Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 90: The Overly Fancy Mentor

New Year's Day is the day when gongs and drums are beating to celebrate the beginning of the new year, but Shenhe Villa is quiet and a thick fog is covering the whole area.

This thick fog not only covered Shenhe Villa, but also covered almost the entire Xianren Lake area, including the waters behind Shenhe Villa.

It was too exaggerated. When Zhao Yifu saw his master performing a ritual to summon such a thick fog that covered almost the entire swamp area, he was shocked.

And precisely because of this ritual on the altar that summoned the thick fog to protect them, the people in Shenhe Villa were full of confidence in their upcoming journey, and it was no longer just because of the head of the family's order.

They began to believe that they had divine help on their side.

Zhao Yifu supported his master, who was feeling a little unsteady, as he walked down from the altar.

"Master, why do you have to work so hard? This fog is..."

Liang Zhongzhi seemed to have found his mark and said earnestly, "Don't underestimate this fog. It's actually the result of your Misty Mirage technique being used to its fullest potential."

"Yes, you don't fully understand it yet. After all, you probably haven't had time to practice the 'Danqing Wanxiang Fa' yet. If you can practice this fundamental and wonderful method, you will know how to leverage the power of heaven and earth at the lowest cost..."

"You should know that the air in the Immortal Lake area is already humid. This New Year's Day is also the time when the yin and yang of the year converge, the old yin ends and the young yang begins."

"This kind of situation is the most likely to cause fog."

"Now, all you need is a little guidance from the Master, and you can create an overwhelming force."

"Disciple, go quickly. Your fleet is about to set sail."

"Now that we're shrouded in thick fog, you can use the 'Mirage Secret Technique' to show the fleet the way. Otherwise, sailing in this thick fog would be extremely dangerous."

Zhao Yifu showed an expression of learning, but he did not let go of his master. Instead, he supported Liang Zhongzhi and walked to a large boat at the dock.

Liang Zhongzhi laughed and enjoyed the filial piety of his beloved disciple.

It was not until this time that Zhao Yifu began to try to practice the "Obscure Mirage Secret Method" according to Liang Zhongzhi's suggestion.

In the past, when he used this method to summon fog, he would use the thick fog to refract light to hide himself or create an illusion.

But now he was in the thick fog, trying to collect the surrounding images and gather them around his fleet again.

This is not an easy task.

But he managed to do it with the enhanced water control ability brought by the Eight Styles of Renshui.

In the fog surrounding the fleet, images of the surrounding water surface began to appear vaguely.

Although it was blurry, it was nothing to the experienced boatmen in the village.

Liang Zhongzhi, sitting at the bow, asked with a smile, "Jun Xin, have you understood anything about this?"

Zhao Yifu's expression was solemn at first and he seemed to be very focused, but gradually his brows relaxed and even the output of his true energy slowed down a lot.

Then he said with joy, "Master, I understand!"

Liang Zhongzhi asked, "What do you understand?"

Zhao Yifu organized his words a bit, and finally said one word: "The highest good is like water."

Liang Zhongzhi: "Oh?"

Zhao Yifu said: "In fact, if you follow the trend, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"I'm not trying to control the thick fog around me. I'm just guiding it in the direction I want it to go."

Liang Zhongzhi looked around.

The scene he could see in the fog was indeed a little blurrier now, but Zhao Yifu had saved a lot of losses.

And the surrounding scene is becoming clearer and clearer, which means that Zhao Yifu's cognition of "taking advantage of the situation" has gradually been put into use and he has become proficient in it.

All the way to the north bank, more than a hundred large and small boats around took away all the people in Shenhe Villa.

Liang Zhongzhi stood on the deck for a while, feeling bored, and suddenly said to Zhao Yifu, "Alright, the journey should be safe, and I will return to the mountain first."

It seemed that he had recovered well and didn't want to stay with these ordinary people for long.

Zhao Yifu bowed deeply and said, "Master, why don't you let your disciples be more filial?"

Liang Zhongzhi smiled and said, "There's a long time to come. After all, the time you've been with your secular family is only a fleeting hundred years."

Zhao Yifu was shocked. He didn't expect his master to respond in this way.

However, what he didn't expect was that Liang Zhongzhi asked, "Guess what name this master used when he walked the world a hundred years ago?"

Zhao Yifu was at a loss.

Liang Zhongzhi laughed heartily and said, "Back then, I was indeed a bit frivolous, and ended up being known as 'Crazy Liang'."

"Later, I settled down and wanted to study and practice Taoism in peace and quiet, so I took the name 'Zhongzhi' and the pseudonym 'Zhengfang'."

Zhao Yifu was a little dazed after hearing this. He suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a painter named "Liang Fengzi" a hundred years ago?

