Meet again

The surrounding environment is noisy, with men and women of different ages shouting fiercely, one after another, the sounds of dice hitting the dice cup and the big and small cups opening together forming a strange melody, and the sound of stacking Pai Gow tiles is crisp and chaotic. Some people are crying bitterly, some are ecstatic, and some are excited. It seems that all kinds of life can be seen in the small bamboo house.

The ancients said, I examine myself three times a day.

Ah Ruo closed her eyes and worked diligently on her first province today, thinking back to her days as a law-abiding citizen, constantly receiving the "Three Good" and "Five Good" titles from childhood to adulthood, the "other people's child" everyone talked about. How did she end up in this era? Being a peddler was one thing, but she'd wandered through almost every kind of brothel, worked as a charlatan, even worked as a child laborer in a mountain village, and visited pawnshops numerous times... and now, even casinos...

Shaking her head and sighing, Aruo touched the two taels of silver she had scraped together and struggled to pull herself out of the crowded crowd. She hid in the second-floor corridor, leaned on the wooden railing and sighed. She had spent almost an hour here, and she was sure that except for the dice, she couldn't understand anything else!

"Oh my god, why are the rules so different?" Could it be that the mahjong and poker she played before were all fake? Aren't the rules of these things supposed to be the same from ancient times to the present day? "How am I going to win back Changsheng's damn relics now?"

Chen Changsheng was the type of person his teachers would love. With his refined demeanor and scholarly air, coupled with his academic prowess, he was favored by the staid teachers. Naturally, he had his share of conflicts with the other students. The private school was divided by social class, and as a student of humble origins who had been admitted due to his talent, bullying and harassment were commonplace. However, he wasn't one to accept it passively. This shrewd kid would always secretly report someone to the teacher, asking them to deal with their foes.

The result of revenge is that hatreds only grow, and retaliation is endless. This time, the hairpin left by Changsheng's mother, which he cherished like a treasure, was targeted by a group of devils led by the son of the official Zhou. After they cheated it out of the hairpin, they deliberately lost it at a high price in the gambling house, deliberately preventing Chen Changsheng from redeeming it.

Chen Changsheng, whose last plea was in vain, tried to steal it back. If Aruo and the others had not arrived, this kid would have been buried without a doubt.

The owner of the gambling house, Bai Tangzhu, is Bai Yong, one of the four evil men in the capital. He is said to be a famous tiger in the underworld. Aruo doesn't know which underworld he is, but the other party has already regarded the hairpin and other items as trophies. After the last time, he even threatened that if you want to get it back, you can only beat him in the gambling game.

After all, Chen Changsheng was only a teenager, and Aruo didn't have the heart to force him to practice gambling, so he wanted to try his luck. But... why didn't people here play more popular games?

His wandering gaze fell on the main seat. He hadn't known when a man in a dark blue brocade robe with cloud patterns and gold embellishments, with his hair half-tied, had taken his place opposite the Bai Hall Master, who was draped in half a white tiger skin. With his back to Aruo, he couldn't see his face clearly, but his posture was quite imposing, and he possessed a calm demeanor that didn't seem to be overpowered by the rabble's aura.

"Someone actually came up and challenged the boss?" Aruo found a position with a better view and could only see the other person's profile. "He has smooth lines and slender fingers. He looks like a fair-skinned and handsome boy."

The man casually flipped the Pai Gow cards and tilted his head slightly to the right.

Several old men in Chunfeng Village also played Pai Gow in their spare time. Although Aruo couldn't play it herself, she could see some of the tricks. After carefully studying the cards on the table, Aruo realized that the man had a good chance of winning. Of course, she saw that the expression on Master Bai's face was starting to look a little serious.

The man pulled out a banknote from his pocket and said something. Master Bai's eyes suddenly widened. Aruo squinted, trying to see the number on the banknote clearly. Immediately, he felt a pang of envy. "Three thousand taels?! Alas, you are a handsome man, but you are a spendthrift!"

The man suddenly turned his head and glanced at Aruo's position as if he was not paying attention. Aruo was startled and subconsciously took a step back, hiding behind the man. But with just one glance, she could see the man's appearance clearly.

The man had a handsome and gentle face, with beautiful features but not the feminine charm of Cai Xin. His sword-like eyebrows added a bit of heroic spirit, his brows were cold, and his pair of black eyes were indifferent and deep, revealing a calmness that was inconsistent with his appearance.

