Zhao Rang had long heard from Mrs. Liu that Qing Qing was detained in the mansion by the scribe-like city lord. Now that he asked him like this, of course Zhao Rang would not tell the truth.
"I won't bother you, Lord City Lord. If I put more effort into it, I think I can find it."
The city lord looked playful and asked:
"What if I still can't find it after a lot of effort?"
Zhao Rang did not answer immediately.
He shifted his gaze to the unfinished portrait in the study.
After a moment of silence, he said:
"If you can't find it like this, then you can't find it. When a person doesn't want to be found by others, there are many ways. Especially my friend is a capable person, so she has more ways than others! "
The city lord smiled and said:
"Young Master Zhao is so free and easy, I admire you!"
Suddenly, his expression became solemn again, he stood up and bowed to Zhao Rang.
"What do you mean, Lord City Lord?"
"Mr. Zhao's open-minded remarks just now have solved the knot that has been bothering me for several days."
As he spoke, he walked to the unfinished painting, stared at it with his hands behind his hands, and continued:
"I never knew how to write this face, and now I know how to do it."
Zhao Rang asked curiously:
"What should the City Lord do?"
The city lord turned around and said:
"do nothing!"
"do nothing?!"
Zhao Rang asked in surprise.
This answer seems to be no different from no answer.
"Yeah, just do nothing!"
The city lord said firmly.
"Mr. Zhao, you have said it yourself, if you have spent all your efforts and still can't find it, then stop looking. I can be regarded as a very knowledgeable person about this painting, but I still don't know how to put pen to paper on the other side, so I simply won't. painted"
"This is the solution you brought to me, Mr. Zhao, so I must say thank you just now!"
Zhao Rang smiled bitterly...
If you can't find someone, your life will be at a loss... It's completely incomparable with endless paintings!
Of course, it would be a good thing if the city lord really became open-minded because of what Zhao Rang said just now.
But Zhao Rang felt that this credit should not be attributed to him.
"Mr. Zhao, do you know? I have always wanted to pursue perfection and depict every detail in the painting vividly. However, now I understand that some things cannot be achieved through hard work."
The city lord said, sighed softly, and then continued:
"As you said, if a person doesn't want to be found by others, she will have many ways to do it. Similarly, if a painting doesn't want to be completed by itself, then no matter how hard I try, it will be in vain."
"Lord City Lord..."
Zhao Rang was about to say something, but was interrupted by the city lord waving his hand.
"I know, I might have been a little bit over the top before...but now I've figured it out. Since I don't want this painting to be completed, then I won't force it."
With that said, the city lord turned around and walked to the desk, picked up a pen, and sketched a few strokes on the unfinished painting. Then he put down his pen and nodded with satisfaction.
"That's good. Although it's still not a perfect work, at least I tried my best. The rest is left to the painting itself!"
Zhao Rang saw that the city lord was completely intoxicated in his own world, so he silently resigned.
The city lord did not stop him.
The moment Zhao Rang walked out of the study, he asked the manager to send him and Mrs. Liu to the door of the house.
"Mrs. Liu, Mr. Zhao, your hospitality is not good enough, please bear with me!"
The head steward's rudeness and sudden utterance of such refined words made people laugh.
Mrs. Liu gently raised the corners of her lips, leaving a charming smile on him. Then she and Zhao Rang turned around and walked towards the Buzhuang and the inn.
The two of them were silent all the way. Mrs. Liu returned to her bedroom in Buzhuang, and Zhao Rang also returned to her room in the inn.
It seems like everything changed tonight!
The only thing that hasn't changed is that the waiters at the inn are still extremely enthusiastic when they see Zhao Rang!
As soon as Zhao Rang returned to the room and sat down, two basins of hot water were filled and brought into the room. There was also a snow-white towel placed beside the basin.
One basin is for Zhao Rang to wash his feet, and the other basin is for washing his face.
But Zhao Rang neither washed his face nor his feet.
He didn't even take off his boots or clothes, he just straightened up on the bed, closed his eyes, and didn't know what he was thinking of writing.
Zhao Rang went to bed very late tonight, so he got up very late the next day, and had no idea what happened on the street early in the morning.
In the early morning of this day, Lan Shizi put on a brand new Taoist robe.
The style is exactly the same as what he wore before, but the materials and tailoring are very particular. He bought the materials from the largest cloth shop in Zhenhai City and asked the best tailor in Zhenhai City to tailor them.
This kind of material is produced in the south. Even Zhenhai City doesn't have it in stock. They always have to pay for it before ordering it. And there is no deposit required. If you want to buy it, you have to pay it in full, and it is non-refundable and non-exchangeable!
No one thought it was inappropriate to have such an overbearing clause, and everyone was spoiled for it!
There is only one reason, and that is that the material is really worth it!
This kind of material is almost the only one on the market. After being clenched into the size of a fist, and then letting go, it can be flattened out in an instant and restored to like new.
As for the tailor.
Just one side of the collar takes three days to make!
Lan Shizi was tall, and the robes he wore were more wasteful than others, so the old tailor took more than three months to make them!
