Cultivators at the Wizarding Academy

Chapter 101 Sacred Art

"elder brother…"

Gus, fast asleep, felt someone nudging his shoulder and mumbled a soft hum in his sleep.

"Ye Zi hasn't returned yet? Why don't you go out and look for her?"

"What time is it now?"

Gus opened his eyes and, by the light of the moon shining in front of his bed, could vaguely make out the outline of the little fish.

"The night watchman who just passed by knocked three times."

It means that between 11 PM and 1 AM, it is knocked once every two hours on average.

"It's so late!" Gus muttered softly.

In the past, no matter how much Yezi loved to go out and have fun, she would always come home every night. Her parents had set a bottom line that she could not stay out overnight.

What's going on now?

Gus rubbed his forehead in frustration and sat up from the head of the bed. Although he didn't think the clever Ye Zi would get into trouble, he couldn't say for sure, after all, she was a woman. If she encountered unreasonable thugs or hooligans, it could be very troublesome.

Yezi usually went out with her sisters. Thanks to their father and her own reputation, ordinary people in the neighborhood dared not offend them. However, their reputation couldn't be guaranteed to work every time.

In short, ask around at the homes of people you know well first.

Guts got up, changed his clothes in the dark, slung his longsword over his shoulder, and pushed open the door. The night wind was bleak, and under the bright night sky, he quickly arrived at the nearest house and gently knocked on the door.

After a short wait, someone spoke up: "Who is it?"

"I'm Gezi's brother, Gus! She didn't come home tonight, and I wanted to ask if you know where she is."

"Ye Zi hasn't been with us lately."

"Yeah…"

Guss didn't press the matter and asked the second company, receiving similar answers.

He stood blankly in the night, his fists clenched unconsciously at his sides.

Splendid Years Club.

Even in the early hours of the morning, the place was still bustling with noise and its popularity remained undiminished.

Today's entertainment was quite interesting; the organizers had actually invited a renowned painter from the capital to compete in a painting contest. Of course, being an entertainment venue for adults, it wasn't going to be a proper painting competition. The so-called canvas was, in fact, people's skin.

"Please do not judge great art with worldly eyes!"

The steward of the Berland family made outrageous statements on stage, promoting the idea that the young girls on stage were all virgins and would not taint the sanctity of art with their impure bodies.

This speech immediately drew enthusiastic applause from the audience, and both the guests and the painters were satisfied.

With time running out, the painters began to take to the stage to prepare for their work.

The girls, lined up in a row, wore half-feather masks and waited quietly to be chosen. Their faces, partially obscured, only fueled the curiosity and desire to explore.

Guopu's expression was numb; compared to the newcomers around her, this wasn't her first time participating. Right now, all she wanted was to pay off the high-interest loans as soon as possible and be completely free.

Because of her flatter figure, which made her more suitable for painting, Guopu quickly gained the favor of a middle-aged painter.

"Your Excellency Davic, which canvas do you choose?" asked the thin nobleman in a black tailcoat, who was balding and had a large white beard.

"Of course, it's this one."

The slender, trembling girl couldn't hide her shyness. Despite her best efforts to muster her courage, she still couldn't calmly face the various implications and scrutinizing gazes around her.

Ye Zi couldn't imagine that a job worth two gold coins a night would be like this. The sister who introduced her to the job had assured her that it wouldn't be anything like sitting at a table; only girls who were pure and beautiful were qualified to work.

She had assumed she would be accompanying an important person to a ball, serving as a date or maid...

Who would have thought it would become a canvas!

"Yes! It's not about selling myself, it's for art." The girl kept telling herself this to lessen her shame.

Two gold coins are just too many…

So much that it would make a father work tirelessly from dawn till dusk for a whole year, so much that it would make someone easily give up their self-respect...

To leave her family of origin and embark on a path of independence, she needed some money. She had considered finding a job, but given the current social environment, it was extremely difficult for women to find employment.

Little did they know that whenever news broke that a nobleman was hiring maids, a group of people would immediately fight tooth and nail...

A scene of hundreds or even thousands of people competing for a single position!

Ye Zi was determined not to sign a ten-year indenture and dedicate her youth to the despicable, corrupt aristocracy.

I just want to find an ordinary job.

However, he had no experience, no skills, no diplomas...

The only options available are those at the very bottom of society.

She either had to work as a garbage collector for a meager salary, living with the stench every day, or she had to pull strings to get into a laundry. Even then, she would have to wait in line, and only after someone else left would it be her turn.

Or they might leave home and become part of a sweatshop.

Of course, most women her age would choose to find a good man to rely on, then stay home obediently, have children, and so on.

Yezi was confident she could find a better man than her sister. After all, she had a wider circle of friends and more choices than Xiaoyu, who always stayed at home.

But ultimately, she was unwilling to accept it. She was destined to be a housewife for life, living a predictable existence.

She dreamed of dancing in a magnificent world, no longer as insignificant dust of history, but as a name recorded in books.

I would give anything for this.

"She'll do!" The bearded painter pulled Ye Zi by the hand and led her to a seat. He picked up his easel, began mixing paints, and warned sternly, "Don't move."

The flamboyant painter Denier's eyes were intense and focused, and his brush danced wildly in his hand.

The leaves gritted their teeth, enduring the coldness of the pen tip as it repeatedly brushed across sensitive areas.

The organizers made it clear beforehand that the artist's creative process must not be interfered with, otherwise they would not receive payment.

She has already sacrificed her dignity; how could she not receive something in return?

Two gold coins? The girl sighed at the nobility's generosity and folly, then felt saddened by her loss of dignity.

Why are there such great differences between people from birth?

Some people work tirelessly from dawn till dusk, struggling to survive, while others do nothing and enjoy a peaceful life.

Even death is no longer fair.

The wild, unrestrained painter's chaotic brushstrokes constantly stirred the girl's thoughts.

Gradually, she could no longer suppress her emotions; tears welled up in her eyes, and her heart was filled with regret and remorse. But what was done was done, and she could only move forward.

In the silent night sky, bright stars shone like jewels adorning the heavens.

The man in the black trench coat leaped down and landed slowly at the foot of the mountain. The deep blue flames burning on his body dissipated, and he casually put on his black top hat.

"I need to see Young Master Lesser; I have something to report."

"Osko, wait a minute..." The wizard, his face hidden under his hood, stepped out of the shadows. "Are you sure no one is following us?"

"I'm sure!" The man in the black trench coat spoke with considerable confidence. To avoid being tracked, he had deliberately taken a detour and waited on the road for several minutes.

"Damn it, you have a mental mark on you!"

The wizard's voice was filled with terror: "What have you done to deserve this?"

(End of this chapter)