Even though she had seen many handsome men all over the country in the past few years and had gone through the test of many young handsome men, the man in front of her looked just right, allowing Aruo to put him in the top three of the ranking list... well, around 30th. He was a handsome man with temperament, but he looked a little cold and indifferent, the kind of person she would pick as a cold dish.

"Could he hear it?" It was so noisy in here that it was hard to hear what the people at the next table were shouting.

Aruo shook his head in despair and turned to study Hall Master Bai's face. He saw his expression suddenly change, but he managed to remain calm, and his voice suddenly became louder.

"What do you mean, sir?"

The voice was like a loud bell, and everyone around was startled by him. Ah Chu had a hunch that the two of them were probably not just gambling with banknotes.

The people around were still immersed in various gambling games. Aruo pushed through the crowd, went downstairs and slipped to the spectator's seat next to the main seat, just enough to hear the voices of the two people.

"Master Bai is a master of casinos, so naturally he will accept defeat." The man leaned back in his chair, his posture relaxed, and waved his hand casually. "Since Su has won by chance, this question... Master Bai, please reply."

Won? Aruo looked at the table. In such a short time since she came down, he had actually finished playing all his cards? "What an expert. Tsk tsk tsk, he is indeed a veteran spendthrift."

If someone can beat the boss in the gambling house without making a fuss, even if he is not a veteran, he must be a high-level player.

"Who are you?" Bai Tangzhu remained calm and asked in a deep voice.

"Ministry of Justice, Su Zirui." The man tilted his head and smiled.

"Oh? Is there such a person in the Ministry of Justice?" Aruo stroked her chin and thought about it. She was familiar with several people with high official ranks in the Ministry of Justice, but she seemed to have never heard of this name.

"A member of the government family?" Hall Master Bai's eyes grew increasingly gloomy. His hands, which had been supporting the table, moved inadvertently under the table, and several thugs slowly surrounded him from behind.

Su Zirui pretended not to see it and drank his tea slowly.

The stagnant atmosphere was at odds with the bustle of the surroundings, creating a tense atmosphere poised to explode. Aruo wanted to retreat, but was suddenly drawn to the golden gleam of Hall Master Bai's belt. His movements wrinkled the black belt slightly, revealing a corner of the golden hairpin.

Before she could react, Hall Master Bai suddenly kicked the table hard in the middle, sending the entire table flying. Almost instantly, Su Zirui slammed his hand down on the table, sending it flying half a foot and landing firmly on the ground, without even the cards flipping.

"Is this Master Bai's answer?" Su Zirui raised his eyes, expressionless, his eyes suddenly gleaming coldly. Master Bai and the others' expressions froze, and they instantly drew their swords and slashed at him without a word.

"Murder!" The situation at the main table was like a nightmare, waking up those who were immersed in the gambling game. For a moment, everyone fled in a hurry.

Aruo was caught off guard and nearly fell after being hit several times. Without caring about anything else, she scrambled to hide behind a pillar. Turning back, she saw a figure flying over there. Su Zirui countered the sword with his palms, and to an amateur like her, it looked like he was doing it with ease. If nothing else, that figure looked familiar.

In a moment of distraction, Aruo was pushed to the front.

Suddenly, the guards at the gate were knocked back inside. A group of blue-capped men with gold patterns rushed in, holding swords. "The government is investigating a case. Stand aside!"

Seeing they couldn't capture the enemy, and the enemy had reinforcements, Master Bai and his men, well aware of the government's tactics, began to plan a retreat, even using the fleeing enemy as weapons and throwing them directly at them. The government had no choice but to withdraw their weapons and offensive to ensure that no innocent people were harmed.

"Despicable!" Aruo couldn't help but say, and suddenly someone hit his back and threw him forward, "Wow - help -"

The fierce palm wind just brushed past her hair, and before she could react, her neck was clamped from behind, and she was dragged backwards, unable to stand steadily. The force was so strong that she couldn't open her eyes due to the pain.

"Don't come over! Otherwise I will kill him!" Master Bai held the man tightly and stared fiercely at the man standing in front of him with his hands behind his back.

Su Zirui's eyebrows remained motionless, his expression unchanged, his eyes flashing coldly, "Bai Yong, do you think you still have a choice? Putting aside whether this person is yours or not, what makes you think you can negotiate terms with me on this basis?"

