Chapter 72: Stop talking nonsense. How can I not fight for the hatred of having my wife stolen from me?
Don't.
Don't be angry.
Dealing with Shen Juansheng about this is like trying to negotiate with a brightly colored venomous snake that's been lurking at the head of your bed to move.
The snake may obediently spit out its soft tongue, look at you innocently with its beautiful vertical pupils, but its body will not move even an inch, and then try to wrap around your wrist.
There's no need to be angry. There's no point in getting angry with a madman.
She couldn't really press him into a mural, and after all, she'd been in the wrong by running into a man's room in the middle of the night. So, in the end, Qing Guiyu simply pulled him back from the wall, stuffed him back into the room, and then fled in panic.
The next morning, she got up early, finished her things, and planned to go to the gambling house that Fuxi mentioned.
However, he ultimately underestimated Young Master Jin Sheng's thick skin and his determination to "be with Miss Qing".
As soon as she stepped out of the gate of Tangquan Villa, the young man in black followed her like a shadow, still half a step behind her, neither far nor close.
Qing Guiyu walked fast, and so did he. When she stopped, he stopped too, his eyes fixed on her quietly, unwaveringly.
The gambling house at the foot of the snow-capped mountains has a grand name, called "Tongchifang".
The place was bustling with activity. Shouts, the crisp clatter of dice into porcelain bowls, the frustrated curses of losers, and the triumphant laughter of winners all mixed together. The air was thick with the strong smell of sweat, alcohol, and the unique odor of the Jianghu, mixed with dust and rusted weapons.
At a table on the east side, several bare-chested Cao Gang men were gathered around a large table, clapping their hands on the table to determine who was better.
In the western corner, there were actually a few Taoists wearing Taoist robes, staring at the dice cups with red faces.
But there were more nameless wanderers, carrying swords and knives, walking in groups of three or five, some shouting loudly, some talking in whispers with their heads down, their sharp eyes scanning everyone around them.
Qing Guiyu, a young lady dressed in green, holding a half-worn bamboo flute, attracted several malicious gazes as soon as she stepped in.
However, before those gazes could become more presumptuous, the young man in black appeared behind her, as close as a shadow.
"Miss Qing," Shen Jiansheng's voice was very soft, with a hint of indulgence and helplessness, as if he was appeasing a lover who had run away for fun, "There are many people here, be careful."
As soon as the eyes in the gambling house saw him, they all turned away.
Black clothes and golden thread, there is only one person like him in the whole world.
Those initially lustful gazes instantly turned to fear, apprehension, or curiosity. Several people stepped aside, leaving a narrow passage. Their whispers were extremely subdued, yet evidently uncontrollable.
Qing Guiyu was about to look around when he was attracted by a sudden and louder noise.
In the center of the gambling house, there was a huge wooden board standing against the wall with something written on it in a flamboyant style. There were people surrounding it in three layers.
“Make way, make way!”
She squeezed into the crowd, took a closer look, and suddenly a surge of anger rose to her head.
There were a few lines of large characters scrawled on it:
"On the summit of the snowy mountain, amidst the battle for the sunken land, who will be the winner?"
The three lines of small print below are the handicap odds.
Shen wins, 3 to 1.
Lu wins, two to one.
Both sides suffer losses and perish together, and the dealer wins everything.
"It's open! Buy it and leave it!"
A lean dealer shouted at the top of his lungs, clutching a handful of bamboo chips, "Two of the world's greatest young masters! Bet on Lu Baiyi's divine swordsmanship, place your bets here! Bet on Young Master Jinsheng's unparalleled strategy, place your bets here!"
There were also countless small odds on the side: "Will the war start within three days?", "Who will attack first within an incense stick?", "How many strands of the golden blade can the Wuwang Sword break?", "Shen Tianji vomited blood", "Lu Baiyi broke the sword"... The odds varied, and the area was filled with jianghu people who were placing bets, each of them craning their necks and arguing with saliva flying.
"I bet on Lu Baiyi to win! Damn it, he is the authentic descendant of the Snow Mountain Sect, and his swordsmanship is superb. How can Shen Tianji, a sickly guy, compete with him?" A man who looked like a swordsman slammed a bag of silver coins on the wooden board.
