Chapter 333 – Renowned Throughout the Land (1/2)

Although time was rather tight, Sun Shuping still walked at an unhurried pace. He had a healthy glow about him, and he had switched his cloth robes for a fur coat. He was brimming with vigour, differing greatly from the impoverished old storyteller of the past.

His job right now was to train young storytellers for the Cloudwisp association. He made quite a pretty penny.

Although there was no longer any need for him to take the stage, he frequently could not help himself but to go up and tell a part, leading to rounds of applause. He did this to scratch his itch of demonstrating his ability, but it was also because the money he earned on stage would all be his. The Cloudwisp association would not touch it at all.

Sun Shuping often felt embarrassed because of this. He tried persuading his bosses to accept some silver taels in consideration of the long-term situation. He had already begun to treat the Cloudwisp association like half a home, so he obviously hoped the association could carry forward and prosper for a very long time so that humble actors and artists like him could hold their heads high.

Returning to his room, he discovered that his disciple, Li’l Rock, was lying on the ground, utterly absorbed by a picture book. He frowned. “Li’l Rock, why aren’t you familiarising yourself with the material and preparing to go on stage? Why are you reading this instead?” Sun Shuping was originally against his disciple continuing along this line of profession, but after joining the Cloudwisp association, he changed his mind. He wanted to give him some proper training.

Li’l Rock raised his head. “Master, I want to tell this story!”

In the past, Sun Shuping had looked through the picture book Li Qingshan had released too. It was interesting, but it was just a story for children. There were basically no words, and it was too short, making it unsuitable for storytelling or singing out. As a result, he did not take it too seriously.

But now that Li’l Rock had mentioned it, turning a story into a smaller, brief performance was quite a good idea too. It was perfect for Li’l Rock to go on stage and get some practice.

Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai knew about the picture book too. It was all thanks to Sun Fubai’s connections that it could disseminate and propagate so rapidly. However, they also felt like it was just an insignificant picture book that did not suit the standard of the school of Novels, unable to contend against the school of Painting’s Chu Danqing. Before they knew it, they had already forgotten about it, focusing most of their attention on editing Li Qingshan’s novel instead.

His novel and picture book rapidly spread through two different audiences. Through every single teahouse and restaurant, through every conversation between children, his impressive name was being spread around, turning into specks of belief and gathering in the sea of power of belief.

At the same time, he had never stopped practising the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength. He had already consumed almost half of the pills he had purchased with spiritual stones. In probably half a month’s time, he would reach a whole new level.

As he watched the sky darken, Li Qingshan thought, It’s about time she comes back. He waited for another hour, and only then did Xiao An appear outside, throwing herself into Li Qingshan’s arms. Her tiny face was fuming.

“Who is it that has made our Xiao An so furious?” Li Qingshan caressed her long hair with a smile.

Recently, Xiao An had been extremely busy too. The eminent monks that the One Thought master had invited all converged here from various places, and Xiao An had to visit and greet every single one of them. Mentioning the buddhist dharma would be unavoidable every single time, throwing some sayings at her as a test.

If the eminent monk happened to bring a disciple or two with them, then it would be even more troublesome. They would insist on competing and seeing whose disciple was better. They just wanted to make it difficult for her.

With Xiao An’s understanding of buddhism, the One Thought master obviously achieved a complete victory, earning plenty of respect. He was overflowing with joy every single day, but Xiao An was particularly vexed. This had greatly diminished the time she spent with Li Qingshan.

Compared to bickering with these monks, she would much rather lean against his chest peacefully.

She shifted into a more comfortable posture. “The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty is completely right. All of these bald asses should be burnt to death! Today, the young nun brought by that old nun clearly couldn’t win against me, but she insisted that I had to undergo tonsure, or I’ll still be clinging onto my six sensory desires. I ended up losing.” She did not care about the outcome, but she did not want to waste time.

Li Qingshan burst out laughing. He pinched the tip of her nose. “Looks like your comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty has deepened yet again.”

“Exactly.” Xiao An held his hand and studied the grooves carefully. Her large eyes blinked a few times before suddenly saying impulsively, “Let’s enter seclusion!”

Ever since last time, monotonous secluded cultivation had become her favourite thing to do. They would be alone, without any disturbances at all.