Chapter 129: Sha Huanli

“No trouble, no trouble!” The innkeeper smiled as he presented the scroll with both hands. “The painting has already been mounted. Mister Xuanyuan, have a look and see whether you’re satisfied.”

Niu Youdao accepted it, unrolled it, and inspected it briefly before nodding. “Not bad.” He then passed it to Black Peony. “It’s mounted.”

Black Peony eagerly took it and began admiring it, her soft gaze clinging to the portrait for a long time, reluctant to move away.

Yuan Fang leaned over again as well, clicking his tongue in admiration.

Niu Youdao turned and noticed that the innkeeper was still standing nearby, apparently with no intention of leaving. Surprised, he asked, “Innkeeper, is there something else?”

“Heh-heh, there is indeed a small matter. Ah, I’m simply not sure whether it’s appropriate to ask.” The innkeeper smiled with a touch of reserve.

“If there’s something, say it. No harm in speaking plainly.”

“Very well.” The innkeeper inclined his head slightly and glanced at the scroll in Black Peony’s hands. “By rights, the Inviting Moon Inn shouldn’t disturb its guests... Here’s the thing. Mister Xuanyuan’s painting style is truly unlike anything ordinary. We would like to ask Mister Xuanyuan to paint another portrait for someone. I wonder whether you would be willing?”

Black Peony, who had been admiring her portrait, seemed suddenly struck by something. Her head snapped up, eyes flickering as she stared at the innkeeper.

Niu Youdao hesitated briefly, then shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I don’t paint people I don’t know.”

An anxious look flashed through Black Peony’s eyes. As she rolled up the scroll, she slowly moved to Niu Youdao’s side and kept signaling him with her eyes.

“Uh...” The innkeeper froze for a moment, then smiled again. “We wouldn’t ask Mister Xuanyuan to paint for nothing. There will be compensation.”

Niu Youdao seemed not to notice Black Peony’s hints. He declined politely. “Innkeeper, if there’s nothing else, I won’t see you out. I still have matters to attend to.”

Black Peony could no longer hold herself back. “Master Dao, the innkeeper came personally. His sincerity is plain to see. Why not make an exception this once?”

The innkeeper’s gaze fell on her face. Seeming to understand something, he chuckled. “A sensible woman. Mister Xuanyuan might consider Black Peony’s suggestion. No need. See the guest out!”

Without another word, Yuan Fang extended a hand toward the door. “Please.”

Black Peony was so anxious she nearly stamped her foot. The innkeeper’s words had all but confirmed her guess. How could they let such an opportunity pass? She wanted to persuade Niu Youdao again, but one cold look from him stopped her.

The innkeeper, however, was in no hurry to leave. Instead he asked, “Mister Xuanyuan, don’t you even want to know whom you would be painting?”

Niu Youdao replied calmly, “Innkeeper, whom I would be painting has nothing to do with it. The Inviting Moon Inn has its rules, and I have mine. Please do as you wish.”

Now it was the innkeeper’s turn to lose his composure. This was an assignment from above. If he failed to carry it out, he would be the one in trouble. He cupped his hands. “Mister Xuanyuan, I sincerely invite you. If you have any conditions, name them. Everything can be discussed.”

Niu Youdao looked as though the pestering had finally worn out his patience. “If you want me to paint, fine. One hundred thousand gold coins per portrait. Think it over yourself.”

Yuan Fang blinked. He and Black Peony stared at one another.

The innkeeper was speechless.

One hundred thousand gold coins for a painting like this?

“What? Too expensive?” Niu Youdao spread both hands. “Then there’s nothing I can do. It’s like your inn. A single day costs ten gold coins, and there’s no room for bargaining. Those willing come of their own accord.”

The innkeeper had never seen anyone fleece people this ruthlessly. Anger rose in him, but since he was the one asking a favor, he could not afford to offend the man. He forced a dry smile. “In that case, allow me to go back and ask.”

Niu Youdao gestured for him to do as he pleased. The innkeeper cupped his hands and took his leave.

