Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 269 Offending People

"Why don't we have the stall owner paint another one as compensation?" Zhu Ge suggested.

Zhu Ge disdained to engage in such blatant theft or extortion.

"Paint another one?" The young man scoffed. "It takes three months to paint one picture. I can't wait that long."

The old man shook his head: "The artistic conception of this painting cannot be captured by simply wanting to paint it. This is the only one I've chosen; I don't want the others."

Zhu Ge smiled and said, "How about this, each of you will place a bid, and the highest bidder wins. The extra money will be given to the other party as compensation."

The young man and the old man exchanged a glance and both nodded.

"I'll offer a coin," the young man said.

"Two." The old man said without changing his expression.

Three!

Five.

"Ten coins!" the young man gritted his teeth. "I'll offer ten coins!"

The old man was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "I don't have that much money."

He glanced at the young man: "This painting is yours."

After saying that, he turned and left, his back view showing great nonchalance.

The young man proudly accepted the painting and was about to leave when he suddenly saw Liu Jianjian next to Zhu Ge.

After Liu Jianjian transformed, she became a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, dressed in a bright green dress with long hair cascading down her shoulders. Although she wasn't exactly a stunning beauty, she was still pretty and charming.

The young man's eyes lingered on her for a moment before turning to Zhu Ge.

"Sir, you must be from out of town?" the young man asked.

"I came from Honghe Prefecture," Zhu Ge said calmly.

"Honghe Prefecture?" The young man scoffed. "That desolate place? What are you doing in Lijiang City?"

"Just passing by." Zhu Ge didn't want to say more and pulled Liu Jianjian to leave.

I'm not afraid of trouble, but I find trouble very annoying.

Zhu Ge was just out shopping; she didn't want to run into such scumbags.

The young man wouldn't move aside: "Wait, I think this young lady next to you is quite nice. Why don't you have her have a cup of tea with me? It's on me."

Liu Jianjian's expression changed: "Who are you? Why should I have tea with you?"

The young man's face darkened: "You're asking for it!"

The two attendants behind him immediately stepped forward, their first-level cultivation emanating from them, their aura imposing.

The blessing song remained unmoved.

He simply looked at the young man indifferently and said, "Have your men step back, and I can pretend nothing happened."

"Who do you think you are?" the young man sneered. "In Lijiang, no one has ever dared to speak to me like that. Do you know who my father is?"

"I don't know. And I don't want to know." Zhu Ge shook her head.

My initial enthusiasm was gone.

"My father is the president of the Lijiang City Chamber of Commerce!" the young man declared, head held high. "Half the shops in Lijiang City belong to my family. You're just an outsider; if you offend me, don't even think about leaving Lijiang City alive!"

The onlookers quickly backed away, clearly not wanting to cause trouble.

Some even whispered to Zhu Ge, "Young man, apologize. His father is indeed not someone to mess with."

Zhu Ge did not apologize, but simply looked at the young man and calmly said, "I will say it again, tell your men to step down."

Zhu Ge felt a little disappointed, but didn't want to cause any trouble.

After all, he really wanted this Dongba painting.

However, he originally wanted to make the deal in a different, more amicable way.

Before it even started, this young man had already revealed his ugly side.

At this moment, the young man became enraged.

"Beat him!" He waved his hand, and two henchmen pounced on Zhu Ge, one on the left and one on the right, their fists and feet flying.

"Sigh—" Zhu Ge shook her head, then lightly stomped her foot.

"Bomb One"

The ground shook, and an invisible wave of air spread out from beneath his feet.

The two attendants were thrown into the air by the blast wave and landed on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

People around gasped in surprise and backed away.

"Martial arts... a martial arts master?" The young man's face turned deathly pale as he pointed at Zhu Ge: "You... you dare to hit my man?"

"It was your people who attacked first," Zhu Ge said calmly.

"You wait! You wait!" The young man turned and ran, not even bothering to take the painting.

Zhu Ge bent down to pick up the painting "Tiger Roaring in the Snowy Mountains," glanced at it, and then handed it to the stall owner: "I'll keep the painting for him for now, and return it to him when he comes to me."

The stall owner took the painting and nodded repeatedly: "Young master, you should leave quickly. His father is really not someone to mess with; he has connections everywhere in Lijiang."

.

"No rush," Zhu Ge smiled. "I want to look around some more."

He stopped in front of the stall, looking at the other paintings and calligraphy hanging on the wall: "Boss, did you paint all of these?"

The stall owner nodded: "That's all. My ancestors were Dongba priests, and they passed down some drawing techniques and runes. I'm not very successful, so I can only make a living this way."

"How much is this one?" Zhu Ge asked, pointing to a Dongba script on the wall.

"That's a rune, not a painting," the stall owner said. "Dongba runes have the power to ward off evil and disaster, but they need to be written with sacred ink. This one is written with ordinary ink and can only be used as decoration."

"I'll buy it." Zhu Ge took out a few silver coins and handed them to the stall owner.

The stall owner was taken aback for a moment: "Young master, this talisman is worthless."

"Whether it's valuable or not is up to me." Zhu Ge put away the rune and turned to continue browsing.

These Dongba paintings can be used to contemplate the "spirit" behind them, making them invaluable masterpieces.

Liu Jianjian followed beside him and whispered, "Master, will that bad guy bring people to retaliate?"

"Yes," Zhu Ge said, "that's why I'm waiting for him."

Liu Jianjian nodded as if she understood, "They look a bit like those fishermen."

Zhu Ge smiled and glanced at her: "This is called entrapment."

Sure enough, not long after, a commotion came from the end of the street.

A dozen or so people emerged from the street corner, led by the young man.

Behind him followed a burly middle-aged man, dressed in a brocade robe, with a jade belt around his waist, and adorned with jewels.

Behind the middle-aged man were seven or eight thugs, each burly and carrying sticks.

"Father, it's him!" the young man said through gritted teeth, pointing at Zhu Ge.

The middle-aged man walked up to Zhu Ge, looked him up and down, and then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I am Li Wancai, president of the Lijiang City Chamber of Commerce. I don't know where my son has offended you, young master. Please enlighten me."

Zhu Ge glanced at him: "He tried to steal my people and even had his men beat me up."

Li Wancai frowned and turned to look at the young man: "Is it true?"

The young man lowered his head and remained silent.

Li Wancai remained silent for a moment, then turned to Zhu Ge, cupped his fists, and said, "My son was rude and offended you, young master. I apologize to you on his behalf."

Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow: "An apology?"

He thought that if he beat the younger one, the older one would come; and if he beat the older one, the old one would come.

Did you just back down?

Li Wancai took out another money bag and handed it to Zhu Ge. "Here are fifty gold coins as an apology. Please accept them, young master."

""

The onlookers gasped. Fifty gold coins—that was a huge sum of money!

Zhu Ge didn't answer, but calmly looked at Li Wancai and said, "You and your son slap yourselves. Don't do it again."

Li Wancai's expression changed.

He had been running rampant in Lijiang for many years, and no one had ever dared to speak to him like that.

But the subtle aura emanating from this young man made him feel uneasy.