As Wu Qiming's words left his mouth, everyone at the gambling table and the surrounding onlookers couldn't help but freeze.
Including Jin Yan, all eyes, both on and off stage, turned towards me almost in unison.
Being stared at by so many people with direct, burning gazes of suspicion and scrutiny, my heart immediately felt uneasy and apprehensive. This was indeed the tactic of a scoundrel from the underworld, a clean and swift play of framing someone first and then using a borrowed knife to kill!
Of course, the others at the gambling table also played their parts well, each a top-tier supporting actor.
Judging by the scene and the setup, I guessed that apart from myself, who understood the situation, even Jin Yan was unclear about what act I was performing!
Unless I could prove my innocence, if accused by a group of people simultaneously, Jin Yan, even if she wanted to save me, would likely not dare to speak up.
This is because of the saying: "Public anger is hard to resist!"
Are some of you finding it a bit difficult to understand?
It's okay, a simple explanation will make it clear.
I have to admit, Wu Qiming, Jin Yan's opponent, was a man of ambition!
Unlike Jin Yan and the others, Wu Qiming's bringing expensive birthday gifts to participate in the gambling match for an entry ticket was just the purpose he openly displayed for everyone to see.
As for his hidden objective?
Undoubtedly, it was the two figures, Second Master Xu and Third Master Wen, seated properly at the gambling table.
You see, forming relationships and latching onto powerful patrons requires considerable skill.
Many people, once they identify a strong and influential patron, hold on tight without letting go.
For example, Jin Yan.
Her mind was likely preoccupied with how to utilize that priceless old pit glass jade to leave a deep impression on Master Hong at his birthday banquet.
Perhaps she even fantasized about becoming his adopted daughter if she could please Master Hong.
Her thoughts were correct and certainly good, but...
Jin Yan overlooked a fundamental matter.
That is, the current Master Hong was no longer the formidable underworld boss who once dominated the black market of Gansu Province.
This patron of hers... was already old!
He was now merely a common citizen enjoying his twilight years, or rather, an elderly person.
The reason his birthday banquets were held so grandly every year was because he had cultivated two proud disciples.
The true power brokers in the entire Gansu underworld today, those who could command the winds and rain and cover the sky with one hand... were Second Master Xu and Third Master Wen, who were in their prime, with their strength and careers soaring!
After retiring from his high position, everything Master Hong now possessed was a grateful return from Second Master Xu and Third Master Wen, whom he had mentored and supported.
Believe it or not, if these two stopped coming to Master Hong's place, this vast estate would instantly become deserted!
The onlooker sees clearly, while the participant is often blinded!
As a participant, Jin Yan, eager to continue her rivalry with her nemesis, failed to see through this relationship clearly.
Or perhaps she had seen through it, but due to her strained financial situation, she had no choice but to abandon the path of trying to appease both sides simultaneously.
Her nemesis, Wu Qiming, however, had firmly grasped this point.
In other words, Wu Qiming not only spent a fortune on a birthday gift for Master Hong – a gilded carved statue of a Buddha with a lotus – but also...
Whether it was genuine or not, we'll set aside for now.
Following that, he spent heavily to bribe both Second Master Xu and Third Master Wen separately.
Wu Qiming's objective in making such significant investments was to eliminate Jin Yan once and for all.
Before the gambling match began, Jin Yan mentioned to me during our casual chat that in recent years, Wu Qiming had been her fiercest competitor for territory in the small county of Tongwei.
Their conflict had reached an irreconcilable point, and they were constantly thinking of eliminating each other.
Therefore, the deadly trap set for tonight was born out of this situation.
Moreover, Wu Qiming had played a superior move, firmly holding the advantage.
This was the cause and effect leading up to the sudden scene that just occurred.
...
After being called out publicly by Wu Qiming, I began to feel anxious in my heart.
Of course, I wasn't anxious about the unexpected scene before me.
Because I knew clearly that I hadn't swapped the three dice.
What truly made me anxious was that if I couldn't explain myself clearly, I would inevitably be branded as a cheat by Wu Qiming and become a scapegoat who died unjustly.
This is the way of the jianghu! This is the human nature in the jianghu!
When interests are at stake, unless you choose to quietly be a spectator, once you enter the game set by people of the jianghu... you might very well become a pawn for the game-setter!
Time was quietly slipping away.
Since being stumped by Wu Qiming, this minute of silence felt like an eternity to me.
As for Jin Yan, sitting beside me, she was like an outsider spectator, helpless.
If Jin Yan couldn't lend me a hand, I could only help myself.
At this moment, a voice kept surfacing in my mind, telling me to stay calm.
A killing game is still a game, and as long as it's a game, there are flaws to be found.
Just like crime, there is no such thing as a truly perfect crime.
As long as I could find the flaw in this deadly game, I could successfully escape.
Conversely, the fate of this scapegoat... would be to be slaughtered without a doubt!
Whether I could live depended entirely on myself.
After a long period of silence, I first let out a soft sigh, then pointed at the dice on the table and said with an annoyed expression, "The dice... do indeed have a problem!"
My statement caused a wave of incredulous murmurs from most of the people present.
Seizing this opportunity, I calmed my mind and my eyes scanned the gambling table rapidly, like an infrared scanning instrument.
The ability to secretly swap the dice in the dice cup under everyone's gaze first ruled out the possibility of the onlookers acting!
The true mastermind must be one of the people at the gambling table!
I was gambling, betting that the real mastermind would become suspicious upon hearing my words.
According to normal logical thinking, if something wasn't done by oneself, the first thing the accused person would say after being framed would be to exonerate themselves.
And it would definitely be with all sorts of arguments.
But...
I deliberately took an unconventional approach, skipping the exoneration phase, and even publicly admitted that the dice had a problem.
Therefore, I concluded that my answer must have caught the real mastermind by surprise.
I didn't expect the mastermind to show many obvious changes in expression, but by closely observing the micro-expressions and reactions on their face, I could pinpoint the target of suspicion.
With a target, there is a direction...