Chapter Six: Winning and Losing at the Gambling Table (2)
We have enough chips to play all night.
What does that mean?
The people sitting around the perimeter of the casino were all murmuring enviously and discussing it in low voices. Everyone knew what unit the chips on this cruise ship were exchanged in. Perhaps only a gambling match after nightfall could display such extravagance.
The large screen simultaneously zoomed in on the gambling table.
Because it was the biggest gamble of the trip, there was almost something to appreciate about it.
On the screen, Cheng Muyang’s face was illuminated in a way that gave it a striking sense of dimension. Compared with Shen Jiaming’s refined, roguish air, the feeling he had always given people was like the surface of the sea before a storm. You knew it was dangerous, yet you wanted to move closer, and closer still.
No matter how violently the waves might surge the next second, the moment before was always calm.
A nerve-racking calm.
In the first round, the banker swept everything.
Shen Jiaming won.
There was still no suspense. She also believed that as long as he was the banker, there was simply no way he could lose.
When it became the Zhousheng family’s turn to be banker, someone suddenly sat down beside Nan Bei. He was dressed in military uniform.
“Do you still remember the rules of pai gow?”
It was Shen Jiaming’s father. Nan Bei lowered her voice and called him Uncle Shen.
“I remember some, but I’ve forgotten quite a bit too.” She lightly stuck out her tongue. “I can only watch the excitement.”
Shen Ying, Shen Jiaming’s father, possessed the characteristic toughness of a soldier, along with a gloominess that was difficult to conceal after the hardships of his youth.
Although Nan Bei had lived in the Shen family for six years, she had not seen much of him at home. Still, with Shen Jiaming’s connection between them back then, Shen Ying had always been fairly kind to her.
After hearing Nan Bei out, he fell silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, “If possible, don’t get too close to Cheng Muyang. His very existence is dangerous. I don’t want you to come with us to pay respects to our ancestors, only to end up in an accident.”
Nan Bei was startled.
Or rather, she was extremely surprised.
Master Shen held Cheng Muyang in very high regard, so why would Shen Ying say something like this?
“Your Grandpa Shen thinks the same way.” Shen Ying quickly added this.
On the large screen, the chips could be seen being thrown onto the table, hand after hand. It was as though everyone had taken tonight to be their final night, especially Shen Jiaming and Cheng Muyang. She had heard that it was the Shen family who had taken the lead last night.
As long as Shen Jiaming won tonight, there was no doubt that the mineral deposit would belong to the Shen family.
And if Cheng Muyang lost tonight, he would have no choice but to withdraw.
She remembered Cheng Muyang saying, “This is only a formality,” and then thought of the look in his eyes and the smile on his face when, in the private room on the third floor, she had pressed him about what he would do if he lost.
She faintly had a very bad feeling.
If the Shen family really won, could it be that he would still try to take it by force?
Nan Bei suddenly heard a buzzing sound behind her, everyone sighing in amazement. She brought her thoughts back and looked toward the gambling table again. Two people had already stood up at the same time and conceded.
The two people from the Zhousheng family had conceded simultaneously.
The gambling table was enormous, yet no one had expected that so quickly there would be only two people left.
The chips beside the two of them had already been piled up. Two young women were carefully sorting them, little by little. Once the stacks of chips had been neatly arranged, even the people watching from the back could not help but gasp in amazement. The mineral deposit was only a “concept” to them, but at this moment, the mountains of chips piled on the gambling table were real money.
Shen Jiaming took a cigarette from the pack beside him.
“Want to take a break?”
Cheng Muyang smiled. “How about we finish this quickly?”
“Fine.” Shen Jiaming put the unlit cigarette back into the pack. “Best of five, first to three.”
It was past two in the morning. Yet neither of the two people at the gambling table nor the spectators showed the slightest sign of fatigue.
For most people, tonight’s gamble could only be watched as a spectacle. But the Zhousheng family had still made meticulous arrangements. From the lighting around the gambling table to the surrounding area, everything was kept at an optimal intensity. The oxygen supply was also maintained at a level 60% higher than outdoors. This was the standard environment of a commercial casino.
And yet the immense wealth on the gambling table was something rarely seen.
Everything made people extremely exhilarated.
Both of them seemed to have good luck. Even their victories were narrow ones. From beginning to end, neither of them ever eliminated a card.
