Luo Ren vaguely felt that this woman was quite formidable.

If she wasn’t skilled at business, she must certainly be skilled at probing.

If he couldn’t resist and bought something, she would complete a sale. If he didn’t buy, it would be like telling her he didn’t have a girlfriend, needlessly revealing his private affairs.

As for him?

Buying would cost him money, not buying would be lying against his conscience. Neither option felt particularly comfortable.

He smiled and said, “When giving gifts, it’s not about what you like, but what the recipient likes. No matter how nice something is, it’s not a cure-all that can be given to just anyone.”

The woman paused, then looked Luo Ren over again.

She would typically scan customers when they entered, like an initial screening. Some people, at a glance, obviously had empty pockets, and she would never rise to serve them. Those people would leave awkwardly, feeling unwelcome.

For others who seemed like paying customers, she would approach, explain and introduce items. Few were left without buying something. People with money cared about face, especially wealthy men. After exchanging a few words with her, they’d already be slightly intoxicated, buying a couple items to earn a smile from a beauty—why not?

Someone like Luo Ren, with hidden sharpness in his words, was a first.

This man interested her.

She carefully refolded the red silk and returned it to its black velvet tray. “It’s better to wait for someone who appreciates it. If this doesn’t suit you, you can look at other items. If nothing here suits your girlfriend, that would be a pity.”

Luo Ren asked her, “Why would it be a pity?”

She didn’t answer, but extended her hand instead. “Lian Shu.”

Since she was initiating an acquaintance, it would be impolite not to respond. Luo Ren extended his hand, giving hers a light clasp. “Luo Ren.”

Her hand was smooth and soft. As she released her grip, her fingernail lightly scratched his palm.

Luo Ren wasn’t particularly surprised; it was within his expectations.

He repeated his question: “Why would it be a pity?”

Lian Shu said, “This shop is called ‘Lian Yan.'”

Could there be some allusion?

Luo Ren smiled, not being particularly polite: “I haven’t read much. When I first saw it, I thought the name was rather vulgar and gaudy.”

The character “yan” (艳) was like flowers, powder, peach pink, and bright green—too excessively flamboyant, lacking subtlety, and missing elegance.

Lian Shu pretended not to understand his implied criticism: “In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there was a woman called Dong Xiaowan who wrote a book called ‘Lian Yan,’ claiming it would catalog all beautiful and fragrant things belonging to women.”

So that was the allusion.

Luo Ren looked around the shop. “So you have everything here?”

Setting aside other considerations, the items in the shop were indeed exquisite—a phoenix-patterned inkstone, plush silk, sachets, pouches, and even “grass-gold” that could be used as clothing buttons…

Since it “catalogs all beautiful and fragrant things belonging to women,” was this a setup where one couldn’t leave without buying something?

Luo Ren’s gaze fell on a small clay figurine.

It depicted a young farm woman wearing an apron and a blue printed cloth headscarf. Her right hand held a broom, a real one made of thinly cut bamboo strips. Her left arm carried a basket with a bundle hanging from it.

The bundle was made from small pieces of cloth. Looking closely, the basket contained some real rice.

The price was 1,200.

Just a clay figurine, yet this Miss Lian Shu certainly knew how to make money.

Luo Ren smiled and said, “Sorry to have bothered you.”

He turned to leave. As he pushed the door, Lian Shu asked from behind, “Nothing caught your fancy?”

That wasn’t quite right. He had simply lost interest in looking further.

Perhaps the shop’s energy didn’t mesh with his own.

“Or would you be interested in seeing my two prized, unique pieces?”

Prized pieces?

Luo Ren turned back, saying, “Yes, of course.”

He was more interested in the price. How much would she charge for prized, unique pieces?

Lian Shu walked over, flipped the “Open” wooden sign hanging inside to “Closed” facing outward, bent down to latch the glass door, then gestured toward him to “please” follow.

Looking in that direction, Luo Ren realized that the embroidered Buddha hanging behind where Lian Shu had been sitting earlier wasn’t a wall hanging.

It was a curtained doorway, with a room beyond it.

Seeing Luo Ren’s hesitation, Lian Shu fixed her gaze on him, her lips curving slightly: “Afraid? Worried I’ll eat you?”

Luo Ren said, “My bones are too hard, you probably couldn’t swallow them.”

