Chapter 62: Guts Turning Green with Regret  

Pika

A chill enveloped Plum Blossom Seven’s body. He sensed that just one wrong word would cause him to turn into a frozen statue. He quickly raised his hand and gestured for his henchmen to back down. Then, with a fawning smile, he said, “Miss Chu, you’re misunderstanding my intentions. How could we possibly dare to make an enemy out of you? I apologize for not having disciplined my people well.”

Sensing that the danger had passed, Zu An leaped out once more. “Why are you blocking our way then? Also, where are my fifty thousand silver taels?” he demanded arrogantly.

Zu An’s smug attitude began to grate on Plum Blossom Seven, and he was starting to understand why Plum Blossom Thirteen had lost all reason and barged into the casino. This scoundrel was truly despicable scum all the way to his core, a man who possessed no true ability, but relied solely on the backing of his connections.

“The reputation of our Silverhook Casino isn’t just for show; of course we’ll pay up. Men, bring young master Zu’s money over!” Despite his frustration, Plum Blossom Seven had no choice but to force a smile with Chu Chuyan around. The more he thought about it, the more furious he became.

You have successfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 344 Rage points!

In terms of weight, fifty thousand silver taels was too heavy to carry around, so banknotes were conventionally used to represent such large sums.

Plum Blossom Seven had his henchmen pass the banknotes to Zu An. “Young master Zu, please keep them well.”

Fifty thousand silver taels was by no means a small sum of money, but the Silverhook Casino could still afford the loss. They couldn’t allow this matter to leave their reputation in tatters.

After receiving the money, Zu An began counting every single note one by one. Plum Blossom Seven’s face turned even more livid.

“Young master Zu, are you doubting us? Do you suspect us of underpaying you?”

“Isn’t that obvious? To be safe, I think I should count my money properly.” He casually pushed half of it towards Chu Chuyan, saying, “Honey, help me count this.”

Chu Chuyan turned her body sideways and snubbed him, not bothering to hide her disgust at the dirty money earned from the casino.

Those running the casino also felt a cloud of fiery rage slowly consuming their minds. In their view, Zu An was openly gloating by counting his winnings right in front of them. It made them seriously contemplate just smashing his face in, consequences be damned.

Of course, this meant yet another wave of Rage points. Each individual contribution was small, so thankfully there were quite a number of them. Just like that, Zu An earned yet another thousand or so Rage points.

“Young master Zu, are you done counting yet?” Plum Blossom Seven asked with barely-suppressed anger.

“Oof. I was doing perfectly well a moment ago, but you suddenly disrupted me, and now I’ve forgotten what number I was at.” Zu An flung his hands around in an exaggerated manner, then restarted his counting.

Plum Blossom Seven nearly lost it.

Where’s my sword?!?!

You have successfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 800 Rage points!

Zu An counted everything once more, then sighed with pleasure. “The feeling of counting money sure is great.”

Just looking at the stack of notes in Zu An’s hands made Plum Blossom Seven’s heart bleed. That is our money! Damn it!

However, his years of experience as the manager of the Silverhook Casino allowed him to conceal his emotions and maintain a professional smile before his patrons. “Young master Zu, are you intending to leave now?”

Zu An tilted his head sideways and offered Plum Blossom Seven a sardonic smile. “Are you really intending to stop us? Honey...”

“Ah, no, no, no, of course not!” Plum Blossom Seven waved his hands at Zu An to placate him. He cursed Zu An under his breath. That lout took every opportunity to bring up his backing. “Young master Zu, please don’t misunderstand me. I was just thinking that, since lady luck is on your side today, it would be a waste for you not to play a few more rounds and take back more winnings.”

Chu Chuyan frowned at this suggestion. It was obviously a ploy by the casino to keep Zu An here and slowly strip him of his winnings.

It was such a blatant attempt that she felt no need to warn Zu An. Any human being with the slightest semblance of common sense would have seen through it and rejected it immediately.

However, things didn’t play out the way she had envisioned.

