“Why are you looking for that jinx? Aren’t you afraid of bad luck?” A short man saw Yuan Ming looking around and called out to him.

“Oh, I heard that his family has been making incense for generations and they are quite skilled. I want to learn from him,” Yuan Ming replied.

“What good is skill when he has such rotten luck? I’ve never seen anyone with worse luck. He lost his entire fortune in just a few days. I heard his wife even ran off with someone else,” the short man sneered.

“You may not know this, but he actually owes me quite a bit of money. I have no choice but to find him. Do you know where this Wusang is now?” Yuan Ming ignored the man’s mockery and asked in a low voice.

“Who knows where he’s hiding from his debts now. You want to find him to get your money back? I think you’ll have to wait until your next life,” the short man rolled his eyes and turned back to the gambling table.

Yuan Ming asked several people, but none of them knew anything. He even encountered someone with a bad temper who told him to get lost.

He was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but it wasn’t a total loss. He managed to confirm the man’s name, which corroborated the information he had received from Old Pipe.

“Ladies and gentlemen…”

Yuan Ming furrowed his brows in thought for a moment, then took out a shiny silver coin from his sleeve and held it up high.

He shouted out, channeling his magic power, his voice resonating with a penetrating force.

The previously noisy and chaotic gambling house suddenly fell silent.

All the gamblers’ eyes were drawn to Yuan Ming.

“Hey, you there, what are you doing?” An old man in charge of the gambling house scolded.

“Sorry for the interruption, everyone. I’m looking for some information. Whoever can provide it will get this silver coin,” Yuan Ming apologized to the old man, shaking the silver coin in his hand and speaking loudly.

The gamblers’ eyes lit up with greed and they all crowded around.

“What do you want to know? I know everything…”

“Ask me, ask me…”

In no time, more than half of the gamblers had gathered around.

Those who had previously dismissed or refused Yuan Ming were taken aback and hurriedly squeezed into the crowd.

The gambling house was in an uproar.

“Everyone, calm down. Let me ask first, who here knows the owner of the incense workshop?” Yuan Ming asked.

“That Wusang? I know him…”

“I know him too, we’re very close…”

Almost everyone raised their arms.

“Who knows where he is now?” Yuan Ming asked again.

“I know, I know. His house is in the alley behind here. I can take you there,” someone shouted.

“There’s no one at his house anymore. I’m his neighbor. I know he has another house somewhere else,” another person immediately contradicted.

“Don’t listen to his nonsense. Wusang doesn’t have a house. He lost everything and sold himself to the army to hide from his debts,” a burly man with a loud voice shouted.

After shouting, he pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Yuan Ming.

“Wusang, this guy, lost all his property, his wife ran away, and he owed a lot of money. So he sold himself to the army to hide from his debts. My brother works in the army, so I know about this,” the burly man patted his chest, speaking confidently.

The others quieted down after he finished speaking.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming frowned and asked, “You said he’s in the army, can you take me to see him?”

“I can, but…” The burly man hesitated, glancing at the silver coin in Yuan Ming’s hand and then looking away.

It was clear that he wanted Yuan Ming to show more sincerity.

Without a word, Yuan Ming rubbed his fingers, and the single silver coin in his hand turned into two.

“As long as you can take me to him, these two silver coins are yours,” Yuan Ming smiled.

“Good man! No problem, I’ll take you there right away,” the burly man’s face lit up with joy and he immediately agreed.

Yuan Ming looked around, but still didn’t see Old Pipe. He decided to go with the man.

With his current status, he wasn’t afraid of being cheated. The one who should be afraid was the person trying to cheat him.

But just as he was about to leave, a voice suddenly rang out from behind, “Young man, if you believe him, you’re in for a hard time.”

Yuan Ming was taken aback, and the burly man was even more furious, turning around to see who was ruining his good deal.

But when he saw who it was, his expression froze, and he quickly became docile and friendly. He shrank his neck and seemed to shrink a few inches.

Because the person who spoke was a fat middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe.

His skin was very fair, a kind of yellowish white that was close to the people of the Central Plains, which was distinctly different from the group of Southern Border people around him. His eyes were bright, his features were well-proportioned, and he had a circle of goatee around his mouth, which made him look both shrewd and steady.

It was a somewhat contradictory temperament.

“May I ask your name?” Yuan Ming, observing his aura and the reaction of the burly man, had already guessed the man’s identity and understood the burly man’s ill intentions.

“This is the owner of the Mountain River Gambling House, Boss You Zhuzha.” Old Pipe crawled out from somewhere and explained to Yuan Ming.

“Boss You speaks up for justice, do you know the real whereabouts of Wu Sang?” Yuan Ming asked.

“I won’t hide it from you, most of Wu Sang’s property is entrusted to my gambling house. The day he left Iron Tiger Town, I pitied him and gave him ten copper plates as travel expenses.” You Zhuzha, holding his belly, walked over and said.

