The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 94

"Last year, my neighbor, Old Gao, who sells fish next door, had a younger brother who went to that place to gamble and got a lot of debt. Then, their family property was taken away by the Green Gang, and Old Gao's younger brother even had a few fingers cut off. After that, Old Gao and his brother disappeared."

Jiang Ning remained expressionless upon hearing this and asked again, "Where is Qingqi Road?"

Without hesitation, the old man said, "Go out the door, turn left and walk to the end, then turn right, cross a street, turn left again, and then turn right again, and you'll reach Qingqi Road."

Jiang Ning asked, "What's the name of their gambling den?"

"Judefang".

Jiang Ning nodded thoughtfully and said, "I understand."

Having finished speaking, the old man and his daughter prepared to leave, but before leaving, he specifically reminded Jiang Ning not to take any risks.

They also loathe these people, but they can't change them and have no ability to change them. They can only silently endure it. When someone is willing to stand up for them, some people are very grateful, while others will mock them. But there are also people like the old man who advise people not to take risks.

Jiang Ning knew the old man meant well, but he still planned to do it because he didn't like it and felt it shouldn't be done this way.

Boom boom boom!

A knock sounded at the door, and the waiter came in carrying a basin of water.

"Here's your water, sir."

The waiter placed the basin on the table and left.

Jiang Ning stood up, unbuttoned his clothes and the strips of cloth wrapped around his body, and began to clean his wounds.

After a while.

Jiang Ning changed his clothes and took a short sword out of his bag and put it in his pocket.

He found this short sword among the corpses; most of their weapons were unsuitable for Jiang Ning and were of poor quality.

Moreover, the weapons had all been damaged to some extent during the previous battles, so there was no need to take them. Only this short sword was still quite hard and sharp. Its owner had died early, and the weapon had not been damaged too much, so it could be used temporarily.

After taking out his short sword, Jiang Ning thought for a moment and then took out some silver from his bag.

He plans to go to that gambling den tonight to take a look.

After dinner, Jiang Ning prepared to go out.

"Oh, sir, are you going out so late?"

The waiter who was cleaning the lobby floor saw Jiang Ning coming down from upstairs and asked him in surprise.

"Yeah, let's go for a walk."

Jiang Ning nodded.

The waiter advised, "Sir, it's almost curfew time, and it's not safe outside. Why don't you go out during the day tomorrow?"

It is currently the hour of You (5-7 PM). After the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), a curfew will be imposed, and people will be prohibited from going out.

In ancient times, a curfew system was implemented, prohibiting people from going out at night. One reason was that it was too dark at night, making it inconvenient to travel, but the main reason was to maintain social order and stability.

If the authorities find people loitering on the streets after the curfew has ended, they will be fined or imprisoned.

However, this curfew only applied to ordinary people and had no effect on the sons of high-ranking officials. Even if they were seen on the streets after the curfew, the officials dared not interfere.

However, the world is becoming increasingly chaotic, and this curfew is losing its authority. Some bolder people even dare to walk on the streets after the curfew begins.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "It's alright, I'll be back soon."

The waiter thought for a moment and said, "Then please go and come back soon, sir. I'll wait for you here. If you come back, just knock on the door and I'll open it for you."

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

"Hi."

The waiter waved his hand and said, "It's nothing."

After leaving the inn, Jiang Ning turned left and followed the direction the old man had given him onto the main street.

The sky is now darkening, and there are fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road. Watchmen are already striking their gongs and ringing the drums.

"The sky is dry and everything is dry, be careful about the fire."

Bang!

The night watchman carried a gong and drum, shouting in the street and occasionally striking the gong, making a very loud sound.

After walking through street after street and looking at the closed shops on both sides, Jiang Ning finally found his destination.

Judefang.

Jiang Ning looked up at the signboard above the shop in front of him.

The shop door was closed and the inside was dark, but Jiang Ning could hear a noisy sound coming from inside. However, the sound was far away and very faint, and it seemed to be coming from deep inside the shop.

dong dong dong.

Jiang Ning stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a short while, the door opened, revealing the head of a burly man.

The burly man looked a little impatient and asked, "Did you come in to have some fun?"

Jiang Ning looked at him. The man had a fierce look on his face and a faint smell of blood on his body.

"Ah."

Jiang Ning nodded.

The big man then looked at him properly and noticed that Jiang Ning's clothes and demeanor were different from ordinary people. He looked like a noble young master from a wealthy family. A look of joy flashed in the big man's eyes.

The big fat sheep has arrived.

The burly man put on a smile, quickly opened the door, and said with a laugh, "Please come in, young master."

Ignoring the burly man's change in attitude, Jiang Ning walked into the neighborhood, asking as he looked around, "Why is it so dark here? Is nobody here?"

Hearing his words, the big man's smile widened.

"Yes, yes, they're all inside. Please come in, young master."

The big man enthusiastically led the way for Jiang Ning.

