Chapter 1: The Return of the Commander

Young lady, you have come along too! I was just about to call you. Since you want to get a sleeper, just follow this little cart all the way back

You get up and follow me. What do these few people count for? During last year's Spring Festival travel rush, this one carriage accommodated over 430 people, and I still pushed my little cart, coming and going like the wind! The plump aunt stretched her finger joints and cast a disdainful glance at the narrow aisle barely ten meters in front of her.

Upon hearing this, Gaoyang not only shook his head with a wry smile; the so-called "Qingyang guests" in this day and age are truly formidable, even the police are unable to handle them. At this moment, Gaoyang was about to turn back when he suddenly heard the attendant say: "Alright, let's not discuss this for now. Miss, please show me your ticket!"

Upon seeing Teacher Wu's hidden card, the bald man and the bespectacled man were both taken aback. What was going on? Teacher Wu actually did not have a card against Wang... Therefore, Wang must be in the hands of someone named Gao Yang. However, just a moment ago, it was clear that his hidden card...

The method is very simple. It involves using special words that two individuals have previously agreed upon to communicate, so as to make it clear to the other party what one's own cards are. A standard deck of playing cards consists of 54 cards. When one person has knowledge of the cards held by both opponents, they can not only deduce the common cards held by the other two players but also conveniently set the direction of play to ensure that their partner can play all their cards.

My identification is in my wallet. I am certain that the wallet was stolen in carriage 18. When I was in carriage 17, I still touched my shoulder bag, and at that time, there was no opening!" A girl's voice faintly emerged. The girl spoke very slowly, but her voice was extremely delicate, so even though her slow speech was drawn out, it did not convey a sense of impatience; rather, it sounded quite soothing.

Seeing that everyone was shouting, Teacher Wu had a look of disbelief and said: "No way? Could it be that none of you three have bombed? Haha, then I might just run away. Five Dragons ... ... "

Good! The old man hurriedly supported himself with the chair beside him and stood up

He deliberately spread the cards out at the edge of the table, with part of them hanging over the edge. The two individuals would inevitably use the mirror hidden in their socks to check their own hole cards. However, the arrangement of the hole cards was done using a special technique; among the 13 cards, he had concealed the pair of kings by stacking the cards in a certain way. Thus, among the 13 cards visible to the opponents, there were no kings at all, leading them to believe that the kings were in Teacher Wu's hand. As a result, the subsequent rounds of cards would be easier to play.

Ah? Are you talking to me, comrade? There’s no way to get through here. I think you should just push back to the *picture* book. I can’t even squeeze past a single stick in front of me, and I still want to go to the restroom. There’s nothing I can do! The old man might be suffering from a severe urge to urinate; his face has turned a bit green, and when he speaks, the lines on his forehead tremble wildly.

Just as Gao Yang reached the end of the carriage, preparing to turn back after putting on a show, he suddenly heard a commotion at the connection point between the dining car and the sleeper carriage. He vaguely remembered seeing what appeared to be a ticket counter there when he boarded the train.

"Xiao Gao, when did you come back? I thought you had poor cards and had run away, haha!" Teacher Wu joked.

"Train ticket? Didn't I mention that my wallet was lost? The ticket is in the wallet!" The woman paused noticeably before speaking, clearly unable to comprehend why he would ask such a question

In the adjacent private room, the girl who lost her wallet was sitting at the head of the bed, waiting for Gao Yang's arrival. At this moment, she still believed that this assistance was certainly not without reason, and there must be a purpose behind it

In contrast to the seating carriages, the sleeper compartment appears exceptionally desolate. Outside the compartments, on the chairs, there are only a few passengers who have come out to get some fresh air after feeling tired, while many other seats remain unoccupied.

The attendant does not care whose money it is, as long as there is money to buy a ticket. After receiving the money, their expression immediately changed from cloudy to clear. They then pulled the conversation back: "In the future, you still need to be more careful when going out. When the professional railway police come over later, I will report this to them."

