After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

The fat man asked with a smile, "Young man, what kind of business does your family do? Do you know that three thousand taels is an amount that an ordinary family might not earn in their entire life?"

Yin Cheng scoffed, "None of your business."

The thug tried to step forward again, but the fat man scolded him once more.

Yin Cheng thought disdainfully, "He's putting on an act with me. This fat guy has quite a few tricks up his sleeve."

"Young man, do you know what the consequences will be if you can't pay your debts to our gambling den?"

"Lend me another hundred taels, and I'm sure I can make it back." Yin Cheng felt that he hadn't studied finance in college, but acting.

I used to perform with my brother in the imperial court, and now I have to perform even while on a business trip.

The fat man seemed unsurprised by his reaction, and simply laughed: "Young man, I think you should pay back the three thousand taels of silver you owe our gambling den first."

Yin Cheng frankly admitted, "I have no money."

"You come to the gambling den if you have no money?" the fat man said. "Do you know our gambling den's rules? If you can't pay your debts, your hands and feet will have to stay in our casino."

As he spoke, the two thugs standing behind him began to rub their fists together, eager for a fight.

Yin Cheng scoffed, utterly disdainful, "It's nothing more than a life. If you're so capable, come and take it."

"Young man, don't act rashly." The fat man turned his head and winked at the two thugs, who walked towards him with cold smiles.

The fat man said, "Our gambling den has been able to operate in Red Maple County for so many years, it's not like we're nobody special. Young man, you don't look like a wealthy person. Rather than having your limbs chopped off, you might as well..."

Before the fat man could finish speaking, Yin Cheng punched one of the muscular men and threw the two thugs to the fat man's feet.

"Not as good as what?" Yin Cheng tilted his head and asked innocently.

The fat man glanced at his subordinates who had been subdued in one move; the two were writhing on the ground, clutching their wounds in pain.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a situation, and while he was surprised, he also felt a sense of dread that things were unpredictable.

"Men, come here!" the fat man shouted, and dozens of thugs rushed in from the other door.

The fat man pointed and ordered his thugs, "Go get him and teach this arrogant brat a lesson."

Moments later, dozens of people were piled up by Yin Cheng into a rather spectacular human pile.

A bead of cold sweat dripped down the fat man's forehead.

This person... is definitely not a good person!

"Tell me, what's worse than what?" Yin Cheng stepped on one of the thugs, looking at the fat man with great confusion.

With no help around, the fat man, no longer as calm as before, quickly said, "Young man, let's talk this out, everything can be discussed."

Yin Cheng pulled out a round stool and sat down. "Alright, tell me, how do you want to discuss this?"

The fat man said, "I see you're quite skilled, young man. Why don't you stay at our gambling den and work for me? Your debt to the gambling den will be wiped clean, and I'll even give you this amount extra every month. What do you think?"

As he spoke, he spread his five fingers and showed Yin Cheng a five.

Yin Cheng looked down on the paltry sum. "Five taels? I can earn at least a hundred taels for killing someone, and you're trying to fob me off with five taels?"

"No, no, no." The fat man had long suspected that this person had a murderous aura and might be involved in a murder case. Now that he heard him say this, he felt much more at ease.

People die for wealth, birds die for food; a murderer, though ruthless, is also easy to control.

This is practically handing them leverage.

If he harbors ulterior motives, all we need to do is inform the authorities to arrest the culprit. This is a simple case of using someone else to do the dirty work, without them having to lift a finger.

Thinking this through, the fat man calmed down. "No, no, no, young man, fifty taels. I'll give you fifty taels every month."

Yin Cheng felt that agreeing so easily would make him seem cheap, so he started to bargain, "One hundred taels."

The fat man glanced at his men, who had been easily defeated in the room, gritted his teeth, and said, "Fine, one hundred taels."

Yin Cheng thought to himself: Oh no, the price is too low!

I should have just said two hundred. What a mistake!

"...Okay." Yin Cheng asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"It's simple, protect me," the fat man said. "As long as you can fight, I can give you not only gold and silver treasures, but also power, status, and beautiful women in the future."

Yin Cheng looked up at him, his eyes fixed on the fat man, as if he were considering something important.

The fat man swallowed hard. "What else do you want?"

Yin Cheng said, "I want a beauty who has been married before, preferably has had a child, and preferably the child is a boy."

"No problem." The fat man looked at Yin Cheng with a knowing look in his eyes. "I didn't expect you to have this kind of taste, brother."

Yin Cheng said, "That's right." It would be best if the surname was Lin, and the sixth child in the family would be even better; that would simply seduce me.

The fat man asked, "May I ask your name, young man?"

Yin Cheng said, "My name is Wang Dahu."

"...Alright, Brother Da Hu." The fat man said to the thugs lying on the ground, "You lot, get down here, you disgraceful bastards."

The thugs, ignoring their pain, scrambled out of the room.

The fat man smiled broadly, "I wonder how many people are in Brother Da Hu's family? Have they all come to Red Maple County?"

Yin Cheng asked suspiciously, "Why are you asking this?"

The fat man chuckled awkwardly, "Isn't it because... we've considered that Brother Da Hu is new here and hasn't found a place to stay in Red Maple County yet?"

Yin Cheng truthfully replied, "Indeed, no."

"Here's what I'm saying: I have a house. If you don't mind, Brother Da Hu, feel free to stay there. It's just a small token of my appreciation."

He glanced at Yin Cheng's expression without revealing his thoughts and continued, "It's just that the house is a bit small. If Brother Da Hu has a large family, I'll find you a new place to stay."

"No need, I'm alone," Yin Cheng asked. "But how did you know I'm new to Red Maple County?"

The fat man laughed heartily, "A man like Brother Dahu would have been one of Tian Hai's brothers long ago in my Red Maple County. There's no reason for such a fine gem to be hidden away."

Yin Cheng said, "To be honest, I am from Yuezhou. I got into some trouble there, which is why I fled to Huzhou."

Tian Hai heard what he wanted to hear and was immediately even more satisfied with Yin Cheng.

He said, "Brother Dahu, don't worry. I, Tian Hai, have some influence in Hongfeng County. As long as I'm here, I guarantee the government won't come to arrest you."

Yin Cheng said, "Then I'll follow you from now on, Brother Tian Hai."

"No problem, no problem." Tian Hai thought to himself, thankfully I was quick-witted, otherwise I would have lost a key player.

Tian Hai said, "Brother Da Hu, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Come on, let's go to Piaoxiang Restaurant and have a good drink together."

Yin Cheng said, "Okay."

At this moment, Yin Cheng naively thought that Piaoxianglou was just a proper place to eat and drink, until a pretty young man snuggled into Yin Cheng's arms, and he realized what was going on.

Oh shit.

Piaoxianglou is a brothel!

It must be a work-related injury!