31 The Drunken Old Master (1/2)
XieRong saw as the old man dragged himself onto the stage with heavy footsteps, not being able to keep himself straight.
She was starting to have second thoughts on her bet.
XieRong called one of the waiters over.
”Mister, who else has bet on the old man?”
”Two others, a young miss and a young master on the third floor.”
She sighed in relief.
She wasn't the only one who had bet. Perhaps, she wasn't wrong in her judgement after all.
After thanking the waiter, she once again turned to look out the window.
-Jie, have more faith in your decisions.-
-I'm not sure, FeiHong, I may be observant, well read and taught by mother, but I've never seen actual fights like these before. If we lose, we will have to pay five silvers to each person who has bet against us, and while we can afford it, it will be a huge loss to us.-
-Jie, I'm sure aunt and uncle won't mind giving us money if we need it in the future. Besides, I would like to think about how much we would gain if we won, rather than how much we would lose if we lost.-
XieRong smiled gratefully at her sister before turning back to watch the match that had already begun.
The drunk old man just stood gulping down the contents of his gourd while the man leaped at him with his sword.
”You're allowed to use weapons?” XieRong asked, watching a ribbon of fire start to coil around the man's sword.
”You're allowed to use anything except your spirit beasts in the ring.”
XieRong let out a small sigh of relief as the old man staggered away just as the sword was about to slice into him.
The youth looked annoyed as he threw a barrage of fireballs at the old man and charged at him again with his sword.
The old man stumbled over his legs and rolled away.
The crowds cheers for the man had now turned into voracious laughter and mocking remarks. The man let out a murderous intent as he leaped with his sword, going for the kill.
The old man had again rolled away. He lay on the stage, lifting his gourd to his mouth and shaking it to see if there was any more wine remaining.
The man, on the other hand, had used so much force that his sword was now stuck in the concrete floor of the stage and refused to budge.
XieRong watched with her eyes twinkling in mirth as the old man rolled and kicked the young man in his face, ordering him to go bring more wine. The man, who was now sporting a bloody nose, had been utterly humiliated, his face completely lost and reputation one with the mud. He had nothing to lose anymore.
He used his soul nourishing pills to increase the flow of energy in his body, strengthening it. In a last final attempt, he dashed like a bull towards the old man.
XieRong saw a sharp gleam enter the old man's eyes as he jumped over the man, letting the man's own momentum work against him as he couldn't control himself and fell over the ring.
RuiLing gasped in shock.
”He won! That drunken old man actually won! How did you know, XieRong?”
XieRong mouthed 'later' as a waiter came up to them to inform them of their won bet. A lot more people had bet on the man after them so the money they received was much more than what they had originally calculated. XieRong distributed the money amongst them before they left.
”Elder sister, FeiHong why don't you both go ahead, I'll be back before dinner.”
”What if you get lost?”
”Don't worry, I can always ask for directions.”
-Jie, is it something I can't come with you for?-
-Not really. I just want to do this myself.-
FeiHong smiled understandingly.
”Okay, then...if you say so,” RuiLing said, as she took FeiHong and Li Jia away.
XieRong ran to the duelists' ring, looking around for the drunk old man.
Another fight had already begun as she went to the registration desk.
”Mister, where did that old man from the previous fight go?”
”I'm not at liberty to disclose that information, young miss.”
”Please, mister,” she pleaded.
The man sighed. He was too weak against cute children.
”Okay, tell you what, if you tell me why a young girl like you, who looks like she belongs to a good house, is looking for an old man like him, I'll tell you.”
XieRong looked around.
”That man is a relative of my maid. She went to run some errands so she asked me to look after him for her.”
”Why would a common maid ask a young miss from a household to do that?”
”Mister, I'm the unfavoured second young miss of the Guo Residence who just recently arrived. I'm not allowed to associate with the other noble young ladies so I just made friends with the maids in the household. If you don't tell me where the old man is I'll lose my friend's trust.”
XieRong gave him a sad and pitiful look.