coobybook Chapter 1044 Is it possible they'll eat people?
Chapter 1044 Is it possible they'll eat people?
Seeing that Alvaro accepted the test, Li Che nodded slightly and said no more.
He turned to the little pine tree at his feet, reached out and patted its huge, furry head: "Get up, don't lie there!"
"Be fiercer! With that lazy, tongue-out look on your face, how are we supposed to sculpt a statue of you? Show some of the might of a mountain king!"
"Ouch!"
Xiaosong: "Ouch!"
Xiao Song grunted, immediately raised his head, and abandoned his obsequious and submissive demeanor.
Alvaro watched as it slowly stood up, its massive body stretching out, its limbs firmly planted on the ground.
His neck shrugged slightly, his amber tiger eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze was fixed on me.
Though it did not roar or bare its teeth, the majesty of a top predator had already silently spread.
Indeed, he exudes the aura of a king of the mountains and forests!
Alvaro couldn't help but compare the beast to the lion of Europe.
We can't compare, we can't compare at all.
Whether in terms of posture, size, or the aura emanating from it, this beast can overwhelm the lion.
“That’s more like it.” Li Che nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Alvaro. “How is it? Can you see it clearly now? Do you need it to change its position, or get closer?”
Alvaro had calmed down by now; after the initial shock, the artist's curiosity began to take over.
He stared intently at Xiao Song, especially at the lines of its head, shoulders, and back, and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, this posture is excellent! It is both majestic and composed, and the distance is just right. Too close would make it difficult to grasp the overall proportions."
"However, it might need to maintain this posture for a while, I wonder..."
"It's alright, it can handle it." Li Che waved his hand and said to Xiao Song with a stern face, "Keep it still and don't move around."
Xiao Song let out a sob, but didn't dare to object.
Except for the occasional movement of its eyeballs, it remained almost completely still.
Li Che then asked Alvaro, "What kind of stone and tools do you need? I will have them prepared for you."
Alvaro immediately rattled off a list of items: "Your Majesty, white marble is the best material, followed by high-quality limestone, and the size should be slightly larger than a real person."
"The tools needed include several large and small hammers, flat axes and toothed axes, steel chisels of various curvatures and sizes, measuring rulers, squares, plumb lines, ink lines, large chisels for roughing out, files and scrapers for finishing, as well as diamond grit, leather and felt for polishing... A wooden frame or stone platform for fixing the stone would be even better."
Although Li Che did not understand sculpting techniques, he appreciated Li Che's clear and professional explanations.
So he gestured to Huai'en, "Do as he says, and go and prepare quickly."
"This servant understands." Huai En bowed and accepted the order, then quickly left with two eunuchs.
Having been in charge of the inner court for many years, he knew the reserves of these materials like the back of his hand, and in just a quarter of an hour, all the items were ready.
Several burly eunuchs carried in a white marble blank, which was larger than the crouching pine tree.
There was also a wooden workbench and two wooden crates filled with various tools.
When Alvaro saw the stone and tools, his eyes shone even brighter.
Without further ado, he bowed to Li Che and strode to the stone.
First, I ran my hand over the surface of the stone to feel its texture, then walked around it a few times, my eyes darting back and forth between the stone and the small pine tree.
Then, he rolled up his sleeves and used a ruler and ink line to roughly draw a baseline on the stone.
Next, he selected a large iron hammer and a broad-bladed flat axe, took a deep breath, and focused his gaze.
Thump! Thump! Clang!
A rhythmic tapping sound began to echo in the Imperial Garden.
Alvaro's movements were a little awkward at first, after all, he hadn't fought in many years, but he quickly regained his touch.
But he struck with decisive axe blows and precise hammer blows, peeling away large chunks of excess stone along with the flying stone chips.
Li Che had originally planned to leave, but seeing this scene, he became somewhat interested.
So he had Huai'en bring over a chair, and they sat in the pavilion not far away, drinking tea and watching from afar.
Alvaro first used an axe to carve out the basic shape, outlining the volume of a crouching tiger with its head raised.
Then, using chisels of different shapes, more detailed segmentation was carried out, and the muscle structure of the head, torso, and limbs began to appear faintly.
During this time, he would occasionally stop to measure with a ruler, mark with a charcoal pencil, and frequently look up to observe the details of Xiaosong's posture.
After observing for about half an hour, Li Che could vaguely discern the outline of a ferocious beast, its proportions harmonious and its movements captured quite accurately.
It was still early, but Li Che still had many official matters to attend to.
He stood up and slowly walked behind Alvaro.
Alvaro was so focused on refining a section of the spine that he didn't immediately notice.
“Alvaro,” Li Che said.
Alvaro snapped out of his daze, quickly put down his tools, turned around and bowed: "Your Majesty!"
Li Che's gaze swept over the stone blank, and he slowly said, "It seems you were not lying. I will entrust this matter to you."
Upon hearing this, Alvaro's eyes instantly lit up with wild joy: "This humble general will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust!"
"Hmm." Li Che nodded. "Although you are of Portuguese origin, now that you have submitted to my Great Qing, you are a subject of my Great Qing."
"I do not ask about people's background when I appoint them; I only appoint people based on their talent and loyalty."
"The erection of statues for the meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion is a matter of national importance and of great significance. If you can do it well, I will certainly reward you handsomely and promote you."
Ervaro understood the implication perfectly, and his heart pounded.
He immediately knelt on one knee, placed his right hand on his chest, and said excitedly, "Your Majesty's grace is boundless! This humble general will surely devote himself to the cause until his dying breath!"
Hearing this overly blatant declaration of loyalty, Li Che's lips twitched slightly.
He chuckled to himself, 'This Portuguese barbarian learns to speak quickly, but his mind is still a bit shallow.'
Even the officials of my Great Qing, who are eager for promotion, would at least say they are "serving the emperor and the country," not so blatantly so. They lack the art of subtlety.
However, he didn't point it out; this straightforward and brute nature was actually easier to control.
"Do a good job. If you need any stone tools, just ask the eunuchs for more."
"If you need an assistant, reliable craftsmen can be dispatched from the Imperial Workshop to help you with the heavy work, but the core carving and shaping must be done by you personally."
“Understood, Your Majesty!” Alvaro replied loudly.
Li Che said no more, turned and left the Imperial Garden. Huai En followed silently, leaving several eunuchs not far away to await Alvaro's orders, also with the intention of monitoring him.
Only after the emperor's figure disappeared outside the garden gate did Alvaro let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his back soaked with sweat, but his spirits were unusually high.
He gripped the chisel tightly and muttered, "To rise in rank and make a fortune, to become a meritorious official of the immortal emperor of the East... Álvaro, your chance has come! Let these Easterners see what true art is!"
"roar~"
A low growl from ahead immediately snapped Alvaro out of his reverie.
He looked at the tiger and then belatedly realized what was happening.
not good!
The emperor is gone... Until the sculpture is completed, am I going to have to live with this beast forever?
I wonder if this beast is hungry. What does His Majesty the Emperor usually feed it?
They're not going to eat people, are they?