Zither, Board Games, Calligraphy, and Painting

After teaching some basic music theory to the four women, Ian Song tested them and found that they had all mastered it quite well.

Next, Ian Song began teaching them piano fingering techniques.

Since martial artists have excellent body coordination and control, it took less than half an hour for all four women to learn the piano fingering and be able to play a simple practice piece.

Among the four, Lyra Hale had the highest talent. After all, she was a master of the guqin. Although the guqin and piano are completely different instruments, she was still able to draw analogies and learn quickly.

Learning piano isn’t just about mastering the technique—it also requires lots of practice.

However, since there was only one piano, the four women could only take turns practicing.

While one practiced, the other three quickly became bored, so Ian Song brought out Go and Chinese chess.

"Brother-in-law, what kind of chess are these two?"

Seeing Ian Song bring out Chinese chess and Go, Lyra Hale’s eyes flashed with curiosity.

Ian Song pointed to Go and Chinese chess and explained, "This one is called Go—it uses black and white stones and requires strong calculation skills. This one is Chinese chess, which is like arranging troops on a battlefield; it tests a player’s strategic vision."

Then, Ian Song explained the rules of Go and Chinese chess to them again.

After listening to Ian Song’s explanation, Lyra Hale’s eyes sparkled. "Brother-in-law, did you invent Go and Chinese chess too?"

Ian Song shook his head. "No, I saw them in an ancient book and just made them myself to pass the time."

Lyra Hale glanced at Ian Song with a half-smile. "Oh, I didn’t expect such profound games to exist in ancient times. Brother-in-law, could you let me see that ancient book sometime?"

"I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, and after reading it I don’t know where I put it. I’ll let you see it when I find it," Ian Song replied with a laugh.

Lyra Hale didn’t believe Ian Song saw Go and Chinese chess in an ancient book; she figured he was just being modest.

"Brother-in-law, could you play a teaching game with me?"

Ian Song nodded.

Lyra Hale was already skilled at board games, but compared to Go, war-chess was crude and simple.

Ian Song wasn’t exactly a Go expert, but his mental power had already reached 900 points, and since Go relies heavily on calculation, even if his skills weren’t high, beating Lyra Hale—a complete beginner—was still very easy.

Of course, Lyra Hale’s calculation skills were good too, so the two of them played at a rapid pace.

In less than ten minutes, Ian Song’s white stones had completely trapped Lyra Hale’s black stones.

In the second game, Ian Song won again, but Lyra Hale’s skills had clearly improved.

The third game lasted a full hour. Ian Song still won, but it was no longer as easy as the first two games.

Ian Song also won the fourth, fifth, and sixth games. After the third game, he saw how much Lyra Hale was improving, so he focused all his attention on the board. As a result, his own Go skills advanced rapidly too—especially since he had the advantage of having read many Go strategy books back in the real world.

During these games, Ian Song was able to fully integrate and digest all the Go knowledge stored in his mind, pushing his skill past the amateur level.

Just as the two were about to start their seventh game, Lila Quinn called them over—it was time for dinner.

Lyra Hale’s eyes showed a trace of reluctance, but she knew when to stop. She smiled lightly and said, "Brother-in-law, you’re truly a scholar among men. I can’t compare."

Ian Song laughed, "Lyra, you’re just being modest. You’re improving so quickly, and you’re a beginner while I had an edge from the start. The further we go, the harder it gets for me—at this rate, you’ll probably surpass me in a few days."

Lyra Hale glanced teasingly at Ian Song and Lila Quinn, her tone playful: "Brother-in-law, you really know how to sweet-talk people. No wonder Sister Lila is so devoted to you."

Over the next few days, Lyra Hale often came to Ian Song for Go matches. As they played, the two grew more familiar, and Lyra’s interest in Go far surpassed her interest in Chinese chess.

Lily, on the other hand, became obsessed with Chinese chess.

But what left Ian Song speechless was Lily’s reckless style—she only knew how to charge straight ahead without strategy, so she lost far more often than she won. The only times she did win were when others went easy on her out of pity.

Even more frustrating for Ian Song was that Lily’s chess skills didn’t improve—instead, they got worse. She was a classic hopeless chess addict, yet she was completely obsessed with Chinese chess.

Eventually, no one wanted to play with her anymore—it just wasn’t challenging.

When Ian Song and the others refused to play, Lily turned to the servants of the Grand General’s Residence, dragging them into games.

At first, Lily could win a few rounds against the servants, but once they learned the rules of Chinese chess, she started losing every game again.

Compared to Lily, Autumn was much quieter and more introverted. She became genuinely enthusiastic about the piano.

After several days, Autumn’s piano skills had improved significantly.

As for Lila Quinn, ever since marrying Ian Song, her heart had been entirely devoted to him. She didn’t care much for the piano, Go, or Chinese chess.

Of course, everything has its moment of popularity.

After Lily had lost to everyone in the Grand General’s Residence, her enthusiasm finally faded.

Thinking that he would eventually leave this world, Ian Song felt he should invent more games to help his women pass the time.

So, mahjong and playing cards were born.

With that, entertainment at the Grand General’s Residence became much richer—even Princess Jade Fox joined in.

A single deck of playing cards was enough to keep the women entertained all afternoon.

After all these inventions, Ian Song clearly felt that Lyra Hale’s attitude toward him had changed in a subtle, indescribable way.

Especially when Ian Song presented his hand-painted ‘Five Beauties at Play’ portrait, Lyra Hale’s gaze toward him grew noticeably more passionate.

The art of this era was quite crude and mostly abstract.

So when the five women saw their lifelike images leap off the paper, they were all shocked and amazed.

Every smile and expression in the painting was rendered with astonishing realism.

When Ian Song painted this piece, he used a bit of 3D technique, so the five women on the canvas seemed almost ready to step out of the painting.

Who were the Five Beauties?

First was Lila Quinn, second was Princess Jade Fox, third was Lily, fourth was Autumn, and the last was Lyra Hale.

"General, can you paint a portrait just for me?" Lily clung to Ian Song’s arm, her eyes full of longing.

"Of course!"

"Great!" Lily was so happy that she didn’t care who else was present—she kissed Ian Song on the cheek right then and there.

"Do any of you want your own portrait?" Ian Song looked at the other four women.

All four nodded in response to his gaze.

Half an hour later, Ian Song unfolded the finished portraits. The five women couldn’t help but cover their mouths in amazement.

After a moment, Lily finally snapped out of it, staring dazedly at the painting in Ian Song’s hand. "How... how did I end up inside the painting?" she murmured.

This time, Ian Song had pushed his 3D painting technique to the limit, and with his unrivaled skill, it was as if he had stuffed Lily right into the scene of the painting.