I am not the Crown Prince
Chapter Three
A thin, small boy wandered among them, seemingly out of place in the scene, like a young master from a wealthy family out for a stroll.
Such people are targeted by the bookmakers like wolves the moment they walk in.
"Young master, what a rare guest!" The newcomer waved a fan. He looked to be around forty years old, with shrewd eyes. His gentle smile gave people a warm and welcoming feeling. He was slightly overweight with a slightly protruding belly, and his gold-purple clothes looked a bit too big.
He introduced himself with a smile, "I am the manager here. My surname is Wang, Wang Da."
"Is this your first time here, young master?" The boy in front of her was only sixteen or seventeen years old. He wore a clean and elegant blue robe, and his long, dark hair was tied up with a white jade hairpin.
His skin was even whiter and smoother than the finest white jade. His long eyes were indifferent, and his thin lips were slightly pursed. His aloof and untainted temperament was completely different from the rest of the gambling den.
Manager Wang wiped away a cold sweat. Rumor had it that the young prince in Chang'an had recently gone missing. He wondered if he might be lucky enough to run into him. After all, Manager Wang had been in the business for many years and was a shrewd person. He didn't want to alert anyone to anything uncertain.
Besides, the emperor is far away, and even the crown prince would have to pay to gamble. The person in front of me, who was almost mistaken for the young crown prince, was none other than Zhou Yulin in disguise.
She wandered around for a bit, only to be blocked by Manager Wang. "Manager Wang, I'd like to ask what makes money the fastest here?"
Manager Wang smiled and said, "Then you've come to the right person, young master. Right now, the most popular item is spirit stones."
"Young master, would you like to give it a try? I can offer you a discount; you can choose any stone from this pile for the first one, and I won't charge you."
It sounds like an extraordinary favor, but Zhou Yulin could guess with his toes that there were probably very few spirit stones among these stones.
Manager Wang probably thought Zhou Yulin was just a clueless young master. Little did he know that this guy had driven ten gambling dens in the city to bankruptcy when he was only fifteen. One of them even owed Zhou Yulin two million spirit stones and was still on the long road to repaying the debt.
Back then, gambling dens and casinos were thriving, and many disciples of the Xuanling Sect frequented them. In order to clean up this bad habit, Zhou Yulin went to the ten gambling dens at the foot of the mountain and arrested those good-for-nothing junior brothers one by one. In the process, he also won the land deeds of the ten gambling dens.
That story is still talked about with great interest in the Xuanling Sect. People say that whoever marries this junior sister will definitely have a hard time in the future.
Firstly, this junior sister is highly skilled in martial arts. If she wants to find another woman and cuckold her, well, she probably won't live long enough.
Secondly, this junior sister is a highly skilled gambler. If she wants to go out and gamble, this grandma can help her leave her underwear at the casino and never get it back.
"Very well, then thank you in charge." If the old fox had a tail, then Manager Wang's tail would already be wagging.
The boy squatted among a pile of stones, carefully selecting one by one, while Manager Wang just smiled and watched the boy's futile efforts.
These stones are all the lowest grade scraps. If you can't even tell that, you must be a young master who has never been to a gambling den before. Giving him face like this isn't me, Wang Da, bullying him.
Zhou Yulin, unaware of what Manager Wang was thinking, looked at each stone one by one, sometimes weighing them, sometimes tapping and patting them, acting like a complete novice, just to impress Manager Wang. "Manager Wang, may I take a stone from over there?"
It's hilarious! Zhou Yulin knew perfectly well that the stones she had gambled on before were all the lowest grade. Not only would they not yield anything valuable, but most of them were useless stones. What she needed was Manager Wang's disdain and complacency.
When Manager Wang met the young man's sincere gaze, thinking that the other party was unlikely to choose any valuable spirit stones, he waved his hand generously and said, "Young master, please choose."
Having received this tacit approval, Zhou Yulin smiled inwardly, but remained outwardly composed, looking at the pile of stones with a conflicted expression.
At this moment, a burly man dressed in black, who was watching the commotion, urged impatiently, "You kid, hurry up and choose! What are you dawdling about?"
The people around whispered among themselves, "This young master has an extraordinary air about him. He might be a young master from some family. You should watch your words."
The man scoffed, "So what if I'm a young master? Do you think I'm afraid?"
After saying that, he stared meaningfully at the figure carefully selecting stones, "Young Master, you'd better choose carefully, or you'll cry if you don't find anything." He deliberately emphasized the word "carefully," as if afraid that Zhou Yulin wouldn't hear him.
