Chapter 360: Floating Life Painting

Chen Ling left the Huadu Troupe and walked straight along the alley.

There is a lot of rain in Jiangnan. In Chen Ling's impression, it seemed to have rained just yesterday, and today it rained again... The fine rain fell on him like cotton needles. It wasn't cold, but it had a chilling sensation that seeped in.

After breaking the seal of the white ash, Chen Ling's movements were not so urgent. He walked forward unhurriedly, his bright red opera robe swaying gently in the rain.

"So... where exactly are the possessors of the Divine Path in the Red Dust Realm?"

Chen Ling muttered to himself.

Chen Ling could now use [Formless] to hide his figure and evaporate into thin air, but he didn't do so.

Since he had already turned the troupe upside down, he might as well take this opportunity to test the strength of the Red Dust Realm.

According to his observations over the past two days, the possessors of the Divine Path in the Red Dust Realm didn't seem to be as well-known to the residents as the Law Enforcers, nor did they have the situation in the Aurora Realm where Law Enforcers secretly oppressed civilians or engaged in underground transactions.

Because the Aurora Realm is close to the Ancient Treasury of the Military Path, it regularly sends Law Enforcers into the treasury, allowing some talented Law Enforcers to step onto the Military Divine Path and become Law Enforcers, so the Military Divine Path is the mainstream in the Aurora Realm... And until now, Chen Ling hadn't encountered a single possessor of the Divine Path in the Red Dust Realm.

This meant that their Divine Path, their skills, and their characteristics were completely unknown to Chen Ling...

Threats hidden in the dark are far more dangerous than those exposed in the light.

Liu Town's location was remote to begin with, so even if there were possessors of the Divine Path sitting in town, their strength shouldn't be too strong. Now that Chen Ling had recovered to his peak state, he had the capital to test them. At worst, he could change his face and hide again.

But he had already killed several people in public, so why was there still no movement? Could it be that the possessors of the Divine Path in the Red Dust Realm were all in the main city, and small towns like this were unguarded?

Then what if the Gray Realm intersected?

One question after another flashed through Chen Ling's mind. He shook his head and simply stopped thinking about it.

He passed through the narrow, blue-gray path, flanked by walls built of stone bricks. Turning the corner, he came to the edge of a small river.

Green willows swayed in the wind by the river, and an old man with white hair was sitting under a tree, setting up a small stall.

Chen Ling's gaze swept over the stall and stopped to ask:

"How much for this umbrella?"

Most of the items on the stall were calligraphy and paintings, with only a bucket placed at the edge, containing a few folding oil-paper umbrellas. The old man took a look and waved his hand casually:

"Fifteen."

"Can I pick any one?"

"Hmm, just pick the one you like."

Chen Ling paid the money and took an oil-paper umbrella from the bucket at random, opening it in the fine rain.

The pale yellow oil paper transmitted the blurred sunlight, with a few strokes outlining the silhouettes of small black geese on it, dotted on the edge of the umbrella, like a flock of geese going away in the dusk, quite artistic.

"What an exquisite umbrella." Chen Ling couldn't help but sigh.

"It's just adding a few strokes. Life is boring, so one must find fun for oneself." Hearing Chen Ling's praise, the old man couldn't help but curl his mouth, but still said modestly, "There are plenty who paint better than me."

"This one it is."

Chen Ling held up the oil-paper umbrella, blocking the continuous fine rain, and continued forward along the river.

The willow branches danced in the wind. The old man sat by the stall, watching the figure in red gradually moving away, his cloudy eyes narrowing slightly...

The next moment, a change occurred!

The goose silhouettes on the oil-paper umbrella that shielded him from the wind and rain seemed to start flapping their wings as Chen Ling's pace jolted, as if they had come to life, suddenly piercing through the surface of the paper umbrella and flying out!

Whoosh—!!

The edge of the umbrella was only a few dozen centimeters away from Chen Ling, and the goose silhouettes outlined by the brush tip were no slower than bullets. Almost in a flash, they reached Chen Ling!

But Chen Ling seemed to have been prepared. The moment the goose silhouettes flickered, he dodged to the side. Except for the first goose silhouette that whistled and cut a half-centimeter-deep wound on the side of his neck, the others all missed!

A few light sounds came from the ground. The remaining goose silhouettes had already left several thumb-thick black holes on the bluestone road, bottomless!

The bright red opera robe spun rapidly in the fine rain, the wide sleeves dancing with the wind. As Chen Ling stopped and steadied himself, the pale yellow oil-paper umbrella also fell lightly to the ground, making a ticking sound.

Scarlet blood flowed down from Chen Ling's neck...

His eyes fixed on the old man under the willow tree, cold as frost.

[Audience Expectation +3]

"Huh?" Seeing that Chen Ling had actually dodged the attack, a look of surprise appeared on the old man's face. "How... did you discover it?"

"The ground under your stall is wet, which means you only just arrived... and you're selling calligraphy and paintings outdoors." Chen Ling pointed to the gray, overcast sky and spoke slowly.

"It is currently raining."

When Chen Ling turned the corner and first saw the stall, he sensed something was wrong. After all, he had chosen a route with fewer people while escaping; normally, even if someone wanted to set up a stall, they wouldn't choose such a desolate place. After he walked up and examined the stall closely, he became even more certain of his suspicions.

This old man had most likely chosen this location on his necessary path specifically to intercept him.

Chen Ling didn't know the old man's skills or methods, so he had to remain on guard at all times. But he never expected that the few wild geese painted on the oil-paper umbrella were the actual source of the lethal threat. If Chen Ling hadn't been prepared, anyone else would likely have been killed instantly.

"Good observational skills." The old man nodded slightly. "If time hadn't been so tight, I could have set it up more comprehensively... what a pity..."

"Are you the superior of those police officers?"

"Police officers? I have nothing to do with them... I am just an umbrella painter."

Chen Ling's brows furrowed involuntarily. "You aren't from the official Red Dust Domain?"

"I am." The old man studied Chen Ling, looking thoughtful.

"It seems you are not from the Red Dust Domain... Where do you come from?"

Naturally, Chen Ling couldn't answer, but the old man's words still provided him with some information.

Although the old man represented the official side of the Red Dust Domain, he had no connection to the police officers who maintained order. It seemed that here, ordinary people and those who possessed the Divine Path existed in two completely different systems, rather than the superior-subordinate structure of the Law Enforcers.

"Interesting." Chen Ling chuckled. With blood still seeping from his neck, the smile looked exceptionally eerie.

"In that case, what should I call you? A running dog of the Red Dust?"

A cold glint flashed in the old man's eyes.

After a brief pause, he spoke in a deep voice:

"【Floating Life Painting】."