Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Hearing footsteps, Ye Xiu turned his head and nodded. “You’re here. Did you talk to the jujube tree?”
“I did. It’s very smart. I think it has a lot of potentials.” Ban Feimeng nodded.
What a childish girl. She actually thought that a jujube tree was very smart and had potential?
Ye Xiu didn’t expose it. There was nothing wrong with being naive.
“Right, Senior, didn’t I buy an ink wash painting from you some time ago? I’ve been learning a lot recently and tried to copy a similar one. How about you take a look?”
Ban Feimeng stood by the desk and asked nervously.
She knew that her request was a bit too much. After all, if she received some pointers occasionally, it would be considered that the senior thought highly of the junior. If she received pointers alone, it would rise to the level of a teacher teaching a disciple. For an expert like the senior, it would make her look like she was too high up.
If the senior was the one to take the initiative to speak, then there wouldn’t be any problems. Right now, she wasn’t too suitable.
Ye Xiu glanced at her and asked, “You want to learn how to draw from me?”
Copying his paintings and letting him, the author, look at them. This was clearly her intention to acknowledge him as her teacher.
It was just that when young girls saw something they liked, they couldn’t help but want to touch it. After they stop liking it, they would quickly give up. This was a serious waste of time. If they were stopped from doing it, they would throw a temper. This was the hardest to deal with.
If they were artists and had no relationship with each other, it was normal for them to reject it. However, Ban Feimeng and Mr. Ban Shan were both customers of his. 200,000 gold coins were real. It wasn’t easy to reject them.
If he rejected it now, he might lose many gold coins in the future.
“This…” Ban Feimeng hesitated and couldn’t say anything.
Seeing her like this, Ye Xiu shook his head and smiled. “Alright, how could I not understand your thoughts? Originally, I didn’t want to agree, but you and I are still fated. You’re also a kind-hearted child. I’ll give you a chance. Take out the painting and I’ll take a look.”
This was a future financial backer. Spending some time to cajole her wouldn’t cost him anything.
A smile appeared on Ban Feimeng’s face. She came back to her senses and hurriedly said, “Senior, if I learn from you, what do I have to pay?”
“What do you have to pay?”
Many thoughts immediately rose in Ye Xiu’s mind. He opened his mouth and planned on collecting 100,000 gold coins.
But those words were stuck in his throat.
The previous two times were fine. Mr. Ban Shan and Ban Feimeng each paid one. 100,000 gold coins weren’t too expensive for them. After all, their family might be related to a mage, so it was easy to skip over it. However, 200,000 gold coins weren’t normal.
Which family wouldn’t question their child if they spent 200,000 gold coins?
If he were greedy now, what would he do if he provoked Ban Feimeng’s parents?
He had just finished dealing with Lin Suxin’s parents.
Ye Xiu thought of a perfect way to avoid it. He said, “Wait until you can learn something. If you can’t learn anything, I won’t take anything from you.”
Learning to draw was bound to take a long time. If Ban Feimeng gave up, then she could buy a painting and go back to take a look.
At that time, if she spent money again, Ban Feimeng’s family probably wouldn’t notice.
Not only would he be able to increase his connections with high-quality customers, but he would also be able to make a business deal. It was simply perfect.
Seeing Ban Feimeng’s disbelief, Ye Xiu added, “While you’re learning, you can also clean up this shop and take care of the jujube tree at the entrance. How about it?”
Ban Feimeng came back to her senses and said in surprise, “It’s that simple?”
Wasn’t this giving her an opportunity for nothing?
She was fortunate enough to learn painting from such an expert. It was already an unimaginable opportunity. Even if she succeeded, she might have to pay a price.
But these conditions were too simple.
He only mentioned taking care of the jujube tree at the entrance. Perhaps he wanted her to help the jujube tree cultivate. After all, how could a normal fruit tree not bear fruit?
That would require her to put in some effort and prepare the necessary materials.
But this was simply incomparable to the tuition fees.
If Senior Ye announced that he was going to take in a disciple, even those archmagister would probably be tempted.
“If I were to collect tuition fees from you, it would be far beyond what you can afford right now,” Ye Xiu calmly replied.
In reality, he didn’t dare to collect it. After some time, if she really couldn’t learn it, she could buy a painting and he would be compensated for the time he had spent to teach a disciple.
After Ban Feimeng heard this, she was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice. “I understand. Thank you.”
Other than the ancestor, this was the first time she had met such a good expert. Not only was he willing to teach her, but he also didn’t need her to pay anything first. The payment would be discussed in the future.
