Chapter 2509: Chapter 2488: Tao Tao in the Painting
Chapter 2488: Tao Tao in the Painting
"..."
Lin Feng looked at Ma Biaohu and for a moment didn’t know what to say. He didn’t expect the outcome to be like this. However, thinking that his cultivation technique couldn’t be learned by others made him feel a bit relieved, but he was still somewhat unwilling. Compared to his technique, Ma Biaohu’s was more practical for everyone.
But having the idea was useless now. Thinking of this, Lin Feng suddenly felt a sharp pain. If there were more Ascenders in the future, what would happen? He needed to find a shortcut to help these Ascenders restore their strength, or else when establishing a Sect, he couldn’t rely on his strength alone to fend off the attacks from numerous sects.
"Brother Lin, I think it’s better not to worry too much now; maybe you’ll encounter something unexpected later. There aren’t any impossible things for you." Tao Tao said to Lin Feng, seeing him in such agony, feeling quite helpless. She mainly didn’t want to see him troubled.
"That’s true!" Hearing Tao Tao’s words, Lin Feng suddenly felt relieved. Things that couldn’t happen to others seemed possible for him. Perhaps someday he might stumble upon a cultivation technique capable of exhausting death, who knows.
After speaking, Lin Feng suddenly remembered the market square, which he hadn’t visited in a long time, so he decided to take Tao Tao along and leave, letting Ma Biaohu stay and take care of the three Ascenders.
The two hadn’t been alone together for a long time. While Lin Feng was quite natural about it, Tao Tao’s heart was pounding. Unknowingly, her gaze flickered as she looked at Lin Feng, feeling a ripple of emotions.
What’s happening to me?
Feeling her own changes, Tao Tao suddenly felt strange. She really didn’t understand why just looking at Lin Feng caused such a change in her.
Unknowingly, they arrived at the market square; Lin Feng took Tao Tao wandering around the stalls. For Lin Feng, sometimes the things at the stalls were even better than those in shops, similar to ancient streets on Earth, where the value depended entirely on one’s eyes.
They had only walked a short distance when suddenly a young man wearing dark green approached, stopping dead in his tracks upon seeing Tao Tao’s appearance. He couldn’t move his gaze, staring as if petrified.
Tao Tao felt the intense stare and intended to leave with Lin Feng. But seeing Tao Tao about to leave, the young man spoke up.
"Beautiful lady, slow down!"
Zhang Yulong looked at Tao Tao, retracting his earlier gaze, and asked her curiously: "Have we met before?"
"No!" Tao Tao coldly replied, ready to leave with Lin Feng.
"No, we’ve definitely met!" Zhang Yulong insisted, as if he truly recognized Tao Tao.
Upon hearing this, Tao Tao immediately turned her head, and when she saw the speaker was a mere lad, her expression grew even colder.
Lin Feng observed clearly from the side, noticing that Zhang Yulong’s eyes lacked the typical gaze men have; instead, they were full of confusion. This indicated Zhang Yulong approached Tao Tao not out of attraction, but maybe due to some hidden circumstances. He remembered that Tao Tao seemed to be an orphan adopted by Geomancer Qianjue.
"We weren’t in Ling City before; we just arrived in Lin City. In fact, even I’ve never met you. I don’t believe you know her." Lin Feng said to Zhang Yulong.
Upon hearing Lin Feng, Zhang Yulong furrowed his brows tighter, still pondering where he might have seen Tao Tao before.
Tao Tao, seeing nothing significant happened, intended to continue strolling through the market with Lin Feng, but as she was about to turn around, Zhang Yulong suddenly slapped his thigh and said to Tao Tao, "I remember now; I once saw a portrait. That portrait was stunningly beautiful. If you trust me, come see the painting with me."
Upon hearing this, Tao Tao immediately paused her steps, looking at Lin Feng with wide eyes, unsure how to respond.
"It wouldn’t hurt to take a look." Lin Feng answered decisively. He didn’t know the full story either; seeing is believing. Only by looking at it could they perhaps uncover Tao Tao’s origins.
"Alright, come with me!"
Upon Lin Feng’s response, Zhang Yulong immediately led them away from the market square, bypassing the Divine Cultivators’ District, heading straight to the affluent district. In one of the painting boats there, they saw the very painting Zhang Yulong mentioned.
