Chapter 61: Soul Painter Experience Card

Song Jiaru listened entranced, as if she could see that era filled with the smoke of gunpowder, where a thin, small girl, under the guidance of an invisible "mentor," grew step by step into the figure of a heroine.

"When fighting wars, that's what you call magical!"

Wu Xiuyun's tone carried an amazement that she still found unbelievable to this day,

"Mister he... he seemed to have a pair of eyes that could see through a thousand miles! Where the Japanese pirates were ambushing, how their troop strength was deployed, and even the personality flaws of their commanders, Mister could tell me in advance! Many times, like having prophetic foresight, we bypassed traps and struck the enemy's vital points!"

She excitedly slapped her leg:

"Those battles were fought truly heartily! Our troops could always win with fewer numbers, defeat the strong with the weak! Fraternal troops all said I, Wu Xiuyun, was a female Zhuge Liang, employing troops like a god! But how could they know that standing behind me was a true immortal!"

"Mister he... he was the true, only five-star general in our troop! Without him, there wouldn't be the Wu Xiuyun of today, nor that Women's Detachment that made the enemy terrified at the news!"

Song Jiaru frequently turned her head sideways, looking at Xu Yunzhou beside her with eyes full of worship and emotion, her heart surging with tides of thought:

"Big Brother... so a long, long time ago, you were already guarding this land, guiding heroes forward. Your life was actually so magnificently turbulent, so amazing..."

Immersed in memories, Wu Xiuyun continued speaking:

"Mister, although he was sometimes very strict, and if I didn't do well he would punish me, making me suffer a little hardship..."

She subconsciously rubbed her wrist, as if there was still the illusion of being punished by the "System electric shock" back then,

"But I knew he was doing it for my own good. He always gave me strength and direction when I needed it the most."

Her voice gradually lowered, carrying endless longing:

"Later, the situation got better and better, the troops grew stronger and stronger, and the times I needed Mister's direct guidance gradually lessened... Until one day, just like when he came, he disappeared without warning."

"He only left me one sentence, saying that at 11:00 PM on October 9, 2013, at Villa No. 3 in the West Suburbs Garden of Chengzhou, there would be a girl named Song Jiaru who needed my help, and told me I must protect her safely."

"I have always engraved it in my heart... Actually, we arrived the day before yesterday, made arrangements in the surroundings, and waited until those people brought you over before appearing."

Speaking of this, Wu Xiuyun looked again at the void beside Song Jiaru, her eyes sparkling with tears:

"Mister, the task you entrusted, Xiao Yun has completed. For over seventy years, Xiao Yun has never dared to forget... You, when will you be able to come see me again..."

Song Jiaru had already been moved to tears. She tightly held Wu Xiuyun's pair of hands—covered in calluses, which had held swords and guns and also pushed the wheels of history forward—and choked out:

"Grandma Wu, he... he definitely remembers it all! He is right here, he is listening! He is definitely also incomparably proud and honored to have a student like you!"

As she spoke, she looked toward Xu Yunzhou's direction, pleading with her eyes:

"Big Brother, I... can I draw a portrait of you for Grandma Wu to see?"

Xu Yunzhou nodded. He also wanted to confirm whether the almost omniscient and omnipotent "Mister" in the other party's mouth was really his future self.

Obtaining permission, Song Jiaru was just about to act, but then lowered her head dejectedly:

"But... but I don't really know how to draw, I won't be able to draw it to look like you at all..."

Xu Yunzhou's voice sounded in her mind:

"No, you know how."

Song Jiaru understood Xu Yunzhou's meaning, and hurriedly went to a roadside shop to buy sketching paper, charcoal pencils, and a simple set of watercolor paints.

They found a quiet and elegant teahouse nearby and asked for a quiet private room.

[Ding! Consumed 1000 Mall Coins, successfully redeemed a five-minute "Soul Painter Experience Card"!]

Song Jiaru picked up the charcoal pencil, her wrist hovering lightly over the plain white paper.

The instant she outlined Xu Yunzhou's facial contour—

"!"

Wu Xiuyun's breathing abruptly stalled, her aged fingers closing unconsciously.

Her gaze locked firmly onto that smoothly wandering pen tip, as if staring at a miracle.

The charcoal pencil rustled, quickly outlining the full forehead, the straight lines of the nose bridge...

"It's... it's Mister's bone structure..."

Wu Xiuyun muttered to herself, her voice already carrying a choke.

Murky tears gathered in her eye rims, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall, terrified of missing a single detail.

When Song Jiaru began to depict the brows and eyes—that arc of the gaze carrying detachment amidst gentleness, that wise and tranquil look...

"That's right... these are exactly the eyes..."

Wu Xiuyun's tears finally burst the banks, sliding down her wrinkle-covered cheeks.

Trembling, she reached out her hand, virtually caressing the brows and eyes of the person in the painting through the air, as if touching memories from seventy years ago.

"When Mister looks at people, it's exactly like this... both gentle, and seemingly able to see through everything..."

Completely immersed in creation, Song Jiaru's hands didn't stop.

She began coloring the sketch. The skin tone blended with ochre made the person in the painting more vivid, and ultramarine outlined the crisp and neat Mao suit...

(TL: "Mao suit" is a traditional Chinese tunic suit named after Sun Yat-sen / Sun Zhongshan.)

"Even the preference in clothing hasn't changed..."

Wu Xiuyun cried uncontrollably, her whole person trembling slightly,

"What Mister wore most often was the Mao suit. He said it was convenient for movement and also presentable..."

Xu Yunzhou blanked slightly. It seems I really have to go buy a Mao suit tomorrow.

When the final touch of color was completed, the image of Xu Yunzhou in the painting was lifelike, as if he would walk out from the paper in the next second.

"Finished..."

Song Jiaru said softly. The instant she put down the paintbrush, she finally woke up from that mysterious state.

And Wu Xiuyun's old tears were already crisscrossing her face.

She stood up shakily, faced the painting, and also faced the void beside Song Jiaru, using all her strength to bow deeply:

"Mister! Xiao Yun... Xiao Yun has finally seen you again!"

She cried like a child who had been lost for many years and finally found home,

"Seventy-three years of springs and autumns, Xiao Yun has not dared to forget your teachings for a single day... Thank you, thank you for still being willing to let Xiao Yun... see you again..."

Xu Yunzhou: "..."

I seem to still be alive, right?

...

The night grew deeper. After seeing Wu Xiuyun off, Song Jiaru leaned against the car window, letting the evening wind brush her face.

She secretly glanced at the invisible existence beside her, complex emotions surging in her eyes—worship doubled, yet mixed with a trace of unignorable loss.

"Big Brother..."

Her voice was so light as if afraid of disturbing the night, carrying a rare cowardice,

"It wasn't until I heard Grandma Wu's past tonight that I realized what it truly means to live a legendary life. Even Sister Lin Ruoxuan built a massive empire that changed the fabric of modern society... But what about me?"

She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes:

"I seem... to have just sung a few songs. Big Brother, am I... the most useless one among the people you've helped?"