Jianghu One Word Secret

"Zhong Shan." Tian Ling'er immediately cried out in delight.

Hearing Zhong Shan's voice was like being given a shot of adrenaline. For some reason, ever since the Frost Crow incident, Tian Ling'er had always trusted Zhong Shan deeply, as though there were no task Zhong Shan could not accomplish.

Everyone hurriedly made way, allowing Zhong Shan to slowly walk over.

Zhong Shan carried a large saber on his back. Beside him was a white-robed man holding a long spear.

"Tang Xiao You?" Zhao Suo Xiang looked at the black-robed, sword-bearing man and frowned.

"Senior Brother Zhao." The black-robed man with the sword on his back also called out to Zhao Suo Xiang, but there was no hint of respect in his tone.

"Your junior brother?" Zhong Shan looked at Zhao Suo Xiang and asked with a frown.

"No. He is a disciple of Bright Sword Pavilion. Bright Sword Pavilion is simply close to my Iron Spear Sect, and we often interact." Zhao Suo Xiang explained.

"Mm." Zhong Shan nodded. Since he was not Zhao Suo Xiang's junior brother, that was good.

"Zhong Shan, you're finally here! He—he won all my money!" Tian Ling'er said angrily, puffing out her cheeks.

The black-robed, sword-bearing man, Tang Xiao You, immediately said a few words to the owner of Gold Brick Building.

"Everyone, Gold Brick Building is closing for the day. Come back tomorrow." The owner of Gold Brick Building immediately began driving people out.

"What? How can you just close without warning? We haven't seen enough!" the guests complained one after another.

Even so, everyone was quickly driven outside.

Inside, only the owner of Gold Brick Building, the croupier, Tang Xiao You, Tian Ling'er, Zhong Shan, and Zhao Suo Xiang remained.

"Since he is Senior Brother Zhao's friend, let's let it go." Tang Xiao You smiled.

"How can we let it go? Once you've sat down at the gambling table, there is no such thing as letting it go. Weren't you going to gamble? I'll gamble with you." Zhong Shan refused to yield an inch, having gained the upper hand. He was also venting Tian Ling'er's anger for her, because he had seen that just moments ago, she had been on the verge of tears.

Shaking his head, Zhong Shan sat down in the chair beside the gambling table.

Hearing what Zhong Shan said, Tang Xiao You frowned. He looked at Zhong Shan, and a trace of mockery flashed through his eyes.

"Fine. Since you want to gamble, then let's continue. However, this is a Void Spirit Pearl. What do you have to use as a stake?" Tang Xiao You asked.

The moment Tian Ling'er heard that, she was about to take out a treasure. She had been reluctant earlier, but now that Zhong Shan was gambling, she did not hesitate in the slightest to find something for him to use as a stake.

"Take out my little wooden box." Zhong Shan spoke to Tian Ling'er.

"Eh?" Tian Ling'er frowned, but still nodded. Then she flipped her hand, and a small redwood box appeared in her grasp.

Seeing the box appear from thin air, the croupier and owner of Gold Brick Building both widened their eyes, staring at the scene in disbelief. An immortal's methods? An immortal's methods?

"Zhong Shan, what is this?" Tian Ling'er asked curiously.

Zhong Shan gently opened the little wooden box, revealing a bottle of pills with only one pill inside.

"Returning Spring Pill. It should be enough to use as a stake, right?" Zhong Shan smiled at Tang Xiao You, a glint flashing through his eyes.

"A Third Grade Pill?" Zhao Suo Xiang frowned.

Tian Ling'er also wore a disbelieving expression. How did Zhong Shan have a Third Grade Pill? Where had it come from? It was too incredible. Could it really be true?

Tian Ling'er immediately took it and carefully opened it. The instant it opened, a rich fragrance surged into everyone's noses. One after another, they suddenly felt their pores opening, an incomparable sense of comfort spreading through them.

"It's a Returning Spring Pill." Zhao Suo Xiang confirmed it.

"And yours?" Zhong Shan asked with a smile, a hint of teasing flashing through his eyes.

"The Void Spirit Pearl." Tang Xiao You took out a Void Spirit Pearl and placed it on the table.

"All right, croupier, begin." Tang Xiao You spoke. The croupier slowly reached out as well.

"Wait." Zhong Shan suddenly called out.

At Zhong Shan's shout, the croupier's hand stopped.

Zhong Shan gently opened the small dice cup and picked up a die. The croupier and owner of Gold Brick Building, however, both revealed nervous expressions.

"Loaded dice? Replace them with new ones." Zhong Shan shook his head.

"Loaded?" Tian Ling'er exclaimed in surprise. Then she also took out a die and crushed it in her hand. With a crack, the tiny lead block inside was immediately exposed. The moment she saw where the lead was positioned, Tian Ling'er understood why she had always lost before.

"So you were cheating!" Tian Ling'er immediately shouted furiously. She flipped her hand, drawing out Red Silk, and looked ready to smash the entire gambling house.

"Stop." Zhong Shan shouted at Tian Ling'er.

"They cheated me! They cheated me out of my banknotes!" Tian Ling'er immediately cried.

"They're only banknotes." Zhong Shan frowned.

Indeed, what were banknotes to Zhong Shan? They were too hard even to be used as toilet paper. What did banknotes count for? Could they compare with a Void Spirit Pearl?

"But, but..." Tian Ling'er did not know what to say.

"All right. I'll win them back." Zhong Shan consoled her.

"All right, but you have to win!" Tian Ling'er immediately said.

"Mm." Zhong Shan nodded.