"Sir..." Beili, who was standing behind the man, was stunned. He recognized the person who was being restrained. He was about to speak when he was glanced at by the man standing with his hands behind his back.

"Wait a minute!" Aruo struggled to pry open the hand that was holding her neck, and said indignantly, "Sir, what you said is wrong. What do you mean by his people? You can't say such things casually. Do I look like a dealer or a thug?"

Probably not expecting her to suddenly speak, Su Zirui raised his eyebrows and looked at her.

"Shut up!" Hall Master Bai clamped down hard, causing Aruo to scream in pain.

"It hurts... Now he's saying he wants to kill me. I'm about to die, can't I say a few words?" Aruo grabbed at the clothes of the person behind him with his hands, "He didn't ask you a question. You've already lost, so just answer it. Why fight? It's just a matter of one word to tell whether he did it or not. Besides, he doesn't even know me. Will it be useful for you to hold me hostage?"

"You--" Master Bai was about to curse, but his belt loosened. It turned out that Aruo had pulled on his belt in panic and broke it.

The scene was awkward for a moment, and the officers, led by Beili, stared at them in amazement.

Aruo looked down at the belt in his hand, then turned to look at Hall Master Bai's face, which had turned the color of liver. He stammered, "No, no, I said it was the belt that started it all. Can you believe it?"

"Looking for death!" Master Bai, who was angry and humiliated, used all his strength to chop him hard.

Stunned, Aruo felt a strong wind sweeping across his face, making even breathing difficult. Suddenly, his waist felt tight, and Aruo was thrown backwards, still holding the half-broken belt in his hand.

When the belt came off his body, Master Bai felt a chill in his stomach and his face turned pale with panic.

With a backhand palm, Master Bai dealt with Su Zirui and others who were besieging him, while quickly tearing off a black belt from the curtain of the main hall and tying it around his waist, looking very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it." After being stared at strangely by several officers, Aruo quickly threw away the hot belt in his hand.

"Aruo, be careful!"

Ah Ruo looked up, but before he could find the direction of Beili, his arm was grabbed by Bai Tangzhu again, and he flew away with him. "Hey——"

Several sharp arrows pierced the spot where she had just stood. Aruo was terrified and said, "Can you please consider the safety of the hostages?"

"Bai Yong, put the man down, you have no way to escape." Su Zirui led his men to surround them and said in a deep voice.

Holding Aruo's neck tightly, Bai Yong's face was fierce, "Lord Su has great authority. I want to see why the Ministry of Justice arrested me without any evidence."

"Proof?" Su Zirui glanced at the scattered Pai Gow coins and silver coins on the ground with a half-smile, as if he had heard something interesting. "Isn't that enough?"

"You!" Bai Yong didn't expect him to say that and was speechless for a moment.

While Da Qi didn't explicitly ban gambling, there were laws that stipulated what amount of money a group of people could gamble in. In this situation, the severity of the fine depended entirely on how officials imposed the fine, which, in essence, depended on the strength of their connections. That wasn't the key issue; whether the gambling house's connections could be exposed was unclear, but they certainly had strong connections.

"Well, how about you surrender?" Aruo said with difficulty, "As the saying goes, if you have green mountains, you will never have to worry about having no firewood."

"Shut up!" Bai Yong used brute force to hold her tightly, nearly making her vomit. "I want to see if the people from the Ministry of Justice can match this thing in my hand."

What the hell? Aruo's heart skipped a beat.

Bai Yong pulled out a small black ball from his white tiger waistcoat. The faces of several nearby officers changed. "Sky-thunder bomb?"

Huh? Where's the cold weapon showdown?

Bai Yong quickly threw it in front of them. Aruo almost vomited blood, "No, brother, calm down!"

The violent explosion was deafening. Aruo didn't even bother to cover her ears and grabbed Bai Yong tightly, fearing that he would abandon her at the explosion site.

Fortunately, Bai Yong's Qinggong skills were pretty good, and he wasn't a bad person. Perhaps thinking that it would be easier to escape with a hostage in hand, he held her and escaped in the smoke caused by the explosion.

After running for a while, Aruo felt a pain in the arm she was holding onto, and she fell to the ground next to a tree root, almost splashing mud. A chill ran down her back, and as she turned over, she saw Bai Yong approaching with a knife in his hand, looking menacing. She was so frightened that she backed away desperately until she was leaning against the tree trunk, her eyes wide open.

