Volume 1 Chapter 16
With twenty thousand taels in gold placed on the table, each person held a dice cup, and the gambling round began! Everyone crowded around the table, holding their breath as if they were the ones participating in the gamble.
The young owner raised his hand slightly, “You are our guest, please go first!”
“In that case, I won’t be polite!” Leng Jiu smiled lightly, picked up the dice cup, and the six dice landed on the table. Swiftly sliding the cup over the table, all six dice rolled neatly inside. With a crisp sound, she covered the cup on the table, her eyes shining as she stared at the opponent, “Young Master, please.”
The young owner stared at the dice cup in Leng Jiu’s hand for a long time. Everyone held their breath, waiting for his response. Finally, the young owner raised his hand, “I concede this round!”
“What?” Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief. The young owner, known for his extraordinary gambling skills, actually conceded voluntarily? Some thought he might be modest, planning to win the next two rounds and turn the situation around.
Leng Jiu raised her hand, “Young Master is straightforward; indeed a true gentleman. In that case, it’s your turn!”
The young owner picked up the dice cup. Though not as elegant as Leng Jiu, he was proficient. After shaking it several times, he placed it on the table, his gaze fixed on Leng Jiu. After listening, Leng Jiu smiled, “I lost this round!”
At this point, she felt a real sense of competition from the young owner. When the dice were inside the cup and invisible, everything was uncertain and could be manipulated at any time. So, he dared not guess hers. Even if he did, he wouldn’t dare to say it. She also refrained from guessing his because there was only one correct answer, but the variations were endless. Thus, it was better to concede!
One round each, and the young owner looked at her, “The final round. No need to guess the points; just compare whose sum is smaller. What do you think?”
Leng Jiu raised her eyebrows, “Alright! But I hope when you open it, there are intact dice inside, not a pile of powder!”
The young owner looked deeply at her, then lifted his hand and took the dice cup. Leng Jiu didn’t fall behind; her dice cup started to shake violently, becoming slower and slower until finally stopping. She covered the cup lightly on the table.
Both participants stopped, and Leng Jiu raised her hand, “This time, please go first!”
The young owner glanced at her, then raised his hand to gently open the dice cup. Six dice were stacked into a pillar, with a red dot on top.
“One point!”
“Young Master is indeed formidable. The smallest sum is one point. Admirable!”
“The opponent hasn’t opened it yet!”
“What’s left to compare? Who can shake out a one-point like the young owner? Even if two people shake out the same, it’s still a draw, neither winning nor losing!”
Everyone looked at Leng Jiu’s dice cup, seemingly with no expectation. However, the young owner didn’t think so. He knew the person opposite him definitely had more skills than just this. Yet, with intact dice, even if all six showed one point, it would be a draw. What meaning would this gambling round hold?
Just at this moment, Leng Jiu opened the dice cup without haste. The cup went up, and as each die was stacked, everything seemed normal. However, when the final die appeared, everyone’s eyes widened. The second-to-last die showed one point, and the final die’s corner was perfectly wedged inside, corresponding to the protruding corner of the entire dice column. All six dice were intact, but… there were no points!
Leng Jiu raised her hand to take the gold bill, but it was intercepted by a pair of hands. She glanced at the bodyguard and then at the young owner, raising her eyebrows slightly. “What’s the matter? Does the young master not accept defeat?”
The young owner’s face was extremely ugly, and his gaze was as cold as a knife. Eventually, he waved away the bodyguard’s hand and personally pushed the gold bill to Leng Jiu’s side. “If you can afford to gamble, you can afford to lose!”
“Very well! Thank you, young master!” Taking the silver bill, Leng Jiu left without looking back. A crowd of people stared at her retreating figure, wondering if she had really won against the young master.
“Master!” The shopkeeper Li Quan approached, asking in a low voice. The young owner’s expression remained unchanged, but he made a slight gesture with his fingers. Li Quan immediately understood and signaled to the strong men behind him. Several of them quickly left from the back!
After winning the money, Leng Jiu didn’t foolishly linger on the street. She knew the rules of the gambling den very well. How could the young owner allow her to take away so much money without trying to reclaim it, along with her life!
Leng Jiu hurried along the street but unwittingly attracted a group of followers. With a large number of people chasing her, she didn’t dare to take secluded paths. She could only head towards the bustling marketplace, taking advantage of the crowd to slip away!
When she finally managed to evade one group of people, she saw several strong bodyguards ahead. Planning to turn around and run back, she realized the pursuers behind had caught up. Trapped between the two groups, there was no escape!
Suddenly, her gaze fell on a carriage parked in front of a tavern. The carriage seemed simple at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the materials and workmanship were extremely exquisite. It was apparent that this was no ordinary person’s carriage. However, Leng Jiu couldn’t be bothered to figure out whose carriage it was. Seeing no coachman, she dodged a few times, directly crawled under the carriage, and then made a graceful somersault, slipping inside. She lowered the curtain, hiding everything from view.
Inside, she discovered there was already someone. Afraid that the person might shout, Leng Jiu didn’t care about anything else and pounced on the individual, covering their mouth. “Don’t shout! I’m just hiding for a while!”
At this moment, the coachman returned, picked up the whip, and slowly raised the carriage. After a few minutes, the carriage left that section of the street. Leng Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief, released the person she held, and apologized with a slightly embarrassed smile. “Sorry! The situation was urgent, and I might have offended you!”
As she spoke, she looked at the person inside the carriage, and then her whole body froze. Did she step on dog poop? Could she encounter such a beautiful person while escaping for her life? Yes, the person in front of her was a stunning beauty with sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, a delicate nose, and lips like carved jade. Every feature was flawless, adding a touch of elegance to his handsome face. However, his temperament was far from gentle; it was only icy, especially at this moment, with those intimidating starry eyes containing a chilling anger, seemingly piercing through her. Beautiful when calm, even more so when angry. Leng Jiu felt like she had picked up a treasure. Escaping her life and encountering a beauty? Did she hit the jackpot?
Not wanting to linger in this awkward situation, Leng Jiu quickly looked away and, with a mischievous smile, moved toward the person. She then abruptly kissed him on the face and swiftly retreated, saying, “Hehe! Consider it a token of gratitude for saving my life. Until we meet again!”
Ignoring the coachman’s astonishment, she directly jumped down from the carriage and, with a swift and fiery departure, disappeared at the end of the street. Meanwhile, inside the carriage, a murderous intent surged, and the air became extremely oppressive.