The painting was enormous, life-sized, and the artistry was remarkable, depicting the person so vividly that at first glance, it indeed bore a nine-tenths resemblance to Tao Tao. If Tao Tao wore the same clothes as the person in the painting, one might almost think they were the same person!
"See, I wasn’t wrong, was I?"
Zhang Yulong said proudly at this moment. He hadn’t thought much initially, but upon seeing Tao Tao, her visage intersected with his memories. If not for his good memory, he wouldn’t have recalled this matter.
Lin Feng smiled at Zhang Yulong upon hearing this and then thanked him, "Thank you for bringing us here; otherwise, we wouldn’t have encountered this painting."
"It’s nothing, just a small matter." Zhang Yulong waved his hand at Lin Feng with a smile and, after glancing at the already stunned Tao Tao, turned and left grinning.
Lin Feng then refocused on the painting. His instincts told him this painting must be related to Tao Tao’s parents. Thinking of this, he called over the young shop owner of the painting boat.
"Where did you get this painting?"
Lin Feng asked the slightly young shop owner, wanting to find out its origins to help uncover Tao Tao’s real parents.
"I don’t know; it was left by my deceased father." The young owner replied to Lin Feng looking at him.
Hearing this, Lin Feng was momentarily speechless but then thought a bit. The shop owner seemed slightly older than Tao Tao, so his father shouldn’t be too old either. Could the owner’s father be Tao Tao’s father?
"Did your father paint this?" Lin Feng asked the owner after a brief thought.
"No, my father doesn’t paint!" The owner felt puzzled by Lin Feng’s question but suddenly noticed the striking resemblance between Tao Tao and the painting, immediately realizing Lin Feng’s implication. Thinking seriously, he replied, "I don’t know the origin of this painting either, but if you want to know, I can look it up for you."
After saying so, the owner quickly went to the back and brought out a heavy book, searching through it for the corresponding information. After quite some time, he indeed found some things about the painting. It had been hanging for years; if not for Lin Feng’s insistence, he wouldn’t have remembered.
He didn’t read it himself, just pushed the page towards Lin Feng, leaving him to read it.
How could it be like this?
Lin Feng saw the introduction on the book; eighteen years ago, one day, a wounded woman, holding a newborn child, sold this painting to the painting boat. The given price was two thousand Yuan Stones, the woman left immediately afterward.
He could imagine the child was surely Tao Tao, and the woman likely her mother. As for what happened among them, there was no record here.
Seeing Tao Tao still staring dazed at the painting, Lin Feng thought for a moment, glanced at the painting’s price, and immediately decided to purchase it, much to the owner’s delight, finally selling the painting.
After storing the painting, Tao Tao came back to her senses, but her eyes were already red, and she cried sorrowfully in Lin Feng’s arms.
"Brother Lin..."
She cried heartbreakingly because she had basically confirmed the painting was related to her identity. Looking at the painting, she was overtaken by an irresistible sadness, a strange phenomenon.
"Hm, come with Brother Lin." Lin Feng patted Tao Tao’s back and took her out of the painting shop.
After leaving the shop, instead of returning to the backyard, he took Tao Tao to an inn and got a very large room.
Once inside the room, Lin Feng took out the painting, and placed it on a large table. Since the painting was already mounted, there was a frame, allowing it to be propped on the table.
Tao Tao sat in a chair, staring dazedly at the painting, while Lin Feng examined it for a long time. Finding nothing odd, he moved to the back to see if there was anything peculiar. As he did, he noticed a slight inconsistency—the mounting paper seemed different from the back of the painting!
Noticing this, Lin Feng began to suspect the painting. As he moved closer, he discovered another detail: the painting was mounted twice—something not typically done, unless ... unless someone wanted to conceal something!
Thinking of this, Lin Feng didn’t say anything to Tao Tao, just swung his hand, instantly shattering the outer frame of the painting, causing Tao Tao to look over curiously, unsure of what Lin Feng intended to do.
Under Tao Tao’s puzzled gaze, Lin Feng moved his consciousness, causing a teapot to float in mid-air. Under the influence of Yuangang, the water from the teapot floated up, quickly soaking the back of the painting. Then the Yuangang threads appeared, carefully unraveling the painting before Tao Tao’s eyes.
When Tao Tao realized the painting was double-mounted, she suddenly felt curious about it, suspecting it might indeed hold some mysteries...
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