The scene unfolding before them was eerily similar to those gangster films from Hong Kong, where powerful bosses, moments before being betrayed by their subordinates, struggled in vain.
Seeing that none of his men, hidden amongst the onlookers, responded to his call for aid, and with both Elder Xu and Elder Wen adopting an air of detachment, Wu Qiming finally panicked.
He suddenly turned to face the crowd, pointing at several of his men concealed within and shouting, "Da Long, Xiao Hu, A Bao, are you all deaf? Come out!"
The three men whose names Wu Qiming had called remained as impassive as ever.
Just then, Jin Yan waved her hand and called out loudly to the crowd, "Brothers!!!"
"From the very first day you followed me and called me Jin Ye, I told you one thing!"
"Following me, Jin Yan, might not make you rich, but as long as I have something to eat, you'll have something to drink. And also..."
"If anyone dares to lay a hand on my brothers, we... will repay evil with evil, and blood with blood!"
"We've been bullied by that old dog Wu for so long, especially tonight at Lord Hong's birthday banquet, when he actually tried to trap me and take my life. What do you say we do about this!?"
Some women are born masters at winning people over.
Jin Yan was one such woman. Bound by both self-interest and loyalty, and having bribed many of Wu Qiming's men before this banquet, she now found herself in a commanding position.
At this moment, hearing Jin Yan's rallying cry, someone immediately responded, "Repay evil with evil, and blood with blood! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The last three shouts of "Kill!" were met with an ever-increasing wave of sound.
After a few seconds, even many of the hot-blooded and curious onlookers joined in.
In an instant, the tide of the deadly situation tonight had completely turned.
The ones who were supposed to face death, from Jin Yan and myself, had now shifted to Wu Qiming.
Wu Qiming was utterly stunned!
His eyes were vacant, the whites hollow, yet tinged with a tremor from the depths of his soul.
Staring blankly at the scene, Wu Qiming belatedly realized that not only had he completely botched his initial winning hand, but now, with the tables turned, the path to survival in his losing situation was something he had never even considered.
At this point, forget about salvaging the situation or his pride; how to save his own life had become a problem he had to face and solve alone.
Looking at Elder Xu and Elder Wen, who had remained silent since the shift in momentum, Wu Qiming, after hesitating for a long time, could only grit his teeth in frustration.
"Fine! Jin Yan, I truly underestimated you! So, your earlier restraint was all for this moment of explosive power!"
"I've lost this round!"
"As long as you're willing to let me go, starting today, I, Wu Qiming, will not only voluntarily withdraw from Tongwei County, but I'll also hand over all my territory and businesses!"
"How about it? Are these terms enough?"
Hearing this, Jin Yan immediately smiled. "Heh heh~ Wu Qiming, haven't you realized the situation yet?"
"Then what else do you want!?" Wu Qiming asked resentfully, turning to look at the cold-faced Jin Yan.
Pointing to the dice on the table, Jin Yan said with a cold smile, "According to the rules of the underworld, anyone caught cheating has their fingers chopped off!"
"For someone like you, who cries foul while setting traps and framing others, I reckon you should at least lose a hand! And you expect to walk out of here unscathed?"
Seeing that Jin Yan had no intention of letting him go, Wu Qiming, unable to express his grievance, seemed inclined to reveal the true culprit behind the dice switch.
However, upon seeing the subtle glances from Elder Xu and Elder Wen, the mouth he had just opened was immediately shut in fear.
With the path of exposing the real mastermind blocked, Wu Qiming, in his helplessness, took out a bank card from his pocket and slammed it onto the table.
"This card, with a password of six eights, has a balance of just under nine million. You can verify it on the spot if you don't believe me!"
"I'll use nine million to buy back one of my hands. Is that acceptable?"
To Wu Qiming's surprise, Jin Yan replied without moving, "No!"
"Then how much do you actually want?" Wu Qiming asked, his face darkening, assuming the price wasn't high enough.
Hearing this, Jin Yan didn't reply.
Instead, she walked slowly towards Wu Qiming in her high heels, then leaned forward alluringly, her voice close, "We'll talk about the money later!"
"Let's first address your cheating. These two things cannot be mixed up!"
"Since you cheated and switched the dice, I can't just let you walk away unharmed!"
The moment her words fell, before Wu Qiming could even speak, Jin Yan suddenly reached out with both hands, pulling him towards the gambling table.
Just as Wu Qiming regained his senses and tried to twist away, Jin Yan directly grabbed the square ashtray from the table and smashed it down hard on Wu Qiming's right hand.
This sudden turn of events happened in a flash, so fast that no one, including Wu Qiming himself, could react.
*Bang!!!*
As the muffled sound echoed, Wu Qiming let out a hysterical howl of pain.
"Ah!!!"
Before the howl had completely subsided, while its echoes still reverberated in the hall, Jin Yan raised the ashtray again and brought it down heavily on Wu Qiming's injured right hand.
And this time, it was a continuous motion, one smash, then another...
Wu Qiming, completely unprepared, cried out in pain as Jin Yan's repeated assaults struck him, his body instantly losing strength and collapsing onto the ground.
As Wu Qiming slumped to the ground, Jin Yan appropriately stopped her actions and looked up at the crowd, saying, "My brothers and friends, that bastard Wu Qiming has been messing with me for so long. Originally, I shouldn't have just crippled one of his hands!"
"But today is a joyous occasion, the birthday of our senior figure in the Gansu underworld, Lord Hong. So, out of respect for Lord Hong, I'll spare Wu Qiming's life!"
"Nine million plus one hand, and from now on, the grudges between me and Wu Qiming are settled! What do you say, am I, Jin Yan, generous or not?"
As soon as Jin Yan finished speaking, her own people, who had been strategically placed among the onlookers, immediately led the cheers, "Jin Ye is generous!"