The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#304 - The Magic Brush

Ma Liang? Lu Jing was also taken aback when he heard this name.

The story of Ma Liang, the magic painter, was basically a household name in Lu Jing's previous life.

It roughly tells the story of a boy named Ma Liang who was given a magic brush by an immortal. When he used that magic brush to paint, the things he painted would come to life. So he used that magic brush to paint for the poor people in the village every day, painting a fence for this family and a waterwheel for that family.

However, later this matter was known by the county magistrate, who became greedy and tried to take the magic brush, but failed. Instead, he was shot to death by Ma Liang with a bow he painted. Then, the emperor also wanted Ma Liang to paint him a money tree, but Ma Liang painted a sea instead.

Ma Liang told the emperor that the money tree was on a small island in the sea, so the emperor took his ministers and concubines on a boat to find it. Unexpectedly, Ma Liang then painted a strong wind, wiping out the entire imperial court.

After that, Ma Liang disappeared without a trace.

The story is roughly like this. Although many parts of it can't stand scrutiny, it left a deep impression on Lu Jing after reading it at the time.

After all, who wouldn't want a magic brush that can paint everything? Coincidentally, if the strange object he is looking for this time is really a magic brush, then the four strange small cases on the file can be reasonably explained.

Could it be such a coincidence?

Lu Jing thought to himself. Although the ages don't quite match up, they are both named Ma Liang and are both painters. It's hard not to associate them with that story.

So Lu Jing asked Han Erlang some more questions, some of which he originally wanted to ask, and the rest were all about inquiring about that Ma Liang.

Although Han Erlang didn't know why Lu Jing was helping him find a wife but kept asking about Ma Liang, he still answered truthfully.

Afterwards, Lu Jing went to find the remaining three people.

Li Er indeed knew Ma Liang. After Ma Liang was expelled from the Painting Academy in the capital, he settled down in Li Family Village, living very close to Li Er's house.

Xin Bapi and Miao Yuanwai, however, didn't have much of an impression of Ma Liang. Xin Bapi had never heard of the name at all, while Miao Yuanwai knew that there was such a person in Li Family Village because his young son born to a concubine was learning to paint with Ma Liang.

But Miao Yuanwai himself had never met Ma Liang.

However, both he and Xin Bapi, one lustful and the other greedy, were well-known. If Ma Liang's help to Li Er and Han Erlang was to promote good, then giving Miao Yuanwai and Xin Bapi a lesson was to punish evil.

To punish evil, there is no need to really know them. Just ask the nearby people, and you will know. Moreover, Ma Liang lives in this area and should be quite familiar with the local customs.

After a round of inquiries, the investigation was almost done. Lu Jing knew that he should go and see the person in charge next.

So he came to Ma Liang's residence.

Ma Liang was teaching at this time. After offending that Hanlin official, he was expelled from the capital by the Painting Academy, and all his paintings could not be sold in the capital.

The suburbs are mainly farmers, and few people are willing to spend money to buy paintings. In order to make a living, Ma Liang had to start teaching people to paint, mostly young children, the oldest being only twelve or thirteen years old.

Of course, ordinary tenant farmers rarely send their children to learn painting. It is mainly some landlords and local tyrants who want their descendants to receive some quality education, not expecting them to paint well, but at least to get some artistic influence, and maybe become literati and scholars in the future.

Relying on the tuition fees earned from opening hobby classes, plus helping people write calligraphy during festivals, Ma Liang barely maintained his daily expenses and settled down in Li Family Village.

The villagers generally have a good impression of this tall but refined painter.

Lu Jing came to the outside of the thatched hut where Ma Liang lived, and saw a man in his thirties, walking back and forth among a group of children with his hands behind his back, occasionally looking down at the paintings on their desks, pointing out where the brushstrokes were wrong and how much ink was used.

Lu Jing also roughly scanned those paintings and found that, except for some very young children, or those who had obviously just started, many people's paintings were actually quite decent, and some children who had been under Ma Liang's tutelage for a long time had even painted quite vividly.

From this, it can be seen that this Ma Liang is indeed a person with real skills.

Although Yan Yun had said that she was looking forward to meeting Lu Jing again, she obviously didn't expect to see Lu Jing here.

She believed that she had investigated these four cases very quickly, and only after gathering all the clues did she discover Ma Liang hidden behind them.

But she didn't expect to be one step ahead of Lu Jing. Moreover, she had solved this last question a cup of tea earlier than Lu Jing.

Don't underestimate the time of a cup of tea. The difficulty faced by the first investigation and the subsequent investigation is completely different. After all, people usually have the lowest guard when they are asked for the first time. If people are repeatedly asked about the same thing, even if there was no guard at first, they will be asked out of guard.

At this time, it is even more difficult to collect clues. However, even in this situation, Lu Jing actually completed the reversal against her at the last moment. The shock in Yan Yun's heart can be imagined.

She even regretted coming over like this, because she felt that Lu Jing might just be doing a routine investigation and had not realized the importance of Ma Liang, and her appearance was equivalent to reminding Lu Jing to pay attention to Ma Liang.

But soon, Yan Yun knew that she was a little flustered.

The moment she began to guess Lu Jing's intentions, she had already lost half a move, because according to her past practice, she never cared about what other competitors were thinking or doing. As long as she did her own thing well, the final winner would definitely be her.

This is something that has been repeatedly proven.

However, perhaps because of the battle in Maple Forest, she tasted a trace of frustration for the first time in her life. After facing Lu Jing again, her previously flawless and powerful belief rarely wavered.

Could it be that she will lose to him again this time?

The girl did not know that Lu Jing on the opposite side was also very surprised.

The reason why Lu Jing locked on Ma Liang from the beginning was purely because he had heard the fairy tale in his previous life. The subsequent investigation was not so much about finding the answer as it was about verifying the answer.

Yan Yun is different. Judging from her appearance, she really found Ma Liang. Although she came a little earlier than him, it is indeed amazing that she solved it so quickly.