Wearing this top-notch Taoist robe in the world, Lan Shizi walked out of his ancestral home where he had handed over the title deed and went straight to Hanshi.
When he reached the intersection of Hanshi, Lan Shizi stopped in a dignified manner.
He put his hands behind his back and raised his chin slightly, as if staring at the lively dry market ahead.
When he went to this stop, the street was even more lively than inside the dry market!
The big shopkeepers of the seven or eight stalls, the chief escort of the Han Market Escort Bureau, the boss of the bank, and the leader of the group of stewards all trotted out of their respective places, stood neatly behind Lan Shizi, and He was neither too close nor too far away, maintaining a distance of half a foot.
These people are all people who stick to their word in the dry market.
They have successful careers, rich money, numerous wives and concubines, and numerous children. He has gotten almost everything a person can get in Zhenhai City.
But now they had to get up from the concubine's soft chest so early, put on their clothes, and stood behind Lan Shizi like dogs.
Lan Shizi is waiting for someone.
The group of people behind are also waiting for someone.
Coincidentally, they were waiting for the same person!
Just when Lan Shizi's face was about to show an unhappy expression, this person appeared at the right time!
"Boss Hu! Thank you so much for getting up so early!"
Lan Shizi said calmly.
There was no emotion in his words, no expression on his face.
It’s as if this sentence is said just for the sake of saying it.
When Boss Hu heard this, he didn't answer or explain.
He walked up to Lan Shizi, stood three steps away from her, knelt down on his knees, and kowtowed three times in a row!
"Master, forgive me! I have been busy last night with the handover of the dry market. The master knows that the woman has been operating here for many years, so she has many diehards... It took a lot of time to clean them all out... …”
After hearing this, Lan Shizi still had no expression on his face and just asked:
"So have you finished cleaning up?"
It was obviously a cool morning, but big beads of sweat rolled down from Boss Hu's forehead...
"Not yet... not yet, but it will be soon! Master, please give me a few more days!"
Lan Shizi breathed out and said:
"one day."
Boss Hu seemed not to hear clearly and repeated what he just said:
"Master, please give me a few more days!"
"one day!!"
Lan Shizi raised his voice and said.
Boss Hu was speechless for a moment...
One day, isn’t it today?
You can't do something like this during the day, you can only wait until night.
But from nightfall to the next day, it can take up to two or three hours.
Trying to completely erase Mrs. Liu's traces in Hanshi in such a short period of time is like a dream!
"What? Are you having trouble?"
Lan Shizi asked coldly.
Boss Hu raised his head, looked into Lan Shizi's deep eyes, and his heart trembled. He knew that if he said the words "difficulty", Lan Shizi would probably replace him immediately.
And he who was replaced... was not sure whether he would be able to ride the evening breeze safely tonight.
Thinking of this, Boss Hu gritted his teeth and said:
"There is no difficulty! Master, don't worry, I will definitely clean up all those diehards within one day!"
Lan Shizi nodded slightly and said:
"Very good. Remember, I only look at the results, not the process. No matter what method you use, as long as you can complete it within one day, you will be considered successful."
After that, Lan Shizi continued to walk forward.
Boss Hu got up from the ground, rubbed his stiff knees, and waved to the people behind him, gesturing for them to follow.
Boss Hu doesn't feel any shame in kneeling in the street.
In comparison, he felt that he was much more promising than the people behind him!
Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't have such a chance.
But not everyone can win the favor of the master!
Lan Shizi walked at the front with his head held high, like a king inspecting his territory.
In the lapel on his chest was the business contract signed by Mrs. Liu last night.
Although the other party is signed by Boss Hu, how can a slave own private property? Even his life was a gift from his master. It was already a great honor to leave his name on the business contract. How could he dare to ask for anything else?
All Boss Hu thinks about is how to be a better and more perfect loyal dog. After all, there are people who are more capable and speak better than me. If you want to sit securely in this position, you have to use your brain more and put more thought into it!
"Boss Hu!"
After walking for a cup of tea, Lan Shizi stood still again and said without looking back.
Even though Boss Hu has said countless times that he cannot be called boss in front of his master, Lan Shizi still likes to be called that.
He is a loyal dog and a well-known big boss in Zhenhai City.
What else can satisfy a man's self-esteem more than this?
"Master, the little one is here!"
Lan Shizi looked at a fortune-telling stall in front of him.
Sitting behind the stall was a Taoist priest wearing Taoist robes like him.
Although this Taoist priest looks fake, compared with Lan Shizi, he is more like a Taoist priest than him.
Lan Shizi is too strong!
His arm alone was as thick as the Taoist priest's neck.
But he used to be a blacksmith, which seems to be the reason why his blacksmith shop is doing so well.
A strong blacksmith can always hammer out more impurities than other people with weak strength. Therefore, the quality of the ironware he forges must be much stronger and more durable than those produced by other shops!
"Did I say that from now on, there will no longer be such charlatans in the dry city? Especially those wearing Taoist robes!"