The extreme fear of her life being threatened once again surged through her heart, and her back and palms began to feel cold.

"Big brother, now that you've escaped, don't bother with a nobody like me. Leave now! I, I, I won't confess you." She promised in a trembling voice, "I'm blind, seriously!"

Bai Yong walked up to her, knife raised. The white tiger waistcoat was torn open, revealing half of her chest. A tiger pattern was clearly tattooed on her skin.

"This, this is... wait!" Aruo was startled, pointing at the tiger in amazement. Some long-forgotten memories, hidden deep in a corner, suddenly revived when her life was under severe threat.

The sword swung down mercilessly. Aruo covered his head and screamed, "We'll kill the tiger tonight!"

The blade, gleaming with cold light, came to rest just above her hair, and the air current still managed to cut off a strand of hair. Aruo looked up timidly, only to see Bai Yong staring at her in shock.

"Who dares to touch a tiger's beard!" Bai Yong said in disbelief.

"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger." Aruo twisted the back of the knife with her fingers and took the shiny knife away from her nose.

“When a tiger enters the martial arts world, the martial arts world will never see each other again.”

"...We never get tired of looking at each other, except, no, only the Tiger Mountain..." Aruo climbed up cautiously against the tree trunk, dug out the words that he had lost for a long time, and almost mispronounced them.

Bai Yong was stunned for a long time, then his face lit up with joy, "Little brother, are you from the Tiger Village?"

Aruo was wearing men's clothes today. She blinked and nodded firmly, "I am the third in command of the Tiger Village... and his subordinate... Changji. Ah no, anyway, I just follow him."

"Is it Master Jing San? That's the same as me! I didn't expect to see someone alive from the Tiger Village after all these years." Bai Yong glanced at her. "Why don't I remember seeing you before? Where's your totem, little brother?"

Aruo was stunned, then coughed twice, "What are you looking at? The situation is urgent now. Brother Bai, you'd better run away quickly. The people from the Ministry of Justice will catch up with you soon."

"Indeed, I'm sorry for offending you just now. I didn't expect the flood would almost wash away the Dragon King Temple, and the hostages turned out to be our own people." Bai Yong clasped his fists and said proudly, "Little brother, come escape with me."

"No, no, no," Aruo shook his head in horror. Meeting the other party's suspicious gaze, he quickly straightened his face. "The people in the Ministry of Justice are good at tracking. They don't know our connection. I can just hold them back here. Big brother, run quickly."

"You are the leader of the Jingsan family. Although I, Bai Yong, have never had any contact with you before, we are from the same place. Now I will never abandon my brothers." Bai Yong said righteously.

"No, please, just leave me." Aruo was about to cry. If it wasn't a matter of life and death, she didn't want to have anything to do with any village. If she was seen by the people from the Ministry of Justice... she couldn't clear herself even if she jumped into the Grand Canal immediately.

A subtle sound came from a distance, and Aruo's face changed. "Brother Bai, hurry up and leave! Otherwise it will be too late! I have my own way to escape!"

Bai Yong hesitated for a moment, but the sound of hurried footsteps approaching gave him no time to think. He casually handed the big knife to Aruo, "Little brother, thank you for today! I, Bai Yong, will remember this favor. This knife is for you to protect yourself."

The heavy pressure almost made Aruo drop the knife. The tip of the knife hit the ground heavily, almost hitting Aruo's toes. Aruo forced a smile and said, "This knife is not bad."

"See you later." Bai Yong clasped his fists, turned around and strode away.

Aruo quickly dragged the knife aside and threw it into the bushes, "See you in the world."

Looking around, it was too late to escape. Aruo looked at the figure that suddenly appeared, gritted her teeth, spun around beautifully, and fell down weakly.

"Aruo!" Beili saw the person lying in front of him as soon as he landed, and hurried over, "Wake up."

Aruo was shaken twice by him and opened his eyes in response, with a confused look on his face, "Beili?"

"Are you okay?" Beili asked anxiously, as it was difficult to contact him directly.

"What's wrong with me? Oh, where is that bad guy?" Aruo's face turned pale and he grabbed Beili's sleeve in horror.

Bei Li glanced around and saw that his colleagues had already gone after him. "He must have gotten away."

"Well, that was a close call..." Aruo sat on the ground, patting his chest in fear, and speaking incoherently in panic, "I was almost scared to death..."

