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Outside the main hall of the Qingyun Dao Sect where miserable cries could be heard, Su Changyu stood at the door, somewhat afraid to step in.
“You damned rascal.”
“How dare you add a poem to it? Who gave you the courage to do that?”
“I’m going to beat you to death, you sinful disciple.”
“Stop it, stop it, please stop it. Master, where did I go wrong?”
“Master, I really can’t take it anymore. Don’t hit me anymore, or I’ll die.”
“Master, isn’t it just a painting? Must you guys do this?”
“Master, I’m feeling really indignant!”
“Ah!”
“You’re indignant? How dare you be so stubborn.”
“You damned rascal, do you know how much this painting is worth?”
“I’ll beat you to death!”
It was followed by a miserable cry.
Su Changyu, who was outside, was a little flustered.
Although he was just as infuriated and irrational when he was hitting Xu Luochen previously, Su Changyu dared not walk in when he heard the noises after calming down.
“Xu Luochen, I tried my best to help you, but it was you who wanted to dig your own grave. You! You really deserve it.”
Su Changyu’s heart was filled with helplessness.
Although he did not dare to go in, he could not stand by and watch Xu Luochen really get killed, right?
When anger gets the best of people, they would easily lose their rationality.
Hence, at the thought of this, Su Changyu gritted his teeth and pulled the door open.
Soon, Su Changyu saw Xu Luochen on the floor.
In the main hall, Xu Luochen was laying flat on the ground like a dog, at his very last breath.
Daoist Tai Hua was holding a wooden stick and whipping Xu Luochen with it.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had been possessed by a demon.
Seeing this scene, Su Changyu couldn’t help but sigh with relief.
Fortunately, Daoist Tai Hua was still a little rational as he simply inflicted some external wounds on Xu Luochen with the wooden stick.
“Eldest Senior Brother, save me! Master is out of his mind.”
Seeing someone come in, Xu Luochen screamed at the top of his lungs as if he had seen a lifeline.
Xu Luochen was extremely uncomfortable.
No, it was not as simple as being uncomfortable now. He was furious, uncomfortable, and terrified.
‘It’s just a painting.’
‘Must you beat me up like that?’
‘Why are all of you jealous of my literary skills?’
However, he was scared that Su Changyu might come over and beat him up too.
He mainly felt upset and saddened by the fact that he had been beaten up twice in a day by his master and Senior Brother whom he respected greatly, all because they were jealous of his literary skills.
‘Indeed, one cannot be too outstanding.’
“Master, stop hitting him. If you hit him any further, Junior Brother Luochen is going to die here.”
Seeing the miserable state that Xu Luochen was in, Su Changyu had no choice but to try and dissuade him.
“Get out of my way, I will beat this sinful disciple to death today.”
Daoist Tai Hua felt his blood rushing to his head.
Xu Luochen had ruined a good painting.
The fact that he requested for a portrait to be drawn had caused the value of the painting to decrease greatly.
The value was further reduced by the poem that he added.
Worse still, he added his own name.
However, the thing that triggered Daoist Tai Hua into losing his rationality was the scratches.
A painting that was originally worth 5,000 to 6,000 taels of gold had probably had its value decreased to less than 100 taels of gold.
Daoist Tai Hua could tolerate the portrait.
However, he really couldn’t tolerate that.
6,000 taels of gold was gone just like that.
He was heartbroken.
It felt worse than having his heart slit by a knife.
At this moment, Su Changyu immediately took out the painting.
“Master, Little Junior Brother painted another copy of this painting. There should be nothing wrong with it.”
Su Changyu hurriedly spoke and unrolled the painting, hoping that Daoist Tai Hua could calm down.
“There’s another one?”
Hearing that there were other paintings, Daoist Tai Hua froze for a moment.
He looked over.
It was a painting of a night scene with no one in it. There was a poem and the painting was also sealed with a name.
‘This one’s good.’
‘This one’s good.’
Daoist Tai Hua put down the wooden stick in his hand and focused on admiring the painting.
Xu Luochen, who was at the side, finally escaped an ordeal.
He was laying motionlessly on the ground with indignance and anger in his eyes.
He just couldn’t understand it. ‘Isn’t it just a painting?’
‘Must you guys do this?’
‘They beat me up so terribly for the sake of a painting.’
‘Am I worth less than a painting to you?’
Xu Luochen’s eyes were filled with misery and resentment.
He was really upset.
No, he felt extremely miserable.
He was so sad that he wanted to die.
Not to mention that he had been beaten up by Su Changyu in the beginning!
However, he didn’t expect to be beaten up by Daoist Tai Hua again.
‘Who can take this?’
Most importantly, if it was because he had committed a grave mistake, he would be willing to accept it even if he had to get beaten up twice. It wasn’t like he had never been beaten before.
‘They beat me up so terribly for the sake of a painting.’
He really couldn’t tolerate it.
“Good, good, good, there’s hope for the superior-grade flying sword.”
At this moment, Daoist Tai Hua smiled, looking extremely agitated.
There were a poem and scenery on the painting, and it was set to the right mood too.
‘Perfect, this is really perfect.’
His anger had completely been appeased.
However, Xu Luochen was dumbfounded.
‘Superior-grade flying sword?’
‘Master, are you out of your mind or am I?’
‘What does a painting have to do with a superior-grade flying sword?’
He was a little confused.
He just felt that his master had gone mad.
Otherwise, why would he spout nonsense for nothing?
‘Superior-grade flying sword?’
‘Even if we sell the Qingyun Dao Sect, we can’t afford a superior-grade flying sword, can we?’
