Ma Chi is a folk painter. In his pen, dragons and tigers are in high spirits, birds and insects are vivid, and flowers and plants are lifelike.

The layman looked at Ma Chi's painting and said lightly, "This person is not bad. The horses he draws are like horses, mules are like mules, flowers are like flowers, and grass is like grass."

The insiders looked at Ma Chi's painting and exclaimed: "This person is not ordinary, and he will become a great weapon in the future."

For many years, Ma Chi made a living selling paintings on the streets. Because of the high price, few people bought paintings and lived in poverty.

Ma Chi is almost forty years old, still living in a poor alley, eating coarse food, and single. He rented on the third floor of a private house on the back street, and the house was full of paintings except for one bunk.

Niu Ming used to be a rich man. After eating and sleeping for three years, he finally ate up his ancestral family business. He had been lying in bed for several days without eating or drinking, starving, with gold stars in his eyes and trembling legs. If he didn't go out to find someone to stutter with, he would starve to death.

Niu Ming had done business and lost; he had participated in gambling and lost. Life was up and down, and Niu Ming decided that he had no ability to rely on money to make money. For him, money is the real thing. "If time could go back, I would definitely hold every penny tightly and save money until I die. I can't spend it all," he regretted.

That night, the moon shone like water. Niu Ming was really hungry and decided to take the risk. He had carefully observed that there was a single painter living nearby who often sold paintings and should have some money. More importantly, the painter was helpless and slept at night without closing the window, so there was an opportunity.

In the dead of night, the moonlight was hazy, and when the cow crept quietly into the room through the window, Ma Chi was lying on the upper bunk staring at the ceiling in a daze. Thinking that he was not confused but had achieved nothing, Ma Chi was worried. "Who said that Huai Cai is like pregnancy, and it will show off after a long time? I am talented, but where is Bo Le?" Ma Chi sighed.

Seeing that there was an uninvited guest in the room, Ma Chi did not dare to make a sound. Whether the other party was making money or killing him, he was afraid, so he had to lie quietly on the bed and watch the person coming.

Niu Ming didn't notice anyone in the room at all. Looking at the paintings in the room, he expected that the owner of the house was a rich man and was overjoyed. He rummaged excitedly through the boxes, but couldn't find a penny.

After working hard for a long time, Niu Ming was tired and angry, and finally collapsed on the ground. He opened the two bottles of rice wine on the table and drank it while scolding: "What bad luck! The first time I became a thief, I ran into a pauper."

The fear of being burglarized in the middle of the night made Ma Chi anxious, and he could not hold it back any longer, so he trembled and said, "Brother, you have rummaged through the cabinet, and you have also drunk the rice wine. When will you leave?"

As soon as the sudden words came out, it was like a bolt from the blue, and the cow jumped down from the window and fell to its death.

There was a bloody case at the residence, and Ma Chi admitted that he was unlucky. However, he had no skills, so he could only continue to make a living painting and selling paintings.

One day at noon, Ma Chi took his paintings to the street to sell. After half a day, he didn't sell a few paintings, so he was tired and hungry.

A Taoist priest walked by, looked at Ma Chi's painting, and sighed: "The benefactor has great talent, he should have received fame and fortune long ago, but unfortunately the painting was wrong."

"Is the drawing wrong?" Ma Chi had always been eager to learn, so he quickly asked the Taoist priest what he meant.

Daoist: "Benefactor thinks, what is the most difficult to understand in the world?"

Ma Chi: "People's hearts."

Daoist: "Then Patron thinks, what is the most difficult to draw in the world?"

Ma Chi: "Could it be human?"

"That's right!" The Taoist priest nodded, "Although it's not easy to draw dragons and tigers, birds and insects, flowers and plants, it's even more difficult to draw people who have both form and spirit."

Ma Chi: "But everyone, who is my model?"

Daoist: "I have to ask the benefactor himself, for example, have you ever had an unforgettable person in your heart?"

This sentence was like a bolt of lightning, which made Ma Chi suddenly enlightened. He replied, "Of course there is!"

The unforgettable person in Ma Chi's heart was the thief Niu Ming who jumped out of the window of his room and fell to his death not long ago. He still remembers Niu Ming's expression that night, it is unforgettable.

"Good paintings require superb techniques, but the expression of true feelings is more moving and powerful." The Taoist priest turned and left.

Ma Chi bowed deeply to the Taoist priest's back.

Ma Chi returned home, lay on the bed and thought hard, recalling the roaring of the thieves that night, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He jumped up, spread out the drawing paper, and painted nine works in one breath. Among them were inscriptions such as "Thieves are busy", "I am a thief, who is afraid of", "Scared thieves to death", "and steal and cherish".

Soon, Ma Chi's paintings became popular. People say that his paintings are down-to-earth and understandable. There are all kinds of things in the world in black and white, and there are joys, sorrows, and sorrows criss-crossing.

Not long after, a court painter from the capital toured the small town where Ma Chi was located.

When he saw Ma Chi's paintings, he admired them. Subsequently, the court painter introduced Ma Chi to the capital and asked him to join his team.

With the help of the painter, Ma Chi soared into the sky. He paints everything, everything is fine, and the price of painting rises, making it difficult to find a picture.

Three years later, Ma Chi not only started a family in Beijing, but also became a social celebrity.

One night, Ma Chi was half asleep when he heard a rustling sound in the room.

Ma Chi opened his eyes and was surprised to see a person rummaging through the room.

Suddenly, he felt a little familiar with the back, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

He wanted to call out to catch the thief, but was afraid that the other party would bring a murder weapon, so he could only watch silently.

At that time, there were several paintings in Ma Chi's room, all of which were priceless. In addition, he also had some broken silver in his coat pocket.

Ma Chi saw that the other party had been busy for a long time and still had no intention of leaving, so he couldn't help but ask, "Who are you? Why did you break into the house in the middle of the night?"

The visitor said, "I heard that you have a portrait of me? So I came to look for it. I have lived all my life and  never had a portrait."

Ma Chi: "Who are you? Do we know each other?"

The person came: "You should see who I am."

Ma Chi: "It looks a little familiar. However, I closed the door, how did you come in?"

The person said, "I am the wind, I am the cloud; everything is pervasive."

Ma Chi was startled: "You? What do you want to do?"

Someone came: "Make money."

Ma Chi: "It's easy to say, you can take a painting at random, and you won't have to worry about eating and drinking for the rest of your life."

Three years ago, I went into your room. There were more paintings than there are now, but I didn't find a penny. There were only two bottles of rice wine.

Ma Chi: "So it's you!"

Someone came: "It's me!"

"Thank you very much, this time you will go home empty-handed!" Ma Chi said. "Besides the paintings, I have some silver in my coat pocket. Don't blame me for not reminding you that any painting is worth more than that little silver."

"I believe you!" The person said, reaching into his coat pocket and taking out a few taels of silver, happily.

"It's not easy for you, why don't I give you a painting." Before Ma Chi finished speaking, the person who came had disappeared, and the doors and windows of the house were still closed.

Ma Chi wiped away his cold sweat and murmured, "Time has changed, the person is no longer that person, and the ghost is still that ghost."