Ban Feimeng had already secretly decided that if there was an opportunity in the future, she would definitely repay Senior Ye.
Ye Xiu thought for a moment and directly said, “Oh, since you want to learn from me, then make a copy of a painting and let me take a look.”
He found an ink wash painting of a rising sun and hung it on a pole in front of the desk. He prepared a brush, rice paper, and ink for Ban Feimeng, indicating that she could begin.
Ban Feimeng took a deep breath and slowly rolled the tip of the brush in the ink in the inkstone. She was very nervous.
“Senior Ye wants to see my foundation. I think he wants to test my understanding and application of the magic essence. Will I be able to pass with my current level?”
She looked at the ink wash painting in front of her. Compared to the rising moon painting that she bought last month, the one in front of her was obviously better.
The moon only reflected the light of the Sun. It could be considered a source of light, but it wasn’t as orthodox as the Sun.
The darkness before dawn was torn apart by the sunlight, but it was not completely torn apart. The two were very well combined. Light and darkness interweaved, forming a beautiful picture scroll that gave off a hint of the light and darkness laws.
As expected, the senior did not lie to her. There was indeed room for improvement in that picture of the rising moon.
She looked at the rising sun painting before her eyes and immediately raised her brush and ink. She infused magic power into the brush and slowly landed on the rice paper. As the magic power changed, the ink on the brush also continued to flow on the rice paper.
She gathered all her magic power. Through the weak brush and ink, she completely transformed the element essence that she had comprehended into the scenery on the painting.
Ye Xiu watched from the side. At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to it, but after looking at it for a bit, he couldn’t help but be stunned.
This girl was pretty skilled.
Just from the overall layout alone, her drawing skills were much better than the average person. She could even surpass some beginners.
But compared to him, she was still a lot weaker.
Ban Feimeng’s dark painting was not bad. It appeared in the right place, but her painting of the rising sun was not ordinary. It only revealed half of the Sun, and it turned into a square, giving people a very strange feeling.
But considering that she had never studied painting specifically and that she was still young, it was already very rare for her to have this level of skill!
He initially thought that Ban Feimeng was only interested and that her level might not be that high, but he did not expect it to be so high?
After forty minutes of painting, after a few embellishments, the tip of the brush was retracted.
Ban Feimeng looked at the rising sun painting that was copied on the rice paper and was very nervous.
On the rice paper, every stroke contained her understanding of the magic element. The Sun was drawn into a square because her understanding of the light elements was not high enough.
If it was someone of the same age, being able to express the magic elements through painting was already considered good enough.
But Senior Ye’s handwriting was right in front of her, completely crushing her.
Whether it was the understanding of the magic elements in the strokes or the use of magic, they were all very poor.
“The gap is really big.”
Ban Feimeng sighed in her heart and said somewhat nervously, “Senior, please advise me.”
Ye Xiu roughly looked at it and said, “For someone your age, it’s not bad. Your foundation isn’t bad, but you’re a little nervous. You don’t have enough understanding of some of the scenery. You only focus on the form, but you don’t pay attention to the shape.”
“The shape is also an important part. Try to copy mine as much as possible.”
Ye Xiu used his own eyes to give a few pointers. He was also a little nervous. After all, this was his first time giving pointers to someone.
“You don’t have enough understanding of some of the scenery?” Ban Feimeng frowned as if she understood something.
She had always focused on magic elements, but she didn’t pay enough attention to specific things. It was like the Sun. If she used the dark elements to forcefully manifest it, it would be drawn into a square.
If she just looked at the Sun, wouldn’t it be better than the dark elements?
And Senior Ye’s suggestion was very practical, suggesting her to copy his painting properly. Unlike her family members who were saying things that she didn’t understand.
That’s right. As long as she followed the magic essence contained in Senior Ye’s painting and practiced more, slowly experiencing the path contained within, and gradually transforming it into her own things, she would be able to gain a lot.
Senior Ye directly placed the best thing in front of her. What advice was there to ask for?
“As expected of a senior expert. Just a few sentences and everything is clear.”
Ban Feimeng sighed in her heart and said seriously, “Thank you for your guidance, Senior. I understand now. I’ll definitely work hard in the future and won’t let you down.”
Ye Xiu opened his mouth but didn’t reply. He didn’t know how to reply.
After a long while, he said, “Painting isn’t something that can be rushed. You can slowly practice.”
“I still have to rely on Senior’s guidance.” Ban Feimeng hurriedly said.
Ye Xiu nodded his head as if he agreed to this matter..