Chapter 46: Looks Like We’re Almost Certainly Going Out of Business
"Lin Tian..." Bai Shishi was afraid Lin Tian would escalate things to the point where someone might actually die, and Xianglong Tea House would most likely end up closing down.
"I know what I’m doing!" Lin Tian gestured for Bai Shishi to stop talking. He had his reasons for doing what he did.
"Alright then~ Do you have any evidence that we’re cheating?" Durant still hoped for a lucky break when he saw Lin Tian wasn’t speaking.
"Evidence?" Lin Tian chuckled, "Since you want evidence, I’ll give you evidence!"
"That guy named Green has three cards hidden in his sleeve!" Lin Tian pointed at another of Durant’s companions, "That guy named Curry has five cards stuck to his belly, and four on his chest!"
"Is this evidence enough?" Lin Tian smiled at the three of them. At this point, Curry and Green’s faces turned beet red, and they started to tremble all over.
"Hey~ what’s with the shaking, you two? Late-stage Parkinson’s or something?" Lin Tian mockingly jibed.
"You, search them!" Bai Shishi beckoned to the people blocking the door.
Four men in black approached Curry and Green, scaring them into retreating.
"Hold on!" In his panic, Durant shouted, "You’re not police; you have no right to search us!"
"This is a tea house, not a police station!" Lin Tian kindly reminded.
"We’re foreigners; you can’t just search us. This violates our rights! Our country and the Celestial Dragon Continent are friends; doing this harms our relationship!" Durant shouted at the top of his lungs.
"To hell with your friendship!
Lin Tian despised when people misuse ’friendship’ to commit underhanded deeds.
"Talking about friendship now? Why didn’t you mention it while you were winning!" Bai Shishi was also livid at those words.
The shamelessness of Durant and his crew knew no bounds; calling them shameless would tarnish the word itself.
Green and Curry wanted to flee but couldn’t; they could only struggle as much as possible to avoid being searched by the four men in black.
But in their desperation to avoid the search, they forgot about the concealed playing cards.
As the struggle intensified, cards flew out from Green’s sleeve, falling to the ground.
Curry fared no better; his shirt got yanked out, and several cards hidden on his chest fell to the floor.
As the cards hit the ground, the entire hall fell silent, with only the sound of heavy breathing growing louder.
"Anything else you’d like to say?" As the cards hit the floor, Bai Shishi sharply questioned.
Durant, with his cunning blue eyes, looked at Curry and Green, "Miss Bai, your framing tactic is something I truly acknowledge!"
"From the way you speak, it sounds like you’re innocent of cheating," Lin Tian was amused.
Durant was confident that the spot he hid his cards was secretive enough not to be easily discovered, so he declared adamantly, "I rely on luck; I wouldn’t cheat!"
"Oh really~ You make that sound so convincing I can’t help but laugh!" Lin Tian taunted, "You don’t believe me when I call you a white-robed man!"
"Big guy, if you’re so smart, tell me where I hid my cards?" Durant was sure Lin Tian couldn’t guess, so he dared to be so arrogant.
"He hid cards in his crotch, all Aces!" Lin Tian pointed at Durant, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter, "In this hot weather, the cards might have a bit of a tangy smell!"
Durant stood there stunned, unable to comprehend how Lin Tian knew.
Could it be that this big guy has a third eye? Even this could be seen.
"Mr. Durant, hiding cards in your crotch is not very gentlemanly!" Bai Shishi also covered her mouth and laughed, never expecting Durant to hide his cards so skillfully.
"Will you take them out yourself, or do we need to help?" Lin Tian crossed his arms over his chest, raising his head.
Durant’s face was as red as a monkey’s backside. With so many people watching, letting others take them out was embarrassing; taking them out himself wasn’t much better.
"Will you or won’t you?" Durant was now in a dilemma.
Running away was impossible; today, he’d have to give in, hoping only that Bai Shishi would show mercy.
"I’ll do it myself!" Durant sighed, inserting his right hand into his pants.
When the cards from his crotch were pulled out, the nearby people quickly stepped back, fearing the intense smell.
"Cut their hands, cut their hands!" Someone shouted, and the crowd began chanting uniformly.
"Silence!" Bai Shishi signaled everyone to calm down, "As you came to Xianglong Tea House and encountered this situation, I, Bai Shishi, promise to give you a satisfactory answer!"
"Miss Bai, we can afford losing money, but this outrage has to be addressed for us!"
"None of these foreigners are good; they come to our country just to swindle us out of money!"
"We believe in Miss Bai!"
Bai Shishi seemed to have a lot of influence; almost everyone nodded, trusting she would give them a satisfactory answer.
"Let’s go!" Bai Shishi gave a look to the men in black, and under their guard, Durant and his group left the hall.
"To the top-floor office!" Bai Shishi instructed her subordinates and then turned to Lin Tian.
"Why are you looking at me?" Lin Tian intentionally avoided Bai Shishi’s eyes.
"I’m curious!" Bai Shishi moved closer to Lin Tian, "How did you know the cards were hidden in the crotch?"
"Secret!" Lin Tian smiled slightly, stepping forward quickly, afraid his eyes would betray him if they continued to hold eye contact.
"Interesting little man!" Bai Shishi licked her red lips, growing even more intrigued by Lin Tian.
In Bai Shishi’s office, the three were tied up tightly in chairs, their mouths stuffed with smelly socks from who knows whom.
"Mmm mmm~!" When Bai Shishi and Lin Tian entered the office, Durant raised his head and made struggling noises.
"Let him speak!" Bai Shishi ordered one of the men in black.
The smelly sock was pulled from Durant’s mouth, and after dry heaving twice, he spoke, "Miss Bai, you’re generous; don’t bother with us."
"Oh~ Now you know how to beg me?" Bai Shishi coldly retorted, "A few days ago, when you were winning, what did you say? ’Miss Bai, if you have what it takes, beat us!’?"
"What happened? Scared now?"
"Miss Bai, we know we were wrong!" Durant acknowledged that he’d been too arrogant in the previous days, completely disregarding Bai Shishi, which led to today’s fall.
"Just saying you’re wrong is enough? So if I kill you, acknowledging I did wrong means I wouldn’t have to face legal consequences?" Bai Shishi patted Durant’s rather handsome face.
"We’re not kids; making a mistake means you have to bear the consequences, don’t you think?" Bai Shishi was smiling one moment, then instantly slapped Durant hard across the face.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes, it hurts!" Durant’s right cheek turned red.