Originally, I thought Wen Sanye's female companion, Xie Yuting, was just a high-class gold digger, a cut above the average woman, who had used her looks and cunning to ensnare Wen Sanye and climb the social ladder.
I never expected her to be a fellow practitioner of the "Blue Path," just like me.
And from the conversation I overheard earlier, it seems Xie Yuting accompanies Wen Sanye every year to help Hong Ye celebrate his birthday.
In other words, she will undoubtedly be a participant in the gambling match after the birthday banquet.
Just hearing the nickname "Thousand-Hand Guanyin" told me that she was definitely a top-tier expert.
Good heavens!
Even before the evening's gambling match, I already have two potential opponents.
One is Wu Qiming, and the other is Xie Yuting!
It looks like the money for this job... won't be easy to earn!
...
As I was thinking this, Wen Sanye had just led Xie Yuting out of the parking lot when another motorcade arrived.
All Lexus sedans! A series of understated yet luxurious cars!
Nine cars in total, they smoothly and orderly drove into the parking lot, all bearing out-of-town license plates.
Just like Wen Sanye's motorcade, they were uniformly numbered from five-one to five-nine.
This display and formation clearly indicated another big shot, and their status was on par with Wen Sanye's.
Unlike Wen Sanye, the people from this motorcade were all dressed in traditional Tang suits after alighting.
And the big shot who alighted, surrounded by a crowd, appeared older than Wen Sanye, but his aura of being a figure of the underworld was no less than the latter's.
After the big shot got out of the car, Sister Rong again led her people to greet them.
After a few pleasantries with the big shot, she asked the accompanying people to help carry the birthday gifts from the trunk of the Lexus cars.
It was a Maitreya Buddha statue crafted from pure gold, over a meter tall, its value immeasurable.
Such an expensive and heavy birthday gift was beyond the capabilities of the few people Sister Rong had brought.
After trying two or three times, one of them quickly ran over to report to Sister Rong. Seeing this, Sister Rong looked up towards Jin Yan.
Jin Yan, however, immediately shifted her gaze elsewhere, pretending not to see Sister Rong.
At the same time, I heard Jin Yan whisper into my ear, "Sister Rong's full name is Yu Xiurong. A couple of years ago, she was involved in the underworld much like me."
"Then, one year, during Hong Ye's birthday celebration, this slut shamelessly recognized him as her godfather when he was in a good mood. She's suddenly shot up in status these past few years."
"Since then, she's been responsible for receiving guests every time it's Hong Ye's birthday."
"After gaining power, this slut changed. She constantly tries to order people around, as if afraid that the authority she wields might suddenly become void after Hong Ye's birthday!"
"If I had confronted her just now, believe it or not, she would have started ordering me around the next second... Oh no, she would have ordered *you* around!"
Hearing this, I nodded subtly.
The scheming and backstabbing between women were commonplace in this vast underworld.
Many women, who appeared as close as sisters on the surface, were secretly plotting against each other and playing mind games.
Therefore, I wasn't surprised.
After a pause, Jin Yan spoke softly again, "Remember this, Liang Kuan! From now until the end of the gambling match, unless it's me, if anyone else tries to strike up a conversation with you, you absolutely must not engage them!"
Upon hearing this, I immediately nodded.
Heh heh...
I knew exactly what Jin Yan was thinking.
She was worried that once I was at the gambling table and clashed with others, my identity might be exposed by someone with a discerning eye.
At that point, I might even face the risk of being poached.
When we were in Gezhuang Village, Tongwei County, Jin Yan might have had the upper hand, but here... she seemed to be at a disadvantage.
I didn't expose Jin Yan's true intentions. Instead, I adhered to the principle of doing as she said and readily agreed.
...
Seeing that she couldn't order Jin Yan around, Sister Rong didn't say anything further. Instead, she called her subordinates to fetch people from the manor to help.
After the golden Buddha statue was moved out of the parking lot, Sister Rong, with a fawning expression, walked alongside the big shot in the Tang suit, chatting and laughing.
As they approached, I realized that this big shot was around fifty years old, with withered skin and a receding hairline, almost bald.
The few strands of "hair" on his head fluttered back and forth in the mountain breeze, looking quite comical.
Yet, despite this amusing sight, no one around dared to laugh.
On the contrary, after seeing the big shot approach, their reactions were almost identical to Sister Rong's.
A few individuals even started greeting him before he got close.
"Greetings, Second Master!"
"Second Master, you're here!"
"Second Master, I am XXX. Last year, I had the honor of drinking with you at Hong Ye's birthday banquet!"
"..."
All I could hear were these rising waves of flattery.
Only after this Second Master had greeted everyone with a smile and walked into the manor did Jin Yan explain in my ear, "Second Master's full name is Xu Er. He is another favored disciple of Hong Ye."
After this brief explanation, I immediately understood.
It was another identical scene to when Wen Sanye made his appearance!
"Just a quick question!"
Watching Xu Erye's receding back, I quietly asked Jin Yan, "How many disciples does Hong Ye truly have? Will all these disciples participate in the gambling match tonight? And..."
"What are the rules for tonight's gambling match? Or, to put it another way, are there any specific requirements to participate in this gambling match?"
Before coming, I hadn't ruled out the possibility that tonight's gambling match would be a grand event, like those depicted in movies.
But after actually meeting these people one by one, I realized that the big shots all seemed to have capable individuals accompanying them.
Putting Wen Sanye aside for now, just looking at Xu Erye, who had just entered the manor, there was a serious-looking young man following him.
Judging by his slender and smooth fingers, he was most likely a practitioner of the Blue Path as well.
The difficulty of playing the fool and then revealing one's true strength in such a gambling match was very high.
As I was constantly calculating, I heard Jin Yan say, "The ones who can be considered Hong Ye's true disciples are only Second Master Xu and Wen Sanye."
"As for the rules of the gambling match... I don't know how to explain it to you. You'll understand later."
Hearing Jin Yan say this, I immediately realized: she was hiding something from me!