Chapter 615: Buying Money to Save a Life

The young man was startled at first, then slowly showed a fierce expression. "Open it then... don't regret it..."

The three of them opened their dice cups, revealing the numbers.

The young man first looked at the middle-aged man next to him. The middle-aged man's dice showed four fours and one five.

The young man immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He had just called "eight fours," and now the middle-aged man had four fours, plus his own one one, making five fours in total.

As long as Di Hou had three fours, he wouldn't lose.

What's more, Di Hou had initially called "six fours," suggesting a high probability that he had multiple fours.

But when Di Hou lazily opened his dice cup, the originally noisy crowd suddenly fell silent.

Inside his cup were three twos and two threes.

"You bastard..." The young man slammed the table, feeling like he'd been tricked. "You don't even have a four, but you opened with six fours?!"

"Is there a rule against it?" Di Hou tossed his dice cup onto the table, took the cigarette out of his mouth, and pinched it out between his thumb and forefinger. "I don't have any fours, but I figured you guys did."

"You... you..."

"Besides, you could have called to open it—maybe I'd lose." Di Hou pulled another cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a drag. "A bet's a bet; no one's backing out."

Though that was true, calling to open at the start with six fours was incredibly bold. If the three of them really had six fours, the one who called it would lose.

"This Di Hou is interesting." Chen Jun Nan whispered to Qiao Jia Jin. "It's all about mind games."

"Gambling has never been just a game of luck," Qiao Jia Jin said. "There are way too many factors that influence a bet, especially in these kinds of games. People who rely on luck alone never win."

The young man stared at the dice cups on the table, looking both annoyed and angry, while the surrounding onlookers began to murmur.

"Damn... he's messing with me..."

Di Hou smirked coldly in response. "Can't handle losing? If you're not afraid to die, go ahead and cause trouble."

"I..." The man knew full well what it meant to stir up trouble in front of a Di Ji, and he didn't even need a Shen Shou to step in—Di Hou could tear him apart on the spot.

"Forget it, I lost."

The young man pushed the several dozen Dao in front of him toward Di Hou, then stood up to leave.

"Hold on." Di Hou slapped the table. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I lost everything; I'm leaving."

"Oh, what a shame for you."

Di Hou's expression was half-smiling, half-sly as he pointed to the wall behind him, where an old handwritten poster was stuck. It had just two lines:

Entry ticket: two Dao.

Exit redemption: ten Dao.

Di Hou slowly looked up at the young man. "Two Dao to enter and play as you like—if you win, it's all yours. But since my casino is here, I have to charge a service fee."

"You..."

The young man was stunned and reached into his pocket, but he'd already lost all his Dao—there was nothing left for redemption.

"I'm providing the space here, and free cigarettes for you to smoke. Is it too much to ask for a little fee?" Di Hou said. "Otherwise, winners walk away with their Dao, and losers do the same—how am I supposed to run this business?"

"You... just wait a minute..." The young man stammered. "How about this—you give me some time... I'll go play something else... and come back with the ten Dao..."

Di Hou glanced around the room. "Sure, mahjong, Pai Gow, dice, cards, slot machines, or pinball—take your pick. But... do you have the stake?"

"I..."

The young man was clearly panicking. He turned and looked at the crowd, then grabbed Chen Jun Nan's arm.

"Big brother... could you lend me ten Dao to save my life?"

His voice was trembling; he looked truly desperate.

"Sorry, little brother, I don't have any—I'm flat broke, down to my underwear." Chen Jun Nan gave an awkward smile.

"Big brother!" He reached out and grabbed Qiao Jia Jin, but Qiao Jia Jin was just as broke.

"I'm telling you, I'm so poor I've only got my undershirt left..." Qiao Jia Jin smiled awkwardly too.

He'd seen this kind of thing in casinos all too often. When someone loses everything, they beg those around them, naively thinking someone will lend money out of kindness, to be repaid after a big win.

But how could you trust a gambler? If they were really capable of winning big, they wouldn't have lost it all in the first place.

What's more, how would they pay it back?

After begging everyone and getting no loans, the young man's face was full of panic. He quickly changed his tune. "Two! Even two Dao would work! I'll go to another table right now, win them back, and return them to you guys!"

But the people around just watched coldly. Was it so rare for a stranger to lose everything and face death in Zhong Yan Zhi Di?

People died here every day—today was no exception.

Everyone clutched their pockets tight and avoided the young man's eyes.

"Damn it!" The young man cursed. "One! Can anyone lend me just one Dao? I can turn it around with one!"

Di Hou slowly stood up, pulling a pair of grimy gloves from his pocket. "Excuse me, folks, I need to handle some follow-up service. As they say, blood brings fortune—let's keep things lively."

The young man saw the danger and bolted, but Di Hou took a big step forward. His hefty body leaped into the air, flying straight at the young man.

Trying to escape on foot from a Di Ji was laughable. Before the young man could take three steps, Di Hou landed on his shoulders, squatted down, and lightly tapped his skull.

In the next second, the young man's eyes turned blood red, his limbs convulsed, and he collapsed lifelessly—he was done for.

"Hey." Di Hou flipped back down, chuckling. "Looks like my killing techniques are improving—I didn't even draw blood this time."

The crowd showed no obvious reaction to the Di Ji killing someone; after all, they'd already seen a Tian Ji slaughter countless people that day.

"Ah, don't mind it, everyone." Di Hou waved his hand. "No blood, but still good for business. You're all here to relax—don't let this little incident spoil the fun."