"Bullshit!" Another person immediately retorted, "Who is Master Jin Sheng? He can kill you with just a flick of his finger! No matter how skilled Lu Baiyi's swordsmanship is, can it be better than the Tianji Pavilion's vicious plan? I'm betting on Chen Tianji!"
A man with a thick face at the back, his face flushed from drinking, lowered his voice, but the whole gambling house could hear him.
"Who among you doesn't know that Chen Tianji is under the spell of a love poison? I heard that he was beaten up by that little witch in the inn the other day and was completely bewitched! Love poison! If you're jealous, you'll definitely risk your life to fight! I'm betting on Chen Tianji!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of laughter all around.
"Hahahaha! That makes sense!"
"Then he's being held in such a tight grip!"
The veins beside his ears jumped happily, and Qing Guiyu's face turned from pale to blue, and then from blue to red. He could only clench the bamboo flute tightly, his knuckles turning white, and he could almost hear the sound of his teeth grinding.
I have never been so embarrassed in my life.
These gang of scoundrels are so bored that they actually use this kind of thing to manipulate the market!
She shook the bamboo flute in her hand and was about to step forward to lift the broken wooden board.
But the wrist was gently held by the person beside him.
"Miss Qing," Shen Juansheng's voice rang in her ears, still in that calm and gentle tone, as if this ridiculous farce in front of him had nothing to do with him, "Don't be angry."
"What? This is none of your business?" Qing Guiyu pointed at the wooden board angrily.
"Well," Shen Juansheng actually nodded, his eyes flashing with a calm light in the dim light of the gambling house, "It's my business."
wrong,
This is totally wrong.
"Is this... your work?" She took a step back, lowered her voice, almost squeezing it out through her teeth, and glared at him sideways.
The engraving voice paused for a moment, and he glanced at the noisy crowd, his eyes moving.
"Miss Qing," he spoke again, his voice very soft, leaning close to her ear. In such a place, he was strangely intimate. "Do you think I did this?"
"Who else but you?" Qing Guiyu suddenly understood what had happened and was immediately furious. "Who else in the world could be so boring, so... so mean!"
"Yes," Shen Juansheng actually nodded, stretched out his hand, and calmly helped her calm down. "There are many people who want to stir up trouble. There are also many people who want to use this to become famous. But..."
"...But Brother Lu's whereabouts are elusive, and his swordsmanship is superb. After all, the Tianji Pavilion's spies will eventually run out."
Shen Juansheng's eyes swept over the gamblers with different expressions. His voice was soft, but his words were very cold.
"In the martial arts world, money is always more reliable than words. But he was able to make this game known to everyone, constantly attracting those who had seen him to place bets and discuss, so that he would know where he had been, who he had met, the severity of his sword wound, and how much of his physical strength had been depleted."
He leaned down, lowering his voice even lower, as if he was sharing a secret with her, and his long eyelashes blinked slightly.
"Only Li Chengjin can do it."
The master of destiny is accustomed to using the world and human nature as the stones he uses to explore the way.
"And I am the only one who can get Li Chengjin to do this."
He admitted it.
This gambling game is what Master Jin Sheng truly wants to win over the people.
This person was like this, using a truly tender and gentle mind to plan himself into it extremely coldly.
Qing Guiyu was both angry and felt it was ridiculous. She shook off his hand, took a deep breath, pushed through the crowd, and walked straight to the dealer.
The dealer was a lean, middle-aged man with a pair of bright eyes. Seeing her coming, he smiled and said, "Miss, you want to place a bet too? Who do you want to bet on to win?"
"I bet," Qing Guiyu reached to her waist, took out the expensive porcelain vase with gold and colorful decorations that Chen Juansheng had forced upon her, and slammed it heavily on the table.
“They don’t fight.”
The noisy room suddenly became quiet.
Everyone's eyes were on her and the porcelain vase that still shone brightly in the dim gambling house.
This bottle alone was made of precious, painted porcelain from an imperial kiln, and was worth over fifty gold. It was Chen Juansheng who had secretly replaced it for her. After being caught, he plausibly claimed that the original bottle was crude and unsuitable for her medicine.
"No?" The dealer was stunned, then laughed, "Miss, there's no such thing as 'no' here. Either Shen wins or Lu wins, you have to choose one."
