The yellow sand stretches far and wide, the bright sun hangs high in the sky.

  Li Qian wore a large straw hat he had bought in the countryside of Hanzhong Prefecture, holding a camera and occasionally taking a shot at a distant place with a "click" - at this time, he was already two or three shades darker than when he set out.

  From Xifu to the outside of the mouth, from the outside of the mouth to Kerqin, from Kerqin to Hetao, from Hetao to Shaanbei, from Shaanbei to Chang'an, from Chang'an to Hanzhong, from Hanzhong to Tianshui, then enter Hexi Corridor, all the way west, via Zhangye, past Jiuquan, after nearly a month, Li Qian finally arrived in Dunhuang.

  Yes, here are his most favorite Mogao Caves in both his past and next lives.

  Things in the world are always like this: what ordinary people see is forever only the bright side, while the things behind it are rarely known.

  It's just like everyone knows and pays attention to how much box office a certain movie has earned after its release, how much the director has made, how popular the actor has become, and how high the endorsement fee is. However, few people pay attention to why this movie was a huge success, or consider the efforts and thoughts that the director, screenwriter, and producers have put into this film, or how much hardship and effort the actors have gone through to play their roles well.

  It's just like when Liao Liao's album sells well, people will say, "Liao Liao sings so well", "Liao Liao's songs are so good", or "This album of Liao Liao must have made a fortune"... and so on. But no one pays attention to how much time and effort she has put in to sing the works written by Li Qian well, to find the most suitable tone and emotion.

  In the end, all successful and best-selling works of art, including plays, music, films, etc., although they are commodities, are a special kind of commodity. Even in Hollywood blockbusters with the lowest artistic requirements, the grasp of film rhythm is also very thoughtful - so-called rhythm is also an art.

  To put it simply, a popular consumer art product must find the right balance between its popularity and artistic value in order to be successful - while one can be emphasized over the other, neither can be neglected.

  So, a certain actor is extremely popular and has high film pay, endorsement fees are also sky-high, but he still wants to go perform in those low-paying stage plays, spoken dramas; or small-scale art films.

  So, a certain pop star's album is selling well and even a casual commercial performance can earn tens of thousands of yuan per show, but he still willingly goes to music school to attend classes honestly or participates in those musical performances that basically don't earn much money.

  If Li Qian didn't have too high of aspirations, putting aside the film industry and just focusing on writing songs to sell or even releasing his own albums to make money, he would already be set for life. He would gain both fame and fortune, and after a few years, become known as a master of popular music. However, he still wants to learn about suona, erhu, and matouqin, listen to Peking Opera, Shaanxi folk songs, and Qin opera. In the future, he even hopes to find a teacher and formally study Peking Opera for several years.

  Perhaps, simply put, the approach of people including Li Qian is to pursue art. Because of their love for art and so on, it seems a bit too pretentious and empty, but even if it's just about wanting to continue being popular and successful, on the one hand, they grasp popularity and commerciality, while on the other hand, they tirelessly study artisticness, which is also an indispensable task for art workers - let alone Li Qian really loves music.

  Art originates from creation, but creation originates from learning.

  An artist. Once you are unwilling to learn, you are not far from going bankrupt and falling.

  And when it comes to art, whether you're doing fine arts, film, literature, or music, the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang are a hall of fame, a treasure trove of art that will last a lifetime.

  Li Qian arrived in Dunhuang, first driving around the city to carefully compare the similarities and differences between this city in two different time periods. Then he saw a hotel with a sign that read "Donglai Guest House" and thought it was okay, so he stopped the car and went inside.

  After booking the room and going downstairs, he spent 10 yuan to have his car washed, then went back to his room to take a shower, shaking off the dust and sand that had accumulated on him during the journey. He changed into fresh clothes, then went downstairs again, bought a notebook and pencil at a small shop next to the hostel, and ate a few bites of food at a roadside restaurant before getting in his car and driving straight to Mogao Caves.

  The Mogao Caves are located southeast of Dunhuang, about a 10-15 minute drive.

