Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 60 Sketching

"Nanzhao accent?" Gu Yuanming blurted out, immediately asking.

“Yes, Huang Daqian said he used to be the manager of a merchant guild in the border town, and he could easily distinguish the Nanzhao accent. That woman definitely has a Nanzhao accent,” the black-clad guard answered firmly.

So that Uncle Qiuqiu's real name is Huang Daqian?

However, she seemed to have actually met the woman in her late twenties who was connected to Steward Qiu.

That was when she broke into the Pan residence at night to save Wen Qinglan.

"Is she a tall woman with deep-set eyes and a slightly exotic look?" Gu Qingyue asked.

The black-clad guard was taken aback, recalling that when Huang Daqian described the woman's appearance, he seemed to have said that her eyebrows and eyes did not resemble those of people from the Central Plains, but rather those of a small tribe from the Nanzhao Kingdom, and that she was very beautiful.

"Yes, Huang Daqian said that the woman's features did indeed look somewhat unlike those of people from the Central Plains, more like the women from the small tribes of Nanzhao he had seen when he was traveling as a merchant." The black-clad guard replied after carefully recalling the events.

"Have you seen her?" Gu Yuanming asked, his expression cold and stern.

"I'm not sure. I think I saw a woman when I was sneaking into the Pan residence at night. She was very beautiful and her age matched," Gu Qingyue said somewhat awkwardly.

When she met Gu Yuanming's eyes, she felt that she didn't want him to know about her rather "outrageous" behavior. This feeling was strange and a little awkward. Could it be that it was her first time meeting an ancient general and she felt a bit of admiration for him?

"Can you draw what she looks like? Or can you describe her in detail and I'll find someone to draw her?" Mu Yun Chu noticed Gu Qing Yue's expression from the side and was slightly surprised. Did he actually seem a little uncomfortable?

Gu Qingyue paused. Was she capable of drawing well, or not?

After thinking about it, she realized that this woman might be a key figure, and she had to draw her too, for the sake of the handsome and righteous general in front of her.

"No need, I'll try," Gu Qingyue said, and then walked towards the village.

Fifteen minutes later, Gu Qingyue walked out of the room.

He handed a piece of paper to Mu Yun Chu, who was waiting outside.

"This... this is that woman?" Mu Yun Chu glanced at her and couldn't help but be slightly shocked. She turned to look at Gu Qing Yue with an incredulous expression.

"Doesn't it look like him? Should we have Huang Daqian come over and identify him right now?" Gu Qingyue quickly leaned over, sticking her head out with a serious expression. Being able to accurately draw a portrait based on a description was one of her skills as a special agent, so how could it not look like him?

Besides, she had seen that woman with her own eyes.

She always paints portraits with ease, achieving a resemblance of over 90%. Could it be that the woman she met was in disguise?

After saying that, she lowered her head, rubbed her chin with her right hand, and carefully recalled the woman's face. She had great confidence in her memory and believed that she was not wrong, unless the woman in the mine was not the same woman she had seen.

Mu Yun Chu, standing beside him, gained a new understanding of the boy's uniqueness.

Looking at the lifelike face on the white paper, almost coming to life, his vague idea became even stronger: he wanted to bring the boy in front of him under his wing. Such a special and outstanding boy, he could not miss him.

Composing herself, Mu Yun Chu lowered her eyes, put away the paper in her hand, and gestured behind her.

"Call Huang Daqian over to identify him," he said, then raised his hand to Gu Qingyue and bowed, sincerely saying, "Thank you very much for this matter, Young Master Qingyue. I will repay you handsomely."

Gu Qingyue was a little stunned by the young man's sudden display of courtesy. Just as she was about to speak, he continued, "Please do not refuse, young master."

Gu Qingyue was stunned. Actually, she wanted to say that other gifts were unnecessary, but if it was money—cough cough, the more the better.

Well, the handsome young man in front of her has shut her up. Fine, it would be impolite to refuse!

