He obtained the God of All Laws from human skin.

Chapter 120 Taking a Trick, the Rumor of the Beauty Painting

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment. It wasn't so easy to get started as a fortune teller. He estimated that he would need to rely on the passive skill "Qi Perception" of the fortune thief.

After all, fortune telling is about predicting a person's fate. If you can't even see the other person's luck, then what you predict is mostly nonsense and certainly doesn't meet the entry requirements for this profession.

The reason why the divination I just performed for Aunt Liu was accurate was ultimately because my sense of fortune first captured the red light of the impending bloodshed, which led to the subsequent reminder and Aunt Liu's unintentional remark that it had been "blessed".

However, actively activating the passive skill "Qi Perception" to see a person's Qi is not so simple.

Having gone through that experiment, Qin Chuan had figured out some of the tricks of the trade.

First, there's the object of observation. Perhaps because my skill level is a bit low, the object of observation can't have too high a status or luck, otherwise I can only see it vaguely.

Another issue is the observation time. He had only focused on observing for a few breaths when a sharp pain shot through his brain and his temples throbbed. Clearly, this active probing was extremely mentally taxing. Even if he could successfully see someone else's fortune, the time he could maintain it each time was very short.

Moreover, he discovered that from the appearance of the red light in Aunt Liu's fortune to the moment Aunt Liu was cut by the knife, only a short time had passed. This meant that even if one successfully captured the signs in the fortune, the time range that could be predicted was extremely limited. One could only see what was in front of one's eyes, and could not know anything beyond that. One could not see the cause and effect over a long period of time.

Obviously, although this "luck perception" can actively see the luck of others, it also has various limitations.

Qin Chuan guessed that this was mostly due to the inherent characteristics of the profession of the thief of magic.

The original purpose of this passive skill was probably just to see if a person's luck was strong and whether it was worth stealing from them; it wasn't meant to predict good or bad fortune at all.

That lucky accident just now was only because Aunt Liu's luck happened to come true in a very short time, which made it seem like she had "foreseen" it.

If you were to actually use it to tell fortunes, you'd be lucky to get it right once or twice out of ten times.

Qin Chuan thought about it carefully, and some ideas came to mind that he could try them out later.

In the mortal realm, Qin Chuan summoned Xiao Wu and Wang the Cripple, looked at them, and said, "Come, let me tell your fortunes."

Upon hearing this, both Xiao Wu and Wang Bingzi looked surprised and exclaimed, "Brother Qin, when did you learn fortune telling?"

"Yeah, Brother Qin, what are you trying to do?"

"Why would I lie to you? Sit down, don't worry, I won't take your money." Qin Chuan smiled and invited the two to sit down.

Xiao Wu and Wang Liuzi exchanged a glance, their faces full of doubt, but they couldn't bring themselves to offend him, so they hesitantly pulled up chairs and sat down.

Qin Chuan didn't explain, but just pretended to close his eyes, fidgeting with his fingers and muttering incantations.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and said to the two of them with a confident expression, "You two are very lucky today and will receive unexpected wealth."

"Really? Brother Qin, you're not just kidding us, are you?" Xiao Wu scratched his head, half believing and half doubting.

Unexpected windfall?

This sounds like the opening line of a street scammer, who first tells you that you're on a roll and then tries to get you to pay up money to avoid trouble.

Wang Liuzi was grinning beside him, clearly not taking it seriously.

"Believe it or not, I've said my piece." Qin Chuan didn't say anything more, waved his hand, and said, "Go on, do what you need to do, don't let it interfere with important matters."

Xiao Wu and Wang the Cripple exchanged a glance, their minds filled with doubt, but they were too embarrassed to ask any more questions. They could only nod, their hearts brimming with questions, and then went back to their work.

In the following days, Qin Chuan handled the affairs of the gambling den while keeping an eye on Xiao Wu and Wang Bingzi's movements.

He seized the opportunity, took out a tael or two of silver from his sleeve, and quietly dropped it at Wang Liuzi's feet.

Wang Liuzi was tidying up his things when he glanced at something out of the corner of his eye and his eyes lit up.

He bent down to pick up the silver, weighed it in his hand, looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, quickly put it into his pocket.

Then the prince secretly glanced at Qin Chuan and saw that Qin Chuan was looking down and flipping through the account book, pretending not to see anything. He felt more at ease. What else could this be but a gift from God?

Manager Qin's divination was incredibly accurate!

Qin Chuan caught a glimpse of Wang Liuzi bending down to pick up the silver out of the corner of his eye, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It's done, one is done.

Next up is Xiao Wu.

He waited a moment longer, and as Xiao Wu passed by the stairwell carrying the teapot, he used the same trick again, taking out another piece of silver from his sleeve and casually tossing it at Xiao Wu's feet.

The silver coin landed with a clink. Xiao Wu paused, looked down, and was first taken aback, then looked around.

He was the only person at the top of the stairs; there was no one around him.

He bent down to pick up the silver, clutched it in his hand, and his heart pounded.

Unexpected wealth, truly unexpected wealth!

Seeing that the two of them had "picked up" the silver, Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. He then opened the panel, but to his surprise, nothing appeared on the panel. There was no information about becoming a [Fortune Teller]. It seemed that his trick was not going to work at all.

