Chapter 131: Throwing Gold Around Like Dirt

With Sha Huanli standing right there, the innkeeper had no idea how to answer.

Xiang Ming lifted his gaze and slowly walked over to Niu Youdao. He raised a hand and placed it on Niu Youdao’s shoulder, spiritual power seeping from his palm and gathering there.

Niu Youdao turned his head and met Xiang Ming’s eyes. He could clearly feel the warning in that gaze.

Xiang Ming smiled at Sha Huanli. “Young Mistress, you misunderstand. How could a single painting possibly cost one hundred thousand gold coins? Mister Xuanyuan came to Star-Plucking City to conduct business and reached an agreement with us on a transaction worth one hundred thousand gold coins. Painting for the Young Mistress was merely included as part of the arrangement. We did indeed agree beforehand, however, that at that price he would paint only one portrait.”

Then he turned back to Niu Youdao. “Mister has taxed his mind today. Rest for now and come paint again tomorrow. We can slowly discuss the price for another portrait afterward.”

He intended to work out a consistent story with Niu Youdao later.

Sha Huanli was no fool. From the innkeeper’s reaction alone, she could already tell something was amiss. “Take your hand off him!”

Xiang Ming removed his hand from Niu Youdao’s shoulder.

Sha Huanli stared at Niu Youdao. “Mister Xuanyuan, tell me the truth. What exactly is going on? Rest assured. If anyone dares threaten you, I will uphold justice for you.”

Xiang Ming lowered his eyes and stood motionless, betraying nothing.

Niu Youdao said, “The City Master is overthinking it. It is just as Chief Steward Xiang said. The portrait was included in the transaction, and we agreed that I would paint only one. Naturally, another portrait would require a separate price.”

Once he learned that Sha Huanli was not a cultivator, he had understood. She could not truly control a Star-Plucking City crowded with cultivators. The person actually exercising the City Master’s authority here was probably this chief steward. Niu Youdao therefore needed no time to think before siding directly with Xiang Ming. Unless, of course, he had no intention of leaving Star-Plucking City alive.

Xiang Ming remained calm and expressionless.

Sha Huanli studied the three of them, then said, “Steward, I only hope you understand that there are still many people in this world who cannot even eat their fill!”

The fact that she could say this showed she still had doubts.

Xiang Ming was rather helpless. He thought, Everything you normally eat and use is the finest beneath Heaven. You simply don’t know it. What does one hundred thousand gold coins mean to you?

Outwardly, however, he bowed. “Young Mistress, rest assured. Every year we set aside money to aid the poor and do what little we can.”

Black Peony’s gaze darted from one person to another.

Sha Huanli pointed at the portrait. “Mister Xuanyuan, tell me honestly. How much did they actually pay you to paint this portrait? You are not allowed to deceive me. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences.”

Niu Youdao was thoroughly fed up. How had he run into such a foolish woman? She had suddenly and unexpectedly forced him into an awkward position from both sides.

“The portrait was included in a transaction already negotiated. There truly is no way to assign it an exact value.” Niu Youdao smiled bitterly.

Sha Huanli asked, “Then if I ask you to paint another portrait now, how much would you charge?”

Niu Youdao said, “City Master, I am not a professional painter and do not sell my art. I generally do not paint for others. If I absolutely must paint, then at least one thousand gold coins.”

Xiang Ming suddenly turned his head. “One thousand is too expensive. We provide all the materials, and it does not take you that much time.”

Niu Youdao asked, “Then what do you say?”

Xiang Ming raised one finger. “At most, one hundred!”

Niu Youdao shook his head. “No, no. Far too low!”

The two naturally fell into step, one singing and the other harmonizing as they haggled back and forth. They truly looked as though they were conducting business, putting on a remarkably convincing show. Sha Huanli looked from one to the other.

When Xiang Ming refused to budge, Niu Youdao suddenly cupped his hands toward Sha Huanli. “City Master, you judge the matter. Can some things really be measured only in materials and time?”

He pointed at the portrait on the easel. “City Master, do you also think this painting of mine is worth only one hundred gold coins?”

