Chapter 16 Silver Hook Gambling House

It was one hundred and thirty li from Longhua Prefecture city.

Qili Town lay at the foot of Yanhui Mountain.

Though called a town, Qili Town was more prosperous than some cities.

This was because it was the essential thoroughfare from Xiling County to Jinyang County, filled with countless traveling merchants and pedestrians.

In the town stood the Silver Hook Gambling Den, located right at the entrance of Qili Town.

The Silver Hook Gambling Den was a den of gold-melting, a place of bewitchment, and a deadly poison.

It always managed to make people walk in smiling and walk out weeping.

Despite this, people still flocked to it like ducks to water.

Because life is short, and even a fleeting moment of joy is worth it.

Of course, most people who came here were just trying their luck.

After all, at the Silver Hook Gambling Den, regardless of status or rank, as long as you had silver, you could place a few bets.

Just like at this moment, inside the gambling den, it was packed with traveling merchants and local gamblers.

Curses, laughter, and roars rose and fell, while the scent of sweat, rouge, and bad breath mingled together.

"Place your bets!"

The dealer's face was filled with an enthusiastic smile as the dice cup in his hand left trails of afterimages, slamming onto the gambling table with a bang.

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Small! Small! Small!"

The bettors had ferocious expressions, eyes wide open, staring fixedly at the dice cup without even blinking.

The dealer gave a sly smile and slowly lifted the cup.

"Small!"

"Damn it!"

"Damn, why is it small again?!"

"I'm out of money! Boss Qiao, what else can I pawn? Lend me some more silver!"

The losers reacted in all sorts of ways.

Some, unwilling to accept defeat, had already lost their entire family fortune and were even willing to pawn their own children, determined to win it back at the table.

The winners were all beaming with joy.

"Haha! I knew it would be small!"

"Again! I'm betting on small this round too!"

But their smiles were destined not to last.

The only one who could laugh until the end was the gambling den's boss, Bao Ruyi.

Bao Ruyi was a middle-aged man with a kind appearance, always wearing a mysterious smile on his lips; if an uninformed person saw him, they would mistake him for a great philanthropist.

He stood on the second floor of the gambling den, rolling two iron balls in his hand, watching the gamblers laughing, scolding, and carousing under the bright lights, his smile deepening.

Two large men hauled a gambler upstairs; the man's face looked as if he were mourning his own parents.

Upon seeing Bao Ruyi, he scrambled to his feet, crawled to his feet, and grabbed his thigh, begging:

"Boss Contented, Master Contented, please, give me a few more days!"

"Just one more month, I will definitely pay back the money after a month!"

Bao Ruyi sighed:

"Liu San, it's not that I won't grant you an extension. Your shop and your family's land have already been mortgaged entirely. You still owe two hundred taels of debt; how are you going to pay that back?"

"What? Wasn't it seventy taels?"

"Hmph! A month ago it was seventy taels; a month later, it is naturally two hundred taels!"

"You..."

Liu San couldn't have imagined that Bao Ruyi was so shameless; even interest upon interest didn't compound like this.

Bao Ruyi continued:

"Look at you, your children sold as slaves, your wife working in a brothel, and you, a grown man, how can you have the nerve to be idling about outside?

It just so happens that the iron mine under my name is short on men. Go and mine to pay off your debt! You won't be released until it's paid in full!"

Hearing this, Liu San became instantly agitated and hysterical.

"Bao Ruyi, you will die a horrible death! You cheated! I didn't lose..."

Once taken to the bottom of the mine, he would likely never come out again in his lifetime.

Bao Ruyi waved his hand, and the two large men dragged the man away, ignoring Liu San's wailing and cursing.

"Sigh..."

Bao Ruyi sighed again.

He loved gambling and was skilled at it, and whenever he saw these gamblers lose everything, he would always feel a sense of pity.

That was why he would lend them money.

Very soon, these people would lose it all again, and in order to pay back the debt, they would have to sell their children and their property.

To this day, he had become one of the largest landowners in the vicinity.

Of course, there were also those who owed debts and refused to pay.

But he possessed a cultivation at the Peak of the Second Realm, enough to suppress any diehard who dared to resist him, making them obediently pay up.

Bao Ruyi cast his gaze upon a middle-aged man who had just entered the gambling den's gate, his eyes lighting up.

This was a new face.

And by the looks of it, he was either rich or noble.

He had seen many people like this and liked them the most.

He was practically a walking money bag.

Once he lost all the silver on his person here, his iron mine would have another good miner.

Yan Chu entered the gambling den and headed straight for the largest gambling table in the center.

He rudely shoved the gamblers along the way aside, lifted a man in front of the table, and sat down brazenly.

"What are you doing? Are you looking for death..."

Those he shoved aside glared at him furiously.

But he merely glanced at them indifferently, and everyone fell silent.

It had been over half a month since he joined the Four Seas Pavilion.

During this period, he had accepted three missions and killed quite a few fugitives, and he was now at the Viscera Realm.

Even when he didn't deliberately reveal it, a Killing Intent would naturally radiate from him, and facing these gamblers, he was like a fierce tiger looking at sheep.

*Slap!*

A five-hundred-tael silver note was slapped onto the gambling table.

"Betting on Big!"

The onlookers were taken aback; taking out five hundred taels at once, who knew where this wealthy bumpkin came from?

The dealer looked at the five-hundred-tael note, a flash of joy passing through his eyes.

Another fat sheep.

The dealer began to frantically shake the dice cup, the sound of the dice colliding ringing out continuously.

"Wait!"

Yan Chu stopped the dealer's shaking arm and pointed at Bao Ruyi, who was watching the show from upstairs,

"I want to gamble against him!"

The gambling den suddenly went quiet.

The next moment, there was an uproar of laughter.

"Haha! Where did this country bumpkin come from? Dare to compare gambling skills with Boss Contented? Is this your first day walking the Jianghu?"

"Old thing! The Silver Hook Gambling Den is not a place for you to show off!"

"It's over. Not only will he lose these five hundred taels, but he might also have to leave his hands and feet behind later."

Bao Ruyi looked at Yan Chu with a faint smile.

Everyone present knew what kind of person Boss Contented was; no one had dared to gamble against him, nor did they have the qualifications to do so.

Yan Chu unhurriedly picked up two pieces of broken silver from the table and flicked his finger.

*Swish! Swish!*

Then, two screams were heard; the gambler and the guard who had mocked him fell straight to the ground, their heads pierced through, leaving clear, bloody holes.

[Killed the gambler who mocked you, feeling extremely gratified, EXP + 20]

[Killed the guard who mocked you, feeling extremely gratified, EXP + 20]

"Ah!!! Murder!!!"

"Run!!!"

The crowd suddenly became chaotic, looking in terror at the middle-aged man sitting at the gambling table, realizing the newcomer meant trouble, and they all ran toward the outside.

Very soon, the entire gambling den became empty, saving Yan Chu the trouble of clearing the place.

The dealer opposite the gambling table was at a loss for what to do.

Bao Ruyi had already brought several guards downstairs and arrived at the gambling table. He waved his hand, and the dealer left as if granted an amnesty.

The remaining dozens of guards closed all the doors and windows, surrounding Yan Chu with hostile, tiger-like glares.

"I wonder what background you have, brother? Has I, Bao Ruyi, offended you in any way?"

Bao Ruyi rolled the iron balls in his hand, remaining calm and composed.

His gambling den made a fortune every day, and among his guards, there were two experts of the Second Realm, and seven or eight Qi-blood Martial Artists.

No matter how arrogant this middle-aged man was, he would not be leaving this place alive today.