"I wonder if this young master has ever been to a gambling den before? What do you usually like to gamble?"

Jiang Ning casually replied, "I've never played this before. A friend told me it's really fun, so I came to try it out. What kinds of games do you play?"

The burly man's eyes lit up with even more delight, and he looked at Jiang Ning as if he were a walking banknote.

Chapter 142: Judefang

"There are many, and it's hard to explain exactly how to play them in a short time. You can go inside and observe for yourself, and you'll see."

Jiang Ning nodded casually, without saying a word.

After entering the gate, there was a rather long and dark corridor. At the end of the corridor was a curtain, through which dark red light shone and noise came from inside.

"It's inside, please come in, young master."

The burly man pulled back the curtain, revealing a brightly lit interior filled with shadowy figures and a dense cacophony of noise. Groups of people were gathered around tables, their faces flushed and shouting animatedly.

"What game are you planning to play, young master?"

The big man said enthusiastically.

"Let me take a look first."

Jiang Ning didn't intend to participate; he just came in to take a look.

The burly man nodded and said, "Then I won't disturb your enjoyment any longer, young master. I wish you a pleasant evening."

After saying that, the big man left.

Jiang Ning wandered around and found that there were three floors. The first floor was the area where these people played, and he didn't know what the floors above the second floor were. Several burly men were guarding the stairs leading to the second floor.

"You can't go in here."

Upon seeing Jiang Ning walk this way, the burly man guarding the second floor said in a deep voice.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning did not insist and turned to observe other places.

After a while, a few more people came over.

“You’ve been here for ages and haven’t done anything. You’re just looking around. What are you looking at? If you’re not going to play, then get out of here.”

One of the burly men frowned, while the others stared at Jiang Ning menacingly.

"There's nothing fun here."

Jiang Ning had no intention of using force; instead, he prepared to leave.

Seeing Jiang Ning leave, the burly men had no idea what he was up to, but since he was gone, they decided not to make a move.

One of the burly men winked at the man behind him, who nodded in understanding and then followed him away.

"Oh, young master, you're out so soon?"

After passing through the long corridor, the burly man who had been guarding the area was still there. He greeted Jiang Ning when he came out.

"how do you feel?"

As the burly man spoke, he kept glancing at Jiang Ning's expression, trying to gauge his reaction, but he couldn't discern anything from it.

"not so good."

Jiang Ning remained expressionless.

The big man opened the door, and Jiang Ning walked straight out.

Upon hearing this, the burly man's expression brightened with joy.

Generally speaking, saying this means you've lost too badly.

"Hehe, please come again next time, young master."

The big man said with a chuckle.

After Jiang Ning had walked a little further away, a burly man emerged from the depths of the corridor.

"Hey, why are you out here?"

The big man asked in surprise.

The burly man who had just come out said, "That kid didn't do anything after he went in. The boss was worried that he might be stealing things inside, so he sent me out to check."

"Didn't play anything?"

The burly man opened his eyes wide, then looked utterly dejected: "So he's just a penniless wretch. What a waste of my feelings."

"Alright, that's enough. I'm going out to see where that kid went."

The strong man said.

"it is good."

The burly man guarding the gate nodded, and after his companion left, he spat again: "Why pretend to be rich when you have no money? I thought you were a fat sheep."

……

"Huh, what about people?"

The burly man followed them out and found the street deserted.

Jiang Ning then went around to the back of Juedefang and looked the building up and down.

He had already carefully observed the interior and was familiar with the layout of the first floor. He hadn't yet seen the second and third floors. Since he couldn't see them from inside, he planned to look for an opportunity to do so from outside.

He didn't intend to make a move this time; he just came to take a look. The short sword he carried was just in case something unexpected happened.

This is just one of the Green Gang's properties, not their base. Acting blindly will be useless and will only alert them. To deal with this kind of local tyrant, we need to find out their base, their distribution of influence, and their key members first. That way, we will have a better chance of success when we take action.

This is the experience I gained during my year traveling in Jiangning.

He originally brought silver to lure out the gambling den owner or senior management, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. It's a pity he didn't bring Linghu Chong with him this time; Linghu Chong is familiar with this kind of thing and could have attracted attention inside.

Jiang Ning avoided the thugs and used his lightness skill to reach the second floor from a secluded corner.

Compared to the first floor, the second floor is much quieter. There is no lobby, only a series of closed rooms, some brightly lit and others pitch black.

Jiang Ning peered through the crack and saw that there were people playing the same game in the rooms with the lights on, just like downstairs. They seemed to be special customers of this place. In addition to these people, there were also some rooms occupied by people from Juedefang. After looking closely, Jiang Ning found that these people were all mid-level staff and there was nothing worth paying attention to, so he left and went to the third floor.

The staircase leading to the third floor was also guarded by some burly men. Jiang Ning went up to the roof from the outside and searched the place.