By the well, Chen Mu sat on a bamboo stool.
He soaked a towel in the icy well water and applied it as a cold compress to his arms.
Having trained too vigorously for the first time, his arms ached with a sour pain.
He didn’t dare to continue training. In this ancient world, the level of medical care was not high; if he really injured himself, recovery would not be easy.
The cool well water stimulated his skin, and Chen Mu shivered, involuntarily thinking of the Wang family.
When he had visited yesterday, he was still marvelling at the Wang family’s wealth and vast estate.
He hadn’t expected that in just one night, their direct lineage would vanish like smoke.
Whoever managed to silently eliminate the entire Wang family must have been a ferocious bandit.
“It must have been someone who can move as skillfully as Head Constable Lu,” he thought.
Someone with small arms and legs like himself would probably not even know how he died if confronted by such a person.
“I’ve got to find a way to learn martial arts,” Chen Mu silently resolved. “First, I need to earn money. With money paving the road, everything else will follow.”
“Too bad it’s not easy to make money,” Chen Mu couldn’t help but sigh.
After secluding himself for a month and a half, he had finally developed a Second Rank drawing skill.
He thought he could turn his fortunes around, but on the first day he was targeted by Artist Yan.
All I want is to earn some money honestly, but why is it so difficult?
That Artist Yan is despicable, even wanting someone to cripple my hands.
Although the massacre of the Wang family did cause some trouble for Miaohua Studio,
it’s hard to say what the effect will be.
“It can only go so far,” Chen Mu sighed.
He was just a poor scholar without family or connections, how could he dare to oppose someone like Artist Yan, a local snake.
“I can’t go to Anle Square anymore,” Chen Mu thought frustratingly.
I need to think of another way to make money.
…
In Qingshan County Government Office.
Artist Yan walked out of the government office’s main gate, his face ashen.
He was upset about the one hundred silver pieces he had just lost.
He didn’t understand what got into the county captain, thinking that an old man like him, without the strength to truss a chicken, could possibly eliminate the entire Wang family.
“Such insatiably greedy people, let’s see how long they can keep up their arrogance!” Artist Yan huffed indignantly.
“Keep it down, Old Yan!” a middle-aged man near him immediately whispered in caution: “This is right in front of the yamen.”
“If he dares to do it, why should I be afraid to speak about it!”
The middle-aged man gave a bitter smile: “I’m just worried they’ll grab onto something and use it to extort us again.”
Artist Yan’s face turned red with frustration.
Those greedy government officials could really pull it off.
Artist Yan humphed coldly and strode off with heavy steps.
The middle-aged man could only shake his head with a wry smile and follow.
“The Wang family, a large clan, was exterminated in one night. Such a big case with wide implications. We should be thankful to have severed any connection to this case; consider it a loss of wealth to avoid calamity,” the middle-aged man consoled.
Only then did Artist Yan nod, resigning himself to bad luck.
He wondered how a case of family annihilation could have involved them, painters, at all.
Erasing paint traces? Who knew about that!
The more Artist Yan thought, the more depressed he became.
If he ever found out who was behind all this trouble, he would make sure they paid!
The two continued their discussion on the Wang family massacre, speculating which ferocious bandit might have done it. How could so many of the Wang family’s Protectors not have withstood the attack?
As evening approached and the lamps were lit, Artist Yan would normally have gone to Anle Square to enjoy himself.
But after losing one hundred silver pieces today, his heart bled. Clutching the few remaining silver pieces in his sleeve, he had no mood for pleasure.
After parting ways with the middle-aged man, Artist Yan walked home in the glow of the setting sun, his steps unsteady.
Just as he turned into a street corner, a sack descended from above, ensnaring him in its trap.
Before he could open his mouth to plead or call for help,
Whoo…
The sound of a wooden stick slicing through the air reached his ears.
Bang bang bang…
Yowls of pain followed…
He barely struggled before he felt a sharp pain in his neck, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
…
East Market, the vegetable market.
