Chapter 888: Assemble, staking a thousand pieces of gold on one throw (1/2)

Long Feiye and Han Yunxi had disguised themselves. He was dressed in white robes and a silvery-white face mask, which lent him a third of a sovereign’s arresting air. Like a mysterious prince, he allured viewers while aweing them to stay at a distance. Han Yunxi was dressed as a man--including a stuck-on handlebar mustache. Although she was sitting in a wheelchair, her aura was no less impressive. She didn’t need a mask to create a sense of distance like Long Feiye, but adopted the air of a well-tempered official’s son.

“Brother Qin,” she clasped her hands in a bow. Long Feiye was taking Qin as his surname.

“Feiyun,” Long Feiye couldn’t help a grin. He seemed to like her pseudonym very much. Despite acting as brothers, he had abandoned the “brother” part of her title.

Their arrival at the gambling house attracted a few stares, but they didn’t become the center of attention. After all, the gambling house was full of people dressed in masks or hiding their identities, so they looked perfectly normal. No one would try to guess the features of a masked guest or their identities.

Han Yunxi and Long Feiye hadn’t gone a few steps before a familiar voice reached their ears.

“I’ve won! Hahaha, this master’s won!” The voice was none other than Long Feiye’s good “little brother,” Tang Li.

Myriad Merchant Hall’s biggest gambling house was called the Thousand Gold Pavilion. Some people said it was named after the idiom, “stake a thousand pieces of gold on one throw” (to throw away money like dirt), while the gamblers that came like to say it was inspired by “recovering a thousand pieces of gold after losing it all.” When it came to capital from the gambling houses, neither East Origin Hall nor Golden Wing could compare to Myriad Merchant Hall. Thousand Gold Pavilion was not only the busiest gambling house in the Three-Way Black Market, but also the one with the deepest waters.

Thus, no one dared to stand out too much here. Tang Li was the first! His shouts completely blasted over the hubbub of the floor, every one attracting the attention of its patrons. A few gamblers from next door even grew curious to come and take a look. Long Feiye and Han Yunxi exchanged glances while remaining silent.

If not for the shadow guards who sent them multiple messages about Tang Li’s situation here, Han Yunxi might have really believed the man had sunk into a trap. Actually, the entrance guards had recognized Tang Li as soon as he entered the black markets. Then he’d sent a report to East Origin Hall, whose shadow guards told Long Feiye promptly. At the same time, he’d sent people to follow after Tang Li and figure out what was going on. The scout had thought Tang Li had fallen for a trap as well until Tang Li recognized him and gave him a few looks to signal he was still rational.

“The masked woman by his side should be Ning Jing, right?” Han Yunxi asked.

“Mm.” Long Feiye murmured back as he pushed Han Yunxi closer to Tang Li through the crowd.

Although this gambling table had already become the focal point of the Three-Way Black Market, most of the people were watching from the sidelines instead of approaching the table. Occasionally, someone would throw in some chips to rub off some of Tang Li’s luck since his was nothing but wins today. Different tables had different rules. Tang Li’s table required stakes of at least 30,000,000 chips for the first purchase, the most expensive one in the entire black markets. To throw away that many chips just to have a seat here meant the stakes were high. Thus, there were only three other middle-aged men accompanying Tang Li at the same oval table.

Long Feiye started out by staking 60,000,000 chips, half for himself and half for Han Yunxi. Both of them had chosen to sit on either sides of Tang Li, who was caught up in the thrill of winning and only cast them a glance. He didn’t recognize them, but Long Feiye’s gaze was clearly unhappy. Meanwhile, Han Yunxi looked at Ning Jing with interest and discovered that she looked a little chubbier than before. Although the saying went that happy hearts led to rounder bodies, why would Ning Jing gain weight after being put under house arrest? Was her heart really that generous, or was she simply confident of winning these stakes?

And what was Tang Li doing on Ning Clan turf when he was perfectly fine at the Tang Clan? Han Yunxi didn’t know any of the answers, so she could only suspect Ning Jing. By now, the dealer had already shuffled the deck and politely invited everyone to place their bets.

“Small! It’ll still be a small! I’ll stake 10,000!” Tang Li slammed the table as he stood up. “If it’s not a small, then I’ll write my ‘Tang’ upside down!”

Everyone’s eyes zoomed in on Tang Li, while Han Yunxi just rolled her eyes. She couldn’t see any of his acting at all. This brat, he’s probably gone wild from gambling. At the same time, the dealer, Uncle Cheng, gave Ning Jing another look. This was already the third time, so there was no excuse for her to pretend she didn’t see him.

She smiled coldly and told Tang Li, “Since you’re so certain, why not bet all your chips? What’s so interesting about writing ‘Tang’ upside down?” As she spoke these words, she secretly tugged at him. Tang Li knew she was putting on an act for the dealer, so he cooperated.

“Bet it all? Then I’ll bet it all! Heheh, when your husband wins, I’ll treat you to something tasty!”

Many of the women present burst into giggles. Buying food with the winning? For a man with so much gold, he was so cute! He must dote on his wife a lot in private, right? Hearts fluttered as they imagined it. If this was any other day, Han Yunxi would be laughing too. Tang Li had his own methods to coax a woman into happiness, but she couldn’t smile at all now. She was more certain than ever that Ning Jing had lured Tang Li here on purpose.

If she could read their true hearts now, then Han Yunxi would know that this world held another woman who suffered the same sickness as herself. But she had no idea. She only knew that Ning Jing had schemed against Tang Li, who was paying her back with a plot of his own. The two of them were measuring each other’s strengths in secret, and now Tang Li was definitely in the lead. Without the West Qin princess status, Han Yunxi would say she was biased to protecting Tang Li’s side. She wished that he could win this silent battle between the couple. Although Tang Li was careless and slovenly, he was actually dependable when he got serious and suited for a better woman.

With a rumble, Tang Li pushed all of his chips onto the table. They scattered across its surface. After a day of winnings, he had already amassed 50,000,000 chips. Ning Jing grew alarmed. She had secretly tugged on Tang Li’s hand just to remind him that she was playacting, and to not listen to her. But who knew he’d be so willful!