gambling den
A chilling sensation rushed into her meridians, causing her a slight pain. She saw the man staring at her with his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Is there anything you want to say?" he asked, suppressing his anger.
Her speech became incoherent, and she frantically raised her hands, waving them: "No...no, no..."
The two didn't have much of a verbal argument or physical altercation; she was simply dragged back into the house the way they came.
As night fell, she managed to persuade Peng Feizhe to come out again, no one knows how much effort she put in. This time, the two didn't walk on the street, but headed straight for the gambling den.
The gambling den wasn't luxurious; it was just an ordinary teahouse with a wooden table, a group of people, and a cacophony of laughter.
She was the one gambling, and he was the one watching.
"Big!" A jubilant male voice shouted from the crowd watching the gambling around the table, clearly delighted.
"Small!" Another group of people shouted their answer, their eyes fixed on the result under the bowl.
Seeing that everyone had placed their bets, the person opening the bowl smiled broadly and lifted the porcelain bowl. She was initially startled, then looked at the person opening the bowl in disbelief, her male voice angrily demanding an explanation.
He held up his hand and made an eight-shaped gesture. "These dice are poisoned! I've gambled ten times and lost eight! Did you tamper with them?"
The young man opening the bowl looked at her and said speechlessly, "Oh dear, it's just bad luck for you, sir. How can you blame others for tampering with things?"
"He blames others for his bad luck, this kid can't accept defeat, hahaha."
"That's why he says that, he's just afraid of losing money, tsk tsk tsk."
"If you don't have the ability, don't come here. You're getting angry over a little money."
"Even when others staked their own wives, they didn't say anything."
Some people laugh it off, some make sarcastic remarks, and some just watch the show.
"Stop wasting your breath on these guys, place your bets!"
A group of men were pointing and whispering about her, which made her angry. She rummaged through her pockets and found she had no money. Turning to look at Peng Feizhe standing behind the crowd, she saw that he was tall and quite noticeable. After all, tall and handsome men were rare; most of the men present had stubble and were of a certain age.
He noticed her gaze, crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow, and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
She stepped out from the crowded throng, smiling sheepishly as if asking for a favor, "Big brother..."
"Speak." He glanced down at her.
"Lend me some money." She smiled wryly and scratched the back of her head; her pockets were already empty.
"Finished gambling?" he asked casually.
"Yeah, the betting is over."
"What? You only remembered your older brother after you finished gambling?" His voice was slightly deep, as if he was blaming her for having fun alone without him.
“…Hehe…” she laughed awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
"Let's go." Seeing that she remained silent, he withdrew his gaze and turned to leave.
She quickly grabbed his sleeve and left, extremely unwilling!
"Hey, hey, big brother! Let's gamble one last time! Just one more time!" He made a "one" gesture.
He glanced back at her, his brow furrowing as he demanded, "Are you addicted to gambling?"
She quickly replied, "No, no, no!"
Her eyes widened with a hint of pleading, and her voice softened: "I'm just not willing to give up, just one last round! Just one more!" She immediately spread her fingers wide: "We'll split it fifty-fifty! I absolutely won't take it all for myself!"
"Big brother, please help your little brother! Whenever there's trouble, big brother is always the most important! Always help your little brother!"
He was exasperated by her, turned around and sighed softly, taking out a brocade pouch from his clothes and pouring out a few pieces of silver. He looked at Zhi Qiu, who had taken the silver, with a hint of annoyance, and then saw her squeeze into the crowd.
He truly regretted listening to her and coming out. She even had the audacity to say that she was taking him out to investigate something... how ordinary people make their fortunes.
ridiculous!
He saw her expressions throughout the entire betting process: joy, silence, disbelief, resentment, defiance, acceptance, despair, shock, elation, and anger.
He has ten different expressions in ten different scenes; I find this person really funny.
"Come on, let's bet! Come on, let's bet! I'm betting big this time! Five taels of silver! Come on, let's bet big!" She laughed happily, pressing the silver on the table and urging those around her to join in.
"If this guy doesn't lose his underwear tonight, he won't understand how evil the gambling den is."
"Come on, let's have some fun with this guy."
"Six taels! Small!"
"Six taels and two hundred copper coins! Small!"
"Trust me, bet against this guy, and you'll win about 80% of the time."
"..." She couldn't laugh anymore after hearing everything.
...
Everyone had placed their bets and were cheering and shouting, "Flip the bowl! Let Zhi Qiu lose honestly!"
"Come! Come! Come!" she shouted along with the crowd.
The young man opened the bowl, revealing two dice inside. One was a six, the other a four—big! Big!
She stood up with a smile and stuffed all the silver and copper coins on the table into her pocket!
"You're too kind! You're too kind!"
Having earned twenty taels of silver and eight hundred copper coins, she walked contentedly towards the crowd. The crowd looked at her with suspicion and asked questions.
"Not gambling anymore?"
