Shen Lang Suppresses the Entire Hall, Tian Heng Is Stunned!

Tian Shijiu was certain that there were no marks on this set of Pai Gow tiles. Cheating was absolutely impossible.

Yet Shen Lang won every single round. What... what kind of luck was this?

He had only just become a Live-in Son-in-Law at the Earl's Manor, and he was already this imposing? The key was that this pretty boy never even looked at his tiles. He simply placed a thousand gold coins' worth of chips every time, and whenever he felt like being reckless, he would place two thousand.

Who gave you such enormous nerve?

Who gave you such tremendous courage?

This was clearly Tian Shijiu's casino, so why were you strutting around as though you had come home, taking money with your eyes closed? Of course Shen Lang would win, because he could see every tile with perfect clarity.

Winning required no effort at all.

The gamblers beside him were utterly spellbound.

Amazing! They had never seen such a spectacular scene!

Of course, they had seen people win several rounds in a row, even more than ten consecutive rounds.

After all, anything could happen in a casino.

But someone like Shen Lang, casually winning eight straight rounds and taking more than ten thousand gold coins—such a thing had never been seen or heard of.

This was truly too awesome! By the time Shen Lang won his ninth round, Tian Shijiu was on the verge of collapse. Cold sweat drenched his body, and both hands had gone completely stiff.

How could this be? He was clearly Xuanwu City's number one God of Gamblers. How could he possibly lose?

"I'm dead. I'm dead..."

He kept muttering, because Shen Lang had already won thirteen thousand gold coins. Adding what he had won earlier and subtracting the thousand gold coins he had borrowed, Shen Lang had won a full sixteen thousand.

Shen Lang, you were going too far!

You had not even brought a single copper coin, yet you had won sixteen thousand from him!

That was an astronomical sum. His Foster Father would surely skin him alive.

"I... I suddenly feel a little dizzy. Please excuse me..." Tian Shijiu said in a trembling voice.

He truly could not afford to lose any more.

Originally, he should never have lost this much, but he had been unwilling to accept it.

After losing one round, he had wanted to win it back, to recover his losses, to trap Shen Lang to death.

Before he knew it, he had lost sixteen thousand gold coins, nearly this gambling hall's annual net profit.

If he lost any more, people would die! After Tian Shijiu stood up, he staggered and nearly fainted. Then he left the gambling table and sprinted toward the Xu Family.

He had to report to his Foster Father immediately.

The situation had spiraled out of control. They would be finished! Yet Tian Shijiu's departure marked only the beginning of the casino's disaster.

Next, Shen Lang swept through every gambling table.

He won until every attendant, manager, and dealer at Prosperity Place turned pale and trembled all over.

And these gamblers were truly about to go mad.

They had never seen such a grand scene before. It was too crazily thrilling! Shen Lang looked at them and said, "What are you all standing there stupidly for? Bet with me!"

The several hundred gamblers froze at first, then went completely mad.

Several hundred gamblers began placing their bets alongside Shen Lang.

Whatever Shen Lang bet on, they bet on as well.

Prosperity Place's doomsday had arrived!

Earlier, Shen Lang alone had been winning. Now, all the casino's customers were winning together.

The only loser was Tian Heng's Prosperity Place gambling hall.

"Ah..."

Another dealer could not bear the pressure and clutched his heart before fainting on the spot, frothing at the mouth and convulsing all over.

"God of Gamblers! God of Gamblers! God of Gamblers..."

"Long live Master Shen! Long live Master Shen..."

The entire gambling hall erupted. Shen Lang had become the hero of several hundred gamblers.

Originally, whether Tian Shijiu or the gambling hall manager had been present, they could have immediately suspended all games and even temporarily shut down the casino.

But Tian Shijiu had been frightened out of his wits and run off to report to Tian Heng, without having time to close the casino.

Thus, Shen Lang led several hundred gamblers in a bloodbath through the entire Prosperity Place casino.

Inside the Xu Family residence, Tian Heng burst into laughter.

"Hahaha..." Tian Heng said, "Do you know what Shen Lang told me yesterday? Right in front of me, he said he would make me cut off my own arms and break Thirteen's legs. He even swore an oath over it. Tell me, isn't that laughable?"

The Xu Family Head said, "Him? After becoming a Live-in Son-in-Law at the Earl's Manor, he no longer knows the height of heaven or the depth of earth."

