36: Chuxiong lost so much his scalp tingled
The third day after Lin Chuan arrived in Hong Kong City.
The open-air restaurant on the top floor of the Atlantic Hotel.
The sea breeze blew gently, and the candlelight flickered.
Lin Chuan cut a small piece of medium-rare Beef Wellington and elegantly placed it into his mouth.
Opposite him, Chu Yueli seemed to have no appetite, her silver fork poking repeatedly at the deep-sea cod on her plate.
She had poked a perfectly good piece of fish until it looked like a honeycomb coal briquette.
Her gaze drifted from time to time to the exquisite Cartier watch on her wrist, her brow furrowed so tightly it could crush a fly.
"Miss Chu, if you keep poking that cod, it's probably going to cry out in pain."
Lin Chuan put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth, and looked at her with a half-smile.
"Huh?"
Chu Yueli snapped back to reality, a hint of fluster flashing across her cold and elegant face.
"No... I'm sorry, I was distracted."
"Worried about Master Chu, aren't you?"
Lin Chuan hit the nail on the head.
Chu Yueli sighed and put down her fork.
"Lin Chuan, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me."
"You've seen my father; he's headstrong. I've looked into the backgrounds of the people my older brother and third sister found."
"They're just charlatans who operate on the fringes of the underworld. They're fine for fooling nouveau riche who don't know any better."
"But this time we're facing Broken Finger Qiang. He's a figure who has even made a name for himself under Mr. He in Macau."
"I'm afraid..."
"Afraid they'll lose everything down to their underwear?" Lin Chuan chuckled, finishing her sentence.
Chu Yueli gave a bitter smile and said nothing, which was a silent admission.
"Alright, we're mostly done with dinner."
Lin Chuan stood up, straightened his suit collar, and casually grabbed the trench coat from the back of the chair to drape it over his shoulders.
The movement was smooth and sharp, exuding a reassuring sense of composure.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"West Street Restaurant."
Lin Chuan snapped his fingers, and Long Wu immediately followed behind him like a tower of iron.
"Since Miss Chu treated me to such an expensive meal, it would be quite unrefined of me to just watch the Chu family get trampled into the mud and do nothing."
"Besides, I'm quite curious to see if this Broken Finger Qiang really has three heads and six arms."
Chu Yueli looked at the man, who was the same age as her, and the complex emotions in her eyes deepened.
Even though he had been humiliated like that before, he was now willing to take the initiative to lend a hand.
This breadth of mind, this magnanimity... West Street Restaurant was the most famous den of iniquity on the edge of the Kowloon Walled City.
Before even entering, a wave of noise mixed with cheap perfume, tobacco, and the stench of sweat hit them.
In the first-floor lobby, the lights were bright, and the crowd was boisterous.
Hundreds of various slot machines and pachinko machines were lined up neatly, emitting bursts of exciting electronic sound effects.
"Clink, clank, crash!"
"I won! Damn it! I've lost it all again!"
Countless gamblers, their eyes red and necks flushed, pounded on the machines in a frenzied atmosphere.
Compared to the primitive state of the underground casinos in Harbin at this time, it was indeed more than an era ahead.
Lin Chuan led Chu Yueli through the noisy crowd, heading straight for the mahogany staircase that only VIPs could enter.
Just as they stepped onto the stairs to the second floor.
The clamor vanished instantly, as if cut off by a knife.
In its place was a suffocating sense of oppression.
The second-floor lobby was covered in thick carpets, and the air conditioning was cranked up so high it made one's hair stand on end.
Several large gambling tables were surrounded by many Westerners in suits and local bigwigs.
But at the table in the very center, a good show was currently unfolding.
"Thud!"
A thick stack of chips was heavily pushed to the center of the table by a large hand with only four fingers.
That was Broken Finger Qiang.
A middle-aged man in a floral shirt with slicked-back hair, his eyes as sinister as a venomous snake.
And opposite him.
Chu Xiong's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and the two iron balls in his hand were spinning rapidly, making sharp clicking sounds—a sign of extreme rage.
The tabletop beside him was already empty.
Meanwhile, Chu Tianbiao and Chu Jiaojiao were shrinking back like two quails, drenched in cold sweat and not daring to breathe loudly.
