Chapter 85 Dawn Sniping (2) Kneeling before the mad dog and calling him a benefactor...
The summer night in June was sweltering. All four latticed windows were open, and the starlight and moonlight from the sky shone into the Seventh Casino, which was filled with the smoke of drugs, illuminating the intoxicated expressions of everyone in a state of blissful debauchery.
Circles of bright yellow curtains hung from the eaves, their scarlet ribbons swaying gently in the night breeze. Around them, veils woven from fine, golden bamboo strips concealed vats of crushed ice, thus cooling the gamblers from the sweltering heat.
The gambling tables were arranged in a circle, with a large gold vat in the center. Just now, the thugs lit charcoal and threw a bound gambler into it. A thin-faced old man with teeth blackened by the smoke of drugs looked at Feng Tan and explained to her, "See? This is called torture. If you're caught cheating, this is how you die... When you open the vat a day later, all that will be left inside is a pile of charcoal-like bones!"
Feng Tan frowned and said, "There are such cruel punishments in this world."
"Also known as killing ghosts! It will leave you with no way to seek revenge!" The thin-faced old man looked around at the gamblers who were engrossed in their game and whispered to Feng Tan, "This punishment is a new invention of City Lord Tan Yinyin in recent years. Including the one who was roasted to death today, twelve people have been roasted to death in the past two years."
Feng Tan looked at him and said, "How do you know so much?"
The old man said calmly, "I go to the casino every month, so I naturally know the ins and outs of this place better than others."
Feng Tan raised an eyebrow. "Is he that addicted to gambling?"
The old man shook his head and sighed, "No, no, smoking is prohibited in Dahuang and Dahua. Only in Huanyan Liuguang City can you buy medicinal cigarettes. If you don't smoke these medicinal cigarettes for a day, you feel uncomfortable all over. Tsk, you're addicted to them. Even if there's a risk of capsizing and dying, you still have to come to the casino to earn some money for cigarettes."
Once addicted to opium, it's impossible to quit unless you die. The city of Joyful Radiance is rich in poppies, which are processed into opium and sold at high prices to gamblers. Once they become addicted, they can no longer leave the city, and thus the city grows richer day by day.
Feng Tan looked up at the opulently decorated casino. The city of Huan Yan Liu Guang was so wealthy, with real gold used as decoration everywhere… Xiao Yinshi had come to this gold mine, and so had Feng Tingxiao… They had both come to this gold mine to perform rituals, and neither of them were acting without purpose…
The gambling table manager interrupted Feng Tan's thoughts, "Hey, bearded man, it's your turn to bet! You bet on your follower last time, what are you betting on this time? Let me remind you, you have to bet on a part of your own body!"
Feng Tan sat upright and handsome among the gamblers, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes as he raised them. "I'm betting on myself."
The police chief narrowed his eyes and said, "A life-or-death gamble?"
"Yes and no," Feng Tan's slightly dark fingers twirled the dice like a child, a hint of laughter in his voice. "If I lose, you can throw me into the Eighth Casino, the Colosseum, right? Man versus beast, and then let gamblers place bets, wouldn't that be even more exciting?"
The foreman looked into those firm and fearless eyes. He remembered a precedent before, the man who fought his way out of the arena... He shuddered, looked Feng Tan up and down at her slender, bony body, his eyes narrowing even more. "You chose this one."
Feng Tan knew her gambling skills were lacking; without Feng Tingxiao, she certainly wouldn't be able to get past the Seventh Casino. After observing the area, she noticed that Shang Chunxiang wasn't among the maids, leaving only one possibility: Aunt Shang was at the Eighth Casino.
As for beast fighting... Feng Tan is most skilled at taming beasts.
Taming animals requires intelligence and perseverance, while fighting animals relies on brute force and hand-to-hand combat.
The two are very different, but since the objects are both beasts, she will always find common ground.
Feng Tan was destined to lose this round. Indeed, she hadn't put in much effort to gamble away all the gold ingots Feng Tingxiao had won in the previous six rounds. A large amount of money slipped through her fingers, and she sighed with heartache.
When Da Huang was an official, his monthly salary was four taels of silver. This bag of gold ingots would be enough to earn him for at least his next life. No wonder gamblers always have the courage to go all in. Money makes the world go round.
The massive circular outline of the Colosseum glowed with an eerie red light under the glow of the large red lanterns on the roof. The tiered stands, like giant steps, rose slowly from the ground until they formed a circle, tightly surrounding the central arena. They were then covered by huge, floor-length, water-red curtains, allowing gamblers to watch the animal fights from behind the high platforms and place their bets.
The four walls behind the white stone balustrade are decorated with bas-reliefs depicting explicit scenes of male-female intercourse, intended to stimulate the gamblers' attention. Beyond this, what's even more eerie are the strange and fantastical creatures encased in four rows of transparent coffins placed before a circular curtain.
Lantern ghosts, spider demons, human-wooden creatures, red-haired monsters, mermaids, pig dragons, mountain spirits, peacock princesses, witches, snake demons, soul-hiding altars... They are all humanoid, but their appearances are clearly not human, just like the strange creatures described in ancient books.