Sha Huanli looked at the portrait. She liked it very much. One hundred gold coins did indeed seem somewhat low. Still, when she turned back, she said, “One thousand is a little expensive. How about this? Paint another one, and I’ll give you five hundred gold coins. What do you say?”

“Well...” Niu Youdao looked troubled.

Xiang Ming said in a deep voice, “The City Master has spoken personally. Surely the City Master’s face is worth five hundred gold coins?”

Sha Huanli raised a hand to stop him, signaling him not to intimidate the man and to speak properly.

“Ah!” Niu Youdao sighed. “Since Chief Steward Xiang has put it that way, fine. Five hundred it is.”

Sha Huanli immediately looked perfectly satisfied, seemingly delighted to have saved five hundred gold coins. She ordered the portrait on the easel removed carefully so Niu Youdao would have space to paint another.

Niu Youdao had someone bring over a chair and made the maid sit properly upright. He did not bother arranging any special pose. Picking up the charcoal pencil, he began drawing in swift strokes.

Sha Huanli watched with great interest from the side, intent on seeing how Niu Youdao created this kind of portrait.

As the figure gradually took shape, Sha Huanli clicked her tongue in wonder. From time to time, she asked questions about the technique, and Niu Youdao gave a few simple explanations.

Seeing Sha Huanli enjoying herself, Xiang Ming smiled faintly from behind them, looking rather gratified.

When the portrait was finished, Niu Youdao set down the charcoal pencil. “Done!”

“...” Sha Huanli stared.

The paper contained only the maid sitting upright. Apart from the chair beneath her, everything around her was blank. There was no background at all, and the portrait itself was much smaller. Compared with Sha Huanli’s painting, one was vast and elaborate while the other was compact and simple.

She could not help asking, “Mister, why didn’t you paint a background?”

Niu Youdao looked every inch the petty merchant counting each coin. “Painting this way actually consumes a great deal of energy. For five hundred gold coins, this is as far as I can force myself to go.”

Xiang Ming stepped forward and looked at the picture. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

Fortunately, Sha Huanli was easygoing enough and did not haggle over the matter endlessly.

After watching the process, she was obviously eager to try it herself. She called another maid to sit opposite her, took up a charcoal pencil, and began experimenting.

As Xiang Ming turned to leave, he tipped his head slightly toward the innkeeper. The innkeeper extended a hand and invited Niu Youdao and Black Peony to leave.

When they reached the garden below, the innkeeper asked the two of them to wait briefly. He left for a while, and when he returned, he took a stack of gold drafts from his sleeve and handed them to Niu Youdao. “Mister, count them.”

Black Peony glanced over, her eyes heating slightly. She had seen the denomination printed on the drafts. Each was worth ten thousand gold coins, the largest denomination issued.

Niu Youdao counted them.

Twenty in all.

Two hundred thousand gold coins.

The corner of his mouth crooked into a smile. Chief Steward Xiang was a man of his word after all. One hundred thousand per portrait, two portraits for two hundred thousand. Not a coin was missing. All that haggling in front of Sha Huanli had been complete nonsense.

The innkeeper looked rather envious as he reminded him with a smile, “Chief Steward Xiang asked me to tell Mister Xuanyuan not to speak carelessly about things that should not be spoken of. Otherwise, you’ll only be inviting trouble upon yourself.”

“Understood.” Niu Youdao nodded, then signaled for Black Peony to go ahead.

After Black Peony left, Niu Youdao looked around. His fingers rapidly counted out ten gold drafts from the stack.

Half the money.

He stuffed the one hundred thousand gold coins straight into the innkeeper’s hands. “You’ve gone to a great deal of trouble, Innkeeper. A small token of appreciation.”

The innkeeper froze.

He had seen guests tip the staff at an inn before, but he had never seen anyone hand out a hundred thousand gold coins in one go. The sheer amount frightened him. He hurriedly tried to push the drafts back.

Niu Youdao pushed them toward him again. “Rest assured, Innkeeper. Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. I’m hardly going to talk nonsense and create trouble for myself.”

