Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 112 Qingyan is indeed my good wife
The sun is coming out.

The craftsmen who came to help from Cuishan Village and the surrounding areas washed up and went out one after another to eat and work. No one knew that a battle between humans and demons had taken place last night.

They only knew that Master Gu of Daluo Palace had a folding fan in his hand and a more scholarly temperament.

"My dad always holds a folding fan and calls himself the second Qiu Guan, pretending to be elegant." Gu Zhao waved the folding fan and walked out of the courtyard with Taoist Master Yansong. "You know what, I really feel that way."

"When 'Chu Liuxiang' and 'Qianlong' were hits, folding fans were selling like crazy," said Taoist Master Yansong, who experienced that era. "The charm of Qiu Guan was much greater than that of today's young and handsome actors."

Gu Zhao asked, "But I heard that today's fans are much crazier than before."

Taoist Master Yansong sneered, "Today's fans are pitiful. They have never seen anything good."

Gu Zhao, “…”

The two of them came to the back mountain, took a walk around the construction site of Daluo Palace, and returned to the courtyard. They saw a table set up under a tree in the courtyard. Zhuo Qingyan was teaching the embroiderer to paint.

Taoist Master Yansong patted Gu Zhao on the back and pushed him into the courtyard. "You go about your business. I'm going to talk to Yihong."

When Gu Zhao entered the room, he saw Zhuo Qingyan and the embroiderer looking back at him.

Zhuo Qingyan nodded with a smile, and the embroiderer said happily, "Sir, Sister Zhuo is teaching me how to paint. She painted Xiaobai and me!"

Gu Zhao came to the two of them with a smile, and two faint fragrances wafted into his nose, one was the cool and elegant jasmine, and the other was the sweet and cheerful magnolia.

Although Gu Zhao was close, Zhuo Qingyan did not avoid him. Instead, she pointed at the scroll on the table and asked, "Brother Gu, what do you think?"

Gu Zhao looked at the scroll and saw a white fox lying under a tree with its eyes closed in sleep. Not far away, a young girl was sitting quietly reading with a smile on her lips. Beside her was a low table with a bamboo basket and behind her was the wall of a wooden house. The whole scroll was clean and peaceful, giving people a warm feeling.

Although Gu Zhao had never studied painting, he could tell that this painting was done with great skill, but he couldn't tell what was so good about it.

"It's really beautiful." Gu Zhao thought about it. He couldn't just say that this painting was amazing, because it would seem too uncultured.

So he commented seriously, "This painting has an ingenious composition, delicate brushstrokes, like flowing clouds and running water, and a natural charm. It must have taken at least twenty years of practice. The average person can't paint it like this."

Zhuo Qingyan smiled without saying anything. The embroiderer bit her teeth lightly, but couldn't help but remind her, "Sir, Sister Zhuo has settled in her old house, and her painting skills have never fallen behind."

Gu Zhao blinked, then he remembered that Zhuo Qingyan had been dead for thirty years. Adding the time she had spent learning painting before her death, wouldn't she have at least forty years of skill?
"Cough cough!" Gu Zhao almost choked to death on his own saliva.

Bai Ke, who was standing next to her, also grinned like a fox, stretched out his two paws, and then slowly climbed up and jumped onto the embroiderer's shoulder. "Gu Zhao doesn't understand painting at all. It's good enough that he can say those few words."

Gu Zhao was dissatisfied, "Who do you say doesn't understand painting?"

"I'm talking about you." Bai Ke curled her lips, "Do you have the ability to draw a picture?"

Gu Zhao pointed at Bai Ke, he really couldn't draw it.

Zhuo Qingyan reached out and smoothed Bai Ke's fur, saying softly, "People who can't play musical instruments don't necessarily not understand music, and people who can't draw don't necessarily not understand painting."

Bai Ke asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhuo Qingyan explained, "Whether it's music or painting, it's actually an expression of one's heart. Those who understand the heart will naturally understand."

