In a tall building that was dark, cool, and emitting a musty and sweaty smell, moldy and dirty mats were spread out. There was a short table on each mat. Originally, a group of people were gathered around the short table, shouting and yelling as they played gambling games such as Six Gambles, Cattail Cattail, Double Continent, and so on.
At this moment, the gamblers at each table ran to the table near the door and surrounded it, watching the two people's magnificent "gambling" feat. The two of them used the simplest method of gambling: dice toss.
"Six o 'clock! Six o' clock!"
There was a small white porcelain bowl and three wooden dice in the shape of a hexagon. From one to six, they were painted black dots. They were like the eyes of the devil, spinning and staring at the gamblers in a seductive manner. With the crazy roar of the crowd, the dice did not disappoint. Six.
The gambler sitting on the left side of the short table was thin, with a sharp chin, two moustaches, and a face full of pockmarks. He was calmly holding the dice and smiling at the person opposite him. The person opposite him was not tall, fat, and his fat face was covered with greasy sweat. His eyes were wide open, and he was breathing rapidly, constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
The moustache youth smiled and said, "You lost, your house is now mine!"
This casino was converted from an abandoned granary. There was a curtain with a picture of a Pi Xiu hanging at the door, which was the casino's signboard. Because of the hot summer, the granary was very cool, so since the beginning of summer, the casino had a lot of customers.
The fat man who had just lost his house was called Ke Zhao, and he was a pawn of the Feng Zhou granary. The pawn was a small official with no rank, but the person in charge of the granary had a lot of power in the eyes of the commoners. In addition, this casino originally belonged to the Feng Zhou granary, and Ke Zhao, who was addicted to gambling, hung out here every day, so everyone here knew him.
"How is it? Brother Ke, you don't seem to have the capital to gamble anymore, right? " The rat-bearded young man had a nasty smile on his face as he looked at Ke Zhao. The three dice were spinning nimbly between his fingers.
Fatty Ke clenched his teeth and slammed the table, and shouted, "I'll put my wife on the line!"
The rat-bearded young man curled his lips in disdain and said, "The one who brought you lunch just now? You've already lost your money and house to me. Isn't it easy for me to get a wife? I really don't like your wife's appearance. "
One of the surrounding gamblers said, "How good can your face be?"
Someone else said, "Foreigner, don't be too arrogant. Where it is possible to let people off, one should spare them."
The rat-bearded young man said with a smile, "This is a casino. If you're willing to bet, you must be willing to accept your loss. It doesn't matter if you're a foreigner or a native. How do you want me to forgive you? Oh, I remember you. A few days ago, I gambled with you and lost four strings of money to you. Now I'm asking you to spit out the money. Will you do it? "
The man didn't speak after hearing that. Because of the geographical relationship, the locals would always side with the locals. However, this rule didn't seem to work in the casino. There were no fathers and sons in the casino, let alone the villagers. The rat-bearded youth glanced at Fatty Ke and said, "What? If you still can't take out your capital, I'm leaving! "
Fatty Ke slammed the table again and roared, "I … I'll give my daughter to you as well!"
The rat-bearded youth's eyes lit up and said, "Your daughter? How old is she? "
Fatty Ke stuttered and said, "Two … two years old."
The rat-bearded youth was greatly discouraged and shook his head, "No! You don't have any capital? Then let's go and collect the house! "
He stood up and was about to leave when Fatty Ke pulled him back. The rat-bearded youth stared at him and said, "What? Are you still going to go back on your word? "
Fatty Ke's face turned red and said, "Let's bet again! I … I'll write you an IOU! I'm the manager of Peng Zhou's warehouse. Everyone here knows me. If I lose again, I won't be able to repay your debt. It's going to be autumn soon. It won't take long for me to repay your debt. "
The rat-bearded youth hesitated for a moment and reluctantly sat down. The two of them started gambling again. After a while, the rat-bearded youth laughed and left. Fatty Ke's face was as pale as paper. He sat there motionless like a clay sculpture.
The rat-bearded youth swaggered back to his rented courtyard and returned to his room. He closed the door. There was a pottery basin filled with water on the wooden shelf facing the wall. The rat-bearded youth bent over to wash his face. Soon, the pockmarks on his face disappeared and his yellowish skin became white and tender.
When he straightened his back, his willowy eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, greasy nose, and cherry lips astonishingly turned into a big beauty with bright eyes and white teeth. An extremely strong man yawned and came out of the inner room. He had just stretched his waist when he saw her and couldn't help but smile, "Zhuyun is back."
The beauty looked back and smiled, "Big brother, my matter is settled. The rest is up to you!"
…
Si Rong and Nian Zu were not afraid of the heat. They were playing happily on the lake. When they heard that their father wanted them to go back to the city, Si Rong was better, but Nian Zu couldn't help crying and acting coquettishly, hoping to change his father's mind. As a result, Yang Fan was not moved by his crying at all. He was a strict father, and he also spoiled him like his mother.
Nian Zu had no choice but to lie in the carriage and play with a few small fish caught from the lake. There was a green jar, which was half filled with lake water. A few small fish were swimming happily. Nian Zu reached out to catch the fish and played with it a few times. He laughed, and the tears on his face had not yet dried.
