Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 246 Seeking a Teacher: Qiao'er Zhao

Having made his decision, Zhang Chengdao returned to his room and began to carefully study the technique of making paper figurines.

He had thoroughly mastered the theory of making paper puppets; the challenge before him was how to craft a beautiful little paper figure.

Or it doesn't have to be pretty, at least it can be a normal paper doll.

Otherwise, like the Northern Long-tailed Tit he cut before, it would not only have its feathers ruffled when it became a real bird, but its appearance would also be very messy.

After much thought, Zhang Chengdao finally gave up on making things difficult for himself and decided to find a paper craft shop to learn the craft.

According to local custom, when a person dies and is buried, not only must a paper house be made, but also a carriage, horse, ox, sheep, and a large number of servants and slaves must be made, in order to wish that the deceased can live a comfortable life in the "underworld".

The further north one goes, the more elaborate the burials become. High-ranking officials and nobles would have bronze burial objects, and the even wealthier would use gold and jade to make funerary items. However, ordinary people could only afford paper burial objects.

Of course, even paper crafts vary in quality and price, with the price difference between those made with good craftsmanship and those made with poor craftsmanship being several times greater.

In short, because of the large market demand, paper craft shops are almost everywhere, and some larger counties can even support two or three of them.

If there is a master craftsman with the best skills, his reputation can spread for hundreds of miles. In fact, local tycoons will even go out of their way to hire him when they hold a funeral.

However, since he was going to learn the craft in secret, Zhang Chengdao disguised himself as an ordinary young martial artist and went to the capital of Xiao Kingdom, Zhongdu Daming Prefecture, to inquire about a famous paper craftsman. He offered three gold bricks and sincerely asked for his guidance.

This paper craftsman, surnamed Zhao, was very famous in Daming Prefecture. He made paper crafts not only for funerals but also for weddings and festivals, hence the elegant nickname "Zhao the Craftsman of Paper Crafts".

Qiao'er Zhao had more than a dozen apprentices learning from her, but Zhang Chengdao, an outsider, was someone she originally didn't want to teach.

This is a craft. If you teach a craft to an apprentice, the master will starve. So, these kinds of folk crafts are often only taught by masters who are close to death. Even then, the apprentice has to take care of everything, from cleaning up after the apprentice.

This kind of value system, which seems very anti-human in modern society, emerged in accordance with the laws of social development in ancient times.

Therefore, when Zhang Chengdao first asked for guidance, he almost got turned away.

The reason he didn't eat was because he used his spiritual energy to block the door, and then casually slapped three large gold bricks onto the table, making Qiao'er Zhao's eldest apprentice stare wide-eyed.

As mentioned earlier, in this special world of martial arts and cultivation, the metal deposits are much richer than in the world before Zhang Chengdao's transmigration. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain the large amount of copper and iron circulating among the people, even being used extensively as weapons for the "play" of those who had left their jobs, and the fact that the government had little control over them.

The objective existence of martial artists is certainly one reason, but the more important reason is that the metal resources far surpass those of the world Zhang Chengdao was familiar with.

This also led to the devaluation of metals; whether copper, iron, gold, or silver, their value was far lower than in the other world, because above copper, iron, gold, and silver, there were even rarer "natural composite metal ores"—

Zhang Chengdao chose this name privately because he wasn't a professional researcher of metal materials and found it difficult to distinguish what those "Lapis Lazuli Cold Iron" and "Black Iron" in this world, which emitted cold air and had their own light effects, were.

However, these special metal ores, which seem to exist only in novels and games, are too rare to be used for general equivalent circulation. Therefore, the only general equivalents available on the market are gold, silver, copper, and iron.

However, iron coins were phased out thousands of years ago, while copper coins were retained due to their superior properties. Gold and silver coins, on the other hand, were not officially recognized currencies because of their wide range of uses.

As we all know, gold and silver are not naturally currency, but currency is naturally gold and silver.

In short, gold and silver, as a general equivalent, remain a form of hard currency.

Three gold bricks weigh about three kilograms, and even if the value of three kilograms of gold depreciates, it would be enough for an average family to live on for several years.

The sight of these three gleaming, golden bricks on the table was so dazzling that it almost blinded the apprentices in the shop!
To avoid being seen as a troublemaker, Zhang Chengdao immediately explained, "I didn't intend to do this job, but the cultivation method I practice requires making paper offerings. Unfortunately, I'm clumsy and don't know how. In desperation, I inquired about your residence and came here to ask for your guidance."

The apprentices were all somewhat skeptical of what he said.

I've never heard of any martial arts technique that requires paper sculpting!
However, the three large gold bricks were indeed a very sincere offer, so the clever young apprentice hurriedly ran to the backyard, obviously to deliver the message.

The oldest apprentice, who had grown a beard and was considered middle-aged, seemed quite adept at navigating social situations and was the first to step forward and stabilize the situation.

He casually asked his junior brother to make tea, and then invited Zhang Chengdao to sit down and they began to chat.

"Where did you come from, guest, to have managed to find your way to my master's place?"

