An old man with white hair but an exceptionally robust spirit strode in with a grave expression.
Without needing to guess, I knew this was the man himself, Lin Zhenbei.
I had expected Lin Zhenbei to immediately deny everything I had just said upon his appearance, but to my surprise…
After entering the private room, Lin Zhenbei ignored me. Instead, he let out a cold laugh, pointed at Lin Jiahuan and the others with his left finger, which was wrapped in bandages, and berated them with disappointment: "You're a disgrace!"
"They say a dragon begets a dragon, a phoenix begets a phoenix, and a rat's son only knows how to dig holes!"
"I always thought I, Lin Zhenbei, had lived a decent life! How did I end up with such a bunch of embarrassing good-for-nothings like you!?"
"It's one thing to be outmatched, but don't you even understand the principle of accepting defeat when you lose a bet?"
"People gave you a chance to save face, so why don't you even have the courage to admit it!?"
Upon hearing Lin Zhenbei's words, Uncle Qiu, the person I had bet against, and the Lin siblings all showed a flicker of annoyance and shame on their faces.
However, no matter how annoyed or ashamed they felt, no one spoke to bring the previous bet to a conclusive end.
They remained silent because they dared not.
They dared not because they feared facing failure.
After an unknown period of time…
Seeing that no one had spoken up yet, Lin Zhenbei stomped his foot in anger. He then turned and pointed towards the door, roaring, "Get out, get out, get out! You bunch of cowards! All of you, scram!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Jiahuan and the others immediately looked relieved, and they all hurried out of the VIP room…
After everyone else had left, with only Cheng Minglang and I remaining in the room, Lin Zhenbei, after scrutinizing me for a long time, suddenly asked, "You, are you Lu Mingtai's disciple?"
"Genuine, no doubt!"
As I replied, my eyes met Lin Zhenbei's gaze directly.
"A young man who is neither humble nor arrogant!"
After a subtle compliment, Lin Zhenbei continued, "You came to Tianqi Tower… you're here to collect a debt, aren't you?"
Hearing this, I didn't reply but simply nodded heavily.
Seeing this, Lin Zhenbei stopped beating around the bush and said solemnly, "A debt must be repaid; it's only natural! I can return the two fingers you owe your master! However…"
"Can you ask your master to give me some time?"
He paused, then quickly added, "I don't mean anything else! As someone from the Qianmen sect, I, Lin Zhenbei, have no other desires in life. I only hope that while I'm still alive, I can participate in the Qianwang Competition one more time!"
"If I can advance to the final round, it would be the fulfillment of my lifelong wish."
"If I'm eliminated before the final round, then… I'll accept my fate!"
"Next year, on March 12th, the Qianwang Competition, held once every ten years, will commence again!"
"Can you wait until after I've participated in the competition before coming to collect the debt of these two fingers?"
Although I wasn't sure how much truth there was in Lin Zhenbei's words, I remained unmoved and replied coldly, "My master… is gone!"
"Hmm!? Gone?"
"Kid, what do you mean by 'gone'?" Lin Zhenbei asked, his eyes filled with astonishment, looking at me disbelievingly.
Seeing Lin Zhenbei's expression, and considering his previous words, a cloud of suspicion immediately formed in my mind…
Uncle Tuo was severely injured and died in Songhu. If Lin Zhenbei was unaware of this, or even not involved, I highly doubted it.
Because Helian Shan had told me before that Uncle Tuo had no other enemies in Songhu, except for Lin Zhenbei, with whom he had a dispute ten years ago over an off-the-table bet during the Qianwang Competition.
If Uncle Tuo met his unfortunate end in Songhu, with no other suspicious individuals, it could only be Lin Zhenbei!
However, looking at the expression on his face now, and the tone revealed in our conversation, I felt that there might be some information I was unaware of…
When a person has done something wrong, no matter how hard they try to conceal it, their micro-expressions and body language can't completely hide it…
With this thought, to clear my doubts, I decided not to hide the news of Uncle Tuo's death and revealed it directly.
Along with it, I also briefly mentioned how Uncle Tuo had fallen into multi-organ failure after falling into a coma a few days prior.
There was no other reason than to test Lin Zhenbei's reaction.
…
About seven or eight minutes later.
After fully digesting what I had said, Lin Zhenbei immediately sighed, "Heaven is jealous of talent!"
"It seems the off-the-table bet from ten years ago… planted the seeds of disaster!"
If Lin Zhenbei had immediately declared his innocence after hearing what I said, I could have concluded that everything he had said and done before was an act!
The more eager a person is to clear their name, the more guilty they are!
But now, it seemed, perhaps, possibly, probably… or even most likely, there were still things I didn't know.
Moreover, Lin Zhenbei might not be the true culprit who harmed Uncle Tuo at all!
Because he was also involved in the off-the-table bet ten years ago. If he had indeed been the one to make the move, he could have kept silent about the off-the-table bet and immediately cleared himself.
As I was lost in thought, Lin Zhenbei suddenly called out to Brother Quan outside the door, "Ah Hua, come in!"
As soon as he spoke, a white-faced, beardless old man with gray hair, dressed in a gray qipao, pushed open the door and entered.
"Old master, you summoned me!"
Hearing this, Lin Zhenbei said solemnly, "Go outside and inquire who took Lu Mingtai to the People's Hospital three days ago!"
"If you get any news, inform me immediately!"
"Understood!"
Without any pause or hesitation, the gray-haired old man acknowledged and immediately turned to leave the room.
After the gray-haired old man left, Lin Zhenbei spoke with a reminiscent look, "Lu Mingtai came to Tianqi Tower a week ago."
"That day, after winning his bet, he left Tianqi Tower."
"If you don't believe me, I can take you to the surveillance room and have them pull up the surveillance footage from a week ago."