Chapter 56: Dismounting in Awe

  As the sunlight passed through the window and into the room, accompanied by a sudden burst of footsteps, Zhang Fei strode over with an air of urgency, followed closely by the maid, who was clutching a large roll of paper in her arms, panting heavily, her face flushed with a rosy glow that added to her beauty.

  "Sir, let her handle those trivial matters from now on." Zhang Fei smiled foolishly and stuffed the writing instruments in Liu Bei's hands: "Brother Xuande, you work hard."

  Liu Bei's eyes rolled: "Do you understand or not? You are my elder brother's disciple, at least you should call me Master Uncle. If you don't call me Master Uncle, that's fine, but actually calling me younger brother... Don't forget, we calculated our ages yesterday, I'm three months older than you."

  Zhang Fei let out a loud laugh, pulled Liu Bei to one side, nudged him with his shoulder, winked at him, and glanced at the maid. With a sly smile, he said: "Let's not compare our social status anymore, shall we? How about that woman, huh?"

  Liu Bei swallowed his saliva and lowered his voice: "This...my elder brother..."

  "It's nothing." Zhang Fei directly cut him off, patting his chest with a big smile: "I'll take care of it at Mr.'s place."

  "Go ahead!" Liu Bei snorted, showing disdain.

  Zhang Fei did not refute, turned around and walked to Liu Xiu's front, respectfully made a bow, and smiled obsequiously: "Sir, what are we learning today?"

  Liu Xiu looked at him, then at the maid and Liu Bei, whose eyes were obviously a bit shifty. He frowned: "What are you up to?"

  "No way." Zhang Fei innocently spread his hands: "Master wants to teach me painting, there must be someone serving, right? I've done the paper grinding and ink work, and pouring tea and water also needs someone to do it. Letting Xuande do it alone wouldn't be good manners, besides, this kind of thing is still better left to women." He leaned forward, speaking in a flattering tone: "Master, you forgot, didn't I paint that beautiful woman's portrait by copying her? You said my painting wasn't good, so I'll bring her over and see how you do it, also for comparison, isn't that right?"

  Liu Xiu gave him a slanted glance, his mouth curled up, and Zhang Fei's eyes flashed with a hint of guilt as he stepped aside, clearing his throat twice. Liu Xiu knew that this young man had spent the night thinking things over and was probably more clear-headed now, afraid of being deceived, so early in the morning, he brought the model over to conduct an on-site inspection, wanting to see if he truly qualified to be his teacher.

  "I don't have time." Liu Xi waved his hand impatiently: "Lu Shixiong went to take care of some things and instructed me before he left to go visit the big households in Zhuo County, such as the Jian family and the Li family, to see if they can support him like your family. I'm worried about this matter, where do I have time to teach you how to paint beauties?"

  "Ha ha, what's the big deal? It's not like I'm bragging, but even if you went to see them now, it might not be useful. Those old guys are just like my dad, every one of them is a cunning and deceitful lot who won't let go of any advantage. If it were in the past, you probably wouldn't even be able to get through the door, but now it's different. You have me as your proud disciple, so even if their doors are made of iron, I can kick them open with one foot. When the time comes, whatever you say, they'll have to do. Otherwise, humph, those few young masters in their family will either not be seen by me, or else they'll get a beating every time they're seen. Letting them cut off their descendants, I wouldn't dare, but letting them cut off their hands and feet, humph, I still have the ability to do that."

  Liu Xiu smiled: "Can't tell if you're a rustic or a tyrant from Zhuo County."

  "Haha, you're overpraising me, sir." Zhang Fei couldn't hide his pride, rolled up his sleeves and clenched his fists to show off his bulging biceps: "I have the strength, I don't have a choice but to be humble."

  "Haha!" Liu Bei couldn't help but burst out laughing while stealing a glance at the beautiful maid.

  Liu Xiu also smiled, sizing up Zhang Fei. He thought to himself: "This kid really has some nerve, daring to come and threaten me. It seems that if I don't show him my true abilities, it will be a bit difficult to get him to help me with things." He pretended to think for a moment: "Do you really have this ability?"

  "It's all a scam." Zhang Fei said with a straight face.

