It turned out that Benjamin Harris and Henry Parker were not the real owners; they were, respectively, the chief stewards of Qingfeng Tavern and Baxian Tavern. All the daily miscellaneous affairs were handled by them, including this gambling match. Now that Henry Parker had lost the bet, he would likely have to pay the price for acting on his own—being kicked out of Baxian Tavern would be the least of it, which was why he was plotting something crooked.

"So they're just a couple of lackeys, daring to pull such tricks behind their masters' backs. They've got some nerve!" Edward Clark snorted coldly, though he felt quite uneasy inside. If Zhu and Pan were lackeys, then what did that make his own group? The lackeys' hounds, or the lackeys' playthings?

"Second Brother, you're right. Aren't they just lapdogs in front of their masters? Only this time, one of the dogs is in trouble!" Charles Baker, seeing no one else around, leaned in and whispered in Edward Clark's ear, "I heard that both Qingfeng Tavern and Baxian Tavern are backed by powerful officials at court. Henry Parker really screwed himself over by acting on his own this time. Getting kicked out is nothing—he might even lose his life!"

Edward Clark's eyelid twitched, but he kept a nonchalant expression and asked casually, "Do you know who these big shots are?"

"I can't say for sure. I only know that the owner of Baxian Tavern seems to be a prince consort, but as for Qingfeng Tavern, I don't know which minister it is at court!"

Two small taverns, and their backers were a prince consort and a prime minister? Even someone as worldly as Edward Clark was startled by this, but on second thought, there was nothing to fear from Benjamin Harris and Henry Parker. As long as he found a chance to tell this story as a joke at the Su residence, given the temperament of the powerful, those two would surely come to a bad end. As this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt a shiver run through him. In the past, no matter how much he disliked someone, he never reacted so strongly. What was happening to him now, that he was so intent on making things difficult for those two? Could it be that after traveling through time, even his temperament had changed?

While he was scheming against others, on the other side, the desperate Henry Parker was also at the end of his rope. In a large room, all sixteen members of Bateng Society were stripped naked and tied to pillars, terror and shock evident in everyone's eyes.

"Now you're scared? Why didn't you fight harder on the field? You made me lose the bet!" He lashed one of the men several times in a fit of rage, only stopping when the man begged for mercy, his tone growing even more chilling. "Benjamin Harris, don't think you've won for sure. At least I'm a distant relative of the prince consort, while you're just a household slave. If your master finds out about your misdeeds, who knows who'll get skinned first!"

Henry Parker glanced at his terrified subordinates and waved one over. "That captain from Longqing Society—do you know his name?"

"Reporting to you, sir, his name is Edward Clark. I heard he's a famous cuju player in Bianjing, always loafing around and living in the alleys outside the Zhuque Gate." The attendant, watching his master's face, reported cautiously.

"Edward Clark... Edward Clark!" Henry Parker repeated the name twice, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Go notify Benjamin Harris right now and tell him I have something to discuss with him in person!"

"Sir, what if he refuses to come?"

Before the words were out, the attendant received a heavy slap across the face, followed by a furious outburst: "He dares not come? You tell him, if he doesn't show up, I'll spill everything to his master. At worst, we'll go down together—let him think it over!"

Chapter Nine: A Beast in Human Face

Edward Clark had just said goodbye to the others and was about to head home when Charles Baker shamelessly asked to accompany him. With no other choice, he reluctantly agreed. Charles Baker was a talkative fellow; before Edward Clark could ask anything, he had already spilled all the details about everyone in Longqing Society, and at the end, still not satisfied, he added, "Second Brother, you don't know—while you were away, we lost three out of five matches. Everyone was so ashamed. Now that you're back, I can finally relax."

After today's lesson, even though his feet itched to play, Edward Clark truly didn't want to get involved in the dirty business of cuju again. Seeing Charles Baker so enthusiastic, he didn't want to dampen his spirits, so he just responded with a faint "mm" and had no intention of joining in the conversation.

"Second Brother, there's something else I find really strange. You never liked your wife, so why does it seem like you've changed lately? A few times when you were drinking, you said she was unfaithful and that you wanted to divorce her, but now you treat her like a treasure?"

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener took it to heart. The words hit Edward Clark like a bolt from the blue. He didn't even know what he mumbled in response to Charles Baker. Dragging his leaden legs, he finally reached his own door, but before going in, he sat down against the wall.