When the Little Thousand Fate Chaos Array began to operate.
When the dice cup started to radiate with flowing light and strange colors.
When the dice began to spin inside the cup along with the array's power.
Horse King knew it was over.
Everything was over.
This round would be just like the previous three, another loss.
One million per round, four million gone just like that.
Even though these four million weren't his, but rather what Gu Qingfeng had won at the outer tables, Horse King still felt a deep, visceral pain on Gu Qingfeng's behalf.
This wasn't ten or twenty thousand, nor even one or two hundred thousand—this was a full four million!
Just gone like that.
Horse King had never gambled with stakes this high in his life, nor had he ever lost so much. He had never even bet on a Leopard before.
If he had known it would come to this, they should have left immediately after winning those four million outside. Why did they have to come in here to show off?
And now look! Showing off indeed—four million shown off into nothingness...
Heavens above!
Earth below!
Horse King felt like crying but had no tears, his regret so profound it felt like his guts had turned green.
Across the table.
Li Fengyan looked exceedingly pleased. With a seductive maid in his arms, he sipped his wine and laughed, "How dull, truly so very dull...
Four million...
Watching it vanish before your very eyes..." An elder beside him said, "Young Lord Fengyan, what is the point of this? Seeing as he's new here, you shouldn't bully him like this. How could you goad him into betting on Leopard and losing money?"
"This Young Lord is happy, is that not allowed?"
"What is there to be happy about? He loses four million, but you don't win his four million."
"Heh, you simply don't understand. This Young Lord finds watching others lose money far more enjoyable than winning money myself. Such amusing entertainment isn't something one encounters every day."
Li Fengyan hooked a finger under the seductive maid's chin and teased, "Don't you agree, my beauty?"
"Oh, Young Lord, you're so naughty."
"Naughty?" Li Fengyan tightened his arm around the maid's slender waist. "Where am I naughty?"
"Young Lord, you're simply dreadful!"
"Hahaha!" Li Fengyan laughed heartily, deliberately tossing a chip worth ten thousand into the folds of the maid's robe. "This Young Lord is in a splendid mood today. A reward of ten thousand for you."
As he spoke, Li Fengyan turned his gaze to Gu Qingfeng. "Tough Guy Nobleman, do you have any chips left on you?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head. "Not a single coin."
"Oh, is that so? Would you like this Young Lord to bestow one upon you?" Li Fengyan pinched a single chip worth ten thousand between two fingers. "Kowtow once to this Young Lord, and this ten-thousand-value chip is yours."
"Excellent!" Gu Qingfeng laughed. "Come, toss the chip over first."
Li Fengyan flicked his wrist, sending the ten-thousand-value chip flying over. Gu Qingfeng caught it, weighed it in his palm, then casually placed this ten-thousand chip on the Leopard bet as well. "Fine. If I lose later, I'll give you that kowtow."
"Oh?" Li Fengyan seemed somewhat unable to comprehend Gu Qingfeng's action.
Finally.
The Little Thousand Fate Chaos Array ceased its operation. The dice cup no longer shimmered with flowing light. And Senior Master Li began to prepare to open the dice cup.
"Heh, this Young Lord shall await your kowtow," Li Fengyan said, still seated in his chair. He didn't look at the dice cup, instead lowering his head to tease the maid in his arms. Suddenly, a wave of astonished exclamations and uproar swept through the hall. All thirty-odd gamblers at the table stood up, staring at the three dice as if witnessing a miracle.
Hmm?
Perhaps sensing something amiss, Li Fengyan felt a flicker of doubt and looked over. When he saw the three dice—each showing three pips—he too shot to his feet in an instant. His originally cold and smug face turned deathly pale, filled with shock.
The first die: three pips.
The second die: also three pips.
The third die: still three pips.
All threes!
Leopard!
A genuine Leopard!
!!
No one had expected this round to actually produce a Leopard!
No one.
Not even Steward Zhu Guang of the garden, nor Senior Master Li responsible for opening the cup, had anticipated it. Both wore expressions of stunned disbelief, unable to believe it was real.
Especially Horse King. When Gu Qingfeng decided to bet his remaining million chips on Leopard again, Horse King had already despaired. Yet, no matter what, he never imagined that after Gu Qingfeng bet on Leopard four times in a row—losing the first three—the final round would actually produce a Leopard!
Heavens above!
Horse King, as if unable to believe it was real, pinched himself hard. Feeling the pain, he knew this wasn't a dream. They had truly won.
The payout for Leopard was thirty-to-one.
Gu Qingfeng had bet one million, plus the later ten thousand thrown in. In other words, this single round had won a staggering thirty million and thirty thousand.
Heavens above!
Thirty million!
At this moment, Horse King not only felt the heavens and earth spinning, but also dizzy and lightheaded.
In all his years since becoming addicted to gambling, he had experienced great joys and sorrows. He had tasted the fall from heaven into hell.
But he had never felt a thrill like today's. This feeling surpassed mere great joy or sorrow, surpassed falling from heaven into hell—it was more exhilarating than being resurrected from death. He was so excited he could hardly control himself. His internal organs, blood vessels, bones, and even every inch of his skin seemed to tremble.
"Well now, a Leopard actually came up," Gu Qingfeng said.
Compared to the others, Gu Qingfeng—the person most involved—showed neither the stunned disbelief of the other gamblers nor Horse King's uncontrollable excitement. He still appeared lazy, just sitting casually in his chair, legs crossed, sipping his little cup of wine.
Shocked?
No.
Excited?
Not that either.
That plain, unremarkable face held nothing but laziness and casualness, as if the one who had just won thirty million Immortal Stones wasn't him, but someone else. Even more, it seemed as if thirty million Immortal Stones held no more significance to him than thirty stones.
This couldn't help but provoke wonder.
Was this fellow truly just some upstart who'd won a bit of Immortal Stones by luck at the outer tables and came here to swagger about?
Could an upstart remain so composed and unperturbed after winning thirty million Immortal Stones?
Could an upstart possess such a carefree, indifferent attitude towards winning or losing?
The answer was definite.
An upstart could not be so composed, nor so carefree and indifferent.
But then.
Who was he, really?
No one knew.
No one had a clue.
Thirty million chips was no small sum. Even Senior Master Li, overseeing the major game, didn't have that amount on hand. Collecting himself, he asked, "Might I ask... Tou... Tough Guy Nobleman, regarding the thirty million and thirty thousand... Would you like to exchange them for Immortal Stones, or... continue playing?"
"A mere thirty million Immortal Stones, why exchange them? Besides, I've only played four or five rounds, haven't even scratched the itch yet. What's the hurry? Go, quickly fetch me thirty million in chips. We'll continue playing."
"Understood! Please wait a moment."
Senior Master Li immediately instructed Steward Zhu Guang to fetch more chips.
At that moment, the maid previously responsible for pouring wine for Gu Qingfeng came running over, a wine pot in hand, her face covered in sweat. "Great Steward... there's no more wine left in the storehouse."
"What? How can there be none?" Senior Master Li asked, puzzled. "Weren't there over a hundred pots this morning?"
"They've all... all been drunk by this Young Lord..."
"What did you say!" Senior Master Li wondered if he had misheard. "Say that again?"
"It's true. This Young Lord hasn't stopped since he sat down. Pot after pot, he's drunk over a hundred and twenty-two pots already. There really aren't any extra wine pots left in the storehouse."
"Good heavens! That's over a hundred pots of wine! And in such a short time... he drank them all?" Senior Master Li nearly choked, staring at Gu Qingfeng as if looking at a monster, feeling his scalp go numb.