An Unprecedented Event

This was Heaven bestowing this great merit upon me!

Tian Shijiu, Tian Heng's Adopted Son and the Gambling House Manager of Prosperity Place, felt that his good fortune had arrived.

He gave a meaningful look, and the gambling house's shopkeeper immediately sprinted out to deliver this earth-shattering news to Tian Heng.

At that moment, Tian Heng was in Xuanwu City, discussing matters with the Xu Family Head.

"I suddenly feel like playing a few rounds, but I didn't bring any money. Can I borrow some?" Young Master Shen asked.

"Yes, yes..." Tian Shijiu grew even more excited.

I was afraid you wouldn't borrow. Better yet, borrow ten thousand Gold Coins, then lose every last one of them.

Then Tian Heng could go to the Earl's Manor to collect the debt, and Young Master Shen would be beaten to death by the Earl.

"I'll borrow a thousand Gold Coins first?" Young Master Shen said. "How much interest?"

"You are our most distinguished guest. The annual interest is ten percent, with no compound interest," Tian Shijiu said.

This interest rate was already very, very low. But let alone ten percent—he would have been willing to lend the money even with no interest, or even by paying Young Master Shen interest instead.

Otherwise, how could he swindle Young Master Shen to death? In any case, the money could never leave the gambling house. The meat would rot right in the pot.

"Fine. Write up the IOU, and make the interest and everything else crystal clear," Young Master Shen said.

"Of course. Everything will be as you wish," Tian Shijiu said.

Once the IOU was written, a thousand Gold Coins were placed before Young Master Shen. Without another word, he exchanged all of them for chips.

Tian Shijiu fawned over him. "Master Shen, what would you like to play?"

"What is the simplest?" Young Master Shen asked.

"Sic Bo is the simplest," Tian Shijiu said.

"Fine, then Sic Bo it is!" Young Master Shen said.

Tian Shijiu immediately led Young Master Shen over to the Sic Bo table.

At this point, he was receiving treatment fit for a celebrity. Many gamblers even stopped playing and came over to watch.

"So that's Young Master Shen?"

"First he became the Xu family's Live-in Son-in-Law, then he became the Earl's Manor's Live-in Son-in-Law."

"He really is handsome, isn't he?"

"I'm handsome too. Why can't I marry into the Earl's Manor?"

"After knowing you for so long, how did I never realize you were such a dishonest man? When you pissed, didn't the chamber pot tell you the truth?"

"Young Master Shen actually dares come gamble? Is he looking to die? Win or lose, the Earl will break both his legs, won't he?"

Young Master Shen continued to ignore them and said directly to the dealer inside the Gambling Table, "Let's begin!"

Tian Shijiu nodded.

Against trash like Young Master Shen, he couldn't even be bothered to cheat.

The dealer behind the Gambling Table began shaking the dice. After about half a minute, he slammed the dice cup down onto the table.

"Big or small?"

With three dice, anything below nine was small, while anything above nine was big.

Young Master Shen took one look with his X-Ray Vision and effortlessly saw the total inside.

Thirteen! "Big!" Young Master Shen shoved out all one thousand Gold Coins' worth of chips.

Everyone immediately became excited.

Damn, going this big on the first round? Young Master Shen had borrowed those thousand Gold Coins, yet he had wagered them all.

The other gamblers stopped playing as well, all holding their breath as they watched the show.

This was far too thrilling.

"No more bets," the dealer said.

"Open it! Open it! Open it..."

The dealer at the Gambling Table abruptly lifted the cover.

Thirteen points! Young Master Shen won! "He really won."

"Young Master Shen really has shit luck. He won a thousand Gold Coins on his very first round."

The watching gamblers were wildly excited.

Tian Shijiu's expression, however, did not change. He still wore a smile.

That had been entirely luck. It meant nothing at all.

To be honest, Tian Shijiu had been worried Young Master Shen would lose the first round and stop playing afterward.

