A Valiant Life

The host smiled as he said, “I can tell you that out of these two, one of them is a con man. Who do you think it is?”

The gambling-addicted guest looked at the two of them and scanned them from head to toe.

The host pointed at Lin Fan. “You think it’s him?”

The guest shook his head, “No, he looks like a student, pure and innocent. I don’t think so.”

“This one?”

The guest scrutinized closely before nodding his head. “I think it should be him.”

“Why?”

The guest said, “He’s missing fingers from his hands. I think he’s the con man.”

Ou Xing Yun chuckled as he felt a little helpless. Just one f*cking mistake cost him so much. It was a lifetime of consequence.

The host tried to increase the suspense. “Just who is the con man out of these two?”

The broadcast viewers all started cursing.

“Is this host retarded? Or does he think we are retarded? He’s acting as if we don’t know who Master Lin is.”

“This programme is getting more and more boring. If it wasn’t for Master Lin, I wouldn’t be watching this sh*t.”

“I watch this show to see the gambling kings match their skills against each other. It’s even better than the ‘God of Gamblers’ movie. I don’t think even the movie can come close to this.

Finally, the host revealed the answer. He announced in a loud tone, “The truth is, both of them are con men!”

The guests made astonished expressions. It had been instructed by the director. The more exaggerated the expression, the better.

The guests from below the stage also let out gasps of shock. It was a live broadcasted show. If they didn’t have designated actors to support it, they wouldn’t dare to broadcast it live.

The host started the introduction. “This is the Northern Gambling King, Ou Yun Xing and this is Master Lin, who, in a recent online broadcast, promoted anti-gambling to the masses.”

“Greetings to our two teachers and welcome to Shanghai Television. As the saying goes, out of ten gambles, nine involve cheating. Based on your experiences, what do you think of gambling?”

Ou Yun Xing was just about to open his mouth when Ye Zhen Ming stole the spotlight. “In the past, it could be said that out of ten gambles, nine involve cheating but now, ten out of ten gambles involve cheating. Back then, there weren’t such technology involved and we relied on skills. But now it’s different. Skills are still important but you can’t overcome the machines. That’s why, if you feel like you’re losing a lot as you gamble more and more, it’s probably because you’ve unknowingly entered unknown territory. However, you probably won’t feel any difference and you’ll just feel the same as before…”

The host said, “Teacher Ye, you mentioned about some technology just now. That’s very interesting. Everyone knows how technology has been advancing rapidly and affected every industry. I wonder, what kind of technology is often used at the gambling table?”

Ou Yun Xing opened his mouth and said, “Nowadays…”

Before he finished, Ye Zhen Ming interrupted again.

Ye Zhen Ming took out a wallet from his side as he said, “Looks like a normal wallet, doesn’t it? But this ‘normal’ wallet is the most common means of cheating at the gambling table. I have two cards in my hand right now, a four and a five. Right now, I’m going to just place it on top of my wallet. Look, what card is this now?”

The host gasped in shock, “Two fives!”

Ou Yun Xing was upset. This Ye Zhen Ming really knew how to steal the spotlight. Meanwhile, Lin Fan sat in the middle without interrupting at all as he watched the performance.

The netizens in the broadcast room were getting impatient.

“Friend, we all know that’s a wallet. But we want to see Master Lin talk. This guy sure knows how to talk!”

“He doesn’t know how to talk, he just really knows how to steal the spotlight.

Ye Zhen Ming said, “On the side of this wallet is a hidden compartment. When you use your hand to cover it and insert your card in, another card will be ejected. Did you all realize that?”

The guests shook their heads. The host gasped again, “I never thought that a small wallet could have this kind of function!”

Lin Fan just sat there as he started to have thoughts run through his mind. If he came here but didn’t say anything, would he not stand out enough? If he didn’t say anything, he might not be able to complete the task. But this Ye Zhen Ming really knew how to draw attention to himself. He didn’t give anyone else a chance at all.

