Thousand Gold Pavilion

Zeyun Town, while not as grand as Iron Wall City or as bustling as Pebble Town, possessed a unique, mixed prosperity due to its location at the crossroads of the northern and southern trade routes.

The liveliest spot in town was undoubtedly the market street, adorned with countless wine banners and filled with the clamor of vendors and a medley of scents.

After settling the carriage, Chen Qing took A Ning to purchase supplies. Lan Tianye, however, unable to contain his surging curiosity, claimed he wanted to witness "the true sights and sounds of the Central Plains marketplace" and darted off into the crowd.

Deep within the market street, a gambling den with a "Thousand Gold Pavilion" plaque above its entrance was abuzz with activity.

Lan Tianye squeezed his way in, the roar of voices, shouts, and the clinking of coins washing over him. Having grown up in a strictly disciplined noble family in the Western Regions, he had never seen such a scene before. It left him dazzled and filled with novelty.

Soon, his attention was drawn to a dice game table in the corner. It wasn't the excitement of the game itself, but rather the dealer: an old man in a shabby grey Daoist robe, his hair messily tied in a crooked bun. His face was ruddy, but his small eyes gleamed with shrewdness, making him appear exceptionally sly.

The old man's gambling skills seemed mediocre at best. His dice-rolling technique was clumsy, and he would even "accidentally" knock the dice to the floor at times, drawing laughter from the surrounding gamblers. The meager pile of chips in front of him quickly dwindled.

"Heh, this old Daoist is interesting," Lan Tianye thought, finding it amusing. Feeling confident in his own cleverness and somewhat stifled by Chen Qing's constant put-downs lately, he pushed forward, pulled out a few silver fragments, and placed a bet. "This young master will play too!"

Initially, his luck was incredible. He bet and won repeatedly, and soon a small pile of silver coins accumulated before him. The grey-robed old Daoist gnashed his teeth in frustration, sighing heavily, yet he always "refused to admit defeat" and continued to open new rounds.

Lan Tianye felt smug, his youthful impetuosity on full display, and his bets grew larger and larger.

However, without him realizing it, the tide of the game began to turn.

Old Daoist Wu's seemingly clumsy technique subtly became unpredictable. The dice cup whirled like a blur in his hands, yet when it landed, it seemed to do so with an almost weightless touch. Lan Tianye's "good luck" seemed to vanish instantly, and he began to lose match after match.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he grew agitated. The more he lost, the more he wanted to win it back. After losing all the money he had won, he, with red eyes, took out his travel funds. The silver coins vanished like flowing water.

"Kid, your luck's run out, huh? Still want to play?" Old Daoist Wu chuckled, his small eyes glinting with cunning.

"Play! Of course, I'll play!" Lan Tianye gritted his teeth and slammed the last of the silver from his money pouch onto the table. "Bet big!"

The dice cup was revealed—three, three, five. Eleven points. Small!

Lan Tianye's face turned pale.

"Tsk, tsk, all gone again." Old Daoist Wu shook his head and made to pack up his stall.

"Wait!" Lan Tianye's mind went blank with a surge of heat. He suddenly remembered the silver Chen Qing had entrusted him with for purchasing supplies was still on his person. He impulsively pulled it out. "I'll bet again!"

The result was unsurprising. He lost everything clean.

Overwhelming regret and panic instantly engulfed Lan Tianye. His face was ashen, cold sweat trickling down his back. Only then did he realize the magnitude of the disaster he had caused. Not only were his own travel funds gone, but the important task Chen Qing had entrusted him with...

"No more capital, huh? Kid, that'll be all!" Old Daoist Wu said with a smile, reaching to sweep the money on the table into his own pouch.

"I... I still have more!" Lan Tianye shouted, barely thinking, his shame and impulse making him speak without restraint. "I... I have a carriage outside the alley entrance! I'll bet that too!"

"Oh?" Old Daoist Wu narrowed his eyes further. "A carriage? Alright! Let's draw up an IOU!"

The IOU was written, and the dice cup was shaken again.