Yang Fan and Xiao Man looked at each other and shook their heads in amusement.
"Ka … La la …" A deafening sound of thunder seemed to ring above their heads. Si Rong, who was tired from playing, woke up with a start. Xiao Man quickly patted her head and coaxed, "Nannan, be good. Sleep well!" Si Rong closed her eyes again in a daze.
The rain came down. Bean-sized raindrops pattered down and hit the roof of the carriage. There was a commotion outside the carriage. The attendants put on their straw raincoats. The common people who were hurrying on the official road ran under the trees to shelter from the rain. There were also those with rain gear who hurriedly held up umbrellas and put on straw raincoats.
A man in black riding a donkey and wearing a straw raincoat hurried past the carriage of Yang Fan's family in the rain.
The rain was very heavy. In just a moment, the raindrops formed a line. The world was a vast expanse of white. The man in black riding the donkey was in a sorry state in the rain. When he reached a place where weeds, reeds, and shrubs were flourishing, he suddenly looked back and hurriedly pulled the reins, driving the donkey into the reeds.
Two people suddenly emerged from the reeds. They parted the reeds to the left and right to let the man in black riding the donkey pass. They then let go of their hands and the reeds returned to normal. The two figures behind the reeds fell down and disappeared.
The torrential rain poured down without warning. Who would have thought that a moment ago the sun was burning like fire, and a moment later it would be pouring rain?
Although Ding Laoshi, who was driving the carriage for Yang Fan, was wearing a straw raincoat, he was also drenched. He could barely open his eyes. Fortunately, this was a straight official road. Even if he closed his eyes, he could still drive.
At first, when the rain fell, dust flew everywhere, and there was a pungent smell of soil in the air. Now, there was only a clear and cool water vapor.
In the heat of summer, it was actually quite good to have a little rain to cool down the temperature. If one were to stand under the porch and watch the rain fall like a curtain, and listen to the sound of the rain falling into the lotus vats, it would be quite an artistic experience. But standing in the rain, the feeling was completely different.
Puddles of rainwater quickly formed on the ground. The wheels of the carriage passed by, and the rainwater splashed high into the air. It was probably because there were four people sitting in the carriage, and the materials used to make the carriage seemed very exquisite.
The curtains of the carriage had already been drawn down to prevent the rain from entering the carriage. There were a few riders in front of the carriage. The rider on the horse squinted his eyes and shouted, "Hurry up, we'll enter the city in a few more li."
His voice didn't travel too far amidst the sounds of the rain, but the carriages nearby heard him. Ding Laoshi immediately raised his whip and urged his horse to speed up. When the carriages behind him saw the one in front speeding up, they naturally followed suit as well.
Large patches of shrubs and reeds gradually appeared on both sides of the road. In the reeds, there were two people lying in ambush. They were draped in rain silk, which could barely shelter them from the wind and rain. The rainwater hit the reeds around them, making rustling sounds, but when it hit their bodies, there was a continuous' thud 'sound.
"This rain really came at a bad time!" One of them forcefully wiped the rainwater off his face and said softly. The two people lying here were the two most skilled martial artists of the Hidden Sect in Luoyang. The one who spoke was called Yi Xiaoyou, and the one beside him was called Leng Aoyu.
Leng Aoyu said, "Fortunately, it doesn't affect our plan much. When the rain comes, pedestrians will avoid it, and there will be fewer people on the main road. If someone sees them, when the rain washes away, there won't even be any hoof prints left. It will be even harder for the authorities to find their whereabouts. "
Yi Xiaoyou let out a breath and said, "Will Lord Zhao's move work? We didn't report to Young Master to get his approval. "
Leng Aoyu said, "Why not? Lord Zhao said that this is called taking drastic measures. As long as we take down that Yang fellow, the Hidden Sect will be without a leader and will be in chaos. "
"It's coming!" Before Yi Xiaoyou could finish his sentence, Leng Aoyu subconsciously lowered his body. His chest was immersed in the rapidly overflowing water, and his chest felt cool.
"Prepare to move!" Yi Xiaoyou's eyes flashed with radiance, and he also lowered his body while his hand slowly moved to the back of his waist. On his waist, there was a cloth belt that was twisted into a rope, and on the cloth belt, there was a long whip that had a handle made of cow bones. The whip was coiled around the handle, and the whip was made of cow skin that had been soaked in the rainwater until it was glossy.
"Move!"
When the first chariot neared the encirclement, Yi Xiaoyou let out a loud roar and stood up. He shook his arm in mid-air, and a black whip appeared in his palm. It was as if a bolt of lightning had flashed across the sky, and it swept towards Ding Laoshi who was driving the chariot. Leng Aoyu was like a ferocious tiger that came out of the mountains, and he scuttled out of the reeds with a 'swish'.
The whip was like a spirit snake, and it suddenly wrapped around the carriage driver's body. Yi Xiaoyou forcefully swung it, and Ding Laoshi was swept horizontally to the front. The two horsemen who had heard the warning fell off their horses, and they fell into the rain with a bang, splashing water everywhere.
At the same time, Leng Aoyu's Eight Steps Chasing Cicada was as fast as the wind, and with a few leaps, he had already pounced in front of the first carriage. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
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