Tian Heng said, "After he became a Live-in Son-in-Law at the Earl's Manor, I truly did not dare touch him. Even when he came to extort me, I could only cut flesh from my own body. But for him to want me to cut off my own arms—he is daydreaming in broad daylight. Isn't the current situation clear enough? The Monarch wants to seize the power of the old aristocratic families, and the Xuanwu Earl cannot interfere in local affairs at all. So long as I do not commit crimes within the Earl's Manor's territory, what can he do to me?"

He had spoken rather too boldly.

If he did not have the City Lord's Manor and the Prefect's Manor backing him, he would have long since gone to Shen Lang to apologize.

On the night Shen Lang became a Live-in Son-in-Law at the Earl's Manor, Tian Heng had ceded enormous benefits to Zhang Jin. Only then had he gained the Zhang Family's protection and become so fearless.

"Originally, after he became a Live-in Son-in-Law at the Earl's Manor, even if we wanted to kill him, we would not have dared make a move. We could not even touch a hair on his head." Tian Heng said, "Who would have thought that this trash would actually come to our door to die, running straight into my casino to throw himself away?"

The Xu Family Head said, "He got carried away with success. The face of a petty man, that's all."

Tian Heng said, "What is my casino? It is a demon's den! Forget Shen Lang being trash—even if he were an expert, he would still lose until he was utterly defeated. If I do not make him lose ten or twenty thousand gold coins this time, I will never let him off."

The Xu Family Head said, "Once he loses more than ten thousand gold coins, we will not even need to act. The Xuanwu Earl will personally drive him out of the family and sever all ties with him."

Tian Heng said, "Or beat him to death alive! In any case, Shen Lang is dead this time. He is seeking his own death. It will require no effort at all!"

The Xu Family Head said, "Trash will always be trash. He will never amount to anything! We shall wait for Earl to uphold righteousness over family ties and beat this beast to death!"

And just then—

Tian Shijiu from Prosperity Place rushed in at top speed, his face deathly pale and drained of all color.

He dropped to his knees before Tian Heng and cried out in a hoarse, trembling voice, "Foster Father, Foster Father, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

But he discovered that he could not make a sound. It was as if his entire throat had been blocked.

Tian Heng had never particularly liked Tian Shijiu, because his Martial Arts were not strong and his methods were not ruthless enough. He was far inferior to Tian Shisan, who was Tian Heng's favorite Adopted Son.

Tian Shijiu was only one of his Adopted Sons because he was skilled at gambling and highly useful, capable of guarding Tian Heng's casino for him.

Seeing Tian Shijiu panting so desperately, Tian Heng flew into a rage and barked, "So rash and flustered—what kind of behavior is this? Every day, all you know is how to ruin women. How rotten has your body become? You ran a few miles and ended up gasping like this, unable even to speak clearly. What a disgrace!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Shijiu immediately began knocking his head violently against the ground before Tian Heng.

The Xu Family Head laughed. "Brother Tian Heng, your Adopted Son is truly filial."

Tian Heng said, "Who are you putting on this act for? Where is that beast Shen Lang? Have you dealt with him? How much has he lost? If it is less than ten thousand gold coins, I will skin you alive."

Tian Heng had calculated that ten thousand gold coins was roughly the Earl's Manor's limit.

After all, it was a noble house with a century of history and extremely deep foundations.

But the Earl's Manor was also short of money, because its fief had shrunk by eighty percent from its heyday.

Now, Xuanwu Earl's Manor had to use twenty percent of its fief to support an army of nearly three thousand men. The pressure was imaginable.

Furthermore, the Xuanwu Earl cherished his people and imposed almost no exactions upon those within his territory.

Although the Earl's Manor's financial situation was top secret, based on the Xu Family Head's and Tian Heng's estimates, Xuanwu Earl's Manor was probably operating at a loss every year and had already begun living off its old reserves.

Ten thousand gold coins was no small sum even to Xuanwu Earl's Manor.

If Shen Lang lost that money, he would either be expelled from the Earl's Manor or beaten to death alive.

Listening to his Foster Father's smug words, Tian Shijiu was completely engulfed in fear and became even less able to speak.

The moment he said Shen Lang had won sixteen thousand gold coins, his Foster Father would probably kick him to death.

The Xu Family Head said, "Brother Tian Heng, what if the Earl's Manor refuses to acknowledge the debt?"

Tian Heng sneered. "Shen Lang borrowed my family's gold coins to gamble. The promissory note is written in black and white. Moreover, Shen Lang came to my casino to gamble of his own accord. I did not force him in or lure him here, and many people can testify to that. Even if this lawsuit reaches the Prefect's Manor, I will have grounds to argue."

The Xu Family Head said, "Then you will have thoroughly offended the Earl's Manor."

