The Overlord of Puluo

Fu Taiyue, the best portrait painter in Puluo, had appeared on a mountain—a mountain that should not have existed in this territory.

Could he have painted this mountain?What level of cultivation does this old gentleman possess to be able to paint such a huge mountain? What’s his intention for painting a mountain in my territory? Did he notice that this territory is special, so he came here to seize it?

Li Banfeng looked at Fu Taiyue’s hands. Fu Taiyue’s sleeves were very long, and his hands were hidden inside them. Li Banfeng suspected that he was carrying some kind of weapon or enchanted artifact.

If we’re going to fight, I absolutely cannot let Fu Taiyue take the initiative.

Fu Taiyue looked at the painting on the desk and asked, ”Would you like to learn how to paint?”

Learn how to paint? Li Banfeng thought. He had once sought Fu Taiyue out to learn how to paint. Could it be that he still remembers that?

Fu Taiyue’s style consisted of freehand painting, an impressionistic style that was characterized by bold strokes instead of focusing on the details. However, Li Banfeng’s ability Golden House of Hidden Beauty required realism. Moreover, learning from him without any foundational skills had been too difficult and produced results too slowly, so Li Banfeng had ultimately decided not to learn how to paint from him. Fu Taiyue had been quite angry about it at the time.

Now, however, the old painter seemed to have changed his painting style. The portrait on the desk was extremely realistic. After having learned how to paint from the Blood-Drinking Pendulum and Hong Ying for some time, Li Banfeng could recognize many of the brush skills and techniques Fu Taiyue had used on it.

Li Banfeng decided he would first talk to Fu Taiyue about painting. He would use the Folly ability Dismounting Along the Slope, then he would be able to get the truth out of Fu Taiyue.

Li Banfeng said, ”I have a great fondness for painting. I would be grateful for your guidance, sir.”

Fu Taiyue stared at the painting on the desk and remained silent for a long while.

More time passed by, then Fu Taiyue seemed to have been struck by an idea. He picked up his brush and dipped it into the inkstone. His sleeves were so long that, even at this moment, Li Banfeng still could not see his hands. He only saw a brush extend from the sleeve and outline the man’s face in the painting.

The way Fu Taiyue handled the details of the painting was remarkable. With every stroke he added, the figure looked a little more alive.

As Fu Taiyue painted, he explained, ”The hair needs to drift a little. That way, it looks as though there is wind. A winter without wind will make people think it’s not cold enough. And if the winter doesn’t seem cold enough, then there is no point in painting this scarf. But the hair can’t drift too much, and the wind can’t be too strong. Otherwise, a person facing the wind wouldn’t be able to keep their eyes open.”

This was genuine wisdom. Li Banfeng had learned quite a lot from the old gentleman in just a few words.

The conditions had been met for Fu Taiyue. The slope had been set, and it was about time for him to get off the donkey.

Li Banfeng asked, ”Senior Fu, may I ask you... if I wanted to paint a mountain, what are the key points I should pay attention to?”

Several minutes passed, but Fu Taiyue did not answer.

Why isn’t he getting off the donkey when the slope had been set so smoothly? Does he have a way to guard against that Folly ability?

That seems unlikely. Firstly, that Folly ability isn’t that easy to guard against, and secondly, not many people even know about it.

Li Banfeng wanted to probe him a little further, but a cold wind blew in, and a dark cloud drifted across the sky. It looked as though it was about to rain.

Fu Taiyue put down his brush, and his expression changed slightly.

Did he realize that I was trying to pry information out of him, so now he’s decided to fight me? Should I fight him?

If this mountain really had been painted by Fu Taiyue, then that meant Li Banfeng was inside Fu Taiyue’s painted world. And of course, the painted world would undoubtedly be under Fu Taiyue’s absolute control.

Fighting Fu Taiyue here would put Li Banfeng at a severe disadvantage. Moreover, the Pocket Dwelling was not nearby; the Old Man was building a station in the mountain cave. That meant if Li Banfeng were to get caught in a critical moment, he would not have any way to escape.

”Goodbye,” Li Banfeng said simply and turned to leave.

Fu Taiyue called out from behind him, ”Leaving so soon? Won’t you learn for a little longer?”

”I’ve learned enough for today. I’ll go back and review what I’ve learned.”

