On the way to the town, Qing Pi explained the whole story clearly. Zhang Bo was not surprised by this kind of rolling interest.
Gambling houses cheat you out of what you bring, but don't let you take it away.
High-interest loans make you leave behind what you didn't even bring.
As for those gamblers with incredible luck, even cheating couldn't win, and there were prostitutes waiting for you.
In short, they had plenty of ways to squeeze every last copper from you.
The group entered the town in a grand procession, immediately drawing the attention of the townspeople.
On the main street in the center of town, a flag hung from a two-story building, bearing the characters "Tian Bao".
The trembling leader of Qing Pi pointed to the building and said, "My lords, it's... it's here."
Zhang Tian waved his hand, and Xue Rengui led five paratroopers inside.
It was noisy inside. A large table, a group of gamblers, and in the center, a waiter shaking dice cups.
After shaking the dice cup for a long time, it was placed on the table.
The waiter looked around at everyone: "Bet big or small, place your bets and no more changes!"
The onlookers placed their copper coins on the betting table marked with big and small, and then began to shout hysterically.
"Big, big, big!"
"Small, small, small!"
"Some have bet everything they have. Sirs, it's opening now!"
After a moment, the waiter began to urge those who hadn't placed their bets yet.
At this moment, Xue Rengui drew his pistol and fired three shots at the ground.
The deafening gunfire instantly stunned everyone in the gambling house.
"Who dares to cause trouble in the Tian Bao Gambling House!" a gruff voice came from the second floor.
Soon, a burly man, followed by a group of Qing Pi, descended the stairs.
Seeing this, the gamblers quickly cleared a path, and the waiter pointed at Xue Rengui.
"Sir, it's him."
A good dealer must be able to listen to all directions and see all around. As soon as Xue Rengui and the others entered, he had noticed these new faces.
The burly man walked up to Xue Rengui and, after a thorough assessment, felt a jolt.
These people wore uniforms, and their clothes were not made of the common linen. They exuded an imposing aura. Although younger, they were clearly not to be trifled with.
Thinking this, he smiled and probed, "Young sirs, you don't look like locals. Are you here to play a few rounds?"
"We want to play, but I wonder if you can afford to play?" Xue Rengui, only fifteen years old, looked at the burly man with disdain on his youthful face.
The burly man smiled and said, "Hahaha, as long as you wish to play, our Tian Bao Gambling House will accompany you."
"Come here! Clear the place. I will personally shake the dice for you young sirs today!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Qing Pi behind him began to drive away the gamblers in the house.
"Gentlemen, I apologize, we are entertaining distinguished guests today. Please come back another day~"
The gamblers wanted to stay and watch the excitement, but they dared not offend these Qing Pi. They took back their bets and left the gambling house cursing.
Soon, only Xue Rengui and the other five paratroopers remained in the gambling house; everyone else belonged to the gambling house.
"My young sirs, all extraneous people have been cleared out. Tell me, what do you want to gamble on?" The burly man stood in the position of the dice-shaking waiter and smiled at Xue Rengui and the others.
"You are not qualified. Find your boss!" Xue Rengui said calmly, his tone full of contempt.
"Presumptuous!"
Before the burly man could speak, the Qing Pi behind him couldn't hold back and shouted.
"Bang!"
Xue Rengui raised his hand and shot the man in the shoulder. Blood splattered, and the force of the bullet sent the Qing Pi to the ground, clutching his shoulder and screaming.
Seeing this, the Qing Pi raised their weapons and were about to rush forward, but two more shots were fired, felling two of them.
"Stop!" The burly man quickly stopped the Qing Pi from their suicidal charge.
Xue Rengui calmly reloaded his magazine and said,
"You bunch of scoundrels, if you anger me, none of you will leave today. So, it's best to behave."
"We don't have time to bicker with you. We are subordinates of the Shenyang County Duke."
"We are here to settle the score for setting a trap for Master Fang."
"You are not qualified to handle this account. Bring your boss here, or don't blame me for not leaving you a way out!"
"Lu Wei, check his dice!"
"Cui Geng, search that waiter!"
Paratroopers Lu Wei and Cui Geng stepped forward. One snatched the dice from the burly man's hand, and the other went to search the waiter.
Upon hearing Xue Rengui's introduction, the burly man did not dare to obstruct their actions and signaled to the Qing Pi beside him.
That Qing Pi quickly left through the back door.
Xue Rengui acted as if he hadn't seen it and ignored it.
"These people are just cannon fodder."
Lu Wei and Cui Geng's inspection results came out. The dice in the cup were fine, but the other two sets of dice found on the waiter had lead blocks embedded in them, with the lead blocks located in different positions.
With the lead blocks inside, the waiter could easily control the dice numbers.
When necessary, he would quickly switch the normal dice in the cup with the lead-blocked dice, cheat, and then switch them back before the next round began.
Dice-shaking waiters were trained for a long time. Even if ordinary people knew something was amiss, they wouldn't dare to search. The Qing Pi in the gambling house were prepared for such situations.
However, today they had encountered a tough opponent.
Soon, a fat, big-eared man entered the gambling house through the back door with the previous Qing Pi. This person was Zhou Tianbao.
"Hahahaha, esteemed guests have arrived. Tian Bao is honored to receive you. Please forgive my lack of timely welcome!"
Zhou Tianbao recognized Xue Rengui and his group at a glance. Besides his own subordinates, they were the only strangers in the house. He walked up to Xue Rengui with a smile and bowed.
"Are you Zhou Tianbao?"
"Indeed, I am."
"Did you set a trap for Master Fang? Eight hundred guan, rolling interest, and in less than half a year, it rolled to two thousand four hundred guan?"
"No, no, no! It was the subordinates who did it. I was unaware of it." Zhou Tianbao quickly shook his head and denied it.
"Tell me who is behind you!" Xue Rengui said, pressing his gun to Zhou Tianbao's forehead.
With the cold muzzle against his head, Zhou Tianbao's forehead immediately beaded with sweat. He had heard from that Qing Pi that this thing could kill a person in an instant!
"Sir, sir, please be merciful. It... it was the Prefect of Gaoling."
"Every town in Gaoling has such establishments, and they are all businesses of the Prefect of Gaoling. I only get a small share of the profits; he takes the lion's share."
Zhou Tianbao quickly begged for mercy.
"A wise man doesn't fight battles he can't win. Let the higher-ups handle these matters. These people are subordinates of the County Duke; I cannot afford to offend them."
Xue Rengui directly dragged Zhou Tianbao out of the gambling house. After explaining the situation to Zhang Tian and Zhang Bo, everyone returned to the helicopter and flew towards Gaoling.
Zhou Tianbao was just a runner. It was only by targeting the big tigers that the County Duke's mansion's actions would be justified.
Only in this way could no one in Gaoling dare to cross the Fang family again.
This was the ancestral land of the Fang family, and they would always return here eventually. Even if Fang Er did not return, at least the Fang Da lineage would continue to live here.