When the cup cover was lifted once more, Lan Tianye felt his vision go black, all strength draining from his body—he had lost again.

"Haha! Thank you, young brother, for your generosity!" Old Daoist Wu said triumphantly, waving the IOU. He was about to call for his shop assistants. "Two of you, go to the alley and bring that carriage here!"

"Wait a moment."

A calm voice, not loud in the noisy gambling den, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present, strangely silencing all the surrounding clamor.

Following the sound, everyone looked up and saw a young man in a blue robe, holding a little girl, standing at the entrance of the gambling den. The young man's expression was indifferent. His gaze swept over the ashen-faced Lan Tianye, who looked as if he were about to collapse, and finally settled on the smug Old Daoist Wu.

It was Chen Qing, who had finished his shopping and followed his spiritual sense to find them.

Old Daoist Wu sized up Chen Qing, sensing the unusual calmness emanating from him. A flicker of light flashed in his small eyes. Far from being intimidated, he became even more interested. "Oh? Another one? What, kid, you want to stand up for him?"

Chen Qing ignored his provocation and walked to the gambling table. He glanced at the crestfallen Lan Tianye before calmly stating, "The game is concluded. The money and carriage are yours. I have nothing to say."

Old Daoist Wu was taken aback, not expecting such a straightforward response.

"However," Chen Qing's tone shifted, and he looked at Old Daoist Wu with a placid gaze, "your skills are impressive. Tricking a junior who has just entered the world, I imagine you haven't had your fill. Why don't you and I gamble a round?"

"Oh? How shall we gamble? What shall we bet on?" Old Daoist Wu's interest piqued further.

"The stakes: If I win, all the money and the IOU from before are nullified, and we'll be even," Chen Qing said. "If I lose, I will agree to one condition of yours, as long as it doesn't violate righteousness and is within my ability."

Old Daoist Wu's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, laughing. "Good! This is interesting! What shall we bet on? You're not going to gamble on these dice too, are you?"

"The guest follows the host's lead. You set the rules of the bet," Chen Qing's tone remained calm.

"Splendid!" Old Daoist Wu roared with laughter, grabbing the dice cup. "Then it shall be these dice! Keep it simple, guess the total points! Three dice, guess the exact total number of points, how about that? I won't take advantage of you. If you guess correctly, you win. If you don't, you lose!"

The surrounding gamblers erupted in an uproar. Three dice, guessing the exact total? The probability was incredibly low! This was practically a guaranteed loss!

Chen Qing, however, merely nodded. "Agreed."

Old Daoist Wu chuckled, his wrist flicking violently. The dice cup became a dazzling blur in his hands. The sound of the dice hitting each other was dense as rain, shifting left and right, up and down. His technique was mysterious and unfathomable, far more refined than when he had gambled with Lan Tianye.

The dice cup seemed to come alive in his hands, creating afterimages. There was even a faint fluctuation of internal energy swirling around it, interfering with external perception of the internal sounds and vibrations.

Clearly, facing Chen Qing, he was using his true abilities.

"Watch closely!" He slammed the dice cup onto the table. The sound ceased abruptly, all anomalies vanishing instantly, as if everything that had just happened were an illusion.

All eyes focused on Chen Qing, holding their breath.

Chen Qing's eyes drooped slightly, as if concentrating. Although Old Daoist Wu had used internal energy to disrupt most auditory cues, the extraordinary spiritual perception brought by the "Ancient Star Ruins Scripture" did not rely entirely on sound.

He was able to capture the final moment before the dice cup landed. He slowly opened his eyes and calmly stated, "Three, five, six. Twelve points."

The smile on Old Daoist Wu's face froze instantly. A fleeting look of astonishment flashed in his small eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a deeper cunning and a hint of amusement.

He was secretly alarmed, 'What a kid! His hearing is so sharp, he almost saw through me completely! Too bad... still a bit green!'

The instant Chen Qing announced the number, even before his voice fully faded, Old Daoist Wu's right pinky finger, extremely subtly and imperceptibly, tapped the corner of the table.