Huang Daqian lived up to his reputation as the most round-figured person Gu Qingyue had ever seen. In less than a quarter of an hour, he stood before Gu Qingyue and Mu Yun Chu.

Rolled over here? So fast? Gu Qingyue secretly let her imagination run wild for a moment.

Actually, Gu Qingyue was wrong. He was brought here by the secret guards who could scale walls and leap across rooftops.

"Ah-------" Huang Daqian's startled cry brought Gu Qingyue back to her senses.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Doesn't it seem like it?" Gu Qingyue and Mu Yun Chu both looked at the middle-aged man shouting exaggeratedly in front of them, with doubt in their eyes.

Huang Daqian stared at the paper for a few seconds, then dramatically patted his chest, "So it's a portrait! It's terrifying! How can it be so lifelike? It looks like the real person!"

Gu Qingyue suddenly had a flash of inspiration! She remembered the scene when Mu Yun Chu saw the portrait. She thought it was because the portrait didn't look like the real thing. Could it be that it looked too much like the real thing?

She suddenly realized that she had used the sketching techniques of later generations, while portraits here were generally drawn in a more abstract style. The most realistic style was meticulous brushwork, but it was still different from the lifelike meticulous brushwork of later generations.

What a blunder! They went too far with the boasting!

She was trying to make the painting look realistic, but she didn't really consider whether this style of painting already existed in this era.

She forgot that the people here might never have seen sketching before. After a moment's pause, Gu Qingyue secretly glanced at Mu Xiaoqi. What's wrong with that? Can't she be talented? Drawing is all about talent, what's the big problem?

"Yes, it's the female supervisor you mentioned. Does she look like this?" Gu Qingyue lightly brushed it off and changed the subject.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's her. You've seen her?" Huang Daqian asked hurriedly.

Gu Qingyue turned her head and met Mu Yunchu's eyes.

Mu Yunchu nodded.

Huang Daqian was taken away.

Even after walking quite a distance, you could still hear Huang Daqian's exaggerated shouts: "How can it be painted so realistically? It's terrifying!"

"Oh dear, I need to take a break--------"

Gu Qingyue touched her nose, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Well, I have to go now. My senior brother is still injured, so I need to go find him," Gu Qingyue said, raising her hand in a slight bow as she turned to leave.

"Take care, the thank-you gift will be sent over later," Mu Yun Chu nodded and said very solemnly.

Seeing Gu Qingyue turn and walk away, Mu Yun Chu's expression remained inscrutable.

"Qingyue, you're finally here! I was so worried! Are you hurt? Are you alright? How's it outside?"

As soon as she entered the room, Gu Qingyue was bombarded with questions from Liu Feng. Well, it seems this guy's injuries have healed a lot, and he's starting to be noisy again.

Gu Qingyue expressed her delight.

Gu Qingyue sat down at the table and looked around. A boy was half-lying on the bed, while the other three boys were sitting on the couch, looking at Gu Qingyue timidly. For a moment, no one dared to speak.

"Senior brother, how are they?" Gu Qingyue took a sip of tea and turned to ask Liu Feng.

"Cough cough... They were mainly hungry, they should be fine now, but..." Liu Feng paused, then leaned closer to Gu Qingyue: "They are all homeless, they are refugees, they were kidnapped and brought to the mountain ten days ago. It is said that they were planned to be sold in half a month. What do you think we should do with them?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyue's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really? Are we going to take them in again?"

It's not that she's heartless, it's just that this big family is already under a heavy burden!

The two looked at each other and saw helplessness and regret in each other's eyes.

"Let's ask them what they want," Gu Qingyue said after thinking for a moment.

“That’s fine. Maybe they have other plans. But what if they’re willing to come with us?” Liu Feng stroked his chin and asked in a low voice.

Gu Qingyue closed her eyes. Oh well, four more mouths to feed isn't a big deal. If they can raise them together, they'll eventually find a way to make money.