Tang Xiao You looked at Zhong Shan with a frown, while the gambling-house owner did not dare delay in the slightest. He quickly took out three more dice. This time, the gambling-house owner no longer dared to play any tricks.

"All right. You can inspect them now." Tang Xiao You said.

Zhong Shan believed that after what had just happened, the gambling-house owner would certainly not dare cheat again. Even so, Zhong Shan said, "Inspecting the dice is a must. I want to inspect not only the dice, but the dice cup as well."

"Be my guest." Tang Xiao You sneered.

Zhong Shan picked up the dice and gently weighed them, then carefully felt every edge. After examining them for a while and confirming there was no problem, he set the dice down. He then carefully inspected the dice cup before putting the dice inside and shaking it several times himself. Only after confirming that there was absolutely no problem did he stop.

"Since there is no problem with the dice, let's find someone unrelated to shake them. What do you think?" Zhong Shan smiled.

"Unrelated?" Tang Xiao You frowned.

"I'll do it. I haven't played much anyway, so I shouldn't be able to cheat while shaking them." Zhao Suo Xiang suddenly spoke.

"Fine." Tang Xiao You nodded.

"All right." Zhong Shan nodded as well.

The croupier and owner stepped aside. Zhao Suo Xiang set his long spear down, picked up the dice cup, and gently shook it.

The dice inside rattled with a series of rolling sounds. At last, Zhao Suo Xiang steadied the dice cup and set it on the table. The dice continued rolling inside for a while before finally coming to a stop.

"All right, begin." Zhao Suo Xiang said.

"I call high." Tang Xiao You guessed.

"I call high too." Zhong Shan suddenly smiled.

"You call high too? How are we supposed to settle that?" Tang Xiao You widened his eyes.

"How about we guess the exact points and see whose guess is right?" Zhong Shan said, a meaningful smile spreading across his face.

"The exact points? How could anyone possibly guess that?" Tang Xiao You immediately said.

"What if I can guess it? Then what?" Zhong Shan gave a light laugh.

"You can guess it? If you guess it, you win. But if you can't..." Tang Xiao You looked at Zhong Shan with a cold smile.

"If I can't guess it, then naturally you win." Zhong Shan smiled.

"Fine." Tang Xiao You immediately agreed. Anyone who did not agree would be an idiot. Guess it? What a joke. With so many possibilities, how could anyone possibly guess correctly?

"Fine." Zhong Shan said.

At that moment, Tian Ling'er suddenly grabbed Zhong Shan's sleeve and looked at him nervously. Guess it? How could anyone possibly guess it? She had never guessed correctly even once before.

"Four, four, six. Fourteen points, high." Zhong Shan said in a deep voice.

After Zhong Shan finished speaking, Zhao Suo Xiang slowly opened the dice cup, his heart filled with doubt.

At that moment, everyone stared nervously, waiting for the final result. Tian Ling'er had initially held Zhong Shan's sleeve lightly, but now she was gripping it tightly, as though she might tear the sleeve off.

"Four, four, six. Fourteen points, high."

The instant the dice cup was opened, everyone was dumbstruck. Fourteen points—it really was fourteen points.

"We won! We won!" Tian Ling'er shouted excitedly. She grabbed Zhong Shan's sleeve and bounced up and down, her face flushed with excitement. They had won it all back!

"Zhong Shan, you're incredible." Zhao Suo Xiang looked at Zhong Shan in disbelief.

"It was only luck." Zhong Shan shook his head. But at that moment, unless someone was a fool, no one believed him.

After her initial excitement, Tian Ling'er quickly swept all the stakes from the table.

Watching Tian Ling'er take away the Void Spirit Pearl, Tang Xiao You felt a stab of pain. At the same time, he looked at Zhong Shan with venom in his eyes.

"Zhong Shan, the sky is turning cloudy now, and there may be a heavy rain. We need somewhere to stay. Why don't you come to where I'm staying, and we can have a proper chat?" Zhao Suo Xiang smiled.

"All right." Zhong Shan nodded.

Hearing Zhao Suo Xiang's words, Tang Xiao You frowned. A sudden flash crossed his eyes, as though he had thought of something.

"Ling Er, those dice helped us win so much just now. They're lucky dice. Take them with you. We'll have to rely on their luck the next time we gamble with someone." As they were leaving, Zhong Shan smiled.

"Mm." Tian Ling'er immediately picked up the three dice and followed Zhong Shan and Zhao Suo Xiang out, bouncing along.

"Zhong Shan, you were truly amazing just now. How did you guess it?" Zhao Suo Xiang asked with a smile as he walked ahead.

"The Jianghu One Word Secret. Once spoken, it loses its power. Heh heh." Zhong Shan smiled but neither answered nor denied it.

Tian Ling'er walked behind them, holding the "lucky dice," but frowned incessantly. She had suddenly discovered that all eight edges of one of the dice were different. They seemed to have been rubbed ever so slightly. Could dice really be like this?

What Tian Ling'er could not have known was that Zhong Shan had deliberately tampered with the dice while inspecting them earlier. He had then tested them with the dice cup precisely to distinguish the differences in the sounds they made when they collided.

Zhong Shan was already in his eighties, and age had long sharpened him into a fox. He had long since mastered every trick of the gambling arts from the jianghu's nine schools and three grades. All he had done was distinguish position by sound. With different edges came different sounds; once the dice settled, a careful listener could determine the points. After all, Zhong Shan himself owned a gambling house, one far more prestigious than Gold Brick Building. Their level of study could not compare with his.

PS: This is the third update. I still have to work on the old book in a while. If you have recommendation votes, please give them all to me. Thank you.