"Teacher, there is a guest looking for you."
The beautiful young woman turned around and called into the house.
The layout of the small building of Qin Bingji's house is different from that of Shu Guan's house. Behind the door is a narrow entrance hall with shoe racks. Next to it is the stairs leading to the second floor. Behind the entrance is a spacious living room.
Shu Guan looked inside and saw many young men and women sitting in the living room, laughing and talking animatedly.
Sitting on the sofa in the middle was an old man with a long beard and gray hair.
The old man is in his early seventies, wearing a Chinese-style short-breasted coat. He is tall and tall, with a rosy complexion. He looks as energetic as the young people.
Hearing the call of the beautiful woman, the old man turned sideways through the entrance hall, looked out the door, then stood up and walked over with a laugh.
"It turns out to be Xingyun! Come on, come on, come in and sit down."
This old man is Qin Bingji, a famous calligrapher and painter in Dahua.
Tan Bingji's calligraphy is very valuable, and it can be said to be worth a fortune in the market.
But his paintings are more valuable. Even a small half-foot sketch can easily start at tens of thousands of silver dollars outside.
Rich businessmen or dignitaries in Shanghai all like to collect calligraphy and paintings by Tan Bingji. If you don't have a few calligraphy and paintings by Tan Bingji at home, you will be embarrassed to invite people to your home.
Of course, it's not difficult to get Qin Bingji's calligraphy and paintings, as long as you pay.
Regarding this point, Tan Bingji has always been criticized by many colleagues in the painting circle. They think that this great calligrapher and painter is too self-controlled. Although his calligraphy and painting are good and his talent is high, he is too greedy for money.
Of course, this is the evaluation of someone who doesn't know Tan Bingji well.
If you are a friend who knows Tan Bingji, no one would say that Tan Bingji is greedy for money. Who told him that he has seven wives and sixteen children to support?
Yes, Tan Bingji has been married seven times in total. The longest marriage lasted for ten years and was the first wife he married at the order of his parents in his hometown. The shortest marriage only lasted three months. He brought back a white woman from a study tour in the Western Continent. However, after returning to Dahua, it didn't take long for the two to break up due to personality differences.
Tan Bingji is such a great painter who, although not greedy for money, is very "lascivious", but he has always called himself "romantic".
It was so romantic that just after his seventieth birthday a few years ago, he married another female student of his who was only twenty years old.
[In view of the general environment,
Of course, whether it is romantic or lustful, Tan Bingji has one thing that he is still responsible for, that is, his previous six wives and the children born to those six wives are all supported by him, including the one who is only married to him. It lasted for three months and then returned to the white woman in the Western Continent. As usual, Tan Bingji would send a large amount of alimony to her every year.
Such a person certainly needs money, so it is understandable that he sells words and paintings without restraint.
At this time, Tan Bingji walked out of the living room, with a cheerful smile on his rosy face, and his whole body was filled with the energy of a young man. He was indeed an old man whose age could easily be forgotten.
The beautiful young woman who opened the door just now smiled at her teacher and then returned to the living room.
"Xingyun, come in and sit down!"
Tan Bingji stood at the door and waved to Shu Guan.
"No, Mr. Qin, you have guests at home, so I won't go in and disturb you."
Shu Guan glanced at the woman's back thoughtfully, then smiled at Tan Bingji and said.
"It doesn't matter, they are all my students. They are here to gather at home today. I met Lao Qian on the road the day before yesterday. According to what he said, Xingyun, your divination is very accurate. I would like to ask Xingyun to help me with your divination."
"If Mr. Tan wants to tell his fortune, he can come to my horse racing studio. I can tell Mr. Tan's fortune for free, but today I didn't bring any fortune-telling tools. I came to see Mr. Tan today because I originally wanted to ask for a painting. If Mr. Tan is not free, I'll come back another day.
. "
Shu Guan thought about it and felt that it would be troublesome for others if he didn't go in. Moreover, it was Tan Bingji's students at the party, so it would be embarrassing to go in by himself.
