeared immediately, while the speed of the spirituality flowing in the painting slowed down to a degree that was almost impossible to detect.

"This should be able to be preserved for about two months... Opening it for use can maintain it for at most three days... Hmm, this is like an alternative method of making Beyonder weapons..." Lu Mi calculated simply while recalling.

And painting two paintings in a row caused a not-small burden on his spirituality.

After resting slightly, Lu Mi did the third experiment.

This time, the painting tools were changed to makeup-related ones.

Wearing the 'Peeping Secret Glasses,' enduring the feeling of spinning and falling into the ground, and seeing several blurry figures hidden in the shadows around him, Lu Mi took off the magical item and, using the glass window illuminated by the calcium carbide lamp as a mirror, applied different things to his face, outlining various lines.

Like the second attempt, he tried his best to control the direction of the makeup, but from time to time he encountered the influence of instinct.

The Lu Mi in the 'mirror' gradually became haggard, his eyebrows appeared messy, his cheekbones were slightly high, and his lips became a little thicker.

This made him feel as if he saw a stranger. After the 'depiction' ended, he hurriedly moved his gaze away and pulled the curtain.

After putting away the two paintings 'Itch' and 'Sun' and the various items on the table, Lu Mi decided to go out to verify the effect.

He went all the way to the Breeze Dance Hall and saw Yu Jianna, who was doing exaggerated movements and singing loudly, and Charlie, who had delivered several alcoholic drinks to the edge of the dance floor.

Those bouncers didn't pay attention to Lu Mi, and no one called him Boss.

Lu Mi had a bottom line in his heart, walked to Charlie's side, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile:

"Good evening!"

Charlie, in a white shirt and black vest, turned his body and asked with a smile:

"Good evening, sir. What would you like to drink?"

Lu Mi asked deliberately:

"Don't you recognize me anymore?"

Charlie was stunned for a moment, opened his eyes wide, and looked carefully for a few seconds in the light of the gas wall lamp that was far away.

He quickly revealed a smile and shouted in surprise:

"It's you!

"Praise the Sun, how long has it been since we met? Wait for me, wait for me to not be so busy and then come find you!"

Charlie then pointed to the bar, waved his hand, and bid farewell.

"This kid, he acts quite like it." Lu Mi laughed quite satisfactorily, "You didn't even recognize that I'm your boss!"

He withdrew his gaze, approached the stage where Yu Jianna was performing, and waited for the other party to finish singing that song full of obscene vocabulary.

As soon as Yu Jianna finished, picked up the copper and silver coins on the stage, and walked down, Lu Mi greeted her enthusiastically:

"You sing really well! Can I buy you a drink?"

Yu Jianna immediately revealed a vigilant expression.

After being ambushed by that pervert He De Xi, she didn't dare to have the slightest carelessness toward any audience member who tried to approach her, worried about encountering something bad again.

She carefully looked at Lu Mi's face for a few seconds and piled on an exaggerated, charming smile that hid her resistance:

"I have to protect my voice for the next song!

"Help me drink one more!"

Yu Jianna explained while throwing a wink and approaching the two gang bouncers guarding the side of the stage, seeking their help.

For this 'exaggerated woman' who was suspected to be the boss's and 'Red Boots' mistress, the two gang bouncers didn't dare to offend her and stepped forward at the same time, blocking between Lu Mi and Yu Jianna.

Yu Jianna took the opportunity to break away and went to the lounge near the bar.

Before leaving, she looked at Lu Mi's hair color, observed his face carefully for a while, and muttered to herself:

"Damn, has this also become fashion?"

Lu Mi happily withdrew his gaze and turned to the stairwell leading to the cafe.

"What are you going up for?" The two gang bouncers guarding there stopped him.

Quite dutiful... Lu Mi laughed:

"To drink coffee!"

After carefully observing Lu Mi for a few seconds, the two gang bouncers gave way.

Entering the cafe, looking at Louis and Sa Ke Ta who had nothing to do, Lu Mi turned into the washroom.

He didn't dare to look in the mirror, washed his face directly with tap water, rubbed it a few times, and then slowly removed his makeup.

After finishing, he looked in the mirror and saw the reflection of himself, pale and very tired.

The consumption of spirituality is still quite large... I also painted two paintings before... Lu Mi calmed his state and walked out of the washroom.

Louis glanced over and stood up in surprise:

"Boss! When did you come back?"

"Just now." Lu Mi pointed toward the corridor, "I'm going to rest first."

"Okay, Boss." Louis and Sa Ke Ta didn't dare to ask why.

Lu Mi entered the room, forced himself to wash up, fell onto the bed, and soon fell asleep.

In his dream, he seemed to be experiencing that uncomfortable feeling of falling from mid-air all the way to the ground again.

While falling constantly, the soil below suddenly cracked, appearing a burning ocean, which was composed of crimson flames!

Burning and stinging sensations were transmitted to Lu Mi's mind at the same time. He opened his eyes with a swish, sat up, and gasped for air.

At this time, the room was pitch black and very quiet, with only a little crimson moonlight spilling onto the desk by the window through the curtain.

PS: Asking for base monthly tickets~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 187 =====