On the fifth day of the fifth month of May, Yuanda Gambling House.

There is no luxurious decoration and exquisite decoration of Wujin Casino, and there is no boiling noise. Like a sharp knife silently poking open the black solidified night, there is no need for words to express, action is the best expression.

Everything here is in its proper place, nothing is superfluous.

Opposite Evil Xiaoqi is Jia Zheng. In the middle sat a sturdy middle-aged man.

This time it's a gambling stall.

The specific gambling method is, put a large pile of copper coins or small porcelain pieces ground into a small round bean blue on the table of the fan stall, called "spread skin", pull out a small pile from it, and cover it with a "stall cup", that is, a copper cup with a short handle, and let people guess and buy. When the stall is opened, remove the stall cup, use the 'stall bamboo', that is, a small bamboo pole about one foot long, the small pile of 'spread skin' is set aside, and then four by four skins, dial back to that big pile, see how much is left in the last skin, guess the winner has to pick.

The man with an underworld background stared at the cards of the two of them with a look of lightning and no anger. His role here is to oversee the field. Once someone cheats or doesn't follow the rules, they will be unceremoniously "invited" out.

In the second game, the atmosphere was a little tense, and the air seemed to freeze.

When Evil Xiaoqi placed the bet, he glanced at Jia Zheng, and from the flickering gaze of the other party, he could see through his heart, obviously, the other party was not very sure. Although he made the appearance of sitting firmly on the Diaoyu Tai, his eyes exposed everything.

Secretly thinking about the chips, Evil Xiaoqi gritted his teeth and decided to let it out. Taking a deep breath, all the chips were pushed out in his trembling hands.

...

Xiaoyang sat in front of the piano, tried the piano sound, and began to stroke the piano. The lingering sound of the piano echoed in the hall. Although it is a very old song, it is moving, and it always comes back to my senses for a long time.

A fascinating love story, accompanied by lingering and melancholy sounds, flows slowly...

... There was a scholar who went to Beijing to take the exam, but he was met by robbers on the road, and his coils were robbed, and he couldn't live in the hotel. I had to spend the night in the village. On this day, I came to the rich and prosperous Majiapu, hoping to borrow some coils to go on the road. coincided with a happy event in the village to eat and drink, and was pulled by the enthusiastic villagers to greed for a few more glasses of water and wine.

After seeing several men shuttling back and forth, the scholar woke up most of the time. It turned out that these people were the robbers who robbed him that day, and if they hadn't reacted wittily at that time, they would have become ghosts under the knife. The scholar tried not to attract the attention of the other party, and walked to the door. It just so happened that a middle-aged man with a full beard stepped inside. The scholar hurriedly pulled him to a corner of the wall where no one was around, and probably told him what had happened. And definitely say that these people are here to step on the point.

The bearded man smiled noncommittally. Seeing that he was not taking things seriously, the scholar became even more anxious, and asked the bearded man if he knew all the people who came here to eat and drink. The bearded man said with a big grin that their custom here is that no matter who has a happy event, anyone can come to eat and drink. Not too close relatives, and don't have to follow them. Friends from outside are more popular, and after speaking, he asked the scholar rhetorically, aren't you the same? Who knows your details? The scholar was speechless for a while. The bearded man smiled and said, don't take it too seriously if you're joking. Then he said confidently that the three outer layers of Majiabao are all made of fine loess, shaped like iron barrels. Besides, there are also village warriors who take turns to patrol the courtyard outside the courtyard, even if the bandits really attack, they are not afraid.

The scholar couldn't resist the beard and asked to see the castle master. The bearded man patted his chest and shouted, I am the lord of the castle, and I was busy greeting the guests just now, and I didn't even eat wine. If the gentleman had nothing else to do, I would go in and have a drink, and as I spoke, the bearded man was dragged into the courtyard. The emaciated and lonely figure of the scholar was left standing silently in place, with a helpless expression on his face.

In the middle of the night, the outline of Majiabao appeared in the cold light like the back of a fierce beast.

The two teams of village warriors, who took turns patrolling, met at the entrance of the fort and made a simple handover. Several men in charge of patrolling in the second half of the night walked along the bottom of the fort with spears and short knives and several large red lanterns. No one knew that in the mountains about a dozen miles away from here, a group of dark shadows were running along the path to the north from the south, and without anyone urging, they were speeding with very fast steps. In a hurry but not messy, the leading man in front of him carried a transparent bottle, which was full of flying fireflies, like stars in the sky, faintly illuminating the thorny path under his feet. The rustling of footsteps against the branches and grass was soon drowned out by one or two neighs of birds and beasts.

Boom -- four big gongs with four bangzi points, it is said that the third watch will slowly become brighter the day after tomorrow, but when the dawn is approaching, it is often dark without any life. The darkness froze to the freezing point, and no sound could be heard in the ears, as if suddenly it had suddenly escaped into the silence of all things.

The tall lanterns on the corner tower of Majiapu sway gently in the wind. Under the shadow of the lamp, several black shadows moved against the wall, and the shadows were silent.

The leader raised his right arm and made a tossing motion, followed by a bright arc across the night sky, and the silver steel claws grabbed the battlements with a whizz. Just as the man was about to climb, several donkey screams suddenly sounded out of thin air, tearing through the silent night sky.

In just a few moments, the castle was lit up. The shouts, the barking of dogs in the nearby villages, the barking of dogs in all directions, and sporadic lights in the distance. At the entrance of the fort, the flag tower was lit with lights, and countless figures were stirring in the darkness, and the snow-bright weapons shone silver in the scorching red firelight.

The stubborn bearded lord of the castle ran out with a single coat and his hands propped up on the battlements. His swarthy face darkened, and his gloomy eyes rolled. Looking at the hooks, long ropes, and short ropes left in the corners of the walls under the fort, I breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, there was an exclamation from Mura Yong in the distance, the castle master, the scholar fainted in the donkey shed during the day.

The castle lord shouted, hurry up and ask for a doctor. This is our benefactor.

It turned out that the scholar could not convince the castle owner. At night, he quietly hid by the donkey shed, and saw that the bandit showed his steel claws and was about to kick the fort, and in a hurry, he pierced the donkey's thigh with a sharp wooden stick. The donkey was frightened and wailed, and fell to the ground on his knees, and the poor scholar had already given the greatest courage. At this time, his face was splashed with blood, and his head was dizzy, and his legs trembled and he collapsed like mud.

The scholars, who were not in serious trouble, were warmly welcomed in Majiapu. Especially the second daughter of the castle lord, Ma Xixi, always likes to chat with him when there is nothing to do, and the scholar saw that the woman was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a slender figure, big eyes and bright skin, and a dark cloud of hair on the back of her head. I can't help but secretly feel feelings in my heart, and I have feelings of admiration...