Chapter 478

Generally people assume that casino dealers usually employ some sleight of hand. But the fact is, a genuine casino disdains cheating. Profit levels depend on its operating model, its unique commission method. Even with dice, betting big or small, those older games like the twelve zodiac signs have no tampering inside.

In any casino, patrons have the right to inspect the dice in the cup, so nobody would be foolish enough to use mercury injection to sabotage the house.

However, the profit this old game brings is extremely high, and no casino would be willing to give up such lucrative earnings. Unlike Texas Hold'em, as long as the dice can be controlled for big or small, it will surely bring the casino immeasurable benefits.

Of course, nobody would do the foolish act of injecting mercury into dice. So casinos often choose some inconspicuous methods to control their financial fortunes.

For example, the ways of feng shui and qi control. Not to mention outsider gamblers, even the casino staff might not realize they are inside a feng shui setup.

This casino, this dice table, is cleverly set up as a feng shui arrangement; even an insider might not be able to see through it.

The reason it caught my attention is that I saw something.

"Meibin Gong" appears. This is a nickname? It's a term of address: "Meibin Gong" likely a title/nickname for a person. According to rules, if it's a nickname habitually used as that person's name, we keep pinyin. So "Meibin Gong" -> "Meibin Gong"? Actually "Meibin" (měibìn) meaning beautiful sideburns? Could be a nickname. We'll treat as a name: "Meibin Gong". But need to decide: Should we translate meaning? It's a nickname used as a name, so we keep pinyin. So "Meibin Gong". However we need to check if it's a title like "Lord Meibin"? The term "Gong" can be "Lord" or "Duke". But if it's a nickname, we keep pinyin. We'll keep as "Meibin Gong". Also "dealer" is generic, not a name.

Located behind all the gamblers, on the top of the opposite wall, three vivid green dragon carvings are engraved; at first glance, these two green dragons seem merely decorative. But if you associate them with the three transparent crystal balls on the gambling table, you will discover the hidden mechanism is actually significant.

According to the Three Cycles and Nine Periods, this year runs the Four Green Wood cycle, and the azure dragon also belongs to wood; the window is the Greedy Wolf gate, and the dragon sits in the Greedy Wolf position. Generally, for ordinary or official households, if there is a dragon painting or wood carving at home, it is usually two dragons playing with a pearl, or dragon and phoenix bringing auspiciousness. But the azure dragons in this casino are different: three dragons raise their heads, horns sharp, yet their eyes and the direction their dragon heads stare are aimed at the three crystal balls on the gambling table.

This inevitably leads to discussing the marvelous transformations of yin-yang and the five phases in feng shui: the three crystal balls belong to water, while the azure dragon belongs to wood; water generates wood in the five phases, so the dragon needs water's momentum to stir clouds and rain. Ancient lore says the dragon pearl is the dragon's crystallized essence and inner elixir; if a dragon loses its inner elixir, it is akin to a slaughtered snake. Thus, in terms of momentum, the three azure dragons on the opposite wall are, with their vital energy bodies, swimming toward the gambling table; the direction of their heads and forms is undoubtedly a hundred percent aimed at lunging at the table.

This arrangement is not called 'dragon entering water' but 'dragon playing with the pearl.' Once the dragon bites the pearl, water generates wood, undoubtedly leading to an unstoppable chain. And as the feng shui cycle shifts, at least before the Four Wood period passes, this gambling table will never decline.

On the gambling table, every arrangement actually understands the secrets: three belongs to wood, the crystal azure dragons are three in number, including the table, which has three corners. And as the dragon howls from the Greedy Wolf position, the table profits from Greedy Wolf wealth.

The term "dealer" appears again, generic. "Greedy Wolf" is a star name (one of the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper, also a star in Chinese astrology). It is a named entity (a star). Should we translate it? It is a proper noun (star name). According to the rules, we translate meaningful place names. For star names we can translate the meaning: "Greedy Wolf". Also "peach blossom" is generic, not a name.

