Chapter 103

In the evening, everyone returned to Qinglin Courtyard.

The seven sat in the yard and went over the clues each had found.

"We went to many places my sister used to go, all the places we asked said she hasn't been there recently," said Yu Yifan somewhat discouraged.

"Gu Zhi and I got a clue at Tianxiang Building. Someone said she had been very close with a young scholar named Qin Shi lately. Apparently Qin Shi is quite good at painting, and my sister had bought many paintings from him," said Sang Li. Xia Miaomiao was surprised to hear this. "Sister Li, what did you say? He's good at painting?"

"Yes, we heard from a girl that Yu Jiaojiao seemed quite fond of him," Sang Li replied.

Xia Miaomiao wondered if it was a coincidence. "Today Xiao Han and I met an old mask peddler downtown. He said the masks he sells were all painted by a young scholar from their village who paints very well. I wonder if there's any connection between this scholar and the Qin Shi you mentioned?"

"We'll find out if they are related if we look into it..."

"Then I'll go find that old peddler again tomorrow under the pretext of wanting to buy paintings."

...

That night, as Xia Miaomiao was sitting in bed looking through the photos Xiao Han took for her today.

Although Xiao Han wasn't very good at taking photos, after sorting through them, there were still a couple decent ones.

She deleted all the bad ones.

As she was deleting, she suddenly noticed a figure in blue clothes.

She zoomed in on the photo and saw what looked like someone sitting not far behind her on a roof, looking in her direction.

Just then, Xiao Han came in after washing up. "Miaomiao, what are you looking at?"

"Oh, just the photos you took for me today. Xiao Han, come take a look, does it look like someone's sitting there?"

Xiao Han leaned over to glance at it. "It does seem so. What's that person doing sitting there? And it looks like he's watching you!"

Xia Miaomiao zoomed in on the photo, trying to make out the person's features, but the background was too blurry no matter how she tried.

"I feel a bit creeped out by this person sitting here," said Xia Miaomiao.

"Oh don't think too much about it. There are people in the background of tons of photos!" Xiao Han got into bed. "Let's just go to sleep!" Xia Miaomiao didn't ponder it any further. She put her phone next to her pillow and went to sleep.

She didn't know why, but she had a nightmare that night.

She dreamed she was captured by a womanizer who was about to force himself on her. Xia Miaomiao was so frightened she cried, and was woken up by her fright.

When she woke up, she was drenched in cold sweat.

...

The next day, Xia Miaomiao went back to the mask peddler's shop and asked about the name of the young scholar from the boss. To her surprise, his name turned out to be Qin Shi.

"Miss, I asked him for you when I got home yesterday. He said he doesn't want to paint for anyone lately, so I'm afraid I can't agree to your request," the boss said.

"Boss, I really love his paintings. How about this - can you take me to meet him? If we offer more money, maybe he'll agree."

"Well..."

Seeing his hesitation, Xia Miaomiao immediately gave him a silver coin. "Boss, please do me this favor. I really love his paintings!"

The boss took the coin with a smile. "Alright then, I'll close up shop for now and take you to find him."

The boss started packing up his booth.

"You go ahead and pack up, boss. I'll come back in a bit," said Xia Miaomiao.

She left the booth and went to where Sang Li and the others were waiting nearby.

"Sister Li, the scholar's name is Qin Shi. The boss has agreed to take me to meet him."

"There are too many of us, we can't all go. Su Mo, you know martial arts, go with Miaomiao," said Sang Li.

"Okay."

Just as Su Mo was about to leave with Xia Miaomiao, Ying rushed forward and grabbed her hand. "Don't worry, I'll protect you two from the shadows."

Su Mo smiled at him. "I'm not worried at all!"

And so, Su Mo and Xia Miaomiao followed the old man out of the city.

The old man chatted with them enthusiastically along the way. "Young ladies, I want to give you a word of caution - Qin Shi is a recluse who doesn't like interacting with strangers. If he doesn't want to paint for you, don't insist!"

Xia Miaomiao and Su Mo exchanged a glance.

"Sir, could you tell us what kind of person he is? That way we can try to get on his good side when we meet him."

"Well, Qin Shi is quite talented, but...he's not very good-looking. His face was burned before, so he's probably somewhat insecure and doesn't like meeting new people. But you'll find he's actually quite nice once you get to know him."

"Has he painted for anyone else recently?" Xia Miaomiao asked.

The old man thought for a moment. "He seemed to have painted a lot for a young lady before, who was also his patron, buying many paintings from him." Hearing this, Su Mo leaned in and whispered to Xia Miaomiao: "Must be Yu Jiaojiao..."

"Has that young lady been here recently?"

"I didn't notice, but she came once before. A very beautiful young lady. People in our village teased Qin Shi, saying the girl had her eyes on him!" The old man laughed.

"What did Qin Shi say about that? Does he like that girl?"

"He knows his place! Of course he knows he's not worthy of the girl!"

...

As they talked, they arrived at the village where the old man lived.

The old man first went home to put down his masks before taking Su Mo and Xia Miaomiao to where Qin Shi lived.

"He lives alone and rarely goes out," said the old man as he knocked on the door. "Qin Shi, are you home?"

Su Mo looked around curiously. Why was the door shut in broad daylight?

After knocking for a while, there was finally movement inside, and the door opened.

A man in grey-blue robes appeared, exuding a scholarly aura.

His hair was tied in atopknot and he wore a blue headband.

His clothing was simple, befitting a scholar.

However...there were uneven scars on his face, likely from the burns the old man mentioned.

"Qin Shi, so you were home after all," the old man smiled. "This is the young lady I told you about who admires your paintings. She wants to buy some from you. Since she came with such sincerity, I brought her to meet you."

"Hello, I'm Xia Miaomiao, and this is my friend Su Mo." Xia Miaomiao smiled politely.

Qin Shi's expression was flat, as if expressionless. He looked at Xia Miaomiao and Su Mo.

"I'm afraid I don't wish to paint recently, ladies. Please leave."

Although Qin Shi lacked expression, he spoke politely.

"Turning down money for your work?" Su Mo immediately said. "We can pay more!"

"I'm sorry..."

Just as Qin Shi was about to close the door, Xia Miaomiao quickly took a step forward. "Master Qin, wait! I truly admire your paintings. Otherwise I wouldn't have guessed you were skilled in painting just from seeing the masks you painted. I feel that meeting someone who appreciates your work may be more important than earning money."

Qin Shi paused and glanced at Xia Miaomiao.

"Come in..."