At that moment, Ou Yun Xing started talking, “Something like this is most commonly used when with groups of friends because it won’t be easily detected. At bigger places, or at luxurious casinos, they wouldn’t allow for such things to be placed on the table. That’s why, even nowadays, gambling relies on skill. That’s the hardest to detect. During my lifetime, I’ve gambled countless times but I only got caught cheating once. And it was that time that I lost my fingers.”

The host nodded. “Teacher Ou, could you elaborate to us about these skills?”

Ou Yun Xing smiled. He finally got the chance to speak. But what made him crumble was that before he even opened his mouth, Ye Zhen Ming interrupted again, “There are many skills like marking the cards or hiding them. These all sound simple enough, but…”

Before he finished talking, Lin Fan said with a smile, “Marking and hiding are only the most basic methods. The real techniques have no flaws and can never be detected by anyone.”

“You…” Ye Zhen Ming had never thought that this guy would steal his spotlight. He was instantly upset and wanted to lash back at Lin Fan, but suddenly, he was stunned.

When Ou Yun Xing saw that Ye Zhen Ming had had a taste of his own medicine, he silently laughed. But suddenly, he became the same as Ye Zhen Ming as his eyes widened in disbelief.

Lin Fan removed his outer shirt. Inside, he was wearing a sleeveless top. His arms were smooth and shiny.

Then, with two fingers around a deck of poker cards and a slight shake of his hand, the card started spinning like a falling leaf in his palm. With a slight motion of his fingertip, the deck split into two as they each spun on his pinky finger and thumb respectively.

The broadcast room was in an uproar.

“F*ck! 666… Master Lin has revealed his skill!”

“What kind of shuffling technique is that? It’s simply mind-blowing!”

“I knew from the start that this Ye Zhen Ming knew how to steal the spotlight. Now, Master Lin will teach him a lesson. This is way too awesome!”

“The climax is here. Master Lin is going to defy the laws of nature!”

“It’s finally come. I’ve waited so long for Master Lin’s performance that I wanted to die.”

…

At that moment, not only the viewers were stunned, even the host was dumbfounded.

Lin Fan flicked his fingers and six cards flew out, three from each side. Then, he raised his head and faced the guest. “What cards are those?”

The guest was startled, then he said, “Three sixes.”

“What about here?”

The guest replied, “A mix of cards, seven, king and nine.”

Lin Fan nodded. “Alright then. Now, I will take you through slowly and make you lose contently.”

At that moment, the crowd had no idea what Lin Fan was doing. They saw him place the three mixed cards onto the middle of the table and then, with one hand on top, he looked up and smiled. “I know your cards and you know mine. I’ll take you on now. Do you dare?”

The guest was startled, then he replied with a smile, “I dare. I’ve already seen your cards. And you even have your hand on it like that, you won’t be able to change it.”

Lin Fan looked to his side at Ye Zhen Ming. “Do you think I can change the cards like this?”

Ye Zhen Ming was startled. After a long pause, he saw that this kid’s arms were shiny and bare, there were no cards hidden. If it was a long-sleeved shirt, he would have believed that the kid could change the cards but now, it was impossible.

“No,” said Ye Zhen Ming.

In the broadcast room.

“F*ck! What’s going on? Master Lin is holding onto the cards so barely, how could he change the cards?”

“Change my a*s! Is he really a God of Gambling? Does he have supernatural abilities?”

“When cheating, the sleeves of one’s clothes are the best for hiding cards. Now that he doesn’t have any sleeves and he’s so bare, I want to know how he would change the cards.”

“Hehe, Autumn Sword Fish Killer here. Just done with my workout. If he really can change the cards, I’ll broadcast myself eating sh*t…”

“Then you’ll eat sh*t for sure.”

…

The host said, “Teacher Ou, do you think that Master Lin will be able to change the cards?”

Ou Yun Xing shook his head, “Based on reason, there’s no way. Even if his hands are super quick and there’s nothing in the way, anything he tries will still be seen.”

Lin Fan smiled, “I’ll do this right in front of you. You have full confidence in your cards, then why don’t you move my hand away?”

The guest was suspicious for a moment, then he grabbed Lin Fan’s hand and slowly moved it away.

When the cards were revealed to the crowd, everyone was dumbfounded.

“F*ck!”