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Supreme Bone Artist
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 1: Get Lost
The village chief of Jade Maiden Town, Fang Dabo, climbed over the wall to Widow Zhang's house for a midnight rendezvous. However, he misstepped and fell from the wall, which was over a person's height, hitting the back of his head on a large stone and bleeding profusely.
Fang Dabo was taken to the hospital but was beyond saving. Before he passed away, he grasped his son's hand and said, "Ergou, I've heard that Xiao Yun is quite something; when he paints someone's portrait, that person will have good fortune even in the afterlife. You must ask him to paint my portrait!"
Ergou nodded and replied, "Don't worry, I'll have him paint two beautiful women to burn for you, so you can enjoy endless pleasures in the afterlife."
"There's no one who knows a father better than his son; you truly are my good son!"
After saying this, Fang Dabo let out a final breath, his legs kicked out as he left this world with a smile.
...
As dawn broke, Xiao Yun was awakened by his aunt Cuihua, who shoved a hoe into his hands and sternly shouted, "Get to the fields and start working! You can't come back for lunch until noon!"
"I haven't even had breakfast yet, and you're sending me to work?" Xiao Yun grumbled in dissatisfaction.
Cuihua glared at him. "You glutton! Missing one breakfast won't kill you!"
Xiao Yun felt a cloud of frustration pass over him. This woman had such a pretty face that looked as delicate as a flower, yet her heart was as venomous as a snake's.
Looking at her ample bosom that resembled two large melons, he couldn't help but wish to take them for himself.
Damn it! Just because you secretly seduced me and I didn't give in doesn't mean you have to take revenge like this!
Xiao Yun is twenty-one this year. Since he was little, he has never known what his mother looks like. He heard from the villagers that shortly after he was born, his mother was seduced away by a peddler. His father had to take on both roles, raising him alone.
Unexpectedly, when Xiao Yun was in middle school, his father passed away due to illness. At that time, Cuihua from the same village said to her husband Wang Er, "Aren't you always calling Xiao Yun's father your brother? I think you should bring him to our home as an uncle."
Cuihua is very beautiful, with a pair of charming eyes, and she is known in the village as a flirtatious woman. However, she is particularly harsh and calculating. Her suggestion to adopt Xiao Yun was not out of kindness but because she saw that he was strong and could work in the fields.
Every day, Xiao Yun worked tirelessly for the Wang family, becoming a long-term laborer for Cuihua. He had to go out to work before dawn and couldn't return until after dark. At first, some villagers disapproved and whispered behind his back, but soon Cuihua found out and went to confront them angrily. Moreover, since she had a secret affair with the village chief Fang Dabo, no one dared to gossip about her anymore.
Xiao Yun has loved painting since childhood and became self-taught. He could paint tigers that looked like tigers and cats that looked like cats; he could even make a beautiful woman blink in his paintings. Gradually, the villagers recognized his talent, and whenever someone passed away, they would ask him to paint their portrait.
Cuihua did not expect Xiao Yun to have such a skill and saw a business opportunity in it. She secretly bribed a fortune-telling blind man to spread the word that Xiao Yun was the reincarnation of the Painting Saint Wu Daozi from the Tang Dynasty. It was said that portraits painted by him would bring good fortune to men in the afterlife and allow women to ascend to heaven.
Wu Daozi was a famous painter from the Tang Dynasty, skilled in Buddhist and Taoist themes, as well as landscapes and figures. He excelled in mural creation and reportedly painted over three hundred murals in temples in Chang'an and Luoyang, each unique and remarkable, especially known for his "Hell's Transformation." Unfortunately, none of his original works have survived.
Although historical records about Wu Daozi's death are scarce, there are many legends surrounding it. The most typical story tells that one day Wu Daozi painted a picture of celestial beings. As he was finishing the painting and included himself in it, he vanished from the studio when he put down his brush—he truly entered the painting. According to folk tales, Wu Daozi became famous for his art and caught the attention of the Jade Emperor in heaven, who invited him up and bestowed upon him the title of Painting Saint.
Though Xiao Yun being Wu Daozi's reincarnation is merely nonsense from a fortune-teller, some people in the countryside believe it.
Unfortunately, as people's lifespans increase nowadays, deaths in the village are not frequent; thus, Xiao Yun's business is not thriving. Cuihua originally hoped he would earn her a lot of money, but seeing little hope left her no choice but to force him to work every day and find tasks for him to do whenever possible—she wouldn't let him be idle.