Tian Heng sighed inwardly. How could he possibly have wanted this? He was, after all, merely a gang leader. Even though he held the official post of Thousand Commander of the Xuanwu City Militia, he was still a gang leader, with no one knew how many stains upon him.

It was only because the New Policy was now sweeping across the land, and old aristocratic houses like the Xuanwu Earl were strategically withdrawing and did not dare interfere in local affairs. In the past, how would Tian Heng have dared stroke the Earl's Manor's tiger whiskers?

Even now, Tian Heng had absolutely no wish to provoke Xuanwu Earl's Manor.

But he had no choice. Shen Lang, that bastard, had taken a mile after being given an inch, refusing to spare him after gaining power and forcing him toward a dead end.

Could he really go and break his Adopted Son Tian Shisan's legs? How could he then continue to hold his head high in Xuanwu City? Tian Heng would never voice these thoughts aloud.

Instead, he said breezily, "The City Lord's Manor stands behind me now. The Prefect's Manor stands behind me, and even the Governor's Manor stands behind me."

"The entire country is implementing the New Policy. Suppressing the Earl's Manor is precisely for the sake of implementing the New Policy; it is the irresistible tide of the times. So what if I offend the Earl's Manor? Once they lose their fief and military power, even a noble house of a hundred years will be a phoenix fallen from its perch, no better than a chicken."

Tian Heng spoke with righteous fervor, as though even gangsters loved their country.

"Well said." The Xu Family Head laughed. "Why has the New Policy in our Xuanwu City failed to advance? Is it not because Xuanwu Earl's Manor is a tiger blocking the road? We can use that beast Shen Lang as a breakthrough point. Since they took him in as a Live-in Son-in-Law, the Earl's Manor can only blame its own bad luck."

Tian Heng laughed along with him.

Yet only he knew how much pain was in his heart.

Having torn all pretenses with the Earl's Manor, Tian Heng had sought Prefect Zhang Chong's protection for self-preservation, paying five-figure sums of gold coins each year—more than half his income.

Thirty-five percent of the annual net profits from his five gambling halls had to be handed over to Prefect Zhang Chong.

And the person handling those gold coins was none other than Xu Guangyun before him.

The Xu Family Head said, "Brother Tian, rest assured. Prefect Zhang Chong will definitely stand on your side in this matter. Take Shen Lang's promissory note to the Earl's Manor and demand payment without worry!"

Tian Heng naturally knew that he had become a weapon in the conflict between the Prefect's Manor and Xuanwu Earl's Manor, but he had no other choice.

"Good!" Tian Heng laughed loudly. "I have no other talents, but I do have courage. This afternoon, I will take Shen Lang's promissory note to the Earl's Manor and demand payment. Then we shall see how wonderful Earl's expression becomes, and how miserably that beast Shen Lang dies."

"Hahaha..." The Xu Family Head laughed heartily. "A clown hopping about on a stage, not worth mentioning."

Tian Heng said, "Nineteen, have you caught your breath? Speak. How much did Shen Lang lose? How much does he owe?"

After these few minutes, Tian Shijiu had finally managed to breathe and speak again. Hearing Tian Heng's question, he involuntarily answered, "Sixteen thousand gold coins."

"Hahahaha..." Tian Heng roared with laughter. "Well done! Well done!"

The Xu Family Head was also overjoyed. "Sixteen thousand gold coins! He lost so much—Shen Lang is dead, dead for certain! Earl truly has eyes but cannot see, taking such a wastrel as his son-in-law. He deserves it!"

Tian Heng rose to his feet. "Come, let us take the promissory note to the Earl's Manor and demand payment at once."

The Xu Family Head said, "Do not worry. The City Lord's Manor will certainly send three officials to accompany you. If the Earl's Manor kills Shen Lang, so be it. If not, we will pile on the pressure layer by layer and have Lord Zhang Chong send people to suppress them. With justice on our side, we can travel the world; debts must be repaid, that is the law of heaven and earth."

Tian Heng said, "Nineteen, where is Shen Lang's promissory note?"

Tian Shijiu's scalp went numb. At this moment, stretching out his head meant a blade, and pulling it back also meant a blade.

He slammed his forehead viciously against the ground, drawing blood at once.

"Foster Father, it was not Shen Lang who lost sixteen thousand gold coins. It was... it was us who lost sixteen thousand gold coins."

After saying this, Tian Shijiu nearly collapsed completely.

The broad smile remained on Tian Heng's face, but his gaze went blank, and his entire body seemed to turn to stone.

Note: Happy National Day. May our great motherland flourish and prosper.