Chapter 120 Small bets pay out money, big bets risk your life
Nian Qiuyan looked at the lively crowd and chuckled softly, "If two people are in love, what need is there for a love potion?"
Mei Liangyu replied, "It's not like it can only be used on living people."
Nian Qiuyan: "..."
His smile faltered for a moment, and he turned to look at Mei Liangyu with a strange glint in his eyes.
Nian Qiuyan lowered her voice and said, "You seem to have said something very serious just now."
Mei Liangyu leaned against the empty gambling table, his dark eyes fixed on the front. The room was dimly lit, the light ambiguous and gloomy, not too bright, which stimulated the competitive side of people's hearts.
“When farmers learn to tame beasts, if they encounter a ferocious venomous beast, they will use the Love Poison Gu to control it for a period of time. Only after it is completely tamed will the Gu be removed. So this thing was originally used on venomous beasts.” After Mei Liangyu finished speaking, he slowly glanced at Nian Qiuyan and said with a half-smile, “Where did you think it was used for?”
Nian Qiuyan still had a slight smile on her lips as she said gently, "Since it's a type of love potion, it's naturally used on living people."
“Using love potions to control people always has a time limit,” Mei Liangyu said. “It’s meaningless.”
Nian Qiuyan nodded and said, "It really is boring."
After a moment of silence between the two, Nian Qiuyan asked again, "Is Cang Shu a lot?"
“Probably.” Mei Liangyu’s eyes darted around. “He also uses the Love Poison Gu to control poisonous beasts.”
Nian Qiuyan glanced at the gambling table in front of her and nodded gently, saying, "Then forget it, let's just take what's there."
Mei Liangyu: "..."
Nian Qiuyan asked again, "This thing doesn't discriminate between men and women, does it?"
Before Mei Liangyu could answer, a soft laugh came from the side. A woman's delicate voice said, "The love potion of the peasants can't even distinguish between birds, fish, and insects, let alone men and women."
The two looked at the person who was speaking at the same time. There were five or six people at the next table before, but now only the woman in the scarlet dress was sitting. She had her legs crossed, her gauze skirt was open, revealing her slender and fair calves. When her long legs swayed gently, her skirt swayed with them.
The young woman in scarlet dress wore heavy makeup, with alluring red eyeshadow and crimson lips. She leaned against the table, propped her head up with one hand, and played with the chips on the table with the other. Her eyes were like pools of autumn water as she smiled and glanced at the two handsome young men opposite her.
"Both of you seem quite interested in the Love Gu, gentlemen." Wei Lingshu's sweet voice sounded like she was flirting no matter what she said. "But the dealer said that only the biggest winner tonight can take it away. I've been so lucky tonight, I've won the most among everyone here, so if nothing unexpected happens, the Love Gu will be mine."
Mei Liangyu lowered her eyes to look at the wind-listening ruler hanging at her waist.
Casinos make money by taking a cut. The amount of chips each person has is recorded by the casino management. They also cooperate with multiple money exchanges, using a "listening ruler" to input the money exchange's coded messages for on-the-spot transactions.
If the Wind Listening Ruler was a valuable item more than ten years ago, and ordinary people couldn't afford it, it has become a common item with many years of development. As long as you find the right channel, you can easily obtain one.
Nian Qiuyan bowed slightly to Wei Lingshu and said gently and politely, "Then congratulations in advance, Miss."
Wei Lingshu put down the chips in her hand, picked up the Listening Wind Ruler instead, lit up the ruler and looked at it. Then she looked up at the two men, her eyes reflecting the young men dressed in black and white. She smiled and said, "If you want it, I can give it to you."
Nian Qiuyan politely replied, "I naturally don't want things that cost money."
Wei Lingshu covered her mouth and laughed out loud: "There's no such thing as a good thing that doesn't cost money."
The manager of Mingzhu Fang had been paying attention to Wei Lingshu's table. When he saw her talking to Mei Liangyu, he frowned. He had previously ordered his men to investigate Wei Lingshu's identity, but the results were still pending, so he didn't dare to disturb them and could only watch from a distance.
Wei Lingshu warmly invited Nian Qiuyan, saying, "Since you dare not accept what has fallen from the sky, how about we make a bet?"
Nian Qiuyan smiled and refused, saying, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, young lady. I didn't have a single penny on me when I came here."
“Gambling is sometimes not about money; as long as you have fun, that’s all that matters.” Wei Lingshu’s eyes, tinged with crimson, swept over Mei Liangyu and then landed on Nian Qiuyan, her allure growing stronger. “Since you dare to enter the casino even though you’re penniless, you certainly have guts. Such a person must have a very strong luck at the gambling table.”
Wei Lingshu stretched out her slender fingers and pointed towards the gambling table, her nails painted with the same bright red nail polish. "Look, let's bet on which of those sixteen poisonous insects will survive to the end and become the Love Gu."