Zhou Yulin's gaze finally settled on a palm-sized stone in the corner. "I've chosen Manager Wang. Could you please open it for me?"
Just as Manager Wang was about to take it, Zhou Yulin suddenly withdrew her hand. "Manager Wang, what should be done if I pay with spirit stones?"
Manager Wang was only slightly embarrassed for a moment. Realizing that the person in front of him was just a young boy who couldn't possibly have any valuable spirit stones, he quickly smiled and said, "Of course, you can take it away yourself, young master. I won't ask for a penny."
Zhou Yulin smiled and said, "Then I hope Manager Wang will keep his promise."
"That's natural."
"Young Master, random question: What did I tell you after you woke up?"
The young man who asked the question had a beauty mark at the corner of his eye, and his clothes were made of the finest gold silk, embroidered with elegant patterns and trimmed with snow-white edges. There was a hint of anger suppressed in his bright blue eyes.
"You said I should stay in bed for ten days and not move, not eat anything, and definitely not go to the human realm, because it would easily disrupt my spiritual energy." The reply was fluent and accurate, not a single word was wrong, which made Shen Lin even more furious.
"You know you shouldn't go to the human realm, right?" Shen Lin didn't want to argue with Chen Muyao. He had never seen such a disobedient patient. After the consultation, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Chen Muyao, leaning against the bed, seemed to remember something. She pulled out a book she had confiscated from her spatial pouch and opened to the first page.
"This book is for reference only; please do not imitate it."
Chen Muyao ignored it, finding it somewhat amusing. Novels these days are truly outrageous; would anyone be so foolish as to imitate scenes from them?
He glanced at it briefly, a blush creeping up his ears. He slammed the book shut. "Shameless, vulgar."
A few seconds later, Chen Mu opened the book again. After reading it expressionlessly for three sleepless nights, he dialed the human hotline, "Hello, I want to report someone."
"Crimes?"
"False advertising and malicious defamation."
*
"That's natural."
Upon receiving Manager Wang's promise, Zhou Yulin's eyes sparkled with a smile, but upon closer inspection, the smile did not reach her eyes.
"That young master has been picking and choosing for ages, looking like he's got it all figured out," the burly man in black sneered. "I bet he's going to pawn his underwear here today."
However, as the outer wall of the stone was gradually thinned, a pure purple spirit stone was revealed inside. The burly man in black and the onlookers were so astonished that their jaws nearly dropped. Manager Wang didn't say anything, but his expression revealed a hint of regret. This kid was lucky, after all.
The only person who remained calm throughout the entire event was probably the person involved, who smiled humbly and said, "I'm so sorry, Manager Wang."
It's just that this "I'm sorry" sounds like it came from Versailles.
"Young man, how about we make a bet?" The burly man in black stepped forward. His already fierce face had a knife scar running from below his eye to beside his ear. His gesture of offering his hand in a gesture of politeness was surprisingly unexpected.
"Not so great." Zhou Yulin tossed the purple spirit stone in her hand, crossed her arms, and looked back leisurely. The purple spirit stone was quite valuable; it could fetch at least five chests of gold if sold.
"Young master, you surely understand the principle that 'a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime,' right?" The burly man in black seemed determined to obtain the spirit stone from Zhou Yulin.
In the past, Zhou Yulin would have simply beaten such a person up. But now, Zhou Yulin was well aware that although some of the people around her were silent, they were all watching her with predatory eyes.
Getting it right once can be considered good luck, but getting it right two or three times can be very different.
When gambling on spirit stones, aren't you gambling with your own destiny?
"Young master, you can gamble again. I'll reimburse you for the expenses." It was Manager Wang's voice. Zhou Yulin sighed. How could he not see through Manager Wang's intentions? He could only feign a troubled expression and say, "Alright then."
"However, I have another condition," the young master said worriedly. "I am delicate and precious. If I can't get home safely, my parents will definitely worry. If I win the next round of the bet, you need to escort me home safely, okay?"
The burly man in black hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Then let's make a life-or-death oath." Zhou Yulin didn't believe the other party would keep any promises, and it was always better to be prepared for a backup plan.
A crack appeared on the face of the burly man in black. A life-or-death oath—this kind of oath is usually made in the arena. Why does this young man make it sound like this oath is as common as cabbage?
Moreover, it was the kind of cabbage that was bought wholesale by weight.
"Ah Jin!" A person emerged from the crowd. He had a white veil over his eyes and was dressed in tattered clothes. He stumbled and fell towards Zhou Yulin, but fortunately, Zhou Yulin caught him quickly. The next second, she heard him shout hoarsely, "I told you my eyes can't be cured, but you, but why are you so stubborn!"
