Ye Qiu turned his head and saw Xu Changjin standing in front of the desk, holding a rectangular wooden box.
The wooden box was secured with a small copper lock.
Ye Qiu walked over, activated his Heavenly Eye, and his gaze penetrated the wooden box, revealing a scroll painting inside.
“It’s a painting,” Ye Qiu said.
“How do you know?” Xu Changjin’s face showed confusion, then she continued, “Strange, why would Grandpa lock up a painting?”
“If it’s very valuable, Grandpa would probably keep it in the treasure room!”
Ye Qiu said, “It’s probably a painting Mr. Xu often looks at.”
Xu Changjin searched the desk and said, “I couldn’t find the key to the copper lock, so it seems we can’t open it.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Do you want to see it?”
“Yes,” Xu Changjin nodded and said, “Grandpa never used to lock a painting in a wooden box.”
“Even for world-famous paintings, he would keep them in the treasure room.”
“So I’m really curious, what is this painting in the wooden box?”
Ye Qiu said, “I’ll open it for you.”
With that, Ye Qiu grasped the copper lock with one hand, applied a little force, and with a “clink,” the lock opened.
“Ye Qiu oppa, you’re amazing,” Xu Changjin looked at Ye Qiu with admiration, her eyes sparkling.
“Take it out and have a look!” Ye Qiu said.
“Yes,” Xu Changjin opened the wooden box, took out the scroll inside, and spread it out on the desk.
The next moment, Xu Changjin exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful!”
Ye Qiu looked down, and his gaze was captivated.
The painting depicted a courtly beauty.
At first glance, the courtly beauty seemed like a young girl experiencing her first love; upon closer inspection, she also resembled a beautiful woman in her thirties.
Utterly enchanting!
The courtly beauty stood in a peach grove, wearing a pink palace dress with a plain satin ribbon tied around her waist, accentuating her graceful figure.
Though her face bore little makeup, her brows were like spring mountains, her eyes like autumn waters, delicate and graceful, like a lotus emerging from water, charmingly delicate yet captivating.
So beautiful!
Ye Qiu’s heart trembled.
It was the first time he had seen such a stunning painting.
The courtly beauty in the painting had a perfectly proportioned figure, slender shoulders, and a narrow back, with willow-like brows and a cherry-like hairdo; her forehead and nose were flawless.
Especially her eyes, they seemed alive, sparkling with allure, making it impossible to look away after meeting her gaze.
Ye Qiu stared at the painting for a while, and gradually, his head began to feel drowsy.
Two minutes passed.
Suddenly, Ye Qiu felt as if he were standing in a peach grove, with a woman in a pink palace dress standing under a peach tree, looking at him with captivating eyes.
Then, the courtly beauty undid her outer garment, shedding her clothes until she stood completely bare.
Her skin was fair, without a single flaw.
Utterly perfect!
The courtly beauty beckoned to Ye Qiu with a finger, irresistibly seductive.
Ye Qiu couldn’t help but step towards her.
At that moment, a surge of innate energy jolted through his body. Ye Qiu looked up, and where was the courtly beauty? There was only a painting.
And he was not in a peach grove but in Mr. Xu’s study.
What was going on?
Ye Qiu turned his head and saw Xu Changjin staring blankly at the painting, her pretty face gradually flushing with two patches of red.
“Could she have seen the scene in the painting too?”
Ye Qiu’s heart skipped a beat, and he tapped Xu Changjin on the shoulder.
However, Xu Changjin showed no reaction, her eyes fixed on the painting.
This situation shocked Ye Qiu.
It was just a painting, yet it could ensnare someone, making them lose awareness of the outside world. It was…
Too eerie!
If he didn’t have his innate energy, he might be in the same state as Xu Changjin, completely unresponsive.
Ye Qiu placed his right hand on Xu Changjin’s shoulder, channeling his innate energy into her.
One second later.
Xu Changjin’s body trembled, and she snapped out of it. Like Ye Qiu, her face showed a strange expression upon waking.
“What happened to you just now?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Nothing,” Xu Changjin turned her head, noticing Ye Qiu’s right hand on her shoulder. Her already flushed face grew redder as she said, “Ye Qiu oppa, your hand…”
Ye Qiu didn’t remove his hand and asked, “Changjin, tell me, did you just find yourself in a peach grove and see a courtly beauty undressing?”
“How did you know?” Xu Changjin’s face was full of astonishment.
Just as he thought.
This painting was very strange.
Ye Qiu’s eyes flashed as he said, “There’s something wrong with this painting.”
“The painting?” Xu Changjin’s gaze fell back on the canvas, and she exclaimed in surprise, “The woman I saw looks exactly like the woman in the painting, and… oh!”
Xu Changjin suddenly let out a gasp.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Qiu asked quickly.
Xu Changjin looked at the signature in the bottom left corner of the painting and said in shock, “Ye Qiu oppa, this painting is by Lee Seong-yeop.”
Ye Qiu, unfamiliar with Korean figures, asked, “Who is Lee Seong-yeop? Is he famous?”
Xu Changjin replied, “Lee Seong-yeop is the greatest painter in Korean history, also known as the Demon Painter.”
“Lee Seong-yeop is a legendary figure, and his stories are widely known in Korea, familiar to everyone.”
“Lee Seong-yeop was a fool from childhood, and until he was eighteen, he couldn’t even write his own name.”
“On his eighteenth birthday, a massive earthquake struck Korea. While fleeing, Lee Seong-yeop accidentally fell into a dry well.”
“Someone rescued him from the well, and from then on, Lee Seong-yeop not only became enlightened but also turned into a genius painter.”
“He was self-taught, and with a single stroke of his brush, he created masterpieces.”
“No matter what he painted, it gave people an immersive experience, so his paintings were called ‘the brushwork of the gods,’ and Lee Seong-yeop quickly gained fame worldwide.”
“Later, he was summoned to the palace to paint exclusively for the emperor, who reportedly loved his paintings.”
“Not long after, the emperor suddenly died.”
“When the royal family investigated the emperor’s death, they found a large number of Lee Seong-yeop’s paintings in the imperial study, some of which were extremely eerie, capable of ensnaring viewers with a single glance, making them unable to break free. People began to suspect the emperor’s death was linked to Lee Seong-yeop.”
“The royal family arrested Lee Seong-yeop, and during interrogation, he admitted that he caused the emperor’s death through his paintings. Soon after, he was executed at the age of twenty-three.”
“From then on, Lee Seong-yeop was called the Calamity Demon Painter.”
“As for his paintings, they were confiscated by the royal family and destroyed.”
“Strange, how could there be a painting by Lee Seong-yeop in Grandpa’s room?”
Just as Xu Changjin finished speaking, a noise came from outside the door.