Nian Qiuyan followed her gaze, pondered for a moment, and then said in a low voice, "I have no money."
Wei Lingshu was stunned for a moment, then laughed so hard she bent over.
“What money do you need? It’s just a verbal bet. All you need to do is say one word.” Wei Lingshu rested her head on one hand, looking up at Nian Qiuyan. “If you bet correctly, the Love Gu is yours.”
The pretty girl in front of him seemed determined to play a game with him. Nian Qiuyan was a little helpless and raised his elbow to bump the person who was silently watching the show.
Just as Mei Liangyu glanced sideways, he heard Wei Lingshu say, "The other young master can also place a bet. If you two each choose one, your chances of winning are greater than if only one of you chooses one, aren't they?"
Nian Qiuyan cupped her hands to Wei Lingshu and said with a smile, "Miss, you don't know, my friend hates gambling the most. If I were to gamble under his nose, he would definitely kill me."
Mei Liangyu never expected that his image in Nian Qiuyan's mind would be so cruel.
“Young master is joking. What are people who come to a casino if they don’t gamble? If you kill everyone who gambles, wouldn’t this young master be going on a killing spree in Mingzhu Fang tonight?” Wei Lingshu’s laughter grew even lighter and more captivating as she stared at Mei Liangyu with a curious and playful gaze. “Isn’t every decision we make and every path we take in life a gamble?”
The woman said softly, "Young master, why not give it a try? It would be a new experience for you."
Mei Liangyu's expression was unreadable. Although there was no smile in his eyes when he looked at Wei Lingshu, there was no anger either. Meeting her invitation, he said in a calm tone, "Small bets are for money, big bets are for life."
Nian Qiuyan shook her head in agreement: "That's absolutely impossible. I've already run out of money, I can't afford to lose my life too."
Wei Lingshu sighed in disappointment, "I thought you two gentlemen were different from other men, that you had courage, but I didn't expect... you're just cowards."
Even reverse psychology didn't work.
Both of them had a nonchalant look on their faces, as if they didn't care if you called them cowards.
A quarter of an hour passed, and the bookmaker loudly announced the cessation of betting. He picked up the small, transparent jar containing the poisonous insects, opened the lid, and poured them into the jade basin: "Only the poisonous insects that survive to the end can become the Love Gu!"
The people of Mingzhufang placed sixteen kinds of poisonous insects into the jade basin one by one. They seemed to be still asleep until all sixteen kinds of poisonous insects were released. Then the poisonous insects woke up and immediately began to fight fiercely.
People's attention was drawn to the fighting poisonous insects. They crowded around the gambling table, banging on it and shouting. They were all so eager that they wished they could squeeze into the stone basin and place their bets for the poisonous insects.
Some people found it too gory and turned away with discomfort after taking a couple of glances.
People crowded around the gambling table, which saved Mei Liangyu a lot of trouble. As he was scanning the crowd, he heard Wei Lingshu's voice ringing out, "Since you're here at the casino but not playing, are you two gentlemen looking for someone?"
Before Mei Liangyu and Nian Qiuyan could reply, a man came over, one on each side, and forcefully pushed the man in gray cloth onto the table.
Mei Liangyu raised an eyebrow; this was the little earth-father he had been looking for.
"Me!" Little Tu's father struggled to lift his head and uttered just one word before being slapped to the ground by the man on his left.
The casino's security guards immediately chased after them, asking, "What's going on?"
A man with an old scar under his left eye grabbed Xiao Tu's father's hand, pressed him down on the table, and held his head down to prevent him from getting up. He said fiercely, "This guy cheated at my table playing Pai Gow. He got caught cheating at the gambling table. What do you suggest we do?"
"I...uh...no..." Little Tu's father was so frightened that his face turned pale. He tried to get up, but the scarred man with great strength pressed his head down, pinching his cheeks with his fingers. The force was so strong that he could hardly speak.
Wei Lingshu supported herself on the edge of the table with one hand, stood up with a smile, and the skirt that had been lifted earlier fell smoothly with her movement, with a very smooth drape.
She looked at Mei Liangyu and asked, "Gentlemen, is he the person you are looking for?"
When the manager of Mingzhu Lane arrived, he heard these words and was stunned. He glanced at Mei Liangyu out of the corner of his eye.
Behind them was a gambling table, where people were shouting wildly around a stone basin, so engrossed in the commotion that they didn't notice the commotion happening on the other side.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Mei Liangyu lowered his gaze and swept it over Xiao Tu's father, whose expression was filled with despair, and asked, "He lost?"
The scarred man pressed down on Little Earth's father and said in a deep, cold voice, "Even if you win, it doesn't count if you get caught using cheating techniques."
"Oh." Mei Liangyu looked back at Wei Lingshu with a half-smile. "The person I'm looking for isn't him."
Wei Lingshu raised an eyebrow, surprised but her expression remained unchanged.
