Chapter 205: Meibin Gong

Following the small-built bald guy through the passage under the parking lot, down the stairs straight to the second basement level, I saw a large doorway with no door, just covered by a dark-green curtain. Outside the doorway, two burly thug-like men stood guard.

The two thugs didn't stop us two; they just casually raised their hands and greeted the bald guy. They called the bald guy Haizi.

Seeing this dark-green casino, I didn't think twice, immediately lifted the curtain and prepared to go in.

"Wait," the bald guy then raised his hand to stop me, his left hand's three fingers constantly fluttering in the air, making a money gesture.

"Yeah, take it," I pulled out five hundred from the interlayer and handed it over, my tone still indifferent: "Enough?"

"Enough, enough, buddy, have fun, win more money, I won't bother you, I'm leaving!" The bald guy gave an apologetic smile and walked up the stairs; as he left, he repeatedly gave a fawning smile and repeated his name: "Buddy, I'm Haizi; if you need anything, find me at the usual spot—I'm always hanging around there."

After seeing me give money to Haizi, the two guards outside immediately changed their attitude and even voluntarily lifted the curtain for me.

Just as I lifted my foot, I stopped again, looked at the two fawning thugs on either side who wanted money, thought it over, and gave each of them a few large red bills.

Following Pangzi's saying, since I'm putting on the act of a big shot, I'll go all the way. Anyway, that money isn't just mine—half of the cash in the card belongs to Pangzi. Besides, short hands get soft mouths; if I later do something outrageous in the casino, giving tips also smooths things over. I don't need them to come help; I just hope they turn a blind eye.

Under the slightly fawning smiles of the two thugs, I walked into the casino. As soon as my foot stepped inside, I knew I hadn't come to the wrong place.

A fishy smell, a strong fishy smell—although the casino had perfume, it still couldn't hide that faint fishy odor. This smell wasn't bloody; it was the unique fishy odor of snakes. When I was in Macau, I had dealings with a snake infant, and I remember this particular smell vividly.

Thinking of that, I outwardly acted nonchalant, wandering about aimlessly, but inwardly I became more vigilant, paying close attention to my surroundings.

Don't be fooled by the casino's location under the parking lot; its scale is not small. Besides Pai Gow, fan-tan, and these old gambling games, it even has Macau-style baccarat and big-small machines—everything you could want.

This is the difference between mainland and Macau: Macau's gambling industry is legal, while the mainland's is like playing house with mice—no matter how rich or powerful someone is, they dare not openly place a casino on the street.

Besides these novel yet ordinary gambling games, there are also some older ones, like guessing dice and the twelve zodiac signs seen at New Year's street stalls.

However, the casino doesn't have what I'm looking for. These gambling stalls only take chips or cash; nobody bets gold or silver jewelry.

Chen Biao's winnings included gold and silver items; although I now smelled the snake's fishy odor, I felt nothing abnormal. I could only act on this clue. If nothing unexpected, the casino should have a back room, though ordinary people can't enter. I even regret letting the bald Haizi run off so fast—I wish I'd brought him in earlier.

"Damn it, lost again!" Suddenly, a big man in a suit beside me slammed the table hard, glaring at the card-dealing dealer and shouting: "I don't believe it—your banker's feng shui is that good? In the past half month, you've won tens of thousands from me."

The suited big man's implication was that the dealer was cheating; although I didn't get a clear look at him, his tall back and tone gave me a start.

When the suited big man slapped the table, everyone's gaze turned to him, including mine. As I was drawn over and saw him, I couldn't help but laugh.

This suited big man is literally a Meibin Gong—his dense sideburns spread over half his face, his skin dark and his build stocky, mismatched with the suit's tone. When he spoke, his eyes bulged; he had the appearance of a Meibin Gong and the domineering aura of an angry Zhang Fei. His outburst made it feel like he could start a fight at any moment, even the dealer before the table was badly frightened by him.