Importantly, their small movements inside the transparent coffin were in a manner consistent with their costumes.
It looks so realistic, could it be an illusion?
Feng Tan glanced at it, her eyes initially filled with curiosity, but upon closer inspection, she noticed something strange. It didn't quite look like a puppet.
A mermaid floated listlessly in the water coffin, its beautiful fishtail shimmering with blue light. At first, it showed no change in emotion when it saw Feng Tan, until it saw Feng Tan pondering and unconsciously rubbing the knuckles of its thumb and forefinger. Suddenly, its pale purple eyes widened, and its whole body splashed water in the coffin.
Feng Tan's attention was drawn to the merman. She looked at the two remaining silver ingots of the thugs escorting him behind her and said, "It's still early before the show starts. The layout here is too bizarre. Can I take a look around first?"
The thug accepted the silver ingot and gestured for Feng Tan to do as he pleased.
She walked past each strange tale with an air of appreciation, not daring to stop even when she reached the merman. Her probing gaze met the merman's, and tears welled up in the merman's purple pupils.
Feng Tan felt a pang of pain in her heart. Without lingering, she walked around the circular arena before returning to the thugs.
The thug glanced at her and said, "Let's go change your clothes."
The rules of the Colosseum are that you must make sure you change out of all your clothes before entering the arena to avoid carrying any weapons, and you must fight hand to hand.
The two servants who came to change Feng Tan's clothes closed the door, and the room suddenly became dark. They walked up to Feng Tan and looked at the roof beam.
Disguised, Yu Ruxi leaped down from the beam, looked at Feng Tan's bearded face, and hugged her, crying and laughing, "Yongle, I've finally found you!"
The servant, dressed as a child, watched Zheng Qingru and Wei Shengxian embrace. Then, Zheng Qingru coughed lightly, his gaze towards Feng Tan filled with complex emotions, and said, "Yongle, I...you..."
He didn't know what to say. Yu Ruxi wiped her eyes, her joy at having regained what she had lost calming her down a little, and said, "Zheng Qingru, let's put aside our grudges for now. We can talk about it after we leave the city!"
After she finished speaking, she glared at Wei Shengxian and explained to Feng Tan, "We'll settle our score with Wei Shengxian later! He is indeed a first-rate spy. He used his reconnaissance skills to follow Qing Cang all the way into the Seventh Gambling House. Right now, how to get you out is a tricky matter. We need to think about it together."
Feng Tan's ticket to the Eighth Gambling House was to fight wild beasts as a beast fighter. If she were to disappear into thin air, it would trigger a state of emergency throughout the gambling house.
Feng Tan said, "No need. You guys find a way to wait for me at the exit of the Eighth Casino. I need to take someone out of the casino."
Yu Ruxi and Zheng Qingru were both displeased and asked, "Who?"
“Shang Chunxiang.” Feng Tan looked at his two childhood playmates. Standing there, it was as if he had returned to the carefree days of his childhood. Only then did he see that the merman’s heavy mood had eased a little. “She is at the Eighth Gambling House.”
Yu Ruxi knew how important Shang Chunxiang was to Feng Tan. Throughout Princess Yongle's life, whether it was the years when she was raised by Feng Tingxiao or after Empress Xiaoxian brought the princess back to the palace, Aunt Shang was the only one who accompanied her from beginning to end, treating her like family. Now that she was trapped here by the schemers because of her investigation into the death of Empress Xiaoxian, Feng Tan could not allow her to be trampled on here.
Wei Shengxian looked at Feng Tan. From a young official to a princess of the Heavenly Dynasty, her foolishness in sacrificing herself to save others had not changed at all. He sneered and said, "No wonder His Majesty built Yongle Temple when the princess was born. It turns out that he raised a clay bodhisattva from a young age. Even when he could not save himself, he still had to rescue people from the river. He is truly a great benefactor."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ruxi glared at him angrily. Feng Tan grabbed her arm, which she had been holding back, and looked at Wei Shengxian with a fierce look in his eyes. "Unlike Lord Wei Sheng, who has been kneeling in front of a mad dog and calling him a benefactor for many years, he has never been able to distinguish between good and evil."
Yu Ruxi chuckled, looking at Wei Shengxian's face, which had turned pale and red, with a mischievous smile. This guy, who always had a wicked air about him and a witty look in his eyes, had his eccentric aura lessened considerably after being hit where it hurt.
Zheng Qingru didn't want them to argue, and since they had helped each other in Huanyan Liuguang City, he mediated by saying, "Alright everyone, now is not the time to dwell on the past."
He looked down at Feng Tan and asked with concern, "Yongle, are you confident that you can rescue Aunt Shang while ensuring your own safety?"
Feng Tan nodded, then turned and went behind the screen to change her clothes, softly calling out to Yu Ruxi, "Come and help me."
Yu Ruxi also went behind the screen, and Feng Tan gestured with his hands, asking, "Has the Imperial Dragon Camp arrived?"
Yu Ruxi glanced warily in the direction of Wei Shengxian outside. Through the screen, she could vaguely see that he was facing away from them. So she took out a letter from her bosom and silently placed it in Feng Tan's palm.
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