  "Alright." Liu Xiu waved his hand as if a general reviewing troops on the battlefield: "Prepare the paper and ink."

  "Alright!" Zhang Fei shouted with joy, turning around to scold the maid: "Stupid woman, why are you still slow?"

  The maid was made to feel uneasy by Liu Bei, but after hearing this sentence, she felt relieved and quickly came over to tidy up, arranged the paper and pen, poured clear water into the inkstone, and then very skillfully stood in the middle of the room, striking a pose with a smile.

  Liu Xiu was taken aback and glanced at Zhang Fei, thinking to himself: "It seems you haven't been idle at home, the procedure is very familiar."

  "Sir, I'm grinding ink, I'm grinding ink." Zhang Fei chuckled to himself, muttering the phrase "grinding ink like a sick husband" as he ground away. Liu Xiu didn't say much either, suppressing his smile and sizing up the maid with a focused expression.

  Zhang Fei ground the ink and stole a glance at Liu Xiu, seeing his serious expression, he also became somewhat nervous, his hand pressing on the paper was slightly too forceful, his fingertips turned white, he occasionally licked his lips, his heart was in a state of turmoil, hoping that Liu Xiu really had the ability, yet fearing that Liu Xiu was a swindler, only having a glib tongue, if so, this joke would be blown out of proportion.

  "Come, pen." Liu Xiu stretched out his hand, and Liu Bei hastily took a step forward, handing the pen over to him. Liu Xiu took the pen in his hand, his eyes fixed on the paper on the desk, the pen in his hand dipped into the inkwell for a moment, hesitated for a moment, and then began to sweep across the paper. Once he started drawing, he didn't look at the maid again.

  As his brush danced in his hand, with just a few strokes, the portrait of a smiling woman with a glance over her shoulder appeared on the paper. Immediately afterwards, the brushstrokes became bold and expansive, with two or three long and powerful lines outlining a vividly lifelike beauty, whose clothes seemed to flutter as if dancing in the wind, as if about to fly off the page at any moment.

  With a flick of his wrist, Liu Xiu finished drawing two small feet and tossed the brush aside, sneering: "Can you still see?"

  Zhang Fei's eyes widened in shock, and he didn't hear what Liu Xiu said. He instinctively pushed away Liu Bei who was standing beside him, raised the painting with both hands, opened his mouth, but no sound came out. After a long time, he muttered: "Sir, how...how can you paint so fast, so well, just like...just like it's alive! This is the best beauty painting I've ever seen!"

  "Is that okay?" Liu Bei quickly regained his composure, patted Zhang Fei's shoulder and said with a swagger: "Does my big brother still have the ability to be your master?" He wasn't stupid either, he had been mixing on the streets for quite some time, and he understood the meaning of Zhang Fei's previous words very clearly.

  "There is, there is, too much. Zhang Fei finally came back to his senses, closing his mouth that had been open for too long and was starting to cramp up. He sucked in a mouthful of saliva that was almost dripping down his chin, nodding his head so vigorously that it seemed like he might snap his neck. 'I give up, I really give up.'"

  "It's fine as long as you're satisfied." Liu Xiu, who was holding a teacup and drinking tea, suddenly raised his hand and splashed all the tea in the cup onto the painting. The originally elegant and beautiful portrait was instantly turned into a mess of ink, with droplets of black tea water splashing all over Zhang Fei's chest.

  Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, and then he instinctively roared: "Are you crazy?!"

  "You can go now." Liu Xiu waved his hand dismissively: "Our teacher-student relationship ends here."

  As soon as he heard this, Zhang Fei, who had been furious like a raging lion, suddenly lost his energy and raised an eyebrow, looking at the beautiful woman's picture in his hand which was now ruined. He looked crestfallen, just like his old man had died, and said with great grievance: "Sir, what...what are you doing?"

  "What are you doing?" Liu Xiu angrily said: "What did you come here for today? Do you think I'm an idiot and can't see anything? It's always the master who tests his disciples, but today it's strange, there's actually a disciple coming to test the master. Although I, Liu Xiu, am not a famous scholar or a great person, at least I have some self-awareness, my abilities are limited, and I'm not worthy of taking you on as a student."

  He turned his back, waved his hand and shouted: "Xuande, see off the guest!"