Li Fei and Bai Xing followed behind Lin Suxin and said with a somewhat cautious bow, "Greetings, Senior Ye."
"There's no need to be nervous. You're guests now. Relax." Ye Xiu chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "How do you feel after seeing my painting? Can you accept the series?"
That painting was of bamboo. If these two guests appreciated the bamboo paintings, he could take out a better-looking painting of bamboo. He would be more confident in raising the price.
If they felt that bamboo wasn't good enough, he was not worried because he had other options for them.
If they weren't interested at all, then why did they accept Lin Suxin's invitation?
Ye Xiu had already thought of a plan. He led the three through the screen divider and arrived at the place where he usually practiced painting.
Xiaobai quietly lay on the side. It usually watched from the side when Ye Xiu practiced painting. When it saw a stranger come, it thought of Ye Xiu's previous teachings and didn't bark. It glanced at Li Fei and Bai Xing's pants.
Li Fei and Bai Xing didn't notice Xiaobai. They looked at the ink wash painting behind the screen. They were so shocked by the magic within that they couldn't speak.
They didn't even have the time to answer Ye Xiu's questions. They just stood there.
Seeing them like this, Ye Xiu didn't hurry them. All the previous customers were like this. It looked like they would be able to open again today.
All sorts of different magic essence revolved around them. After a while, Li Fei and Bai Xing came back to their senses.
Lin Suxin secretly gave them a look, indicating that they had not answered their senior's question.
Li Fei looked at the painting that contained the magic essence, and the bamboo painting that contained the law of time flashed through his mind again. He thought for a moment, he replied honestly, "Senior, I have benefited a lot from looking at your painting. The same goes for the paintings here. I don't want to give up."
He had talent in the law of time. Apart from that, he specialized in the fire element. He couldn't bear to part with the fire element painting in front of him.
It wasn't a bad thing to reveal his ambition.
Ye Xiu was stunned. Good heavens, I was only asking if you liked that bamboo ink painting. And you straight to the point for another painting. The two paintings added up to nearly 200,000 gold coins. Would you be willing to pay?
"You have good taste, but you have to know when to give up. It's not a good thing to blindly pursue all things at once. You'll have to pay a higher price. Can you bear it?"
If he suspected that a customer couldn't pay, he naturally couldn't say it in front of the customer. He could tactfully remind the customer without leaving any trace.
If that was the case, when the situation became awkward, he could ask the customer to buy one piece first.
After hearing this, Li Fei fell silent. He was specializing in fire elementals. Up until now, he was only an advanced mage, but he was thinking of doing two things at once. Even if he didn't give up on fire elementals, he still had to dabble in the law of time. This would definitely drag down his energy and severely prolonged his leveling time, he might not even be able to level up. Was this price within his tolerance range?
Seeing Li Fei fall silent, Ye Xiu turned his head to look at Bai Xing. He didn't know what this girl would say.
If she also wanted to buy two paintings, Ye Xiu would have to dissuade her as well. Other than the worry that they couldn't afford the money, if they really could afford the price, it would be troublesome if their families came looking for him.
The matter of Ban Shan had just passed, so he had to be on guard.
Seeing Ye Xiu looked at him, Bai Xing also chose to tell him his true thoughts, "Senior, your painting isn't particularly suitable for me. It's the opposite of what I think it should be."
After saying this, he looked at Ye Xiu somewhat uneasily.
She had comprehended the law of time acceleration from the law of time reversal, so she didn't know how to explain it.
Ye Xiu thought, "She didn't like the painting I gave away, but she wants the opposite artistic conception? This little girl's artistic attainments were very high."
If others looked at it, they would only think that the bamboo painting wasn't bad. If they could understand the scenery in the white space in the ink wash painting, then they truly had good eyes for art.
Ye Xiu immediately praised, "You can actually see a deeper layer through the surface. Then you came to the right place. If you went somewhere else, you won't be able to get what you want. I have something here. Wait a moment, I'll go get it."
After saying this, he turned around and went into the study to get the ink painting that he had drawn last time.
He had nothing to do. Apart from looking at the shop, he was also practicing his painting. He had saved all the paintings that he was satisfied with and waited for the right customer to sell them. As for who was the right customer, of course, it would be the right customer who would give him the money.