The girl smiled and nodded slightly

1. "Lai Shou": Simply put, it means subordinates, akin to the henchmen in Liuziwo.

The game played by four people is called "Bombing." This game is very popular in the three northeastern provinces of China and is somewhat similar to Dou Di Zhu. In this game, the highest single cards, excluding the two jokers, are threes. When playing a straight, three cards are the minimum requirement, and no cards can be added. The twos and threes are not included in the straight. A straight is referred to as a "Dragon." For example, a straight of 456 is called a three-dragon, while 4567 is called a four-dragon, and so on. Three of a kind is called a bomb, and four of a kind is called a roar. The two jokers can beat all bombs but are weaker than a roar. The first two players to play all their cards are the winners.

Gao Yang pretended not to understand and kept talking about cards with Teacher Wu. The two of them stumbled into a situation without clarity, and of course, they were unwilling to accept it, so the gambling continued

In fact, for those who wish to play tricks, how could these 54 cards possibly be enough for Gao Yang to see? Even if there were 540 cards, as long as he made a slight maneuver, he could remember them all clearly. However, at the beginning, Gao Yang had no intention of playing tricks with these people. But now that they have revealed their cards in front of him, he cannot refuse to engage. Losing a small amount of money is trivial, but if this matter were to spread... a dignified leader of the Qianmen would... actually be outsmarted by two newcomers. That would not only be a loss of face for himself, but it is likely that even the master who lies in the coffin would rise up and strangle him. Moreover, this gamble is the most rudimentary form of trickery in the art of Qianmen.

Gao Yang is a person who enjoys meddling in others' affairs; he believes that each instance of meddling serves as a form of personal development.

The three individuals nodded, each putting away their cards before starting to chat casually. After Gao Yang stepped out of the private room, he wrapped his clothing around himself. Although it was the height of summer, he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, which was already enough to leave others speechless. However, if they knew that beneath this shirt he was also wearing a layer of fox fur lining, they would likely think they had encountered a madman

What should I do now? ... Both cash and bank cards are in my wallet ... ... Helpless, I can only take the ticket, thinking to myself: "I want to see what tricks you have up your sleeve."

At the moment when the two were feeling lost, Gaoyang smiled and said: "I am the next one, hehe! Five Dragons is in charge, hehe!"

Seeing the girl hesitate to take the ticket, Gaoyang gave a wry smile, placed the ticket on the ticket supplement counter, and turned to leave

It is currently July, the peak of summer, when students from universities across the country are on vacation to escape the heat, resulting in exceptionally crowded trains. Even a very slender person would likely take half an hour to pass through a single carriage. One can hardly imagine how this plump lady managed to push this little iron cart all the way here

The girl initially did not want to accept this help; she found it hard to believe that a stranger would inexplicably take out several hundred yuan to help her buy a ticket. There must be something amiss; that young man wearing a hat in the sweltering summer certainly had something unusual about him. However, after he bought her ticket, he did not say anything further... he just turned and left.

On the express train from Changchun to Shanghai, the train attendant was struggling to navigate her small four-wheeled cart through the aisle crowded with passengers

The old man, with his legs crossed, followed behind the plump lady, and behind him was a girl with short hair.

Alright, I will cover her ticket, a soft sleeper from the starting point to the destination, please issue the ticket!" After saying this, Gao Yang tossed a stack of money onto the counter

Then a man said: "There are banners in every carriage warning to take care of personal belongings. How could you be so careless? With hundreds of people in carriage 18, how are we supposed to find it? Are we supposed to search everyone one by one? After saying that a thief has stolen something, how could they still be in the same place? They must have moved long ago www.hetushu.com.com"

As soon as the man finished speaking, the girl said, "If you don't help me, I can go find it myself. I am also a police officer, and I do have the right to investigate"

Indeed, at the beginning, Teacher Wu threw out a set of 8 dragons, and with three sets of explosive glasses, he shouted "pass". He believed that against Wang, even wasting a set of explosives would be futile in Teacher Wu's hands. Now, Teacher Wu only had five cards left. After looking at Gaoyang's cards, he had already calculated that these five cards consisted of a pair of kings and one three-dragon. The hand was too favorable; it seemed that he could only target that little brat with the hat.

