Nine o'clock in the evening.
Few pedestrians on the street.
It felt somewhat desolate and quiet.
The six men, slurring their drunken words, headed towards Ruyi Tower.
"If you ask me, we should go to a pleasure house and have some fun!" Song Yunfei burped, his face as red as a monkey's backside, unable to conceal his excitement and longing.
As men.
How many didn't want to visit the pleasure quarters and listen to music?
It was just that they didn't have the money before.
And they were constables, often appearing in public.
So even if they wanted to go, they couldn't.
But now, it was different.
They had money!
Each carrying two thousand taels in banknotes, and their appearances had changed.
They could go and indulge themselves completely.
Zhang Lu also chimed in, "Right, right, the reason each of us received two thousand taels is all thanks to the boss. We should treat him to some entertainment at the pleasure house!"
The other three nodded in agreement, all expressing anticipation.
Chen Nan scoffed, "Look at your uninspired selves. How can a man go to a place like a pleasure house?"
"Aren't you afraid of catching a disease and ruining your families?"
"Save that money, pile it up, and buy a bigger house later."
"Letting your wives and children live comfortably is better than anything else."
Upon hearing this.
The men fell silent.
They held their acting captain, Chen Nan, in high regard.
Of course.
If it weren't for him.
They wouldn't have each received two thousand taels.
"The weather is dry, be careful of fire!"
The watchman, Old Ji, suddenly announced his rounds on the street.
It was already Hai Shi (9-11 PM).
Then.
Watchman Old Ji came walking towards them.
He brushed past Chen Nan and his companions but didn't recognize them.
Half an hour later.
Chen Nan and Song Yunfei entered Ruyi Tower first.
Followed by Zhang Lu and the others.
They entered Ruyi Tower in batches, making it easier for them to investigate the interior.
In contrast to the quiet outside, Ruyi Tower was brightly lit and bustling with noise.
Many gamblers were gathered around the gambling tables.
Their eyes were bloodshot, as if injected with adrenaline, extremely agitated.
All of them wished to stake a little and win a lot.
Yet they didn't know.
This would only drag them deeper, leading to the ruin of their families.
Ruyi Tower had two floors above ground and one underground.
The interior space was vast.
It could accommodate hundreds of people gambling simultaneously.
Excited screams filled the air.
That was someone winning money.
There were also sounds of reluctant sighs and curses.
That was someone who had lost everything.
Besides that.
Chen Nan also distinctly heard a scream.
The sound came from a room on the second floor.
Along with Xu Dacheng's cold voice: "Debts must be repaid. If you don't pay, we'll have to chop off your legs and feed them to the dogs."
Fortunately, Chen Nan had reached the third level of the Cai Yin realm.
If it were before, he wouldn't have been able to hear this sound in such a noisy environment.
However.
He was no stranger to the darkness of casinos.
Even though that person's legs were chopped off and fed to dogs.
Still.
He brought it upon himself.
Gamblers were destined for a bad end.
Destined to not evoke sympathy.
Of course.
Hu Ningan's matter was an exception.
After spending nearly three hours in the casino.
Chen Nan still hadn't found the answer he was looking for.
Just as he was about to leave past midnight.
He clearly saw a middle-aged man in his forties emerge from the second floor, his face filled with gratitude and relief.
Chen Nan frowned.
When that man had gone upstairs, his face was filled with panic and unease.
But now.
He appeared calm and collected.
This was clearly abnormal.
Seeing Chen Nan's gaze fixated on the middle-aged man, Song Yunfei couldn't help but ask, "Boss, is there something wrong with that man?"
Chen Nan countered, "If you owed someone money, how would you act when they came looking for you?"
Song Yunfei thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "If I owed someone money, they shouldn't be able to find me."
Chen Nan directly rolled his eyes at him. "What if the other party threatened you using your family as leverage?"
Song Yunfei said awkwardly, "If that were truly the case, I would be filled with apprehension and unease when meeting them."
"Therefore, this middle-aged man should owe money to Ruyi Tower. This aligns with his appearance of panic and unease when he went up," Chen Nan continued to analyze. "But what I don't understand is, why does he appear so relaxed and happy now?"
"He couldn't have possibly repaid Ruyi Tower."
"If he had the money to settle his debt, he wouldn't have appeared so terrified earlier."
"Of course, another possibility can't be ruled out."
"He couldn't raise enough money to pay off the amount he owed Ruyi Tower, which is why he was filled with apprehension and unease."
"And now, Ruyi Tower has waived a portion of his remaining debt."
"That's why he feels such a sense of relief."
Song Yunfei couldn't help but say, "Ruyi Tower relies primarily on gambling and usury. How could they possibly waive a portion of someone's debt?"
"Does that make sense?"
Chen Nan shrugged, unable to deny it. "So, the problem lies here."
"As long as we figure out why this middle-aged man is so relaxed, we'll uncover Ruyi Tower's secret."
Having said that.
He pretended to be unconcerned and walked over, saying to the man, "May I ask your name, sir?"
Wang Dalei raised an eyebrow. "Is there something?"
Chen Nan smiled sheepishly. "It's nothing much, I just wanted to know about the situation on the second floor." He then took out ten taels of silver and slipped it into the man's hand.
Wang Dalei's eyes lit up, and he unceremoniously accepted the ten taels of silver.
He then asked, "Do you also owe money to Ruyi Tower?"
Chen Nan looked ashamed. "I didn't want to, but I had bad luck and kept trying to gamble. The more I gambled, the more I lost!"
Wang Dalei chuckled. "How much do you owe?"
Chen Nan replied, "With compounding interest, it's already five hundred taels."
"Whoa, that's quite a bit!" Wang Dalei exclaimed in surprise, then added, "Actually, it's not a big deal. If you can't repay this money, you just need to sell your lifespan."
"Ah? Lifespan can also be sold?" Chen Nan asked with utter surprise.
This was not an act.
He was genuinely astonished.
Wang Dalei stifled a laugh. "I didn't believe it either, that lifespan could be sold."
"But Manager Wang just gave me a contract."
"He had me sign my name and put my thumbprint on it."
"And then he waived a thousand taels of my debt."
"So, how many years of your lifespan did you sell?"
Wang Dalei laughed. "Not much, only fifty years."
Chen Nan's mouth twitched.
The average lifespan in the underworld was only around seventy years.
And he just sold fifty years, yet claimed it wasn't much.
At that moment.
He used his Qi Observing technique.
And discovered.
Wang Dalei's life was nearing its end.
"Alright, I need to go home and get some sleep. After I've recuperated, I'll definitely come back for more," Wang Dalei yawned, but his eyes were filled with determination.
After he left.
Chen Nan immediately followed him.
He knew.
The truth of the matter was about to surface!