Why do I have so many masters?

One wonders just how much hardship the third master must have endured back in the day to possess such consummate skill in painting by his early thirties.

If he had not burned each painting immediately after setting down his brush, leaving none for the world to see, Wang Anfeng would surely have been able to produce one or two paintings that would shock the entire lineage of Great Qin's painters and send those complacent masters tumbling from their seats.

In his spare moments, upon reflection, he realized that although his mentors in the Shaolin Temple were unsurpassed in martial arts, having reached the pinnacle of their craft, they also dabbled in other fields with extraordinary proficiency, transcending the mundane.

The third master excelled in painting, needless to say, while Master Gudao was quite versed in music, able to make animals stop and listen. The first master wielded the brush with grand flair, with each character on the three-foot scroll unique in its demeanor but harmoniously unified, resembling the vast world with its myriad forms, each with its own merit.

The second master was unparalleled in culinary arts, ancient or modern, and excelled at chess, with secretive and wise strategies. As for Mr. Ying, he was even more so: understanding astronomy above, geography below, the Five Elements, Bagua, Qimen Dunjia, musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, astrology, even military strategy, and the intricacies of the human heart, mastering it all with nothing neglected. If not for his somewhat stubborn disposition, he could be considered one of history's most charming figures.

But he was exceedingly proud in nature.

For example, when the third master Hong Luoyu taught him painting skills years ago, Mr. Ying clearly dismissed it with disdain and strong disapproval. However, later, after 'unintentionally' seeing Wang Anfeng's proud artwork, he flew into a rage and forced him to paint daily.

If he could not reach the stage in painting of 'seeing the small and knowing the large, concealing the great within the small,' it would not be considered successful, and he was not allowed to paint outside for fear of embarrassing him. The paintings Wang Anfeng currently made were against his master's orders, but the urgency of the situation left him with no choice.

While he was lost in thought, the ink on the painting had already dried, so he had nothing to worry about. Wang Anfeng immediately rolled up the portrait, stepped out to knock on the wooden door, handed the portrait to Xue Qinshuang, and after carefully inquiring about the needed items, set off alone to buy them in the city.

Liangzhou City, within Xianping County, is considered the second largest city, only ranked below the county city, and comparable to the other state city, both having their own unique features and being virtually equal, with a multitude of merchants and a full stock of goods. Moreover, in this era of martial arts flourishing in Great Qin, such large cities lack nothing, with items like paintbrushes and wigs easy to find, not to mention fitting clothing.

However, there was an unexpected complication while buying rouge and powders.

What Xue Qinshuang needed was a type of face powder to conceal the original complexion, which was less commonly used by ordinary women. Fearing it couldn't be found in small, less prominent shops, Wang Anfeng simply went to the largest store in all of Liangzhou City, just in case.

This idea was good in principle; however, despite Great Qin's customs not being as extremely patriarchal as Western Shu in the past and paying attention to decorum, young men still held themselves in high regard, unwilling to bow down for women, and unable to grasp the joy and intimacy of beautifying at the bedside.

Despite his extensive knowledge of martial arts, music, and various disciplines, including the three teachings of literature, and chess, Wang Anfeng was always ignorant of these things. His masters, each mastering paths unknown to Heaven and Earth, were silent on the topic, a taboo of sorts, leaving him unaware, as if four or five solid blocks of iron had instructed a solid block of wood.

Additionally, he practiced the secret techniques of the Divine Thieves Sect, which included top-grade disguise techniques among the three teachings and nine circles, relying solely on a martial artist's control of their muscles without external materials, so he had never entered a cosmetics shop. With this in mind, he charged in, fearless like a newborn calf.

Only upon entering did he realize the place was filled with women, their scents overwhelming, making him very uncomfortable. The only other men were two or three well past their forties, appearing to belong to wealthy families, adorned in scholar's headdresses with jade pendants, accompanied by young concubines and beauties.

They spoke and laughed gently, holding and fondling the beauty's hands as if handling jade artifacts, not letting an inch of skin escape their fingers, intimately playing with them while maintaining a scholarly guise, bringing a chill to Wang Anfeng.

If the setting were different, he could not help but shout, treating them as the cultured beasts who bullied innocent women, striking with the left hand of the Tathagata Vajra Palm Force and the right hand in a Dhyana Burial Knife strike, restoring peace and freedom to Heaven and Earth.

Yet, knowing this as a deep expression of husband and wife affection, he could only criticize silently that harmonious feelings and intimacy should be confined to their home, as such public displays were truly an eyesore.

He had to pretend not to see and, upon searching for a shop assistant, discovered that they were all young women of about twenty-one or two, with well-proportioned figures and appearances of six or seven points of beauty, none of them lacking in looks.

They all looked at him as if he were some exotic creature from a legendary fable, their eyes filled with excitement, curiosity, and a multitude of odd sentiments and wistful sighs.

These women knew no martial arts, at most having practiced some energy-boosting methods for health, not even reaching the rank of Ninth Grade Martial Artist, yet their gaze felt like a barrage of divine martial crossbows, making him incredibly ill at ease.

After hurriedly buying the items, he even abandoned the bargaining skills taught by the villagers of Great Liang Village for over ten years, without uttering a word of negotiation, grabbed the items, and turned to flee awkwardly.