What's this creep doing here?
Spotting the guy upstairs, Sha Lifei's face twitched, and he backed off a few steps.
The man was Yuan Qu, boss of the White Ape Gang.
Born with an odd look and raised by a half-shady courtesan mother, he'd taken a lot of grief growing up. Mixing on the streets, he picked up every dirty trick in the book.
Still young, he'd earned the nickname "Monkey Demon."
Unlike the Iron Blade Gang's boss, Yuan Qu's moves were all cheap, street-brawl tactics. Even with a master like Zhou Pan and solid talent, he started late and wrecked his potential with booze and women, scraping by at the Dark Strength level.
His skills might've ranked dead last among the Eight Great Vajras, but his rep? Not a bit less infamous. The guy was known for being a scheming snake.
East City was White Ape Gang turf, but this gambling joint was supposedly backed by some big shot from Chang'an City. Even the yamen didn't dare shake it down, so the White Ape Gang steered clear.
Sha Lifei had picked this place on purpose, thinking it was safe, yet here was Yuan Qu. He cursed his rotten luck under his breath.
Meanwhile, Yuan Qu got a whisper from a guy next to him and flashed a nasty grin. "Tied to that kid? Go grab him for a little talk…"
"What's your deal?"
Sha Lifei shouted, "Zhou Pan's crew pulling dirty tricks before the arena fight? You martial world folks, you're all seeing this!"
"You're dead, punk!"
Yuan Qu's eyes turned cold and vicious.
Just then, another figure stepped out—an old man in a rich merchant's robe, short and chubby, with white whiskers and a warm smile, looking like everyone's favorite grandpa.
He stroked his beard, chuckling, "Just a loud nobody, Gang Leader Yuan. Why get riled up?"
"This is Jinbao Gambling House. Guy's got a big mouth, sure, but he hasn't broken any rules. You start talking about beating him down, and it puts me in a tough spot…"
Polite words, zero respect.
Sha Lifei jumped in, nodding fast, "Yeah, yeah! I was born loud, so what? I get a beating for that?"
The old man smiled, stroking his beard. "In a gambling house, who's quiet? Guests are here to have fun—let 'em yell however they want."
"If the guest's betting on the arena, I'm game too."
"Ah Fu, put up the board!"
Right on cue, a stone-faced man stepped out from behind the old man, something in his hand. He vaulted over the railing, pulled a front flip, and landed without a sound.
No wobble, no heavy breathing, not even a tap from his feet.
"Nice moves!"
The place was packed with martial world types, and they roared in approval.
The guy didn't flinch, just clasped his fists to the crowd, then strode to the platform at the back. He pulled down two boards and, with quick, bold strokes, wrote "Li Yan" and "Zhou Bai," adding the odds.
Li Yan wins: Bet one, get one.
Zhou Bai wins: Bet one, get half.
Yuan Qu, White Ape Gang boss, had cooled off by now. He gave a fake smile. "Boss Wu, you're playing small, huh?"
He'd caught wind that Jinbao's backer was in trouble, so he'd rushed over to talk buyout, hoping to grab the prize before anyone else.
But the manager shut him down flat and even threw a jab.
Annoyed but cautious, Yuan Qu didn't want to burn bridges, wary of things going sideways.
It was a bit like kicking a guy when he's down, after all.
Boss Wu kept his warm smile. "Just stirring up some fun for the guests. What, you want in, Gang Leader Yuan?"
Yuan Qu was about to say no, but his eyes flickered, and he grinned. "If Boss Wu's playing, I'm in."
"Two thousand taels. You taking it, Boss Wu?"
Wu's smile didn't budge. He waved a hand, and someone below scribbled a betting slip, scurried upstairs, and handed it over with respect.
"Gang Leader Yuan's got guts!"
"Boss Wu's a big player!"
After the verbal sparring, Yuan Qu saw Wu wasn't biting, so he turned to Sha Lifei below, sneering, "Big man, you're so sure about that kid. How much you throwing down?"
Sha Lifei's stomach knotted, but he thumped his chest. "Brother Yan's a lock to win. Old Sha's betting everything!"
He yanked out a heavy pouch and slammed it on the counter.
The clerk jumped, then opened it carefully, only to make a weird face.
Mostly coppers, barely any bits of silver.
Speechless, the clerk counted fast and called out, "Guest's bet, nineteen taels, five qian…"
Before he finished, Sha Lifei snatched back a tael, muttering, "Whoops, need to keep some for food."
The clerk sighed. "Eighteen taels, five qian!"
"Hahaha!"
The whole gambling house burst into laughter.
Even Yuan Qu cracked up, jeering, "You broke loser, acting big here? Want me to spot you a few hundred taels?"
"Pass!"
Sha Lifei's skin was thick—he didn't care about the laughs. He pocketed the slip and walked out, no nonsense.
A veteran of the martial world, he wasn't falling for that.
Lose his money? He'd start over. Borrow from these guys? That's a one-way ticket to misery.
Even "nine out, thirteen back" loans had some rules.
Some loan sharks lived for this, showing up when payments were due, raising hell, demanding "tea fees" or "errand fees" that didn't touch the interest.
Small merchants got driven mad by this.
For ordinary folks, that was the game.
For martial world types, they hunted down the dying—tuberculosis cases, people with days left—and hounded them.
If a martial artist snapped and killed one, they'd walk into the trap.
Then the yamen's crooked clerks would pile on, like two ghosts at your door, making life hell.
With bad blood already, Sha Lifei was on high alert.
Out the gambling house door, he took off running, gone in a flash…
Inside, Yuan Qu, seeing Sha Lifei didn't bite, got bored. He leaned toward Boss Wu, voice low. "Think it over, Boss Wu."
"My offer's low, but it's real silver. If it gets to that point, I won't be the only one looking to snatch this place for nothing."
He flashed a slight smile and walked off.
Behind him, Boss Wu's smile held, but his eyes turned dark…
In the gambling house, a white-robed cheat from the Hua Family Sect got loud. "Yo, life-or-death arena—betting on blood's way more fun!"
"Zhou Bai's the Zhou family's next big shot. Bet on him, you get half your stake back. Want a big score? Go for Li Yan—double your money in a snap!"
"Where else you getting a deal like this? Quick hands win, slow hands lose!"
"No cash? Talk to me…"
In the martial world, some get cautious with age, but most? They strap their heads to their belts and gamble hard. People started scraping together cash to bet.
The crowd was a mix—carriage drivers, canal gang dock workers, city brokers, even bandits covering their tracks.
A real den of dragons and snakes, every kind of character.
Word of the fight spread through Xianyang City like wildfire…
Meanwhile, as Yuan Qu left the gambling house, one of his guys came up, head bowed. "Boss, that slick Sha Lifei slipped away."
"Let him go. He's nothing."
Yuan Qu shook his head, voice low. "What'd you find out?"
The guy whispered, "Checked it out. The kid went to the Zhang Clan Martial School. After he left, Zhang Yuanshang started making moves."
"But it was a closed-door spar. Our guys didn't see nothing."
"Hmm…"
Yuan Qu thought it over, voice grim. "This isn't a sure thing. Go get Master Chen, find Zhou Bai, and I'm heading to Master's place."
With the order, his crew split three ways and took off.
…
Yuan Qu led his men to a big residence in the city's west, telling them to wait outside while he respectfully asked for an audience.
"Is Master home?"
"He is, Uncle Yuan. Come in."
Not long after entering, Yuan Qu came out.
A carriage trailed behind him.
On it was a huge iron cage, draped in red cloth, rattling nonstop, with muffled beastly roars coming from inside…
*(End of Chapter)*