“I also think that my luck is extraordinarily good today! Since you’ve extended such a sincere invitation to keep earning your money, I would be letting you down if I left just like that. Very well, I’ll play a few more rounds!”

“Young master Zu, this way please!” Plum Blossom Seven was overjoyed. He had been afraid that Zu An was going to leave right then.

Since you have chosen to stay, I shall not only make you pay back all of the money you have won through sheer luck, I’ll make sure that you incur a huge debt on top of that! Otherwise, I shan’t be known as Plum Blossom Seven!

Chu Chuyan clenched her fists tightly as Zu An wasted no time strutting back to the gambling table. This fellow knew that it was a trap, yet he still foolishly leaped right in. No wonder those in the city look down on him so much!

You have successfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233 Rage points!

A storm was brewing on her face. Her opinion of him had just started to improve after what had just happened earlier, but in the end, he was still the same wastrel as before.

It looks like I was expecting too much out of him.

Surprisingly, this thought quelled her rage and helped her regain her composure. She calmly followed Zu An over to the gambling table, her emotions firmly under control.

Plum Blossom Seven did not feel confident in allowing his disciple to handle the next round, and decided to assume the responsibility.

“Oh ho, you’re going to hold the fort personally? Are you that afraid of losing?” Zu An teased.

A vein popped out from Plum Blossom Seven’s temple, but he quickly replied with a fawning smile, “Of course not. This fellow seems a bit too nervous at the moment—look at how his hands are trembling! I’m afraid that his inexperience will dull your enjoyment. However, you need not worry. With lady luck shining on you today, I have faith that you’ll do well.”

Despite his words, Plum Blossom Seven’s thoughts flowed in a different direction.

Luck? Hah! Those who depend on luck in the casino have already had their wives sold off to brothels!

“Well, well, aren’t you a smooth talker! I accept your well wishes. Let’s begin,” Zu An replied with a smile.

“How much do you intend to bet this time around, young master Zu?” Plum Blossom Seven asked.

With an extravagant sweep of his arm, Zu An replied grandly, “Do you even need to ask? I’m going all in! A true man should be decisive and charge right in!”

Those words made Chu Chuyan shake her head, but she made no move to stop him. The other gamblers shook their heads as well. They had seen many such people in the casino over the years—those that got ahead of themselves as soon as they earned a bit of money, and eventually ended up losing it all back to the casino.

It was common for gamblers who were faring badly to wish poor luck on others who fared well. The other patrons quietly gathered around again to watch the show, waiting and wishing for Zu An to lose all of his money.

Plum Blossom Seven was more than delighted at Zu An’s pronouncement. “Young master Zu sure is direct!”

He had feared Zu An would play carefully after his huge killing. It would have been troublesome if he’d lost his nerve before losing all fifty thousand silver taels. However, since Zu An was betting everything on this single round, Plum Blossom Seven would still be able to face the sect master, even if he couldn’t get Zu An into debt.

Out of the blue, Zu An said, “You can’t be planning to cheat, right?”

Plum Blossom Seven nearly choked at the sudden accusation. He quickly waved his hands to assure him. “Look at how many veterans there are in here; I would never dare to cheat in front of them! Besides, Chu First Miss is watching me as well. There’s no way I would be able to fool her if I attempted something.”

The payment ratio was set well in favor of the casino. It was extremely difficult to beat the odds, and anyone was almost guaranteed to lose in the long-run. Even if someone won a few rounds now and then, they were most likely to leave the casino having made a loss.

Zu An nodded. “Very well, hurry up and shake the dice.”

Plum Blossom Seven favored him with a cold sneer as he began shaking the dice shaker dexterously. His arm moved so swiftly that it left an afterimage in its wake, and drew awed exclamations from the crowd.

While Plum Blossom Seven wasn’t a particularly strong cultivator compared to the other godsons of the sect master, he had managed to secure his current position through his superior skill at gambling.

As long as he willed it, he could get any number he wanted.

