Song Tianyao frowned. "Black-Hearted Wah's wife? Won't she come to see me herself? What a grand entrance, making me Gambling den to see her? And Golden-Tooth Lei at this Gambling den actually lets her make the decisions? Seems like she treats her quite well."
"Secretary Song, it's not that Sister Yun didn't want to come, but she broke the Hung Mun Thirty-Six Oaths. The gang leader arranged for her to be beaten with sticks, a full thirty-six times. She broke one leg and several ribs, and now she really can't leave the house." The Scribe Hui, looked at Song Tianyao and said with a bitter tone, "You'll understand when you go see her."
Song Tianyao remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he took a deep breath. What was so good about being in the underworld? The end was too tragic. Offending a rich and powerful figure meant the gang couldn't protect him at all. Black-Hearted Wah was drowned in the sea. Song Tianyao thought that was how it would end, but he never expected that Fuyixing would even prey on women.
However, Song Tianyao still remembered the ruthless look in that woman's eyes when she led people to chase and kill him. If this woman wanted to avenge her husband, and she blamed Black-Hearted Wah's death on him, and now that he had gone to the Gambling den, she had her men easily surround and kill him inside, his death would probably be even more unjust than Black-Hearted Wah's.
"If someone can't even get out of bed, then don't..." Before Song Tianyao could finish speaking, he saw two men carrying a stretcher rushing over on the way where Scribe Hui had just come. On the stretcher, Lou Fengyun, Black-Hearted Wah's wife, was wrapped in a blanket, her upper body leaning against a high pillow, trying to straighten her head and looking at Song Tianyao.
"Secretary Song... this... Sister Yun..." The Scribe Hui, was visibly surprised to see Lou Fengyun appear. Lou Fengyun's face was pale and haggard. Song Tianyao glanced around to make sure no neighbors came to watch, then said rudely to Lou Fengyun on the stretcher, "What? A self-inflicted injury ploy? Trying to play the victim?"
"Secretary Song... I heard from the Boss that you let me off the hook, I..." Lou Fengyun struggled to sit up a little from the stretcher and said weakly to Song Tianyao.
Song Tianyao simply gestured for her to stop, looked into Lou Fengyun's eyes and said, "No need to thank me. I've heard too many polite words. You'd better understand one thing: your man's death has nothing to do with me. No need for thanks. I have no interest in the Gambling den. It's too late, and I haven't eaten yet. I won't disturb you taking your people out for a walk. I'll be going now."
After saying that, Song Tianyao simply turned around and walked out.
"I beg Secretary Song, please spare my life and that of Brother Hua's family..." Lou Fengyun, who had once been so arrogant and domineering, cried out to Song Tianyao as he turned to leave.
Song Tianyao walked five or six steps down the street, stopped, then walked back, stood in front of the stretcher, and stared into Lou Fengyun's eyes. "I think I understand something now. Tonight you weren't begging me to let you go. You're not stupid. I have a question for you: If you were to go back to the day I stabbed Black-Hearted Wah, and knew my identity, what would you do? You can only answer once."
Lou Fengyun lowered her head, and the other Fuyixing people looked at Song Tianyao in confusion, wondering what Song Tianyao meant by asking the question. Song Tianyao, on the other hand, looked at the woman in front of him with great interest, waiting for her to give an answer.
Lou Fengyun lowered her head for several seconds before raising it again, her voice weak but her eyes resolute. "Without hesitation, before that Rotten-Life Ju arrives, have your men pounce on him and kill Secretary Song on the spot."
Song Tianyao nodded with a faint, unreadable smile, then looked at his Scribe Hui, who was clearly startled by Lou Fengyun's words. "I'm hungry. Is there anywhere to eat nearby?"
"Three streets away, there's a Lucky Star Restaurant," Scribe Hui replied instinctively.
Seeing that his Scribe Hui was still standing there in a daze, Song Tianyao patted him on the shoulder. "Go and ask someone to cook me a few dishes at the restaurant. I'm waiting to fill my stomach. Is there really such a big difference between you being an advisor and me being a secretary?"
"I'll go right away..." Scribe Hui started to turn around and walk away, but then immediately turned back. "Send it here or wait for Secretary Song to go to the restaurant later?"
Song Tianyao pointed to Lou Fengyun on the stretcher and said to Lou Fengyun, "So, all you need to do is wear glasses to be a legal advisor? Shall we go? Since you answered the question correctly, let's find a quiet room at your Gambling den. I'll have dinner there and listen to your stories."
"Ah Hui, go to the restaurant and order a table of top-class food to be delivered to the Gambling den. Ah Choi, run back and tell the brothers to prepare that 'Fortune Comes In 'Pai Gow private room on the third floor by the window." Lou Fengyun, upon hearing Song Tianyao's words, moved slightly upwards in her excitement, causing her broken ribs to twitch and making her groan in pain. However, she immediately straightened her upper body slightly and continued speaking, enduring the pain:
"Go call a rickshaw for Secretary Song."
"No need for the rickshaw, I'm not sick. This is just a walk," Song Tianyao said to the two henchmen carrying Lou Fengyun. "Lead the way with your boss's wife."
Black-Hearted Wah's Gambling den was located on the street outside the Squatter Area of Jialin Road. It was a converted four-story tenement building. The first floor had been opened up to set up more than a dozen mahjong tables, mainly catering to the locals and attracting customers. The second floor was a dice game called Sic Bo, a money-burning game specifically designed to kill gambling addicts. The third floor had converted private rooms specifically for Pai Gow. Those who Pai Gow were ordinary people with some spare money and a relatively affluent lifestyle. The several apartments on the fourth floor were used by the Gambling den's employees and their families to live.
When Song Tianyao entered the Gambling den, he noticed a very interesting problem: the Gambling den's underlings, who were busy clearing tables or patrolling the mahjong tables to prevent cheating, paid no attention to Lou Fengyun, the Gambling den's owner, and none of them even came over to greet her.
Instead, upon seeing the well-dressed Song Tianyao following Lou Fengyun in, a waiter hurriedly approached him. "Sir, would you like to play a few rounds? Iron Treasure or Pai Gow?"
"Just wander around, I'll call you if I need anything." Song Tianyao tossed ten yuan to the waiter. "Could you please get me a pack of State Express 555 cigarettes first?"
Seeing Song Tianyao's generosity, the shop assistant dared not urge him any further. Instead, he ran to the counter to get a pack of cigarettes for Song Tianyao Song Tianyao, handing him the change and cigarettes. Song Tianyao took the cigarettes and said, "The rest of the money is yours."