Everyone hurriedly moved away from the Meibin Gong, stepping to the side. At that moment, a few men resembling thugs silently approached the gambling table.

"Forget it, forget it—I know I'm unlucky. Damn it, I refuse to believe in bad luck; I must turn defeat into victory, ptooey, ptooey!" The Meibin Gong said this while spitting twice into his palms and solemnly wiping his hair, as if that could sweep away misfortune.

When he finished speaking, the casino's thugs again silently shifted their steps, walking around as usual.

Although the Meibin Gong's build is rugged, he's certainly no fool; his self-pity happened just as those thugs approached him. Moreover, after cursing, he decisively threw down a stack of bills.

This clearly meant he was just complaining, not looking for trouble.

It's clear the casino's behind-the-scenes boss wields great power; apparently nobody here dares cause trouble. Thinking this, I became even more cautious—I can catch ghosts and exorcise demons, but if it comes to beating people… my slight frame seems only good for getting beaten.

Rashly asking the casino staff would be futile and would easily raise suspicion. Since the staff won't work, I have no choice but to target the casino's patrons; after becoming familiar, I'll see if I can worm out some information.

After a brief ponder, I already had a plan in mind.

Feigning indifference, I squeezed into the crowd and ran to the Meibin Gong's side. Seeing him lose another round and reach for money to bet, I quickly said: "Brother, continuing like this won't get you anywhere—even if you win a few more rounds, you won't recoup your losses."

The Meibin Gong glanced at me, annoyed: "Isn't that nonsense? I also want to win big, but the Wealth God isn't helping me—what can I do?"

"A fish on the hook!" I chuckled inwardly, but put on a fawning tone: "Brother, I see the highest payout on this table is the leopard, paying eight times; if you place two heavy bets, you'll win it back, right?"

"Leopard? It comes up once every eight or ten years—do you think it's your pet that you can summon at will? Go wherever you like, don't block my gambling." Although the Meibin Gong bears that name, his tone was extremely unpleasant.

"Heh heh, brother, frankly speaking—I may have no talent, but my luck is terrible; from childhood on, I often step in dog poop on the street and fall into pits. My hometown folks call me the Jinx God." I spread my hands, imitating bald Haizi's money‑begging gesture, pointed at the table and gave a dry laugh to the Meibin Gong: "Brother, why not give me some chips? I'll bet both big and small, you just bet leopard—guaranteed win. After we win, heh heh…" My fawning, dry‑laugh look was like a lackey's—a gambling addict with empty pockets, the sort normal people want nothing to do with.

The Meibin Gong was no exception; he found me disgusting and spat fiercely at me: "I see you just want to swindle me out of some money."

Although shameless, the Meibin Gong generously tossed a few bills my way: "Go wherever you like, don't get in my way of making money."

Perhaps my words hit the mark; after hesitating a moment, he grabbed the remaining bills on the table, slammed them down on the leopard spot, cigarette in mouth, and shouted: "Lose and go home to sleep, fuck off."

The table rule is that dice can only be opened after everyone has placed their bets. Taking the chance, I quickly pressed the Meibin Gong's given bills onto the small bet.

Just as the dealer was about to open the cup, I waved my hand urgently and said: "Wait."

Under everyone's doubtful gaze, I pretended to hesitate, then carefully split the betting bills into two stacks, placing the larger one on the big bet.

"Bets placed, ready to open," the clear, melodious voice of the female dealer rang out as she pressed the bell twice.

"Wait a bit more," I raised my hand again, stopped the dealer, and pleaded: "Just wait a moment."

Everyone's doubtful eyes turned to me again; I took out two cigarettes from my pocket, lit them, stuck them in front of me, and pretended to be unsettled, palms together in prayer, muttering inaudible words. To onlookers, I looked like I was praying to gods for money—a typical loser who can't afford to lose. Only, nobody could clearly hear what I was murmuring.