“My father abandoned my mother when I was three years old. My mother raised us alone, but eventually fell ill from overwork and passed away on the eve of your tenth birthday. I also lost my sight when the alchemy furnace exploded while I was helping out.”
"It's just the two of us in the family now, relying on each other for survival. I don't need you to be rich and powerful. I just hope that my Ah Jin can grow up safely and happily every year."
Zhou Yulin: Who is this drama queen/king?
Zhou Yulin's blank stare appeared to everyone as an expression of unspeakable sorrow, and some of the onlookers who were easily moved to tears were already wiping away their own.
He really made me cry my eyes out.
The boy in front of him was about the same age as himself. He held his hand as if it were the last straw, and dared not let go even a little.
Just then, Zhou Yulin heard a voice in her ear, "Keep acting, I'll take you out." Zhou Yulin didn't have time to think about how she got involved with the boy in front of her. She only remembered that she should leave now, so big tears fell like broken pearls, her eyes red. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry for your brother, I'm useless."
"It's okay, I don't blame you."
The two of them supported each other and walked out together, loving each other dearly.
It wasn't until the two left that everyone seemed to wake up from their daze.
"They really have a deep brotherly bond—"
Someone timidly remarked, "It's just gambling on a spirit stone, why is it being made into a life-or-death situation?"
I must say, this guy is absolutely right.
After walking a few hundred meters out of the gambling den, the boy opposite Zhou Yulin breathed a sigh of relief, removed the white veil covering his eyes, turned his head and smiled, "How exciting! How was it? Was it fun?" The boy had almond-shaped eyes that turned into crescent shapes when he smiled, like white magnolias in the mountains, clear and clean.
Despite his tattered clothes, the boy possessed an innate air of nobility that he had cultivated from a young age.
Unlike Chen Muyao, who was unbelievably beautiful, the young man in front of her wasn't the most exquisite in appearance, but his temperament was top-notch.
If she dressed up well, she could charm countless young women.
"You're really good-looking." The boy's praise was very sincere. He extended his hand and introduced himself, "My name is Gu Ling, and my nickname is Jin."
High banks become valleys, and deep valleys become hills.
Zhou Yulin extended her hand and gave her a simple handshake.
Faced with Gu Ling's praise, Zhou Yulin remained calm. More than who he was, Zhou Yulin was curious about why he wanted to help her.
Why did you help me just now?
Gu Ling replied naturally, "You're so good-looking, what you do isn't right. If I don't help you, who else should I help? Besides, even without me, I believe you have a way to escape unscathed. Right?" Gu Ling winked at the end.
Oh, so Gu Ling is a sucker for good looks.
Zhou Yulin had only come to the casino to make some money, and getting the Purple Spirit Stone was already an unexpected surprise. She had never intended to accept the bet from the burly man in black. Zhou Yulin understood the importance of keeping a low profile. Winning again and again might not be a good thing, and it was not bad to be able to get out unscathed.
appearance?
In her previous life, Zhou Yulin was beautiful, but under the pressure of power, her beauty became less noticeable.
Just like how the top student in the grade is often overlooked because of their excellent grades, even though they are actually quite good at sports.
So when Zhou Yulin wasn't chosen as the most beautiful woman in the immortal sect, the second senior brother even went to Guilai Peak and said with great regret, "If only our junior sister were a little weaker, she could have been selected. What a pity..."
As the girl's sword flashed, flowers fell in droves, grazing the blade and splitting into petals that drifted down. Amidst the sea of flowers, the girl stood with her sword raised, laughing and joking, "Senior brother, if I had any weaknesses, Zhou Yulin wouldn't be Zhou Yulin. Whether beautiful or ugly, in a hundred years we'll all be dust. What Yulin wants to be is the best in the world."
Zhou Yulin still finds it funny to think about what her second senior brother said back then. He said, "Junior sister, keep it up! I heard that Chen Muyao is almost at the Nascent Soul stage. Why don't we conquer him first, and then we'll be number one in the world?"
However, fate played a cruel trick, and the Battle of Jinyang City ultimately changed many things.
Is her second senior brother still alive? Zhou Yulin didn't know, but she would search for him as long as there was even a glimmer of hope.
Zhou Yulin clenched the purple spirit stone in her hand, then suddenly let go. Now that she was a cripple, what about Chen Muyao?
I saw him yesterday, and his strength has improved considerably. He should have entered the Nascent Soul stage by now...
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