He obtained the God of All Laws from human skin.

Chapter 69 You are Xiaoxiaosheng

This is an extremely elegant room.

Unlike the rooms of ordinary courtesans.

There was no strong, sweet fragrance in the room; instead, there was a celadon incense burner on the corner of the table, its aroma light and lingering.

A small, unframed landscape painting hangs on the wall, its brushstrokes sparse and delicate.

On the other side of the wall stood a rosewood bookshelf, its shelves neatly stacked with books.

At the bottom was a scorched-tail guqin (a type of ancient Chinese zither), and on the desk next to it were the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper), with several wolf-hair brushes hanging on a brush holder.

The ink in the inkstone was still slightly damp, as if it had just been used.

To be honest, if Qin Chuan hadn't known beforehand that this was Liu Dajia's boudoir, he would have thought he had entered some scholar's study.

He looked up and saw a beautiful figure standing by the window.

Liu Rushi was leaning against the window, one hand gently lifting the gauze curtain, the other casually resting on the window frame, her posture graceful and languid.

Today she wore a moon-white, narrow-sleeved silk robe, over which was a light blue gauze dress, with a silver silk belt loosely tied around her waist, outlining a perfectly proportioned curve.

Her long, black hair wasn't styled into an elaborate high bun; it was simply loosely tied behind her head and casually secured with a silver hairpin. A few stray strands of hair fell down from her ears, giving her a lazy and carefree look, yet exuding an indescribable charm.

To be honest, even just seeing his back...

Qin Chuan could also sense that the woman in front of him was definitely extraordinary in appearance.

Hearing footsteps behind him,

Liu Rushi loosened the gauze curtain and slowly turned around.

Qin Chuan looked up, mentally preparing himself to see its true form.

Last time I caught a fleeting glimpse from the high platform; it was from a distance, and she was wearing a veil.

Now that we're so close, we should be able to see clearly, right?

Unexpectedly, Liu Rushi's face was still veiled by a light gauze, just like last time.

Only her alluring eyes were visible.

Although the outline of the facial features can be vaguely seen, some parts are still not clearly visible.

Qin Chuan withdrew his gaze, not too disappointed.

Having experienced the bombardment of the information age, we've seen countless beautified and photoshopped images.

It's just a woman's face on either side; whether you look at it or not makes little difference.

"Manager Qin, please have a seat."

Liu Rushi raised her hand and gently gestured towards the bamboo couch beside her, her voice clear and melodious.

Qin Chuan straightened his clothes and was about to walk towards the desk.

But at this moment,

He was taken aback for a moment.

The passive skill "Perception of Luck," which had been dormant for a long time, was suddenly triggered at this moment.

He looked up at Liu Rushi and saw that a faint red light was shrouding the woman's forehead.

This is an auspicious sign!

"Manager Qin?"

Seeing that he suddenly stopped in his tracks and was staring straight at her, Liu Rushi couldn't help but tilt her head slightly.

Qin Chuan snapped out of his reverie, suppressed the matter, and continued walking to the bamboo couch to sit down. He casually changed the subject, saying, "I suddenly remembered a small matter and was a little distracted. Please forgive me, Master Liu."

Qin Chuan withdrew his gaze and sat down on the bamboo couch. Liu Rushi also sat down on the soft stool opposite him.

The maidservant brought over a teapot and poured tea for the two of them.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries. Liu Rushi spoke with great tact, neither too enthusiastic nor too cold, and quickly put the atmosphere at ease.

After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Rushi put down her teacup, her alluring eyes peeking out from behind her veil blinked slightly, and finally got to the point: "Manager Qin, to be honest, the reason I took the liberty of inviting you up today is actually for that Xiaoxiaosheng."

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan thought to himself, "Just as I suspected." Before coming here, he had guessed pretty much the truth; everyone at Xiangmanlou was inquiring about Xiaoxiaosheng, and this Master Liu was no exception.

He remained expressionless and followed up the conversation by asking, "Does Master Liu also want Xiaoxiaosheng to paint a picture for you?"

Unexpectedly, Liu Rushi gently shook her head: "I'm not asking for a painting. I just saw the painting and thought the technique used in it was truly innovative."

She looked at Qin Chuan and explained, "To be honest, I've been learning to paint since I was a child, and I've seen quite a few masterpieces over the years, but I've never seen this kind of painting before. So I'd like to discuss and learn about this technique from this Mr. Xiaoxiao in person."

Qin Chuan naturally couldn't agree to this. He shrugged and made a helpless expression: "Master Liu, Xiaoxiaosheng doesn't like meeting strangers. I'm not deliberately making excuses. To be honest, Sister Feng just now also wanted me to introduce you, but I refused. If Master Liu has any questions about painting techniques, you might as well write them down and give them to me. I'll pass them on. If he's willing to give some pointers after reading them, I'll bring the message back. Discussing it in person is probably a bit difficult."