If one dyed the blank space on the bamboo painting with color, they would discover that it was actually two prawns standing on top of the bamboo.
Bamboo was a plant. Wasn't the reverse artistic conception of a plant being an animal?
As one of the more satisfied paintings, Ye Xiu was naturally happy that someone could see what was hidden.
After he left, Lin Suxin, Bai Xing, and Li Fei fell into silence.
Ye Xiu didn't let them wait for long. He took out an ink painting of two prawns swimming in the water.
"Take a look at this. How does it feel?"
Bai Xing took the ink painting and unfolded it. The two prawns were swimming in the water, but the pond water wasn't drawn. Only a few strokes were drawn on the edges, representing the outline of the water.
In her eyes, the water was stirred up by the prawns into the air and then flowed backwards. It seemed very fast, but also very slow. The variables in the middle couldn't be distinguished no matter how hard she tried. It was very difficult to understand.
When Ye Xiu handed the scroll over, he was paying attention to Bai Xing.
How the guest felt represented how much he earned.
The young girl was puzzled, she didn't seem to understand the meaning behind it. Her artistic attainments weren't high, but it was understandable. After all, she was still young. It would be difficult for her to appreciate very good works of art.
Ye Xiu explained from the side, "It's hard to see anything if you keep looking at the main body. You must pay attention to the blank space around it. That's the essence."
"There's actually no difference between the front and the back, because the two coexist."
"Without the contrast of darkness, light isn't light. If you understand this, you'll be able to understand this painting."
The previous painting had a large prawn hidden in the bamboo. This time, it was the other way around. The prawn had bamboo hidden in it.
It had two sides of it, which were very interesting.
Ye Xiu had thought about it for a very long time before drawing it. It could be said to be a masterpiece.
Bai Xing was slightly startled and somewhat reacted.
She had been struggling with time acceleration all this time, but she had forgotten that even though time acceleration was the opposite of time reversal. It was precisely because of their coexistence that they became meaningful. No wonder she couldn't understand the essence of the painting and felt that it was very difficult to get the hang of it.
Senior was indeed a master. With just a few words of his guidance, it was more effective than cultivation for ten years.
Thinking of this, Bai Xing glanced at Lin Suxin without a trace and was amazed by the other party's good fortune.
This kind of reclusive master was usually relatively low-key or had lived for too long and was not easy to get along with. Meeting such a good-tempered master, one would not be able to be envious even if one wanted to.
Bai Xing bowed, "Thank you for your guidance."
Ye Xiu nodded his head, "It looks like your talent isn't bad. You can walk my path in the future. There's quite a bit of space for you to develop."
Being an artist, painting a few paintings a year and selling them, you wouldn't have to worry about food and drink.
Meeting a friend who shared the same interests, and even holding a party together. With life like this, what else could you pursue?
Bai Xing looked excited. He couldn't help but ask, "Senior, is what you said true?"
"Then can I learn from you?"
The corners of Ye Xiu's mouth twitched. His heart began to grow suspicious, "Learn from me? You're not thinking of taking my painting for free, right? That's 100,000 gold coins per painting. If you buy it today, how will you be able to do business in the future?"
"I gave the painting to Lin Suxin for free so that she could attract customers. Even so, she even bought some high-end dog food. But you didn't give me anything and you want my painting for free?"
Of course, Ye Xiu couldn't say his thought out loud. Otherwise, it would be too hurtful, and it would be detrimental to his reputation. He immediately tried to persuade her tactfully, "Even though our paths are the same, it doesn't mean we have to walk together. If you follow me, you will be influenced by me and lose your own style."
"In the end, you'll only be below me. You won't be able to reach a higher level. If you have any questions, you can come to me."
Ye Xiu's words weren't wrong. Apprentices who had just entered the profession were always pursued their seniors. They were indeed easily influenced by their seniors. Painting wasn't forging, it was a personal style of art.
Bai Xing was a bit disappointed, but she also knew that it was quite difficult to get these hidden experts to accept disciples. It was already very good that they agreed to give her guidance.
She bowed once again, "Thank you for your guidance. Then, can I come often in the future?"
"Sure. If you have any questions, you can come. What do you think of this painting?" Ye Xiu nodded his head and probed.