Chapter 43- A Few Friendly Wagers

“Big Bro Wang, is it really okay to operate a gambling table?”

“It will only be a problem if I lose, Little Mei. Besides, I’m backing my sectmates to the limit. What could be wrong with that?”

“At ten to one though?” She looked concerned. Tian, who was observing from the corner of his eye, had to admit “concerned” looked adorable on Daoist Mei. Why she didn’t give him the itchy feeling that the other woman from the Five Elements Sect had, he didn’t know.

“You two are pretty cocky!” Another young man stepped forward angrily. “Fighting without martial honor, yet acting as though you are the ones wronged!”

Tian and Hong shared a look of naked confusion. “Sorry, fellow daoist, but what are you talking about? We were both challenged, we both let the other party make the first move, and both stopped when they weren’t able to keep on fighting.” Tian explained. He was very reasonable.

“Yeah, and it’s not like we are winning and running off either. We are giving you a chance to fight back. So… really, what are you talking about? Are you stupid, or just dumb?” Hong’s voice was equally reasonable.

“Don’t be so quick to judge, Sister. It could be brain damage. I have a treatment for that which I have been eager to practice.” Tian smiled as he rubbed his hands together.

“You two! Just how far do you intend to take your bullying?!” The young man cried.

“Shut up or square up.” Hong was quite done with extending the benefit of the doubt.

“Big Bro Wang, do you always carry canvas and paint with you?”

“Oh yes, you never know when you need to make some signs or banners, and I have yet to meet anyone else who thinks of carrying such basic supplies. Four hundred gallons of spirit wine, sure. Nine hundred and ninety nine magic arrows, each dipped in a different venom? These days, who would even leave their cell without them? A small selection of paint, a few dozen yards of canvass and a variety of sturdy poles of different lengths? Not a single soul thinks of it. And yet, see how useful it is?”

“Oooh! Now everyone knows where to place their bets!” Mei clapped and bounced on her toes. She was, Tian noticed, a bouncy sort of person.

“Very well then! I, Mao-”

“No, sorry, I know what I said earlier, and I was wrong.” Hong cut him off, shaking her head. “Just pick who you want to fight. This will be endless if you all introduce yourselves.”

“Wench, there won’t be any more, because I alone am enough to crush both of you! Come at me together, so people can’t say I bullied you with my cultivation level!” His robes fluttered with the sudden release of his vital energy. The might of a furious level eight circulated around him, and the pointed stars on his robe seemed to blaze with authority.

Hong and Tian shared a look and shrugged.

“When you are ready, Fellow Daoist.” Tian cupped his hands and bowed.

“Ooh, it’s not solo. How are you going to take bets now, Big Bro Wang?”

“Easy. TWENTY TO ONE ANCIENT CRANE WINS WITHIN TEN MOVES! TEN TO ONE WITHIN FIVE!”

“What? You fool, I’ll gladly take your stones! Fifty spirit stones on Brother Mao, if you dare take the bet!”

“Why wouldn’t I? Hell, double it, Daddy Wang will play with you to the end. Within ten moves, or five?”

“Hmf! Double it is. And ten moves, who knows how many life saving tricks the two of them have?”

“Heh, I want to bet too, but I don’t know if you have the stones for a truly heavy wager?” This from a nasal voiced young woman. Brother Wang laughed arrogantly and slapped a heavy hand on his table, then wiped it from right to left. Where his hand passed, stacks of spirit stones were left behind.

“I dare you to try and empty my purse! This Daddy heard you lot had some sort of dogshit luck and picked up some money. But all he sees are third rate losers with short arms that can’t even reach into their barren pockets! Weak skills, weak hearts, no guts at the gambling table, has this Daddy wasted his time!?”

The fighters had paused, turning to watch the scene at Brother Wang’s booth.

“I knew I should have gone into logistics. They make all the money. Even if I sold myself I couldn’t cover one bet.” Tian touched the near void in his purse.

“Brother Zihao, you would be eaten alive in logistics. There wouldn’t even be bones left of you. I thought we were nasty enough in the disciplinary squad, but we have nothing on the quartermasters. Those monsters could squeeze a spirit stone out of empty air, and then hand it a bill for a hundred more for the extra labor.”

Tian and Liren sighed together. Tian looked over at the bewildered and increasingly furious Daoist from the Five Elements Courtyard. “I apologize. It’s not that we don’t take you seriously. It’s just that we don’t want to spoil our Brother’s good business. I promise we will wrap this up in just a few moments once all bets are in.”

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“Yes, Brother Mao, let us get our bets in! Then you just have to last more than ten moves for us to empty this fatty’s pockets!” One of the daoists from The Five Elements Courtyard shouted from outside the sparring ground.

Tian hadn’t bothered moving off the Wood symbol painted on the flagstones. If they hadn’t figured out his little trick yet, good. If they had, then it wouldn’t matter where he was standing. Either way, he had complete confidence in winning. There was something off about this daoist. Not cursed, just… incorrect. Not itchy like the others, but still off.

He wracked his brains for what it could be, and couldn’t figure it out.