497: Chapter 490: Graffiti Work…
497: Chapter 490: Graffiti Work…
A few minutes later, Eastern Pearl Community.
At this hour, it was late at night, and the whole community was in darkness, a typical sight during a power outage.
Fortunately, a crescent moon hung high in the sky.
Although the moonlight was somewhat hazy, it at least allowed one to barely make out the surroundings.
For most people in Liuyuan County, compared to the endless darkness they had experienced days before, such a night was already considered good.
Dressed casually and having climbed twelve flights of stairs, Chen Hai’s breathing remained steady, with no trace of sweat.
As he reached his front door, he opened it and walked in.
“Chen Hai, is that you coming back?” Ye Qingqing, curled up on the sofa, heard the door open and quickly got up, asking sharply.
“It’s me, Qingqing.”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went out for a stroll.”
“Didn’t I tell you to rest early?
Why are you lying on the living room sofa again!”
Chen Hai responded with a toothy grin.
As the sun set and night fell, the group from Ten Thousand Sword Sect was still testing the children at Sports Square when he and Ye Qingqing left and returned to Eastern Pearl Community.
Because he deliberately controlled it, he and Ye Qingqing did not have children.
The reason he took Ye Qingqing to the Sports Square was merely to observe and see if there was a chance to have her talent tested as well.
He thought it over for a long time there.
Chen Hai always felt that approaching the people from Ten Thousand Sword Sect through normal means to have them test Qingqing’s talent was completely unrealistic.
After all, the age limit they had set was only sixteen.
Ye Qingqing, who was already in her sixties with most of her hair white, could no longer be mistaken for a young girl no matter how much she tried to look younger.
Approaching them rashly could result in no answers and possibly even alert them, which would make his upcoming plans more difficult.
After some consideration, he eventually took Ye Qingqing back home.
However, they had only been home for less than half an hour when he found an excuse and slipped out again.
“I can’t sleep when you are not here,” said Ye Qingqing with a slight sigh of relief.
With a snap of her fingers, a flame suddenly appeared in the void near her.
Although the fist-sized flame was not very bright, it was already enough to light up their room.
The appearance of this flame didn’t need any guesses; she knew it was definitely Chen Hai’s doing.
Having been with him for so many years, Ye Qingqing was no longer surprised by some of the quirky things he mastered.
“What were you up to going out?”
“I remember when you left, the T-shirt you wore had the design on the front—you didn’t wear it wrong.”
“But now, why is the design on the back…”
Using the light from the flame, after seeing Chen Hai clearly as he approached her, Ye Qingqing burst out laughing.
“Really?
It was hot outside, so I removed my shirt and went around, and just put the T-shirt back on when I came back.”
“Maybe the poor lighting outside made me wear it incorrectly!”
Chen Hai laughed it off, finding a casual excuse.
As soon as he finished speaking, he reached into his hand, and a scroll appeared.
“Come on, Qingqing, I found a painting on the road.
Let’s see what you think of it,” he said, smiling broadly.
During their years in Liuyuan County, their life had been extraordinarily tranquil.
As a top student, Ye Qingqing initially took up activities like playing mahjong and dancing in the square for fun.
Once the novelty wore off, in the following years, she took up playing musical instruments, chess, and painting.
She had some insights into painting.
Seeing that Chen Hai had somehow acquired a painting and specifically showed it to her, she immediately became interested.
Taking the scroll from Chen Hai’s hands, she slowly unrolled it.
The painting depicted a mountain, which was covered in bumps.
She, who had some understanding of painting, first began to scrutinize the mountain depicted on the scroll through an artistic lens.
“The lines are crude and lack any aesthetic appeal.
What is this supposed to be!”
“No wonder you picked this up off the street.
I suppose it must be a child’s doodle…”
After just a few glances at the contents of the scroll, Ye Qingqing lost all interest.
Pointing at the drawing, she even chuckled out loud.
Hearing this, Chen Hai was at a loss for words.
He had specifically gone to the suburban funeral parlor, dressed in a gray robe and wearing a ghost face mask he had gathered from shops nearby like those selling wreaths and ceremonial papers.
Then, having lurked near Sports Square, he stole the Sword Map from Zhang Yushan, which, in Ye Qingqing’s eyes, had turned out to be child’s scrawl…
He felt powerless to retort, unsure of what to say.
“You should have read Old Mr.
Jin’s ‘Hero’s Journey,’ Qingqing.”
“In it, the most profound martial arts from the Supreme Mysterious Scripture, those with deep knowledge interpreted each word differently, yet, in fact, they were all mistaken!”
“It was only Shi Potian, who couldn’t recognize big characters, who upon seeing the words in the scripture, understood them completely and naturally.”
“Sometimes, you can’t look at something for its literal meaning or consider its artistic nature.”
“Look at the contents of the scroll again, see if there’s anything else you might perceive?”
Hesitant for a moment, Chen Hai, still hopeful, pointed to the scroll and spoke to Ye Qingqing.
Seeing Chen Hai speak so earnestly, Ye Qingqing also became slightly suspicious.
Instead of looking at the scroll, she examined Chen Hai from head to toe: “This scroll, is it the Sword Map from those people at the Ten Thousand Sword Sect?”
“Did you sneak out of the house to find them?”
“Chen Hai, having had your company for so many years is already my greatest happiness.
You really don’t need to do these things for me…”
With a bitter expression, Ye Qingqing sighed deeply.
From Chen Hai’s demeanor, it was evident that the painting he showed her was extraordinary.
Ye Qingqing was no fool; she immediately thought of the Sword Map.
“Yes, this scroll is indeed the Sword Map!”
Nodding, Chen Hai quickly added, “This really was just picked up.
That guy from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect had fainted at the time.”
“I just happened to be nearby and thought of testing your talents, so I picked up the Sword Map tucked in his sleeve and brought it back.”
While saying this, he also took out the other things he had picked up.
A leather money pouch and two odd-looking objects with many patterns that seemed to be made of bone.
Of course, Zhang Yushan’s sleeves contained more than just these items.
Besides the White Cloud Sword, which was meant for life-binding, the Magic Sword used specifically for flying, reduced to the size of a palm, was also stored inside his large sleeve.
However, since a Magic Sword or Magic Artifact’s owner can vaguely sense its whereabouts, Chen Hai, worried about the trouble it might bring, decided against touching such items after much consideration.
“You rascal…” Seeing Chen Hai’s expression, Ye Qingqing felt somewhat amused but also moved.
Chen Hai clearly avoided the more serious issues.
He only mentioned that the man from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect had passed out, from whom he had picked up the Sword Map and the other items he had just shown.
But he did not mention why that person had fainted near him!
After a bit of thought, Ye Qingqing was sure that the man’s unconsciousness must have been Chen Hai’s doing.
Yet, knowing this, she did not expose him on the spot.
After all, everything Chen Hai did was for her.
And those from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, in her eyes, were not good people either.
When she and Chen Hai arrived near Sports Square, they had witnessed Shen Zhengming and his group of a dozen or twenty people get utterly obliterated by that person from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect.
“Alright, I’ll take another good look at this Sword Map.” Sighing lightly, Ye Qingqing’s gaze returned to the Sword Map.