My job at the bathhouse is relatively quiet.

Every day, I distribute supplies to the different bath areas and guest rooms. The rest of the time, I wait for the intercom to notify me if anything needs replenishing.

Today was no different. After distributing the supplies, I sat on the steps in the back courtyard and quietly smoked a cigarette.

Halfway through the cigarette, the back gate suddenly opened.

Two men walked out side by side.

I knew them both too well.

One was Hou Jun, who had tried to embarrass me in front of everyone this morning. The other was his childhood friend and the same man I’d faced off with that night—Old Black.

Hou Jun had his back to me and didn’t notice I was there. It was Old Black who saw me and froze for a moment before quickly looking away.

The two weren’t far from me. Even though they spoke softly, I could hear their conversation clearly.

Old Black: “I’ve gathered 3,500 yuan. You take it now. I’ll pay you the other 2,000 later.”

Hou Jun: “Alright, Old Black. I’m also in a bit of a hurry for the money, or I wouldn’t be asking you for it. Just pay me the rest within a month.”

I couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

Hou Jun kept claiming that Old Black was his childhood friend and best brother. He had scammed Old Black out of everything he had, not to mention loaning him quite a bit of money. Now, he was talking about needing cash and demanding to be paid back. The man was a hypocrite, deceitful enough to disregard even his closest relationships.

They exchanged a few more casual words, and then Hou Jun spoke again.

“By the way, Old Black, our underground casino is opening soon. If you can’t get the money, you can bring some friends to play. For every person you bring, I’ll give you 300. If your friends lose big, I’ll talk to Mei Jie and see if we can give you more...”

Old Black looked uneasy.

“You know, the friends I hang out with don’t really like to gamble. If they lose, I’d feel bad for them...”

Hou Jun continued to persuade him.

“It’s no big deal, they’re not going to blame you. Just bring them along, and we’ll see if they want to play.”

I was surprised. Before the casino even opened, Hou Jun was already playing the role of a recruiter.

There’s a name for this kind of person in gambling circles: “Stacker.”

In the world of Qianmen, they’re known as the “Promoter Generals” of the Qianmen Eight. Their job is to get people into the game.

Just as the conversation was about to continue, Hou Jun’s intercom buzzed. Mei Jie was calling him to the office.

He quickly told Old Black and then hurried off. Before entering the door, he shot me a cold glare.

With only me and Old Black left in the courtyard, we exchanged a look. Old Black walked over to me with big strides.

I didn’t move, still sitting on the steps.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

When he reached me, Old Black surprised me by offering me a cigarette.

“Want one?”

I took it, lit it, and took a deep drag. Old Black lit one for himself too.

We stood there, him standing and me sitting, smoking in silence for a long while before Old Black finally spoke.

“Don’t you fear death?”

“Of course.”

“Then why did you still dare to gamble with me that night?”

“Because I thought you were more afraid than I was.”

Old Black smiled, a simple, foolish kind of smile.

“Well, what if I wasn’t afraid of you? What would you do?”

“Then we’ll see whose life is longer.”

My tone remained indifferent, but Old Black only smiled, though it was a bitter smile.

“Alright, I admit it. I’ve never really yielded to anyone in all my years, but you... you’re the first.”

Then, almost immediately, he corrected himself.

“Wait, that’s wrong. I lost that night, so I should call you Sixth Master, Chu Liu Ye!”

I had barely scraped by a win that night, but Old Black had given me a good beating. Still, I had a positive impression of him. He was someone who played the game fairly—no cheating, and he stuck to his word. He also had principles and boundaries; he didn’t scam his friends. Challenging me that night was for his friends’ sake.

But his mind was a bit too simple, a bit too naïve. But that worked to my advantage.

After taking another drag, I looked at Old Black and asked, “Have you ever thought about why you always lose money in Hou Jun’s game?”

“Bad luck. Poor fortune. What else could it be?”

He was a real fool.

A total fool!

People like him were born to be scammed. He loved gambling but didn’t want to face the truth, and he kept thinking everything was just about luck. Even after that night when he drew a pair of Jacks and faced Hou Jun’s Aces, and Hou Jun’s Aces faced my 2, 3, 5, he still didn’t think anything was wrong.

I shook my head slowly, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

“It’s not luck. You’ve been tricked by Hou Jun. He’s using marked cards. The deck he’s using, he’s been working with for a while.”

“That’s impossible!”

As soon as I finished speaking, Old Black loudly denied it.

“I’ve known Hou Jun since we were kids. We’re like brothers. He’d never scam me. You can’t just stir things up between us because of what happened that night!”

Old Black’s tone was firm.

I rarely laugh, but I almost wanted to. There really are people like him in the world—those who get scammed and still help count the money for the scammer.

“Don’t believe me?”

“Nope!”

“It’s simple. Go buy a few decks of cards at that supermarket, and you’ll know.”

Seeing my determination, Old Black started to hesitate. After thinking for a while, he said:

“Alright, you come with me and show me how to spot the marked cards.”

“I’m at work.”

“I’ll ask Hou Jun to get you time off.”

Old Black was persistent.

I thought for a moment and said, “Forget it, I’ll just take the time off myself.”

I pulled out my phone and called Su Mei. She had called me earlier, so I had her number saved.

When the call connected, I told her I needed to take time off.

I had expected her to react coldly or even angrily, but surprisingly, Su Mei’s voice was calm.

“From now on, you can take time off whenever you need to. No need to ask for leave. You won’t be marked absent. If anyone asks about your shifts, just say you cleared it with me.”

I was stunned. I didn’t expect Su Mei to give me such leeway. Was she no longer angry?

The supermarket we used to go to wasn’t far from the bathhouse. When we arrived at the door, we hadn’t even stepped inside when we heard an old man’s voice from across the street.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the two who fought that night. Did you two make up so soon? What a letdown, I was hoping to see you fight again...”

It was the old man, Old Wu, who had been watching the fight that night from the door.

He was sitting in front of the courtyard, holding a fan in one hand and a purple clay teapot in the other, pouring tea for himself and sipping it calmly. His white hair was blowing messily in the wind, but he didn’t seem to care.

Old Black and I didn’t reply. We just walked straight into the supermarket.

The owner of the shop was clearly surprised to see us.

His eyes darted nervously.

Old Black didn’t waste time with pleasantries.

“Give me two decks of cards.”

The shop owner glanced quickly at the door.

I guessed he was wondering if Hou Jun had followed us. When he saw no one else was coming in, he quickly replied:

“We’re out of cards. The delivery comes tomorrow. You’ll have to come back then.”

“You think I’m blind?”

Old Black suddenly shouted, startling both me and the owner.

He pointed to the shelf nearby.

“Aren’t those cards? Or are you selling sanitary napkins instead?”

On the shelf, two types of playing cards were clearly displayed. One was Yao Ji brand, and the other was the type we often played with, Three Aces.

Actually, I suspected that both types of cards had been placed there by Hou Jun.

But since we always played with the Three Aces brand, I didn’t bother checking whether there was anything wrong with the Yao Ji cards.