Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

Saga's eyes widened in surprise.

Ignoring her surprise, Qi Yan casually stepped forward and put his arm around Saga's shoulder.

"I was originally planning to go find you, but you delivered yourself to my door, which saved me a lot of effort. We can join forces. I'll be responsible for forcing Xi out, and you can be responsible for engaging in subtle banter with her."

Then, taking advantage of her inattention, I took her by force. I got her, and you've resolved your doubts. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Saga frowned, remaining unmoved:

“This humble monk does wish to meet the owner of the painting, but this humble monk does not approve of your actions.”

In my view, a goal is merely a result; what truly matters is the process of pursuing that goal.

Qi Yan tilted his head, feeling that this line of dialogue sounded somewhat familiar.

He thought for a while before he realized it.

Isn't this the excuse he often uses when he gets lost?

Saga clasped his hands together and said sincerely, "This humble monk has not come to seek cooperation, but only because I feel that your actions are not right and I wish to persuade you."

The beings depicted in the painting may not be like you or me, but they also have their own lives and shouldn't be fooled like this.

"How can teaching them to open their eyes to the world and confront the essence of themselves and the world be called fooling them?"

"What is the self? What is essence? Is what you and I consider to be the truth? You are merely forcibly imposing your own views on the people in the painting."

"If my behavior is considered forced indoctrination, then wouldn't the teachers' use of classical texts and the elders' earnest teachings also be considered a form of forced indoctrination?"

"This...this humble monk thinks it's not right..."

"Of course you have the right to keep your doubts, but you can't just dismiss my approach, right?"

“This humble monk… well, what you say makes sense.”

Saga was clearly troubled, completely unaware that the focus had been shifted, and began to struggle with the difference between education and forced indoctrination.

Qi Yan chimed in, adding:

"You see, you've fallen into confusion, while I remain clear-headed, so I'm temporarily ahead of you, right?"

"This humble monk would never presume to claim that I am superior to you, sir," Saga quickly denied.

“That’s right,” Qi Yan said immediately. “As the saying goes, ‘the accomplished are teachers.’ My greatest character traits are generosity and kindness, so I don’t mind taking you as my apprentice at all.”

"Thank you, sir... oh?"

Saga was halfway through agreeing when he suddenly realized, "Why does this humble monk suddenly want to become your disciple?"

Qi Yan quickly patted her shoulder and continued to deceive her:

"That's not important. What's important is that I have a gift for you to accept as my disciple. Please keep it safe."

Qi Yan casually tore a piece off the painting scroll beside him, then used his own blood to condense a string of dense characters on it.

After drafting the Rhodes Island employment contract, Qi Yan grabbed Saga's hand, gathered a drop of blood as ink, and helped Saga complete the process of pressing her handprint.

Saga held his employment contract and fell silent.

Qi Lin and Wu You also came to Qi Yan's side at this moment. Wu You glanced at the contract and whispered to Qi Yan:

"My benefactor, no one will agree to what you're doing, right?"

Look, this young lady monk isn't saying anything. She'll definitely get angry and refuse. If you want to invite her, let me do it..."

Saga suddenly spoke up, his face serious, "You've made a mistake."

Wu closed his mouth with regret, feeling that Qi Yan's actions were a bit too hasty and had wasted the first impression he made upon meeting Qi Yan.

Inviting Saga to join the group will likely be even more difficult.

Just as Wu You was feeling regretful, he heard Saga say in a solemn voice:

"A gift for becoming a disciple should be given by the student to the teacher, not the other way around. I will now prepare a gift for you, my teacher!"

After saying that, Saga turned and ran.

Utopia: "..."

Qi Yan grinned mischievously: "Don't you even know what a pure heart is?"

Wu You remained silent for a moment, then felt a bit stifled and had to speak out:

"Is this girl a little silly?"

"That's called being wise in a foolish way!" Qi Yan corrected. "After witnessing my battle of wits with Xi, she knew she was no match for me. She risked coming to dissuade me, but when she realized she couldn't persuade me, she immediately made an excuse to run away..."

Holy crap, is she trying to run away?!

Chapter 823 Evening: His art style is rather rough, but the plot makes up for it well...

In the courtyard, Chen and Taihe looked at each other in silence, while Zuo Le was still secretly sulking.

However, compared to Chen's casualness, Taihe was unable to suppress his anxiety at this moment.

His and Zuo Le's purpose in coming here was to prevent Qi Yan and Xi from meeting, but now Xi, in order to save face, has left him alone in the painting and hidden away, making it impossible for him to even contact Qi Yan.

Two immortals are about to have a magical duel, and he, a mortal caught in the middle, is completely powerless to help, yet he has no choice but to get involved.

Just as Taihe was getting so anxious that bubbles were about to form at the corners of her mouth, a painting suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

Xi, her face pale, emerged from the painting, went to the stone table, picked up a teacup, and drank it down in large gulps.

Then, Xi, disregarding her image, slammed the teacup down heavily, panting heavily. Her once clear and bright eyes now showed obvious red blood vessels in the whites.

“Miss Xi, what’s wrong…” Taihe asked nervously.

"My painting was ruined by that bastard!" Xi said through gritted teeth.

Taihe and the other two gasped in unison.

Then Taihe kept asking Chen with her eyes.