This morning, she didn't even let him eat breakfast before urging him to go out to work.
"Who told me I am a poor child!" Xiao Yun sighed quietly as he picked up a hoe and stepped outside. Unexpectedly, he bumped into someone rushing towards him.
The person was none other than Ergou, the son of village chief Fang Dabo.
"Hey, isn't this Brother Ergou? What wind blew you to my house today?" Cuihua flirted, her ample bosom swaying as she approached. It turned out she not only had an affair with Fang Dabo but was also secretly involved with Ergou.
Ergou didn't have time for her flirtations and pushed Xiao Yun back into the house, saying, "Brother Xiao Yun, my dad passed away, and I want to ask you to paint his portrait!"
Xiao Yun was feeling frustrated and had never liked Fang Dabo, so he flatly refused, "No way."
Ergou was taken aback. "Why not? I'll pay you a thousand. How about that?"
"No."
"Five thousand will do, right?"
"Still no."
"You..." Ergou was getting anxious and stomped his foot. "I'll give you ten thousand. How about that?"
Xiao Yun was losing his patience. "Get lost!"
Cuihua's face turned pale with anxiety. She had two concerns: first, the village chief had suddenly passed away without warning, leaving her without support; how would she show off in the village now? Second, Xiao Yun was worthless and yet he refused such a large sum of money—why turn it down?
"I'll take the ten thousand," she hurriedly said to Ergou. "I'll do it for him."
Xiao Yun coldly replied, "Since you've agreed to do it for him, you can paint it yourself!"
"You've got some nerve to talk back to me! If I say you're painting it, then you're painting it!" Cuihua was furious when she saw Xiao Yun standing up to her.
Xiao Yun resolutely said, "I just won't draw for him!"
Cuihua shouted, "If you don't go and draw, do you believe I'll kick you out of the house?"
Xiao Yun coldly laughed, "Fine, if I leave, then I'm a liberated peasant!"
Saying this, he threw down the hoe and turned to leave.
"Stop!" Cuihua quickly stepped in front of him. "I want to search you; don't think you can take a single cent with you!" She thought that if she confiscated all his money, he would be stuck and unable to go anywhere.
She reached out to search him, but unexpectedly, Xiao Yun grinned at her mischievously, "In broad daylight, I'm a grown man being searched by a woman. What kind of situation is that!"
Cuihua's face flushed at his words. She glared at him fiercely and had to retract her hand. She then shouted at Wang Er, who was squatting nearby and smoking, "You search him! Turn out every pocket and show me what he has!"
Wang Er was known in the village for being afraid of his wife. When Cuihua said something, he dared not argue. If she told him to move bricks, he wouldn't dare to move clay. He had no choice but to stand up and move next to Xiao Yun, checking his pockets one by one. In one of the pockets, he found two hundred yuan.
Cuihua snatched the two hundred yuan and coldly laughed, "Kid, let's see where you can go now!"
Xiao Yun was so angry he felt dizzy; he stomped his foot and stepped out of the door.
Ergou anxiously yelled at Cuihua, "You shameless woman! Are you really letting him go? Without his portrait, my dad won't rest in peace!"
Not long after Xiao Yun left the village, someone came running up behind him, panting heavily. "Kid, wait a moment!"
Xiao Yun turned around and saw it was Wang Er. He asked, "Uncle, why are you here?"
As soon as Xiao Yun stepped out, Wang Er secretly slipped to the back door and took a shortcut to catch up.
Wang Er pulled out a stack of money from his pocket and stuffed it into Xiao Yun's hand, blushing as he said, "This is some private savings I've kept hidden, just a little over five hundred. Take it and use it!"
Xiao Yun's eyes lit up, "Uncle, how can I use your money!"
Wang Er sighed, "You've suffered these past years, and it's all my fault for being useless. Child, where are you planning to go?"
Xiao Yun replied, "I want to venture into the Galactic District."
"Good!" Wang Er nodded, "I'll give you a phone number. If you encounter any difficulties there, you can call this number. There's a woman who will definitely help you!"
Xiao Yun was quite surprised; he hadn't expected that Wang Er, who rarely went out, actually had acquaintances in Galaxy City, and it was a woman at that. Who could she be?
At that moment, Xiao Yun didn't have time to think about anything else. He noted down the mysterious number Wang Er had given him and vowed that this time he would make a name for himself.
...
It was precisely because of this that an extraordinary legendary story was destined to unfold in Xiao Yun's life...
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