Gao Yang smiled and said, "The cards are indeed not good, but we can't just run away, can we? Let's continue!" Seeing that the bald man and the bespectacled man both had confident expressions, Gao Yang knew that his bluff had certainly been seen through by them.

The attendant picked up the ticket and waved it in front of the girl, saying: "Miss, you have encountered a good person. In this day and age... heh, hurry along, it's at car 19, number 22!"

Lost your ticket? Hmph! I've seen this kind of trick many times. Just buy a replacement ticket. Do you think you can evade the fare by simply making a cut in your own ticket?

You... I'll find it myself! The girl turned around in a huff, wanting to leave. However, she was stopped by the attendant who came out from behind the counter.

"Wait a moment, we will arrive at Beidaihe in a few minutes. What will you do if you get off without a ticket? I advise you to..." The attendant was about to continue, but Gao Yang, standing beside her, could no longer bear to listen.

As soon as the first card was drawn into his hand, Gaoyang noticed that the bespectacled player opposite him and the bald player above him were actually using secret signals. This type of secret communication in gambling is referred to as "Fuzai" in the art of gambling.

"Wait a moment, I need to go to the restroom, and then we can start again!" Gaoyang placed the cards face down on the edge of the table, intentionally leaving part of the cards hanging over the edge.

"Please make way, please make way. This passenger, lift your left foot, lean back, yes, that's right, lean back. Someone sitting behind, give him a push, lean back a bit more. Maintain this plank position." The plump aunt directed all the way.

However, the card that Gaoyang subsequently discarded immediately shattered the two individuals' sense of luck

The choice of the term "fuzai" often involves coded language that is appropriate for the occasion. For instance, when the man with the glasses said, "This hand is really infuriating," Gao Yang immediately understood that he was indicating he had several bombs in hand. The three horizontal lines above the character for "qi" signify three pairs, and the number of pairs is implied by the character "niang". At the beginning of the game, Gao Yang had already noticed when the bald man said, "Damn it, this is really beautiful!" but he was not certain at that time. Now, considering that "mei" has four horizontal lines, it seems the bald man was telling his partner that he had several four dragons. Based on the cards in his hand, Gao Yang estimated that "nai" should represent two, while "niang" likely represents three. It appears that both of these players have decent hands, and given his own cards, it would not be easy to escape. (Words like "ye", "die", "niang", and "nai" have almost become exclamations for everyone, making it difficult to detect such terms when designed into the coded language.)

The girl glanced at Gao Yang warily and said, "Thank you, I will be able to retrieve my wallet soon. Please take back the money!"

This style of play is quite impressive. The card distribution is also relatively simple, and it is rare for four players to play single cards.

2. Zhaomen: In the subsequent external chapters, the techniques of the Qianmen, specifically the thirty-nine methods, will be introduced in detail, focusing on this particular art.

As soon as Gao Yang boarded the train in Changchun, he was called over by three fellow passengers in the same compartment to play cards together. Initially, everyone was just trying to pass the time and play casually. Later, a bespectacled young man in the lower bunk suggested that playing like this would only lead to diminishing spirits, and it would be better for everyone to engage in a small bet. As the saying goes, a small gamble brings joy; with a stake involved, the game would become more exciting and help alleviate the fatigue of the journey. Gao Yang originally did not want to participate in such a gambling game, but since the other two agreed, he felt it would be inappropriate to dampen everyone's spirits and nodded in agreement. Playing like this would only lead to diminishing spirits, and it would be better for everyone to engage in a small bet. As the saying goes, a small gamble brings joy; with a stake involved, the game would become more exciting and help alleviate the fatigue of the journey. Gao Yang originally did not want to participate in such a gambling game, but since the other two agreed, he felt it would be inappropriate to dampen everyone's spirits and nodded in agreement.

