Qin Geng

Biodata

Power Progression

Qin Geng’s Book of a Hundred Trades records experience, levels, and talents for the trades he practices 1 10.

Background and History

Qin Geng’s father gambled away the family’s property. Qin became a beggar before Xu Chun took him in; he then spent three years pulling a rickshaw. After Yi He Shantytown men beat him and stole the rickshaw bought with savings and money borrowed from his aunt, he discovers the Book of a Hundred Trades and resolves to learn to fight 1 8.

His aunt Qin Xiu arranges an introduction to Su Family enforcer Zhou Yonghe. Zhou lends him Xingyi Dragon and Tiger for one month but does not accept him as a disciple. Qin copies the manual and begins training alone. Later, Lu Xingmin introduces him to Master Ye, who offers a trial of unpaid morning work at his residence rather than immediate instruction 7 8 24 36 40.

Qin’s fight for his fellow pullers at Xun River Wharf establishes his reputation: he kills Yi He’s hired fighter Chen Sanpi with one punch and declares the wharf shared territory for Xu Jin’s Shanty and Ma Village Shack. He subsequently refuses an offer to become South City boss under Hongsheng Cart Company, judging the position a dangerous way for its leaders to use him 16 18 29.

When Dragon King Society men try to evict the ailing Master Zhu Xin, Qin cripples hall master Lin Zhihe and kills the newly appointed South City boss after the latter fires at him. Abacus Song then apologizes and offers Qin the vacant boss position and twenty rickshaws as compensation. Qin later summons Lu, Zheng Tonghe, Daoist Miaoxuan, and Third Master Cao after Song signals that he has information about the Society’s activities at Bell Mountain 45 46 48 49 50.

Qin accepts leadership of South City’s drivers, invoking carriage-trade custom and promising fair treatment, discipline, and protection. He consults Zhu Xin about governing roughly three hundred men and building a Benevolence Fund. After Zhu dies, Qin safeguards the heirlooms entrusted to him, arranges an elaborate funeral, and defeats three Water Corpses sent against its procession. He buries Zhu at Origin Mountain and vows to protect his legacy 54 56 57 72 79.

After the funeral, Ye Lanzen formally accepts Qin as his tenth indoor disciple. Qin helps expose the Dragon King Society and Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage’s trafficking operation and returns kidnapped children to their families, including the sister of his recruit Chuanzi. He takes over the county’s cart trade as Ping’an Cart Company, extends its welfare provisions, and puts trusted drivers in charge of its districts. He also establishes authority over the Xun River’s workers 80 84 89 90 93 96.

Qin receives an official post connected to the Dragon-Guard Office and serves on the Xun River with the Wave-Quelling Bureau. He investigates concealed foreign supply routes, patrols merchant traffic, and continues training under Ye while disturbances in the Dragon Vein make the river’s creatures more dangerous. Seeking broader skills, he also registers to undertake feng shui, scheme-breaking, and exorcism work 125 130 131 134 136 138 140.

Appearance

Once small, thin, and underfed, Qin grows taller and develops a lean, powerful frame through work, martial training, and improved nourishment 12 26 39.

• Steady footing and heavily developed legs reflect his years of rickshaw work 8 12.
• Broad knuckles and hand calluses come from gripping cart handles 12.
• After gaining Sickly Tiger Bones, he can look loose and drowsy while concealing considerable strength 39 41.
• His later official uniform bears the Dragon-Guard Office’s embroidered xiezhi insignia; in it, he appears more like a martial officer than the shantytown puller he once was 125.

Personality

Qin is diligent, frugal, and careful about whom he trusts. He keeps his training and the Book’s workings private, considers the cost of food and medicine before each step forward, and declines both a ghost marriage worth one thousand silver dollars and positions he believes would compromise his independence 8 19 23 29.

He is protective of the people who helped him survive. He takes Old Jin’s place in Chen Sanpi’s challenge, shares the wharf’s earnings rather than claiming them alone, and cares for Zhu Xin as the older man’s health fails. He can also be pragmatic: after Hongsheng’s violent takeover, he leads the drivers to register rather than invite a fight they cannot win 16 18 28 44.

As a leader, Qin pairs protection with organization. He establishes dues and welfare provisions, promotes Xu Chun in recognition of past kindness, and offers drivers’ children opportunities to study or learn a trade. When returning rescued children, he considers how to keep them safe afterward rather than relying on force alone. Despite his resources, he insists on paying Zheng Tonghe for costly training medicine and refuses to turn official authority into private side income 84 89 96 100.

Abilities and Skills

Rickshaw-Puller Talents

• Divine Stride increases his speed; its Level 2 upgrade further improves his footing during martial practice 3 9.
• Endless Breath increases endurance and recovery, letting him sustain fast, long-distance runs 5 14.
• Step-Sensing Danger warns him of hazards in his path. He uses it to steer around a child at speed, dodge Lu’s thrown brush, and react to a gunshot 21 22 46.
• Old Horse Knows the Way gives him exceptional recall of routes. His navigation helps the Bell Mountain party retreat safely; by sensing Earth Veins through his feet, he can also find his way through Origin Mountain’s shifting paths 21 26 35 79.
• Divine Stride Guardian, gained when Carriage Driver advances to Way Cultivator, combines his speed and endurance talents into a supernatural ability. The transformation strengthens his legs and links their explosive force with his spine. Travel on foot earns Way Cultivator experience, and he crosses Tianjin and nearby counties in roughly three hours while testing it 61 62.
• The Book lists Avert Calamity and Attract Good Fortune at Way Cultivator Level 60, Shrink the Earth to an Inch at Level 80, and Heaven at the End of an Inch at Level 100 as future abilities, not powers Qin has unlocked 61.

