Underworld Chronicles: Qiao Si's Strategist, Xiao Ke, and Wang Weifan

Hu Yitian? Uncle, is this guy someone important? Tell me about him. Xiao Ke poured his uncle a glass of wine and asked.

"I heard it from someone else. Listen to his name, Hu Yitian. Hu Yitian means 'win every day' in mahjong. If you reverse your name, it's 'Tianhu' (天胡). He's a born gambler!" Xiao Ke's uncle said, taking a sip of his drink.

Yeah, that's a really cool name. Uncle, can you tell me about his amazing deeds? Little Ke asked curiously.

Tell me about it?

Tell me, tell me quickly.

"Then let me tell you about Hu Yitian, who lives in Nangang. It is said that he was a disciple of the Xiao family gang in his early years. Do you know the Xiao family gang?" Xiao Ke's uncle asked.

"I don't know!" Xiao Ke and his cousin shook their heads at the same time.

You guys know nothing. Have you ever heard of the Green Gang or the Axe Gang?

"I've heard of them. The three big bosses of the Green Gang, the Axe Gang, they're all wielding big axes. They're so powerful, everyone knows that," Little Ke said.

The Xiao Family Gang is the third largest gang after the Green Gang and the Axe Gang. However, the Xiao Family Gang mainly engages in gambling and acrobatics and acts in a rather secretive manner, so it is not as famous as those two gangs.

"Wow, my uncle knows so much!" Xiao Ke poured his uncle another glass of wine and praised him.

Xiao Ke's uncle, whose face was flushed from drinking, became even more bewildered upon hearing Xiao Ke's praise and continued to chatter on.

When Hu Yitian was young, he was idle and addicted to gambling. However, he was not good at cards and had bad luck. He often lost more than he won, and sometimes he lost so much that he didn't even have money for food.

I don't know what stroke of luck this guy had, but he accidentally heard about a guy named Yang Shouguang who was particularly skilled and always won at gambling. This Yang Shouguang was a member of the Xiao family gang.

Later, Hu Yitian visited Yang Shouguang and served him tea and water all day long, offering him the best tea and cigarettes. He even lent him money to treat him to a full range of entertainment, including eating, drinking, gambling, and prostitution. Moved by this, Yang Shouguang took Hu Yitian as his apprentice and taught him some techniques.

Hu Yitian is very talented in gambling. He quickly learned a lot of the essentials and even figured out new techniques on his own based on what Yang Shouguang taught him.

After returning from his studies, Hu Yitian became unstoppable. He first became invincible in Harbin, and then swept through major casinos in Northeast China.

It is said that once he gambled against several big bosses from Hong Kong and won 78 in less than 10 minutes. 78! That's a lot of money. This whole table can't hold it all.

Xiao Ke's uncle drank another glass of wine and exclaimed with wide eyes.

"And then, Uncle?" Xiao Ke asked again.

Later, as the saying goes, "If you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet." Hu Yitian went further and further away, gambling bigger and bigger. He even took on several apprentices and traveled all over the country to gamble. It is said that he even went to casinos in Macau and often participated in some large private gambling groups, winning a lot of money.

Once, Hu Yitian won several million dollars from a big boss in Hong Kong at a private gambling den. The next day, the boss invited Hu Yitian to take a cruise ship to gamble on the high seas, and Hu Yitian, along with one of his apprentices, readily agreed.

Hu Yitian had just won a lot of money on the cruise ship when his apprentice suddenly shouted behind him, "He's cheating! He's cheating!"

It turned out that the big boss who lost money had already bribed Hu Yitian's apprentice. Just like that, Hu Yitian was caught red-handed cheating. The Hong Kong boss had set up the whole thing for him, and there were several thugs lying in ambush at the scene.

After Hu Yitian was exposed, three of his fingers were chopped off, his Achilles tendons were severed, and he was thrown into the sea.

It can be said that Hu Yitian was not destined to die. He was rescued by a fishing boat. After recovering from his injuries, Hu Yitian returned to Harbin. He was missing three fingers and his leg was lame. From then on, he never gambled again, nor did he take on any more apprentices. He completely disappeared from public view. Thus, a generation of gambling god fell.

After Xiao Ke's uncle finished speaking, he also felt a sense of sorrow, as if he were Hu Yitian at that moment.

"That's amazing, Uncle! Do you know where Hu Yitian lives in Nangang?" Xiao Ke asked.

"How the hell would I know? I just pieced together what my gambling buddies said. I could never reach their level. If I were that good, I'd beat those bastards to a pulp," said Xiao Ke's uncle.

Seeing that his uncle had drunk enough, Xiao Ke's cousin helped him home, while Xiao Ke went back to his dormitory by himself.

That night, Xiao Ke tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He was deeply attracted by Hu Yitian's deeds. Damn it, I must find out where Hu Yitian lives and find a way to become his apprentice so that I can achieve great things in the future.

So the next day when Xiao Ke was working, while scrubbing the bathhouse, he would ask the customers about Hu Yitian. After asking around, Xiao Ke actually found out where Hu Yitian lived.

When Xiao Ke was resting, he stopped fooling around at his uncle's house and instead spent a lot of money to buy two bottles of good wine and headed to Hu Yitian's house in Nangang.

Xiao Ke went through a lot of trouble to find Hu Yitian's house by following the directions given by the guest.

Hu Yitian's place was like a paradise, with no neighbors, just a two-story house. Xiao Ke, standing at the front door, was quite nervous. Finally, he mustered up his courage and knocked on Hu Yitian's door.

After knocking for a while, there was finally a response from inside. Who could it be? The door slammed open.

Xiao Ke looked up and saw an old man who looked to be in his fifties standing in front of the door with a cane. He had no hair on his forehead, his temples were a little white, he wore black-rimmed glasses, had half-eyebrows, a high nose, a square face, and a pair of wolf-like ears that stood up high.

Behind the glasses were a pair of piercing eyes, staring intently at Xiao Ke, as if they could see through all of his secrets. "Who are you looking for?" a deep and powerful voice asked.

"Ah, you must be Hu Yitian, Uncle Hu?" Xiao Ke asked softly.

I don't know you. Do you need something from me?

"Uncle Hu, I've heard about some of your great deeds and admire you greatly, so I've come to visit you specifically to learn from your experience..." Xiao Ke said with a fawning smile.

*Snap!* Before Xiao Ke could finish speaking, Hu Yitian slammed the door shut. "Young man, I stopped taking on apprentices a long time ago. Don't waste your time," Hu Yitian said as he closed the door.

"Then please take this wine, sir," Xiao Ke said.

Take it, take it. You can't accept something for nothing, young man, go on your way.

Xiao Ke had no choice but to leave the wine at the door. "Uncle Hu, I don't drink. I've already bought it, so please drink it. I'm leaving now." With that, Xiao Ke left Hu Yitian's house.

Will Xiao Ke, who was turned away at the door, come to visit Hu Yitian again? Stay tuned for the next episode.