The attendant standing nearby was getting anxious too. Why weren’t any of these people drinking?
Xu Ancheng met the attendant’s gaze and smiled at him. The attendant returned an awkward smile.
“Honored guests, do you not like drinking?” the attendant asked stiffly.
Qin Qiwu’s eyes curved into a smile. “Little brother, you should go attend to your other duties. We’ll drink in a moment.”
In truth, she had never intended to drink. Alcohol could easily lead to trouble.
Driven away by the gentle gazes of Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng, the attendant left awkwardly.
Meanwhile, the fat-bellied master had lost quite a bit of money, and his face immediately darkened. He glanced at the flushed-faced man beside him and cursed inwardly.
The stakes kept getting higher, but his money was almost gone. Unable to restrain himself, he glared at the attendant beside him.
The attendant looked at the fat-bellied master in confusion and leaned over to ask, “Master, should I go back to the residence and get more money?”
The fat-bellied master’s face shifted from green to white.
Idiot! What an idiot! An absolute idiot!
Seeing that his master was angry, the attendant grew more serious. “Then should I go back and get some banknotes?”
Everyone else at the gambling table watched the spectacle. The man sitting opposite joked, “Master Liu, don’t tell me you can’t afford to lose and want to quit?”
“Exactly. It’s not like that, is it, Master Liu?”
The fat-bellied master was furious. He swore loudly, “Who says I can’t afford to lose?”
His gaze swept past Ji Zhaoxi’s table, and a glint suddenly flashed through his narrowed eyes.
“What’s going on with you? Didn’t you say you were going to cause them trouble? Why are they still sitting there drinking tea?!”
The attendant was about to say something, but the fat-bellied master shoved him aside.
“A bunch of useless fools. I have to do everything myself!” he shouted angrily.
With that, he stormed toward them, forcing the attendant to follow behind.
The other gamblers watched him with speechless expressions. Here he went again. Every time he lost too much, he found an excuse to escape.
By this time, Xu Ancheng had finally made it stealthily to the second floor. The farther in he went, the quieter it became. Just as he was about to enter, an attendant suddenly stepped forward with a smile and blocked his way.
“Sir, you’ve gone the wrong way.”
Xu Ancheng looked puzzled. “Are we not allowed to enter the private rooms?”
The smile on the attendant’s face remained unchanged. “Sir, the private rooms aren’t here. I’ll take you to one.”
For once, Xu Ancheng thickened his skin. “Why can’t I use this room? The feng shui here is excellent. I—I want this one!”
The attendant said nothing more and merely looked at him with a smile.
The gambling house was filled with the scents of alcohol and tea. Copper coins were scattered across the gambling tables, and sunflower-seed shells littered the floor.
Qin Qiwu was still worried about Xu Ancheng’s safety when, in the next instant, a leg came crashing down onto the table in front of them.
The table rocked, and the liquor on it spilled everywhere.
The three of them stared blankly at the person who had planted his foot on the table.
What was he doing...?
The attendant felt awkward under their stares, but forced himself to cough twice before saying, “How dare you! Don’t you know to pay your respects when you see our master?”
The moment Ji Zhaoxi saw the fat-bellied master behind him, she immediately understood what was happening. Her anger flared, but Qin Qiwu stopped her.
“Do you need something?” Qin Qiwu asked, her expression indifferent.
The attendant replied arrogantly, “To beat you up!”
Qin Qiwu frowned. Young Master Xu had not returned yet. If they had to rely on Miss Ji alone, she could easily get hurt.
“Surely there’s some misunderstanding between us,” Qin Qiwu said hesitantly.
“Misunderstanding my ass! Our master was kind enough to let you off last time, and you still dare to show your faces in front of him!” the attendant shouted.
Qin Qiwu’s expression instantly turned grim.
“Stop wasting time. Beat them!” The fat-bellied master grew angry at the sight of Ji Zhaoxi’s bewildered expression.
She had worn that same expression the last time she beat him up!
But having learned his lesson, he kept his distance from Ji Zhaoxi this time.
“Don’t push us too far!” Qin Qiwu still tried to stall for time.
But in the next instant, the attendant lunged straight at them. He instinctively reached for Qin Qiwu’s wrist.
Ji Zhaoxi pulled Qin Qiwu behind her and punched the attendant squarely in the face.
“Miss Qin wasn’t finished speaking!” Ji Zhaoxi said angrily.
She would not allow anyone to refuse to listen properly when Qin Qiwu was speaking.
“Ow!”
The attendant cried out in pain and slammed straight into the table behind him.
The fat-bellied master panicked and shouted, “Someone help! Someone help! There’s trouble!”
The gambling table shook from the impact. Large handfuls of silver coins spilled onto the floor, and the gamblers cursed as they scrambled to protect their money.
“Don’t shove!”
“Take your fight somewhere else! Stop bothering us!”
“I bet big!”
The dealer and the other gamblers were long accustomed to scenes like this. While a fight broke out on one side, the gambling continued on the other, creating a strangely harmonious atmosphere.
Several attendants exchanged glances and immediately surrounded Ji Zhaoxi. She grabbed a nearby stool and smashed it into their shoulders.
