Setting a Trap

"Shopkeeper, please put out all the good food you have quickly!"

The young man, though not very old, was very generous. As soon as he entered the inn, he ordered the best food to be served.

In terms of food, guesthouses obviously can't compare to restaurants, but ordering a good meal at a guesthouse still costs a lot.

"Shopkeeper, may I ask you something? Whose daughter is that young lady upstairs by the window facing the street?"

He bought a table full of dishes but didn't eat much of them, just casually picked up a piece with his chopsticks, and then began to ask the restaurant owner questions in a low voice.

Coming to the inn for food and drink was clearly just a side purpose; the young master's true intentions were self-evident.

Money can always be a good tool, but it can be a real headache for shopkeepers who get stopped by rich young men on the street.

The wealthy young master in front of him was very generous and asked in a low voice, but the only problem was that he was being asked in front of his female friends. How was he supposed to answer that?

These days, everyone's thoughts are very simple: they either want money or they want favors.

The shopkeeper clearly saw the expression on the young man's face. He knew very well that it was perfectly normal for wealthy people to have three wives and four concubines, and they would try to take advantage of any pretty woman they encountered.

He gave the other person an awkward smile, then shifted his gaze to Zhang Xuezhou.

"Brother, you'd be better off asking me than the shopkeeper!"

Seeing the shopkeeper's predicament, Zhang Xuezhou chimed in.

He didn't care that this random young man was pursuing Wei Shao'er, but Zhang Xuezhou was afraid that Wei Shao'er would retaliate against him, which would then implicate him.

"Ask you?"

The young man, a stranger, couldn't help but glance at Zhang Xuezhou a couple more times.

"Do you know where that young lady came from?" the young man asked.

"These things can be predicted with a simple calculation," Zhang Xuezhou replied casually.

"You're probably just here to brag!"

"If I'm bragging, slap me twice. If I'm not bragging, then..."

Zhang Xuezhou gave him a wink, which made the young master look at his right hand and then touch his face with his left.

"If you're not bragging, then slap me twice," the young master said.

"Why would I slap you twice?" Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "Slapping you twice won't bring me any benefit. Maybe your family will see it and cause me trouble."

"Even if I, Chen Zhang, am no better, I am still a dignified seven-foot man. I would never stoop to such despicable acts of revenge," the young master said. "Just tell me about that young lady, and I'll let you slap me twenty times!"

"If you're so tough, go gamble! Why are you betting on slaps here? That's just ruining the harmony!"

Seeing that this young master was so stubborn as to accept ten times the number of slaps, Rong Tianding glanced at Zhang Xuezhou's signal and quickly joined the persuasion group.

"We cultivators, if we slap someone and kill them, we'll go to jail; if we injure them, we'll need medical treatment; and if we get killed or injured ourselves, it's even worse," Rong Tianding advised. "Gambling is no big deal. A little gambling is harmless, and it won't ruin our harmony!"

"That makes sense," Zhang Xuezhou nodded quickly, "Hitting someone hurts the harmony, but gambling doesn't!"

"You name the stakes, I, Chen Zhang, will bet whatever I have," Chen Zhang shouted.

"Let's not gamble too high, let's just bet one ingot of gold!"

Zhang Xuezhou casually took out the gold ingot that Dong Zhongshu had given him, which made Chen Zhang's face turn bright red.

Zhang Xuezhou's gold ingots were not loose gold or silver, but rather rewards from the imperial court; each of these ingots weighed ten taels.

Gold rarely circulated among ordinary people; it was more often used in large transactions, such as for important items, real estate, and treasures between officials. Ordinary people mostly used half-ounce coins, and valuable goods were only traded in silver.

It wasn't that Chen Zhang couldn't afford to gamble; it was that he simply didn't have that much money on him.

"I have two taels of silver, five hundred and a half taels of silver, plus this jade pendant with jingling arrows, this brocade robe from Fenghua Pavilion, these shoes, and this sword!"

Amidst Rong Tianding's jeers and jeers, Chen Zhang, his face flushed, began to take out all his valuables.

By the time all the items were laid out, Chen Zhang was only wearing his inner garment.

After being Rong Tianding again, Chen Zhang was clearly losing his temper.

When he saw that the other person was about to take off their undergarments, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but reach out and stop them repeatedly.

"Why must you do this, brother?" Zhang Xuezhou advised.

"I, Chen Zhang, am a dignified seven-foot man. My word is my bond, and I'll bet as much as you have," Chen Zhang shouted. "If it weren't for the fact that I didn't bring much money today, I would have no problem betting with you!"

"Shall we stop gambling?"

"We must gamble!"

If he won the bet, he would receive ten taels of gold; if he lost, he would receive news of a beautiful young woman. Chen Zhang felt that he was getting a good deal no matter what.

People are willing to spend a fortune to make a smile; what's a little bit of money for Chen Zhang?

Although Rong Tianding's ridicule had made him a little irritated, Chen Zhang could still tell right from wrong. He had fallen into a trap today, but he was determined to fall into it.

With those resolute words, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to find witnesses, write down their respective bets on a bamboo board, and have the other party sign their names.

"Then let's try to figure out where this woman came from. If we're wrong, this gold ingot is yours," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Middle!"

Chen nodded.

He saw Zhang Xuezhou mutter something to himself, and then he pressed a finger into the center of his forehead.

He felt drowsy and only woke up after a while.

"What are you doing?" Chen Zhang asked in surprise.

"Young Master Chen, there's no need to panic. I've simply done some calculations and have already figured out where that woman came from," Zhang Xuezhou reassured him.

This ingot of gold was enough to buy an ordinary house in Chang'an City. The stakes weren't huge, but Shen Peigong mocked Dong Zhongshu for what he had taken out.

But for ordinary people, this is the kind of wealth that many people Struggle their whole lives to accumulate.

The bet between Zhang Xuezhou and Chen Zhang came quickly, but it had already attracted nearly twenty onlookers. Almost everyone in the store had gathered around, and some others were curiously peeking in from the store entrance.

Zhang Xuezhou unleashed Person-Fixing Technique to immobilize Chen Zhang.

He not only needs to understand the other person's financial situation, but also their temperament, to see if they are the type to hold grudges, so as to avoid bringing him unbearable trouble later on.

Images flashed through his mind: Zhang Xuezhou saw the deep, imposing mansion, and he also saw the rigorous training under Master Chen's strict discipline.

Perhaps due to limited natural talent, although Chen Zhang practiced diligently, he was often reprimanded.

Then Chen Zhang fell into the repetitive practice again.

In Chen Zhang's memory, the scene Zhang Xuezhou saw most often was repeated hard practice, and little else.

"So it's just a fledgling!"

Since so much time was spent on cultivation, Chen Zhang's social experience was limited.

When Zhang Xuezhou saw Chen Zhang being attacked and injured, he spotted a familiar yet blurry figure, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but gasp.

This wasn't just them setting a trap for Chen Zhang; Wei Shao'er also had her eye on him, deliberately injuring him to seek an encounter.

This made Zhang Xuezhou immediately understand the origin of the basin of water.