The moment he was gone, Black Peony said, “Master Dao, if the innkeeper himself came running over for the sake of one painting, whoever is behind this must be someone of real standing within the inn.”

Niu Youdao gave a quiet “Oh.” “Could it actually be Sha Huanli, City Master of Star-Plucking City?”

Black Peony nodded repeatedly. “Master Dao, that is absolutely possible. Even if it isn’t her for the moment, if some other steward in the city obtains something this remarkable, they won’t keep it hidden. Sooner or later Sha Huanli will certainly hear about it. Think about it, Master Dao. If you can make a friend through painting and establish some connection with Sha Huanli, who beneath Heaven would dare refuse you a measure of face afterward?”

Niu Youdao glanced sidelong at her. The thinking of people at the bottom was precisely the thinking of people at the bottom. Too many things seemed self-evident to them, and they imagined matters far too simply.

At Sha Huanli’s level, in the eyes of someone with that kind of power and status, what the hell did a painter she could summon at will and dismiss at will amount to? Did Black Peony truly think one painting could somehow win a deep friendship with someone like that?

Even taking ten thousand steps back, if Sha Huanli simply forced you to paint, would you dare refuse?

He wanted to ask Black Peony whether someone at Sha Huanli’s level could possibly lack acquaintances skilled in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She had probably seen experts in every refined art under the sun. Among such people, were there any who could truly claim a friendship with Sha Huanli?

Perhaps there were.

But no genuine friendship like that would ever be built from a painting or a piece of calligraphy alone. If a real friendship existed, the cause would certainly lie in something beyond the artwork—status and position, perhaps, or personal affinity. It would never be because of a single painting.

Anyone who thought painting Sha Huanli’s portrait gave him the right to wave her name around was simply asking for trouble. The moment Sha Huanli’s level of influence became involved, someone would immediately probe the depth of the supposed connection and test exactly what sort of relationship you truly had with her. There were two kinds of face.

One kind could settle trouble. The other could win flattery and envy and bring a few small benefits.

The first was real face, backed by strength and confidence. The second was empty, something people used to deceive themselves. It could not last. The moment a serious matter arose, its true worth would be exposed.

There were plenty of clear-eyed people beneath Heaven. Those with real strength and confidence would not fear you merely because you had once painted a portrait for Sha Huanli.

Black Peony’s horizons had not yet reached that level. Explaining all this now would take too much breath, so Niu Youdao could not be bothered. He merely said, “If it really is Sha Huanli, then earning some money and making her acquaintance will be enough. Don’t think too far beyond that for now.”

Black Peony looked almost heartsick and did not know what to say to him.

Sha Huanli!

Granddaughter of Luo Qiu, one of the nine supreme experts beneath Heaven!

How many people would kill for an opportunity to form a connection like this, yet he did not even take it seriously?

She simply did not believe Master Dao’s background could possibly reach Luo Qiu’s level.

The innkeeper went through an archway behind the inn and quickly climbed one flight of high steps after another until he reached a garden bursting with flowers.

A white-haired old man in green robes stood there with pruning shears, trimming a large potted plant. Every so often he stepped back several paces to inspect its overall shape. Whenever he found something unsatisfactory, he moved forward again and made a few more cuts.

This man was Xiang Ming, steward of the Star-Plucking City Master’s residence.

The innkeeper stepped forward and saluted respectfully. “Chief Steward.”

Xiang Ming did not turn around. Still studying the potted plant, he said, “Once the man comes, take him to see the Young Mistress.”

The innkeeper looked embarrassed. “Chief Steward, he refuses to come.”

Only then did Xiang Ming turn. “Why?”

The innkeeper smiled bitterly. “He says he doesn’t paint people he doesn’t know. I invited him again and again, and he finally named his condition: one hundred thousand gold coins for a single portrait!”