Fu Taiyue picked up his brush again, his eyes fixed on the painting. ”I could tell at a glance that you’re a genius at painting. Learn from me diligently, and you’ll have a bright future.”

Li Banfeng smiled calmly. The way he put it, you’d think I was a complete failure right now.

”I’ll come visit again tomorrow,” Li Banfeng replied.

Then he descended the mountain.

Fu Taiyue continued painting on the mountain, speaking as he worked. ”The moment I first saw you, I knew you were a promising talent in this field. Painting is not easy to master. How many people spend their entire lives practicing diligently, only to become craftsmen and never make it as painters?

”He doesn’t understand the artistic realm here. The artistic realm depends entirely on talent. Without talent, no amount of hard work will help. You have talent, rare talent. As long as you follow me, whether in painting or in the Dao, you will certainly become a grandmaster of your generation, be it in painting or in your Daoist path!”

He made several embellishments to the painting. The young man in the painting now looked extremely moved, with tears streaming down his face.

Fu Taiyue sighed. ”You always say that you want to become a Literary Cultivator, but there are Literary Cultivators everywhere in this world. Do you really have the talent to be among them? You’re in the prime of your life. Don’t waste it, or you’ll regret it later. The Dao of Brushwork is your path forward. I, your teacher, would never deceive you!”

The young man in the painting looked at Fu Taiyue and nodded vigorously.

***

Back in the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng said, ”Sir, I have something to ask you.”

The Old Man did not answer.

Li Banfeng heard the faint sound of someone singing.

”Moving across plains and over mountains, chugging and puffing out smoke.

Add water and coal, and off we go. Once the train starts, there are no borders that can’t be broken~ ?”

He’s singing ”Ballad of the Train.”

The Gramophone said, ”The Old Man has been singing since early this morning. He hasn’t stopped once. Building the large station has made him so happy. Husband Dear, what did you want to ask him?”

”A Brushwork Cultivator has come to my territory. His level is quite high. He painted a huge mountain, and he can even paint inside the mountain. It’s impossible to tell which is the painting and which is the person.”

The explanation was somewhat convoluted, but the Gramophone understood perfectly. ”Brushwork Cultivators have used paintings to infiltrate other people’s homes before. Ying even experienced it before.”

Hong Ying spat, ”Bah! What do you mean, I experienced it? I saw it happen!”

”Then tell him about it!”

”When I was eleven, my second elder brother was preparing to sit for the imperial examination. Everything had already been arranged, so the imperial examination was little more than a formality, but he still had to read a little. He said he was afraid others would disturb his peace, so he moved to the eastern courtyard to study by himself.

”After some time, my second elder brother made no progress in his studies, while his health grew worse and worse. He couldn’t even walk two li[1] without becoming drenched in sweat.

”Father had a physician examine him. The physician merely said that my brother’s body was weak and that he needed more nourishment. One day, Mother made some soup and had me deliver it to him. When I entered his room, I discovered that he was climbing into a painting on the wall. Terrified, I hurried to tell Father. He had someone examine the painting, and only then did we learn that it was a Brushwork Cultivator’s ability.

”The painting had been given to my second elder brother by a friend, and it had been painted by a talented woman, Mu Yuejuan. Mu Yuejuan was both a Brushwork Cultivator and a Hedonism Cultivator. I don’t know how many young men she had lured with her paintings. If we’d discovered it any later, my second elder brother would have lost his life.”

Li Banfeng said, ”Be a bit more specific. What was inside that painting?”

Hong Ying shook her head. ”I never went inside. I only know that the painting depicted a huge residence. According to my second elder brother, there were seventy-two rooms inside, and each room contained an unparalleled beauty. He changed rooms every night, taking two and a half months to make a full round. When he returned to the first room, he found that the beauty had been replaced with a new one. It was such a wonderful place that he would have been fine even to have his life drained away.”

”What happened afterward? Where did the painting go? And where did Mu Yuejuan go?”

”Father burned the painting, but it was useless. Mu Yuejuan had more than a hundred similar paintings, and every painting was connected to the others. She could walk from one painting into another. No one could catch her at all. My brother thought he had slept with more than seventy beauties, but they had all been Mu Yuejuan. She had merely used her Brushwork ability to change her appearance.”

