Chapter 195: Do Me a Favor and We Shall Call It Even
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"What valuable items do you possess? Let me have a look. If I like it, p.a.w.ning it is no problem," Yun Yang said.
…
A quarter of an hour later, the man dressed in white wore an expression that was the opposite color of his clothes.
"I have a piece of Stellar Al. Shouldn’t be a problem to p.a.w.n it for ten thousand silver taels, should it?"
"Of course not."
…
One hour later, the man stood before Yun Yang, gritting his teeth.
"I’m not playing anymore!"
"The f*ck? That was thirty thousand silver taels. My lord, you’ve lost them all within less than two hours. I finally know why you can lose four thousand taels in one go!"
Yun Yang shook his head and advised seriously, "You shouldn’t gamble anymore. You care too much about the gain and loss, you’re not fit for the game of chance. Gambling is good if you play a little but it’s bad if you go all out on it!"
The man in white kept quiet, but the muscles on his cheek throbbed.
"Good bye." He walked out, each step seemed to be weighed down with lead.
"I think… If you’re not near giving up, you can p.a.w.n your sword as well." Yun Yang sighed slowly, "But it’s better if you leave…"
"You want my sword?" The man in white’s right hand went towards the grip as he spat the words, his green veins popping.
"Why would I want it? I’m just giving you another chance to win all that you’ve lost seeing that you’re unhappy with your losses? Never mind. You better leave quickly!" Yun Yang shook his head. "Or else it will only turn out worse for you."
The man dressed in white made a decision then, taking large strides back. "I’ll p.a.w.n it to you!"
Yun Yang’s eyes went wide. "Respectable brother, I’m just joking with you. I was just pulling your leg, it’s my fault. You won’t have anything left if you lose this sword. I know what the sword worn by a martial artist means to him; listen to me, don’t gamble anymore. Really. Gambling is like a pit, it’s easy to fall in but it’s never as easy to climb out of it."
The man in white clothes only replied coldly, "You don’t have to say much. I’m just asking if you accept it or not?"
Yun Yang was quick to say, "Of course I accept it! Respectable brother, with a single glance, I can tell that your sword is no ordinary one. I’m willing to offer twenty thousand silver taels. You can redeem it anytime, okay?"
The man was incredulous. "What did you say? My sword can’t be bought even with a hundred thousand mystical stones and you’re p.a.w.ning it for twenty thousand silver taels?"
Yun Yang pursed his lips and said, "Your sword is worth a hundred thousand mystical stones now just because you said so? Even if I sell this casino, I believe I"d get the same amount too! You mean to say this sword is worth this casino? Why don’t you go rob someone? You’re the one asking for a favor now, are you not? Forget twenty thousand taels, even if it’s… Hmm, alright, alright…"
Yun Yang said with a shrug, "This way. I can a.s.sume your sword is worth a hundred thousand silver taels but I can only give you twenty thousand taels each time. I will only give you those silver taels for four times too. The fifth time I’ll still give you twenty thousand silver taels but you can’t gamble anymore. You have to leave, taking the twenty thousand silver taels with you. You can still live for some time like this, there’s a chance for you to rebuild everything. If you agree to it, we’ll have things done this way. If not, leave with your sword!"
The man in white wore a dark expression. He knew this fellow in front of him was luring him into the deepest pit, step by step, but he still had to say, "Thank you."
What a f*cking bizarre feeling it was!
His sword that was worth tens of millions silver taels if converted to money was p.a.w.ned for a hundred thousand silver taels, and he would be given twenty thousand each time yet he had to say thank you.
The man dressed in white entered the casino once more alongside an odd emotion that he could not even put his finger on.
After a while – "Give me twenty thousand taels."
Quite a while later – "Give me another twenty thousand silver taels."
Yet a while later – "Give me another twenty thousand silver taels."
Then it was about a quarter of an hour later – the man stood in front of Yun Yang again, looking lost and bewildered.
He could obviously hear how many points that had been shaken. There was no doubt nor mistake about this. The number shaken out was obviously what he heard. There was no one cheating with mystical Qi throughout the entire process as well.
Besides, if there were to be someone cheating – someone with Xiao Lingzui’s level, he could also sense it!
Even if he failed to sense it once or twice, it was not possible for him to have missed it with so many times down the road!
Why though… why did he keep losing? He was just losing all the way!
No matter how confident he was, he kept losing – utterly and overwhelmingly so!
When he came, he was poor but at least he still had fifty silver taels on him.
Now – in less than two hours, the fortune he had on him, his jade pendant, his rare metals, were all p.a.w.ned; in addition, he was also in a huge debt of two hundred thousand silver taels!
Even the sword he always carried around was in someone else’s hands.