"What painting do you want?"
Tan Bingji didn't force it anymore, but still asked casually.
"I want Mr. Qin to draw a portrait for me."
Shu Guan said quickly:
"But this time, Mr. Qin, you will charge whatever amount you should charge."
"Portrait painting? Do you want a painting of a beautiful lady, a Taoist painting or a painting of a Taoist scholar?"
"Old Tan has misunderstood. What I want is for me to describe a person's appearance, and then ask Elder Tan to draw it for me."
Shu Guan explained that this was the reason why he came to see Qin Bingji at this moment.
Because he didn't have a photo of Yuan Yingzi, he thought about whether he could ask Qin Bingji, a master of painting, to draw a portrait of Yuan Yingzi for him.
Shu Guan knew that there were some Taoist techniques that could accurately draw a person's appearance, and also had 3D effects. The problem was that he didn't know any of these Taoist techniques.
Moreover, the kind of portrait that was painted using Taoism was not suitable to be handed over to Du Wenqiang.
But after hearing this, Tan Bingji shook his head and said:
"I can't draw this kind of portrait. I'm good at Dahua's traditional Chinese painting, and what I pursue is freehand brushwork. A portrait like yours requires a sketch from the Western School. Although I've learned some sketching techniques, I can't do it after all. Very good at it.”
Shu Guan heard this, with a look of disappointment on his face.
Tan Bingji patted his head, as if he remembered something.
"...By the way, there happens to be someone here who can help you."
Then he turned back and shouted into the house:
"Ruijun, come here for a moment."
So the extremely beautiful young woman just now was chatting with other young people, with a bright smile on her face, and seemed to be having a great time. When she heard Tan Bingji's call, she turned her head and glanced this way. , then walked over.
"This is my student Yang Ruijun. Although she is studying Chinese painting with me now, she studied Western painting for many years. She is much better than me in sketching techniques. Maybe she can help you."
This beautiful young woman also walked up to the two of them and asked with a smile:
"Teacher, what do you want me to do?"
"This is Shu Xingyun. Xingyun wants to draw a portrait through dictation. You are good at sketching, so just help him draw it."
The woman named Yang Ruijun glanced at Shu Guan first, then frowned slightly and said:
"If I just rely on dictation, I'm afraid I won't be able to draw well."
"Anyway, let's try it first."
Tan Bingji waved his hand and said:
"There are a lot of people down there, so you two should go directly to my studio on the second floor to paint."
"Xingyun, go up with Ruijun! As for the reward, you can just ask her yourself."
"Then I'll trouble this Miss Yang."
Shu Guan smiled and nodded towards the woman.
Yang Ruijun also smiled and nodded at him, then turned and went up the stairs. Shu Guan followed her up the stairs.
The hem of the woman's skirt is swaying and her waist is slightly twisted, and an infinitely beautiful scenery is revealed in front of her eyes.
So Shu Guan could only lower his head and walk upward.
At this time, Yang Ruijun happened to turn his head and saw Shu Guan who was lowering his head. He seemed to have guessed something and couldn't help but smile.
After going up to the second floor, Yang Ruijun led Shu Guan to the innermost room in the corridor and opened the door.
Behind the door is a spacious studio with floor-to-ceiling glass windows on both sides. The sunlight from outside fills the entire studio, and the light is excellent. The tables and walls in the studio are filled with various completed or unfinished paintings. Completed calligraphy and painting, as well as various large and small brushes, paper and inkstones.
However, in a corner of the studio, there are some easels, canvases, and various paints used in Western paintings.
Yang Ruijun walked to that corner and propped up the wooden
Then he clamped a piece of white paper on the wooden frame, then found a pencil from the side, and two chairs, one in front of the wooden frame and one by the side.
"Mr. Shu, please come here."
She sat on the chair in front of the wooden frame, pointed to the chair next to her and waved to Shu Guan.
Shu Guan walked over and sat down on the chair next to her.
The two chairs were about one meter apart. When Shu Guan sat down, a refreshing fragrance penetrated Shu Guan's nose.
