Chapter 03: Absence of the Person, Only the Sound is Heard

Tian Long greeted everyone, and all the guys followed him and got on the car to leave.

"Kid, are you okay?" 

Ma Ye walked over and asked with concern.

"I'm fine, thank you, Ma Ye!"

I bowed to him and said.

Ma Ye was a man of the underworld, and I treated him with the etiquette of the underworld.

"You go back and prepare well. Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, go to Tian Brothers' gambling den."

"Don't worry, Fangzi, I will help you prepare."

"Thank you, Ma Ye!"

I said urgently, "I will definitely be there on time!"

Ma Ye looked at me and asked in a deep voice:

"Do you want me to take you back?"

"No need, Ma Ye, I can walk back."

I hurriedly declined.

Uncle Liu told me to know when to stop in dealing with people.

I didn't know Ma Ye at all, but he helped me a lot tonight, and I couldn't trouble him anymore.

"Alright, I'm leaving!"

Ma Ye turned around and walked towards the black Audi.

A burly bodyguard followed closely behind him, imitating his every move.

"Ma Ye, may I ask why you helped me?"

I gathered up my courage and asked.

"Wei Dongrui is my brother!"

Ma Ye didn't turn around and casually said.

Wei Dongrui!

When I heard this name, excitement filled my face.

"Ma Ye, my Uncle Liu is back, where is he?"

I asked urgently.

Ma Ye shook his head slightly, got into the Audi, and drove away.

I stood there dumbfounded, unable to move for a long time.

Wei Dongrui was my Uncle Liu. Although he was elusive, he took good care of me.

As long as he came back, I wouldn't be afraid of the Tian Brothers.

Ma Ye shook his head. I didn't know if he didn't know or if Uncle Liu hadn't returned.

I walked heavily towards home.

Tonight, I was beaten twice, and the second time was particularly severe, almost costing me my life.

In the silent night, every step I took was painful.

Thinking about my mother's uncertain life and death, I couldn't care about the pain and hurried home.

Ten minutes later, panting, I pushed open the slightly ajar door.

My mother stood up abruptly, her face full of alertness. After seeing me, she asked anxiously:

"Lai Zi, they…they beat you, are…are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom. I hid in the reeds, and they didn't catch me."

I pretended to be relaxed.

Seeing my mother's blackened forehead, tears welled up in her eyes, and she burst into tears.

Looking at the soot on her forehead, I asked urgently:

"Mom, are you injured? Let me take you to the hospital."

"No need, Lai Zi, Mom is fine."

My mother said softly, "Go take a shower, and Mom will apply some medicinal wine for you. You'll be fine tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, I realized that my face and body were covered in injuries. No wonder my mother burst into tears.

I lowered my head, picked up the basin, and went to the well to take a shower.

After showering, I lay on the bed, and my mother carefully applied medicinal wine on my wounds.

Suddenly, two cold drops of water fell on my back.

I turned my head and whispered:

"Mom, I will never cause trouble again!"

My mother didn't say anything. After a while, she murmured:

"Lai Zi, you have grown up. It's time for you to leave this small village and go out."

"No, Mom, I will never leave you!"

I said urgently.

"Silly child, you are different from others!"

My mother said softly, "Tomorrow morning, I will call your Uncle Liu and ask him to take you away!"

Looking at the determined expression on my mother's face, I was stunned.

There were a thousand words in my heart, but my mouth was sealed shut and couldn't open.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

My body was in unbearable pain.

My mind was filled with countless thoughts.

I just couldn't fall asleep!

Uncle Liu must have come back, otherwise, how would he know about tonight's events?

Since he had come back, why wouldn't he see me?

Feeling restless, I sat up and wanted to practice throwing dice for a while.

Suddenly, my hand touched the copper dice hanging around my neck.

It was a gift from Uncle Liu on my tenth birthday.

For eight years, this copper dice had been hanging around my neck, never leaving.

The copper dice was about the same size as regular dice but much heavier, hanging heavily on my neck.

Since I was young, Uncle Liu taught me how to play poker. As I grew older, he taught me how to play dice, mahjong, and pai gow…

As I grew older, I realized that everything Uncle Liu taught me was sleight of hand.

After learning that Mouse's father always lost money, I easily guessed that the gambling den was cheating.

Uncle Liu said that gambling was a game of probability, with a certain chance of winning or losing.

On any gambling table, if you always lose or always win, someone must be cheating.

No exceptions!

