Chapter 114: You Have to Play Cards When It’s Time to Play
The layout of the Lucky Star Mahjong Parlor is different from elsewhere. Upon entering the door, you are greeted by a row of massage beds. In one corner of the room, there are ladies dressed provocatively, ready to provide a back massage at any moment.
Those who do not know the ropes are often misled by such false appearances, spending four to five hundred yuan on a completely non-erotic, standard massage.
Only those in the know can follow the familiar faces and be led by the ladies into the underground casino behind the hidden door.
Jiang Li started coming here to play Mahjong when she was fifteen. At first, she couldn’t find the way in, and the ladies at the entrance, seeing that she was pretty, arranged for her to lie on a massage bed. She ended up spending money and was touched without any pleasure.
Later, when she managed to become a familiar face, she could only play a couple of rounds at the small tables on the periphery of the inner area, not long after which she would lose everything and have to leave in defeat.
Back then, every time she entered the inner area, the local ruffians would loudly jeer, “Oh! Young Miss Jiang is here to spend money again!”
“You must have stolen from your mother’s wallet again, right?”
Jiang Li did not refute, only blushed, tears brimming in her eyes, found a table to sit down at, and pushed a stack of chips away, saying to herself, “Shuffle the cards!”
However, today is different.
“Creak—!”
As soon as Jiang Li pushed open the hidden door, exchanged chips, and entered the inner area of the Lucky Star Mahjong Parlor, chaos erupted inside.
Some people revealed a knowing smile, waiting to enjoy a show.
Some quickly settled their chips and ran outside, afraid of being targeted by Jiang Li.
Others, eager for excitement, shouted at the top of their lungs, “The Mahjong Queen Jiang is here! Everyone run!”
Jiang Li ignored those people and walked straight across the spacious parlor to the corner in the southeast direction, finding that table which seemingly always had only three people, and with a “bang!” slapped her cane and chips onto the table.
Jiang Li glanced at the three people and said coolly, “You all seem quite idle today? Didn’t go find someone to possess, making the opponents doubt their life?”
Seeing Jiang Li, a gaunt man with seven or eight arms emerging from his body under spiritual perception, each arm clutching a handful of Mahjong tiles, jumped in shock, causing the tiles in his hands to scatter all over the floor.
“Y-you, how did you come here?” The man forced a smile towards Jiang Li, “You usually only come here during those few days…”
“Yes!” The woman sitting opposite the man, who had six pairs of eyes on her face, was flustered too and weakly said, “If you’re just itching to play, we can accompany you for a couple of rounds, but let’s be clear! We won’t gamble for money, just to strengthen our friendship!”
The last person said nothing, merely nodded. Under spiritual perception, there was no one there, only a vague shadow with a terrifying neck coiled like a serpent on his shoulder.
Gambling is inherently harmful, and in a place where gamblers gather, the appearance of a few urban legends that specifically win people’s money is not surprising. Moreover, they are all Jiang Li’s “informants.”
Jiang Li quietly sat down, looked at the three urban legends, and said plainly, “I just came to ask if there are any results from the matter I asked you to investigate last time.”
“None!” the three urban legends replied in unison, and then started speaking one after another.
“I’ve asked around that area in the East Suburb, and nobody has heard of any witch species.”
“There have indeed been a few incidents of urban legends involving disappearances around the Linjiang Avenue, but you might think…”
Jiang Li waved her hand towards the woman with six pairs of eyes, interrupting, “There’s a solo spiritual ability user living nearby. We attempted to get her to submit, but it failed. I think it’s mostly her doing.”
“Near the University City…” The man with multiple arms looked at Jiang Li and smiled wryly, “Don’t you already know? Ever since that level of spiritual energy fluctuation appeared last time, I haven’t dared to go out.”
“Today, I seriously couldn’t hold it back anymore; if I don’t come to play a couple of rounds, my hands will start to fall off.”
After hearing the information from the three urban legends, Jiang Li frowned slightly and continued to probe, “What about the card game I’ve asked you to keep an eye on? Any news?”
The three urban legends exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison, “None of that either.”
“Miss Jiang, let me speak candidly, that legendary card game which can fulfill all wishes, everyone has heard of it but no one has seen it! It might just be a legend after all.”
Jiang Li, “……” No one has seen it? Really? Then what did I see?
After pondering for a moment, Jiang Li gathered her thoughts, glanced at the three urban legends, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.
“Well, since there’s nothing, I’ll give you some information fees. Come on, shuffle the cards!”
Collecting intelligence is real, but once that’s done, it’s time to play cards.
The three urban legends, “……”
If we trust you, it’s a ghost!
How many times have we provided useful information before receiving “information fees”? If you don’t provide useful info, you’ll lose everything!
…
That night, on the summit of the small hill where Shihhekou Middle School is located, two shadows swiftly flew over and landed steadily in a relatively spacious area at the top.
One was a seductive woman dressed provocatively, and the other was a man in a dark blue suit, with a fair complexion but lifeless eyes.
The two stood at the summit, overlooking the direction of Shihhekou Middle School. After a moment of silence, the woman could not help but speak, “This is getting interesting; your plan has been disrupted.”
The man frowned slightly, not rushing to explain, but instead reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a stack of sticky notes, flipping through them for a moment.