Zhang Chengdao cupped his hands slightly and replied, "My surname is Zhang. I originally lived in Baozhou and came from the west side of Baozhou." "The west side of Baozhou? That's not too far!" The middle-aged man also cupped his hands and introduced himself, "My surname is Liu, the eighth in my family. I am the first apprentice of my master, Qiao'er Zhao. Everyone in the village calls me Liu Ba. Greetings."

Zhang Chengdao replied politely, "Liu Zhacai is too kind."

Addressing a craftsman by their surname followed by their profession is a more respectful form of address. Sensing Zhang Chengdao's goodwill, Liu Ba softened his tone, half-jokingly and half-inquiring:
"To be honest, for us folk craftsmen, learning a craft usually involves setting up an altar, worshipping ancestors, and formally becoming an apprentice. It takes several days of this process. We have never seen anyone like Mr. Zhang who brings gold directly to our door. It has quite a shock to us."

"It was my fault, I was just a bit anxious, I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation, that's why I offended you all," Zhang Chengdao said, downplaying the seriousness of the matter. He even emphasized, "I don't want to learn anything else, I just want to learn this method of carving figures and animals. It's really for the purpose of cultivating my skills, I have no intention of pursuing this profession..."

Zhang Chengdao spoke with such sincerity that Liu Ba finally believed him somewhat: "I see... However, we cannot make this decision ourselves. We should wait for my master to arrive, and then you can explain it to him personally..."

A young man, presumably his junior brother, muttered quietly, "I knew it! Why would a martial artist do such a chore like us?"

Another, slightly older apprentice slapped the young man across the head. The crisp sound was clearly audible in the room, and Zhang Chengdao could even clearly hear the two men talking in hushed tones.

"If you think it's too hard, then don't learn it! You'll starve, you little rascal!"

"I didn't complain about the hardship!"

While the two were chatting away, Qiao'er Zhao finally rushed over.

Qiao'er Zhao was a thin, wiry old man with a slightly hunched back and no flesh on his cheeks. His withered skin barely covered his cheekbones, making him look like an old monkey.

The old monkey was quite nimble; as soon as he stepped into the house, he cupped his hands and said in a booming voice, "I am truly sorry that I did not greet you properly when you arrived, my esteemed guest!"

Zhang Chengdao quickly stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "Mr. Zhao, you're too kind!"

Qiao'er Zhao's wrinkled face was almost squeezed into a chrysanthemum as she said, "Oh, I can't bear the title of 'sir,' please just call me 'Qiao'er Zhao,' my honored guest!"

Zhang Chengdao readily agreed: "I have met Qiao'er Zhao. My surname is Zhang. I have come from Baozhou specifically to learn the craft of making paper figures and paper animals."

"Mr. Zhang, is it? Please sit down," Qiao'er Zhao said, not even glancing at the three gold bricks on the table. She swiftly took her seat, carefully observing Zhang Chengdao, before suddenly bringing up something seemingly unrelated: "This old man grew up in a temple many years ago, learning a bit of physiognomy from my master. Although I haven't examined many people over the years, I've never made a mistake. But looking at your face, esteemed guest..."

Qiao'er Zhao squinted, her gaze seemingly capable of piercing two holes in Zhang Chengdao's body, before finally speaking after a long pause: "Judging from your appearance, esteemed guest, you don't seem like a living person at all!"

These words startled the youngest apprentice, who staggered back several steps, nearly crying out.

On the contrary, the older apprentices, who were more experienced, simply looked at each other with surprise and doubt, without much reaction.

Liu Ba stood beside Qiao'er Zhao without blinking or changing his expression.

Zhang Chengdao was also startled.

Of course, he's not a living person!

The appearance I conjured was actually based on the appearance of the Qin King Ghost I had seen some time ago, with some minor adjustments.

There's nothing I can do about it. I've never learned ZBrush, nor do I know how to sculpt figures. I'm already doing my best to make minor adjustments based on the appearances of people I've seen. I really don't know how to create a face out of thin air!

And the King of Qin...

They've all become ghosts, so they must be dead!

Zhang Chengdao had no choice but to cup his hands again and admit apologetically, "Qiao'er Zhao has a good eye. I am a master or above and have seen many people. To avoid trouble, I didn't want to show my face, so I put on heavy makeup and disguised myself. Please bear with me, Qiao'er Zhao."

He didn't lie a single word, he just held back a little—

Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing for the dignified Immortal Baishi to have to learn how to make paper figures because his paper-making skills are too poor!
It's easy to talk about in front of outsiders; after all, everyone learns at their own pace and has their own expertise, so there's nothing shameful about it...

But this doesn't work in front of his apprentices; he can't let go of his master's image!
However, before Zhang Chengdao could finish speaking, Qiao'er Zhao's youngest disciple widened his eyes and exclaimed, "You! You! You! You're a Grandmaster!? The legendary... Grandmaster!?"

No wonder he reacted that way. In fact, even Liu Ba and the others couldn't help but turn their heads when they heard this, their eyes filled with shock.

(End of this chapter)