At that very moment, one of the attendants sneaked around and lunged at Ji Zhaoxi from behind. Fu Xianyan frowned, intercepted his hand, and kicked him away.
The scene descended into chaos. Tables and chairs were knocked askew, and silver coins and copper coins were scattered all over the floor.
“Watch where you’re going!”
“Dealer, keep dealing!”
“Is no one going to do anything? Stop fighting...”
The gambling house had fallen into complete disorder. Ji Zhaoxi kept Qin Qiwu firmly behind her while kicking over another burly man.
Then the corner of her eye caught sight of Fu Xianyan fighting alongside her, and she immediately panicked.
“What are you doing here? What if you get hurt? Go crouch in the corner!” Ji Zhaoxi shoved Fu Xianyan directly toward the corner.
He really was incapable of taking care of himself.
Fu Xianyan frowned. “I can—”
Qin Qiwu stuffed several cups into his hands and said solemnly, “Young Master Fu, we mustn’t hold Miss Ji back!”
With that, Qin Qiwu began hurling cups at the attendants.
Fu Xianyan: “...”
On the other side, Xu Ancheng finally returned, delighted at having gathered some useful evidence.
He stared blankly for a moment at the gambling house, which had turned into a complete mess.
At last, he found Ji Zhaoxi, who had been trying nonstop to beat up the fat-bellied master. Several attendants were gripping her arms tightly.
“Don’t let her get close!” the fat-bellied master cried, hiding beneath a table with trembling hands.
This female bandit was utterly lawless!
Fu Xianyan grabbed one of the attendants by the collar and impatiently tossed him aside.
Xu Ancheng’s brow furrowed, and he hurried over.
More and more people came rushing in. Several burly men were about to charge forward when a voice suddenly rang out.
“That’s enough!”
The voice carried a hint of sternness, and the gambling house fell silent at once.
At some point, a man had appeared upstairs. He wore a long robe, his hair was slightly graying, and he held a string of Buddhist prayer beads in one hand.
The moment the fat-bellied master saw him, he began wailing.
“Ninth Master... Ninth Master! These outsiders actually dared to cause trouble on your territory. Hurry and have them arrested!”
Ninth Master merely glanced at him. “Who smashed the table?”
Several attendants immediately pointed at Ji Zhaoxi. Ji Zhaoxi glared at them, and they hurriedly lowered their hands.
Qin Qiwu stepped forward, her brows tightly furrowed. “They were the ones who bullied us first. We were only defending ourselves.”
She looked up at the man on the upper floor. “There are so many people in this gambling house. You can investigate for yourself.”
Xu Ancheng stepped forward as well. “I’ve heard of Ninth Master’s reputation for a long time. I never expected to run into something like this on our first visit. It seems Ninth Master’s casino isn’t any different from the others after all.”
In truth, he had never even heard of Ninth Master before.
“You!” The burly man beside Ninth Master flushed with anger.
Ninth Master waved a hand, his gaze settling on the group.
“I’m a businessman, and every visitor is a guest. Whoever they are, they must follow the rules here.”
Ninth Master smiled. “Master Liu, you were indeed in the wrong today.”
Master Liu’s face shifted from pale to livid. His lips moved, and it was obvious he was not convinced.
Only then did Ninth Master turn his attention back to Ji Zhaoxi and the others.
“I sincerely apologize for ruining your enjoyment today.”
He glanced at the burly man beside him. “Clean up the Heaven Suite, bring them a pot of hot tea, and add some refreshments.”
“Yes.”
Ninth Master’s eyes curved slightly. “You must have been frightened today, my honored guests. If you don’t mind, please come upstairs and sit for a while. Consider it my apology.”
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu exchanged a glance. They had never expected that, by a stroke of luck, they would actually get the chance to go upstairs.
After carefully checking the injuries on Qin Qiwu, Ji Zhaoxi began examining Fu Xianyan for injuries as well.
“Hand.” Ji Zhaoxi wore a solemn expression.
Fu Xianyan held out his hand.
Ji Zhaoxi looked it over and nodded in satisfaction.
“Head.”
Fu Xianyan helplessly lowered his head.
It was the first time in his life that anyone had examined him like this.
“From now on, stay properly behind me. What if you get hit?” Ji Zhaoxi frowned.
As they headed upstairs, Ji Zhaoxi and Fu Xianyan walked at the back. She did not forget to shake her fist at the fat-bellied master.
The fat-bellied master froze for a moment, then shrank his neck and remained silent.
Just as Ji Zhaoxi was about to hurry up the stairs, someone suddenly grabbed her hand.
She paused. “What is it?”
Fu Xianyan held her hand helplessly. “You’re hurt.”
She was always busy protecting this person and that person. She should protect herself first.
Ji Zhaoxi watched as Fu Xianyan lowered his head and applied medicine to her injury. She sniffed the powder in the medicine bottle. It smelled quite nice—she liked it very much.
She didn’t want to give it back to Fu Xianyan anymore.
“Let’s go.” Fu Xianyan released her hand and, conveniently, slipped the medicine bottle into her pocket.
Ji Zhaoxi froze for a moment. When had Fu Xianyan become so thoughtful?
