Chapter 27: The Decisive Word in the Martial World

"Zhong Shan," Tian Linger exclaimed joyfully.

Hearing Zhong Shan's voice was like receiving a shot of courage. Ever since the Cold Crow incident, Tian Linger had developed immense trust in Zhong Shan, as if there was nothing he couldn't handle.

The crowd parted to let Zhong Shan pass. He carried a large saber on his back, accompanied by a white-robed man wielding a long spear.

"Tan Xiaoyou?" Zhao Suoxiang looked at the black-robed man with the sword on his back, frowning.

"Senior Brother Zhao," the black-robed man greeted Zhao Suoxiang, though his tone lacked respect.

"Is he your junior brother?" Zhong Shan asked Zhao Suoxiang, frowning.

"No, he's a disciple of the Ming Sword Pavilion. Their sect is close to our Iron Spear Sect, and we often interact," Zhao Suoxiang explained.

Zhong Shan nodded. "As long as he's not your junior brother."

"Zhong Shan, you finally came. He won all my money," Tian Linger said angrily.

Tan Xiaoyou, the black-robed man, whispered a few words to the Golden Brick Building's owner.

"Everyone, our Golden Brick Building is closed for today. Please come back tomorrow," the owner announced, clearing the place.

"What? Why close now? We haven't seen enough!" the patrons complained, but they were quickly ushered out.

Only the Golden Brick Building's owner, the croupier, Tan Xiaoyou, Tian Linger, Zhong Shan, and Zhao Suoxiang remained.

"Since he is Senior Brother Zhao's friend, let's just drop it," Tan Xiaoyou said with a smile.

"How can we drop it? Once you're at the gambling table, there's no such thing as just dropping it. You wanted to gamble, so I'll gamble with you," Zhong Shan insisted, unwilling to let the matter go. He was also trying to console Tian Linger, who looked on the verge of tears.

Shaking his head, Zhong Shan sat down at the gambling table.

Hearing Zhong Shan's words, Tan Xiaoyou frowned, a trace of mockery in his eyes.

"Fine. Since you want to gamble, let's continue. However, I am betting an Ethereal Pearl. What will you wager?" Tan Xiaoyou asked.

Tian Linger, eager to support Zhong Shan, immediately thought of taking out a treasure she had hesitated to use before.

"Take out my small wooden box," Zhong Shan instructed Tian Linger.

"Huh?" Tian Linger frowned but nodded. She flipped her hand, and a small red wooden box appeared.

Seeing the wooden box appear out of thin air, the dealer and the Golden Brick Building owner widened their eyes in disbelief. Immortal techniques? Immortal techniques?

"Zhong Shan, what is this?" Tian Linger asked curiously.

Zhong Shan gently opened the small wooden box, revealing a bottle of elixirs, containing only one pill inside.

"A Rejuvenation Pill. Should be a worthy bet, right?" Zhong Shan smiled at Tang Xiaoyou, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"A third-grade pill?" Zhao Suoxiang frowned.

Tian Linger also looked skeptical. How could Zhong Shan have a third-grade pill? Where did it come from? It was too incredible. Was it real?

Tian Linger quickly took the bottle and lightly opened it. As soon as she did, a fragrant scent filled the room, giving everyone a feeling of relaxed pores and immense comfort.

"It is a Rejuvenation Pill," Zhao Suoxiang confirmed.

"And yours?" Zhong Shan smiled, his eyes filled with mischief.

"The Ethereal Pearl," Tang Xiaoyou placed an Ethereal Pearl on the table.

"Alright, dealer, you may start," Tang Xiaoyou said, signaling the dealer to proceed.

"Wait," Zhong Shan suddenly called out, stopping the dealer in his tracks.

Zhong Shan gently opened the small wooden bucket, picking up a die. The dealer and the owner of the Golden Brick Building appeared nervous.

"Weighted dice? Change them," Zhong Shan shook his head.

"Weighted?" Tian Linger exclaimed in surprise. She then picked up a die, and with a squeeze, 'crack,' the internal lead piece became visible. Seeing the position of the lead piece, Tian Linger immediately realized why she kept losing before.

"Cheaters!" Tian Linger yelled angrily, flipping her hand to draw out her red silk, ready to wreck the casino.

"Stop," Zhong Shan commanded Tian Linger. ViiSiit nvelb/n(.)c/()m for ltest vels

"They cheated me, they took my silver notes," Tian Linger protested.

"Silver notes are just paper," Zhong Shan frowned.

Yes, to Zhong Shan, what were silver notes? They were like toilet paper, and even too hard for that use. What were silver notes compared to the Ethereal Pearl?

"But... but..." Tian Linger stammered.

"It's alright, I'll win them back," Zhong Shan reassured her.

"Alright, but you have to win," Tian Linger urged.

"Mm," Zhong Shan nodded.