The divination he just performed for Xiao Wu and Wang Liuzi could not be called fortune telling at all.

He put the money in himself, and the result was entirely his own doing. It had nothing to do with luck from beginning to end; it was purely a staged performance.

The system's definition of "fortune telling" probably requires that the person genuinely sees changes in fortune, makes predictions based on those predictions, and that those predictions eventually come true.

In other words, it's not that he first says "unexpected wealth" and then secretly throws money away to calculate his fortune; rather, he has to first see the signs of that wealth in the other person's luck before it can be considered auspicious.

Oh well, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.

Qin Chuan was about to go upstairs when a petite figure suddenly darted in through the door.

The figure looked somewhat familiar, dressed in a light green maid's dress with two round buns on her head. It was none other than Qiao'er, Liu Rushi's personal maid.

After entering, she looked around and scanned the hall. When she saw Qin Chuan, her eyes lit up. She lifted her skirt and ran over, handing him a gold-embossed invitation with both hands: "Young Master Qin, my young lady would like to invite you to a gathering at Xiangmanlou tomorrow."

Qin Chuan didn't rush to take it; instead, he looked at the invitation and asked, "Why did your young lady invite me?"

Qiao'er seemed to have anticipated his question and replied calmly, "Not only Young Master Qin, but all the students who passed the county examination this time have been invited by my young lady. She plans to hold a celebratory banquet at Xiangmanlou, firstly to celebrate the success of these talented scholars, and secondly to take this opportunity to make friends through literature. Young Master Qin was specifically requested by my young lady, and his invitation was the first one to arrive."

Qin Chuan's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this.

To be honest, he was a little reluctant to go.

Is Liu Ru human? Although the two seem to be at peace now, the last time he was bewitched by her eyes at Xiangmanlou, he almost gave himself away. The feeling of being in a daze still sends chills down his spine when he thinks about it.

It's best to avoid meeting as much as possible.

But if he simply refused her outright, he was afraid that Liu Rushi would overthink it. That woman was very perceptive, and if she sensed something unusual in his refusal, she might come to him privately, which would be impossible to guard against.

Rather than hiding and revealing your weaknesses, it's better to go openly and honestly.

The hall of Asuka House was full of successful candidates. He mingled among them, neither drawing attention nor speaking much, treating it as an ordinary banquet, and thought he wouldn't cause any major problems.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan reached out and took the invitation, nodded to Qiao'er, and said, "Please thank Master Liu for me. I will definitely keep the appointment tomorrow."

The next day, the fragrance filled the air.

When Qin Chuan entered, there were already quite a few scholars sitting in the main hall, gathered in twos and threes.

He found a secluded spot, sat down, and without saying a word, drank his tea and listened to the idle chatter of the people around him.

At first, everyone was talking about the county examination: whose son passed with flying colors, whose essays were usually the best but failed, and how this year's questions on classical texts were off-topic...

But as they talked, the topic gradually veered from serious matters of fame and fortune to casual conversation about love and romance.

In the corner, a scholar in a blue robe held a wine cup. He noticed a scholar named Zhao staring blankly at the portraits of beauties on the wall of the main hall. He chuckled and teased, "Brother Zhao, stop looking at them. Be careful, or one of those beauties might come looking for you tonight."

The scholar surnamed Zhao blushed at his words and awkwardly looked away, but he still retorted, "Come on, what's wrong with me taking a few glances?"

Upon hearing this, the people around him laughed and chimed in with their own comments.

A scholar wearing a square cap put down his wine cup and said in a low voice, "You might not believe it, but I have actually heard of such a thing."

My classmate failed the county exam this time, and he blamed it on this painting of a beautiful woman. He said that ever since he stared at the painting for more than half an hour at Xiangmanlou, the beautiful woman in the painting appeared in his dreams that night. For several days in a row, he couldn't concentrate on his studies or do his homework, so of course he failed the exam.

Someone nearby immediately chimed in, "That's right, I've heard it from a friend too. They say this painting has a spirit; the longer you stare at it, the more lifelike the beauty in the painting becomes. If you look at it for half an hour, a beauty will come to meet you in the evening. Some people call it a stroke of good fortune, but look at those who are infatuated, who can concentrate on studying? I bet several of those who failed the county exam this time were bewitched by this beauty."

The scholars listened, and some laughed and some shook their heads.

The scholar in the square scarf sighed, "In the end, the ancients were right: beautiful women are a source of trouble."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a thin young scholar beside him put down his teacup and shook his head dismissively: "Gentlemen, what you're saying is utterly absurd. It's just a painting, nothing more than ink on paper. How could it possess such power? In my opinion, it's nothing more than those failed scholars whose minds were not firm enough. They were distracted by the beauties in the painting, unable to concentrate on their studies, and too embarrassed to admit it, so they used the painting as a shield. What's wrong with the painting? The only ones at fault are the people looking at it."

Upon hearing this, the scholars present immediately split into two factions.

One side argues that the slender scholar's words make sense, but it's nothing more than a fool worrying about nothing. A painting is just a painting; there's no need for so many supernatural elements.

The other side insists that there is no smoke without fire, and that so many people have dreamed of the beauty in the painting, so it cannot be a coincidence.