Chapter 58: Creating Something Out of Nothing

  The whole audience erupted in cheers and applause.

  "Turn iron into mud... How is that possible!" Niu Dahai saw Yue Fei's move, his heart was chilled to the bone, today's matter might lead to big trouble.

  At this time, Li Ye had already woken up and saw Niu Dahai in the scene. He hurriedly ran over and stood beside him.

  "Your two iron eggs are too soft, and they can be easily broken if you're not careful. One of these days, I'll have someone send you two iron eggs, so you can try the real taste of iron eggs."

  Yue Fei threw one out, and a small iron pancake-like thing that looked like dried mud fell at the foot of Li Ye.

  Yue Fei's voice was loud and clear, and it reached the surrounding audience, who were momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing, filling the gambling house with a joyful atmosphere.

  Niu Dahai asked Li Ye: "Xiaofang, what's going on?"

  Wow! It turns out that Old Man Li's name is actually Xiaofang, and everyone laughed even harder.

  "Niu Gao shouted loudly: 'You dare to tell a lie, I'll pull out your tongue.'"

  Li Xiaofang told Niu Dahai in this way.

  A loud "slap" sound was heard again, but this time it was a slap from Niu Dahai.

  "Hasn't he gone yet to apologize to this hero?" Niu Dahai shouted.

  These gamblers are most likely to take advantage of the situation, and under such coercion, they would definitely retreat. Of course, General Yue Fei and his brothers did not break the rules of the gambling house, and Niu Dahai was also willing to show personal favor.

  Li Xiaofang walked over to Yue Fei with her head hung low in shame and apologized. Yue Fei and his brothers didn't pay any attention, turning back to the gambling table and letting the owner start dealing out the money.

  The guards at the gambling house dispersed, leaving only Niu Dahai. The surrounding gamblers did not leave either. Five taels of gold was a huge sum in the Song Dynasty, and one-on-one betting was not common in the gambling house.

  The atmosphere became even more tense, with the surrounding gamblers staring wide-eyed and holding their breath as they watched Fang Zhu spread out his money.

  The abbot was also very nervous. He knew that if the result of this game was a "yī" character, his opponent would not only get back the cost of the first two games, but also make a lot of money. The casino would lose badly, and he wouldn't be able to make a living either, because the customer had been provoked by him.

  One four, two four, three four...

  Everything was going smoothly, when suddenly Yue Fei grasped the boss's wrist like lightning, snatched the bamboo tally used for counting money, gave it a light tap, nodded and said "it's nothing", then returned the bamboo tally to the boss, letting him continue. However, nobody noticed that two copper coins had flown from Yue Fei's sleeve into the edge of the pile of copper coins.

  The monk was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the outsider only grasped his wrist; if he had gone any further, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

  One dollar, two dollars, three dollars... keep spending money.

  As the pile of copper coins dwindled, he used his years of experience to estimate that there were only 17 coins left. With a sweep of his bamboo strip, he calculated in his mind that after four more rounds, the remainder would be one, a winning streak.

  He's really good at this. The boss scratched his head and stretched out a bamboo stick to stir. At this moment, a gambler who was watching the scene suddenly vomited, and the dirty things in his stomach mixed with strong acid and wine flavor flowed onto the gambling table. The people around him quickly covered their noses.

  The monk seemed completely unaffected, and with a flick of his bamboo stick, he laid out four more copper coins.

  "Don't move!" Yue Fei suddenly shouted loudly at this time.

  The monk was shocked, and the onlookers also stared at him in astonishment.

  "You can count, I can count too." Yue Fei's large hand reached across the table and grabbed the shopkeeper's forearm, smiling as he said, "You just took a peek when you had the chance, there are still seventeen copper coins left. This trick I also know, I saw that there are still seventeen copper coins left, after four more rounds there will only be one left. This round should have been mine to win, but you cheated!"

