“Didn’t Ma Liu lose the bet?” I just couldn’t understand what Liu the Sixth said.

He only had a nine and a four. How could he win when the others all had “hammer” cards?

Liu the Sixth said, “At the time... Ma Liu didn’t get a nine four, but a nine five. On a five-point card, there were 2 points at the bottom and 3 points at the top; Ma Liu only saw the two bottom points at first, but when he glimpsed the top of the card, he missed the third point, so he just thought it was a nine four.”

Actually, it was a nine five.

In the rules of Jiu Wu Hou, nine-five was the king, the best pair.

Ma Liu hanged himself because he was nervous and thought he got the worst cards, while actually he got the best cards.

For this reason... Ma Liu had become an evil soul.

I felt pity for Ma Liu after hearing his story-he lost so much, but hanged himself just when he was about to win big.

“Well, it’s destiny.”Liu the Sixth gave me a bamboo jar and said: “Ma Liu’s evil soul... cost three thousand and five hundred. It was not easy to get it.”

I thought it was a little expensive, so I bargained.

I couldn’t earn anything on the business with Niu Xiao’er anyway, so it killed me when I got such an expensive soul.

Liu the Sixth held a cigarette and said: “You shouldn’t bargain on a soul... You have to know who is in charge of them. It is just the King of Hell, and you are bargaining with him while you are bargaining here.”

I could tellLiu the Sixth was talkative, so I quit and told him: “OK, it’s a deal... You are a sweet talker.”

“You should be a facile speaker when you want to do business, right?” Liu the Sixth teased.

I opened the red packet of ten thousand Yuan from Mr. Zhang and counted thirty five one hundred Yuan notes for him, and then I took the bamboo tube to the tattoo studio.

I got the evil soul from the tube and carefully colored the tattoo on Niu Xiao’er’s back.

Now the “ghost hands catching the money” was finally finished.

I told Niu Xiao’er: “I finished the ghost like you wanted... Now you can go.”

“Really?” When Niu Xiao’er heard that it was finished, he got very happy and turned around several times in front of the mirror. Then he put on his clothes and went out of my studio.

He didn’t even say thanks before he went away.

...

Early in the next morning, I went to the bank to transfer money to my mother.

Niu Xiao’er didn’t pay me any money... Oh, I forgot. He did give... one hundred Yuan.

He didn’t give me so much money, but Mr. Zhang did. The red packet of ten thousand Yuan and the twenty thousand for the tattoo, minus the three thousand and five hundred paid to Liu the Sixth as well as the other two thousand that I owed him for last time, left me with about twenty thousand Yuan.

After I finished transferring the money to my younger brother’s account, I called my mother and told her to check the balance.

My mother felt suspicious when she heard I got another twenty thousand, and she whispered: “Shui, how did you get so much money? Did you break the law and do something bad? Mom’s life is just like this, you shouldn’t be sent to jail for me; your life will be over. You are just so young.”

“Mum, it’s not like that. I’ve always been so honest, so how can I break the law? Don’t worry, it’s what I should get.” After comforting her, I just hung up.

I still needed more than seven hundred thousand Yuan for my mother’s operation, which required eight hundred thousand. Now I could earn much faster. I was confident enough that I could get enough money to have the operation to change my mother’s kidney within thirty days.

After the transfer, I rode my bike back to my studio.

In the morning there wasn’t much business. I tidied the room and kept it clean and neat, so that my customers would also enjoy this environment.

I spent more than two hours cleaning everything from top to bottom, until everything seemed very bright and clean. After that, I carefully lay on the tattoo couch.

I was about to fall asleep when a shining man came in.

He called to me warmly: “Shui, just look at me. How cool are my new things here?”

I stood up, looking at him carefully. Wow... it was Niu Xiao’er.

Niu Xiao’er changed up his style with new clothes. He wore a Carthew belt and a big gold chain as thick as a thumb, a gold watch on his right hand, and two heavy gold rings on his fingers. He looked like a gang boss.

Niu Xiao’er sat in front of me and said: “Shui, your Yin embroidery is very strong... Damn, last night l got so powerful I beat them all. You just guess how much I won... Six million... I won six million overnight.”

Spittle flew as he spoke.

I was listening to his story about last night, but felt bored.

Niu Xiao’er was very arrogant. He was making comments everywhere and even pointed at my studio: “It is such a poor studio... So poor, how much can you earn? Come on, come with me to earn more; I am sure you could be as rich as me within one day.”

I didn’t want to speak to him. I would never go gambling.

My master had always told me, when I was a tattooist of Yin and Yang Tattoos, I should never earn money through them by myself... or else, I would suffer retribution.

So I would never do it, even though I could quickly become a rich man.

“Do you want to go or not? Just tell me, and I will take you to be rich.”

I shook my head and replied: “No!”

