I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 188 - 160: High-Low Gamble
After Wei Wu received the lead about the Hongyun Gambling House from Yu Da and Sang Que, he took Xue Er and Ma Zi there in the morning and mobilized a squad of city patrol guards to surround the entire gambling den airtight.
The gambling house didn’t open during the day. Wei Wu had people bring all related personnel to the entrance and interrogated them one by one.
To be cautious, Wei Wu didn’t enter the gambling house personally. He first sent several constables from the government office inside to carefully search every corner for any shrines or spaces worshiping the Evil God, as well as any suspicious secret rooms.
The boss of the gambling house knelt and cried, repeatedly claiming innocence. Wei Wu killed a few of his subordinates on the spot, only then did the boss have his men recall that indeed, the men from the five households in Buiyi Lane had visited the gambling house one after another.
However, many people from Buiyi Lane had been to the gambling house, and the regular patrons weren’t in trouble either, so this couldn’t prove anything.
The constables who went in to search also found nothing; Wei Wu and his two companions couldn’t understand why it was specifically those five families in Buiyi Lane.
Alas, Wei Wu was eager to claim credit, but at this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to call Yu Da and Sang Que for further investigation, so he ordered the temporary closure of the gambling house.
In the afternoon, everything was peaceful.
At night, Wei Wu was staking out near the gambling house with Xue Er and Ma Zi; the place remained silent, but shortly after midnight, two White Servants on night patrol came running frantically.
In Chang Le Lane and Kangfu Lane in the south of the city, people have died at home again, in exactly the same manner as those five households in Buiyi Lane.
Chang Le Lane and Kangfu Lane fell under the jurisdiction of another two Day Travel Teams. Wei Wu wasn’t on good terms with those two captains. Now, due to his oversight, incidents occurred on their turf, and those two would surely cause him trouble.
Just then, the lantern at the gambling house’s entrance suddenly flickered green and then extinguished. This indicated that some Evil Spirits or Evil Ghosts had just passed by the lantern, possibly entering the gambling house.
Wei Wu deliberated slightly and finally decided to lead Xue Er, Ma Zi, and the two White Servants who brought the news into the gambling house to investigate.
"Mr. Wei, we are just White Servants, we have no skills at all, please spare us."
The two White Servants who were about the same age begged Wei Wu, going into a place with obvious ghosts at night was akin to seeking death.
Wei Wu drew his knife, "Do you want me to cut you down right now?"
The two White Servants trembled all over; unfortunately, a White Servant’s life was as insignificant as grass, solving a bizarre case was extremely urgent. If they dared to disobey, Wei Wu would indeed kill them immediately.
Xue Er and Ma Zi watched coldly from the side, having seen such things often.
Solving ghostly cases required scouts. If others wouldn’t scout, it was up to the two of them.
The two White Servants were powerless to resist; they could only carry the lantern and walk at the front, with Wei Wu in the middle, and Xue Er and Ma Zi at the rear.
The hall of the gambling house was pitch-dark; aside from the front and back doors, there were no other exits or windows or time-keeping tools, purposely designed to make those who came in ignore the time and enjoy gambling to their heart’s content.
Under the faint glow of the lantern, there were bamboo slips, dice, and pai gow scattered everywhere, with chairs and tables toppled, in utter chaos.
Only in the center of the gambling hall was a coffin laid intact, with the lid open and Copper Coins scattered around and inside it.
The coffin symbolized ’seeing the coffin and getting rich’. In places without a shrine for the Divine, gambling houses would place a coffin, and gamblers would casually throw a Copper Coin into it for fortune.
Over time, the gambling house developed a saying that touching the coffin inside the casino would bring bad luck and financial loss, and failing to toss a Copper Coin within five steps meant poor luck in gambling that day.
There was also a second floor with separate compartments, and deep within the gambling house, there was a pawnshop for those who lost to exchange for Silver Taels conveniently.
The three wore the masks of the Day Traveling Envoys, with Tokens hanging at their waists and official seals in their bosoms.
After circling around and finding nothing, just as they were about to leave, a bitter wind blew, causing the three to squint and retreat. The lantern in the two White Servants’ hands suddenly turned greenish in light.
In the middle of the gambling house appeared a table for betting big or small; an unknown red light from above illuminated just the tabletop, with the surroundings inky black, where not even fingers could be seen.