"I need to make changes at any time according to Mr. Shu's description later, so Mr. Shu had better sit here. If you feel something is wrong, you can remind me at any time."
Yang Ruijun said this as if to explain.
Shu Dian nodded to express his understanding.
...As long as you don't care...
He groaned inwardly.
"Mr. Shu, I wonder what kind of person you want to draw."
Then Yang Ruijun looked at him and said.
"A woman."
Yang Ruijun's eyes flashed, he covered his mouth and chuckled:
"It seems that what Mr. Shu wants to draw is his beloved."
Shu Guan shook his head and said:
"No, but that woman is indeed a very important person to me."
"Oh, then Mr. Shu, please describe her appearance."
…
"No, no, her eyebrows should be longer."
"is that so?"
"Well, if you raise the corners of your eyes a little higher...it looks a bit like that."
"Her lips are very thin and shaped like a bow."
As Shu Guan narrated, Yang Ruijun held a pencil and quickly sketched lines on the paper.
At this time, her expression was extremely focused and her movements were unusually graceful. The sunlight outside the window shone on her delicate face. Shu Guan, who was sitting next to her, looked from the side and felt that the scene in front of him was a beautiful scene. Beautiful picture.
Soon after, a woman's head appeared on the drawing paper.
"How about it?"
Then Yang Ruijun turned his head and asked Shu Guan.
Shu Guan frowned and looked at the woman's head on the drawing paper.
To be honest, the facial features of this woman's avatar are very similar to those of Minamoto Sakurako, but the combination of these facial features makes it impossible to say what the relationship is with Minamoto Sakurako.
This is the difficulty of describing a portrait out of thin air.
The appearance of a person is actually very strange. Even if the facial features are exactly the same, if the distance and position between the facial features are slightly changed, it will look like a completely different person.
"Probably... there are two or three points similar."
Seeing how seriously the beautiful woman was painted just now, Shu Guan didn't want to offend her too much, so he said this.
Yang Ruijun also frowned, then bit his lip and said:
"Then let's continue."
…
So another hour passed. At this time, the sunlight outside the window was almost falling, falling from the eaves of the distant house.
After countless communications and changes, the feet of the two were filled with pieces of discarded drawing paper by Yang Ruijun.
"How about this time, is it similar?"
Yang Ruijun pointed to a new portrait of a woman he had just painted and looked at Shu Guandao with a hopeful look.
Shu Guan sighed in his heart.
To be honest, the portrait of the woman on the drawing paper on the wooden stand at this moment is really similar to Yuan Yingzi, and Yang Ruijun can draw it to this level, which is already quite impressive.
This beautiful young woman not only has excellent painting skills, but also has great perseverance. She took the trouble to ask Shu Guan just now and her perseverance in revising every detail made Shu Guan feel a little ashamed.
It's a pity that such a portrait, which is only 50 or 60% similar, is of no help in finding the whereabouts of Yuan Yingzi. There is no point in handing this portrait to Du Wenqiang.
righteous.
Just looking at the fine beads of sweat on the tip of the nose of the woman next to him and the slightly tired eyes, Shu Guan showed a smile on his face and said:
"Ms. Yang, you are really good. This time you painted a very similar picture."
As he spoke, Shu Guan was thinking that he could only think of other ways.
Yang Ruijun looked into his eyes with a look of disappointment on his face.
"Still doesn't look the same?"
she asked.
Shu Guan smiled bitterly. This woman seemed to be the kind of person who was very sensitive to other people's emotions. She had actually concealed it very well, but she was still aware of her true thoughts.
"Ms. Yang..."
Shu Guan was about to say that he would forget it for today.
"Mr. Shu."
Yang Ruijun interrupted him directly. She stared at Shu Guan's face and asked seriously:
"Do you really want to draw this woman?"
Her tone sounded like she had just made up her mind.
Shu Guan was startled for a moment, then nodded subconsciously.
"Okay, Mr. Shu, please close your eyes now and try to remember what that woman looks like."