At the final round, it was Shen Jiaming’s turn to be banker again.
He turned over the thirty-two tiles one by one and began slowly arranging them. The lustrous, slightly yellowish ivory tiles were stacked four at a time, arranged into eight rows.
His movements were very slow. After arranging the final four tiles, he ran his hand across the eight rows of ivory tiles and said with a smile, “Let’s make it a little fairer. I’ll arrange the tiles for the final round, and you roll the dice.”
It was a beautiful movement, yet it made Nan Bei unable to keep from smiling.
Shen Jiaming had loved playing with these thirty-two tiles since he was a child. He had more than a hundred ways to mark the tiles so that he could guarantee himself a win. Whenever he liked to stake everything on a single gamble, he always made this move.
But when it came to things like this at a gambling table, if you did not have the ability to expose him, you could only accept your fate.
She believed that since Cheng Muyang dared to gamble against him, he must have some extraordinary methods of his own, just as Shen Jiaming did.
Cheng Muyang did not refuse. He picked up the dice cup.
“Have you ever heard of Qingcheng Pai Gow?” Cheng Muyang looked at Shen Jiaming with great interest, a hint of laughter seemingly in his eyes. “In the life-and-death gate of pai gow, one night is enough to make you lose an entire city.”
Those were the words she had just told him.
And the person who had told them to her was none other than Shen Jiaming.
Nan Bei had not expected Cheng Muyang to suddenly say this.
“Sounds somewhat familiar.” Shen Jiaming looked back at Cheng Muyang thoughtfully. “It seems someone else has mentioned it too.”
His gaze lingered for several seconds at the collar of Cheng Muyang’s shirt before naturally moving away.
Then he took out a match, intending to light his cigarette, but unexpectedly snapped the matchstick in the palm of his hand.
When two rivals meet on a narrow road, winning or losing comes down to a single thought.
Cheng Muyang smiled, said nothing more, and gently shook the dice cup in his hand.
The dice were revealed, and each person received four ivory tiles.
The first two tiles were turned over. Cheng Muyang won.
Nan Bei slowly breathed out, looking at the two ivory tiles remaining in front of each of them. She found herself wavering, unable to say whose victory she actually hoped for. Shen Jiaming’s father suddenly straightened his jacket and got up, walking directly toward the exit.
Her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
At the same time, the large screen zoomed in on the gambling table.
Everyone fell silent. Soon, applause came from a corner, spreading from small to large, from far to near.
In front of Cheng Muyang’s hand lay two ivory tiles: Ding Three, Two-Four.
No one had expected that in a game of Qingcheng Pai Gow, they would see a top-level pai gow combination: the Monkey King Pair.
Cheng Muyang won, and he won completely.
This gamble, which had slaughtered all four directions, cast an air of bloodshed over the entire cruise ship. She quickly walked out of the casino. On the deck of the fourth floor, there were people everywhere, both near and far. Perhaps because the oxygen level in the room just now had been too high, standing outside instead made her feel somewhat short of breath. She followed the dimly lit edge and walked all the way to the far end of the deck.
There was no light at all in the distant sky. Not even moonlight. The sky was still thick with dark clouds. From here, the surface of the sea was a deep, dense black, with wave after wave surging up before crashing against the side of the cruise ship.
“Cheng Muyang’s luck was too good,” someone sighed.
Someone else scoffed. “For them, it’s all just a game, just entertainment. Maybe they already made some kind of deal behind the scenes, and that’s how they got this ‘Monkey King Pair.’”
“No matter what kind of deal it was, the Zhousheng family is already out. The Shen family and Cheng Muyang each have one win. Tomorrow night is the real main event.”
Tomorrow night.
After tomorrow night, they would be heading back.
Nan Bei watched the shadows of seabirds circling over the surface of the sea, thinking about these few short days aboard the ship. There had been warnings, confrontations, lives lost, and Cheng Muyang’s irresistible allure.
She had asked Shen Jiaming about it. The gambling ship was currently between Taiwan Island and Luzon Island in the Philippines. Once the three-day gambling match was over, the cruise ship would leave through the Bashi Channel and head straight for Taiwan Island.
It was an extremely short journey. From boarding the ship to getting off, it was less than seven days.
Suddenly, a great commotion broke out.