The two White Servants retreated in fear, while Xue Er and Ma Zi clutched tightly to the long knife and Soul-locking Rope.
"Go check the front and back doors." Wei Wu, the Golden Travel Captain, showed no sign of panic.
The two White Servants, in a flurry of panic, went to inspect.
"Mr. Wei, the door is gone!"
Xue Er and Ma Zi exchanged a glance; Wei Wu squinted slightly, staring at the gambling table ahead, took out a Ghost Soldier Talisman, ignited it, and affixed it to his knife.
"You two go have a look." Wei Wu ordered coldly.
The two White Servants, eyes full of terror, dared not approach the central gambling table of the gambling house; Wei Wu glanced at Xue Er.
Xue Er understood, striding forward to grab a young White Servant named Ding Yuan, sweeping a knife, thus sending Ding Yuan’s ear flying off instantly.
Blood flowed down his cheek, only then did Ding Yuan cry out in pain.
Wei Wu’s face was ferocious, "Go over and look!"
Xue Er gave Ding Yuan a fierce shove; Ding Yuan clutched his bleeding ear, tears in his eyes, trembling all over as he walked towards the gambling table.
"Circle around it."
Nothing was seen around the gambling table. Wei Wu had a Third Layer two-hundred-step capability; if it was indeed Ghost Level, he wouldn’t see anything.
After Xue Er circled around once, from the dice cup on the table came the sound of dice rattling, shortly quieting down. Ding Yuan, as if sensing something, stiffened across from the dice cup, his hand covering his ear uncontrollably raised.
"Mr. Wei, I can’t move, there’s a ghost! A ghost is grabbing my hand!"
Before Wei Wu could give instructions, Xue Er and Ma Zi had already flung the Soul-locking Rope, attempting to bind Ding Yuan with the rope and pull him out.
But as they got close to the gambling table, an immense force directly flung them away, crashing heavily to the ground, breaking several chairs.
The other White Servant, Li Yuan, saw this and trembled all over, hurriedly hiding to the side.
Wei Wu glanced around, and after a moment of contemplation, instructed Ding Yuan, "Place your bet."
Ding Yuan shook his head in terror, his face stained with a mix of blood and tears.
"If you win, you might survive. This is your only chance right now," Wei Wu said loudly.
Ding Yuan burst into tears; facing the power of the Evil Ghost, with Xue Er and Ma Zi both flung away, he, a mere White Servant, had no way to resist. After taking in several deep breaths, seeing no other option, Ding Yuan pressed his bloody hand onto the ’big’ character on the table.
In the darkness, seemingly a hand reached out, lifting the dice cup to reveal three dice stained with blood inside.
One, three, four.
Small eight.
As the dice revealed, the sound of bones crunching emanated; suddenly, Ding Yuan’s head was twisted to face his back, with his face intact, yet all crumpled in, the skin pulling up his lips into a horrifying grin.
The corpse fell lifelessly to the ground.
"Does losing mean death?" Wei Wu muttered, turning his gaze to Li Yuan who was still crouching aside, "You, go on next."
Li Yuan shook his head, pleading on his knees, but Wei Wu ignored it, personally picking Li Yuan up and tossing him onto the gambling table.
Once close to the gambling table, Li Yuan immediately, like Ding Yuan, was enveloped by a chill, unable to move.
The sound of dice rattling was heard once more, and Li Yuan’s hand involuntarily rose, hovering over the gambling table, waiting for him to place his bet.
In despair, understanding he couldn’t escape, Li Yuan considered that if he died, the Evil Suppression Bureau would give his family compensation, a final contribution to his loved ones. He pressed his hand on the ’big’ character on the table, tears streaming.
Again, the ghostly hand stretched out from the darkness. This time Wei Wu dashed forward, lifted his sword, and struck hard at the hand.
The blade, coated with the Ghost Soldier Talisman, struck right through the hand but did no harm as it passed through, an immense force tossed Wei Wu across, crashing him onto the wall, spatting out blood as he fell to the ground.
On the gambling table, the dice rattled once more. As they settled, they displayed one, five, six.
"+17" and "Eleven".
Li Yuan held his breath, closing his eyes in despair, but he only felt a cold wind sweep past him. His head wasn’t twisted to the back; he was still alive.
With one hand clutching his side, Wei Wu, along with puzzled-looking Xue Er and Ma Zi, watched this scene unfold.