This corresponds to the nature of Greedy Wolf; the vigor of dragons and snakes is especially strong. Greedy Wolf is also the Peach Blossom wealth star; wherever there is peach blossom, the azure dragon will surely go, and after biting the pearl, wealth and beauty naturally unite to form the pattern.

After noticing this arrangement, I immediately stood before the dealer, blocked the dragon, and lit two incense sticks. Smoke belongs to fire, and two is also a fire number; its application follows the five phases' mutual generation and overcoming, using fire to break the wood pattern. Of course, breaking the pattern is not that simple, including the earlier spell I chanted to boost my own fire qi, and the hesitation of that fiery beautiful dealer—those were all meant to break the pattern.

The beautiful dealer assumes the role of Peach Blossom and also serves as the person responding to the fate in the arrangement. One life, two fortunes, three feng shui; if even the main commander is unsettled in mind, temperamental, and starts to flare up, how could the wooden azure dragon dare to approach?

So I first used the two incense sticks as fire, offering worship to the crystal balls while chanting a spell to boost my own fire qi, simultaneously provoking the beautiful dealer at the table. The crystal balls absorbed the fire qi, and the central figure in the arrangement became mentally unsteady. The lurking dragon, fearing being burned by fire, naturally dared not swim over to bite the pearl.

As for why Meibin Gong won, this is the drawback of the dragon-playing-with-the-pearl feng shui arrangement. The dragon-playing-with-the-pearl pattern arises in conjunction with the Three Cycles and Nine Periods; the dragon bites the pearl, and the fortune lies on the gambling table. The dealer serves as the vessel, Greedy Wolf as the wealth-devourer. When the arrangement thrives, it devours countless wealth; but if it is accidentally broken, he will violently vomit blood.

Considering the whole gambling table, Meibin Gong has the highest odds and places the largest bets. Therefore, when the dragon vomits blood, it will surely spill onto the leopard that Meibin Gong has wagered on.

It seems also a matter of heavenly mechanism; aside from Meibin Gong betting on the leopard with the highest odds, the time I lit the incense happened to be the moment of strongest fire qi within the twelve double-hours, cooperating with heavenly timing and human harmony, perfectly breaking this earthly advantage arrangement.

"Meibin Gong" appears again, and "Guan Yu" appears. Also "Yu Ge" and "Da Guan". "Guan Yu" is a person's name (surname Guan, given name Yu). According to the rules, we keep it in pinyin: "Guan Yu". "Yu Ge" is a nickname meaning "Brother Yu". Since it is habitually used as a name, we keep the pinyin: "Yu Ge". "Da Guan" is a nickname meaning "Big Guan". It is also used habitually, so we keep the pinyin: "Da Guan". In line 22, Meibin Gong says: "Brother, you can call me Yu Ge or Da Guan, either is fine." These are nicknames. No further protagonist name is given.

No.

Wiping cold sweat, I stared for a long while before finally realizing that Meibin Gong's name is Guan Yu, the 'Yu' of the universe.

"Speaking of it, brother, I've been playing in this venue for over half a year—how come I haven't seen you, coming from out of town?" Guan Yu lit a cigarette and passed it to my hand.

"Brother Guan Yu, I actually came to this casino not to gamble money! Of course, I'm not some jinx either. A friend of mine died, and I suspect his death is related to this casino; I came here to look for clues!" After taking the cigarette, I straightforwardly told Guan Yu the purpose of my trip.

If it were someone else, I would pretend to be friendly and continue playing with him. But Guan Yu, this genuine man with his frank appearance, tolerates no falsehood; if you sincerely befriend him, he will treat you sincerely and help you to the best of his ability.

My words seemed not beyond Guan Yu's expectation; he gave an incredulous smile and said, "Actually I already knew you were talking nonsense; nowadays, who still believes in movies like 'The King of Gamblers' or 'Hell's Unlucky Ghost'…"

"However, I can tell you're a capable person. Willing to speak the truth also shows you trust me. I, Guan Yu, have no particular virtues, except that when others treat me sincerely, I will certainly respond with sincerity." Guan Yu patted my shoulder and said, "Go ahead, tell me what I can help you with."

