17 Good Luck

Li You Ran had a perfect plan against Jun Mo Xie. He had carefully studied Jun Mo Xie’s character while formulating his strategy, and hadn’t left any loophole in his planning. So, his plan was a guaranteed success. However, Jun Mo Xie was no longer the target of his plan; it was Jun Xie. Therefore, an unexpected error had appeared in You Ran’s planning.

Could You Ran’s plan still proceed as he had expected?

*** ***

The Thousand Gold Hall…

Everyone was seated. Li Feng asked, "Shall we start the bet with Third Young Master Jun’s usual amount – one-thousand liang? Or should we increase it?"

"Start with one-thousand liang?" Dugu Xiao Yi was shocked. Her face had turned red. "You guys are going to start betting with such a big amount?" Dugu Xiao Yi was only carrying an amount of one-hundred liang in her purse. She hadn’t expected the bet to start from one-thousand liang. After all, she was the only daughter of the Dugu family. So, all her needs and necessities were taken care of by her servants. All she ever bought for herself was some silver and gold jewellery; that too occasionally. Therefore, she didn’t have any idea about the money needed to bet in the Thousand Gold Hall.

A thousand liang wasn’t an extraordinary amount. However, a thousand silver liang weighed around dozens of kilograms. No one could wander about carrying such a huge weight in one’s pockets. Therefore, everyone used bills.

"A thousand liangs? No… no… it would take too long. I don’t have so much time to waste. Let’s start the bet with ten-thousand liang with no upper limit. I’ve plenty of money. This small amount of money isn’t worth it," Jun Xie laughed and said.

Tang Yuan was shocked. "Third Young Master, one-thousand liang isn’t an ordinary amount of money." Tang Yuan knew that Jun Mo Xie was only carrying fifty-thousand liang with him. This money would soon vanish if he started the bet with ten-thousand liang. However, he soon realized that it was better to be done with it as soon as possible. After all, he had already lost a huge amount of money a while back. Moreover, he had already recovered the promissory note. So, he didn’t want to push Jun Mo Xie to a dangerous spot. He thought that it wouldn’t be a big deal to lose fifty-thousand liang. So, he decided not to interfere in this matter.

"The Third Young Master is a very forthright person. The game of dice is my favourite. One has to rely on one’s luck in order to win this game. Moreover, both the sides can clearly see the result of the roll. So, it’s fair and reasonable," Meng Haizou laughed and said.

"Stop this nonsense now… Tell me, what are the rules of the game? The higher value wins or the smaller? Or are we guessing the values?" Jun Xie asked in an impatient manner. His eyes seemed slightly red. It seemed as if the drug had started to show its effect.

It seemed that the time was about to come.

Meng Haizou noticed Jun Xie’s eyes. He then said, "We can bet either on higher or on smaller scores. What do you think?"

Jun Xie nodded, "Call!"

The first step for the people participating in the game of dice was that they would take out the required number of silver bills. Then, they would roll the dice. The person with the highest dice roll would become the banker. The number of dice to be used in the game varied according to the number of people participating in the game. Seven dice were used if seven people were participating in the game. Similarly, six dice were used if six people were participating. Finally, the winner became the banker in the last round.

Only Jun Xie, Meng Haizou, Li Feng and Li Zhen were playing the game of dice now. Tang Yuan had already lost a lot of money, and Dugu Xiao Yi wasn’t carrying enough money. Even the Emperor couldn’t play without money; then how could she? She sat on the side and watched them play. Her face was flushed red with shame.

Suddenly, a bright idea crossed Jun Xie’s mind. He decided to take advantage of a powerful backer like Dugu Xiao Yi. He said, "Miss Dugu is a woman. So, she can’t join us in the game. Why don’t Miss Dugu play across the board?"

Dugu Xiao Yi’s eyes lit-up with excitement. "What’s that?"

"Playing across the board means making an outside bet. So, one can make a bet without participating in the game. For example, you can bet five silver liang on me. Both of us will lose our money if I lose the game. But, if I win the game… then your returns and interest amount will add up to ten liang," Jun Xie explained.

"That’s alright." Dugu Xiao Yi’s spirits seemed to have lifted. She said, "So, I’ll bet five liang on you in the first round."

Jun Xie laughed. "A beauty like you is betting on me. My luck won’t betray me now."

Li Feng sneered in his heart as he saw this, [Laugh as much as you want. But, be ready to cry soon.]

Everyone – except Jun Xie – had thrown their dice. Meng Haizou was currently leading the score. One of his dice showed six, and the others showed five. The total score had become 16 as a result. This score was quite high. The only way to beat him was to get at least seventeen points.

Li Feng looked exulted. It would be extremely easy to control Jun Mo Xie as long as Meng Haizou remained the banker. They wanted Jun Mo Xie to keep losing until he lost even his clothes. Their plan would start working as soon as he became mad owing to his loss.

Jun Xie smiled as he held the three dice in his hand. However, he was cursing in his heart. He knew that the dice had also been tempered along with his tea. They seemed to be filled with something else – other than lead – as their balance felt wrong to him.

The dice weren’t weighing to one side. This meant that the dice weren’t filled with lead. Jun Xie understood that the dice were filled with mercury as they were uniform in weight. Only the person familiar with these kind of dice could roll out his desired score. An average person couldn’t do anything about it even if he knew that he had been cheated. However, Jun Xie…

Jun Xie exhaled a long breath. He then twisted his wrist and tossed the dice into the dice cup. The dice collided with the cup with a loud sound. Simultaneously, Jun Xie placed his right hand on the table and issued a thin strand of Qi – as thin as a needle – towards the dice cup.

Everyone’s eyes were widened in shock as they saw the dice rolling in the cup.

The dice kept on rolling for a short while before coming to a stop.

"How’s it possible?" Li Zhen cried out. He looked depressed.

Meng Haizou and his group let out a sigh. However, Tang Yuan was cheering, laughing and dancing.

The three dice rolled by Jun Xie displayed the scores of six, five, and another six. His score was one point higher than Meng Haizou’s.

Meng Haizou and his group looked at Jun Xie in shock, [This bastard must’ve stepped on some lucky dog-poop today.]

Jun Xie cried out in excitement, "Miss Dugu’s luck is working! Your presence has led to my fortune. There’ll be a bloodbath today." He then picked-up the dice cup and shook it. "Put down your bet… put down your bet… do it quickly." He looked extremely impatient.

Jun Xie then slammed the cup on the table. His right hand was still placed on the table. There was a strained look on his face. However, his internal energy had already reached the cup.