“This is just an extremely small part of our plan in Huacheng. Even if it’s disrupted, it won’t greatly affect the overall situation. You just need to focus on your own matters, and don’t ask too much about the rest.”
Hearing the man’s somewhat unfriendly words, the woman’s expression darkened slightly. Something in her wavy brown hair wriggled for a moment, and then a pair of snowy rabbit ears popped out.
After the man finished reading the content on the sticky notes, he turned to look at the woman beside him, seemingly completely uninterested in her already entering battle mode, expressionless as he added, “These are the original words from the Elders’ Council.”
Upon hearing the mention of the Elders’ Council, the woman immediately deflated, her rabbit ears slowly retracting back into her long hair, and she said in a low voice, “When will you give me that formula you mentioned? This empty promise has lasted too long; my time is running out.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get it soon. Once the task is accomplished, not only will you receive the formula, but if you encounter difficulties while dealing with Mu Se, we will also provide some assistance.” The man said, “Hmm, this is also the Elders’ Council’s intention.”
“Alright, I’ll only believe you once more.” The woman said helplessly, and as she spoke, a hint of crimson light flickered in her eyes.
Or maybe, I could also find an opportunity to gain a reward ahead of time. The woman thought, those are thousands of high-purity Primordial Spirits, and even if it offends the Solar Eclipse Society, it’s worth it!
“Okay, let’s go! There’s nothing left to stay for here.” The man suddenly said.
“Huh?” The woman was taken aback and turned to look at the man, “Didn’t you say we came here to contact…”
“We did come to contact Zigu, but…” The man trailed off, closing his eyes and lightly sniffing the air for the lingering scent, then shook his head lightly, “That spirit energy item has indeed disappeared; I can no longer feel its presence.”
“……” The woman pondered for two seconds, sighed, “Sigh, then let’s leave!”
“Wait, wait a moment! There’s one more thing.” The man said suddenly and grabbed the woman’s shoulder, leaning slightly forward.
The woman, “……” What does he want to do? He wouldn’t be thinking of GHS, would he? d*mn! If you dare come closer, I’ll bite your head off!
“Excuse me, is your workplace recruiting people lately?”
“What?”
“The place where you strip dance, is it hiring people?” The man said seriously.
The woman looked at the man suspiciously, “Why are you asking this?”
She initially wanted to ask the man if he wanted to hunt those with spiritual potential as well, but then remembered he is a spiritual ability user and usually wouldn’t need to do this, making her even more puzzled.
“I had my wallet stolen at breakfast, so I need to find a job temporarily.”
The woman, “……”
Right, he’s human and needs to earn a living!
The woman thought and said, “I’ll help you inquire later, but…”
“No problem; I can sell my looks!” The man said with determination.
Hearing this, the woman held her forehead, “……”
I really don’t know how the Solar Eclipse Society sent such a simpleton to replace the Cicada’s job.
But then again, this might be better; perhaps at certain times, it would facilitate my operation of some matters.
……
In the early morning, before it was dawn, Luxianbei was awakened by her alarm clock.
Whether it’s because she was always thinking about basking in the morning sun, she surprisingly adapted to waking up early every day without realizing it.
By the time she changed her clothes and went downstairs, Jumeng was still lying on the sofa, sound asleep, her head resting on Mafun, who seemed to be unable to express anger, looking like she had played until very late the night before.
This girl, just like you all, always liked to insert flags for herself and then ruthlessly pull them out.
The day before, they agreed to sleep early, get up early, practice yoga, eat healthily, and read more books, and then the next day decided otherwise.
And yet, she still has the audacity to say she’s thousands of years old!?
Luxianbei thought with disdain as she quietly approached, picked up the blanket that Jumeng kicked on the floor, gently covered her, then held her head with one hand, freeing Mafun while stuffing a pillow in.
“Witch, big…”
“Shh—!” Luxianbei glared at Mafun, lowering her voice, “What did I tell you all before? Don’t talk too much and don’t stay home too long.”
At this rate, it’ll be the end of you all! Luxianbei thought.
“Got it, got it, I’ll leave now.” Mafun said, floating a short distance before returning, landing on Luxianbei’s shoulder.
“Master, may I ask when she can leave? Us brothers are about to suffocate!” Mafun said.
Luxianbei, “……”
You think I don’t want her to leave? I can’t help it!
“Maybe it will take some more time?” Luxianbei replied.
“This…” Mafun was momentarily speechless, paused, and continued, “Master, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say.”
Luxianbei frowned slightly, “You can say it.”
“You don’t have feelings for her, do you? From my experience, you two really aren’t suited; this kind of thing isn’t just about having a beautiful appearance.”
“……” Luxianbei fell silent for a moment, glaring at Mafun, “Stop wasting your breath, I’m not interested in her.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Jumeng, who was pouting in her sleep, sucking her thumb, rolling her eyes, “Besides, without a pretty face, who the hell would want to understand the soul?”
“Alright, that’s enough, I’ll be going, you all hurry and find a place to hide so you won’t be caught by her again.”
After finishing, Luxianbei turned to leave, and at the moment she closed the door, her gaze slightly sharpened.
How should I discuss with the counselor about the aftermath of being stabbed eighteen times at school? Luxianbei thought, this is really a headache!
However, what Luxianbei didn’t expect was that this troublesome problem had not even begun before it was temporarily halted.
The counselor had gone crazy overnight…