People like him are just that strange; even if they know they've been deceived, they won't get overly angry, because in their minds human sentiment always outweighs deceit. And since I helped Guan Yu win back his money, that is what he considers a debt of gratitude toward me.

"Guan Da Ge" appears, meaning "Older Brother Guan". This is a form of address using a surname plus a title. According to the rules, generic forms of address (not ranks) are excluded. "Da Ge" is a generic term for older brother, not a rank. Therefore we should not treat "Guan Da Ge" as a named entity. However the surname "Guan" is part of the name; we already have "Guan Yu". So no additional entry is needed.

Guan Yu furrowed his brows, narrowed his eyes at me, and asked, "You want to go?"

I answered without hesitation: "Yes, I definitely must go."

Guan Yu then fell silent for a long while, propping his chin and thinking for ages before exhaling: "Alright, I'll take you there. But I remind you: look all you want, just never cause trouble in this casino, especially in the back rooms. Otherwise, no one can guarantee your safety."

"Fine, I promise you, no matter what I see or what happens, I will absolutely not act rashly, nor cause trouble." Guan Yu's words made me overjoyed; I hurriedly patted my chest to assure him.

"Then come with me; come, hand over the chips you're holding." Guan Yu took the chips from my hand. He wouldn't be petty enough to demand the chips back from me for no reason; doing so certainly serves a purpose.

After taking the chips, Guan Yu led me winding through a corridor inside the casino. At the end of the corridor was an elevator door; Guan Yu threw all the chips to an old man guarding the computer desk, saying to that old man, "This is my friend, who has just arrived here not long ago; I'm bringing him up to see things."

The old man seemed quite familiar with Guan Yu; without a second thought, he accepted the chips Guan Yu passed over, handed Guan Yu a card, and stood up to press the elevator open.

"Guan Da Ge" appears again, used generically. Also "Guan Yu" appears again.

This casino is located in the basement, yet the elevator goes straight up to the top floor, which seems contradictory to the casino's layout.

"Going to the place where real big money is gambled?" Guan Yu explained: "Don't think the bets here are big; actually the big action is upstairs. Upstairs there are only two games: Stud and Texas Hold'em. As long as both parties agree, anything can be wagered—fund deeds, gold silver jewels, even one's own life can be put on the line. But there is a precondition: regardless of win or loss, the house takes a ten percent cut."

Guan Yu's words startled me; I exclaimed in disbelief, "Does he doing this break the law? Won't anyone investigate him?" The 'he' I referred to naturally points to the casino's boss.

Guan Yu gave an incredulous smile: "As long as money can be made, there are always people willing to engage in highly illegal profits. The boss here has a frightening background; the so-called 'Treasure Grandpa' is merely a front. The real boss is someone else entirely, though no one knows his identity, and of course he is also a very cautious person."

Guan Yu waved the card in his hand and said: "This card is actually a smart key. After exiting the elevator, there is a technologically imported American door that requires this card to open. Once opened, this card can be redeemed for chips? However, to exchange this card from the guard old man's hand, you need at least five hundred thousand chips—in other words, to reach the top floor, five hundred thousand is the minimum entry qualification."

"And here?" Guan Yu paused, pointing at the elevator button: "The button indicates the top floor is the eighth floor, but in reality nobody knows which floor they actually arrive at. The only entrance and exit at the roof is this elevator, of course there is also a specially made escape passage. However, since the casino opened, it has never encountered an emergency, so this passage remains unknown to anyone."

His explanation left me secretly astonished; the behind-the-scenes boss of this casino has a background even more astonishing than I imagined, and it's frightening that such a person would also possess such meticulous caution.

In that case, I need to be even more careful. Behind such a formidable figure, there are never a lack of talented and extraordinary individuals.