I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 189: Taking Pictures

’Oh?’ Yi Chen curiously glanced at the grey ball resting in Gao Zhen’s hands and nodded inwardly. ’So that’s how an image-capturing stone looks,’ 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

However, not knowing how it functions, he smiled awkwardly and said in an embarrassed tone.

"I want to, but I unfortunately don’t know how to use it..."

"Just that? Wait, I’ll show you how it’s done." Gao Zhen smiled and, the next moment, inserted a portion of her Qi into the Image Capturing Stone.

The inscriptions around it glimmered, and the very next instant, a screen popped up on top of the Image Capturing Stone.

"This screen over here is where you can choose your desired options."

Gao Zhen said while pointing at the screen, where a few symbols were visible.

"That option, which you see at the left, is the one with which you can etch the image on Jade Sheets to get a physical representation of your picture."

The next second, Gao Zhen shifted her finger to the right and continued, "This is a viewing option, tapping this allows you to view all the previously taken images and lastly..."

She pointed her finger towards the bottom of the screen and said, "On tapping this one, the stone enters the image capturing mode, and you will be able to see the live image on this screen. Is this clear?"

’It’s almost like a smartphone...’ Yi Chen nodded in understanding.

"Very well." Gao Zhen nodded in satisfaction, seeing he had no doubts, and said, "Now, I’ll be showing you how to capture a picture using this."

With that said, she tapped the bottom option and, on the screen, the vast and vibrant Purple Carp Lake became visible.

"You can either tap on this little option at the bottom left of the screen to capture the image, or you can set a timer using the option on the bottom right. Like...let me set a timer for three breaths of time and show it to you."

Gao Zhen tinkered with the screen, and the next second, using her spiritual energy, moved the Image Capturing Stone in front of them.

"Smile towards the stone. It will automatically capture our image in a few breaths’ time, and you’ll hear a subtle sound when that happens." Gao Zhen informed and smiled towards the stone.

Hearing this, Yi Chen nodded and, looking towards the stone, smiled brightly.

TICK!

"It’s done," Gao Zhen said and recalled the stone back towards her. The next moment, she opened the captured image.

"...It actually came out pretty well," Gao Zhen commented as a subtle desire welled up in her heart.

"Indeed." Yi Chen also nodded when he saw the image quality. The lighting was perfect, and the quality with which the stone captured the images exactly replicated the real world.

Gao Zhen suddenly said, "Then...how about I take a few pictures of Young Master Chen, and later you can do the same for me?"

She suggested with a tone of anticipation in her voice and added, "Just like you had said earlier, the lighting here is indeed very good for pictures."

"Sure!" Yi Chen agreed naturally, and a few moments later got Gao Zhen to click a few of his pictures in natural poses, which he was familiar with.

Because of Gao Zhen’s presence, he kept it mild and didn’t overdo the poses.

"Good pictures." Gao Zhen nodded when she was done with it and handed the stone to Yi Chen, "Now it’s my turn."

With that said, she went to stand beside the lake, waiting for Yi Chen to capture her images.

Seeing her standing just like a statue in front of the lake, Yi Chen felt that taking this picture wouldn’t do justice to her beauty.

"Uhm...how about I suggest some good poses to Madam Gao? It will definitely enhance the quality of your pictures." He suggested the next instant.

’This...’ A subtle frown appeared on Gao Zhen’s face when she heard this.

’Aren’t I just supposed to stand normally for a picture and smile?’ She thought to herself.

Earlier, she had just blamed the unfamiliar poses Yi Chen had for his immaturity.

’Now that I think of it...they did look much better than just standing straight...’

The next second, she nodded to Yi Chen’s words.

"Alright."

"Great." A bright smile formed on Yi Chen’s face as he instructed her to move her arms and shoulders in a way that would make her picture look more exquisite.

Thanks to the bright lighting and Yi Chen’s camera handling skills from his past life, the final captured images exceeded Gao Zhen’s expectations by several margins.

"These...are these really my images?" She asked in astonishment while glancing at the screen.

"Young Master Chen...you...just how could you be this good at this?" she asked in amazement.

"Well...it just happened." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and said, "I’m just glad that Madam Gao liked them."

When he got the stone from Gao Zhen, he naturally tinkered with it as any earthling ike him would do and understood it more deeply. It was only after that that he started taking Gao Zhen’s pictures.

’The stone’s image capturing quality is already good...I just instructed her to pose in ways where the sunlight would enhance it even further...’

Yi Chen thought to himself while trying to lowball himself. However, Gao Zhen didn’t let that continue.

"Liked? No, I loved them! I have even paid hundreds of spirit stones to those professionals for images, but even they had never mentioned such poses and couldn’t match the quality of your images."

The admiration in her voice was obvious.

’...are the professionals in this world really so bad?’ Yi Chen couldn’t help but comment in his mind when he heard her words.

"What a pity. I don’t have any Jade Sheets with me to get these images etched." Gao Zhen sighed in disappointment and said, "Later, when we return to Jade City, I’ll get them all etched and, while at it, also send Young Master Chen’s etched images to your residence."

"That would be very convenient. Thanks in advance, Madam Gao." Yi Chen thanked her the next second.

"It should be me who should be thanking you for taking such great pictures," Gao Zhen said with a genuine smile, and kept the Image Capturing Stone inside her storage ring.

Suddenly, an expression of realisation appeared on her face, followed by an amused chuckle, "Haha, I got so engrossed in everything that I almost forgot why I had come here."

As she said that, she used her spiritual energy to pull a few fist-sized stones from near the lake’s edges towards herself.

’This?’

Yi Chen observed the scene with curiosity apparent on his face. The next moment, Gao Zhen took out several slips of talisman from her storage ring.

Finally unable to curb his curiosity any longer, he asked, "Madam Gao...what are these talismans for? What are you planning to do with them and the stones?"

"Oh, I’m just setting up an array formation." Gao Zhen answered with a smile while wrapping one talisman around a stone.

After that, she inserted a portion of her Qi into the wrapped talisman, making it momentarily glow for a few seconds before dimming.

"An array formation...?" Yi Chen repeated with an inquisitive tone in his voice.