Shu Guan tried his best to look at her with a puzzled expression.
"Don't ask why, just do as I say."
Yang Ruijun said so firmly again.
So Shu Guan closed his eyes and began to try hard to recall Yuan Yingzi's appearance.
Suddenly there was a slight spiritual energy fluctuation in the surroundings.
...It turns out that I am preparing to use Taoism...
As soon as Shu Guan thought about it, Yang Ruijun's soft voice came to mind.
"Don't think about other things, just focus on what that woman looks like."
Shu Guan quickly turned his attention back to Yuan Yingzi's appearance.
At this time, Yang Ruijun was holding a pencil in his hand, making a few empty strokes in the air, then gently tapping Shu Guan's forehead with the end of the pen, then pulling back, and immediately started drawing quickly on the drawing paper.
Shu Guan felt a chill on his forehead, and then a strange feeling arose in his soul. That is, the memory about Yuan Yingzi's appearance just now seemed to be separated from his soul and flew out of his mind. Got out.
Shu Guan resisted the urge to open his eyes and kept his eyes tightly closed.
About half a minute later, Yang Ruijun's voice came to mind again.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now."
Shu Guan quickly opened the door as instructed and saw that the pencil in Yang Ruijun's hand had just been taken back from the drawing paper.
And a portrait of a woman has reappeared on the drawing paper.
She has a beautiful nose and phoenix eyes, lips as thin as cherry blossom petals, and a face as pure as a girl's, yet looking down at the world with a bit of pride.
The appearance of Minamoto Sakurako is strikingly the same, and even when I think about it, I can see the unique temperament of Minamoto Sakurako.
Shu Guan was like an ordinary person, and he let out an incredible exclamation.
"Ms. Yang, how did you do that? It's so similar, no, no, no, it should be said that they are exactly the same."
But to be honest, Shu Guan was indeed a little surprised.
…Take away your memories and reproduce them on paper? This is indeed a wonderful Taoist art.
As for the fact that Yang Ruijun was actually a practitioner, Shu Guan had already recognized Yang Ruijun when he opened the door for him more than two hours ago, so he was surprised at that time.
Yang Ruijun did not hide the fluctuations in her spiritual energy, perhaps because she did not have a way to contain her energy.
Moreover, Yang Ruijun's cultivation level is not low, and he has already reached the level of knowing the second floor building for the first time.
Of course, Shu Guan's identity as a practitioner was impossible for Yang Ruijun to figure out.
So at this time, Shu Guan still disguised himself as an ordinary ninja and looked at Yang Ruijun with stunned eyes, but he didn't
There was so much panic.
It is impossible for an ordinary person to understand what happened just now.
Perhaps this is why Yang Ruijun dared to use Taoism in front of him so blatantly.
"I am the last student that Teacher Qin personally admitted was the best. How could I not be able to draw it?"
Yang Ruijun showed a proud and cute smile, but the tiredness in her eyes was a bit stronger than before.
Then she turned her gaze to the drawing paper, a flash of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she murmured:
"She is so beautiful, Mr. Shu, is she really not your lover?"
"No, it's just someone who is very important to me. I have to find her!"
Shu Guan said this indifferently, and then changed the topic.
"Ms. Yang, I really want to thank you for helping me draw this portrait today."
He thanked her sincerely.
Indeed, Yang Ruijun's initial efforts were fully worthy of her teacher Tan Bingji's explanation. In fact, there was no need to use Taoism to draw Yuan Yingzi's true appearance.
But she did it in the end. Underneath this woman's beautiful and elegant appearance, she had an old-fashioned and warm-hearted character.
"Ms. Yang, I don't know how much compensation you need, but I can give it to you now."
Then Shu Guan said this.
Yang Ruijun shook his head and said:
"No need, I'm not Teacher Qin. I'm not that short of money. Painting is just my hobby... You can't tell Teacher Qin this."
Yang Ruijun winked at Shuguan playfully, and then said:
"Aren't you a fortune teller? Why don't you tell me your fortune now and we'll be even."
