18 Winning Money...

Li Feng and the rest of the group turned their heads to look at Meng Haizou since he was the most accomplished gambler amongst them. He was extremely proficient in listening to the dice’s movements; especially if he had prepared the dice himself. Everyone at the table – except Tang Yuan and Dugu Xiao Yi – were desperate to see Jun Mo Xie lose right down to his last piece of clothing.

Meng Haizou pondered for a while with closed eyes. He then opened his eyes and said in a confident manner, "High!" Then, he placed fifty-thousand worth of silver bills on the big section. Li Feng and the rest of the group followed his lead. Their faces showed traces of excitement and curiosity about what was going to happen.

Tang Yuan was shocked. He knew that Jun Mo Xie was only carrying an amount of fifty-thousand liang with him. He wouldn’t be able to pay the money back to everyone in case he lost this round.

The dice turned over in the cup as Jun Xie’s internal energy moved. Jun Xie then shouted, "All the bets have been decided now. So, I’m opening the cup." He then opened the dice cup. One of the dice had scored two and two dice had scored one each. It was a total score of four – a low score.

Meng Haizou’s face became pale. How was it possible? He had clearly heard at least one of the dice scoring six. There were ninety percent chances of the total score being on the higher side. However, not a single dice had scored a six. He began to ponder if he had miscalculated and heard the score of a one for a six.

Jun Xie collected everyone’s bills without any hesitation, and put them on his side of the table. He then gave Dugu Xiao Yi ten silver liang out of them. After that, he gave her an additional amount of a thousand liang and said, "Miss Dugu, congratulations! Thanks a lot for your good fortune. Please accept this one-thousand liang as a bonus."

Dugu Xiao Yi received the silver bills with a joyful expression on her face. She had narrowed her eyes into thin lines. She then patted Jun Xie’s shoulder and said, "Well done, Little Jun. I’ll bet on you again in the next round. I’ll place a bet for one-thousand liang." Dugu Xiao Yi seemed to have forgotten in her excitement that she highly detested Jun Mo Xie and that he was a debauchee.

Li Feng faked a smiled and said, "Third Young Master’s luck is on a high today. He has started the game so successfully." He then secretly looked at Meng Haizou with a questioning look in his eyes. Meng Haizou’s face looked pale. He shook his head as an indication of his cluelessness regarding the whole matter.

Jun Mo Xie had consumed the drugs. Moreover, the dice they were using were the ones Meng Haizou was most familiar with. Could it all just be a coincidence? Was it possible that he had made a mistake? After all, he hadn’t still reached at a very high level of the skill of listening to the dice. However, he had still lost only one game. He would get more opportunities. He could try and win the next games. He had plenty of time and money.

However, it was Jun Xie who won the next games. He continued to win until he had earned around three-million liang. Dugu Xiao Yi had also won around twenty-thousand silver bills. The faces of the Meng and Li groups had lost their color.

"You… you… you… you’re cheating! You cheater!" Li Zhen jumped. His face had turned red. He had been betting with the biggest amount of money. His seven-hundred-thousand worth of silver bills had been reduced to a few liang. He pointed his finger at Jun Xie and spoke in an angry manner.

Even Meng Haizou had become doubtful. How could he make a wrong guess repeatedly? He noticed that Jun Mo Xie still look dazed from his eyes. Then, how could he keep on winning? Had the God of Wealth decided to bless him all of a sudden? It would’ve been a coincidence if it had happened a couple of times. However, the same thing happening over and over again couldn’t be a coincidence.

"You can leave in case you don’t have more money. Don’t play if you don’t want to lose anymore." Jun Xie said without even looking at him. "One must identify the stolen goods if one wants to catch a thief. Similarly, one must identify one’s cheating if one wants to point a finger at someone. So, did you see me cheating? Miss Dugu, you’re a high-ranked expert. Did you see me doing anything wrong?"

Li Zhen looked at Jun Xie as if he would kill him. However, he felt fearful since Dugu Xiao Yi had been involved in the matter. Moreover, he knew that he was wrong.

Dugu Xiao Yi didn’t have the slightest clue about the rules of the game. Moreover, she wasn’t as high-ranked as Jun Xie had claimed her to be. However, she had won twenty-thousand liang after betting in favor of Jun Mo Xie. So, she was ecstatic. She replied, "You guys are a bunch of losers. You couldn’t stop laughing when you were winning. You even forced someone to get someone’s help. And now… since you’re losing… you’re accusing people of cheating on you. You people from Li family have some guts to do something like this. I’ve been sitting beside Little Jun all this time. All he had done is roll the dice. What else could he do? How could he cheat?"

"Who… forced whom to ask for help?" Li Zhen asked.

