Xiao Jingcheng looked up at the gambling house again, as well as the gamblers in front of the gambling tables, their faces crazed.
Zhao Hu and his men were of bad character. Even though they were now under his control, it was still difficult to change their most primitive desires.
Once he left this place, these people would surely revert to their old ways and resume their evil deeds.
Without anyone to restrain them, they might even become more unscrupulous. This was definitely not a good thing for the people of Dongli Town.
It seemed that this gambling house could no longer be allowed to exist.
Seeing that Xiao Jingcheng's expression was not right, Zhao Hu quickly used his eyes to signal the chattering crowd to be quiet. He then stepped forward obsequiously and said, "Of course, the boss should be the one to replace员外 Chen. We will all follow the boss's lead!"
"Really?" Xiao Jingcheng looked at him. "Do you really think so?"
Zhao Hu raised his hand. "I, Zhao Hu, swear to heaven that I have no second thoughts about General Tunri!"
The others also raised their hands one after another to show their loyalty.
At this moment, completely unaware to Xiao Jingcheng, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance of the gambling house.
...
After Ye Wanmian left the house with Dahuang, Dahuang ran in front of her and lowered his head to sniff the ground.
Xiao Jingcheng had long since disappeared, but dogs have a sensitive sense of smell and can detect the familiar scent left on the ground.
Following this scent, Dahuang led Ye Wanmian all the way south.
Ye Wanmian was familiar with all the streets and alleys of Dongli Town. With Dahuang's guidance and her own memories, she easily avoided the patrolling guards and passers-by on the street. Finally, she arrived at the entrance of Feihu Gambling House.
There were two dogs guarding the entrance, namely Sangbiao and Juanmao. As soon as they saw Ye Wanmian, they wagged their tails and ran towards her, circling around her.
Dahuang also rushed forward and sniffed them desperately.
After smelling that there was no smell of roast chicken on them, he finally felt relieved.
Seeing Sangbiao and Juanmao here, Ye Wanmian was very surprised. She bent down and rubbed their heads. Then, looking up, she thoughtfully gazed at the noisy and smoky building in front of her.
From the shouts coming from inside, Ye Wanmian recognized that this was a gambling house.
Dahuang had followed Xiao Jingcheng's scent here, which meant that Xiao Jingcheng was inside at this moment.
Thinking of the three hundred taels of silver that Xiao Jingcheng had "offered" to her during the day, as well as that unknown hulk, Ye Wanmian guessed that this should be the gambling house that he had "raided".
However, it was so late. What was he doing here?
Moreover, why were Zamao and Juanmao here?
Ye Wanmian was extremely curious about Xiao Jingcheng's purpose for coming here. Knowing that this was not a place she should be, she took a deep breath and stepped inside.
As soon as she entered, the noise multiplied several times, and a wave of heat and the stench of sweat hit her face. She subconsciously frowned, raised her hand to cover her nose and mouth, and looked around.
The gambling house was at its busiest and most crowded.
Gambling addicts knew no gender. There were both men and women here, from teenagers in their teens to old men in their seventies. Ye Wanmian even saw a very familiar figure among them, the matchmaker Wang who had come to Qingyu Alley to propose a marriage for her before.
They were gathered around the gambling tables, squandering their money. However, regardless of their age, their faces all showed a fanatical expression. The craziness and desire in their eyes made Ye Wanmian feel extremely uncomfortable.
These people did not know how to cherish their money. Instead, they came here to squander it.
It was well-known that nine out of ten gamblers lost. The gambling house had plenty of ways to swindle their money. Wasn't the man who came to cause trouble at Huichun Hall that day bought by others because he owed the gambling house fifty taels of silver and wanted to ruin her reputation?
Why did Xiao Jingcheng come here at night instead of sleeping well?
Ye Wanmian avoided the crowd and walked a little further inside. Then she saw a crowd gathered in a circle, and in the middle, surrounded by everyone like a moon surrounded by stars, was Xiao Jingcheng.
Everyone's heads were close together, and their expressions were a bit solemn. It looked as if they were plotting something.
Looking at this scene, an inexplicable anger suddenly rose in Ye Wanmian's heart.
As if sensing something, Xiao Jingcheng looked up in her direction. Then he "shua" stood up from the table, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes.
Why did she come here?!
Xiao Jingcheng's sudden rise startled Zhao Hu and the others. They followed his gaze and turned around, only to discover Ye Wanmian, who had suddenly barged into the gambling house.
These people had been frequenting the gambling dens for a long time and had developed a sharp eye.
Although they couldn't see her face clearly at the moment, Ye Wanmian had a clean aura about her, which was completely different from that of the people who came to the gambling house. Immediately, one of them whistled and said to her frivolously,
"Where did this little lady come from? Why did you come here? Are you here to find your lover?"
Before he could finish his words, his neck was tightly grabbed by someone.
Xiao Jingcheng's face was as cold as frost, and his voice was gloomy. "If you can't control your mouth, I'll cut out your tongue."
Zhao Hu was sharp-eyed and immediately guessed Ye Wanmian's identity. He shouted, "You scoundrel! How dare you disrespect the eldest sister-in-law! Hurry up and apologize to the eldest sister-in-law and the boss!"
The man's face turned red, and his body trembled like a sieve. Stuttering, he said, "B-boss, e-eldest s-sister-in-law, s-sorry..."
Xiao Jingcheng threw the man aside. When he looked up again, Ye Wanmian had already turned around and run out of the gambling house.
Without thinking, Xiao Jingcheng immediately chased after her.
"Jiang Mian, Jiang Mian!"
Ye Wanmian was extremely angry, but in fact, she didn't know why she was so angry. At this moment, she only felt an inexplicable anger filling her heart, with no way out.
Xiao Jingcheng was tall and had long legs. He caught up with her outside in just a few steps.
"Jiang Mian, why did you come here?" Grabbing her hand, Xiao Jingcheng pulled her over. Looking down, he met a pair of eyes that had become especially bright because of anger.
Before he could react, Ye Wanmian used her other free hand and狠狠地 slapped him across the face.
With a crisp "pop", Xiao Jingcheng's face turned to the side, and a clear fingerprint was left on his face.
The air seemed to freeze. There was a moment of silence all around. Xiao Jingcheng's ears were buzzing from the slap.
This slap was even harder than the last one.
He looked at Ye Wanmian in astonishment. Why did she hit him?
"What a great act of robbing the rich to help the poor," Ye Wanmian's voice was as cold as ice. "It sounds so nice. I thought you were really doing good deeds and disciplining these hooligans. It turns out you're just like them, sucking the blood of the common people."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingcheng knew that she had misunderstood.
"I—"
"I really regret saving you that day," Ye Wanmian interrupted him. "I never thought that you were actually a heartless scoundrel!"
After saying that, she forcefully shook off his hold and turned away expressionlessly.