Boss Hu looked along and saw the Taoist priest closing his eyes and concentrating. On the stall in front of him were a bucket of bamboo sticks, an almanac, and two jade secrets.
"Master, I drove this guy away just once last night! But he said..."
Boss Hu hesitated to speak, as if he was taboo about something.
"What do you mean I have to guess?"
Boss Hu quickly waved his hand and said:
"Don't dare, don't dare... Master, he said he was a disciple of Baihe Mountain, so I didn't kill him. I didn't expect him to come back today! I'll drive him away right now!"
Even though there were many burly men behind him, Boss Hu still chose to take action himself.
There are not many opportunities to show your face in front of the master, so cherish every time!
Besides, he already knew the details of this person last night...
A person who can't even come up with a sentence and has to take two or three breaths for air, how strong are his ideas expected to be?
Lan Shizi didn't stop him.
There are many disciples in Baihe Mountain.
Except for the name and surname in his mind, everything else is no different from ordinary people.
In his opinion, all these Taoist priests who tell fortunes on the street and claim to be able to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune are all liars! Maybe you haven't even finished reading a Taoist canon, but after learning a little about Yin and Yang, you dare to talk nonsense without talking about secrets!
It is simply a disgrace to the Taoist sect!
Boss Hu has already stepped forward to completely solve this problem and the person who caused it.
Lan Shizi turned his gaze to the side.
Suddenly there was a commotion behind me!
You start ahead, then left, then right, all at the same time!
The people following him didn't know what was going on, and while they were still watching, they were knocked aside by the double-row carriage that rushed out!
The carriage was huge and the wheels were extremely heavy, so it must have been packed with a lot of stuff.
There were four such carriages on all sides, surrounding Boss Hu in the center.
The horse neighed all his life, and the coachman let go of the reins.
The ceilings of the carriages suddenly exploded, and six burly men jumped out of each carriage!
It turns out that the car is not filled with things... but people!
Twenty-four people with big shoulders, round waists, strong muscles, and hard skills holding steel knives!
These twenty-four people were like tigers coming down the mountain, carrying an unstoppable evil aura, heading straight towards Lan Shizi!
The steel knives in their hands shone coldly in the sunlight.
Every swing of the sword carried the force of thunder.
Lan Shizi's expression remained unchanged and his body did not move, but the aura around him instantly became fierce.
The people behind him also reacted at this moment.
Although they are usually pampered and well-off, how can they achieve their current status in a place like Zhenhai City without some effort?
For a moment, there was a flash of swords and shadows, and the energy was everywhere.
Lan Shizi still stood there, with his hands behind his back, as if the battle in front of him had nothing to do with him.
But his eyes became brighter and brighter, as if he was admiring something extremely interesting.
The offensive of these twenty-four people was like a wave, one wave after another, never stopping.
The cooperation between them is incomparable, and every sword swing can block all the opponent's escape routes, making it inevitable for people to avoid it.
But although those people behind Lan Shizi were at a disadvantage in numbers, they were all experienced in battles.
After a brief panic, they quickly stabilized their position and began to counterattack in an orderly manner.
For a time, the two sides fought inextricably.
But at this moment, Lan Shizi suddenly moved!
With a flash of his body, he appeared behind a big man, and then slapped out with a palm!
"boom!"
With a muffled sound, the big man didn't even have time to hum before he flew out and hit the ground hard, unable to get up again.
This time, it was like throwing a piece of ice into a hot oil pan, instantly boiling the battle to the extreme!
When the twenty-four people saw this, their attack suddenly became more intense.
No matter what, we can't let Lan Shizi leave here alive today!
However, Lan Shizi moved left and right, forward and back, and his attack speed became faster and faster. In the end, almost only an afterimage could be seen moving through the crowd.
"Bang bang bang bang..."
A series of muffled sounds sounded, and the twenty-four people fell down one by one.
Until my death, I still couldn’t understand how I lost...
When the last man fell, the whole street fell into a dead silence.
Everyone looked at this scene in stunned silence, as if they had seen a ghost!
Lan Shizi patted the dust on his hands, as if he had just done a trivial thing.
He turned to look at Boss Hu and said calmly:
"Is this what you achieved last night? It seems that I still overestimated you."
Boss Hu was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed as if he was pounding garlic:
"Master, have mercy! Master, have mercy! Let's deal with it now! There will never be a next time!"
Lan Shizi gave him a cold look, then turned and left.
After this battle, Lan Shizi's prestige, whether in Hanshi or Zhenhai City, will reach an unprecedented height, but no one will dare to question his status.
Boss Hu knelt on the ground and looked at Lan Shizi's back, his heart filled with fear and awe...
He knew that he was able to survive to this day entirely because Lan Shizi still needed his dog.
Once Lan Shizi no longer needs him, or feels that he is not obedient enough as a dog, his fate will definitely not be much better than those big men who fell to the ground.
Thinking of this, he quickly got up and directed his men to start processing the scene.
I must deal with the matter here as soon as possible, and then go to apologize to Lan Shizi.
Only in this way, he might be able to save his life...