Tang Xiaoyou frowned at Zhong Shan, while the casino owner dared not slack off and quickly brought out three new dice. This time, the owner dared not play any tricks.

"Alright, you can inspect them," Tang Xiaoyou said.

Zhong Shan trusted that after the previous incident, the casino owner wouldn't dare cheat again, but he still insisted, "Inspecting the dice is a must. I not only want to inspect the dice but also the dice cup."

"Be my guest," Tang Xiaoyou sneered.

Zhong Shan picked up the dice, gently weighing them and feeling each edge. After carefully inspecting the dice and ensuring they were fine, he then examined the dice cup, shook it a few times himself to ensure there were no issues.

"Since the dice are fine, let's have someone unrelated roll the dice. How about that?" Zhong Shan smiled.

"Unrelated?" Tang Xiaoyou frowned.

"I'll do it. I haven't played much, so I shouldn't be able to cheat," Zhao Suoxiang offered.

"Alright," Tang Xiaoyou nodded.

"Fine," Zhong Shan agreed.

The dealer and owner stepped aside, and Zhao Suoxiang placed his spear aside, picked up the dice cup, and gently shook it.

The dice rattled inside, and finally, Zhao Suoxiang placed the cup on the table. The dice rolled a bit more inside before coming to a stop.

"Alright, let's begin," Zhao Suoxiang said.

"I bet on big," Tang Xiaoyou declared.

"I bet on big too," Zhong Shan suddenly smiled.

"You bet on big too? Then how do we decide?" Tang Xiaoyou glared.

"How about we guess the exact points and see who's right?" Zhong Shan suggested with a meaningful smile.

"Guess the points? How could you guess that?" Tang Xiaoyou retorted.

"What if I guess right?" Zhong Shan smiled faintly.

"If you guess right, you win. If you guess wrong..." Tang Xiaoyou sneered at Zhong Shan.

"If I guess wrong? Naturally, you win," Zhong Shan smiled.

"Deal," Tang Xiaoyou immediately agreed. It would be foolish not to. Guess the exact points? Ridiculous, with so many possibilities, how could he guess right?

"Alright," Zhong Shan said.

At this moment, Tian Linger grabbed Zhong Shan's sleeve nervously. Guess? How could he guess right? She had never guessed right before.

"Four-four-six, fourteen points, big," Zhong Shan declared solemnly.

After Zhong Shan spoke, Zhao Suoxiang, filled with doubt, slowly opened the dice cup.

Everyone watched tensely, waiting for the result. Tian Linger's light grip on Zhong Shan's sleeve tightened, almost tearing it off.

"Four-four-six, fourteen points, big."

At that moment, everyone was stunned. Fourteen points, it really was fourteen points.

"We won! We won!" Tian Linger shouted excitedly, jumping up and down while holding Zhong Shan's sleeve, her face flushed with excitement. They had won back everything.

"Zhong Shan, you're amazing," Zhao Suoxiang said in disbelief, looking at Zhong Shan.

"Just luck," Zhong Shan shook his head. But at that moment, nobody believed him.

After the initial excitement, Tian Linger quickly swept all the stakes off the table.

Watching Tian Linger take the Ethereal Pearl, Tang Xiaoyou felt a pang of pain and looked at Zhong Shan with a face full of resentment.

"Zhong Shan, the weather is turning cloudy, and it looks like it's going to rain heavily. Let's find a place to stay. Why don't you come to where I'm staying, and we can catch up?" Zhao Suoxiang suggested.

"Alright," Zhong Shan nodded.

Hearing Zhao Suoxiang's suggestion, Tang Xiaoyou's brow furrowed, his eyes flashing as if he had thought of something.

"Linger, those dice that helped us win so much are lucky dice. Take them with us; we might need their luck again," Zhong Shan said as they were leaving.

"Mm," Tian Linger quickly grabbed the three dice and followed Zhong Shan and Zhao Suoxiang, hopping along.

"Zhong Shan, you were really amazing just now. How did you guess?" Zhao Suoxiang asked as they walked ahead.

"A decisive word in the martial world loses its power when explained," Zhong Shan smiled but didn't answer.

Tian Linger, holding the 'lucky dice' at the back, frowned in thought. She suddenly realized that each of the dice's eight edges seemed different, as if they had been subtly manipulated. Could dice really be like that?

Of course, what Tian Linger couldn't realize was that Zhong Shan had intentionally tampered with the dice during his inspection. By using the dice cup to test them, he was listening for the differences in sound that each altered edge made.

Zhong Shan, an eighty-something-year-old man, had long become astute and cunning. Mastery of gambling techniques was second nature to him. By differentiating the dice by their unique sounds, he could determine the result. After all, Zhong Shan owned a casino himself, one far more sophisticated than this Golden Brick Building, with research that these people couldn't compare to.

Chapter end