Li Guangtou designated Tang Xiaowu to shake the dice cup, showing a degree of wariness towards Ye Cangtian. He harbored a suspicion that Tang Xiaowu’s victories in the first two rounds might have been influenced by Ye Cangtian.
Although he couldn't quite pinpoint why, he felt that Ye Cangtian was inexplicably formidable.
Upon being chosen by Li Guangtou to shake the dice cup, Tang Xiaowu displayed an awkward and worried expression, stating, "Brother-in-law, I don't know how to shake dice!"
Ye Cangtian lit a cigarette. He was fully aware of Li Guangtou’s thoughts but had no intention of participating himself. He simply smiled and said, "Just shake it randomly!"
"Oh!"
Tang Xiaowu reluctantly complied. As soon as he picked up the dice cup, he lost his grip, and the dice tumbled out.
A wave of laughter erupted from the surrounding onlookers. This kid really didn't know how.
Tang Xiaowu grew even more nervous. After picking up the dice, he shook them again, resulting in a chaotic jumble.
"Crack!"
Seeing the dice cup placed on the table, Li Guangtou couldn't help but open his eyes and smile confidently, declaring, "Big!"
This time, he didn't even need to cheat! Li Guangtou could perfectly discern the points from the shake. For someone like him, a seasoned gambler, dealing with a novice like Tang Xiaowu was incredibly easy.
Ye Cangtian rested one hand on the table and asked with a smile, "Are you absolutely sure?"
Seeing the smile on Ye Cangtian’s face, Li Guangtou felt a creeping sense of unease. He recalled his previous two consecutive losses to Ye Cangtian and began to hesitate.
Especially since Ye Cangtian was still gambling with him despite Tang Xiaowu's ineptitude, it suggested Ye Cangtian had some hidden advantage.
Sweat beaded on Li Guangtou’s forehead. After a long moment of deliberation, he finally said, "Small, it's small!"
"Are you sure?" Ye Cangtian appeared slightly taken aback.
"Of course, I'm sure!" Li Guangtou, catching Ye Cangtian’s expression, felt a surge of joy. Could his hunch be correct? Was he supposed to do the opposite to win?
Soon, Tang Xiaowu lifted the dice cup.
The surrounding gamblers and the casino's lackeys sighed in unison.
Li Guangtou also saw that the dice had landed on a big score. His face fell, and he cursed himself for being an idiot. He had clearly heard it was big, so why did he change his mind?
"Brother-in-law! I won!" Tang Xiaowu murmured, sounding both excited and incredulous!
Looking at the IOU on the table and the company's mortgage documents, he reached out to grab them.
"Hold on!"
Suddenly, a dagger appeared in Li Guangtou's hand and was driven into the table. Tang Xiaowu flinched and quickly withdrew his hand. The onlookers also instinctively retreated.
Soon, the casino's henchmen surrounded Ye Cangtian and Tang Xiaowu. Li Guangtou shouted menacingly, "You two have some nerve, daring to cheat in my establishment!"
"I… I didn't!" Tang Xiaowu stammered, trembling.
"Silly kid! Whether you cheated or not is up to them, isn't it? I say so." Ye Cangtian exhaled a smoke ring and then looked at Li Guangtou with a half-smile.
Li Guangtou sneered. Their takeover of this casino was purely for profit, and he had no intention of returning money that was already in his grasp.
Therefore, regardless of whether they had cheated or not, he couldn't let these two leave unharmed.
If it were nighttime, with more customers, he might have had some reservations. But now, in broad daylight, with so few people in the casino, the rules were whatever they dictated.
So, he arrogantly declared, "You're right. Today, I declare you’ve cheated. If you want to leave here safely, you can settle the debt with the casino, and I'll let you go immediately!"
"It seems we'll have to resort to a simpler solution," Ye Cangtian sighed, tossing his cigarette butt to the ground and stomping it out, looking somewhat resigned.
He truly wished to avoid entanglement with these underground figures, but since these guys weren't playing by the rules, there was no other choice.
Seeing the casino's enforcers closing in, Tang Xiaowu was almost cowering beneath the table. He waved his hands frantically and pleaded, "No, Brother Guangtou, give me one more day. I promise I'll gather the money within a day."
"Too late!" Li Guangtou snorted coldly, then commanded, "What are you waiting for? Break their arms! Let them know what happens to those who don't repay their debts."
The henchmen immediately moved in, but just then, screams suddenly echoed.
Ye Cangtian grabbed each of the rushing henchmen and swiftly dislocated their arms.
Thump!
In a matter of seconds, seven or eight thugs lay on the ground, clutching their dislocated arms in agony.
Li Guangtou was startled but remained unfazed. He roared, "Brothers, get your weapons!"
Inside the casino, more henchmen converged from all directions. In a short time, twenty enforcers, all armed, rushed towards Ye Cangtian once more.
Tang Xiaowu had already scrambled under the table, his face deathly pale. He looked on the verge of tears.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have brought Ye Cangtian along. Now, not only was he unable to repay the debt, but he might also lose his life.
He covered his head, listening to the shouts and the sounds of smashing and banging around him, his eyes squeezed shut in fear.
After a while, the entire hall fell silent.
Tang Xiaowu could already imagine his brother-in-law being chopped into meat paste. How would he explain this to his cousin when he returned?
No, wait! He wasn't even sure if he could make it back alive! Tang Xiaowu trembled, his fear growing.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm. "Get up!"
Tang Xiaowu immediately flinched and pleaded, "Don't kill me, don't kill me…"
However, he soon froze. The voice calling him seemed to be that of his brother-in-law, Ye Cangtian. This made him cautiously open his eyes.
Ye Cangtian forcefully pulled the young man out from under the table and couldn't help but curl his lip, "Look at you, you're pathetic!"
"You… you're not dead?"
After asking, Tang Xiaowu instinctively glanced around. He saw everyone on the ground was either unconscious or groaning in pain, clutching their severed arms and legs.
Across the gambling table, Li Guangtou stood with a look of pure terror, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
It was only at this moment that Tang Xiaowu realized just how formidable his brother-in-law was!
Li Guangtou was truly stunned into silence. He couldn't fathom how his over twenty subordinates, armed as they were, had all been defeated by this one man.
He had truly kicked a hornet's nest this time!
The more Li Guangtou thought about it, the more his hair stood on end. Just then, he saw Ye Cangtian approaching, and his body trembled. He stammered, "You… you don't come any closer!"
"I… I work with Ba Tianhu. If you dare touch me, Boss Ba Tian won't let you off!"
Seeing Li Guangtou’s panicked demeanor, Ye Cangtian sneered, "Ba Tianhu, is it? Tell him to best not provoke me, otherwise…"
With that, Ye Cangtian reached out, collected the IOU and company mortgage documents from the table, and turned to leave.
Tang Xiaowu, his eyes filled with excitement, quickly followed him.
After the two of them had departed, Li Guangtou finally slumped to the floor, utterly drained.