Chapter 120
Nian Qiuyan looked at the lively crowd and said quietly with a smile: "If two people love each other mutually, what need is there for a love parasite?"
But Mei Liangyu said: "It's not only used on living people."
Nian Qiuyan: "......"
The smile on his face froze for an instant, and he turned to look at Mei Liangyu with a somewhat strange expression.
Nian Qiuyan lowered his voice: "You just said something incredible."
Mei Liangyu leaned against an empty gambling table, his dark eyes staring fixedly ahead. The lighting in the room was dim and yellowish, ambiguous and murky, not too bright, stimulating people's competitive side.
"When the Agricultural School learns beast control, if they encounter venomous beasts with fierce temperaments, they use love parasites to control them for a period first. Only after completely taming them do they remove the parasite. So this thing was originally used on venomous beasts." After Mei Liangyu finished speaking, he slowly glanced at Nian Qiuyan with a half-smile: "Where did you think it was used?"
Nian Qiuyan still curved his lips slightly, speaking gently: "Since it's a type of love parasite, naturally they're all used on living people."
"Using love parasites to control people always has a time limit." Mei Liangyu said: "It's also meaningless."
Nian Qiuyan nodded: "Indeed meaningless."
After a moment of silence between the two, Nian Qiuyan asked again: "Cang Shu must have many of them."
"Probably." Mei Liangyu moved his eyes: "He also uses love parasites to control venomous beasts."
Nian Qiuyan looked at the gambling tables ahead and nodded, saying gently: "Then we don't need one. We can get ready-made ones from him."
Mei Liangyu: "......"
Nian Qiuyan asked again: "This thing doesn't distinguish between men and women, right?"
Before Mei Liangyu could answer, they heard a light laugh from the side. A woman's soft, delicate voice said: "The Agricultural School's love parasites don't even distinguish between birds, fish, and insects. What men and women would they distinguish?"
The two looked toward the speaker in unison. The neighboring table had five or six people before, but now only a seated woman in crimson remained. She had her legs crossed, her gauze skirt open, revealing slender, fair calves. As her long legs gently swayed, the skirt swayed along with them.
The young woman in crimson wore heavy makeup, with red eyeshadow and vermillion lips that were seductive and alluring. She leaned against the table edge sideways, propping her head up with one hand while playing with chips on the table with the other. Her eyes held autumn waters and smoky waves as she smiled sweetly at the two handsome young men across from her.
"You two gentlemen seem quite interested in that love parasite too." Wei Lingshu's sweet, syrupy voice sounded like flirting and teasing no matter what she said: "But the house manager said only tonight's biggest winner can take it away. Tonight my luck has been too good. I'm already the one who's won the most among all these people. If nothing unexpected happens, that love parasite will be mine."
Mei Liangyu lowered his eyes to look at the Wind-Listening Ruler hanging at her waist.
Gambling houses made money from taking percentages. Everyone's chip amounts were recorded by the gambling house management and cooperated with multiple money houses, using Wind-Listening Rulers to input money house cipher text for on-the-spot transactions.
If we say that over ten years ago, Wind-Listening Rulers were still precious items that ordinary people couldn't afford, after all these years of development, Wind-Listening Rulers were now one per person. As long as you found the right channels, they were easily obtainable.
Nian Qiuyan bowed slightly toward Wei Lingshu, politely and gently: "Then congratulations to the young lady in advance."
Wei Lingshu put down the chips in her hand and picked up her Wind-Listening Ruler instead. After lighting up the surface and glancing at it, she looked up at the two men. Her eyes reflected the young men dressed in black and white as she curved her lips in a smile: "If you want it, I could give it to you too."
Nian Qiuyan replied courteously: "Things that require spending money are naturally unwanted."
Wei Lingshu covered her mouth and laughed out loud: "Where in this world are there good things that don't require spending money?"
The Pearl House manager had been watching Wei Lingshu's table situation. Seeing her strike up a conversation with Mei Liangyu and the other, he couldn't help frowning. He had previously instructed his subordinates to investigate Wei Lingshu's identity. The results weren't out yet, so he didn't dare approach and disturb them, only watching from a distance.
Wei Lingshu enthusiastically invited Nian Qiuyan: "Since the gentleman doesn't dare accept heaven-sent gifts, how about gambling with me instead?"
Nian Qiuyan smiled and declined: "I'm afraid I'll disappoint the young lady. When I came here, I already had not a penny on me."
"'Gambling' sometimes has nothing to do with money. As long as you enjoy yourself, that's enough." Wei Lingshu's eyes, tinted with bright red colors, swept over Mei Liangyu before settling on Nian Qiuyan. The seductive intent in her eyes and brows grew heavier: "Since the gentleman dares enter a gambling house penniless, though without wealth you have courage. Such people have very strong luck at gambling tables."