  It's summer and it's on the edge of the desert, so the temperature here is extremely high, dry and hot. So during this time, there aren't many tourists, not to mention the huge empty parking lot, just look at the entrance, it's cold and deserted, I suppose there aren't many people inside either.

  Buy a ticket, enter the door, first roughly walk around, find what you like, stop and look carefully, change angles to see, and if you really like it, take out your sketchbook and quickly draw a few strokes - this is where tourists are prohibited from taking photos and filming, and the sketchbook was bought for this purpose.

  The murals on the stone wall are either lively and free-flowing or dignified and peaceful. Those lines are simply indescribably beautiful.

  There are few tourists inside the cave, and hardly anyone speaks. Everyone walks quietly and looks quietly.

  Among them, many people are like Li Qian, holding a sketchbook in their hands, and some even bring an easel with them. At first glance, they should be university students majoring in fine arts. Their level is high, one stroke of the brush, the board is set up, and soon it's done.

  Li Qian's painting level is not as good as others, but for him, a casual stroke does not pursue any beauty or realism. He only wants to record certain lines that he needs, even if it's just a kind of exaggerated or realistic feeling.

  In his past life, he had not professionally studied art and drawing, but after a long time working as an assistant director and deputy director in the film crew, he gradually realized the profound impact of artistic foundation on a movie. So he began to learn drawing by himself. Art is easy to learn but difficult to master, Li Qian's painting skills couldn't improve much in a short period, but at least for someone who wants to be a director and make his own films, knowing how to draw is necessary even for the simplest storyboard script.

  Then he brushed and brushed to paint one. Brushed and brushed again to paint another one.

  Sometimes he would turn his head and take a look at those fine arts students painting, feeling both envious and regretful.

  In terms of foundation, he can't even catch up with a fine arts major student, but from his perspective, he always feels that others' paintings are just superficial and haven't captured the essence at all.

  He calmed down and decided to seriously paint something a little better that he could show off.

  In front of the stone wall, several women with colorful ribbons around their waists had plump and slender figures. They seemed to be floating gently, and at first glance, they appeared to be works from the Sui and Tang dynasties. It was very likely that they were from the early or prosperous Tang period. Li Qian took one look and fell in love with them, thinking that he could definitely paint them well.

  Many people also thought it was good, in fact, standing in front of this mural, constantly painting, of course, not just him. After half a day of painting, Li Qian looked up at the original work on the wall and suddenly felt that his own painting had neither shape nor captured much of the spirit, so he put down his brush and extinguished his proud heart.

  Turning her head, she saw a girl with a veil and sunglasses next to her, with long hair over her shoulder, ironed wavy curls, medium build, thin, but thin in a tasteful way. And the key is that she was also sketching, holding a sketchbook identical to Li Qian's, which looked like it had been newly purchased after arriving locally.

  Li Qian slightly tilted his head, looked sideways at the original work of others. This glance was not a big deal, but when he saw clearly the other's painting, he was immediately startled.

  Her flying fairy portrait, the shape, the eyes, the clothes, are all filled with a sharp and tense edge, just like a swordsman with a sword in hand. At any time, there is a possibility of making a stunning move!

  Sharp as a razor!

  Is this still Feitian?

  Li Qian's eyes widened suddenly.

  But take a closer look, huh, it seems there really is such a flavor.

  If you really say she draws like that, it's definitely not. The flying sky she drew, if in the chat room, must not be the kind of anxious waiting to recruit a sour show-off as a golden son-in-law, but belongs to the one who doesn't speak in harmony, thousands of miles away to take your head, Nie Yinniang type of character.

  But you'd say she doesn't draw very well at all... which also seems inappropriate.

  All I can say is that people have different personalities, so they understand things differently.

  Anyway, Li Qian has been through so many times in the past two lifetimes, and not once was he able to see this kind of sharp and revealing flavor from this mural. If someone can see these things and paint them out, they must either be a genius or a madman.

  Li Qian withdrew his gaze, looked up at the mural and shook his head as he watched.

  But he couldn't help it and glanced over again.

  As it happened, the girl seemed to have noticed the sideways glance and turned her head around at the same time.