Only by letting him win a few times and taste the sweetness would he keep gambling.

Winning the first round was the beginning of a gambler's lifelong tragedy.

The second round began, and they were still playing Sic Bo.

The dealer at the Gambling Table began shaking the dice, his expression now extremely solemn. He shook them for a full minute before slamming the cup down onto the table.

Of course, it was only to heighten the sense of ceremony and make the gamblers feel even more pressure.

But for Young Master Shen, even if he shook them for a hundred minutes, the result would be the same.

Young Master Shen used his X-Ray Vision again. It was still big—fifteen points.

"Big!"

Young Master Shen shoved out all two thousand Gold Coins' worth of chips.

At once, nearly everyone in the hall found it hard to breathe.

Was this Live-in Son-in-Law from the Earl's Manor insane? He was betting this heavily?

Even Tian Shijiu's expression shifted slightly.

If Young Master Shen won again this time, it would be four thousand Gold Coins.

Even for Tian Heng, that was a huge sum.

This gambling house was lavishly decorated, but its monthly net profit did not exceed two thousand Gold Coins.

Four thousand Gold Coins was equivalent to more than ten million yuan on modern Earth. (The value of Gold Coins has been slightly revised from before.)

Even the Gambling Table dealer's hands began to tremble.

"Open... open... open..."

The dealer suddenly lifted the cover.

Fifteen points—big! Young Master Shen had won again! Four thousand Gold Coins in hand!

The spectators were completely worked up.

Four thousand Gold Coins—an astronomical figure.

Enough for them to live for several lifetimes without eating or drinking.

Tian Shijiu's expression changed drastically.

This Young Master Shen really was mad. No matter how much he won, he shoved it all in on the next round.

And his luck was truly good. He had guessed right twice in a row.

This was the most the gambling house had lost in the past two or three years.

Ordinary gamblers losing four or five hundred Gold Coins was already exceedingly rare; those were all wealthy outsiders.

They could not let Young Master Shen keep winning. Tian Shijiu had to step in himself.

And once he did, Young Master Shen would undoubtedly lose!

Tian Shijiu smiled. "Come, come, come, Master Shen. I'll shake the dice for you personally."

He was a master at shaking dice. If he wanted big, he got big; if he wanted small, he got small.

But that was nothing.

His greatest skill was that, after shaking the dice and setting the cup down on the table, he could still alter the points.

Only Tian Shijiu in all of Prosperity Place possessed this ultimate technique. That was why he had become Tian Heng's Adopted Son and the gambling house's manager.

Young Master Shen understood. The other side was preparing to cheat.

"No, no, no..." Young Master Shen smiled. "I suddenly don't feel like playing Sic Bo anymore. It's all luck, no technical skill involved. I want to go play Pai Gow."

Tian Shijiu smiled. "Fine, fine, fine. You're the boss, Master Shen. Play whatever you want—we'll play Pai Gow."

How could he possibly let Young Master Shen leave?

If his Foster Father learned that not only had he failed to ruin Young Master Shen, but had actually let him win four thousand Gold Coins, he would skin him alive.

His gambling skills were extremely high. Otherwise, he would never have become Tian Heng's Adopted Son or Prosperity Place's resident ace.

Within Xuanwu City, Tian Shijiu had virtually no rival in gambling.

Especially in a game like Pai Gow, which required a certain degree of skill—he could make Young Master Shen gamble away even his underwear with his eyes closed.

So of course they could play.

Sic Bo depended entirely on luck.

Pai Gow, on the other hand, involved a certain amount of skill—at the very least, judging the strength of the other side's hand, whether they would follow the bet, psychological tactics, and so on.

In short, Tian Shijiu was absolutely certain that he could clean Young Master Shen out with his eyes closed.

Tian Shijiu could effortlessly identify the values from the backs of the tiles, because every tile bore a mark—though the marks were exceedingly subtle.