“If you know Wu Sang’s whereabouts, could you tell me? I would be very grateful.” Yuan Ming hurriedly said.

“I do know, but why should I tell you? You’re disrupting the order of my gambling house. The fact that I haven’t had you thrown out is already giving you face.” You Zhuzha smirked, speaking cheerfully.

Yuan Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked with a smile, “Since the boss doesn’t plan to drive people away, there must be room for negotiation. What would it take for you to tell me?”

“You gamble with me. If you win, I’ll tell you.” You Zhuzha chuckled, saying.

“I don’t gamble.” Yuan Ming frowned.

“If you can’t gamble, you can learn. If you don’t want to gamble, you can leave.” You Zhuzha’s face turned cold, he said displeased.

Old Pipe leaned in and whispered to Yuan Ming, “This Boss You, also known as Lard, always sticks to his word. If you don’t gamble, he definitely won’t tell you. And your actions today have offended him, you might not have a good time once you leave.”

Yuan Ming glanced down at Old Pipe and sneered in his heart.

“I’ll gamble, but someone has to explain the rules of the gambling table to me.” Yuan Ming lifted his head and said.

As soon as he said this, the surrounding gamblers immediately perked up. They looked at Yuan Ming with various expressions, whispering to each other, all holding the idea of watching a good show, ready to enjoy a gambling game.

“Young man, I knew you were sensible, you have potential. Tell me, what do you want to play?” You Zhuzha rubbed his hands together, laughing.

Upon hearing this, Old Pipe immediately volunteered to explain the rules of dice, Pai Gow, and guessing black and white to Yuan Ming. He explained so vividly that even the surrounding gamblers listened in a daze.

After Yuan Ming listened, his expression remained unchanged. He pointed to a dice table and said, “Let’s gamble on dice, guessing big or small.”

“No, Boss You is best at throwing dice. You have no chance of winning if you play this. You should gamble on Pai Gow with him, you have a better chance of winning.” Old Pipe quickly whispered in persuasion.

“That’s it, no changes.” Yuan Ming ignored Old Pipe and walked to the dice table on his own.

“Haha, young man, you’ve got guts, I like it.” You Zhuzha walked to the dealer’s position.

Yuan Ming stood at the opposite player’s position, and the rest of the people crowded around.

The surrounding whispers continued, all discussing how Yuan Ming was courting death, bound to lose until he was stripped bare.

“You just took out a silver coin, so the bet is a silver coin. If I win, the silver coin is mine. If you win, I lose a silver coin to you and tell you where Wu Sang is, how about it?” You Zhuzha spoke.

“Fair enough.” Yuan Ming said, placing a silver coin on the table.

You Zhuzha picked up the dice cup and began to shake it slowly.

“Bet big or small?” After a few shakes, he slammed the dice cup on the table and asked.

Yuan Ming slowly pushed the silver coin towards the area marked ‘small’ on the table.

“Once you’ve placed your bet, let go. Open.” You Zhuzha gave a low shout and opened the dice cup.

Immediately after, a smile appeared on his face, and he sang in a rhythmic tone, “Four, five, six, big. You lose.”

“Again.”

Yuan Ming’s face was expressionless, and he took out another silver coin and placed it on the table.

The smile on You Zhuzha’s face grew wider, and he began to shake the dice cup again.

…

In just a short while, the gambling duel had already gone through twelve rounds.

Without exception, Yuan Ming lost every round.

The surrounding gamblers naturally enjoyed the spectacle, occasionally cheering and making the atmosphere even hotter.

You should know that twelve silver coins were a huge fortune for ordinary people in the Southern Border.

Losing so much money at once, anyone would find it hard to stay calm, but Yuan Ming’s expression remained calm and composed, as if he didn’t care at all.

In fact, he really didn’t care.

“It seems that you’re out of luck today. Losing like this is not a solution. Why not come back another day?” Old Pipe came over to persuade.

“Continue.” Yuan Ming didn’t look at him, just said expressionlessly.

“Alright, alright, alright, my luck can’t always be on my side. Remember, I’m You Zhuzha. You’ll definitely win the next round. If you don’t, you can come and chop me.” Seeing the situation, You Zhuzha laughed heartily.

‘Let’s have another round, you’ll definitely win the next one. If you don’t, you can come and chop me.’ This phrase had practically become You Zhuzha’s catchphrase. Ever since Yuan Ming lost the fifth round, he had been saying this.

As he spoke, he shook the dice cup again.

After the dice settled, Yuan Ming still placed his silver coins on the “small” area.

Just as You Zhuzha was about to open the dice cup, Yuan Ming’s finger lightly tapped on the gambling table, and a faint wave of magical power spread out.

“Sorry, young man, this time the leopard…” As You Zhuzha lifted the dice cup, he had already started to say “leopard kills all”.

However, before he could finish his sentence, he froze, staring straight at the three dice on the gambling table, his eyes wide open.

(End of Chapter)