Chapter 75

The next morning, Lu Li was still in a deep sleep when his phone suddenly rang. He groggily answered it, and a slightly respectful voice quickly came through.

"Uncle Master, it’s Sanzhen."

"Sanzhen? What’s up?"

Hearing this name, Lu Li felt a bit surprised.

Since their last meeting, the two had not been in touch. A phone call so early in the morning—what was this all about?

"Uncle Master, did you go to the construction site near the Third Ring Road last night?"

Lu Li’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. Without waiting for Song Wengui to continue, he straightforwardly admitted, "A ghost cultivator tried to silence me last night, but he was no match for me. In the end, I eliminated him."

Song Wengui clearly breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s what I thought. Uncle Master, I have a part-time job in a special national department. The police found the man’s death suspicious and called me in. During the investigation, I accidentally discovered Uncle Master in the surveillance footage and suspected you, so I decided to verify it with you."

He paused and then added, "Don’t worry, Uncle Master. Huang Xing is a ghost cultivator, ruthless and responsible for many cases. We’ve just lacked evidence to arrest him. Now that he’s met you, it’s his bad luck."

"Good. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up. I have to attend a calligraphy and painting exhibition later."

"Sure, Uncle Master, take care."

Lu Li hung up the phone, then washed up, had breakfast, and set off for the Yanjing East Asia Grand Hotel Exhibition Center.

At this point, the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition for Young and Middle-aged Artists was in its final day. The exhibition would end in the morning, and the auction would begin in the afternoon, with all proceeds donated to the northern drought-stricken areas.

He had received the news when he first arrived in Yanjing, but he was suddenly confronted by Huang Xing and couldn’t leave.

With the exhibition about to end, a noble cause, and Fang Gaizhi’s repeated invitations, Lu Li finally decided to attend.

Of course, he also wanted to see where his current calligraphy skills stood in the domestic calligraphy and painting world.

When he arrived at the exhibition center, the exhibition hall was bustling with people, lively and vibrant.

It was already summer vacation, so there were parents with children, college students, but mostly white-collar workers and successful people who were trying to cultivate a refined image.

No matter who they were, once they had money, the first thing they did was to decorate their homes.

Ancient masters’ genuine works were hard to come by, expensive, and difficult to authenticate. If they made a wrong judgment, their hard-earned money would be wasted.

In comparison, investing in contemporary artists, especially young and middle-aged calligraphers and painters, was a good choice. It required little investment, guaranteed authenticity, and if they became famous in the future, the value would multiply several times over.

Lu Li got off the hotel’s dedicated car and walked toward the exhibition center with the crowd.

Just as he reached the entrance, a middle-aged man in a suit and wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses stepped forward, extending his hand respectfully. "Are you Mr. Lu Li?"

"Do you know me?"

"I am Fang Zhenting, son of Fang Gaizhi. My father said that Mr. Lu is young but has an extraordinary demeanor, and the white hair on your head is particularly noticeable."

Lu Li smiled lightly. "I admit the latter, but I can’t agree with the former." He shook hands with Fang Zhenting and asked, "Why isn’t Old Fang here?"

Fang Zhenting was taken aback, looking deeply at Lu Li. Seeing that he was calm and showed no signs of nervousness or reluctance, he felt a chill and became even more respectful.

To dare call his father "Old Fang," what kind of identity did this young man have? Could he be from one of the four major families in Yanjing? But even the young from the four major families in Yanjing wouldn’t dare call his father "Old Fang"!

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but blame Fang Gaizhi. It’s fine to send me to pick someone up, but you should at least give me a detailed background of the person, or I might easily offend them!

"My father is one of the judges for this calligraphy and painting exhibition. He is currently discussing the auction prices with the association members."

"Is that so!" Lu Li thought for a moment and said indifferently, "You go ahead and work. I’ll go in and take a look."

Fang Zhenting shook his head. "Mr. Lu, my father asked me to accompany you." He gestured with his hand. "Mr. Lu, please."

"Alright."

With Fang Zhenting leading the way, Lu Li didn’t need to buy a ticket.

As they entered the exhibition area, they saw two prominent works hanging in the most conspicuous spot: one was Lu Li’s ink lotus, and the other was a calligraphy piece.

Clearly, in the eyes of the organizing committee, these two works were the best in the exhibition.

"Mr. Lu, I heard from my father that the ink lotus is your work. He highly praised your skills in calligraphy and painting, saying that among the younger generation, no one can match you."

Seeing Lu Li standing in front of the two works, nodding and looking at them, Fang Zhenting promptly paid a small compliment.

In his view, Lu Li was young, and being praised to his face, especially by the chairman of the calligraphy and painting association, he would at least be a bit pleased, even if not overjoyed!

Since these two works were the most prominent, many people were gathered around. Hearing Fang Zhenting’s praise, most of them showed disdain.

No one can match him? That’s a bit too much.

Only one middle-aged man turned his head and glanced at Lu Li, his eyes gleaming.

Under Fang Zhenting’s gaze, Lu Li shook his head and said calmly, "The calligraphy piece is excellent and has its own style. Its future achievements are boundless. In comparison, my calligraphy might not reach that level if I don’t make a breakthrough. As for painting, it’s not my strong suit."

"Oh?"

Fang Zhenting was slightly surprised, not expecting Lu Li to be so mature despite his young age.

"Let’s go, let’s take a look at the other works."

Lu Li called out and led the way to the other works.

The middle-aged man quietly turned his head, watching Lu Li’s back, his eyes filled with deep thought.

This time, the calligraphy and painting exhibition featured 42 artists and 86 works. At each stop, Lu Li would offer a few comments, always hitting the mark, which greatly impressed Fang Zhenting.

Although he was not a calligraphy and painting expert, his father was the honorary chairman of the calligraphy and painting association, so he had a good eye and could fully understand Lu Li’s analysis.

By the time they finished the tour, it was already noon. Fang Zhenting specially invited Lu Li to have lunch. During the meal, he tried to inquire about Lu Li’s identity, but Lu Li only smiled and changed the subject.

Since Fang Zhenting was Fang Gaizhi’s son, he was one of his descendants.

Given their positions, Lu Li had little interest in talking much.

In fact, he was quite hesitant about the Fang family.

Firstly, children should be responsible for their own fate, and he had not made any promises back then.

Secondly, the Fang family was different from the Xue family. The Xue family was a martial arts family with the opportunity to interact with cultivators, making it easier for them to accept reincarnation.

The Fang family, however, was a scholarly family, more talkative than action-oriented. Pulling them into the world of intrigue was not what Lu Li wanted.

By now, at least four families had survived the eight reincarnations, not counting his master’s Dragon Tiger Sect. If he had to recognize each family, he would be overwhelmed!

Of course, the precondition for not recognizing them was that they should not provoke him. Otherwise, the charge of betraying one’s teacher and ancestors would be hard to avoid.

After lunch, when Lu Li and Fang Zhenting returned to the exhibition center, it had already been cleared.

Thirty minutes later, the auction officially began.

***

I apologize for being half an hour late.

To reiterate, the update times are before 1 PM and before 9 PM.

Additional updates are calculated separately.

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