Chapter Eighteen: The Gambling House

  Ding Kui is a dreamer, although he may not know what the word "dreamer" means, but this cannot stop his constant thinking. In fact, if you analyze his inner world, he might be the one with the most fantastic ideas in the Wei camp, except for Song Qing. If you put aside the experience of several hundred years, Song Qing would probably not be his opponent either. Even though Ding Kui can't recognize many characters, being literate as a common soldier in this era is already a miracle.

  As a romantic, Ding Kui had endless fantasies every day. He once imagined himself becoming a great Confucian scholar, easily passing the imperial examination and obtaining the title of New科状元, but at the same time resigning from office to return home and farm, leaving behind a story for scholars and gentlemen to pass down for centuries.

  He also wanted to become a great general, leading the elite soldiers and horses of Xuzhou Wei to go outside the pass to fight against the Jurchen slaves, achieve great merit, be rewarded by the emperor, but give all the rewards to his subordinates, and then run back home to farm, leaving behind a story for the brave warriors in the army to tell for hundreds of years.

  Fortunately, he is not completely crazy. Every time he returns home, he pulls his brain cells back from their wild flights and returns to the normal realm of three meals a day. Moreover, he worries endlessly about this matter, striving to find a solution.

  Even when he was at his most daring, he never thought of going to sabotage the casino. After all, he was just an ordinary military dependent, although he would fight a few times, but he had never liked to risk his life and would not foolishly provoke those who opened casinos. It wasn't until Song Qing came over specifically to find him that he suddenly realized that he had a very remarkable friend who was now an official. Now this friend came to invite him to take risks together, to snatch some wine and meat from the casino, should he agree or not?

  It didn't take much effort for Tao Yuanming's ambitions to be crushed by the five grains, and Ding Kui's slightly literary face was covered in horizontal flesh, asking: "When do we start? What do you want me to do?"

  "Tomorrow daytime, you bring me a few more brothers who dare to fight to the death and want to live a good life. I estimate that there will be several kids coming over from my side too. At that time, let's gather outside Wu Laohei's gambling den." Song Qing's words were cut off halfway as his face suddenly turned cold, and he said very seriously: "Remember, I only want brave warriors who dare to fight to the death, not those with small guts. You choose people carefully too, don't be a softie at the last minute, or else don't blame me for being ruthless. We're going to rob someone's gambling den, not play house, got it?"

  "Believe me, I'm more careful than you think. Let's just take a few soft eggs and go. Tomorrow, I may not even be able to come back safely. Am I looking for trouble myself?" Ding Kui said with a big smile: "Right, did we bring any equipment when we went over there?"

  "Nonsense, tomorrow at the very least we'll have to fight one battle, and if things go wrong, we might even need to use our blades. Do you think we should bring our gear?" Song Qing said with a tone of frustration: "Anyway, Wu Laohei has been reigning supreme over there for quite some time now, I reckon he won't think anyone will dare to take him on. Even if we show up armed, he still won't have any guard up."

  After passing by Ding Kui, Song Qing still didn't go home, but instead ran directly to Wu Laohei's gambling den. This gambling den was open 24 hours a day and would light oil lamps at night. The staff took turns working shifts, making it an excellent casino with top-notch business quality. Song Qing had heard about it before, but today was the first time he saw it in person. After walking around the casino for a few rounds, he found that this place was indeed a good spot to make money. It wasn't even evening yet, and many people should be having dinner at home, but there were already quite a few people gathered inside the casino. By the busiest hour, who knows how many more customers would arrive? If he could get a bite of this action, it would be enough for him to support some people.

  But wanting to eat it is not easy, but after a quick walk around, Song Qing found that there are at least ten thugs here, and this is only what can be seen on the surface. In private, there must be several masters who are watching the house, but they won't come out until the critical moment. Wu Laohei's strength is obviously not weak.

  It's actually normal to think about it, being able to become a tyrant in a place like Weisuo is not a simple character. However, the more so, the more anxious Song Qing is to take down this gambling house, because only by taking down such a powerful force can he truly be considered a number one figure in Weisuo, rather than just an ordinary small flag.

  After dinner, Song Qing returned to his room and took out a short knife to wipe it clean. His father, Song Hu, pushed the door open again without any courtesy and saw his son sharpening the knife. He first furrowed his brow and then asked: "Are you planning on going somewhere to kill people and set fires?"

  "Wu Laohei's gambling den." Song Qing said with a faint smile: "It's not necessarily true that you don't have to kill people or set fires, it depends on him."

  "You kid, I'm really having a hard time figuring you out now. You used to be so... gentle, but now you're so fierce and overbearing. I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck." Song Hu sighed, his tone unclear whether he was relieved or worried. After a while, he continued, "There are two people under Wu Laohei who are not easy to deal with. You be careful yourself. If you really can't win, just report my name and your father's name. Although I won't go and take care of him, he wouldn't dare to provoke me either. At worst, I'll go and apologize to him. I won't let you throw away your life like that."

  "Dad, don't worry, after tomorrow, our family will have an extra income."

  Song Hu was taken aback and said: "You're just doing it for money?"

  "It's definitely for the money, isn't it? Without money, what can we use to support people?" Song Qing wiped his short knife clean and sat down at the head of the bed with his legs crossed, looking very serious as he spoke to Song Hu: "Father, this position of commander-in-chief must be moved around a bit, right? It's going to take a lot of money. If I want to continue rising through the ranks, it'll also require a lot of money, won't it? As our brothers under us become more and more numerous in the future, if we want them to be loyal to us and listen to our words, isn't that all going to cost money? Nowadays, almost all the meat that can be eaten within the guards has been divided up by the officials. I can only take it from people like Wu Laohei; what else can I do? Should I just go and seize the property of the commander-in-chief as soon as I arrive?"

  "Shut up, you little brat! Someone might hear you!" Song Hu hastily made a silencing gesture. Seeing his son's nonchalant expression, he felt a bit embarrassed and, in a fit of anger, gave Song Qing a slap on the head, scolding: "Alright, I've had enough of you, go to sleep now!"

  After that, the father, who seemed to have his self-esteem hurt, left with a sideways crab step, leaving behind Song Qing covering his head and smiling foolishly.

  But the next morning, when Song Qing had finished breakfast and walked out of the door with his long spear and short sword, he saw Song Hu standing at the door like a green pine tree, saying in a loud voice: "If you can't beat him, come back. A son who gets beaten comes home to find his old man, there's nothing shameful about that, do you know?"

  "Alright, don't worry!" Song Qing solemnly bowed and took big strides to walk away, followed by eight large dogs and a small dog.

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