Сhарtеr 224: Тhe Gambling Dеn 6
Listеning tо Zhu Yаn's quеstion, Ji Dafu felt а surgе of irritatiоn. If it weren't fоr his lifе-аnd-dеаth friеndship with Liu Qingming, he wоuld never have taken this fооl under his wing.
"Аlright, alright, it's nоt whаt уоu think. As lоng аs wе соmplеte the ritual, уоu'll be оne of us. I'll takе good сare оf уоu, mаkе surе уou live wеll, еat аnd drink tо уour hеart's соntent, and еvеn eаrn money. Undеrstood?"
Onlу thеn did Рan Сhi nod in satisfaсtiоn, thеn gavе Zhu Yаn а mеаningful glаncе.
Undеrstanding his signаl, Zhu Yan vеry naturаlly рiсkеd up thе jаr frоm thе altar and еxamined it closеly. "We're nоt worshipрing gods оr buddhаs, but a jаr. Could there be some divine relic inside?"
The moment Zhu Yan lifted the jar, Ji Dafu's face turned pale with fright, and he shouted, "Stop!"
Startled, Zhu Yan's hands loosened, and the jar fell to the ground with a crash, shattering into pieces.
Before anyone could react, a foul, fishy stench instantly filled the entire room, nauseating everyone.
Shen Du quickly pulled Zhu Yan back several steps, only to see the dark red, foul-smelling liquid oozing from the broken jar writhing back and forth as if it were alive.
"What... what is this thing?" Pan Chi's face changed dramatically as he questioned Ji Dafu. "I saved your life, and you use something like this on your savior?"
Ji Dafu also looked panicked, his face deathly pale. He had never seen what was inside the jar, nor had he imagined it would contain something so horrifying.
After a moment, as if snapping back to his senses, he looked at Pan Chi and explained, "This... this is just part of the process. I don't know what's inside either. You just need to prick your fingers and drip your blood on it, and then you'll be one of us. Hurry up."
"No, no, no, I don't want to," Pan Chi retreated repeatedly, shaking his head. "This clearly isn't something good—it might even harm people. I don't want to join anymore. I regret it."
Zhu Yan and Shen Du also took a few steps back, indicating they no longer wished to join.
At this moment, however, a strange expression suddenly appeared on Ji Dafu's face. "At this point, don't you think it's too late to regret?"
His tone was unusually cold and sinister, devoid of any goodwill. Instinctively, Shen Du shielded Zhu Yan behind him.
"What do you want? We're not joining anymore. Are you trying to force us?"
Pan Chi was still stalling for time when Ji Dafu declared sternly,
"Once you've entered this door today, if you don't join us, don't even think about leaving. Do you want your lives, or do you want to join us?"
Pan Chi's facial muscles twitched. "I... I saved your life. Why are you trying to harm me like this?"
"Because you've discovered my secret. Now there's no other choice. Since you saved my life, I'll spare yours. If you don't want to join willingly, then I'll have to send someone to help you."
With that, he clapped his hands, and several thugs entered from outside. "Help these three gentlemen carry out our initiation ritual."
At his command, the thugs swarmed forward. Shen Du quickly pulled Zhu Yan behind him and retreated, while Pan Chi continued to babble, "How can you do this? We don't want to join anymore. Why force us?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a thug suddenly rushed in from outside and whispered a few words into Ji Dafu's ear.Ji Dafu's expression changed, and he asked coldly, "Who are they?"
"People from the government."
"Just have the men outside deal with them."
The thug showed a troubled expression. "Among them is also Lord Mo, the prefect of Yingzhou."
Hearing this, Ji Dafu's face immediately darkened. "Keep an eye on these few, don't let them escape."
After saying this, Ji Dafu hurriedly rushed out the door.
Several thugs remained behind, closing the door. Zhu Yan had been holding her nose, carefully studying the puddle of flowing liquid on the ground.
Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the reason the liquid seemed to writhe was because it contained some unknown insects.
"Stay away from them." Shen Du suddenly pulled Zhu Yan back, saying coldly, "If I'm not mistaken, these things are likely poisonous."
Zhu Yan quickly took a few steps back, while Pan Chi beside her nodded with a serious expression. "It's best not to get close until we figure out what these things are."
Zhu Yan walked to the door and glanced outside. The two figures were still guarding the entrance. "What should we do? We're being held captive."
The two men, however, remained exceptionally calm. Pan Chi spoke with disdain, "In all my years traveling north and south, no one has ever been able to stop me. I don't even consider these rotten potatoes and stinking eggs a threat. It's just that we're waiting for someone to arrive. When they come, we'll coordinate from inside and out and find a way out."
Zhu Yan narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at Pan Chi. "Will they find this place?"
"Yes." Before Pan Chi could reply, Shen Du beside her answered her question. "If they don't even have that much ability, what use are they to me?"
Pan Chi shook his head with a light laugh. Given the rapport between Shen Du and Jing Lin, plus the help of the brothers from the Inner Guard, finding this place wouldn't take much time at all.
Disguised, Jing Lin hurried through the gambling den when someone tripped him. He caught sight of a token pressed against the person's palm and looked up to see the man nod at him.
The exclusive token of the Unrighteous Agents—this person was an Unrighteous Agent from the Yingzhou region.
Jing Lin understood. Taking advantage of the chaos, he silently left the gambling den. With the Unrighteous Agent secretly guiding him, he quickly found the back hall.
Upon reaching the destination, he fired a signal flare.
Hearing the sound of the signal flare, Shen Du's lips curved upward. "We can leave now."
Before Zhu Yan could react, Shen Du had already pulled her and opened the door.
The thugs guarding the entrance hadn't yet figured out what the signal flare meant when they saw the door behind them open and moved forward to strike.
Pan Chi swiftly grabbed the approaching thug and kicked him to the ground.
The situation had completely escalated. Thugs from the courtyard rushed forward, and at that moment, the main gate was suddenly kicked open, with countless black-clad figures pouring in from all sides.
For a moment, the backyard descended into chaos. To protect Zhu Yan's safety, Shen Du kept her behind him, clearing obstacles ahead to reunite with Jing Lin.
Pan Chi covered the rear, but the opponents kept increasing in number. Fighting like this wasn't a solution, and more importantly, Zhu Yan might get hurt in the process.
Without further thought, Pan Chi grabbed Zhu Yan's arm. Shen Du glanced at him, and without even exchanging a look, the two of them each took one of her arms and flew over the courtyard wall.Seeing the Great Pavilion Commander and the others leave, Jing Lin also ordered the other brothers, shouting, "Withdraw!"
He turned and flew over the courtyard wall.
Not long after, the group had already left the gambling den and arrived at the small alley where they had changed clothes earlier.
While changing clothes, Shen Du and Pan Chi commanded Jing Lin beside them, "Ji Dafu has left the gambling den. Send someone to pursue him."
"Yes," Jing Lin acknowledged the order and quickly retreated to carry it out.
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