Madman!

Chapter 57: Fury!

"Forget it, I'm not playing today." Chen Wuhong wrestled with himself for a long time before finally refusing.

If he'd been at a casino, surrounded by that chaotic atmosphere dripping with desire, he might have thrown caution to the wind.

But this was home. Everything familiar around him served as a reminder — if he dared to gamble and his family found out, there'd be hell to pay.

"Wuhong the Degenerate, actually turned over a new leaf, huh?" the young man teased, smearing his paper dominoes across the stool and casually drawing two cards.

"If Ah Hong doesn't want to play, then let it go. There'll be plenty of chances once he's healed! Playing at home's no fun anyway." Ah Chao spoke up from the side, gathering up the paper dominoes as he did.

"Ah Hong, once you're all healed up, I'll treat you to a proper good time."

"We won't bother you anymore today. Glad you're alright."

With that, he grabbed the other young man and headed for the door.

"What are you doing? Did you forget about the money we owe?" the other young man hissed, his face sour with displeasure.

"All we had to do was play a few rounds with Degenerate Wuhong, and we'd have gotten paid. If he borrowed money on top of that, we'd have gotten even more."Both of them were drowning in gambling debts. A few days ago, someone had tracked them down and offered them a deal — do a small favor, and they'd receive enough to clear their debts entirely.

If they could lure Degenerate Wuhong into racking up a gambling debt and borrowing money, they'd get to keep whatever they won off him, plus receive an additional payment on top of that.

The two had been hiding from creditors left and right, so the moment they heard the offer, they agreed without hesitation.

Nobody expected Ah Chao to suddenly back out.

"However you slice it, we've been friends. Knowing someone's setting Ah Hong up... I just can't do that to him." Ah Chao's mind was churning with thoughts.

"Ah Hong this, Ah Hong that — you used to call him Degenerate Wuhong yourself! Did you take the wrong pills today? And even if you don't want the money, why are you stopping me from earning mine? Don't forget what you owe — if you can't pay up soon, those guys will chop off your hands!" the other young man snapped, his voice edged with mounting anger.

Money's only good if you're alive to spend it.

Who could have known that Degenerate Wuhong had a big shot living in his house?

Hetu's people were far more terrifying than any loan shark.

And the man in question was a rising star under Shark Jiu herself. If the two of them tried to scam his older brother, all it would take was one word from him, and they'd never survive another day in the Walled City.

They might just turn up hacked to pieces one morning.

Ah Chao desperately wanted to tell the other man about Degenerate Wuhong's younger brother, but the words died on his lips before they could escape.

He felt this was an opportunity — one he couldn't share with anyone else.

All he said was: "Maybe I just had a sudden attack of conscience. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Damn it!" The other young man grew angrier the more he thought about it, kicking the nearby wall in frustration.

"What do we tell them when we go back?"

"Go back? We lay low for a while first!" Ah Chao replied in a low, serious voice.

But they'd barely rounded the corner before someone blocked their path.

Wham!

Ah Chao was kicked into the wall. A man with a cold, ruthless expression loomed over him. "What were you sent there to do? If he won't gamble, then make him gamble."

"Boss, he doesn't want to play — we can't exactly hold his head down and force him!" Ah Chao's face was already swelling, one eye turning purple.

"We didn't get the money either. You've hit us, let off your steam — just let us go, will you?"

The man's expression flickered between light and dark. He'd thought this was a sure thing, but these two useless idiots had completely botched it. There was nothing to do now but report back.

Still seething, the man drove another kick into Ah Chao's stomach.

"Damn it! Keep your mouths shut! If I hear so much as a whisper, I'll skin you both alive!"

"This is all your damn fault!" The young man who'd come with Ah Chao lay groaning on the ground.

"See? Now you understand — they want to destroy Ah Hong!" Ah Chao slumped against the wall, sliding down until he sat in the alley.

He thought to himself: 'I just saved both our lives! A beating hurts, but at least we'll survive! If we'd actually screwed over Degenerate Wuhong, we'd both be dead men!'

Ah Chao touched the corner of his mouth and winced at the stinging burn of pain.