The Tian Brothers' methods were too clumsy. After hearing Mouse's father's account, I could guess how they cheated.

Somehow, whenever I touched the copper dice, my heart would calm down.

Tonight was no exception.

I dismissed the idea of practicing dice and unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up the next day, it was almost ten o'clock.

After breakfast, I started practicing throwing dice.

The Tian Brothers agreed to gamble with me under Ma Ye's intimidation, and they chose the dice, their area of expertise.

At first glance, it seemed like I was at a disadvantage in the dice game, but in reality, I had the upper hand.

Although Uncle Liu taught me many techniques, I had never been on a gambling table.

Talking about it was one thing, but actually playing was a different matter.

Compared to other games, throwing dice was the easiest.

I didn't have to outwit my opponents, I just had to focus on throwing the dice.

On the surface, I seemed to be at a disadvantage in the dice game, but in reality, I had the advantage.

I stayed at home all day, practicing throwing dice with single-minded determination.

The techniques I used were taught to me by Uncle Liu, clean and precise.

With three dice in the cup, I could roll any number I wanted.

Currently, I can only control up to five dice, any more than that is beyond my ability.

I personally witnessed Uncle Liu placing ten dice in the cup and still being able to roll a "pillar supporting the sky".

At that time, although I was somewhat surprised, I didn't think too much about it.

It wasn't until I entered the underworld that I realized what it meant.

Adding one more dice to the cup increased the difficulty exponentially.

Now, twenty years have passed since I entered the underworld.

Apart from my uncle and me, I have never seen anyone else roll a "pillar supporting the sky" with ten dice.

As evening approached, the sky suddenly darkened, with dark clouds covering the sky and a strong southeast wind blowing.

At half past seven, I rode my bike, which made noise everywhere except for the bell, towards the Tian Brothers' gambling den.

There was an abandoned hardware factory across from the water plant in the village, and the Tian Brothers' gambling den was located inside the factory building.

Under the dim streetlights, I arrived at the hardware factory on my bike.

Upon reaching the entrance of the factory, instead of going in, I propped my broken bike against the entrance of the water plant and observed the situation across the street.

The Tian Brothers wanted to kill me, and I would never walk into their trap without Ma Ye.

After a while, the Audi slowly approached.

Due to the poor road conditions, the Audi was bouncing heavily, like a small boat in a stormy sea.

I quickly dashed out from the darkness and waved my hand vigorously towards the car.

Ma Ye saw me and signaled the driver to stop.

I walked over quickly and reached out to open the car door for Ma Ye.

I had intended to cover the roof like they do on TV and then ask Ma Ye to get out of the car.

But Ma Ye didn't give me the chance and got out of the car directly.

"What's your name?" Ma Ye asked casually.

I bowed and said, "Ma Ye, my name is Wu Lai, you can call me Lai Zi."

My name was given by Uncle Liu. He said that a humble name would be easier to support.

Ma Ye obviously didn't care for my name and furrowed his brows slightly, saying, "Wu… Lai Zi, that's your capital!"

Ma Ye handed me the bag he was carrying, indicating for me to hold it.

I reached out and took the bag, realizing that it was filled with hundred yuan bills. My hands couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Ma Ye noticed my nervousness and patted my shoulder lightly.

"Lai Zi, don't be nervous. If you lose tonight, it's on me. If you win, take it all!"

Upon hearing this, I was stunned and hurriedly said, "Ma Ye, how can this be? I…"

Ma Ye shrugged and said, "I've already talked to Dong Rui about this. Don't worry about it. Just focus on gambling with the Tian Brothers."

"I heard from your Uncle Liu that you're good at sleight of hand?"

After Ma Ye asked with a smile, I showed a somewhat embarrassed expression on my face, unsure of how to answer.

"I heard that the Tian Brothers have brought in a master. Do you have confidence?" Ma Ye asked in a deep voice.

I showed a defiant expression and said firmly, "In Anhe Township, besides Uncle Liu, no one can beat me!"

It wasn't me being arrogant, but Uncle Liu had taught me that no matter who the opponent was, I must never lose in terms of momentum.

Ma Ye obviously didn't expect me to say that. He gave me a slight nod and put his arm around my shoulder, saying, "Good kid, worthy of being taught by Wei Dong Rui, you have the spirit!"

"Let's go, let's go in together!"

Ma Ye's grip on my shoulder was strong, making it hard for me to breathe.

Despite that, I pretended to be unaffected, held my head high, and walked into the entrance of the hardware factory.