At this moment, Su Changyu looked at Xu Luochen with some confusion in his eyes.
He knew what Xu Luochen was thinking.
“Luochen, do you know that you’re in trouble?”
Su Changyu asked sternly.
‘Who would be willing to accept this?’
The value of the painting that could be sold for at least 4,000 to 5,000 taels of gold probably could not be sold for 200 taels of gold after being ruined by him. To put it bluntly, if Xu Luochen wasn’t his Junior Brother, he would have had the intention to kill Xu Luochen.
‘Gotten into trouble?’
Xu Luochen was really on the verge of tears.
He was laying on the ground and moving both his hands and legs, like a child throwing a tantrum.
“If you guys want to hit, just hit me, why must you falsely accuse me? I know you guys are just jealous because I have better literary skills than you.”
1
“Eldest Senior Brother, you are usually narrow-minded and you’ve always been jealous of me, but I didn’t expect you to do this just for the sake of undermining me.”
“Master, I know that you usually dote on Eldest Senior Brother because you want him to inherit the position of Sect Leader. I have nothing much to say about that, but I can’t tolerate the fact that you’ve deliberately tried to undermine me just because you’re biased towards Eldest Senior Brother!”
The more Xu Luochen talked about it, the more agitated he was. In the end, he even burst into tears and bawled with no consideration for his image.
Seeing the state that Xu Luochen was in, Daoist Tai Hua also snapped back to his senses.
He then looked at Xu Luochen in displeasure.
“What nonsense are you babbling about? Do you know that you’ve singlehandedly destroyed a painting that’s worth 20,000 taels of gold?”
At this moment, Daoist Tai Hua wanted to beat Xu Luochen up.
‘Huh?’
‘A famous painting that’s worth 20,000 taels of gold?’
‘Are you sure it’s 20,000 taels of gold?’
‘Are you lying to me?’
‘This painting can be sold for money too?’
Xu Luochen didn’t continue venting his anger and instead looked at Daoist Tai Hua and Su Changyu with bewilderment.
“Changyu, tell him.”
Daoist Tai Hua didn’t bother to pay attention to Xu Luochen and instead continued to look at the painting of the night scenery.
“Our little Junior Brother is known as Householder Qing Lian, who is talented and famous in Jin Nation. Each of his paintings can easily be worth 10,000 taels of gold. This one is worth at least 50,000 taels of gold.”
Su Changyu explained.
After he heard that, Xu Luochen smiled.
‘50,000 taels of gold.’
‘Are you lying to me?’
‘Do you take me for a fool?’
‘I had never even seen 50,000 taels of copper before.’
‘I’m not ridiculing Su Changyu.’
‘Have you ever seen 50,000 taels of copper?’
However, Xu Luochen was soon upset again.
He did not expect Su Changyu to think of him as a fool.
“You don’t believe me?”
Su Changyu could tell what Xu Luochen was thinking at just one glance.
Xu Luochen did not answer.
However, his intentions were clear.
If the painting was worth 50,000 taels of gold, he would smack his mouth until it became crooked.
‘How much are 50,000 taels of gold?’
He didn’t even have a concept of what 50,000 taels of copper coins was like, let alone 50,000 taels of gold.
Not to mention the Qingyun Dao Sect, even some second-rank immortal sects that were richer than them probably could not afford 50,000 taels of gold.
50,000 taels of gold would allow the Qingyun Dao Sect to advance to a third-rank sect and live in the lap of luxury.
“What if I prove it to you?”
Su Changyu was furious too.
‘You ruined a painting and you’re stiill so unrepentant?’
“Senior Brother, I don’t mean anything else. If this is worth 50,000 taels of gold, I’ll smack my mouth crooked.”
Xu Luochen said firmly.
If it was really worth 50,000 taels of gold, he would accept the fact that Daoist Tai Hua and Su Changyu had beaten him up this time.
‘No, I still don’t think it’s enough. I can let them beat me up again.’
However, before Su Changyu could answer, Daoist Tai Hua asked, “Are you sure?”
He looked at Xu Luochen seriously.
“If this painting can really sell for 50,000 taels of gold, I’m certain I won’t make a single sound even if you and Eldest Senior Brother join to beat me up.”
“But what happens if it doesn’t?”
Xu Luochen really didn’t believe it.
If that was really the case, he would be willing to be hit by the two of them.
But what if it didn’t fetch such a high price?
“If not, I’ll pass on the position of Sect Leader to you.”
Daoist Tai Hua said with some dissatisfaction.
“Excellent!”
Hearing the offer of the position of the Sect Leader, Xu Luochen instantly became interested.
He agreed immediately.
“Okay, Luochen, I bet you’ll regret only when your death is near. Changyu, give him some healing medicine. Go down the mountain later.”
Daoist Tai Hua really wanted to beat him up, but he couldn’t find a reason to.
Now, Xu Luochen had sent himself to his door.
“Excellent!”
Su Changyu nodded and he especially wanted to beat Xu Luochen up now that he was asking for it.
They couldn’t blame him then.
“No need, I have healing medicine myself. Master, note it down, lest you go back on your word.”
Xu Luochen rejected Su Changyu’s healing medicine and took out two Qi blood pills himself. He also made Daoist Tai Hua note it down.
He wanted to avoid letting them say that there was no evidence.
Su Changyu and Daoist Tai Hua were really infuriated.
However, the two of them didn’t say much.
They would make Xu Luochen doubt his life later.
An hour later, the three figures headed down the mountain.
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