“Heh! He certainly knows how to open a lion’s mouth.” Xiang Ming gave a smile that never reached his eyes, then waved a hand. “The Young Mistress likes it, so there’s no helping that. One hundred thousand it is. Don’t let the Young Mistress know about the money. Invite him over.”

“Yes.” The innkeeper accepted the order, inwardly clicking his tongue.

He was about to turn away when Xiang Ming added mildly, “Keep an eye on every move that man makes. Be diligent about reporting back.”

The innkeeper paused. “Chief Steward, do you suspect there’s something wrong with him?”

“I don’t know whether there’s anything wrong with him. Money is a small matter. But there are always people who don’t know whether they want to live or die, forever thinking up some new way to approach the Young Mistress. He painted a portrait—how did it just happen to land in front of your eyes?” Xiang Ming spoke without expression and resumed snipping at the plant.

“Yes. I understand.” The innkeeper bowed thoughtfully and hurried away.

Before long, he was back outside Niu Youdao’s room, knocking and entering once more.

“Haha, Mister Xuanyuan, the person who wants the portrait has agreed. They’re willing to pay one hundred thousand gold coins as your fee.” The innkeeper entered with cupped hands and announced the good news, looking almost as though he were congratulating Niu Youdao on a windfall.

Black Peony’s face lit up. She hurriedly looked at Niu Youdao, hoping he would not create another complication.

Yuan Fang’s spirits soared.

One hundred thousand gold coins. Good heavens!

Niu Youdao studied the innkeeper’s reaction for a moment. After a brief silence, he sighed. “It seems I no longer have any reason to refuse.”

“Please!” The innkeeper extended a hand in invitation, then turned to Black Peony as well. “You come too. Bring the portrait with you. The person who wants to be painted would like to see whether the likeness is truly that accurate.”

Since Niu Youdao did not object, Black Peony naturally complied. The group left the room and headed straight toward the gardens behind the inn. At the archway and steps, however, the guards allowed only Niu Youdao and Black Peony to pass. Yuan Fang scratched his neck. He had been stopped outside.

The splendor of the castle-like complex hardly needed comment. To create a place this exquisite amid a landscape surrounded by Gobi desert must have required staggering wealth and resources.

The party crossed the gardens and entered an elegant pavilion. Someone asked them to wait while another person went to inform the principal.

Both Black Peony and the innkeeper appeared somewhat restrained. Niu Youdao, by contrast, clasped his hands behind his back and wandered around slowly, admiring the surroundings.

The pavilion had upturned eaves, carved beams, and painted rafters, all exquisitely worked. Niu Youdao studied the carving closely, even tracing the chisel marks with his fingers as he considered how the craftsman must have worked the blade. It was much like studying a model of brush calligraphy: someone who understood the craft could tell how the writer had set down the brush, turned the stroke, and lifted away at the end.

The innkeeper quietly watched Niu Youdao’s every movement and muttered inwardly that the man looked like one of those art-obsessed eccentrics.

Before long, several maids appeared at the far end of the corridor surrounding a woman in pink as she approached with measured steps.

Niu Youdao glanced at Black Peony’s and the innkeeper’s reactions and knew the principal had arrived. He examined the newcomer carefully.

She was indeed much as Black Peony had described: ordinary in face and figure, though her skin was fair. Every small movement carried an elegant air, and her expression was gentle.

There was no mistake.

The woman approaching was Sha Huanli, City Master of Star-Plucking City.

When Sha Huanli arrived, the innkeeper and Black Peony cupped their hands in greeting. Niu Youdao followed suit, making the gesture in passing.

Sha Huanli lifted a hand to dispense with the formalities. Her gaze remained fixed on Black Peony as she asked gently, “The painting. Let me see it again.”

Someone immediately took the portrait from Black Peony and unrolled it for her.

Sha Huanli looked at the portrait, then at Black Peony, comparing them repeatedly. At last she exclaimed softly, “Its artistry rivals nature itself. It truly captures the likeness!”

Then she turned her head toward Niu Youdao. “This must be Mister Xuanyuan, the artist?”

[End of Chapter 129]