He obtained the God of All Laws from human skin.

Chapter 40 The Landlord's Foolish Son

Although Liu Ding didn't understand what was being said, he could tell it wasn't a compliment.

Are you insulting me?

"I was praising you," Qin Chuan said, withdrawing his finger. "Praising your unique and unconventional thinking."

Even if Liu Ding was slow on the uptake, he could still sense the underlying meaning in those words. He retorted, "But I'm telling the truth! I remember the technique perfectly, and the steps are exactly as described. Although I can't apply much force, there's still a reason why I can massage and rub your body with my hands! Just consider this a rehearsal, and I'll give you the proper 'pushing the uterus and promoting blood circulation' once I'm healed, okay?"

Qin Chuan looked at him, but didn't respond to that question. Instead, he changed the subject and suddenly asked, "You said you came from Huizhou to do business?"

"Yeah, that's right." Liu Ding nodded, getting angry again at the mention of it. "It's just a pity we were set up, otherwise I would be..."

"Are your family members comfortable letting you come out alone?" Qin Chuan interrupted his boasting.

Liu Ding opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back down.

He coughed lightly, turned his head away, his eyes darting around, pretending not to have heard.

Qin Chuan didn't press him for details, but stared intently at him.

A few breaths later,

Liu Ding felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, and finally couldn't hold back any longer. He scratched his head and lowered his voice, "I ran away by myself."

"Quietly?" Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow.

"I told them before that I wanted to go out and make my own way in the world, but they disagreed." Liu Ding was unusually embarrassed, turned his face away, and muttered, "They even said they were going to find me a wife to stop me from having any ideas, but how can I stay at home forever? I just want to go out and make something of myself, do something big, and show them what I'm made of. Once I've built a successful business and made enough money, I'll go back in glory and see if they still have anything to say about me."

After listening, Qin Chuan remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and said nothing.

It turns out he was a landlord's foolish son.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Liu Ding felt a little uneasy and followed behind him, asking, "Say something!"

Qin Chuan didn't even turn his head, replying, "There's nothing to say. You should listen to your family."

Liu Ding opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but swallowed the words back.

He recalled what he had experienced these past few days.

He was framed, is drowning in debt, is being chased by the Iron Hand Gang and is now hiding here, freeloading off others...

Which one looks like it's about "doing something big"?

He shut his mouth, lowered his head, and sighed heavily.

Qin Chuan glanced at him, but didn't say anything more. He turned around and went to the courtyard to continue practicing his stance.

......

Three days later, at Changsheng Gambling House

In the room on the second floor,

Zhao Fuquan was showing Qin Chuan the room's layout.

He took two steps forward and patted the armrest of a nearby armchair, which was polished to a high shine.

"Look, a complete set of eight fine sandalwood chairs, along with four small tables. This material, if sold separately outside, would cost at least two taels of silver per chair."

Qin Chuan reached out and touched the back of the chair.

I didn't feel anything!

He's not a carpenter, so he can't tell the difference between good and bad wood.

Zhao Fuquan walked to the large table in the center of the room and tapped his fingers on the edge of the table: "This tabletop is made from a single piece of rosewood. You can't find a single seam on it. It's nine feet long and three feet wide, and can comfortably seat about ten people without feeling cramped."

As he spoke, he turned and pointed to the four corners of the room. In each corner stood a half-person-high gilded incense burner, with an antique design and intricate patterns of intertwined branches. Fine sandalwood was burning inside, and wisps of smoke seeped out from the openwork.

"The finest sandalwood, only a tael of silver for such a small box." Zhao Fuquan gestured, his face full of pride.

He then walked to the window, pushed it open a little, and pointed towards the backyard downstairs: "Oh, right, there's one more thing. I've already arranged the carriage; it's parked in the yard behind the gambling den."

He turned around, looked at Qin Chuan, his smile fading slightly, and said, "How is it? I've tidied this room for you perfectly, tables, chairs, incense, carriage... nothing's been left out. When are you going to call the guests over?"

"Manager Zhao, why don't you call over a few of my regular customers to give it a try?" Qin Chuan suggested.

Zhao Fuquan's smile faltered, then he waved his hand, rejecting the offer decisively: "You'd better figure something out yourself. All my customers come here because of the reputation of Changsheng Gambling House. If they come here and ruin my gambling house's reputation, it will be difficult to get them to come back in the future."

After saying that, Zhao Fuquan straightened his clothes and, without waiting for Qin Chuan to say anything more, turned and walked towards the stairwell.

Zhao Fuquan went downstairs and bumped into Wu Laosi as soon as he reached the door of the accounting room.

Wu Laosi had been waiting behind the pillar for who knows how long. As soon as he saw Zhao Fuquan, he immediately approached like a cat smelling fish and said in a low voice, "Manager Zhao."

The two entered the accounting room one after the other. Wu Laosi closed the door behind him, bolted it, and turned around impatiently to ask, "How did things go? That kid surnamed Qin didn't figure anything out, did he?"

Zhao Fuquan sat down in a chair, picked up the cold tea on the table, took a sip, and then scoffed, "You figured that out? Him?"

He put down his teacup, crossed his legs, and made no attempt to hide his contempt: "That kid was just a beggar; he probably hasn't even seen what sandalwood looks like. I fooled him with some varnished hardwood, and he thought it was some precious item, touching it a couple of times and believing me..."

Upon hearing this, Wu Laosi was somewhat puzzled and said, "Manager Zhao, something's not right. Didn't you buy the real thing earlier?"

"Of course I bought the real one." Manager Zhao glanced at Wu Laosi, a hint of smugness in his voice. "If I hadn't bought the real one, and if Master Qian found out later that I bought the wrong one, I would have been the one to suffer. It's just that the real one was sent elsewhere, and this one is fake."

"Manager Zhao, that's brilliant!"

"What about over there?"

"Don't worry, we'll close the net in a few days."

After saying this, Wu Laosi and Zhao Fuquan exchanged a glance, their faces full of barely suppressed smiles.

......

Looking at the room's layout,

Qin Chuan didn't dwell on it too much.

These things are just supplementary; the key lies elsewhere.

Qin Chuan left the gambling den and then went to the street where the brothels and singing houses were located.

He strolled around the streets, his gaze sweeping over the signs of various brothels.

Shortly after,

He stopped abruptly in front of a building called "Yanchunlou".

This Yanchun Pavilion is much quieter than other places.

Occasionally someone would pass by, but they would keep their eyes straight ahead and their steps would not falter.

Qin Chuan changed his mind and stepped inside.

The servant boy at the door was dozing off against a pillar when he heard footsteps. Startled awake, he saw a guest arrive and quickly greeted him with a smile, "Sir, please come in."

Qin Chuan waved his hand, not letting him finish speaking, and directly showed the Iron Hand Gang sign, his tone calm but unquestionable: "Qian Ye of the Iron Hand Gang sent me to have your manager come out to see me."