Chapter 612 - 612: Artistic Treasure

Yan Heyun was one of them.

He wasn't just an old friend of Lin Liangzhe; he was also the most skilled and famous calligrapher in the group. Though not on par with Grandmaster Level figures like He Junwu and Wei Chengyu, he could still be considered among the top tier in the national calligraphy scene! His works had not only won countless awards but also fetched a handsome price.

Yan Heyun was currently in his studio.

Before checking WeChat, he had been practicing his calligraphy, a habit he had maintained for many years. Regardless of where he was or whether he was in sickness or in health, he practiced diligently every single day. He knew that the Dao of calligraphy was like rowing upstream: not to advance is to fall back. Miss one day, and your hand would grow stiff; miss a few, and your brushwork would regress.

As it happened, the piece he was practicing today was also Wang Xizhi's *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection*. And he was quite satisfied with his own work.

He scrolled back through the chat history, curious to see just how ugly the piece Lin Liangzhe had posted could be. At the same time, he called his disciple in, pointed at the work on his desk, and ordered, "Have this piece mounted."

The disciple peered over, immediately gave a thumbs-up, and praised him effusively, "Master, this rendition of the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection* already possesses the form and spirit of the Calligraphy Saint himself! It's truly a rare masterpiece!"

"Haha." Yan Heyun laughed complacently. "Not bad. Your eye for quality has improved considerably."

He then turned his attention back to his phone. As he searched for the photo, he shook his head and grumbled to himself, 'That Old Lin has no shame. Tossing aside all face just to promote his grandson-in-law. How dare he ask us to "pay our respects" to some horrifying calligraphy that's probably an eyesore. Fine, I'll "pay my respects," and then I'm going to roast him!'

'Ah, there it is.' Yan Heyun finally found the photo from Lin Liangzhe, tapped it open, and zoomed in.

'Huh, isn't this the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection*? Wait... this calligraphy!' Yan Heyun took one look and was utterly stunned by the work in the photo. He frantically zoomed in as far as the image would allow, studying it character by character, trying to absorb every stroke.

Unfortunately, the image from the WeChat group was low-resolution. When magnified, it became heavily pixelated, blurring the characters. But even so, Yan Heyun could still see their brilliance and feel the profound spirit and artistic intent behind them.

He froze.

Only then did he understand. The "horror" someone had cried about earlier wasn't because the work was horribly ugly—it was because it was terrifyingly exquisite! Frighteningly beautiful!

His disciple had no idea what he was looking at, much less how shocked and excited his master felt. After carefully picking up the piece from the desk, he bowed and said, "Master, I'll go get this mounted now."

"Wait." Yan Heyun stopped his disciple. "Put it back on the desk. I want to look at it one more time."

The disciple was puzzled, not understanding the reason for this, but he complied and placed the work back on the desk.

Yan Heyun glanced at his own rendition of the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection*, then back at the photo on his phone.

A moment ago, he had been so proud and satisfied with his work. But now, he felt his version of the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection* was nothing but dogshit! Absolute, utter garbage!

He abruptly snatched the piece up and, to his disciple's utter astonishment, tore it to shreds with a few violent rips. RRRIP!

"Master, what are you doing? It was such a fine piece, why did you tear it up?" the disciple asked in confusion, his heart aching. In his eyes, it was a superior reproduction that would have surely fetched a good price on the market. For his master to just rip it apart... what a terrible pity, what a waste!

"You think that piece I just wrote was good?" Yan Heyun shot him a look and asked.

"Excellent!" the disciple said without a moment's hesitation.

Yan Heyun exploded. "Good, my ass! That piece was garbage, a piece of dogshit! You brat, you've studied under me for so many years, how can your judgment still be so poor? Have you made no progress at all? Get out! As punishment, you will copy the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection* one hundred times. Each one must capture both form and spirit. If a single copy fails to meet that standard, you'll keep at it until one does!"

"Huh?" The disciple was dumbfounded.

'Weren't you just praising my sharp eye a minute ago? How can you flip on me like this in the blink of an eye? What in the world has gotten into you?'

The disciple's heart filled with indignation, but he didn't dare to ask why, let alone show his displeasure. He could only manage a "Yes," then turn and leave to begin copying the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection* as Yan Heyun had demanded.

Yan Heyun, however, was not content to admire this breathtaking masterpiece through a photo. It was simply too blurry on his phone screen. He quickly found Lin Liangzhe's number and dialed.

To his surprise, the line was busy.

'Who in the world is Old Lin talking to?'

Unwilling to give up, Yan Heyun kept redialing, again and again.

Finally, after more than ten solid minutes of redialing, the call connected. He immediately launched in, "Old Lin, who's the lady you're sweet-talking at your age? I've been trying to get through forever."

Lin Liangzhe ignored his question and simply stated, "I'm at home, and the piece is here with me. It was indeed written by my grandson-in-law. If you want to see it, come over yourself."

Yan Heyun was taken aback. The things Lin Liangzhe said were the exact questions he had been about to ask.

He asked, filled with curiosity, "How did you know I was going to ask that?"

Lin Liangzhe answered, "Because several people have already called to ask the same thing. You were wondering who I was on the phone with for so long? It was all them, the gang from the group chat. You're not doing too bad, though. You're the ninth one to get through. Oh, and I'll give you a heads-up: if you're coming, hurry up. If you're late, you might not get a chance to see it up close."

With that, he hung up.

Yan Heyun stood stunned for a moment, then snapped back to reality and bellowed, "Number Three, get the car! I'm going to Lin Liangzhe's house. Hurry!"

The disciple who ranked third among his students quickly assented and scrambled downstairs to get the car.

At that very moment, similar scenes were playing out among all of Lin Liangzhe's old friends who had seen the photo.

As if possessed, they all began rushing to Lin Liangzhe's house from every corner of Rongcheng City.

They were beyond excited.

Because they all realized the same thing: a priceless artistic treasure had just been born.