Those words warmed the innkeeper’s heart. The Inviting Moon Inn’s service was attentive, and tips from guests were normal. But this man’s generosity was frightening. The innkeeper still did not dare accept such an enormous gratuity and tried to return it again.

“A man cannot stand without trust. We agreed on one hundred thousand gold coins. I won’t take a single coin beyond that. As for the extra, please find an appropriate opportunity to ask Chief Steward Xiang how he wants it handled.”

At those words, the innkeeper finally closed his hand around the drafts. His sleeve naturally dropped over them, concealing the money, and he instinctively glanced around.

In truth, he understood perfectly well. Niu Youdao was leaving those one hundred thousand gold coins for him to dispose of.

For now, though, he wanted to see what Niu Youdao intended.

If the man later asked him to do anything harmful to this side, the innkeeper would immediately hand the money over to Xiang Ming. The two then walked away together in tacit understanding.

They descended the steps and passed through the archway, where Yuan Fang and Black Peony were waiting.

After the party exchanged farewells with the innkeeper, each side went its own way.

On the road back, Yuan Fang could not resist asking in a low voice, “Did he pay?”

Niu Youdao shot him a sidelong glance and warned both of them, “What happened today is not to be revealed to anyone.”

“Yes!” the two answered.

Once they returned to the guest room, Niu Youdao took out the remaining one hundred thousand gold coins in drafts. He divided them evenly, fifty thousand each, and handed them to Yuan Fang and Black Peony to keep on their persons for emergencies. He kept not a single coin for himself.

Of course, from Black Peony’s point of view, Niu Youdao had kept one hundred thousand gold coins for himself.

She had only just begun following him and already he was handing her this much money. Black Peony felt embarrassed and tried to refuse.

“If I tell you to take it, take it. There’s no need for all this nonsense.” Niu Youdao’s mild tone brooked no argument. “Some things only need to remain clear in your own mind. For now, there’s no need to explain too much to those brothers of yours. Knowing too much gives people too many thoughts. That is not necessarily good for them. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes.” Black Peony could only accept the drafts.

She also understood the implication behind his tone. He was likewise referring to her earlier eagerness to ingratiate herself with the City Master’s residence.

When she left Niu Youdao’s room and returned to her own, she was still sighing inwardly.

She thought of how difficult it had been for her to save even a little money over all these years. Then she looked at him: money came with a casual gesture, and he scattered it just as casually, treating it as though it meant nothing.

That breadth of mind and bearing left her ashamed of herself.

Back in her room, she hung the portrait and admired it.

Thinking that this painting was worth one hundred thousand gold coins, she suddenly froze.

She pulled out the fifty thousand in gold drafts and stared at them, eyes full of uncertainty.

She remembered the question Niu Youdao had asked her after finishing her portrait:

If this painting were sold to you for one hundred thousand gold coins, would you buy it? The thought sent a chill through her.

Could Master Dao have planned all of this from the beginning? Had he already known someone would pay one hundred thousand gold coins for a painting like this? She began carefully sorting through the entire sequence of events. She remembered Niu Youdao questioning her about Sha Huanli.

She remembered how, while drawing, he had specifically told Yuan Fang to have an attendant bring wine.

Then he had deliberately asked that attendant to take the portrait away to be mounted...

The more she thought about it, the clearer the trail became. The more she followed that trail, the more alarmed she felt.

He had plainly intended to approach Sha Huanli from the start.

Yet after successfully approaching her, he had deliberately maintained his distance.

Was this a strategy of loosening the reins to capture the prey?

Inside Niu Youdao’s room, Yuan Fang was still clutching the fifty thousand in gold drafts, turning them over and over in his hands with a delighted grin. Every so often, however, he muttered a complaint.

“Master Dao, how long have you even known her? You don’t know what kind of person she is. How can you give her that much money all at once?”

The words carried a hint of excluding outsiders. Yet Yuan Fang seemed to have forgotten that he himself had not been following Niu Youdao for very long either. Somehow, in no time at all, he had already decided with absolute conviction that he and Niu Youdao were the ones on the same side.

[End of Chapter 131]