Shen Ying heard Shen Yu say that they could obtain whatever they wished for in this painted world. Without another word, she immediately closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and began muttering prayers. Her expression was even more devout than when she offered incense to her ancestors.
A moment later, she opened her eyes. Sensing something, she reached out with her right hand and gripped a long spear that had materialized out of thin air.
A dragon pattern coiled around the shaft. As she held it, she could feel a wave of heat surging from her palm and spreading throughout her entire body.
“What a spear!” she couldn't help but praise. With a casual flick of her wrist, she spun the spear, the tip cutting through the air with a sharp, whistling sound.
Lu Sui, standing beside her, had his robes rustled by the fierce wind of the spear. He couldn't help but take half a step back.
Shen Ying paid no attention to anyone else. She held the silver spear, turning it over and over to inspect it. The more she looked, the more she loved it. “To be able to hold such a peerless divine weapon in this lifetime, I can truly die with no regrets!”
She had visited the Zhenbei Army's camp before.
To the soldiers, the old spears that only took up space were the weapons of her dreams.
No one knew how desperately she wanted a spear like that, just as no one knew how much she wanted to join the Zhenbei Army and become a great general who galloped across the battlefield, like Feng Chunya!
This journey south was her only opportunity!
“It seems Fuyan was right,” Lu Sui said. He also closed his eyes, concentrating his thoughts.
A book slowly drifted down and landed in his palm. After a brief daze, he flipped open the pages.
The last time the Divine Lady had bestowed blessings in Yecheng, he had received books regarding the law. However, due to the tight schedule, he had not been able to memorize all the legal codes in time.
After flipping through a few pages, he carefully closed the book and repeatedly wiped away non-existent dust with his sleeve. His voice trembled with uncontrollable excitement.
“This time, I will definitely bring this book back to Xindu City. I will turn it into the cornerstone of fairness and justice, making equality under the law no longer a mere pipe dream!”
Seeing that others got spears and books while he only got a river he couldn't carry away, Fang Shuo looked left and right. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he secretly closed his eyes and concentrated his mind.
When he opened his eyes again, a plate of pastries had appeared in his hand.
The pastries were extremely exquisite, as white as jade and drizzled with golden osmanthus honey, emitting a sweet, mouth-watering fragrance.
Shen Ying had just finished admiring her new weapon and was about to put the long spear away when she spotted the pastries in Fang Shuo's hand.
“Fang Shuo, where did you get those pastries?”
Fang Shuo, who had intended to hide and eat them all by himself, was caught red-handed. He could only reluctantly prepare to share.
But having learned a painful lesson last time, he had grown much smarter. Instead of handing over the entire plate, he took a single piece from the plate and offered it to her.
“Miss Shen, would you like to try some?”
Shen Ying looked at the piece of pastry Fang Shuo was offering, then smoothly snatched the entire plate from his other hand.
She smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons. “Thanks! I won't stand on ceremony, then.”
With that, she carried the plate of pastries over to Fan Miaozhen to share the treats she had just pilfered.
“...”
Fang Shuo stood frozen in place, looking at Shen Ying's retreating figure, then down at the single piece of pastry left in his hand.
He suddenly felt like crying but had no tears. “None of these people named Shen are good,” he muttered viciously under his breath before taking a bite.
Shen Yu, who was nearby copying a mural, paused: “?”
Could he expel this person from his tutelage on the grounds of disrespecting his teacher? His head really ached.
Forget it. This was someone the Divine Lady had personally handed over to him. He would endure it a little longer.
Fang Shuo noticed that Shen Yu's expression was a bit off and belatedly realized he had misspoke. He quickly tried to explain himself.
“Mr. Shen, I didn't mean it like that! I meant that except for you, anyone named Shen is not a good person.”
Shen Yu: “...”
After a long silence, he finally said to Fang Shuo, “Step back a bit. Don't block my view of the mural.”
“Oh, oh, right.” Fang Shuo obediently shuffled away, going over to watch the Zhenbei Army soldiers practice martial arts with the weapons they had obtained.
The little fox watched the events unfolding on the mural monitor. Nibbling on melon seeds, it asked Yun Shu, “Host, the skill of the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras Set pulls people into the murals. As long as they sincerely make a wish to the murals, their wishes will be granted. Aren't you afraid they'll wish for an aircraft carrier?”
“Tongzi, Shen Yu and the others are ancients. They haven't even seen an airplane, let alone an aircraft carrier.”
Yun Shu glanced at the monitor. “The murals do indeed grant every request, but the premise is that they must have a concept of what they are wishing for. If they make a vague wish for something that flies in the sky, they will most likely just get a paper kite or a wooden bird.”
“I guess I worried too much,” the little fox said, scratching its head. “Then, Host, how long do you plan to let Shen Yu and the others stay inside the painting?”
“A year in the painting is a day in reality.” Yun Shu's hand gently stroked along the curve of the little fox's back. The fur beneath her fingertips was soft and fluffy, like the first snow of winter.
After contemplating for a moment, she said, “Although their experiences in the painting are real, none of the items they wish for can be brought back to reality. I need to give Lu Sui some time to fully digest that law book.”
“Three years should be enough.”
...
Time flowed like sand through fingers.
Shen Ying and the Zhenbei Army soldiers spent three years inside the painting focusing solely on practicing martial arts, and their combat prowess improved by leaps and bounds.
Lu Sui was no fool either. He memorized the law book so thoroughly that he could recite it backward, and he had even patched up several loopholes in the text. He was only waiting to leave the painted world, return to Xindu City, and put the laws into practice.
On this day.
Lu Sui stood on the deck, looking at the unchanging scenery around them. He sighed, “Fuyan, we have been in this painting for three years, yet we still haven't found a way out. Sometimes, I wonder if we failed the Divine Lady's test and have been forgotten here.”
Shen Yu sat upright before a low table, an exquisite chessboard laid out in front of him, the black and white pieces clearly defined.
He looked down at the board and said calmly, “Rather than worrying yourself over nothing, why not play a game of chess with me?”
Hearing this, Lu Sui turned and walked over. “You certainly are calm.”
Shen Yu did not reply. He pinched a black piece, hovered over the board for a moment, and then gently placed it down. Only then did he look up at Lu Sui, his tone remaining as steady as ever.
“Buyan, since we are here, we might as well make ourselves at home. The Divine Lady sent us into this painted world without any instructions. Perhaps She simply wants us to follow our hearts.”
At first, he had been anxious as well, because he had too many things to do. How could he waste his time here?
It wasn't until he was copying a mural that he accidentally discovered the secret within. In this painted world, time flowed slowly. A year spent here was but a single day in the mortal realm.
Only after learning this secret did he put his mind at ease.
“You have a point.”
Lu Sui sat down. Just as he picked up a chess piece, the ship—which hadn't budged for three years—suddenly began to move.
Rate on N.U.