What was more, the debt he owed was accompanied by a rapidly growing interest.
Without everything else, he would already be in at least a two hundred and fifty thousand silver taels debt when he came here again at the same time tomorrow! It would only be half a month’s time before it became impossible for him to redeem all these items of his!
With the role of interest, the total debt might already have grown into an astronomical figure that he could not repay, even if he went bankrupt and used up ten lifetimes in returning the debt!
"You lost again?" Yun Yang looked at the man dressed in white sympathetically. "Your luck… is really… why not leave with these twenty thousand silver taels and come try your luck again tomorrow? Looks like it’s not good for you to gamble today, there’s no hope for you to win back your losses."
The man was a little taken aback. Come again tomorrow?
Was he going to come back tomorrow?
Looking at the noisy game tables inside, a wild fear suddenly arose. It was as if those game tables were one big mouth wide open, waiting for him to go near and swallow him whole!
"I…" The man held onto the twenty thousand silver taels worth of banknotes, feeling parched.
He really, really hated First Court King Qinguang to the core at this moment; he had never felt such rage at the man before.
He had been living well, roaming the martial arts world in a carefree manner; there was not a single person who could do him harm. Yet this b.a.s.t.a.r.d had been appointed by G.o.d knows who and had begun hunting for his life, giving chase to him for a whole twenty thousand miles.
He had chased him from the border of Yutang to Dayuan, then from Dayuan to the Gra.s.sland but he did not stop; the hunt persisting all the way to Tiantang City…
He had barely gotten himself rid of the hunt only to realize in despair that the dozen thousands of silver taels that he had brought along were reduced to fifty taels after buying medicine, pills, information, healing his injuries, and other items.
He had come here to test his luck in an attempt to soothe his financial crisis, more so to use the thrill of winning to kick the frustration of being hunted all this while. There was not much antic.i.p.ation in such game that wins and losses had been long decided but who would have guessed that the game was not at all within his expectation. The game had only ended with him being high in debt!
How could the man in white not blame First Court King Qinguang?
If he did not hunt him down, would he have come here?
If he did not hunt him down, would he have expended his fortune?
If he did not hunt him down, would he have gambled out of helplessness?
If he did not hunt him down, would he have fallen to this stage… that even his sword had belonged to others?
With so much debt, the type that he probably could not clear within his lifetime!
"First Court King Qinguang! I shall stand irreconcilable with you! Never!" the man in white cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth.
Looking at the man walking away with anger, Yun Yang called out to him, "Respectable brother."
The man turned to see Yun Yang smiling sincerely. "What else do you want?"
Yun Yang held his sword up with both hands. "I shall temporarily return this sword to you, for your use. Cultivators and martial artists alike, it’s still necessary to have a sword by your side. There would only be regret if a familiar weapon is lost. I was only joking with you previously."
The man in white suddenly felt a rush of emotions.
He was touched.
"Why?" His gaze towards Yun Yang was full of yearning but he did not extend his arms to accept the offered sword.
"A martial artist’s life is only whole when he carries his weapon."
Yun Yang said faintly, "You’ve taken a loan from me and lost it to my casino. From a certain point of view, I don’t suffer from any loss. I won’t use it even if I hold onto your sword. No matter how valuable your sword it, it doesn"t really matter to me. Let’s think of it as… making a friend?"
"Since you lack silver taels, I’ll support you with some. It"s a good relations.h.i.+p to forge, anyway."
"We’re all people of the martial world. Who knows who might need a favor in the future?" Yun Yang said in a friendly manner, "Who knows, I might need your help in the future. Just take it."
The man stared long at Yun Yang before saying, "If so, thank you."
He took his sword rather emotionally and said, "Young master, consider that I owe you a favor today. If a chance arises in the future, I promise to return the favor."
He said formally, "This is my promise!"
When he said those words, he held sincere grat.i.tude in his heart.
"Return the favor?" Yun Yang smiled. "What would you do?"
The man in white said earnestly, "It can be anything!"
Yun Yang clapped then, saying, "Anything? That’s great. Since it can be anything, let’s not wait for the future. I have something here I need some help with."
The man in white clothes stared at Yun Yang in a stupor, feeling all sorts of emotions ranging from extreme happiness to extreme despair. He could faintly feel that he had hopped into a deeper pit without completely getting himself out from another; the jump was without hesitation.
However, a promise said was a promise made. He could not go back on his words. The white-clothed man gripped his sword tightly, feeling it burn in his hands for the first time after years of being with it. He asked with a dark expression, "What is it?"
"You weren’t just saying it for the sake of saying it, were you? Alright, alright, I won’t ask for your help without anything in return… As long as you complete this, not only will I return your sword, all your debts will also be considered cleared!"