A soft, skillful force entered through the dice cup, precisely acting on the last die! This die, originally showing a "six," was nudged by this internal energy, flipping half a turn with an extremely slight movement—

Turning into a "one"!

The entire process was silent. Unless one was an absolute master, it would be impossible to detect. Old Daoist Wu inwardly sneered with satisfaction: 'No matter how strong your hearing is, you couldn't have predicted I still had this hidden force from the 'Wind Listening Finger Technique'! Three, five, one, nine points! Kid, you're done for!'

He put on a confident smile again, even with a hint of mockery, looking at Chen Qing and drawing out his words: "Kid, you sure? Don't regret it!"

Chen Qing had already noticed this small movement. He also revealed a slight smile: "No regrets, open it up!"

"Good, you've got guts, then let Old Man teach you a lesson! Open!"

However, just as he uttered "Open" and his finger was about to lift the cup!

Chen Qing's right hand, hanging by his side, had its index finger move ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly.

A wisp of Starlight Finger Force, as fine as a hair, shot out silently from a distance! This force gently nudged the die that Old Daoist Wu had just flipped with his internal energy.

The die, influenced by the external force, rolled again with an extremely slight movement—

Rolling back to its original "six"! Its position was even exactly the same as before!

All of this happened in the instant Old Daoist Wu's "Open" still echoed and the cup was about to be lifted!

Old Daoist Wu was completely unaware. He had already felt that his internal energy had successfully changed the number, feeling utterly confident. With a loud laugh, he abruptly lifted the dice cup: "Hahaha! Let Old Man see what it is... what... number?!"

His laughter and words were abruptly cut off as if by an invisible hand!

Beneath the dice cup, the three dice lay quietly.

The numbers were—three, five, six! Twelve points! Exactly the same as what he had initially sensed and what Chen Qing had announced!

"No... Impossible!!!" The smile on Old Daoist Wu's face instantly froze. His eyeballs nearly bulged out of their sockets! He rubbed his eyes vigorously, almost thinking he was hallucinating! He clearly, clearly had used his hidden force to change the "six" to a "one"! How could... how could there be no change?!

He suddenly looked up, staring intently at Chen Qing's still calm and unruffled face. A chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!

This kid... not only did he see through my technique, but after I used my internal energy to change the number, he silently changed it back in a way I couldn't possibly detect?!

What kind of terrifying internal energy and precise control over power was this?! This had already surpassed his understanding of "trickery" and even "martial arts"!

The surroundings fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even more fervent uproar!

"Miraculous! Truly miraculous!"

"Not a single point off! Is this young master a god of gambling descended to earth?!"

"Old Daoist Wu has kicked a steel plate this time!"

Lan Tianye's mouth hung open, wide enough to fit an egg. He looked at Chen Qing, his eyes filled with overwhelming shock and admiration. Although he didn't know what had happened, Old Daoist Wu's instantly changed expression and ghost-like look were enough to explain everything!

Old Daoist Wu's expression shifted. He stared fixedly at Chen Qing, his eyes flickering with shock, disbelief, and inquiry.

He took several deep breaths, barely managing to suppress the storm in his heart. Suddenly, he let out a loud laugh, unsure if it was a bitter smile or one of admiration: "Good! Good! Good! Well played!!"

Without any further hesitation, he decisively pushed all the silver he had won back to Lan Tianye. Then, he tore the horse carriage deed into pieces in front of Chen Qing, his movements even carrying a hint of urgency.

"Kid... no, Young Hero," Old Daoist Wu looked deeply at Chen Qing with extremely complex eyes, his tone strange, "The mountains are high and the rivers are long. I was blind. We... shall meet again!"

With that, his figure flickered. Slipping through the crowd like an eel, he vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye, several times faster than when he arrived.

All that remained in the gambling house were a group of stunned gamblers and Lan Tianye, who had yet to fully recover.

Chen Qing's expression was calm, as if he had just done something trivial. He put away the silver and glanced at the crestfallen Lan Tianye.

"Let's go."