Due to the lack of prior manipulation, the cards he received were significantly inferior to those of his opponent. Not wanting to resort to underhanded tactics like "substituting the beams and changing the columns," he chose to employ "feigned actions," fully aware of the tricks used by those around him. These individuals undoubtedly carried mirrors that utilized the "doorway" technique (2 notes).

Cigarettes, beer, ham sausage. Biscuits, beverages, playing cards. This is the last trip, so hurry up and buy what you need, this is the last trip!

Gao Yang stopped in his tracks upon hearing this, turned around, and walked to the junction of the two train cars, pretending to smoke and watch the commotion. By this time, the meal period had passed, so there were not many people in the dining car. While the attendant and the woman were conversing, no one came over to watch. As Gao Yang approached the door, he noticed a short-haired girl in a light blue outfit standing by the ticket-checking counter at the end of the dining car. With large eyes and a small mouth, a casual glance revealed many features that a beauty should possess. This girl also had one particularly distinctive trait: her eyebrows. Her eyebrows were quite irregular, each having a split in the middle, resembling two branches of plum blossoms arching over her eyes.

At the very beginning, Gao Yang smiled when he saw https://m.hetushu.com. He did not expect to encounter two con artists on this long-distance train. Moreover, they were not skilled con artists at all.

When Gaoyang returned, the three were still chatting

3. Qingyangke: A term specifically used to refer to thieves who operate on various modes of transportation such as trains and buses

Boom, the three small glasses of 3 could only helplessly take out the biggest boom in hand, now hoping that after Gao Yang deals with Wang, he still has single cards in hand... Clearly just saw that he had three single cards earlier, how could it be...

Due to the fact that Gao Yang was completely oblivious to the table while shuffling, instead focusing on the view outside, he only knows that the player with the glasses has three bombs, which are three triplets, and that the bald player has two sets of four of a kind. Although he only knows this much, there are only 54 playing cards in total, and by analyzing the cards in his hand, he can clearly deduce what the opponent's three bombs and four of a kinds are. The cards in Gao Yang's hand are neither particularly good nor bad; as long as no one obstructs him, he can play them out smoothly. However, the three bombs in the opponent's hand are not to be underestimated. Moreover, the bald player has two sets of four of a kind. Although he only knows this much, there are only 54 playing cards in total, and by analyzing the cards in his hand, he can clearly deduce what the opponent's three bombs and four of a kinds are. The cards in Gao Yang's hand are neither particularly good nor bad; as long as no one obstructs him, he can play them out smoothly. However, the three bombs in the opponent's hand are not to be underestimated. It seems that he can only focus on another player, who is a middle-aged man, reportedly a high school teacher named Wu, who is attending training in Shanghai. At this moment, Teacher Wu is smiling as he looks at his cards, and since he has drawn the three of hearts, he will play this card first.

The woman anxiously said: "Did I not mention it? It was stolen along with my wallet!"

The two individuals exchanged a glance, and the bald man said, "But is it the Xiang family (Note 4)?"

Gao Yang took the manually issued ticket from the conductor's hand and smiled as he handed it to the girl, saying: "Don't think too much about it; it's just a material possession. If you lose it, you lose it. Just be more careful in the future"

"Hold the position of the Golden Rooster Standing on One Leg! Madam standing in front, could you please lift both feet up..."

Gao Yang pulled the zipper of his clothing up to his neck, his face revealing a bitter expression. "It seems that what the master said is true; the leader of the Qian family cannot practice martial arts. Practicing martial arts will incur divine retribution. This body full of cold ailments is probably the consequence of such retribution!" Shaking his head helplessly, he walked towards the restroom.

Before Gao Yang could speak, the attendant interjected, saying: "How are you going to search? Even if you are a police officer, it is of no use. You are not the conductor for this route, nor are you a law enforcement officer with a search warrant. Others do not have the right to inspect passengers' belongings."

"Where are your documents?" the person asked

4. Xiang family: The meaning of同行 is to walk together

"Ah! Please make way." The plump aunt said as she bumped her vehicle against the canvas bag under the bottom of an old man dozing off by the aisle.