Hearing Mei Liangyu's words, the manager of Mingzhu Fang breathed a sigh of relief. If this person was the one he was looking for, and he had been caught cheating, if things were not handled properly, he would either offend the princess's senior brother or lose the reputation of Mingzhu Fang.
“If it’s cheating, then we’ll handle it according to the rules, but we won’t listen to just one word…” Before the manager of Mingzhu Fang could finish speaking, the scarred man let go of his hand.
Little Tu's father coughed incessantly, clutching his throat, and staggered to his feet. He then lunged at Mei Liangyu, shouting, "It was him! He's the one who told me to come to Mingzhu Fang tonight to cheat! He said it's a gambling den run by his junior sister's family, so I won't get caught cheating here!"
He failed to tackle Mei Liangyu before being stopped by the gambling den's guards.
Mei Liangyu stood still, watching coldly.
Seeing that something was wrong, Nian Qiuyan hid behind Mei Liangyu and sighed softly, "I told you you shouldn't have come to the outer city tonight."
Mei Liangyu glanced back for a moment out of the corner of his eye, thinking, "You didn't even say it was the result of divination."
The manager of Mingzhu Fang was stunned by this reversal. Just as he was about to speak, Wei Lingshu interrupted him, covering her mouth in surprise, "Oh dear, no wonder the young master refused to gamble with me before. It turns out he is a big shot in Mingzhu Fang who disdains to gamble with a little lady."
The scarred man gathered the five elements of energy and shouted loudly, "Mingzhu Fang cheated and was exposed, but they refuse to admit it! The poisonous insects of the Zhongqing Gu were also drugged. The poisonous insects that weren't drugged naturally can't beat the drugged ones!"
The sound echoed throughout Mingzhu Fang. People who had been gathered at the gambling table all looked toward the scarred man. Others mixed in took the opportunity to echo the scarred man, pointing at Xiao Tu's father and Mei Liangyu, and shouting that Mingzhu Fang was cheating.
Despite being stopped by the casino guards, Xiao Tu's father still desperately tried to squeeze towards Mei Liangyu, pointing at him like a madman and saying, "He is the senior brother of the owner of Mingzhu Fang. He told me that I wouldn't get caught cheating at Mingzhu Fang, and he even said he would share the money I won with my son! I only agreed to him because my wife was seriously ill. It wasn't that I wanted to cheat; it was Mei Liangyu who made me do it!"
The manager of Mingzhu Warehouse said coldly, "Nonsense!"
He gestured to his guards to shut Little Earth's father up, and then heard the scarred man point at the gambling table and say, "If you don't believe me, you can see for yourselves. The order in which the poisonous insects in the stone basin died can be deduced from the degree of drug administration. The ones that didn't take the drug are number seven, nine, thirteen, and fifteen, so these four poisonous insects will die first!"
Not long after he finished speaking, Number Seven became the first poisonous insect to die, and was completely devoured.
"...Really dead?"
"Hey, we can't just let this go like this!"
"It's only the first one, it could be a coincidence..."
Not long after the people began to whisper among themselves, the nine poisonous insects that the scarred man had mentioned also died. The scarred man had correctly predicted the deaths of two people, and the crowd suddenly erupted in excitement.
"They really drugged it!"
"If you're cheating, then my bets tonight don't count!"
"Mingzhufang is such a rip-off!"
"If the bookmaker is cheating, don't just cut off their hands and feet, just cut off their head!"
The dealer's expression changed slightly. He looked at the manager of Mingzhu Warehouse, whose expression was also not good. The guards lined up one by one, and the people were just arguing and cursing, but had not yet made a move.
Soon, a subordinate approached the manager of Mingzhu Workshop and whispered in his ear, informing him of Wei Lingshu's identity:
She is the wife of the new leader of the Tianhe Gang.
The manager of Mingzhu Fang glanced coldly at Wei Lingshu: "It seems there are quite a few nobodies coming to my Mingzhu Fang tonight. The Tianhe Gang doesn't play in their own casino, but instead comes to other people's places to slander and cause trouble."
Wei Lingshu lightly blew on the nail polish on her hand and said with a smile, "Mingzhu Fang has been too greedy lately, taking in all those homeless gamblers. If you eat too much at once, you're bound to swallow some unclean things, like these two young masters who teach people how to cheat."
"However, if Mingzhu Fang can act according to the rules and deal with the person who cheated, it may be able to recover some of the losses."
Wei Lingshu pointed her slender finger at Mei Liangyu: "Do you want to cut off his hands or gouge out his eyes?"
Nian Qiuyan was stunned for a moment: "Why eyes? Shouldn't it be feet?"
Mei Liangyu sneered, "Because I gouged out the left eye of her gang leader."
Nian Qiuyan then realized: "You dug up one, and she wants two from you, so it's like getting your principal back with interest."
Mei Liangyu glanced at the people present and decided to go outside to fight. After all, this was his junior sister's property, and it wouldn't be good to damage it.
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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