Xu Chang’an hadn’t actually systematically learned the art of Danqing; he merely picked up a bit of technique through "exposure" at Muyu Peak.
Yet, even with his simple technique, a few strokes were enough to vividly capture Zhu Pingniang’s coquettish and vulgar looks, showing just how much Zhu Pingniang had "fallen."
Li Zhibai, on the verge of facing his heart refinement, looked at the woman in the painting undergoing heart refinement, feeling a pressure in his chest he couldn’t express for a while.
A decent girl, refined her heart into this shape.
She remembered that although Zhu Tongjun practiced the Charm Technique of the Hehuan Sect, she never seemed vulgar. But now...
Li Zhibai remained silent for a while, the fluctuations in her eyes slowly subsiding.
She suddenly realized something.
Zhu Tongjun had undergone such a significant change in the past two years. Does this mean she found a path to the future through heart refinement?
Tong Jun is a fairy name.
Now that she has discarded the name Zhu Tongjun, is it a sign she wants to let go of the past?
Zhu Pingniang... Li Zhibai thought the name indeed carried a strong air of dust and worldly things. If this was the result of refining heart through Charm Technique, she had nothing to say.
"Unfortunately, she is still young. Even if she has passed the worldly heart-refinement hurdle of Charm Technique, she’s still quite some way from the Qiankun Realm..." Li Zhibai murmured.
Whom are they talking about?
Xu Chang’an glanced at the Daoist nun before him, thinking that in terms of demeanor, Steward Zhu was much more mature.
"What are you thinking?" Li Zhibai looked at Xu Chang’an.
"You said Steward Zhu is still young..." Xu Chang’an didn’t hide his thoughts.
"I am indeed older than her." Li Zhibai knew Xu Chang’an’s meaning, yet she wasn’t annoyed. In her eyes, Zhu Pingniang was indeed young, with a long road ahead of her.
Xu Chang’an nodded and didn’t speak further.
"I’ll keep this painting..." Li Zhibai enveloped the painting with a layer of Spiritual Qi and then put away the "Courtesan" painting beside her Fairy Painting.
Xu Chang’an had no objections, of course.
Li Zhibai thought of the courtesan in Xu Chang’an’s painting.
Everyone has their own path. She wouldn’t judge others’ paths as good or bad because she hadn’t even figured out her own path.
It’s just... she originally didn’t need to refine her heart, but now her mental realm is in disarray too.
Li Zhibai couldn’t help but think how she would turn out if she refined her heart... would she become like Zhu Pingniang?
Xu Chang’an stood quietly aside, waiting for Li Zhibai to "contemplate the past," and was caught off guard when called by name.
"Tell me... what differences do you see between Miss Zhu and me?" Li Zhibai listened to the sound of the rain, her thoughts inscrutable.
Her question was headless and tailless, making it difficult to answer.
But Li Zhibai knew Xu Chang’an’s nature. This child would say whatever came to his mind when facing her, which is why she asked.
"Teacher..." Xu Chang’an thought for a moment and honestly said, "You do resemble Senior Zhu a bit."
"Do I... I think so too." Li Zhibai replied, took a sip of the by now cold tea but didn’t pursue the question further.
She didn’t need Xu Chang’an to say it; she knew the two of them were indeed alike.
Though she appeared to be a part of the Immortal Sect in Xu Chang’an’s eyes, she didn’t use the sect’s conveniences, drank ordinary tea, wore slightly worn-out clothes, and lit an oil lamp, as if she’d set herself apart from the sect.
Zhu Pingniang, instead of taking on a high position in the Immortal Sect, became a madam in some brothel in Beisang City, worrying about the girls’ daily affairs, clutching a ledger to live day by day.
The two were naturally quite alike.
However, despite their similarities, Li Zhibai wouldn’t "fall" like Zhu Pingniang; she was deeply influenced by the Daoist family and had never practiced Charm Technique, so there was no need to worry.
Li Zhibai suddenly thought, had Zhu Pingniang been influenced by her, abandoning the Immortal Sect and heading to Beisang City’s brothel for heart refinement?
It seemed... quite plausible.
Li Zhibai covered half her face with one hand, sighing gently.
Xu Chang’an looked at Li Zhibai’s expression, still at a loss, but he already faced many unclear things today, so a little more confusion didn’t matter.
"Let’s see, it’s unrelated to me." Li Zhibai pulled herself out of the emotion of fallen fairy, helplessly saying to Xu Chang’an, "I thought her adept in Ancient Technique, thus sent you to find her. Now it seems the right person was found after all."
"Teacher, should I... return to Beisang City tomorrow?" Xu Chang’an couldn’t help but ask. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt
Concerning Yun Qian’s cultivation, he couldn’t wait any longer. If it weren’t inconvenient, he’d want to return right now.
"Anytime." Li Zhibai said, suddenly staring at her favorite "student" before her.
Zhu Pingniang became a madam in a brothel, and Xu Chang’an lived in Beisang City all this time; it couldn’t be he visited those places often?
Li Zhibai discreetly poured herself a cup of tea and softly asked, "Ms. Yun was in Beisang City before, and when you visited those places... did you go alone?"
"Hmm." Xu Chang’an nodded.
If he hadn’t gone to a brothel alone, would he have taken Yun Qian with him?
Taking Yun Qian along to stroll...
The picture was too beautiful; just thinking about it made Xu Chang’an feel uneasy inside.
"Does Ms. Yun know you frequently visited brothels?" Li Zhibai glanced at the rouge box beside her.
"She knows." Xu Chang’an sensed something.
His response made Li Zhibai admire Yun Qian’s magnanimity, gesturing at Xu Chang’an’s face: "You, boy, is this how you prepare to be a husband?"