Liang Zhongzhi then said with a smile, "Of course, I am now just a hermit in Moshan. After all, if the world knew that I would still look like this a hundred years from now, I'm sure those seeking immortality would burst through the Moshan gate."

"Haha, Master is leaving now. Please walk slowly on your way, disciple."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old scholar walked to the bow of the ship, and then stepped into the air...

Zhao Yi Fu walked quickly to the bow and saw that his master had already formed an ice lotus with every step in the water, and each lotus reached a height of a hundred feet, then disappeared from his sight in an elegant and gorgeous manner.

"He is truly a god-like figure."

Behind Zhao Yifu, Zhao Yunhe's voice of praise was heard.

Zhao Yifu's eyes were filled with envy. His master was showing him off again, telling him another ultimate use of "Frosty Walks on the Sky"!

Damn, with every step there is an ice lotus, how can she be so coquettish?

Although there is no difference between the effects of one ice lotus per step and one ice brick per step, it's still very cool!
Zhao Yifu suppressed the lemon in his heart, turned around and saw his father and said, "Father, I won't come forward to contact Teacher Zhou when we get there."

Zhao Yunhe nodded and said, "That's as it should be. Just focus on your career and leave the rest to us."

Zhao Yifu nodded.

At this moment, his heart moved. He suddenly saw his second uncle Zhao Guhe standing on a small boat at the end of the fleet, and then he set up a rocket...

'call out! ’

Rockets fired.

A moment later, Zhao Yifu saw a little fire light up behind him from a distance, and then the fire gradually became brighter, but it was obscured by the thick fog and was not very bright.

Shenhe Villa was burning in flames.

The sounds of women and children sobbing could be heard on the boat, and they were obviously very sad about their homes being burned down.

At this moment, a childish voice came from the cabin: "We will come back and make those guys pay the price!"

Zhao Yunhe waved his hand and said, "Yian, why are you out? Go back to your room with your mother."

This is a young man who is no more than ten years old.

He is Zhao Yi'an, Zhao Yi'an's third brother.

From the names of the three brothers, we can actually see the different expectations that Lao Zhao has for his three sons.

The eldest brother Yicheng is to inherit the family business, the second brother Yifu is to assist his elder brother and put loyalty and trust first, and the third brother Yian is only interested in his wife growing up peacefully.

Zhao Yifu turned his head to look at his third brother. He left home at the age of twelve. His younger brother was really very young at that time, so there was no need to say much about the relationship.

But anyway, he saw something different in this younger brother.

She looks very cute with her red lips and white teeth, but there seems to be some unspoken depth hidden in her eyes.

He looked a little dull, but he also seemed to have a kind of intelligence. Zhao Yifu was looking at him, and the young man was also looking at Zhao Yifu.

An interesting look.

At this moment, a woman hurried out and asked, "Yian, how come you ran out without noticing?"

The woman had a pretty face and looked to be about thirty years old, but she didn't look pampered, which made her quite pleasing.

Zhao Yian then said, "I heard that my second brother's master is an immortal, so I wanted to take a look..."

However, at this moment, Peng Hu came out from behind and slapped the child on the head, saying, "You can just look at the immortal casually?"

"Also, is that your second brother? That's my junior fellow apprentice, your great-uncle!"

"Come on, call someone quickly."

A strong sense of frustration immediately appeared in Zhao Yian's eyes, which were originally like a deep pool. He seemed extremely helpless about having such a grandfather.

Zhao Yifu was amused and he did not deny it. He found it quite interesting to tease his younger brother.

Zhao Yunhe loved his youngest son after all. He said, "Alright, do I have to call Jun Xin Uncle Master?"

Take him down quickly.

The woman, Peng Yulian, pulled Zhao Yian behind her and suddenly asked, "Master, Yian is gradually reaching school age. Junxin left home to study at the age of twelve. What do you think of Yian..."

Zhao Yifu immediately understood what his stepmother meant.

It was no longer a secret in his family that he had encountered an opportunity in Moshan, and now he obviously wanted his son to have the same chance.

Peng Hu's expression darkened upon hearing this, and he said, "Xiao Lian, listen to me, this may not be a good thing."

Peng Yulian looked over, confused.

Peng Hu said, "You only see Jun Xin's glory, but you don't see those who were not selected. The best they can do now is become a private school teacher."

"Look at me, your father. I had one foot in the door back then, but I wasted my time and energy until I finally had the chance to step the other foot in."

"After all, there are not many children like Junxin. You should think carefully about this."

Peng Yulian said stubbornly, "Anyway, my daughter's only hope for this child is that he can grow up safely. If he can learn something useful in the process, that would be even better."

Peng Hu was stunned, then smiled helplessly and said, "You're right..."

Zhao Yunhe was also persuaded. He turned to look at his second son and said, "Jun Xin, what do you think about this?"