As soon as this word comes out,

Qin Chuan could clearly see the surprise in Liu Rushi's eyes.

"Should I not see him either?"

Liu Rushi asked again, somewhat unwilling to believe it, her tone unusually tinged with resentment.

Qin Chuan cupped his hands in apology and replied, "I'm sorry."

Liu Rushi remained silent for a moment. Qin Chuan had expected that this courtesan, who was used to being fawned over, would be somewhat displeased.

To his surprise, she was not angry at all. Instead, she looked at his face and smiled.

The smile spread from the corners of her eyes, which resembled crescent moons. Her eyes seemed to hold the flowing waters of autumn, clear and charming, with an indescribable and enigmatic quality amidst their shimmering light.

Qin Chuan's heart skipped a beat after just one glance.

That look in her eyes was just too alluring, too captivating.

Those eyes, even when they look at a dog, they're full of affection!

Liu Rushi stood up gracefully, walked to the desk, picked up a scroll from the table, and then returned to the bamboo couch. She bent down and slowly unfurled the scroll on the tea table in front of Qin Chuan.

"Manager Qin, this is a painting I tried to create myself, imitating Xiaoxiaosheng's style." She sat down again on the soft stool, pointed her slender finger at the paper, and looked up at Qin Chuan with a hint of expectation in her eyes. "Take a look and give me your feedback."

Qin Chuan looked down at the painting. It also depicted a woman standing sideways, outlined in charcoal. The treatment of the folds in her clothes did indeed bear some resemblance to Xiaoxiaosheng (the artist). The use of light and shadow tones was also more meticulous than that of ordinary painters, clearly showing that the artist had put in a lot of effort to study the subject.

However, given the short time he has spent working on it, his writing still retains a touch of awkwardness.

He withdrew his gaze and shook his head: "Master Liu is joking. I'm just a messenger, how would I know anything about painting techniques? My mouth can't explain anything, I'm afraid it's a waste of Master Liu's efforts."

Liu Rushi, however, was not having it. She leaned forward slightly and said, "Manager Qin is too modest. You've been around Mr. Xiao for a long time, so you've naturally seen more real things than others. I don't expect you to be a professional, just tell me your impressions of this painting. What you like and what you dislike, just be honest."

When she said the last few words, her voice suddenly became extremely soft and gentle, with a slight upward inflection at the end, as if she were begging or coquettish. In addition, her charming eyes looked directly at her, their eyes brimming with water and carrying a tenderness that was hard to refuse.

Qin Chuan was struck by both that gaze and that voice, and his latent male chauvinism suddenly resurfaced.

After all, it's really hard to refuse when a beautiful woman makes such a humble request, especially since it's not a big deal.

Qin Chuan coughed lightly, "Since Master Liu insists that I speak, then I'll venture to say a few layman's words. The curve of the shoulder and neck lines is correct, but the transition lacks a layer of gray tone, making it appear too bony and not rounded enough. When Xiaoxiaosheng draws, he would lightly rub a very light layer of gray with charcoal in this area, perfectly harmonizing the balance between bone and flesh, showing both the bone structure and the softness."

Upon hearing this, Liu Rushi promptly flattered, "Manager Qin is absolutely right; I hadn't even noticed."

The voice was extremely soft and sweet, like a kitten just a month old whispering in Qin Chuan's ear. It felt like it was crawling all over his heart, both tingling and tickling.

A hint of pride naturally appeared on Qin Chuan's face as he pointed to the woman's waist and hips in the painting: "And this area, the density of the folds in the clothing is well done, but the transition from the waist to the hips lacks a sense of support from within. When Xiaoxiaosheng painted this area, he would first define the position of the skeleton in his mind before adding the folds of clothing, so there's always a subtle sense of the realism of the human body beneath the clothes..."

After speaking, Qin Chuan withdrew his hand, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and avoided Liu Rushi's gaze by drinking tea. He added, "Of course, these are just my layman's ramblings. Just listen to them and don't take them seriously."

But after he finished speaking, there was no response from the other end.

Qin Chuan raised his eyes slightly, only to see Liu Rushi staring straight at him, her foxy eyes unblinking, the scrutiny and amusement in her gaze several times stronger than before.

Qin Chuan felt a little uneasy under that gaze and subconsciously touched his face: "Is there something on my face?"

Liu Rushi did not answer.

She simply straightened up slowly, a gentle smile spreading from the corners of her eyes all the way to the corners of her mouth, which were faintly visible beneath her veil.

Then she parted her lips slightly and said, word by word, "Manager Qin, you must be Xiaoxiaosheng."