Could You Teach Me?

The casino fell into an eerie silence. Tsunade's expression froze, Ito looked a little grim, and Jiangchuan folded his cards, watching Li Tong with twitching eyelids.

Nine points. The dealer swept the table!

Once the dealer got a hand like that, there was no need to check anyone else's cards. The dealer had a huge advantage and, under the rules, couldn't lose!

"...Damn..." Tsunade clenched her teeth. She'd thought she had this round in the bag, only to have cold water thrown over her. Losing money was one thing, but... this was seriously annoying!

"Hahaha, I'm really lucky!" Ito suddenly burst out laughing, breaking the tension. "Come on, let's play another round!"

"Now that's some luck!" old Jiangchuan added, though his gaze at Li Tong had grown wary.

Years of playing cards had taught him how unlikely it was for two players to both get nine points. Whenever that happened, there was a 99 percent chance the other person had cheated. Jiangchuan was very confident in his own cheating skills, so he strongly suspected Li Tong—but he hadn't noticed Li Tong doing anything out of the ordinary.

After sweeping the table, Li Tong's stake as dealer doubled, bringing it to eleven thousand taels.

The game continued!

Two more hours passed.

The sky outside had darkened. Dusk had fallen, and the atmosphere in the casino was tense. Everyone seemed to be in a foul mood except Li Tong, because they'd all lost to him. There were seven people at the table, and the winnings had all gone to one. Li Tong had already won nearly a hundred and thirty thousand taels!

By now, they'd naturally figured out they'd been fooled by this kid!

When he first arrived, he'd pretended not to know anything, even placing his bets cautiously. It had all been an act. He was definitely a gambling expert—and a terrifyingly good one!

"Cut the deck!"

Li Tong finished shuffling again. Beside him, Ito said coolly, "Cut," and reached over to turn the deck around in Li Tong's hands. Then he signaled for Li Tong to deal.

Li Tong raised an eyebrow at Ito, a cheeky, asking-for-a-punch grin on his face, and dealt the cards one by one.

The cards were dealt!

Li Tong lifted his cards for a look, then raised his hand and flipped all four over. He yawned wearily. "Sorry, nine points again. I sweep the table!"

"What?"

"Damn it, you're cheating, brat!"

"You're using tricks!"

Everyone except Tsunade stood up, worked into a frenzy. Ito glared at Li Tong, his face full of menace.

"Everyone, accusations need proof. You say I cheated—did you catch me?" Li Tong said, rubbing his nose. His gaze swept over them, lingering especially on Ito and Jiangchuan.

He'd figured it out long ago: those five were working together to swindle people! Only Jiangchuan and Ito were actually cheating, but they also made sure the other three got good hands. Their goal was to beat Tsunade. If Li Tong hadn't joined in today, Tsunade would have been the only one to lose!

"No matter how lucky you are, you can't keep beating us like this. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're a ninja, brat!" Ito threatened, glaring at him. "You're only a Genin, after all. Let me tell you, I'm friends with Lord Bai Kai of the Police Force. If you know what's good for you..."

"So you're planning to rob me in broad daylight?" Li Tong cut him off.

"You cheated, and now you think you're in the right?"

"Where's your proof?"

"You're still going to deny it?!" Ito snapped. He turned sharply toward Tsunade, who looked thoroughly displeased, and demanded angrily, "Lady Tsunade, what do you think? Isn't there something wrong with this brat?"

Ito was already calculating the odds. He thought Tsunade was on their side now, and Li Tong's winnings really were suspicious. If Tsunade said the word, Li Tong would have to hand over everything he'd won.

Having lost all her money, Tsunade gave Li Tong a hostile look. She, too, truly suspected he'd been cheating.

Li Tong's thoughts stirred. His hand quickly sifted through the pile of bills in front of him, accurately picking out five ten-thousand-tael notes. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed them in front of Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, you've lost all your money, right? Consider this a loan. Pay me back whenever you can." Li Tong gave Tsunade a radiant smile.

It wasn't that Li Tong wanted to curry favor with Tsunade using money. He'd just suddenly felt that cheating her out of her money was a little dishonorable. He had no qualms about fleecing those five, though.

Tsunade's expression softened at once, much faster than Li Tong had expected.

She picked up the bills and looked them over, then smiled at Li Tong. "You little devil, I'll pay you back!"

Li Tong took her at her word.

Tucking the bills away, Tsunade stood and headed for the door. She wasn't going to get involved. After gambling for so many years, she knew all about cheating, and she understood some of the tricks behind today's game. Truthfully, Tsunade herself had wanted to practice her cheating skills... well, her Gambling Technique! She'd just never managed to get the hang of it.

"Lady Tsunade, let's leave together," Li Tong said quickly. He gathered the pile of bills in front of him, shoved them carelessly into his shirt, and stood to follow her.

Ito's face turned livid!

He was used to throwing his weight around among ordinary people, but he wouldn't dare mess with a ninja. Attacking one was a serious crime in Konoha.

Li Tong caught up with Tsunade. They put on their shoes one after the other and left the casino.

"Damn it!" Ito finally roared, kicking over the tea table beside him.

"Take him out!" Jiangchuan said bluntly, moving close to Ito, his eyes gleaming with malice. "He doesn't seem to have much of a relationship with Lady Tsunade. Go find Uchiha Bai Kai..."

The setting sun cast its dusky light over the alley, stretching the shadows of the two figures long and crooked.

Tsunade walked ahead, with Li Tong following three meters behind.

Neither of them spoke or made any effort to talk.

Truthfully, Li Tong didn't want to get too involved with Tsunade. He'd only left with her to avoid trouble.

At the crossroads ahead, Tsunade kept walking, but when Li Tong reached the junction, he turned left.

"Hey, you! Where are you going?" Tsunade stopped and glanced back at him.

"Uh... I'm going home," Li Tong said.

"Come with me!" Tsunade tilted her head, her tone leaving no room for refusal.

"Uh... all right." Helpless, Li Tong could only steel himself and follow Tsunade.

They left the alley and crossed the street, entering a wooded area. Tsunade said nothing, and neither did Li Tong. They walked side by side along the same path, yet seemed like complete strangers. Only their soft footsteps broke the quiet of the forest.

Li Tong was trying to figure out how to part ways with Tsunade. He still had to buy a few things.

Suddenly, he felt a tightness around his neck!

Tsunade had suddenly hooked an arm around his neck and pulled him close. Her rich, feminine scent flooded his nose. Acting as if they were very close, she leaned toward his ear and asked, "Hey, how did you do that?"

"D-do what?" Li Tong felt a little nervous.

"I mean the cheating... the Gambling Technique! Could you teach me?"