Zhao Yifu was delighted to hear this and said, "That's a good idea. Just let my brother go to Molu Academy to sign up. They'll accept any application as long as the apprenticeship gift is in place."

"As for how to enter the outer gate..."

Zhao Yifu chuckled and said, "I passed the boy's test at the age of fifteen and entered the outer sect."

Peng Hu nodded and said, "Tongsheng is indeed one of the indicators for entering the outer sect."

"But if you can show extra talent in any of the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, you can also be accepted into the outer sect."

Peng Yulian took a deep breath and said, "Okay, then I'll arrange some private lessons for you after you settle down. On odd days, you'll learn piano in the morning and chess in the afternoon. On even days, you'll learn calligraphy in the morning and painting in the afternoon."

"When you are twelve years old, you can go to Moshan to study, which will be beneficial to you."

At this moment, little Zhao Yian's pupils trembled, and he looked at his own mother as if she were a devil.

What happened to the promise of 'just seeking peace'?

This is a safety measure because you are afraid that he will live too long, right?

Anyway, Zhao Yifu showed a sympathetic expression to his younger brother.

Unexpectedly, Peng Hu beside him laughed and said, "We need to find something for this kid to do, so he doesn't sit around doing nothing all day and become an annoyance to others."

Zhao Yifu felt that his grandfather was good in every way except that he always liked to speak the truth without hesitation.

At this time, the boat was moving slowly in the fog and finally arrived at the destination.

However, they did not disembark at the Moyang City Pier, after all, that would have made too much noise.

They didn't even get off the boat at the shore of Xianren Lake, but went straight north into the river, and then walked along the river bank for a while before arriving at a river beach behind Moshan Mountain.

This location was chosen by Zhao Yifu. When he visited Moshan in his early years, he found that there was an uninhabited piece of vacant land between the back of Moshan and the river.

This place should be a tidal flat formed by the accumulation of silt from a large river, and it should have been formed within the last hundred years, so the people have not yet moved here.

Backed by Moshan Mountain, it is a Feng Shui treasure land where wind and water gather.

To be honest, everyone fell in love with this place the first time they arrived.

The only downside here is probably the threat from the Northern Dynasty navy on the north bank of the river.

But the problem is that there is a large shallow water area on this mudflat, and large ships cannot get close at all. Only fishing boats can pass through some of the waterways.

Even the large ship that the Zhao family was moving on had to run aground here, and they had to use small boats to transport supplies ashore.

If the enemy wants to approach by small boat, the people of Shenhe Villa will have something to say.

In this kind of environment, Shenhe Villa could easily defeat ten enemies alone.

However, everything is still in ruins, and now the villagers can only look for a suitable camping spot on this mudflat plain.

When they arrived here, Zhou Su was already waiting for them with their household registration information.

"Master Zhou, thank you for your help."

Zhao Yifu bowed and thanked him.

Then Zhao Yunhe also expressed his gratitude as the patriarch of the Zhao family.

Zhou Su smiled faintly and said, "Fortunately, we are still relocating within Mozhou. Such a small matter is not worth mentioning. After all, you are Jun Xin's clansmen, so I should take care of you."

Zhao Yifu understood all too well what Teacher Zhou was thinking. He asked playfully, "Teacher Zhou, weren't you ordered by the imperial edict to form a new army?"

"I wonder when the recruitment will begin?"

Zhou Su stroked his beard and smiled as he said, "We had originally planned to start recruiting soldiers after the New Year, but some military supplies haven't arrived yet, so it may be delayed for some time."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunhe immediately said, "If Lord Zhou wants to recruit soldiers, my Zhao family can provide 300 men!"

Zhou Su was moved by what he said and said, "I appreciate Brother Zhao's kindness, but your village is in need of reconstruction, and I'm afraid it will require so many young and strong laborers."

Zhao Yunhe said sincerely, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Zhou. However, I must repay your kindness in placing me here. If you need anything, my clan will be the first to respond."

Zhou Su was deeply moved by what he heard and said, "Brother Zhao, this is a righteous act. You should prepare the new house first. When I formally establish the new army, I will need the sons of the Zhao family to serve as my personal guards."

The two sides then began to flatter each other.

In the middle, there is a scene where Zhao Yunhe recommends his second brother.

Then Zhao Guhe came up with a scene: I have been wandering for half my life, and I only regret that I have not met a wise master. If you don’t abandon me... well, I am willing to be your ox or horse.

Anyway that's it.

From then on, the Zhao family was deeply bound to Teacher Zhou.

Seeing this, Zhao Yifu smiled without saying anything, then turned around and drew a portrait of Emperor Wenheng.

A stick of incense is lit to worship the gods.

Just as a cigarette butt was lit, the closed-eye portrait of Emperor Wenheng suddenly opened its eyes...

Tsk~
　My family and I are all very busy, so I can only maintain one chapter today and tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)