  She wore a large pair of sunglasses, almost covering half her face, and only the chin looked slightly familiar. But Li Qian quickly scanned his brain and was certain that he didn't know this person. So he flashed a smile at them and nodded in greeting.

  The girl turned her head and looked at him for a moment, with an icy expression. However, she suddenly nodded towards Li Qian's sketchbook in his hand, as if to say: "Hey, you were sneaking a peek at my drawing just now, weren't you? Well, let me take a look at yours!"

  Li Qian felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to hide.

  Don't care if he's a madman or a genius, his artistic foundation is indeed strong enough to surpass me by two streets and still have some left over. Those two broken paintings of mine are really too embarrassing to show to others.

  But who made himself just look at someone else's work, hesitated for a moment, Li Qian awkwardly smiled and didn't dare to hand it over, so he held the sketchbook in his hand and slightly tilted it towards that side.

  He slanted his body and glanced over at him.

  Then, her face quickly revealed a disgusted expression - yes, it was disgust!

  She wore sunglasses, covering half of her face. In the dim light of the cave, Li Qian couldn't see what expression she had on her face, but just by looking at the subtle changes in the corners of her mouth, nose and chin, he immediately sensed her disdain for his work.

  Well, since I came to this time and space, it's really the first time that someone has looked down on me.

  However, it's all self-inflicted!

  Li Qian smiled awkwardly and didn't argue back, he quickly put away his book.

  Then, taking advantage of the fact that everyone was distracted by the mural and didn't notice his movements, he quickly slipped away.

  But soon, when he stood in front of another mural to carefully observe its spirit, the girl had somehow appeared beside Li Qian again. Turning her head and seeing Li Qian, although she still had no expression on her face, she nodded slightly at him.

  Li Qian also nodded at her, then everyone looked at their own things.

  After a moment, she picked up her sketchbook again and began to draw with quick strokes.

  Li Qian was itching all over, but in the end he couldn't help himself and turned his head to look: sure enough, it was another female sword immortal!

  He subconsciously felt that this girl's personality was probably sharp and tough!

  Brushing, it took only about two or three minutes, she finished drawing, turned her head to stare at Li Qian, held up the sketchbook in her hand and suddenly spoke: "You draw one too, let's swap and take a look!"

  Her voice was very soft, so soft that only within a range of one or two meters could you hear what she said clearly. But don't forget, to some extent, Li Qian can be considered as someone who makes a living with his ears. Having done music for so many years, he might not remember other things, and even when meeting in person, he might not recognize them, but sounds, especially those very special ones, he could almost identify six or seven out of ten just by listening to one ear - this girl's voice was crisp and pleasant, with a high base tone and a bright and clear tone. As far as Li Qian has heard so far, in the whole of China, you couldn't find another throat like hers!

  Of course, the tone of speaking and singing is still very different. Some people have the same pronunciation when speaking and singing, but others have completely different voices when speaking and singing. Moreover, it's exaggerated to say that you can't find a second person in the country who speaks like this, but in fact, among tens of millions of people, finding someone who sings with such a tone might not be easy, but finding someone who speaks similarly shouldn't be too difficult either.

  So Li Qian stared at her for about two or three seconds, but still didn't dare to confirm.

  Then he said in a slightly embarrassed tone: "I... don't draw very well."

  But the other side quickly responded: "You're just too bad at drawing, draw! You looked at two of my paintings, and you have to let me look back!"

  If it were the 18 or 19 year old young master from the previous life, Li Qianbao would definitely say a sentence to her at that time. I'll take off my pants and show you, you should also take off your pants and show me, right?

  But now, he hesitated for a moment, picked up his sketchbook, stared at the mural seriously for a while, lowered his head and started drawing brush by brush - probably just two or three minutes, a crooked painting was completed, and he showed it to the other person.

  Yes, as expected, she showed a disgusted expression on her face again.

  "There's something in your mind, but you can't draw it out!" She commented a moment later.

  "And besides, the painting style is really ugly!"

  ***

  It sounds good in my mind, but when I write it down, I always feel that the flavor is not right and the words don't quite convey what I mean. This is probably what they mean by "high aspirations but low ability".

  Yeah, I'm afraid of writing this part badly, so it's a bit stuck.