Li Banfeng smacked his lips. ”Such a good painting. What a shame to burn it.”

The Gramophone snapped, ”What are you planning to do?”

Li Banfeng explained, ”I just want to study the combat abilities of Brushwork Cultivators.”

The Gramophone scoffed. ”You can’t even tell a door from a window, and you think you’ll understand the abilities? Husband Dear, it’s troublesome enough that this Brushwork Cultivator has brought his painting into your territory. Whatever you do, don’t fight him inside his painting. You’d definitely suffer a huge loss.”

That was exactly what Li Banfeng had expected.

Hong Ying said, ”Then just burn his painting!”

The Gramophone replied, ”It’s not that easy to burn. Brushwork Cultivators all have ways to protect their paintings from fire. Besides, do you know where he painted the mountain? What if he painted it directly onto the ground? Are you going to burn the ground too?

”Husband Dear, if this Brushwork Cultivator means no harm, there’s no problem with letting him stay in your territory for a while. But if he means you harm, you’d better lure him out of the painting before making your move.”

Hong Ying asked, ”What if we can’t lure him out?”

The Gramophone chided her, ”Who is a useless brute like you? You know nothing except how to fight and kill. Husband Dear has his own methods!”

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then he took out a brush and some ink and began painting.

He painted for more than three hours, and the result was a portrait of a beauty.

Hong Ying praised him, ”Darling Qi, your painting skills has improved. If you send this painting to a studio, you could get a good price for it.”

Even the Blood-Drinking Pendulum, who had never appreciated ink paintings, praised Li Banfeng. ”This painting has spirit. Master, if you changed it to an oil painting, it would be just as captivating.”

Li Banfeng looked at the portrait and shook his head slightly. ”It’s still missing something. I think it lacks a bit of energy. I’ll go up the mountain again tomorrow and talk to him about painting.”

That night, Li Banfeng slept in the Pocket Dwelling with the Gramophone in his arms. A little after three in the morning, he suddenly woke up.

Seeing him covered in sweat, the Gramophone asked with concern, ”Husband Dear, what is it?”

”I want to go see that old painter again.”

The Gramophone was puzzled. ”Husband Dear, why do you want to see him in the middle of the night? Can’t you wait until tomorrow?”

”I’m worried he’ll leave during the night.”

The Gramophone laughed. ”There’s no distinction between day and night in New Lands. If he wants to leave, does he really have to wait until night? Besides, if he leaves, isn’t that exactly what you want?”

”That’s true.”

Li Banfeng lay back down, but he still felt restless. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Before long, he sat up again. ”I still have to go take a look. If he leaves, that’s fine. I’m just worried he’ll make a move against my territory.”

Li Banfeng took a bunch of enchanted artifacts with him and left the Pocket Dwelling. He ran swiftly toward the mountain.

Once he started running, Li Banfeng felt much calmer. He reached the foot of the mountain in the blink of an eye.

The moment he stopped, the Judge’s Brush said, ”Here that fast?”

I’m a level-eight Wanderlust Cultivator. Isn’t it normal for me to be fast? Is something like this really worth the Judge’s Brush saying three words over?

The Glove said, ”Boss, you really were fast today. I didn’t even dare move around in your pocket. I was afraid you’d fling me out.”

Li Banfeng flexed his knees and indeed felt an unusual strength in his legs.

Just as he was about to head up the mountain, he suddenly heard a clap of thunder.

Rumble!

Li Banfeng shuddered.

A grown man like me should not be frightened by thunder, so where did that shudder come from?

When he had first learned Wanderlust abilities, Li Banfeng still remembered the rickshaw driver’s teachings: the key to using Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity was to be attentive. Wanderlust Cultivators crossed countless mountains and rivers, and with every step they took, they had to weigh it against their own lives.

Li Banfeng did not sense any danger, but he decided not to go up the mountain that night. But if he didn’t go up the mountain, how could he find out what was happening with Fu Taiyue?

Nevertheless, since Li Banfeng only wanted to guard against a surprise attack, so he decided to make a circuit around his territory.

***

1. A kilometer. Normally, we would change the measurements to metrics, but Hong Ying is from ancient China, so leaving it as the Chinese measurement makes more sense. ☜