Young Master Shen's request to play Pai Gow was simply courting death.

He had to make him lose everything, then lend him money and leave him owing ten or twenty thousand Gold Coins.

That way, in order to avoid repaying the debt, the Earl's Manor could only cast Young Master Shen out and sever all ties with him.

Of course, that also meant Young Master Shen would undoubtedly die.

In this world, the rules of Pai Gow were very simple—far simpler than on Earth.

The thirty-two Pai Gow tiles were placed face down on the table.

Each person drew two tiles, and the meaning of the faces determined who won and who lost! There was no need to roll dice to draw tiles; each person simply picked any two tiles they wished, then compared their values.

Supreme Treasure was the highest. Ding San with Er Si was equivalent to 3 plus 9; although each tile's points were low on their own, together they formed the strongest combination.

Next came a pair of Heaven Cards, followed by a pair of Earth Cards.

There was no need to go into the rules in detail. They were not important anyway.

Just as they were about to begin, Young Master Shen suddenly said, "I don't trust your tiles. Send someone to buy a new set. We can only continue gambling after I've checked them."

At those words, Tian Shijiu frowned slightly.

Every tile in the current set bore a subtle hidden mark. He could identify them all from the backs.

"If not, then I'll be leaving. Please exchange these four thousand Gold Coins for me." Young Master Shen rose and made to leave.

"Don't, don't, don't..." Tian Shijiu said. "Buy them, buy them, buy new tiles."

How could he bear to let Young Master Shen leave now? If Young Master Shen left, he would be finished.

Then Tian Shijiu ordered a waiter, "Go buy ten new sets of Pai Gow tiles. Remember, don't buy them from one of our own shops."

Without another word, the man dashed off and bought ten new sets of Pai Gow tiles.

After they were brought back, Young Master Shen inspected them with X-Ray Vision and found that six of the new sets had no hidden marks.

He selected the most ordinary-looking set of Pai Gow tiles. There were no marks whatsoever, and their internal grain and density were perfectly uniform. Cheating with them was absolutely impossible.

"We'll use this set." Young Master Shen pointed casually.

"Fine."

Tian Shijiu did not care. He was Xuanwu City's foremost gambling expert, undefeated wherever he went. Even without cheating, victory was assured! The match between the two officially began!

"Why don't you draw first?" Young Master Shen said.

Tian Shijiu nodded and drew two tiles from among the thirty-two.

Using X-Ray Vision, Young Master Shen effortlessly saw the faces of his tiles.

Tian Shijiu was rather lucky. He had drawn two Plum Blossom Cards, the sixth-highest combination of all.

"One hundred Gold Coins." Tian Shijiu pushed out his chips.

Since Tian Shijiu had the sixth-highest combination, Young Master Shen drew the fifth-highest combination of all: Double Harmony.

He set it directly on the table without even looking at it.

"One thousand Gold Coins!" Young Master Shen pushed out his chips.

He truly had the bearing of a God of Gamblers.

When everyone saw Young Master Shen push out his chips without even looking at his tiles—and wager a full thousand Gold Coins—they could not help but cry out in surprise.

What a high-stakes gamble! This was a grand spectacle they had never seen before.

Tian Shijiu hesitated briefly. His tiles were very strong; they were worth a fight.

"I'll match your one thousand Gold Coins!"

"Reveal the tiles!"

The two flipped over their tiles. Young Master Shen won! Cold sweat streamed down Tian Shijiu's face!

However...

This was only the beginning!

What followed was his nightmare! An unprecedented nightmare.

Because in every round, Young Master Shen never looked at his tiles and simply pushed out one thousand Gold Coins in chips.

Then...

He kept winning, and winning, and winning!

Until Tian Shijiu's entire body trembled, cold seeped through every inch of him, his head spun, and he began to doubt his very life.

Heavens?

This was absolutely haunted—haunted!...

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