  The monk didn't get angry, but instead smiled and said: "What's the hurry? The copper coins haven't been counted yet, the outcome is still undecided. How do you know it's your win? What makes you say I've lost?"

  "What's going on?" Yue Fei suddenly grabbed the boss's right forearm and twisted it, then pressed down. "Crack" sounds were heard as the arm was forcibly dislocated from its joint and pressed onto the gambling table. The boss screamed in pain but was pinned down by Yue Fei, unable to move.

  Everyone saw that there was still a copper coin stuck to the boss's arm, and another very clear copper coin print, with the four characters "Xuanhe Tongbao" clearly visible. This copper coin had obviously been moved not long ago.

  In the midst of everyone's astonishment, Yue Fei explained to the crowd: "The boss of the shop stuck two copper coins on the inside of his forearm and didn't turn his hand over, so outsiders couldn't see it at all."

  Yue Fei turned his neck and looked around, letting Niu Gao bring over the drunkard who had just vomited, holding him by the back of his collar and continuing to speak:

  "When it came to the most critical moment, the boss saw that he was about to lose, so he scratched his head, and this kid vomited on the table. The owner of the Jiguan took advantage of everyone's distraction and unclear vision to secretly drop a copper coin from his sleeve. This is what they call 'creating something out of nothing' in gambling tricks. If it goes on like this, after four rounds there will still be two copper coins left, and I'll lose even if I bet on the character 'one'. There was no other way, so I exposed the boss's trick."

  The gamblers who were watching suddenly realized and began to discuss it one after another.

  "Is that so?" Yue Fei poked the shopkeeper.

  The monk was lying on the gambling table, already in agony, sweating profusely and repeatedly saying: "Good man, you're right, but the amount is too large, I'm not in charge."

  Things have gotten out of hand here, and someone has already reported it to the authorities. Soon, several men with open collars surrounded a person who was coming over. The man was of medium build, with fair skin and dull eyes. At first glance, you could tell he was a ruthless person.

  The man walked closer, saw Niu Dahai on the scene, and after whispering a few words to him, came to Yue Fei's side, clasped his fists in greeting, and said: "I am Li Feng, the master of this mansion. I don't know how to address this heroic figure?"

  Yue Fei let go of the shopkeeper, waved his hand and said: "You are not worthy of knowing my name, just handle this matter quickly."

  Li Feng thought for a moment and said, "This game is won with one word, according to the rules of this house, quickly give this good fellow five times the original stake. In addition, we will make up for our mistake, this house will not take any commission from this bet. Return the principal to him with five taels of gold."

  Tang Huai smiled beside him and said: "Li Zhuangzhu, you think it's too easy."

  The boss next door spoke with a pained expression: "I admit defeat this round, isn't that enough?"

  "What about the previous games?" Tang Huai continued to say.

  "What's wrong with the previous rounds? 'Creating something out of nothing' I can only add two copper coins at most. In the first two rounds, Yu San, Yu Er, even if I made a move, it was this good fellow who lost."

  "Besides doing this, you won't be able to 'spread it out' anymore? The original stake was four in one spread, but when the boss saw that he was about to lose, he took advantage of the chaos and changed it to three in one spread or five in one spread. 'Spread three chickens', 'spread five insects', we understand this trick too!"

  "I didn't do it like that."

  "You can 'create something out of nothing', then you can also 'spread three chickens' and 'peel five insects'," Tang He slapped the table, saying: "This is originally one and the same thing!"

  Li Feng heard the boss and Tang He singing in harmony, it was truly a headache. This group of powerful men had high martial arts skills, but he didn't know what kind of divine being they were, and they were also familiar with the rules of the gambling den, really couldn't think of any good way to deal with them.

  Just as Li Feng was wandering around, he suddenly saw Zhang Xiaobao hiding behind Tang Huai. Overjoyed, he quickly walked up and said: "Isn't this Young Master Bao? How could you play such a big joke on me!!!"