Dugu Xiao Yi pointed her finger at Tang Yuan and said, "Him. He went to get Jun Mo Xie to this place. It would be really strange if he hadn’t been called for help. Moreover, Tang Yuan is only looking at you guys… and isn’t playing himself even though he’s a great gambler. This means that he has lost everything he had to you guys. He wouldn’t have just sat here if he had money to play with you. Do you guys think that this woman is a fool?"

Everyone was surprised. No one had guessed that such an impulsive young woman could have such an astute mind.

*** ***

The Grand Preceptor’s Residence…

"Jun Mo Xie has entered the Thousand Gold Hall. But, he’s been accompanied by Miss Dugu Xiao Yi of the Dugu family," a bodyguard entered the room and reported.

"Dugu Xiao Yi? Why would she go to the Thousand Gold Hall?" Li You Ran frowned.

"Jun Mo Xie hadn’t taken her with him on purpose. They had actually met on the road. In fact, Jun Mo Xie had been thrashed by her. Then, she had forced him to take her to the Thousand Gold Hall." It seemed that the bodyguard had been watching them all this while from the shadows.

"It’s alright that he didn’t take her with him on purpose. But, this has presented an unplanned situation in front of us. Jun Mo Xie… this bastard is very lucky." Li You Ran then smiled and said, "Well, you should immediately inform Li Feng, Li Zhen and Meng Haizou to abandon today’s plans. Tell them to leave the game… even if they have to lose some money. Tell them to fix another meeting with Jun Mo Xie. Now, go fast."

"Sure…" the bodyguard replied and left the room.

"That was a quick decision; that too a brilliant one." Li Shang laughed. "If Jun Mo Xie had fallen into our trap in front of Dugu Xiao Yi… then she would’ve definitely spread the news after returning to her family. Then, those oldies would’ve been able to see through our planning. It isn’t wise to beat the grass before attacking a snake. It’s sensible to give up the plan for now. It’s also a great idea to let Jun Mo Xie win some money. This will boost-up his confidence… and he’ll agree for another game sometime later."

Li You Ran smiled. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Could it be that Jun Mo Xie had brought Dugu Xiao Yi with him on purpose? He felt like laughing out loud. How could a dimwit like Jun Mo Xie think like that?

It seemed that the bastard was indeed lucky.

However, Li You Ran didn’t know that it was already too late.

Their problem couldn’t be solved by losing a little amount of money.

*** ***

The Thousand Gold Hall…

The gambling rules were changed thrice owing to various objections. Jun Xie kept on buzzing arrogantly; so much so that smoke seemed to be rising out of the heads of the Li and Meng brothers. However, he still continued to win. The Li and Meng brothers had lost all their money by this time.

The winners – Jun Xie and Dugu Xiao Yi – were busy in dividing the money among themselves. The others started at them with jealousy as they saw the piles of money lying in front of them. They felt as if they won’t be able to control their anger as they saw Jun Xie counting the money out loud.

[That’s our money!]

Dugu Xiao Yi grabbed a handful of bills when Jun Xie wasn’t looking. Then, she stuffed them into her bosom with a lightning speed. The value of those bills would be at least one-hundred-thousand liang. She then said, "Jun Mo Xie, you won because of my presence. So, you wouldn’t mind if I take some more of those bills. Would you?"

[You’ve already stuffed those bills in your bosom. I’ll be declared a perverted person if I try to take those.] He touched his nose and said, "Of course… I don’t mind. Why would I mind? I’ve only won because of Miss Dugu’s presence. It’s fine if you take some more."

Dugu Xiao Yi’s eyes lit-up. She smiled and said, "In that case… shall I take some more?"

Jun Xie was shocked. He titled his head and said, "Miss Dugu, you’ve already received your winning amount. You’ve also taken my bonus. A human shouldn’t be so shameless."

"Hehe… I’m just teasing you. It’s only a little amount of money. Look at your miserable face!" Dugu Xiao Yi shouted in a pleasant manner. She realized that her decision to come and explore this place was a good one. She got to witness such an addictive game of dice. Moreover, she made a huge profit of two-hundred-thousand liang. She felt elated.

[A little amount of money? She thinks that one-hundred-thousand liang is a little amount of money?] Tang Yuan looked-on helplessly. He too wanted to grab some money. But, he didn’t have the guts to do that. He started to feel depressed as Jun Xie didn’t even bother to look at him. [Well… I’m a man. I can’t follow a woman and grab some money for myself. Humph! Why am I not a woman?]

Jun Xie felt smothered in his heart as he noticed Tang Yuan’s expressions. [You’re a two-hundred-and-fifty kilograms of a fatty. How dare you stare at me in this manner? It seems as if a bitter gourd has been placed on top of the head of a pig. I was thinking of giving you some money. But, after seeing this expression on your face… forget about it!]