The embroidered Buddha was lifted, revealing a small room that could be called a closet. All four walls were covered in black velvet. In the center was a display stand covered with gold-trimmed red silk, with fine tassels hanging from the corners.

It looked very much like a bride’s red veil from ancient times. It wasn’t clear what it concealed, but from the shape, it appeared to be a rectangular box.

The price was visible, though. A fragrant note was attached to the corner of the stand. Whether intentionally attached by just one corner or not, the note trembled whenever someone walked in.

188,000—a lucky number.

What kind of remarkable item could be so expensive? And why was it covered with a bride’s red veil?

Lian Shu walked over, holding her breath, almost reverently, and slowly lifted the veil.

Beneath was something like a museum display case with glass sides and a small door on the side that could be opened.

Inside the glass case…

Luo Ren cursed inwardly.

There were two pairs of three-inch lotus shoes.

One pair was red satin embroidered with carp playing in water, the other blue satin embroidered with chrysanthemums embracing orchids.

These shoes were different in shape from ordinary embroidered shoes—narrow and tight, with an arch at the instep.

How much would a person’s foot have to be mutilated to fit into such shoes?

Lian Shu opened the small door on the side of the glass case and first took out the red satin pair. There was a light sound, but it wasn’t from her bracelets clinking together.

She turned the shoe to show him the sole, which had two small bells attached.

“This pair is called ‘forbidden shoes.’ Do you know why they have bells?”

Luo Ren frowned slightly but maintained basic politeness: “For the pleasant sound?”

“To remind women to walk with dignified and steady steps. Only when the gait is so even that the bells make no sound is it considered proper.”

She carefully placed this pair back and took out the blue satin pair, again first showing the sole.

This pair didn’t seem particularly special at first glance, except for one detail: the sole was carved with a lotus flower, with the recessed parts cut through.

After he had seen it clearly, she straightened the shoe and pulled at the heel, revealing a delicate, small drawer with a gauze bottom containing scented powder.

Pushing the drawer back in, she said, “With this pair, when walking, as the foot lifts and steps down, the powder filters through, clearly printing the lotus flower carved on the sole onto the ground. Each step creates a lotus flower—it’s called ‘every step blooms a lotus.'”

“Some women with clever minds would walk in a circle, creating a large lotus pattern from countless small lotus prints. Imagine, in the twilight or night, with skirts moving lightly, lotuses blooming beneath the feet—it’s truly wonderful… beyond words…”

“Both pairs for 188,000?”

“Per pair,” Lian Shu gently dusted the satin surface. “But even with that money, I might not be willing to sell. As I said, they await an appreciative person with the right destiny.”

Luo Ren smiled: “A destined pervert?”

Lian Shu’s expression changed.

Luo Ren corrected himself: “Oh, I spoke too harshly. I should say a destined fetishist with peculiar tastes, excluding those experts, scholars, or collectors studying folk customs.”

Lian Shu’s expression grew increasingly unpleasant.

Luo Ren said, “I can’t help it; I can’t appreciate this kind of beauty. I’ve heard of the three-inch golden lotus, even something called a golden lotus wine cup, but I always thought they were fetish objects for men with psychological abnormalities.”

“But Miss Lian, you’re a woman, and I truly can’t understand why you would be fascinated by these things, even speaking of them as ‘wonderful beyond words.’ I don’t see what’s wonderful about them. Perhaps our aesthetic sensibilities are too far apart.”

Lian Shu’s face turned ashen, her fingers trembling slightly as they gripped the edge of the embroidered shoe.

“Luo Ren, you lack even the most basic politeness and respect.”

Luo Ren smiled. “Is that so?”

He promptly complied, “politely” bidding her farewell: “No need to see me out.”

After walking far away, Luo Ren finally understood why he felt the shop’s energy didn’t match his own.

Lian Yan—was it truly cataloging all beautiful and fragrant things belonging to women, or was it just shaping women into beautiful playthings according to certain men’s aesthetic perspectives?

It was still early, so Luo Ren went to sit at “Gather and Disperse as Fate Wills.”

Cao Yanhua was bustling about serving drinks. Whether due to practicing martial arts all day or not, her plump body somehow looked much lighter. Catching sight of him, her voice immediately became warm and rose eight pitches: “Hey, Brother Luo, sit inside… coming right over…”

Some customers covered their mouths and giggled. Cao Yanhua had forcibly transformed the refined atmosphere of the bar into something like a boisterous restaurant.