"If not, then open one." Qing Guiyu raised his chin, looked around, and spoke in a clear and resounding voice.
"I'm the banker."
She pointed to the two names on the wooden sign and repeated clearly:
"I said. No. Fight."
These words were earth-shattering, and the whole place was in a dead silence. Everyone looked at her as if she were crazy.
The dealer looked embarrassed.
"Miss, this... this is not the rule. Everyone knows that the two of them are openly fighting. They are vengeful for the annihilation of their family and the abduction of their wives. Now the entire martial arts world is waiting to see this good show. How can they not fight?"
Those shrewd eyes looked at the medicine bottle again,
"Besides, we only accept gold and silver, not objects, in this building. Miss, what kind of medicine is this?"
Qing Guiyu was full of vigor, but she was shocked by the words "hatred of having his wife taken away" and was stunned by the question. But she had been mixing medicines for many years, so how could she have the leisure to come up with names for them one by one?
Suddenly remembering the lie Chen Juansheng had told her that day, she pointed at the bottle viciously.
"In this bottle of mine, there is... 'Horse Hoof Snow Lotus Cream'!" Just like this,
"A secret recipe unique to Medicine King Valley. Applying it externally can regenerate flesh and bones in case of sword wounds, and taking it internally can save lives."
A hint of smugness appeared on his face, and then he stared at the dealer, raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm betting on this medicine. The odds are 10 to 1."
She boasted without blushing or beating her heart, after all, this medicine was indeed her best medicine. This made even the most addicted gambler hesitate.
If this medicine is truly effective, it would be a priceless lifesaver. But this "no fight" handicap is truly too unbelievable.
Qing Guiyu looked at everyone present and tapped the table with his bamboo flute.
"Stop talking nonsense. I'm not going to fight." Xu looked resolute now. "As long as I'm alive, they won't fight. Let's make a bet. Do you dare to take it?"
As soon as she mentioned Yaowang Valley, sweat appeared on Zhuangjia's forehead. Shen Juansheng had already walked up from behind, frowning and looking at it carefully.
So the dealer secretly glanced at the silent, yet chilling young man in black behind her, then looked at her again, stammering, "Miss... Miss, this... this odds were set by us at Baxialou, it's really hard to change..."
At this moment, the hand wrapped with gold thread reached out from her side and gently covered the back of her hand that was placed on the porcelain bottle.
The touch was so cold that her fingertips trembled. Then she saw Chen Juansheng moving a small token made of wrought iron, covered with dragon patterns and inscribed with the words "Chiwen", towards the side of the porcelain bottle.
Everyone leaned forward, wanting to take a closer look.
This is the personal order from the head of Tianji Pavilion, the token of Chiwen Tower.
"Yes. I'll bet on that, too."
The voice of Master Jinsheng sounded behind my ears, clear and gentle.
Qing Guiyu turned around suddenly and met his smiling eyes.
"you......"
"I bet—" He turned his head and smiled at her. Under the influence of the aura around him, that smile was so erotic and beautiful.
"The engraving sound wins."
Qing Guiyu glared at him.
The air suddenly became tense, and the noise in the room was completely drowned out by this strange confrontation.
The two men faced off, one betting on a tie, the other on a win. Their bets were placed side by side on the table, one simple and precious, the other ornate and exquisite. The entire room fell silent, and everyone watched the scene with bated breath.
This is not a gambling game at all, it is clearly a contest of love, and it is another strange story made public by the world-famous "love Gu".
In this strange atmosphere of tension and ambiguity, a strong female voice suddenly split the filthy air like thunder.
"There are so many people standing here, are they going to let people see them?"
The crowd was separated by a powerful force, and a tall and strong woman with hair cut to the ears, wearing tight clothes and fine iron wrist guards, walked in.
Her sharp eyes first swept across the ridiculous lottery, then fell on Shen Juansheng, and finally, stared straight at Qing Guiyu's face.
"I was wondering who was setting up such a big show here, it turned out to be Chen Tianji. Are you bringing your little lover here to open a husband-and-wife shop?"
It was the elder of the Lintang of the Cao Gang, the "Iron Scale Bones" Huo Erniang. She said coldly,
"Chen Tianji, you've made a really big deal. Let me ask you, how many of my Cao Gang members' lives have you staked on the Yuzhou water?"
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