"Aruo, are you okay?" Xu Tian rushed over and asked worriedly when he saw her pale face.

Not having the energy to speak, Aruo waved his hand and told him to get back to work.

While no one was looking, Aruo casually inserted the gold hairpin from her waist into her hair. She had come here to gamble, so she was wearing an ordinary narrow-sleeved outfit and had her hair tied up like an ordinary man. Now, wearing a hairpin seemed a little strange, but she didn't care given the urgency of the situation.

Before he could recover from the shock, he looked up and saw Su Zirui, with a stern aura, walking towards him with his men.

The people led by Xu Tian saluted, "Sir, Bai Yong ran away."

Su Zirui's face darkened and he slowly put the sword in his hand back into the scabbard, not knowing what he was thinking.

Aruo, feeling unwell, lowered his head and moved to the side unnoticed.

Suddenly, a cold light fell upon her. Aruo looked up, and unexpectedly met a pair of cold, deep black eyes. The invisible pressure felt like a lump in her throat, and her bad premonition grew stronger and stronger.

"Let's go back." Su Zirui took the lead and suddenly stopped in front of her. "Take this person away."

This person... is referring to her? Aruo slowly pointed at herself and asked in disbelief, "Me? Why?"

"Just now, you had clearly avoided them, but you deliberately bumped into them and let them hold you hostage. How do you know if you are in the same group?" The man tilted his head to look at her, his gaze lingering on her hair.

"How is that possible?" How did he notice it in that situation?

Aruluo felt guilty and didn't dare to look him in the eye. He lowered his head and waved his hands in fear. "Well, I, I've never seen such a big scene before and I was stunned. I didn't notice and was pushed out."

"Since Bai Yong kidnapped you and escaped, why are you still here safe and sound?" Su Zirui asked coldly.

"You... do you think I have to be missing an arm or a crippled leg for this to be justified?" Aruo glared angrily. "Even the most foolish fugitive wouldn't want to bring a burden with him, right?"

She looked like a weakling. If Bai Yong hadn't thought she was an old member of the village, which prisoner with a brain would bring someone who was a hindrance to their work?

Saying this...where is this person's brain?

"Sir, when I arrived just now, Aruo had indeed fainted on the ground." Beili also mentioned what he had seen. He was not biased towards Aruo, because he really couldn't believe that she and Bai Yong had planned this.

"Fainted?" Su Zirui looked at Aruo's weak expression as she covered her forehead with her hands. A hint of sarcasm flashed across his eyes and he snorted.

"Sir, we found this." Suddenly, an officer came over with a big knife and reported.

Aruo looked at Bai Yong's big knife and was speechless for a moment. Facing Su Zirui's sarcastic gaze, he cursed Bai Yong, the bastard who was more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything, thousands of times in his heart.

"This..." Beili pointed at the big knife and looked at Aruo.

"Look!" Aruo pointed at the big knife, feeling both fearful and annoyed, and said in a panic, "What a huge knife! That thief threw away such a good knife, let alone a burden like me? Officers, please make sure to catch this brutal criminal and keep us safe!"

Su Zirui looked at her antics coldly, unmoved, and said, "Take her away."

Two officers stepped forward and grabbed her arms, and Aruo immediately flinched. Quickly adjusting her expression and mindset, she timidly raised her head, blinking her round eyes, and even her voice was soft and tender, "Sir, you see, I'm already quite frightened... I'm still young, inexperienced, and weak, how could I possibly be connected to this case..."

"Whether it is true or not, we will know after the trial." Su Zirui raised his eyebrows, a sarcastic smile appeared on his lips, and he did not stay any longer, but led his people away.

Aruo stamped her feet in frustration. Someone had already come to take her away, so she could only look pitifully at Xu Tian and the others.

The other man was also very loyal. He gestured to his colleagues and gave her a reassuring look. The two men were also very tactful and did not use any force, but just gently supported her to follow.

"Beili, this..." Xu Tian was the first among them to know Aruo and others, and he looked at Beili with some reluctance.

Bei Li touched his chin. "Except when he is trying a criminal, the master rarely plays tricks on people like this. When did this girl Aruo offend him?"

I don’t think it’s possible. Didn’t the adults just come back from going out a few days ago?

After thinking about it for a while without coming to any conclusion, Beili could only pat Xu Tian on the shoulder and wave his hand to let his subordinates pack up and prepare to return to the government office.