Wei Lingshu extended her slender jade finger toward the communal gambling table, her nails painted with the same bright red nail polish: "Look, let's bet on which of those 16 venomous insects can survive to the end and become the love parasite."
Nian Qiuyan looked in the direction of her gaze and after thinking for a moment, said mildly: "No money."
Wei Lingshu was stunned, then laughed so hard she bent over.
"What money is needed for this? A verbal bet only requires a word from you." Wei Lingshu propped her head up with one hand, looking up at Nian Qiuyan: "If you guess correctly, the love parasite is yours."
The pretty young lady before him seemed determined to play a round with him. Nian Qiuyan felt somewhat helpless and nudged the person silently watching the show with his elbow.
Just as Mei Liangyu glanced over sideways, he heard Wei Lingshu say: "The other gentleman can also place a bet. If you two each choose one, your chances of winning are better than one person alone, isn't that right?"
Nian Qiuyan cupped his hands toward Wei Lingshu with a smile: "The young lady doesn't know, my friend here most hates gambling with people. If I gamble with someone under his nose, he'll definitely kill me."
Mei Liangyu hadn't expected his image in Nian Qiuyan's mind to be so fierce.
"The gentleman is joking. People who enter gambling houses don't gamble, so what are they here for? If you had to kill everyone who gambles, wouldn't this gentleman have to go on a killing spree at Pearl House tonight?" Wei Lingshu's laughter became even more light and charming. Her gaze was curious and playful as she stared at Mei Liangyu: "In life, isn't every decision we make, every path we take, a gamble?"
The woman said softly and gently: "Why doesn't the gentleman give it a try? Consider it a new experience for yourself."
Mei Liangyu's emotions were hard to read. Though his eyes looking at Wei Lingshu held no particular mirth, there was no sign of anger either. Meeting her inviting expression, he said with an emotionless tone: "Small gambles cost money, big gambles cost lives."
Nian Qiuyan cooperatively shook his head: "That absolutely won't do. I've already lost my money, I can't lose my life too."
Wei Lingshu sighed disappointedly: "I thought you two gentlemen were different from other men, that you had courage. I didn't expect... you're also cowards."
The provocation method didn't work either.
Both men had expressions of complete indifference, as if being called cowards didn't matter to them at all.
The quarter-hour passed. The house manager loudly announced to stop betting, picked up the transparent small jars containing the venomous insects, opened the lids, and poured them into the jade stone basin: "Only the venomous insect that survives to the end can become the love parasite!"
Pearl House staff took turns placing the 16 types of venomous insects into the jade stone basin. They seemed to still be sleeping until all 16 types were placed. Then the venomous insects regained consciousness and immediately began fierce slaughter.
People's attention was all drawn to the fighting venomous insects. They crowded to the front of the communal gambling table, slapping tables and shouting. Each one watched with bloodshot eyes, wishing they could squeeze into the stone basin to fight for the venomous insects they'd bet on.
Some people found it too bloody and stepped back with uncomfortable expressions after watching for just two glances.
Everyone crowded toward the communal gambling table, which saved Mei Liangyu considerable trouble. He was scanning the crowd when he heard Wei Lingshu laugh like tinkling bells: "Since you've come to a gambling house but won't play, are you two gentlemen looking for someone?"
As her words fell, before Mei Liangyu and Nian Qiuyan could respond, they saw two men supporting a man in gray cloth clothing from left and right, forcefully pressing the gray-clothed man down on the table.
Mei Liangyu raised an eyebrow. This was Little Earth's father he was looking for.
"I!" Little Earth's father struggled to lift his head and had just said one word when the man on the left slapped him down.
The gambling house guards immediately rushed over, asking: "What's happening?"
The man with an old scar under his left eye grabbed Little Earth's father's hand, pressed him on the table, palm cupping his head to prevent him from getting up, saying fiercely: "This man was cheating at card games at my table. When caught cheating at gambling tables, what do you think should be done?"
"I... mmph... didn't..." Little Earth's father was so scared his face went pale. He tried to get up but was held down by the incredibly strong scarred man who gripped his cheeks with fingers that nearly crushed his bones, making him unable to speak clearly from pain.
Wei Lingshu supported herself on the table edge with one hand and stood up with a smile. The skirt that had been raised earlier fell smoothly with her movement, the draping effect very fluid.
She looked toward Mei Liangyu and asked: "You two gentlemen, is he the person you're looking for?"
The Pearl House manager rushed over and heard this, couldn't help but freeze, glancing at Mei Liangyu from the corner of his eye.
Behind them was the communal gambling table where people were frantically shouting around the stone basin, so lively they completely failed to notice the disturbance here.
Under everyone's gaze, Mei Liangyu lowered his eyes to scan the despairing Little Earth's father and asked: "Did he lose?"
The scarred man pressed Little Earth's father down, saying with a cold laugh: "Caught using sleight of hand. Even winning doesn't count."