Because of the two so-called masters they had brought.
One was already slumped in his chair, his face full of defeat, as if his spine had been removed.
That was Mr. Liu, known as the Thousand-Faced Buddha. In just half an hour, he had lost all three million in cash that Chu Xiong had brought.
"What's the matter, Boss Chu?"
Broken Finger Qiang lit a cigar, blew out a thick cloud of smoke, and spoke in broken Hong Kong-accented Mandarin with an extremely mocking tone.
"Out of money already?"
"We've barely even started."
"Weren't you just bragging about sweeping across our Hong Kong Island?"
"Is this all the grit you experts from the mainland have?"
The muscles on Chu Xiong's old face were twitching.
This was a blatant slap in the face!
And it was a slap that tore off his skin and trampled it on the ground!
He suddenly turned his head, his murderous gaze fixed on the "Ghost Hand" Master Zhang brought by Chu Tianbiao.
"Old Zhang! You go up and show them a thing or two!"
"I don't care about losing money, but you must win back my dignity!"
Chu Xiong's voice was laced with ice.
That Master Zhang was an old man in his sixties who usually made a living with a few "Sleeve Universe" tricks.
Faced with such a truly grand occasion, his legs were shaking.
But seeing Chu Xiong's predatory gaze, he knew he had no choice but to go up.
"Fine, since you trust me, sir, I shall try my hand against them."
Master Zhang sat down at the gambling table, trembling.
The cards were dealt.
Show Hand.
Who knows where he got the courage—perhaps he wanted to win it all back in one go.
Master Zhang's hands were extremely fast; taking advantage of the moment he checked his hole card, his left pinky quickly hooked his cuff.
An Ace of Spades slid into his palm like a magic trick.
He had practiced this "Sleeve Universe" move for decades and believed it to be flawless.
However.
At the very moment his hand was about to leave the table.
"Thwack!!!"
A dull, tooth-aching sound.
A dagger flashing with cold light fell from the air without warning.
It was as fast as a bolt of lightning.
It slammed hard into Master Zhang's left hand, the one currently swapping cards!
It pierced right through his palm, pinning it firmly to the dark green felt tabletop!
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"
A heart-wrenching scream instantly echoed throughout the entire second floor.
Blood sprayed out like a fountain, staining the chips on the table crimson.
Chu Jiaojiao screamed on the spot and collapsed to the ground, covering her face.
Even Chu Tianbiao fell back onto his buttocks.
Broken Finger Qiang remained in his chair, his posture unchanged, as he slowly blew out a smoke ring.
"Wielding a big blade in front of Guan Gong?"
"That 'Sleeve Universe' trick is something I stopped playing with ten years ago."
He stood up, grabbed Master Zhang's still-twitching arm, and shook out the Ace of Spades from the sleeve that hadn't been swapped in yet.
"You piece of trash!"
"Cheating right under my nose?"
"According to the rules of the underworld..."
Broken Finger Qiang gave a sinister grin and waved his mutilated hand.
A burly man behind him immediately handed him a gleaming machete.
"I'll take this hand."
"No! Please, no! Master Chu, save me! Master Chu, save me!"
Master Zhang wept bitterly, struggling desperately, but under the weight of several strong men, he was like a dog waiting to be slaughtered.
Chu Xiong sat there, his face ashen, his knuckles white from gripping so hard.
But he didn't say a word.
You play, you pay; if you're caught cheating, you lose a hand.
This was the iron law of the underworld.
Besides, he hated these useless fools to the bone!
"Slash!"
The blade fell.
Half a palm, still connected to bloody tendons, flew out and landed right at Chu Tianbiao's feet.
Those five fingers were still twitching reflexively.
"Ah! Mommy!"
Chu Tianbiao was so terrified he scrambled away, rolling into the corner like a ball.
"Hahahaha!"
Broken Finger Qiang burst into wild laughter, his gaze sweeping over the Chu family members, who looked like stray dogs.
"Is that it?"
"Boss Chu, I think you'd better crawl back to that Harbin place and play in the mud."
"This bowl of rice in Hong Kong Island is not something you can handle!"