The old woman squinted, sizing up Zhang Haoyuan. Her cloudy eyes were filled with a world-weary pain, her expression one of deep sorrow. "He was my son. What do you want with him?"
"I was Brother Nan’s comrade-in-arms. He sacrificed himself to save me. Ma’am, Brother Nan had some last words he wanted me to give you. Would it be alright if we came inside to talk?" Zhang Haoyuan said.
The corner of Qin Mei’s eye twitched. ’This secret code... impressive.’
"What did you say? Sac... sacrificed...?" The old woman looked as though she’d been dealt a crushing blow. Overcome with grief, her cane slipped from her hand, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she began to collapse backward.
"Ma’am!" Zhang Haoyuan reacted in a flash, catching her before she fell.
"Let’s talk inside," the old woman murmured to Zhang Haoyuan, her eyes still closed.
Zhang Haoyuan shot Qin Mei a look. She immediately went inside and closed the door.
As Zhang Haoyuan helped the old woman, she snapped her eyes open at the sound of the door closing. Her expression soured when she saw Qin Mei inside. Glaring at Zhang Haoyuan, she demanded, "How did she get in?"
"She was Brother Nan’s girl," Zhang Haoyuan said with a smile.
At his words, the old woman’s eyes lit up. ’If it’s a man, say he’s a brother. If it’s a woman, say she’s his girl. To put it bluntly, they’re all just pigs being led to the slaughter.’
’Still... this girl’s face was truly hideous.’
Just to be safe, the old woman asked cautiously, "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Zhang Haoyuan nodded.
The old woman was now completely convinced. ’They had the right code and were already inside. What was there to be suspicious of?’
The old woman pushed Zhang Haoyuan away. With a sly smile, she looked Qin Mei up and down a few times before stepping forward to bolt and double-lock the door.
"Miss, are you here of your own free will?" the old woman asked Qin Mei.
Qin Mei faltered, glancing at Zhang Haoyuan. ’How am I supposed to answer that?’
"She is," Zhang Haoyuan answered for her.
The old woman shot Zhang Haoyuan a glare. ’Willing, my ass. But it doesn’t matter. Once you’re in this house, even the toughest bones can be broken.’
’Zhang Haoyuan is a living example. Look at him now—resigned to his fate and even bringing in fresh blood for them.’
"Same old rules." The old woman produced two black blindfolds, handing one to Zhang Haoyuan and the other to Qin Mei. "Put these on."
Zhang Haoyuan took his and tied it on without hesitation. Qin Mei took hers as well. ’They’re being pretty cautious,’ she thought.
"Hold on to my cane and follow me." The old woman had them both grab the cane as she led the way.
Qin Mei now understood the cane’s real purpose. As she discreetly sprinkled some powder on the floor, the old woman began leading them down a flight of stairs. Qin Mei suddenly felt the blindfold was a bit redundant. ’Up the stairs leads to the upper floor, and down the stairs leads to the basement.’
She knew the layout of the houses around here all too well. Two main rooms and a basement. Her own place was the same. The basement was well hidden; anyone but the owner would have a hard time finding it.
Even Jie Jingjue’s friend hadn’t known about the basement. Jie Jingjue himself only stumbled upon it by accident during renovations.
"Miss, your face...?" the old woman couldn’t help but ask.
Qin Mei knew the old woman was trying to distract her. "I was born with it."
"A red rash all over your face, right from birth?" the old woman asked, surprised.
"Yes," Qin Mei affirmed.
"Can it be cured?" the old woman asked.
"No," Qin Mei replied.
"I’ve seen cases like yours before. It usually clears up after you get married," the old woman said.
"My case is different. Acne often clears up after marriage, but this isn’t acne. It’s hereditary. My parents told me that if someone with my condition gets married, they’ll pass it on to their husband, and any children we’d have would look just like me," Qin Mei said, lying through her teeth with a perfectly straight face.
The corner of Zhang Haoyuan’s mouth twitched. ’What she just said has undoubtedly given her an extra layer of protection.’
’As it was, he was doing well just to keep from throwing up at the sight of her face, let alone entertaining any wicked ideas about her.’
The old woman didn’t understand all this talk about acne, but when Qin Mei mentioned it was contagious, a flicker of fear appeared in her eyes. She stopped in her tracks, decisively let go of the cane, took several steps back, and glared at Zhang Haoyuan.
’What the hell had he brought her? A carrier of some infectious disease?’