"I invoke the Fire God Zhu Xia Pu, may his light shine in all directions upon me, illuminate the three lamps above my head..."

A wave of boos rose instantly; everyone cursed at me, and even the female dealer gave me a look of contempt.

"Are you done yet?" the female dealer, also impatient, said.

I pursed my lips and scoffed: "You open yours, I'll speak mine—I'm not stopping you from opening." As soon as I spoke, I felt embarrassed. It seemed… I really had been stopping them from opening the cup.

"Open…" the female dealer, made jittery by me, impatiently opened the dice cup.

The cup opened with an uproar; inside the dice cup appeared three leopards, and coincidentally someone had bet tens of thousands on the leopard—

Nobody among the gamblers had expected a leopard, but they just envied the Meibin Gong's luck, gave it no further thought—except the Meibin Gong, who stared at me in surprise.

"That much cash is inconvenient to carry; let me exchange it for chips at the front desk later!" the Meibin Gong called to the dealer. He had wanted to bet another round, but seeing me with empty pockets and open hands, he simply cashed out all his money for chips.

I wandered boredly through the casino for a few minutes; soon, the Meibin Gong, clutching a huge stack of chips, ran up to me.

"Kid, nice work, this change is for you"—the Meibin Gong gave me several chips, but their face values were five‑digit numbers, each worth over ten thousand.

His generosity didn't surprise me; I had chosen him initially not only because he was unlucky, but also because I read people by their faces.

First, from his physiognomy the Meibin Gong is a biased‑earth type with a touch of fire in the Five Elements. Hence, though he is tall and stocky, his temper is explosive. More importantly, his eyes. In face‑reading his eyes belong to the lower three‑white category.

Eye shape is part of physiognomy. The three‑white eye is a type of eye shape. It is easy to recognise: besides the black pupil, the left, right, and lower parts of the eye are pure white, with no specks, hence the name three‑white eye. If the pupil is positioned high, it is an upper three‑white eye; if low, a lower three‑white eye.

Conversely, if the pupil is low, it is an upper three‑white eye; if high, a lower three‑white eye. The distinction is made by the white above: white above means upper, black pupil above means lower.

For a lower three‑white eye, the pupil is low, the upper, left, and right parts of the eye are all white. In physiognomy this eye resembles a snake's eye, indicating a person who is secretly vicious and crafty, appearing gentle and tractable on the surface, but when faced with a dilemma involving personal gain, they will unhesitatingly choose to harm others to benefit themselves, stopping at nothing, even committing heinous acts.

However, the lower three‑white eye also denotes a person who is naturally bold and commanding, with a strong desire to lead—whether among brothers, friends, or in business, they prefer to occupy a leadership position and direct others. Their eyes tolerate no speck of dust; they look down on treacherous and hypocritical people, are innately arrogant,

Although such a person may be coarse, they are the easiest to win trust. As long as you are sincere with them, they will never let you down. Indeed, they are prone to act on emotion; even if they commit a crime out of loyalty, they do not care.

So, such people either have a violent temperament that clashes with yours, becoming your enemies; or they share your vibe, becoming the best of buddies. But, whether according to physiognomy texts or proven by later results, those with the upper three whites usually don't end well.

No matter how dynasties change, selfish people are everywhere, and friends who come out for personal gain are never scarce. Moreover, in today's materialistic, reality‑focused society, who doesn't have some ulterior motive? Who isn't all smiles and gentle as jade on the surface, seeming like your kin and friends, yet might stab you in the back? It's hard to say.

Thus, people with the lower three whites hardly die peacefully; they are easily deceived and betrayed, and may even be killed by this sense of righteousness. In their view, loyalty and feelings rank above the law.

This Meibin Gong is exactly such a person, and that is the main reason I chose to help him.

As for why the dice cup would roll three leopards and a one, there is naturally some deep mystery here; it can only be said to be the profound subtlety of Yin‑Yang and the Book of Changes. As for me, I merely used the right method at the right moment and gave it a try.