The Stake

"Choose any item here, thirty-five wen apiece."

The stall owner hung his head, his tone lazy and listless.

Lin Yi swept his gaze across the stall; nearly a hundred Nuo Masks lay there, all looking incredibly mundane, with nothing peculiar among them.

[Know Heavenly Fate] activated!

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

[Know Heavenly Fate] also possessed the ability to track the source of one's fortune for the day.

And so, amidst the many unremarkable Nuo Masks, Lin Yi spotted two objects radiating golden light of destiny.

One light was slightly dimmer, pointing directly at a Town Sha Mask among the pile—it had wide, angry eyes, protruding fangs, a single horn on its forehead, and was colored primarily in red and black.

The other light was even more intense, pointing directly to the side of the stall owner.

Found it!

It seemed this was where his fortune for the day lay.

"Old man, I want to buy this..."

With that, Lin Yi pointed straight at a black, rust-covered long blade about a meter in length resting beside the stall owner; it looked so peculiar that, without a close inspection, it resembled nothing more than a fire poker.

Lin Yi did not choose to buy both.

The divination text indicated that the fortune he would obtain today was only a single treasure.

Choosing more was not necessarily a stroke of luck; it could just as easily be a disaster.

The stall owner froze, then slowly lifted his head, revealing a wrinkled face etched with a hint of surprise.

"Are you sure?"

Lin Yi nodded.

The stall owner shook his head and refused flatly: "That one isn't for sale. Choose something else."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow:

"Old man, you said earlier that any item here could be chosen for thirty-five wen."

"Changing your mind halfway through isn't exactly fair."

"That is true." The stall owner nodded in deep agreement, then reached out and swept the fire-poker-like long blade into his sleeve. A smile appeared on his wrinkled face: "Now it is no longer an item on the stall."

Lin Yi: "..."

Lin Yi chuckled.

He was so angry he laughed.

He hadn't expected such a move.

Lin Yi reined in his smile and spoke helplessly: "Senior, since you are here to sell your treasures to those destined to have them, why not sell that one to me?"

Lin Yi went straight to the point.

Seeing that he had been exposed, Master Wu stopped pretending: "How did you recognize me?"

Lin Yi gestured toward the hundreds of Nuo Masks surrounding Master Wu.

People often said that Master Wu appeared differently to everyone who saw him.

Wasn't this dazzling array of masks the perfect hint? A hundred Nuo Masks, yet the true face remained hidden.

Master Wu smiled and praised: "You are quite perceptive..."

"There are treasures among these many Nuo Masks; why obsess over that scrap of rusted iron?"

"If it is just scrap iron, then why is Master so unwilling to sell it?" Lin Yi asked.

"Master, I see that the scrap iron is destined for me. If I don't obtain what is destined for me, I will have lost a stroke of fortune for no reason. In that case, I might as well make a windfall; I believe the intelligence regarding Master's location could earn me quite a bit of money."

"However, it would be my sin to delay Master in finding the truly destined person."

Lin Yi found that the Buddhist method of begging for alms was quite useful; one simply had to say "it is destined for me" to have a reason for forceful acquisition.

Would such a high-sounding excuse give Lin Yi any psychological pressure?

The answer was definitely no.

Having been in this world for so long, he had been born into poverty; to seize resources, he would naturally use every means—theft, deception, and everything in between.

Master Wu narrowed his eyes, his voice turning colder: "Are you threatening me?"

Lin Yi did not commit to an answer.

Their gazes locked in a stalemate.

A moment later, Master Wu burst into hearty laughter: "Hahahaha, interesting! You little brat certainly have guts."

With that, Master Wu grabbed the Town Sha Mask with the wide, angry eyes, protruding fangs, and single horn from beside him and tossed it in front of Lin Yi.

It was the very same mask that Lin Yi had observed earlier via [Know Heavenly Fate] to be imbued with the golden light of fortune.

"This is the treasure I am selling today. Pay thirty-five wen, and you may take it."

Lin Yi shook his head.

Master Wu frowned, "The treasure has appeared, why don't you want it?"

"This treasure has no fate with me, so I naturally wouldn't dare to take it."

Master Wu frowned and waved his hand, "Since that's the case, you may leave. That saber..."

Lin Yi said, "Master, don't be so quick to refuse..."

"Master Wu, all this time you've been disguised, selling weapons and treasures. I imagine it wasn't for money, but for fate. Fate is destiny."

"Since you believe in destiny, Master, I do too. Why don't we let heaven decide if I can obtain that saber?"

Lin Yi's lips curved slightly, his gaze burning.

"Master, then why don't we gamble on it!"

Master Wu was taken aback, and indeed, he became interested.

"How do you want to gamble?"

Lin Yi picked up a brick from the ground and drew a circle with a diameter of one foot, five meters away from the stall.

He then casually picked up three pebbles from the ground around him and said softly.

"Pitch-pot."

Pitch-pot, a simple throwing game, in short, it's about throwing things into a pot.

Master Wu was stunned, a flicker of incomprehensibility crossing his face.

This child's play was utterly uninteresting.

Even if Lin Yi's pitch-pot skills were extraordinary, he had a thousand ways to prevent the opponent from succeeding.

"No fun," Master Wu casually waved his hand.

Lin Yi smiled and stepped forward, gently placing the pebbles in his hand into Master Wu's palm.

"Senior, you throw."

Master Wu was stunned.

Although he had never revealed his cultivation.

Just by being able to forge treasures, his martial arts cultivation couldn't be weak, not to mention he hadn't solely cultivated artifact refinement techniques.

Throwing stones into a circle.

Even a child who didn't cultivate martial arts could do it.

This fellow was actually foolish enough to ask him to throw?

Master Wu admitted he was indeed shocked.

He was truly shocked by the foolishness of the young man before him.

Lin Yi paid no mind, instead smiling brilliantly.

"Master, as long as you stand here, no matter what method you use, if you can throw three pebbles into the ground enclosed by the circle, you win."

"Conversely, if fate is with me, that saber is also mine!"

"This way, it conforms to destiny!"

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