He decided to shake out a triple, which allowed him to win all bets, regardless of whether one bet on ‘big’, ‘small’, or even a specific number. The only chance to win was if Zu An bet on triple, which was extremely difficult to win given the long odds.

Halfway through his shaking, Plum Blossom Seven suddenly hesitated. What if that fellow somehow wins the bet while being all in?

Betting on a triple had a payout of 1:150, which meant that he would owe Zu An seven-and-a-half million silver taels. Even if they sold the entire Plum Blossom Sect, they wouldn’t be able to raise that much money!

Even so, it would be close to impossible for Zu An to win. There were six different sets of triples, so even if Zu An did bet on a triple, he still only had a one-in-six chance.

What am I so afraid of?

Plum Blossom Seven quietly reassured himself as he finally slammed the dice shaker onto the table. He looked at Zu An and smiled. “Young master Zu, please place your bets.”

His predatory gaze seemed to say: ‘Come and deliver your money right here!’

Zu An, however, was in no rush to proceed. He first turned to look at Chu Chuyan, who said to him, “Rest assured, he didn’t cheat here.”

Considering the disparity in their cultivation—Chu Chuyan was at rank five whereas this fellow was only at rank two or so—there was no way Plum Blossom Seven would be able to hide any tricks from her.

However, Zu An shook his head and said, “That’s not what I’m not asking. I’m asking you if you have any copper coins on hand.”

Chu Chuyan was confused. “Copper coins? What do you need those for?”

As someone in charge of the Chu clan’s businesses, she always had some money on hand in case of emergencies. At Zu An’s request, she fished out a single copper coin from her coin pouch.

“Lend it to me for a moment.” Zu An plucked the copper coin from her hand and leaned over to whisper in her ear, “Help me blow on it.”

Chu Chuyan’s face immediately turned cold. “Stop messing around.”

Zu An insisted with a chuckle. “Just help me out this once. As long as you give it a wisp of your divine breath, I promise you that I will win this bet.”

“Blow on it! Blow on it! Blow on it!”

The gamblers in the room loved a good commotion, and they began chanting in unison.

With all eyes on her, Chu Chuyan found herself put on the spot. She had no choice but to blow softly onto the copper coin. Her fair cheeks colored with a slight tinge of red. She told herself that she would surely settle this score with Zu An later on.

Zu An smiled in satisfaction as he felt a slight breeze tickle his fingers. “All right, with my wife’s divine breath on my side, my win is assured. I shall bet on whatever this copper coin falls on!”

As he said those words, he flicked the copper coin up into the air. Everyone watched with bated breath as the copper coin fell onto the gambling table and rolled around. Even Chu Chuyan was unable to tear her gaze away.

She had intended to watch nonchalantly from the sidelines, but Zu An’s request for her to blow on the coin had ended turning her into a participant in his show.

Her heart, which had for many years remained still, began to hasten for once. She found herself anticipating—almost eagerly—the result of the toss.

The copper coin continued to roll until it finally struck the edge of the gambling table. It rebounded, before finally settling on the box indicating triple ones.

With a hearty peal of laughter, Zu An placed all of his fifty thousand silver taels’ worth of banknotes onto the box, declaring, “Since destiny has decreed so, I shall stake all of my money here!”

“Open it! Open it! Open it!”

All the gamblers around found themselves dying to know the outcome of the throw. Needless to say, they were all praying for Zu An’s loss. This man actually dared to flirt with his wife in the middle of the round. How abominable!

With his hand still on the shaker, Plum Blossom Seven’s face twisted in horror. How could this be possible?

His mind went blank, and his ears failed him. He couldn’t seem to hear any of the commotion ringing around the table; all he saw were mouths opening and closing, seemingly shouting something at him.

“Hm?”

Seeing how the dealer wasn’t lifting the dice shaker, the gamblers realized something was amiss. This brat couldn’t have been so lucky as to have really guessed it, can he?

“Plum Blossom Seven, why aren’t you lifting the dice shaker?”

“Hurry up and open it!”