"Oh." Mei Liangyu looked back at Wei Lingshu with a half-smile: "The person I'm looking for isn't him."
Wei Lingshu hooked the corner of her eye, surprised in her heart but maintaining her expression.
Hearing Mei Liangyu's words, the Pearl House manager breathed a sigh of relief. If this person was who he was looking for and was caught cheating, handling it poorly would either offend the Little Princess's Senior Brother or damage Pearl House's reputation.
"If it's cheating, then handle it according to the rules, but just listening to one person's word..." Before the Pearl House manager could finish, the scarred man released his grip.
Little Earth's father clutched his throat, coughing continuously, staggered to his feet, but lunged toward Mei Liangyu, shouting: "It was him, it was him who told me to come cheat at Pearl House tonight. He said this was his Junior Sister's gambling house, so I wouldn't be caught cheating here!"
He didn't reach Mei Liangyu, being stopped by the gambling house guards.
Mei Liangyu stood in place without moving, only watching coldly.
Seeing things were going wrong, Nian Qiuyan consciously hid behind Mei Liangyu, sighing softly: "I told you earlier you shouldn't come to the Outer City tonight."
Mei Liangyu's peripheral vision swept back for an instant. You didn't say it was a divination result either.
The Pearl House manager was stunned again by this reversal. Just as he was about to speak, Wei Lingshu interrupted, covering her mouth in surprise: "Oh my, no wonder the gentleman wouldn't agree to gamble with me earlier. So you're an important person at Pearl House, too dignified to gamble with a little woman like me."
The scarred man gathered Five Elements energy and shouted loudly: "Pearl House's own cheating was exposed and they won't admit it! The venomous insects for the love parasite were also drugged. Naturally, undrugged venomous insects can't beat drugged ones!"
This voice echoed throughout Pearl House. The people originally gathered at the communal gambling table all looked toward the scarred man. Others mixed in the crowd took the opportunity to echo the scarred man, pointing at Little Earth's father and Mei Liangyu, loudly shouting that Pearl House was cheating.
Little Earth's father was blocked by gambling house guards but still desperately tried to squeeze toward Mei Liangyu, pointing at Mei Liangyu like a madman: "He's the Senior Brother of Pearl House's owner. He told me I wouldn't be caught cheating at Pearl House, and said he'd give my son a share of the money I won! I only agreed because my wife is seriously ill. I didn't want to cheat, it was Mei Liangyu who made me do it!"
The Pearl House manager said coldly: "Nonsense!"
He signaled his subordinate guards to make Little Earth's father shut up, then heard the scarred man point at the communal gambling table: "If you don't believe it, look. The death order of the venomous insects in that stone basin can be completely deduced based on their drug dosage. The undrugged ones are numbers seven, nine, 13, and 15, so these four venomous insects will die first!"
Not long after he finished speaking, they saw number seven become the first venomous insect to die, devoured completely.
"...Really dead?"
"Hey, this can't just be settled like this!"
"It's only the first one, might be coincidence..."
The people whispering quietly soon saw number nine venomous insect that the scarred man mentioned also die. With the scarred man getting two right, the crowd suddenly erupted.
"Really drugged!"
"You're rigging the system, so all my bets tonight don't count!"
"Pearl House is too crooked!"
"If the house cheats, don't just cut off hands and feet, cut off the head!"
The house manager's expression changed slightly as he looked toward the Pearl House manager. The manager's expression also looked bad. The guards lined up one by one. People were only shouting and cursing but hadn't yet taken action.
Soon, a subordinate came before the Pearl House manager, whispering in his ear, informing him of Wei Lingshu's identity:
She was from the Sky Crane Gang, the new gang leader's pillow companion.
The Pearl House manager looked coldly at Wei Lingshu: "Seems there are quite a few stray cats and dogs at my Pearl House tonight. The Sky Crane Gang doesn't play at their own gambling house but comes to others' places to slander and cause trouble."
Wei Lingshu lightly blew on her nail polish and laughed: "Pearl House has had too big an appetite lately, taking in all those homeless gamblers. Eating too much at once, you're bound to swallow some unclean things, such as, these two gentlemen who teach people to cheat."
"However, if Pearl House can handle things according to the rules and deal with the cheaters, it could recover some losses."
Wei Lingshu pointed her slender jade finger at Mei Liangyu: "Are you going to cut off his hands or gouge out his eyes?"
Nian Qiuyan was stunned: "Why eyes? Isn't it supposed to be feet?"
Mei Liangyu said with a cold laugh: "Because I gouged out her gang leader's left eye."
Only then did Nian Qiuyan understand: "You gouged out one, she wants two from you. That's principal plus interest."
Mei Liangyu scanned the people present and decided to go outside to fight. After all, this was Junior Sister's business. Breaking things would always be bad.