Nan Bei looked back. Huge splashes had erupted in the swimming pool. Soon, she saw Shen Jiaming emerge from the water and wipe the water from his face.
“Everyone, tonight we drink until we’re drunk and don’t leave until we’re drunk!”
The darkness of the night was completely dispelled.
Although he had lost, he was still an honored guest at tomorrow night’s gambling match.
Whether they were men deliberately trying to win him over, men who genuinely appreciated one another as kindred spirits, women who admired him, or even women who already had some romantic history with him, everyone became even more animated because of his words.
When Shen Jiaming climbed out of the pool, his entire body was soaked. His shirt clung to him, accentuating his long, lean figure. He was thinner, much thinner than he had been when he was young, but he did not look frail.
Perhaps because he had undergone so much training after joining the military, even slightly tipsy, his steps remained steady and heavy.
As if he had guessed where she liked to stand, he quickly spotted Nan Bei. He made his way through the crowd of people who kept stopping him for pleasantries and came to her side. He looked at her but said nothing.
“What’s wrong?” Nan Bei smiled.
“Nothing.” Shen Jiaming lightly exhaled. “I was afraid something might happen to you.”
“Something happen to me?” She said softly, “It won’t. We’re getting off the ship soon. Once we’re ashore, this is your world. What could happen to me?”
Shen Jiaming smiled noncommittally. “If you’re willing to stay here, then I really won’t worry.”
“No.” Nan Bei shook her head with complete seriousness. “I like dishes made with mint leaves. I have to go back to Yunnan. You can’t get that kind of food where you are.”
Shen Jiaming could never win an argument with her.
The night wind at sea was strong, and Shen Jiaming was still soaked through. After the two of them talked for a while, she urged him to go back and change his clothes before coming over again. Neither of them took the elevator. They went down the stairs at the stern of the ship. Just as they pushed open the door to the stairwell, they suddenly heard heavy breathing.
Nan Bei paused slightly and exchanged a look with Shen Jiaming. He had obviously heard it too.
The breathing was rapid, and it was not just one person’s. It was pained and suppressed.
Everything around them was pitch-black. Even the wall lamps were off.
Only the light from the deck shone through the open door, making the source of the breathing clearly visible.
Shen Jiaming reached out and shielded her behind him, slowly walking up several steps.
Very soon, they saw several huddled shadows, some motionless, some moving slightly, their bodies slumped in positions completely devoid of any defense. And there was no one else around them.
Nan Bei’s heart sank. She felt around and checked several of them, discovering that some were alive and some were dead.
“Can you speak?” Shen Jiaming crouched in front of one of the people who was still breathing.
The person suddenly jerked and recoiled twice.
Nan Bei reached out and pinched his Adam’s apple. Someone had struck his throat. He absolutely would not be able to speak for two or three days.
Shen Jiaming reached toward the dead man dressed in conspicuously fine clothes. The moment he extended his hand and grasped the man’s chin, a pungent smell of blood instantly filled the air. Blood flowing from the corpse’s nose covered his hand, sticky and warm.
He withdrew his hand and frowned slightly. Leaning closer to examine it, he discovered that the bridge of the man’s nose had been smashed in.
The mouth and tongue were clean, so there was no internal-organ damage.
Could it be intracranial bleeding?
The thought flashed through his mind. He hurriedly reached out and felt the dead man’s nasal bone. After pinching it a few times between two fingers, he slowly let out a breath.
“What a beautiful technique. Luckily, I know Nan Huai isn’t on this ship.”
He was skilled in close-quarters combat.
But this kind of technique, which bordered on art, was not his specialty.
Smashing the nose was the most ordinary kind of street fighting technique. But with a distinctive method, fragments of the nasal bone could be driven into the skull like blades, piercing the brain tissue and causing instant death. It could not be accomplished simply by using great force. The angle and depth were what mattered.
And of everyone he knew, the person most skilled at this was Nan Huai.
Hearing him say this, Nan Bei crouched down to look as well. Sure enough, it looked very much like Nan Huai’s technique. Only, the point where the nasal bone had been smashed was not the one her brother preferred. According to Nan Huai, this position was:
“Not pretty enough.”
She carefully felt the broken surface of the nasal bone and discovered something even more interesting.
The area where the blow had landed was very narrow.
She tested it with her own fist and said softly, “There’s a woman on this ship whose fist is harder than mine.”
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