Bai Ke didn't quite understand, but the embroiderer did. "Young Master is someone who understands Sister Zhuo's feelings." Gu Zhao raised his eyebrows and gave the embroiderer a thumbs-up. Zhuo Qingyan's fair cheeks flushed slightly before returning to normal. She simply said, "Brother Gu is kind-hearted. He is Qingyan's blessing."

Gu Zhao said modestly, "Thank you for the compliment, but wouldn't it be even better if I could learn some musical instruments and painting?"

Zhuo Qingyan smiled, but still shook her head. "Painting musical instruments is just a minor skill. We still have to set up the formation first. Yesterday, I was thinking about how to put the Great Dragon Locking Formation and the Shangqing Great Dragon Binding Formation together. I have a rough idea, so I wanted to talk to Brother Gu today."

Gu Zhao blinked. He didn't expect Zhuo Qingyan to be so stubborn. Could she be a genius in cultivation?

He created the art of gathering spirits, which also helped him study formations.

She is indeed a good wife!
Gu Zhao: (ω)
Hearing that Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan had important matters to attend to, the embroiderer naturally took on the role of a maid.

While putting the scroll away, he went to make tea for the two of them. After the tea was boiled, he took a few pieces of small-leaf red sandalwood from the side room as ingredients, and finally brought out a plate of snacks and placed it on the table.

Before the two of them started discussing, the embroiderer had already completed the logistics work.

Bai Ke jumped onto the table and tried to grab a piece of dessert, but just as she stretched out her paw halfway, she was grabbed by the waist and carried away by the embroiderer. As she walked away, she pulled out an oil-paper bag from her bosom and said, "I'll leave this for you. Don't disturb the young master and Sister Zhuo."

Bai Ke sniffed, then relaxed and returned to the embroiderer's shoulder. "Egg yolk pastry?"

The embroiderer replied, "There are also red bean cakes."

After watching Xiu Niang and Bai Ke leave, Zhuo Qingyan said to Gu Zhao, "The White Wolf King was one of the three masters of Sanjue Mountain. His death this time may soon alarm Sanjue Mountain."

Gu Zhao nodded, "So we may soon welcome the Black Bear King."

The three masters of Sanjue Mountain are Black Bear, White Wolf and Yellow Dog. This was known after killing Xu Kongting in the deserted village that day, but Gu Zhao did not expect that he would face them so soon.

Zhuo Qingyan said, "The Great Dragon Locking Formation can only seal off space. If we add the Dragon Binding Formation, perhaps we can suppress their magic power."

"Let's give it a try." Gu Zhao said thoughtfully, remembering the last time he dealt with Ren Tianhe of the Jinfeng Sect.

At that time, he cast a Shangqing Great Forbidden Dragon Binding Talisman, but was unable to completely restrain Ren Tianhe. Finally, he added another one to completely suppress him.

In other words, even if this dragon-binding talisman cannot be fully effective, it actually has a suppressing effect.

"If it doesn't work, just set up a few more wooden stakes in the Dragon Binding Formation." Gu Zhao said.

Zhuo Qingyan laughed and asked, "How many wooden stakes would we have to erect then? And it would be difficult to control the formation with just one token."

Gu Zhao thought about it and realized that this was indeed a problem, so the two of them continued to study the formation.

As the red sun set in the west, the embroiderer wanted to call the two of them to dinner, but she saw them lying on the table talking excitedly to each other. Just as she was wondering whether she should say something, she was pulled back by Taoist Yansong.

"They are discussing the key points. It's okay to skip a meal." Taoist Master Yansong pointed to his stomach. "But my stomach is rumbling. I'm very hungry."

Taoist Master Yihong stood not far away, nodded and shook his head, but ultimately remained silent. He followed Taoist Master Yansong to the embroiderer's courtyard for dinner.

(End of this chapter)