Chapter 41 - Gambling

There was a small square in the middle of this town. At the centre of it, stood a wooden podium, recently raised for just one purpose.

"Today, in front of all the town dwellers living here, travellers who came from faraway, and guests specially invited - I announce the opening of 388th Southern Shang Fair!"

Shouted the Town Lord in his loudest voice. He was at the 9th rank of Meridian Opening stage. Just one more push and he could gather Qi.

'But... this old man has no chance.' I could guarantee he would be stuck with opened meridians and never manage to truly cultivate the Qi. He had most likely used too many boosting pills, herbal baths, quick power increment techniques to get to this stage.

"This year, we have garnered Young Master Tong Kai's interest! The 388th fair won't be the same!"

I kinda lost interest after he started sucking up to that fatty. Indeed, Tong Kai was fat, fat like a pig. I was more worried about the podium itself than the chair on which he sat.

He had a large forehead, short black hairs, small brown eyes, a double chin and thick lips. The yellow robes he was wearing could be a fitting bedsheet for a queen-sized bed.

'How is he at the 7th rank of meridian opening?' For that, I just couldn't think of any reasons other than either drowning in herbal baths or cultivating a special technique which required non-stop eating.

I shook my head. I'd wanted to see how this person from Tong Clan looked like and this was enough. I'd seen a person equivalent to 4 people combined.

Not paying attention to the Town Lord's speech, I entered the marketplace leaving the town square. There were a lot of high ranking cultivators gathered around him and they made me uncomfortable.

I was still not strong enough. Well, I was just starting. These men had wasted their potential but I planned to ascend from this world, how could I compare myself to them?

Today's market was incredibly packed. Stall owners were shouting here and there to attract curious costumers. They sold toys, decorative items, clothes, cereals, friuts, charms, sweets, and many more.

Every 60-70 steps, guards were stationed. The town lord didn't have many practitioners above rank 5 to spare, so the guards were mostly at rank 3-4. Even so, they were in a large number, discouraging any opportunistic stealer from trying anything.

"Come lad, try your luck. Who knows, you might win a ring or an old manual, or even a beautiful slave..." 5 minutes hadn't passed and someone was already trying to lead me to a gambling den.

Although the guards prevented any physical harm from being done, they couldn't do anything about people who did financial and mental harm. Such fairs were dangerous in not just one way.

'Hmmm... but I can probably use some of my evil tactics to make this guy a roadman,' I thought, stroking my chin. Oh, I was finally gaining a beard.

"Let's go then. I have too much money to spare today."

The peanut-eyed man laughed at my overly suspicious reply and told me to follow him. He led me through a confusing network of stalls and we stopped before a large red tent.

Now that I looked around, I noticed that this place was where I'd traded with Orange Flowers Company. The ground was sandy here with sparse vegetations sprouting over it.

"Come inside." The man parted the tent's covering. More light reached inside as we entered the tent.

In there, lots of numbered 'goods' were on display and a huge wheel was in the middle.

"That's the most popular game we have. You bet on one number and if the wheel's only tip stops on that number, you win," said the man, showing me around.

There were dart-throwing and card-swapping games as well. The thing that intrigued me the most was the mystery curtain game. I asked this man about it.

"Most people are too afraid to buy a mystery ticket. They don't know what's behind those curtains and if they chose the wrong curtain, all the money is lost. But, you are rich, you aren't afraid. Why not-"

"Ok," I said and dissmissed him. Something else was capturing my attention.

Many men stood around that wheel, cheering for someone. They shouted and talked loudly. I saw the glitter of gold and bottles of alcohol on the table beside. Just who was winning so much?

I went to the middle of this tent and there came the first surprise of this day. One feet on the table, the other on another chair; one hand holding the long bottle, the other betting a large share; this was Hu Shuo, drunk and out of his mind.

Every number he said, the wheel tip stopped at that. It was as if his luck attribute got an infinity boost. Even though he said a number repeatedly, he was always right.

Men cheered for him, women tried to seduce him and jealous eyes trailed his every movement. Others were also betting on whatever number he said and they were making profits. Brother Hu was living the life of a main character today.

'This won't last long, though,' I was highly suspicious about his wins. These men here didn't realise how unrealistic it was to win so much.

The wheel roller was controlled by a young man and he was calm. There was no excess sweat on his forehead, no haste in his movements. He knew that this money wasn't going anywhere.

The wheel was rigged! This winning streak would turn into a losing streak once the owner gave the young man a signal. It was a simple strategy that relied on the insatiable greed of gamblers.

'Should I tell Hu Shuo to quit and run away with the money?' There were hundreds of gold coins there. Though, I doubted Hu Shuo could even stand up now. What would I gain from that anyway? I shook my head. With this, brother Hu would learn to be more careful in the future.

"Hey handsome, you wanna play~?"

Suddenly, someone came beside me and held my right arm. Her volumptous body stuck to mine like a leech. Casually groping her, I looked at this woman.

"Yes, why not?"

'Hmmm... 6/10,' I internally rated her looks. She was beautiful enough to make inexperienced young men spill their coins in a losing game.

"I want to try out the darts." I acted like a typical young master. Rich, snobby and impatient; they were the best customers for all businessmen.

"Ehehe, if young master can hit the central dot three times in a row, then this Seong'er would serve you in many ways..."

It was the standard bait and she was soon going to regret picking me out of all other gamblers.

There were a lot of exotic items here in this whole market. I wouldn't say my luck was low, considering I was quite rich after looting the Gang family treasury. In such a place, I had a high chance of finding something useful.. After that, acquiring it was easy.