I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

"Brother Zhao, can you tell me in detail about the situation of those people yesterday?" Wang Qingshan went straight to the point.

Zhao Jianguo lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "I've known those three for several years. We usually play mahjong together and we have a pretty good relationship. Last night they said there was a big event going on and asked me to join in."

"What's the big picture?"

"There was a boss from out of town who wanted to play mahjong with us. He was said to be very rich and generous." Zhao Jianguo smiled bitterly. "I thought I could win some money to pay for my father's medical treatment, so I went."

Wang Qingshan frowned: "Then what?"

"At the beginning, I won quite a bit. The out-of-town boss really seemed like a rookie, playing his cards without any rules. But then, for some reason, my cards got worse and worse, while the boss's got better and better."

Hearing this, Wang Qingshan was almost certain of his guess. This was a typical gambling trap, where the target was given a taste of the sweetness before being gradually led into a deeper pit.

"How much did you lose in the end?"

"Three hundred thousand." Zhao Jianguo's voice trembled. "At that time, I was blinded by greed and wanted to make a comeback, but I ended up getting deeper and deeper into trouble."

Wang Qingshan shook his head: "Brother Zhao, you may have been set up."

"Impossible!" Zhao Jianguo immediately retorted. "Old Wang, Old Li, and Old Zhang have all been my friends for years. How could they possibly cheat me? Besides, I've been in the casino business for so many years, I've seen all sorts of tricks. If someone were cheating, I'd be able to spot it right away."

Wang Qingshan looked at Zhao Jianguo's stubborn expression and knew that he couldn't convince him with just words.

"Well, can you contact them?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Invite them out to play mahjong, and I'll go with you." A cold look flashed in Wang Qingshan's eyes. "If they are really your friends, then I apologize. But if they are really lying to you, don't blame me for being rude."

Zhao Jianguo hesitated for a moment, but finally took out his cell phone. Soon, the call was connected.

"Old Wang? It's me, Jianguo. What? Are we still fighting tonight? Okay, okay, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jianguo looked at Wang Qingshan: "They said there is another game tonight and asked me to come over."

"Let's go." Wang Qingshan stood up. "Tonight, I'll show you what a real con man is."

The two of them came to a residential complex in the west of the city. The environment here was ordinary, but it was secluded. Zhao Jianguo took Wang Qingshan to the third floor of a residential building and knocked on the door.

The person who opened the door was a man in his fifties. When he saw Zhao Jianguo, his face immediately broke into a smile: "Jianguo is here! Come in, come in."

When he saw Wang Qingshan, he was obviously stunned: "Who is this?"

"My friend, Wang Qingshan," Zhao Jianguo introduced. "He wants to play a few rounds, too."

"Welcome, welcome!" the man greeted warmly, but Wang Qingshan keenly noticed a hint of vigilance in his eyes.

There were already two people sitting in the room, plus the one who opened the door, there were exactly three people. When they saw Wang Qingshan, their eyes looked a little unnatural.

"Come on, come on, sit down and talk." One of the middle-aged men wearing glasses greeted them, "Is that out-of-town boss coming tonight?"

"Come on, he said he's going to make up for his losses today." The man who opened the door said with a smile, "Jianguo, you had bad luck yesterday, but you'll definitely win it back today."

Wang Qingshan quietly observed from the sidelines. Although these people's behavior seemed natural, he still noticed some subtle anomalies. For example, the eye contact when speaking, such as the pauses between certain sentences, all revealed unusual information.

After a while, the doorbell rang. The so-called out-of-town boss arrived.

This man was in his forties, dressed casually, but with an expensive-looking bracelet hanging around his waist. He looked a little nervous, like a novice who wasn't very good at gambling.

"Hello everyone, hello everyone." The out-of-town boss greeted politely, "I was so lucky yesterday, I guess I have to pay it back today."

A few people laughed and started preparing mahjong.

Wang Qingshan ordered a cup of tea and sat aside to watch the fight, his eyes fixed on every move, not missing any details.

In the first few rounds, Zhao Jianguo had good luck and won quite a bit, while the out-of-town boss seemed distressed, shaking his head and sighing repeatedly.

But Wang Qingshan discovered a problem.

During the third round, he clearly saw one of the players tampering with the cards. The action was very covert, but it did not escape Wang Qingshan's eyes.

By the fifth round, the out-of-town boss started to "get lucky." His cards got better and better, while Zhao Jianguo's cards got worse and worse.

Wang Qingshan sneered. He had completely seen through the routine of this game.

These individuals work in perfect harmony, controlling the direction of the game through various means. They will cooperate with each other at critical moments to make their target lose miserably.

"Wait." Just when Zhao Jianguo was about to lose a large sum of money again, Wang Qingshan suddenly spoke.

Everyone looked at him.

"What's the problem?" asked the man with glasses.

Wang Qingshan did not answer, but walked directly to the mahjong table and picked up the cards that the person had just dealt.

"This card is very interesting." Wang Qingshan held up a card. "Look, isn't the back of this card a little special?"

Everyone leaned over to take a look and found that there was indeed an almost invisible small mark on the back of the card.

"What does this mean?" Zhao Jianguo asked puzzledly.

"These are cheating signs," Wang Qingshan said coldly. "Through these signs, they can tell what each card is."

The room suddenly became quiet.

The faces of those people changed, especially the boss from outside the city, whose forehead began to sweat.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" The man who opened the door pretended to be calm. "How can this be cheating? Don't talk nonsense here!"

Wang Qingshan smiled and ignored his rebuttal, but continued to check the other cards. Sure enough, there were different marks on the back of each card.

"And this." Wang Qingshan pointed to a small mirror under the table. "Through this mirror, you can see each other's cards."

Zhao Jianguo finally understood, his face turning pale: "You...you actually lied to me?"

"Jianguo, please listen to my explanation..." The man with glasses tried to quibble.

"What explanation do you need?" Wang Qingshan interrupted him. "What else is there to explain now?"

He looked at those people, his eyes filled with anger: "Tell me, why did you lie to him? Was it just for the three hundred thousand?"

Several people looked at each other, not daring to speak.

Finally, it was the out-of-town boss who spoke up: "We...we really did work together to defraud him."

"Why?" Zhao Jianguo asked angrily.

The out-of-town boss smiled bitterly and said, "Because you accidentally mentioned that you have a thousand-year-old ginseng at home. We...we are here for that ginseng."

Hearing this, Zhao Jianguo was completely furious. He stood up suddenly and was about to rush over to hit the man.

"You beasts! I treat you as friends, but you..."

"Jianguo, calm down." Wang Qingshan stopped him. "The most important thing now is to get your money back."