He hesitated for a moment — should he tell Degenerate Wuhong's brother about this? The man's threats still echoed in his ears.

But the hesitation didn't last long. He gritted his teeth. Fortune favors the bold — he couldn't let this chance slip away.

If he could get in with Shark Jiu's rising star, his future might not be golden, but it would certainly be better than this.

As for those guys from earlier — they'd dared to set up the older brother of Hetu's golden boy. They'd probably end up floating in a gutter by tomorrow.

...

Chen Wujun hopped down from the wooden stakes, his muscular body glistening with sweat.

He picked up his phone and glanced at the caller:

"Ah Fei, what's going on?"

"Brother Jun, get over to the gambling den. Some degenerate gambler says someone's trying to set up your big brother!" Ah Fei's voice came through from the other end.

"Oh? Keep an eye on him. I'll be there soon." Chen Wujun hung up and stood there, brow furrowed tight.

Someone was trying to set up his family's degenerate gambler?

'Lidong's people?'

'I've got a gambling war going with Lidong. Their people have the most reason to pull something like this.'

'Or maybe... Ji Xiang?'

'No, even if Ji Xiang can't stand me, he wouldn't start trouble at a time like this, and he definitely wouldn't go after my family. If Senior Sister found out, he'd be a dead man.'

Chen Wujun thought about who else he might have offended.

'Those loan sharks?'

Chen Wujun carefully reviewed the loan shark robbery in his mind. He shouldn't have left any loose ends.

He decided Lidong's people were the most likely culprits.

A moment later, Chen Wujun pulled on his clothes and left the warehouse.

Business at the gambling den was booming. Even from outside, Chen Wujun could hear the cacophony of shouts and hollers blending into one raucous chorus.

"Brother Jun!" The lookout at the door greeted him immediately, then pulled the curtain aside. Inside, a haze of cigarette smoke hung thick in the air, with crowds packed around every table.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think the place was on fire!" Chen Wujun waved the smoke away from his face.

"Where is he?"

"In the back!"

Ah Chao had been waiting in a room at the rear. Moments later, the door swung open, and a short-haired young man strode in.

He was broad and powerfully built, muscles straining against his shirt, his face calm but his eyes carrying a perpetual glint of menace.

"Brother Jun!" Ah Chao hurried to greet him.

Chen Wujun walked over to a chair, sat down, and crossed one leg over the other before asking: "Who are you?"

"Brother Jun, my name's Jia Bingchao. Everyone calls me Ah Chao — please, just call me Ah Chao!" Ah Chao bobbed his head obsequiously.

"Tell me what happened."

"Brother Jun, Ah Hong... Degenerate Wuhong — he's your older brother, right?" Ah Chao began cautiously.

Chen Wujun's expression revealed nothing. "Go on."

"Someone hired me to set him up. Go to his house, get him gambling. As long as he took the bait, I'd get five thousand dollars. Then I was supposed to find a way to make him borrow money... Whatever I won would be mine to keep, plus they'd pay me extra on top..."

The moment those words landed, a sharp light flashed in Chen Wujun's eyes, and a wave of murderous intent radiated from his entire body.

He waited until Ah Chao finished, then asked in a voice like grinding metal: "Do you know who they are?"

"I don't... I've never seen them before!" Ah Chao answered immediately. "But the person who originally brought them to find me — him, I've seen. He's a loan shark! Works the alley next to Jifa Casino! He went after Ah Hong for debts before. I saw him once."

"That guy led them to me, then left. He definitely knows who those people are!"

Chen Wujun's expression didn't change, but his mind was racing:

'Jifa Casino... isn't that the loan shark I robbed?'

'The identity of those people doesn't even matter anymore! The man behind that loan shark operation is called Master Bing — they must be his people too!'

'But how did they find me? I didn't leave any evidence that day... If they had proof, they wouldn't be coming after me through back channels with tricks like this... So they definitely don't have proof!'

Chen Wujun thought for a moment, and then the fury surged hotter, a dark fire blazing to life in his chest.

He stood and paced the room, his anger mounting with every step.

They had no evidence. So how dare they come after him?

Then they were framing him!

They wanted to hurt him — and for that, they deserved to die!