His earlier depression and discomfort vanished completely. By comparison, he preferred this style and energy, perhaps less refined, but unrestrained and natural.

Luo Ren chose a seat in the corner. Yi Wansan came over first, handing him a large manila envelope.

Luo Ren took it, first thanking him for another matter: “Uncle Zheng said that these days, he’s grateful you’ve made time to accompany Pin Ting.”

Surprised that he would mention this, Yi Wansan looked a bit uncomfortable.

Luo Ren asked him, “Do you like Pin Ting?”

Yi Wansan didn’t answer directly: “Would your family approve of me?”

Luo Ren set the envelope aside for the moment: “Neither I nor Uncle Zheng has the right to make decisions for Pin Ting. It’s up to her.”

Yi Wansan smiled, leaning back casually against the chair, hands spread, eyes looking at the ceiling.

After a pause, he said, “I feel comfortable with Pin Ting. You people…”

He counted them off one by one: “The little boss lady sees me as a con man, Zhang Shu thinks I’m a freeloader, and although Fatty Cao acts like a brother, I’m already typecast in his eyes. The rich lady is even worse, always wanting to cut me into 6,500 pieces… Even you…”

He looked at Luo Ren: “Even you don’t think much better of me. With my background, always hustling, swindling food and drinks, would your family approve of me? Your answer was so diplomatic, but you don’t approve, do you?”

He pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket, shook one out, lit it, and held it at an angle, looking at Luo Ren sideways: “So now you understand—with Pin Ting, I feel at ease. She doesn’t look at me through so many colored filters.”

“But once she gets better, these days will be over…”

Before he could finish, Zhang Shu passed by and angrily plucked the cigarette from his mouth: “You little rascal! Customers are complaining! How many times have I told you!”

Yi Wansan shrugged at Luo Ren.

As if to say: See, I told you so.

Cao Yanhua excitedly came over: “Brother Luo, what would you like to drink?”

Then she said to Yi Wansan: “Brother San, you need to be more proactive! Being proactive means bonuses—don’t distance yourself from money!”

After taking their order, she bustled back to the bar.

Luo Ren said, “Don’t you think Fatty Cao is quite inspiring?”

Yi Wansan scoffed: “All he has left in his body are a few bills. He dreams about pearls. What’s inspiring about that?”

“He wanted to practice martial arts. I always thought he was joking, but he’s sticking with it. He said he wouldn’t be a thief anymore, and he truly stopped. He works as a waiter at a restaurant during the day and at the bar at night. I don’t know if he’s tired, but at least his spirit seems good.”

He took the envelope and stopped looking at Yi Wansan, unwinding the string around it: “You resent Mu Dai for seeing you as a con man. Have you considered that it’s because you’ve done such things and she caught you red-handed? And you haven’t shown any intention to change.”

“Cao Yanhua was also once a thief, but have you ever heard Mu Dai call him a thief? A person’s past or background isn’t so important. What matters is the present and how one conducts oneself going forward. You take a salary, work a job, yet lie around lazily, smoking—why shouldn’t Zhang Shu look at you with colored glasses?”

“Even I have concerns about letting Pin Ting associate with you in the future.”

Yi Wansan didn’t say anything, but slowly sat up straight, pulling back his sprawling form somewhat.

Luo Ren pulled out the papers from the envelope.

They were all A4 white drawing paper, meticulously detailed, fastened with pins, in two sets.

The first set: the first sheet showed a fishing line puppet scene, the second showed the water shadow of a dog and phoenix lock, and the third showed the ridge beast pointing the way.

The second set: the first two sheets showed the giant beast skeleton picture seen at the bottom of the sea near Five Pearl Village, and the second showed the water shadow of a woman trapped in fire.

Luo Ren looked up at Yi Wansan.

Yi Wansan said, “That room you use to store the ominous slips is empty anyway, so you might as well paste these on the wall. I feel like this matter isn’t over yet.”

He took the two sets of drawings, turned to the water shadow sheets in each, and pushed them toward Luo Ren.

“Don’t you find it strange? Dogs appear in both water shadows, but in everything we’ve encountered so far, nothing has any connection to dogs.”