She carefully put away the silver and replied, "No, if we keep gambling, you'll all end up sharing my underwear."
This remark drew laughter from the crowd, and Peng Feizhe also found it amusing, a slight smile playing on his lips. Some of the men who had lost to her were a little upset and urged her to continue playing.
"Your underwear isn't worth much, keep going. Hurry up, bro, I haven't had enough fun yet."
"No." She refused all those who invited her to gamble.
As night deepened, the chirping of crickets quietly echoed all around, their sounds carried but their shadows hidden by dark clouds.
The two walked along the path, and she smiled happily. She divided the silver in her hand in half, putting half into her own purse and handing the other half to him.
"Feeling good?" He glanced at the loose silver in his hand, then looked at her happy little face.
Under the cover of night, she was quite beautiful. Although her skin was a bit dark, her features and smile made her even more beautiful.
"That was great!" she nodded in satisfaction and said cheerfully.
"Do you often come to the gambling den?" he asked curiously, putting the bag into his clothes.
"No, if I come here to play often, how could I lose so many games?"
...
If I come here more often, will I lose fewer games?
"Fool."
She paused for a moment, looking at Peng Feizhe who had been cursing her, "?" Three parts doubt and seven parts disbelief.
"Brother, why are you swearing?" she said, feeling aggrieved.
"If I don't scold you, you won't know what to say." He stopped and glanced at her. "Trying to spend the night here?"
"Oh..." She couldn't laugh anymore, her face remaining expressionless.
She cursed him inwardly, getting angrier the more she cursed, and the more powerless she felt, but she could only dare to be angry and not speak out.
Don't be angry, don't get angry, don't get upset with such a petty person...
"Hey kid, you're having a lot of fun, huh?" An unfriendly voice broke the silence.
The two stopped and stared at the people blocking their way. Four men suddenly emerged from the darkness. Good heavens, each of them brandished knives and other weapons, looking at the two defiantly.
"Leave all the money, or you'll be slaughtered," the thinner man in the middle said irritably.
She doesn't seem flustered at all! Why is that?
Because they messed with the wrong person! They messed with him, not her!
Good luck, brothers.
She silently mourned for them for a few seconds, and now she was just short of hiding behind him to watch the show! She couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
"You dare to win so much money from the gambling den? You're asking for death."
“I didn’t steal or rob, why should I die?” she retorted defiantly.
This rebuttal angered the highway robbers, who pointed their weapons at her. He yelled, "You're asking for it!"
She quickly hid behind Peng Feizhe and shouted loudly, "Big brother! Beat them up!" She shouted loudly as if she wanted to teach them a lesson, but in the end, she still hid behind the big boss for the sake of her life.
"..." He turned his head and glanced at her hiding behind him, not knowing how to scold her for a moment.
"You're just adding to my troubles..." Before he could finish speaking, he grabbed her clothes and nimbly dodged a knife.
Just as the man was about to adjust his position, Peng Feizhe kicked him in the side, sending him flying a short distance away.
Turning to her, he yelled, "Get lost, don't cause me any trouble!"
Then four men attacked him, but he reacted swiftly, dodging most of the attacks and cleaving one man in two with a single chop. He then elbowed the man behind him in the face, causing him to clutch his hand in pain. Only after knocking the weapons from their hands did he unleash his full fighting spirit.
She stood aside watching the five people wrestle together, knowing how incredibly powerful her older brother was.
After some time, Peng Feizhe took down all four men single-handedly. He was a trained fighter, so it was quite an easy task for him.
She rushed over to check if he was injured, only to find that his handsome face had been punched, and his lip was bruised. He was frowning and clearly upset. Knowing that saying anything nice would only upset him, she feigned concern and offered words of comfort.
The voice also changed back to a female voice.
"Big brother! Are you in pain? Do you want me to carry you to the doctor?"
He glared at her, then glanced at her physique and thought she was spouting nonsense. How could such a petite woman carry him like that? He was a little tired now, so he took a few breaths and stepped away from the four people he had knocked down.
"It's nothing," he said calmly, touching the purple mark on the corner of his mouth.
"As expected of the eldest brother! This little pain is nothing to you!"
He seemed to relax a bit, and reached out his hand to her without saying a word.
She was completely baffled; what was this guy up to now?
"Huh? What does Big Brother want?" She looked at him helplessly.
"Give me the remaining ten taels and four hundred copper coins!"
"?" She didn't understand, but she still reluctantly took it out.
"Brother, what's going on...?"
"Protection fee, I can't just fight for you for nothing."
"..." She saw all the money she had worked so hard to win fly into his pocket! It hurt! But she couldn't say anything.
He noticed the reluctance and unwillingness on her face, weighed the bag in his hand, and said teasingly, "What? You don't want to? Fine! I'll make them get up and fight you again. I promise I won't lift a finger, I'll just stand there and watch."
She blinked, hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly said, "No, no, no! I do! I do..."
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