The moonlight was especially fine tonight. Clear and silvery, it shone beyond Xu Yi's small window, cool and elegant. But inside Black Dragon Hall's dim council chamber, it only added to the eerie gloom.
At first, the lights in the hall had been blazing. Hundreds of crystal lamps beneath the domed ceiling had illuminated the magnificent chamber down to the finest detail.
Then Ma Wensheng came rushing into the stifling council chamber and leaned close to Hall Master Wan Youlong, whispering a few words.
Hall Master Wan smashed the purple-gold round table before him to pieces with one punch. He threw back his head and roared, his cry like a dragon's. Hundreds of crystal lamps beneath the dome shattered in midair, and only then did the council chamber fall into darkness.
The lights had gone out, but Wan Youlong's anger had not. His voice dark with fury, he said, "Wensheng, did you make my meaning clear? They wouldn't return eighty percent, but surely they'd give back sixty or seventy. You know I sent you because I trusted your ability to adapt."
Ma Wensheng replied, "Hall Master, I'm ashamed. I truly did everything I could. Forget sixty or seventy percent—even ten percent, they wouldn't return. They just said, 'Once the bet's placed, there's no taking it back. A bet's a bet!'"
As it turned out, Wan Youlong had wagered a hundred thousand gold on Gao Pan, and now he had lost it all. His heart was awash in blood, and fury crashed through him like a storm tide.
He had always valued money above all else. Even handing out a few hundred gold to Black Dragon Hall members for their service pained him. Now a hundred thousand gold had vanished in an instant, and the loss cut to his bones. He