Chapter 1714: Beiping Old Dreams: The Beauty Actor Overpowers the Big Shot 29

Fourth floor, left side corridor beside the auction hall.

Jin Chen backhandedly killed the 'stranger' who had separated him and his wife; the corpse fell to the ground and he still kicked it twice.

A few minutes earlier, he and Pei Yinnian had planned to go downstairs via the stairs to look for traces of the Gold Thread Robe, but suddenly they were ambushed by a large group of soldiers posing as ordinary gamblers.

Only then did they learn that Chu San, of the warlord family, also participated in this operation to investigate the traitor; to avoid alerting the enemy, they could only go along with the plan and split up, searching for clues to the Gold Thread Robe on two floors.

Going deeper along the corridor, this is the lounge where several British garrison officers are stationed, heavily guarded, with foreign sentries posted almost every interval.

The corridor's thick carpet muffled footsteps; Jin Chen proceeded cautiously, when he suddenly saw the gold door half open, and from inside came anxious, desperate struggling sounds.

He frowned in puzzlement, feeling the voice sounded somewhat familiar, and hid outside the door, peeking in.

"Let go of me… let go!"

Xu Nanchun, wearing the forced water-sleeve opera costume, had not finished singing his excerpt when the smirking red-bearded officer began to molest him; in the struggle his back struck the table corner, causing pain that drained the color from his face.

His fear and resistance only provoked the red-bearded officer's unrestrained laughter, who praised his appearance in broken Chinese, making Xu Nanchun feel even more humiliated; he clutched his costume at the chest, tears sliding down, full of helplessness and despair.

Pressed against the table, Xu Nanchun looked straight through the door crack and saw Jin Chen hiding at the doorway; his expression was grim, his body trembling slightly, and he instantly felt he had nowhere to hide.

Jin Chen frowned, taking advantage of the red-bearded officer's inattention to slip away sideways.

A few seconds later.

"Tsk."

Jin Chen tilted his head, drew his dagger and rushed in, then lifted his foot to shut the door.

"Who…!" the red-bearded officer's pants were half down, startled by the movement, before he could ask a question a flying knife struck his throat, killing him instantly.

Xu Nanchun widened his eyes, covered his mouth to stifle a cry, his fearful, bloodshot gaze fixed on the person standing at the doorway.

Jin Chen glanced at him, took off his suit jacket and threw it over.

"Thank you…"

Xu Nanchun trembled as he picked up the jacket, his voice choking up beyond coherence.

Jin Chen casually rummaged through the red-bearded officer's desk, finding a walkie-talkie and several folded sheets inside—a list of genuine and counterfeit auction items.

He pocketed them, then snatched the red-bearded officer's gun, leaning against the wall to swiftly remove the magazine and count the bullets.

"You… do you know what they intend to do today?" Xu Nanchun still couldn't stop trembling, but he managed to form a complete sentence.

Jin Chen lifted his eyelids, looked down at him, and said, "Fake antiques, real maps—what else do you know?"

"And… and Master Pei." Xu Nanchun clutched the jacket wrapped around his disordered costume, shuddering as he stammered, "Xiao Bo Feng said… they set a trap, intending to lawfully kill Master Pei and take over the Beiping Chamber of Commerce."

If it were merely an assassination, after Pei Yinnian's death not only would the Beiping Chamber of Commerce and Pei Family not easily let it rest, but also the Xiao Family and Chu San would fear his backed Ningcheng Military; therefore they must find a plausible excuse to get past it.

Jin Chen's pupils shifted in alarm—"Damn."

He quickly reloaded the magazine, long strides taking him over the red-bearded officer's corpse.

"If you don't want to die, follow me!"

Xu Nanchun gritted his teeth, enduring the waist pain as he followed.

【Zero Egg, locate Pei Yinnian's position.】

【Received!】

——

Third floor, Gambling Hall No. 6.

"Master Pei, this way please."

Chu San's adjutant opened the gambling hall's main gate for Pei Yinnian, his movements respectful and giving face, but his eyes shone with obvious coldness.

Pei Yinnian's weapon had been confiscated, appearing no longer threatening, and moreover he was escorted inside by five privates.

Even so, Pei Yinnian remained calm and composed, and those surrounding him dared not relax their vigilance in the slightest.

At a glance, he looked more like someone coming to inspect work.

Those who knew Pei Yinnian's identity among the unsuspecting gamblers also came up to greet him; the adjutant wanted to speak but held back, not stopping them lest he reveal the plan.

"Boss Pei, oh my, I didn't expect to see you here."

The middle-aged man with two mustaches put down his dice and came over, shaking Pei Yinnian's hand, then glanced at his adjutant behind him and muttered doubtfully, "Is this Chu San's adjutant? How come the two of you…?"

The adjutant replied, "Master San invited Master Pei to catch up, so I came specially to fetch him."

"Ahaha, I see, then I won't disturb you—Boss Pei, if you have any business later, don't forget me."

The middle-aged man withdrew his hand; the pistol from his sleeve fell into Pei Yinnian's other palm, which he wasn't raising. Pei Yinnian smiled in response, slipping the pistol into the waist of his suit jacket, covered by the outer layer.

"Certainly."

As they brushed past, the middle-aged man quickly said, "Gold Thread Robe, in the basement warehouse on the first floor."

Pei Yinnian remained unusually composed, walking toward the corner with the adjutant blocking his body.

Opposite the farthest table in the gambling hall, Sun Fu, who had been unseen for a long time, sat smiling and gestured for Pei Yinnian to take a seat, saying, "President, I've followed you for years, yet we've never played a round together—care to try?"

Pei Yinnian sat down unhurriedly, his long fingers picking up the dice on the table to play with, saying, "Vice President Sun, quite the scheming, quite the plot."

"Hmph, if there's blame, it's all on you," Sun Fu dropped the pretense, sneering coldly, "I've been in the Beiping Chamber of Commerce for how many years? I was about to reach the next presidency, yet out of nowhere you appeared!"

"Cut the nonsense, Master Pei, you have to play this round."

The adjutant interrupted their confrontation, taking the middle seat between them, his expression showing slight impatience; he always felt that as long as the plan hadn't succeeded, the crafty Pei Yinnian would have a chance to escape.

Their table happened to be under the overhead spotlight; as the adjutant just sat down, Pei Yinnian keenly lifted his eyes, his gaze fixing on the sudden increase of floating dust in the light beam, then without changing expression he looked toward the table opposite where the adjutant sat, and the dealer.

Pei Yinnian raised his hand to check his watch, wound the clock, and said softly, "Then let's play one round; your thoughts are probably also on the final auction item."

"There's still half an hour."

Pei Yinnian seemed to be reminding them.

Sun Fu laughed inexplicably, his expression somewhat arrogant, thinking that in half an hour the Beiping Chamber of Commerce would be preparing your funeral.

It remained the classic Sic Bo gameplay.

Before the game began, Pei Yinnian even had the leisure to ask a server for a glass of red wine to drink.

The croupier closed the dice cup, pressed the handle three times, scanned the three gamblers, "Please place your bets."

"Pei Yinnian, if you lose this round, you must sign this agreement."

Deputy Officer placed the prepared contract in front of Pei Yinnian, smiling and gesturing with his hand; the five soldiers standing behind Pei Yinnian all raised their guns, "If you don't sign, the third master's meaning is…… to send you on your way."