Faced with Taihe's question, Chen was also somewhat confused and could only ask Xi:

"Qi Yan resorted to violence?"

"He might as well have used violence to tear up my painting!" Xi said indignantly. "He graffitied on my painting, do you even understand what graffiti is?"

Basketball court! Iced tea! Big evening melon!

The three of them gasped again.

Xi was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, frantically pouring out her heart to the three of them:

"You have no idea how outrageous Qi Yan is. He used blood to scribble on my painting and made a bunch of stick figures. Do you even know what stick figures are?"

It's the kind of simple line drawing that even a three-year-old could learn, and then he put speech bubbles on my drawing. Is he drawing a funny comic?

Then he used those stick figures…

"Pfft-"

Chen couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Xi stared wide-eyed at Chen in disbelief and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry, I just remembered something happy." Chen tried hard to control his facial expression. "Luckily, he didn't use your painting to write the score, otherwise, if he had put on a concert, we would all have been in trouble."

She glared at Chen for a moment, and seeing that he had regained his seriousness, she gritted her teeth and continued to pour out her pain:

"It's one thing for him to doodle on my drawing and turn it into a funny comic, but to make matters worse, he also made me the main villain in the main storyline of the comic!"

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if Qi Yan's mental state is normal, but the comic's logic cleverly blends reality and fantasy, giving it the flair of a masterpiece.

Aside from the details being rushed and somewhat hastily handled..."

"Pfft-"

Xi was interrupted by laughter again and stared at Taihe with wide eyes.

“Sorry, I also remembered something happy.” Taihe’s facial muscles stiffened. “To be honest, Miss Xi’s description has made me somewhat interested in the content of the comic.”

Xi let out a low growl, somewhat annoyed.

"Qi Yan has really gone too far!"

Her low growl successfully garnered Zuo Le's support.

Zuo Le also said indignantly, "I've heard about Xi's paintings. Each one is a rare treasure. Even putting aside their monetary value, they are Xi's masterpieces. How can Qi Yan destroy them so easily!"

Finally receiving support from others, Xi was so moved that she almost cried.

She originally had some issues with Si Suitai, but now, facing Zuo Le, Xi finds him pleasing to the eye no matter what.

"Your name is Zuo Le, right?" Xi asked expectantly. "I can send you into the painting to see Qi Yan. Isn't that exactly what your Si Suitai wants?"

"If you help me stop Qi Yan's actions, I can promise Si Suitai one thing—no, I can promise three!"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Le instantly became highly motivated.

"Absolutely not!" Taihe quickly stopped her. "Miss Xi, let me go instead."

"My suggestion is to let Zuo Le go."

Chen suggested from the side, "You've already been beaten up by Qi Yan once. Going to see him again will only result in getting beaten up again."

If it were Zuo Le instead, there would be a chance to meet Qi Yan's acceptance conditions. If Zuo Le also meets the conditions, he would not only be safe, but would also receive Qi Yan's protection.

"Containment conditions?" Taihe caught a crucial piece of information.

Chen Ai shrugged helplessly:

"I'm sorry, I can't explain it in detail either. Qi Yan seems to have some special identification methods that can accurately screen a group of people with different personalities but who are kind at heart, without any surprises."

Taihe paused for a moment, then muttered:

Am I not a good person?

"You weren't beaten to death by him, so you can be considered as having caught his eye," Chen reassured.

"...Thank you."

Taihe turned to look at Zuo Le, somewhat conflicted about whether she should let Zuo Le take the risk.

But Zuo Le had already made up his mind and took the initiative to ask Xi:

"Let me be part of the painting."

Xi was also pushed to the limit. Without giving Taihe a chance to continue speaking, she directly waved her hand and transferred Zuo Le into the painting where Qi Yan was.

Seeing that the situation was beyond repair, Taihe sighed and looked at Xi solemnly, saying:

“Miss Xi, let me be frank with you. We can all see that you are wary of Qi Yan.”

I think it would be best if you left before Qi Yan reacted.”

Xi hesitated.

She had tried to put on a brave face before, but after seeing Qi Yan's mental state, she was now truly on the verge of collapse.

If she fell into the hands of this kind of guy, she was really afraid that Qi Yan would force her to draw stick figure comics every day. It would be better to let her face the awakening of the true form of the Year Beast.

Just as Xi was about to agree, her eyes flickered:

"Why is she here too?"

"Who?" Taihe asked nervously.

"A guy who's just as annoying as Qi Yan... huh? Just as annoying?"

Xi suddenly showed a hint of joy: "I can throw Nian and Qi Yan together and let those two annoying people fight each other!"

Without hesitation, Xi Yi slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and conjured a red longsword out of thin air in her hand. With a serious expression, she swung it down forcefully.

Chen tried to speak up to stop her, but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as Xi's power transformed into ink ripples and merged into the world.

After completing the transfer, Xi Xin contentedly tossed aside the longsword in her hand and sat down again, regaining her calm and composed demeanor.

A smug smile even appeared on her lips.

Chen took a breath and said helplessly:

“Miss Xi, I’ve heard a little about the Miss Nian you just mentioned.”

"Hmm, Nian likes to wander around and cause all sorts of trouble. It's not surprising that you've heard of her." Xi calmly picked up her teacup and took a sip.