Though blindfolded, Zhang Haoyuan could feel the old woman’s glare on him. He desperately wanted to retort. ’He wasn’t even afraid of catching anything, yet this old woman was.’
"Ma’am, are you afraid?" Qin Mei asked, deliberately provocative.
"I’m just an old woman with one foot already in the grave. What have I got to be afraid of?" the old woman blustered.
"Heh heh... Ma’am, this rash of mine isn’t contagious... unless we get married and, well... heh heh. That’s the *only* way it spreads. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and touch my face. I guarantee you won’t catch anything." Qin Mei stepped forward, reaching out and waving her hands around blindly, as if about to touch the old woman.
The old woman recoiled, taking a hasty step back. "You can take off your blindfolds now!" she said hurriedly.
Qin Mei didn’t press the issue. ’What if I actually scare her to death and she tries to pin it on me?’
She pulled off her blindfold. The light was dim and the basement was damp. Qin Mei actually quite liked it; it felt like stepping into an air-conditioned room.
"They’re all yours. I’m leaving." Before the words were even out of her mouth, the old woman was already heading back the way they came, not even bothering with her cane. It was the first time she’d ever handed someone over without seeing them to their final destination.
A man appeared. "Ma’am..." he called out with a sigh of resignation.
Qin Mei and Zhang Haoyuan looked at the man. Afraid of giving themselves away, Qin Mei didn’t ask Zhang Haoyuan any questions; they simply exchanged a look. The man saw the glance but couldn’t decipher it, nor did he care. ’If they were sent down to the basement, their identities were already verified.’
’Once you’re in this basement, you’re trapped.’
"Follow me," the man said, opening a door. A clamor of voices instantly rang out.
Qin Mei looked at the people inside. ’Of course a gambling den would be full of gamblers,’ she mused. The winners were ecstatic, their excitement growing with every bet. The losers were crestfallen but refused to quit, always clinging to the hope of winning back their losses.
’The house always wins, and even the rare win is just part of someone else’s setup. Everyone knows this, yet they all cling to the hope that they’ll be the lucky one.’
’In an era of such scarcity, it’s amazing someone is running an underground gambling den.’
For a moment, Qin Mei’s confidence wavered. ’Without Jie Jingchen’s help, can I really get out of this in one piece?’
"Sister Qin." Seeing that Qin Mei had stopped, Zhang Haoyuan gave her a gentle nudge, as if to remind her it was too late for regrets.
Collecting her thoughts, Qin Mei gave Zhang Haoyuan a reassuring smile and followed the man inside.
She wasn’t here to gamble; she was here to help Zhang Haoyuan pay off his debts. The man was clearly aware of this and began leading her past the various gambling tables.
Qin Mei felt he was doing it deliberately. Passing one or two tables could be a coincidence, but weaving past every single table was something else entirely, especially since he intentionally slowed his pace.
’What’s his game? Is he trying to tempt me to join in?’
Qin Mei shot a sidelong glance at Zhang Haoyuan. ’If he dares to get the itch to gamble now, I’ll abandon him right here.’ Seeing that he didn’t look the least bit tempted, Qin Mei felt satisfied.
"Brother Zhang! Haven’t seen you in a while. Where’ve you been?" someone called out to Zhang Haoyuan.
Zhang Haoyuan was a regular here, and many people knew him.
"’Brother Zhang?’ Qin Mei glanced at Zhang Haoyuan. ’This guy really gets a kick out of people calling him that.’"
Before the Zhang family’s fall from grace, he had been their high and mighty heir. Afterward, he plummeted from heaven into hell, despised by everyone like a rat scurrying across the street. Here, however, people addressed him respectfully as "Brother Zhang," which gave him the illusion of being respected again. He didn’t realize they were just luring him down into the deepest pits of hell.
"Chopped off a finger to quit gambling," Zhang Haoyuan said bluntly.
"Zhang Haoyuan, chopped off a finger to quit? You? Do you expect anyone to believe that?" The man was on a winning streak, so he was in the mood to taunt Zhang Haoyuan.
Zhang Haoyuan held up his left hand. Seeing that his thumb was gone, the crowd exchanged shocked glances.
"He really chopped it off?" someone asked aloud.
"You probably couldn’t pay your debts, so they chopped it off for you, right?" The man wouldn’t believe that Zhang Haoyuan had done it himself, not in a million years.
It wasn’t uncommon for people who racked up huge, unpayable gambling debts to lose a finger.
"I did it." Qin Mei stepped forward, her expression making it clear she was taking full responsibility for her actions.