“Zheng Tu, give me ten pounds of pork belly and a smoked ham.” Chen Mu stood in front of a meat shop and said.
“Scholar, made a fortune, did you?” Zheng Tu’s fleshy face jiggled as he sliced meat and replied with a laugh.
“I can’t compare to you, Zheng Tu. I just made a little something, enough to afford meat,” Chen Mu said cheerfully, feeling quite elated.
His arms ached and he couldn’t continue training with the Flying Locust Stone. With nothing to do, he wandered near the County Government Office to see if the painter from the Wonderful Painting Workshop had really been arrested.
He ended up seeing the figure of the painter.
Chen Mu believed that feuds should be resolved rather than allowed to fester and thought of catching up with him to have a chat in private.
It wasn’t easy for him to have labored his painting ability to the Second Rank, and he couldn’t let it go to waste.
If the conversation went well, they might even be able to make a fortune together.
After all, if you can’t beat them, join them—that’s a very normal strategy.
It’s just that someone had thrown an old hemp sack at the street corner, and there were a few scattered thick branches of firewood on the ground.
Looking at the painter’s back, Chen Mu felt that an old friend deserved a surprise upon meeting.
So, he picked up the hemp sack and a wooden stick and silently approached from behind…
…
In the following days, the atmosphere in Qingshan County grew noticeably tense.
The lethargic Government Officials patrolled and visited the streets all day.
A large number of hoodlums were thrown into prison just to get a hint of a clue about the Wang family’s massacre.
Clearly, Captain Du was getting anxious.
At such times, Chen Mu didn’t dare to wander outside and chose to stay behind closed doors.
He ate meat and practiced with the Flying Locust Stone every day.
Thanks to the silver pieces sent by the painter as a return gift, he could sustain his meat consumption even if he ate it every day.
As his proficiency with the Flying Locust Stone improved,
Chen Mu noticed that it wasn’t just the accuracy that was increasing, but his power was gradually growing stronger too.
The most obvious change was on his arms, where he could now see distinct muscle contours!
He used to be skinny as a rail, and now he was growing muscles!
“Improvement in proficiency doesn’t just enhance skills!” Chen Mu excitedly pinched his firm forearm muscles.
With a thought, a grey wall materialized.
Writing: 1043/10000/Second Rank;
Painting: 157/10000/Second Rank;
Throwing: 3229/10000/First Rank;
“This is only at First Rank, if it reaches the transformative Second Rank…”
Chen Mu’s heart surged with excitement.
He had underestimated the grey wall!
The visible growth in strength made him addicted to training every day, unable to quit.
Until someone knocked on his door.
“Captain Lu?!” Chen Mu’s scalp tightened. Why have they come after me again?
They can’t really be grabbing me as a scapegoat, can they?
“The County Government Office has found a clue about the criminal and wants you to draw a wanted portrait,” explained Captain Lu with a smile.
Chen Mu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned to lock the door and then followed Captain Lu towards the County Government Office.
“Captain Lu, how did the County Government Office find the criminal?” Chen Mu asked curiously.
With a peculiar look, Captain Lu glanced at Chen Mu: “We have to thank Young Master Chen for the reminder.”
“The Wonderful Painting Workshop provided the recipe for the solution that removes paint. This led us to focus on the city’s medicine shops and eventually find the criminal’s trail.”
He had initially thought that Chen Mu was using the government to get back at the Wonderful Painting Workshop.
He hadn’t expected that the workshop would actually provide a key clue.
Feeling somewhat guilty in his heart, Captain Lu thought he had wronged a good person.
Chen Mu was dumbfounded.
The workshop actually had the recipe?!
I was just trying to give them a hard time!
How did it turn into a key clue?!
Immediately after, he thought of another critical issue.
If the workshop’s recipe was useful, that meant it was authentic.
Was their recipe the same version as his?
Could the grey proficiency wall be stealing someone else’s recipe?!