As the alcohol’s effects gradually faded and after a prolonged period of intense Sic Bo games, Master Hong was clearly showing signs of fatigue.
Seeing this, the quick-witted Master Wen immediately proposed a mid-game break.
Taking advantage of this sudden respite, I pulled Jin Yan away from the table.
Once we were outside the manor gates and found a secluded spot nearby, I looked at Jin Yan and said in a low voice, "You shouldn't play anymore. Just rest here. I'll gamble for you!"
Hearing this, Jin Yan was initially taken aback, then quickly asked, "Didn't you tell me before that if you lose money and voluntarily ask to switch players, it's easy to attract criticism or draw attention?"
At this moment, Jin Yan, standing before me, was just like those desperate gamblers in casinos who were about to lose all their capital.
He had already lost his reason and his original composure.
Pointing towards the direction of the manor gate behind us, I sighed softly, "There's no other way! I didn't want to sit at the table so soon, especially since the helpers invited by Master Xu and Master Wen are still observing from the shadows."
"But who told you to bet on whatever you wanted and lose every time? Someone like you, if they went to a casino, would be a guiding light for everyone else!"
"If I don't step in now, and you lose all your capital, then I would have come here for nothing?"
The reason I volunteered to step in wasn't due to any prior favors with Jin Yan, but rather based on the principle that "man dies in pursuit of wealth, as birds die in pursuit of food."
As a skilled gambler, attracting attention too early at the gambling table indeed carries significant risks and dangers, but…
When the profits from the gambling table accumulate to an unimaginable amount and height, those potential exposures and fatal dangers become less daunting.
The worst outcome, after all, would be losing one's life!
That was my plan. If the Sic Bo game tonight continued to proceed at its current pace and momentum…
The profits and money on the table would rapidly accumulate to a sum that most people could not earn in a lifetime… no, not even in several lifetimes.
Therefore, this risk was worth taking!
What's more, regarding the game of Sic Bo, as long as the dice themselves were not problematic, I wouldn't even need to play. I would only need to concentrate and listen carefully.
After finishing a cigarette.
Jin Yan, who had been somewhat blinded by losses, finally managed to calm his chaotic and disturbed state of mind.
Abandoning the idea of continuing to gamble, he handed over the second half of the game to me.
I thought my ability to adapt was already quite fast, but I don't know if Master Hong was truly exhausted and couldn't bear it any longer, or if Master Wen, who had first proposed the mid-game break, also had some other intentions regarding this game.
In short.
When Jin Yan and I returned to the gambling table, Master Hong, who had been the dealer, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Master Wen had taken his place.
To be precise, it should be Master Wen's helper, Xie Yuting.
This woman, known as the "Thousand-Hand Guanyin" in the underworld of Gansu province, with her extremely indifferent demeanor, stood before the dice cup with a condescending air that seemed to look down on everyone.
Her fair and slender fingers were casually interlaced, resting on the top of the dice cup.
I remembered Uncle Tuo once saying that any renowned gambler in the underworld of a particular region would never easily adopt such a condescending gaze and posture.
If they did, it could only indicate one of two situations.
First, they didn't take anyone seriously.
Second, they believed no one present could threaten them.
No matter how I looked at it, I felt that Xie Yuting's situation didn't align with the first point.
Because Jin Yan had mentioned before that this Xie Yuting had attended Master Hong's birthday banquet with Master Wen more than once.
As a prominent figure in the underworld of Gansu, she wouldn't be so lacking in perception.
Undoubtedly, she must have already investigated and analyzed everyone at the gambling table beforehand.
Therefore, it could only be the second situation.
Honestly, I would have preferred Xie Yuting to be in the first situation, a gambler who was so arrogant and conceited that she looked down on everyone.
Because in that case, the difficulty for me to fish in troubled waters would be much smaller.
Unfortunately, this possibility was extremely slim.
Now that I had switched places with Jin Yan and sat at the gambling table, I could only take it one step at a time.
After everyone else had taken their seats, the second half of the Sic Bo game, with Xie Yuting representing Master Wen and taking over from Master Hong, commenced once more.
Although the surroundings were still bustling with noise, after changing opponents, I did my best to adjust my state.
I took a deep breath, calmed my mind, and fully immersed myself in listening to the dice…
There is a small trick to the game of Sic Bo.
A skilled gambler can determine if there are any issues with the Sic Bo game simply by listening to the sound of the dice being shaken, and then analyze and judge.
Don't you understand?
There's nothing complicated about it; the key lies in the word "listen."
Suppose you are currently participating in a Sic Bo game. If you want to quickly identify any foul play, just do as I said above and listen carefully.
If a casino wants to cheat in Sic Bo, all they need to do is secretly install a remote-controlled dice controller beneath the table, in the area where the dealer stands.
Don't pay attention to the technique or frequency of shaking the dice, because ordinary people can't understand that stuff.
You just need to discard all distractions and listen attentively. Before the dice are revealed, see if there are any other sounds.
Getting back to the point.
Although it's highly unlikely that someone as famous as Xie Yuting in the underworld would stoop to such petty tricks, and would disdain to do so.
However, I still listened to her first dice-shaking process from beginning to end.
And as it turned out, I did hear something amiss.
To be honest, this issue was somewhat beyond my original expectations.
The dice currently in the dice cup are not the same three dice that Master Hong was using earlier!
This is because the sound produced by the impact is subtly different from the previous three dice!
I am very sensitive to the sound of dice, which stems from the unbearable and torturous years of training in dice-shaking techniques with Uncle Tuo!
It's clear that the dice in the dice cup have been swapped!
Who did it? Could it be Xie Yuting?
If it was her, then what would be the purpose of her doing this?