This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

During the time Qin Qianqian spent with Zheng Zhuang, she had gotten used to his confidence in his appearance, but she still didn't know what to say in this situation.

But seeing Lin Zhu and Chen Ahu like this, I found it funny.

Lin Zhu was the first to recover from the awkwardness; at crucial moments, it was time for his teacher to step in!

He looked at Chen Ahu with a disappointed expression and said:

"I have taught you countless times that as an artist, you must not act recklessly, but always be realistic and pragmatic."

Chen Ahu never expected that his peak painting skills would result in such a result, and could only humbly accept the criticism.

Zheng Zhuang nodded in deep agreement, his expression softening considerably.

"But I can't blame you. My appearance is too handsome, perhaps beyond your imagination. It's not bad that you can draw even a tenth of my handsomeness."

Lin Zhu suppressed a laugh and took the opportunity to say, "This unworthy disciple's skills are lacking, I apologize for making you laugh, young master. I will paint one for you myself another day."

"No need, Qianqian, let's go!"

Zheng Zhuang was somewhat disappointed. It seemed that this kind of painter was not the person he was looking for, so he could only place his hopes on Quliang Academy.

Based on her past life experience, fox spirits enjoy having affairs with scholars.

Zheng Zhuang asked Qin Qianqian to leave a piece of silver before leaving the painting stall.

"This young master... is so confident!"

Chen Ahu stared at Zheng Zhuang's retreating figure, and after a long while, he managed to utter a single word.

Lin Zhu said irritably, "Who told you to change it like that?"

Chen Ahu curled his lip: "I was just trying to please him, who would have thought I'd run into someone like this."

Lin Zhu didn't say anything more. He picked up his paintbrush and began to paint, recalling the appearance of Zhengzhuang.

But soon he discovered something strange: he had easily drawn Zheng Zhuang's facial features, but something still felt off.

Because no matter whether he drew the eyes or the nose first, the resulting face was completely different from Zheng Zhuang's.

"how come……"

Seeing Lin Zhu muttering to himself, Chen Ahu spoke up:

"Alright, I'll listen to you from now on and I'll definitely draw exactly as you say."

Lin Zhu seemed not to hear him and continued to paint.

After a while, Lin Zhu put down his paintbrush:

"I can't even draw his face!"

"what?"

"I can't draw his face!"

Chen Ahu, unaware of what had triggered Lin Zhu's reaction, also picked up a pen and began to draw.

He was completely dumbfounded when he had used up all the paper for his paintings:

"how come……"

The two looked at each other, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes!

Just then, Lin Zhu suddenly caught sight of a figure in the distance, and his whole body trembled instantly:

"how come……"

Lin Zhu sighed and said to Chen Ahu:

"You watch the stall, I'll be right back."

Chen Ahu seemed oblivious, and simply nodded numbly.

In the distance was a woman wearing a light veil, accompanied by a somewhat overweight elderly man and a middle-aged man who looked like a guard.

The woman was tall and slender with an extraordinary air about her; even though her face was veiled, many eyes still lingered on her.

Seeing Lin Zhu approach, she dismissed the two people behind her and then sat down in front of a tea pavilion.

Lin Zhu sat down directly opposite her, without saying a word, just quietly watching her.

"Teacher," the woman called softly.

Lin Zhu waved his hand and gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"Don't call me teacher anymore, we have nothing to do with each other anymore."

The woman's body trembled slightly, and she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, only asking in a low voice:

"How have you been doing these years?"

Lin Zhu pointed in the direction of the painting stall and said calmly:

"That's great, they even took on an apprentice."

The woman looked at Chen Ahu on the stall and said with some surprise:

"So, I have another junior brother now. What is so special about him that he is valued by the teacher?"

Lin Zhu snorted:

"He has no special talents, doesn't study painting properly, and often argues with me!"

The woman smiled gently:

"It seems the teacher likes this student quite a bit."

Lin Zhu didn't bring up Chen Ahu's matter again, but changed the subject:

"You don't need to feel guilty about what happened back then; I helped you voluntarily."

The woman lowered her head, remained silent for a moment, and then said:

"I know, that's why I feel guilty, like I took advantage of the teacher."

Lin Zhu shook his head:

"Everyone has their own ambitions, and there's no question of exploitation. No one can stop you from doing what you want to do. Even without me, she couldn't compete with you."

The woman did not defend herself, which seemed to imply her consent.

"Teacher, please come back with me. I have no one to talk to now."

"You are no longer the little girl who needed someone to protect her. Besides, given your current status, what use would I be to you if I went back?"

"But……"

"There are no buts. Cangzhou originally had ten kingdoms, and they fought each other all the time. Now only Cangyue and Xuri remain. Why can't we live in peace? Years of war have only made the common people suffer."

The woman sighed:

"It is precisely because Cangzhou is frequently embroiled in war that unification is necessary so that the people can live and work in peace. I never start wars lightly, but the Rising Sun Kingdom is coming on strong, and we have no choice but to fight!"

Lin Zhu knew the woman was telling the truth, and could only sigh:

"The Fourth Princess is still unwilling to accept defeat. Well, she is the same kind of person as you. How could she easily admit defeat? There are still many of her old subordinates in the court. You should be careful."

The woman hesitated for a moment, then said in a pleading tone:

"She searched far and wide for extraordinary people and strange talents, including some demons. This war involves more than just mortals. If it weren't for the protection of the Imperial Advisor, I'm afraid I would have been ambushed. I hope you can help me, Master."

Lin Zhu smiled wryly:

"When the Kingdom of Rising Sun came to propose marriage, I tampered with your portrait. In the end, they chose the Fourth Princess. After that, I lost all my cultivation, and my paintings can no longer communicate with spirits. Now I am just a useless person!"

The woman was startled at first, then her eyes gradually dimmed:

"So that's how it is. I'm the one who hurt the teacher. I should have thought of that sooner. Everything comes at a price."

Lin Zhu stood up and said nonchalantly:

“It’s all in the past. You can go now. Let me return to my roots. It’s good enough for me to spend the rest of my life in this Quliang City.”

The woman looked at Lin Zhu's face and for some reason recalled the scene when they first met. Unfortunately, she had too much on her shoulders and could not go back.

She bowed solemnly to Lin Zhu:

"Teacher, take care!"

Lin Zhu quickly helped her up:

"Now that you are the Empress, you must not bow to others lightly!"

The woman straightened up with a sense of loss, glanced at Lin Zhu reluctantly, and turned to walk away.

Lin Zhu watched the woman's retreating figure and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"First Snow, if I had to choose again, I would still help you."

The woman didn't turn around, smiled silently, and then disappeared into the crowd with the elderly man and middle-aged man who were waiting nearby...