“No? What a stupid person; you want to lose this opportunity to win a large amount of money? There will be a High Seas casino entertainment experience tonight, and I want to gamble there and win tens of millions.” Then Niu Xiao’er was about to leave.

I quickly pulled him back and told him: “Brother, a gambling boat is no ordinary boat for us to casually go on. You had better not go there, and you have to take my advice, even though you are not willing to. You just go and do good business so that you don’t have to worry about food, and don’t gamble for the rest of your life.”

“Damn, damn, damn, lay off. That’s why you can only earn ten thousand Yuan per month even though you are so capable, but you have such an attitude with your conservative brain. Serves you right to be poor for the rest of your life.” He left these words and left my studio.

I sat on the tattoo couch and sighed. Had I known Niu Xiao’er was so addicted to gambling, I wouldn’t have agreed to his request for a tattoo in the first place.

Now he became more and more bold and even wanted to go to the high seas casino entertainment. What could I say now?

I sighed and shook my head, well, forget it. I’ve done what I should do and said what I had to say since we were old friends. I could do nothing if he didn’t listen to me.

Actually, I didn’t see him since that day.

I didn’t pay attention at first, but later... I realized that there must be something wrong and asked Mr. Zhang for information about him.

Mr. Zhang was infinitely resourceful and he was also familiar with some of the big brothers on the ships near the seaside. Several days later, he told me to come to one of his businesses -Yui Lai Hotel.

When I entered the private room, Mr. Zhang was smoking. He told me to have a seat.

He started talking as soon as I sat: “Your brother was Niu Xiao’er, right?”

I said yes.

Then he said: “Your brother... is dead.”

“Dead?” I got shocked by at hunder bolt and couldn’t help but standup.

Mr. Zhang grabbed my shoulder, telling me to sit down.

He said Niu Xiao’er was dead indeed. According to the death certificate, it was three days after he left my studio.

Then he told me Niu Xiao’er had gambled continually for three days and won tens of millions, supported by the “ghost hands catching the money” tattoo, which made the gambler bankers rather unhappy.

On the fourth night, when Niu Xiao’er went to the Ship again, he was caught cheating.

Then I quickly told Mr. Zhang that it was impossible for Niu Xiao’er to cheat in gambling.

He had the Yin tattoo of “ghost hands catching the money” and could earn enough money.He could beat them all,so why he resort to tricks? It was just unnecessary.

Mr. Zhang said: “I also knew he couldn’t cheat... it was only an excuse by those gambler brothers. Then they killed Niu Xiao’er and took back all his winnings.”

Then he stood up and said: “Didn’t you think about what kind of persons they were? They were scoundrels, outlaws and much more extreme and fierce types. Clever gambling and good luck are not enough to take their money. It is impossible to take their money.”

I trembled, hearing what he said. I didn’t hope for such an end for him, even though Niu Xiao’er didn’t treat me as his good old friend.

Mr. Zhang continued, “One strange thing happened when Niu Xiao’er was caught gambling.”

I asked him what that was.

He said, “When Niu Xiao’er was framed for cheating, one of the goons took him out and chopped off his hand with an axe.

But that severed hand could move and continued to gamble and made threatening gestures, which scared the accomplices on the ship.”

I knew why this strange thing happened to Niu Xiao’er.

The Yin tattoo he was given... The soul was taken from a man who was so addicted to gambling he ended up hanging himself.

This evil soul and Niu Xiao’er’s addiction to gambling knew that he was framed, so the broken hand went forward again and continued to gamble.

I asked Mr. Zhang: “Was it a horrible death?”

He said it was rather horrible. Niu Xiao’er’s broken hand scared the accomplices on the ship silly.

Then a brave accomplice took up a big hammer and smashed that hand into pieces.

He must have gotten crazy when he was hitting. After that, he used the hammer and broke Niu Xiao’er’s hand to bits, then threw him into the sea.

Mr. Zhang warned me: “Alas, Shui, I know he was your brother. He was smashed to death, but you shouldn’t think about taking revenge. You can’t afford to offend those people on the ship.”

How could I avenge Niu Xiao’er? Anyway, he had only himself to blame for how he ended up. Let’s talk about Mr. Zhang, he also enjoyed gambling, but it was based on small money and never on big money. If Niu Xiao’er had listened to me and didn’t go on that ship but did some business with that money, he may have had a very good life.

Niu Xiao’er and Mr. Zhang both gambled, but one of them played just for pleasure, while the other hurt himself.

They had totally different lives.

I stood up and showed my appreciation for the information about Niu Xiao’er’s death. When I turned around before I went out the door, I caught a glimpse ofa display window as I turned my head.

In the display window, there was a broken hand ... with a big gold ring on one of the broken fingers.

I knew this ring... it was Niu Xiao’er’s. Before he went on the ship... he showed off this ring to me.