Xingyi Dragon and Tiger

• Qin begins with the Three-Body Stance and Six Harmonies Breathing Method, later practicing Coiling Dragon and Clawing Strike under Zheng Tonghe’s guidance 8 37 38.
• Dragon Spine Through the Back links force through his spine and limbs for explosive strikes. After unlocking it, he lifts a roughly four-hundred-jin stone with one hand 14 15.
• Sickly Tiger Bones strengthens his frame and lets him hold power beneath a relaxed posture 39.
• His training demands substantial food and increasingly strong medicine; ordinary cart earnings alone do not reliably cover it 14 36 41.
• He practices Earth Dragon Turns Over and the Three Tiger Fists—Pouncing Strike, Tail Scissor, and Tiger Guards the Cave. He later enters Hidden Force, using penetrating power to damage Li Bawang internally with Tail Scissor 69 114 115.
• Under Ye Lanzen, he studies further animal forms and masters Half-Step Crushing Fist. Breaking his specially forged training chains marks his subsequent entry into Transforming Force, where he unlocks Dragon-Tiger Convergence. The talent allows further bodily strengthening through sufficiently nourishing Blood Fare beyond the usual physical limit of that stage 115 130 134 140 142.

Water and Feng Shui

• As Xun River Water Lord, Qin moves with exceptional speed and strength underwater and senses his surroundings through the river. Soul Seeding lets him bind Waterfolk; his first bound creature is the Red-Armored Giant Shrimp Xia Qi, with whom he communicates directly and hunts. A later attempt to bind a giant crocodile fails painfully, showing the ability’s limits 123 125 140.
• He acquires the Feng Shui Master profession after resolving the Lin family’s case. The Book previews Qi Reading at Level 10 and other talents and advancement paths at higher levels; these remain prospective. He studies geomancy texts and investigates signs that a family grave has been disturbed by water and shifting ground 139 142.

Equipment and Items

• Book of a Hundred Trades — a panel visible to Qin that tracks professions, experience, and talents 1 2 10.
• Xingyi Dragon and Tiger — Zhou Yonghe’s martial manual; Qin copies it and returns the borrowed original 8 12.
• Rickshaw — his means of earning a living and developing his puller talents 1 5.
• Zhu Xin’s heirlooms — Qin undertakes to protect the treasures Zhu entrusted to him, including a jade thumb ring, an inscribed bronze cauldron, and a damaged bronze lotus base 42 72.
• Copper Lotus Seed — reacts during the Xun River sacrifice as Qin’s Water Lord profession advances 123.
• Swift Horse patrol boat — a fast vessel carrying the Wave-Quelling Bureau’s command flag, used for his river duties 130.
• Celestial Star Meteoric Iron Essence — a heavy fragment awarded by the court as potential weapon material 136.

Relationships

• Xu Chun — the older driver who took Qin in and continues to protect and advise him. Qin later appoints him Chief Boss of South City 1 13 96.
• Qin Xiu — his aunt, whose loan helped buy his rickshaw and whose introduction gives him access to Zhou Yonghe’s manual. Qin publicly affirms that anyone threatening her must answer to him; after she becomes a nun, he promises to handle matters outside the temple 1 7 8 110 118.
• Li Gou — fellow puller and friend who shares food, news, and later carries Qin’s urgent message to his allies. Qin assigns him the difficult North City district to develop his abilities 3 48 96.
• Zhou Yonghe — lends Qin Xingyi Dragon and Tiger and examines his progress, but is not his formal master. After sparring with Qin, Zhou offers to take him as a disciple; Qin declines while under evaluation at Ye’s residence 8 12 24 68.
• Lu Xingmin — repeat passenger, Bell Mountain employer, and patron who explains trade cultivation and introduces Qin to a potential master. As Qin’s seventh senior brother, he helps arrange Zhu Xin’s funeral and advises Qin on subsequent dangers 6 11 36 72 79 80.
• Zheng Tonghe — physician and martial practitioner who supplies medicine and corrects Qin’s techniques. After Qin enters the Ye School, Zheng is his second senior brother 15 37 38 80 146.
• Master Zhu Xin — adviser and benefactor whom Qin tends and defends. Zhu entrusts him with his estate and heirlooms; Qin honors him as his adoptive father after his death 14 26 42 44 45 72 79.
• Ye Lanzen — initially offers Qin a trial of household work, then formally accepts him as his tenth indoor disciple and personally trains him toward Hidden and Transforming Force 40 43 80 93 134 140.
• Abacus Song — former Dragon King Society strategist who defects and helps administer Qin’s expanding cart and river interests. Qin values his organizational skill, though Lu warns against trusting him without caution 49 54 79 91 93.
• Chuanzi — a skilled swimmer whom Qin recruits and helps reunite with his abducted sister Nier. Chuanzi pledges his loyalty and later brings Qin a crucial lead about suspicious riverboats 84 89 131.
• Xia Qi — a giant red-armored shrimp bound through Soul Seeding; it patrols, hunts, and fights alongside Qin in the Xun River 125 130 136.
• Cao Xiaoliu — an ally in the investigation of the trafficking network who later guides Qin into professional geomancy work 89 90 138 140.

Notable Quotes

“I’m going to learn martial arts!” 1

“Uncle Jin, step back. Leave him to me.” 16