Those who could come to this garden to gamble were all either wealthy or noble, so the fine wine the manor used for hospitality was naturally of the highest grade.
This fine wine was called Bitao, with a market price of over thirty thousand Immortal Stones per jar.
It sounded expensive, and indeed it was, but even so, the manor still offered it for free. The more the gamblers drank, the more pleased—not reluctant—the manor would be.
Because although this Bitao fine wine wasn't strong enough to intoxicate, the more one drank, the more relaxed the mind became. A relaxed mind led to relaxed consciousness, and once consciousness relaxed, one would gamble with fewer inhibitions. This was precisely the outcome the manor wanted to see.
As the chief steward of this gambling house, Old Master Li was no stranger to heavy drinkers. On the contrary, he had seen many, many of them. It wasn't rare for someone to drink over a dozen jars during a single gambling session. However, even the heaviest drinkers would at most consume a little over twenty jars before entering a drunken stupor, their consciousness growing hazy. To date, the most Old Master Li had ever seen anyone drink was twenty-three jars.
But.
He had never seen anyone drink over a hundred jars of Bitao wine in such a short time.
One must know that even those heavy drinkers who consumed a dozen or twenty jars did so over the course of a gambling session, which lasted at least ten hours, often over twenty.
And this Young Lord?
He had only sat down and played four or five rounds, less than an hour in total, and had already drunk over a hundred jars of Bitao fine wine.
Moreover, this person was a mere mortal of flesh and blood, with no cultivation or power whatsoever.
What made it even more unbelievable to Old Master Li was that after drinking over a hundred jars of Bitao fine wine, this Young Lord didn't seem the slightest bit drunk.
How was this possible!
Old Master Li truly couldn't believe it and couldn't understand how this was happening.
Beside him.
Ever since arriving, Horse King had been solely focused on Gu Qingfeng's bets, paying no attention to anything else. Hearing now that Gu Qingfeng had drunk over a hundred jars of Bitao wine in such a short time also gave him a serious fright.
Horse King had never entered this place to gamble before, so naturally he had never tasted Bitao wine. Although he hadn't drunk it, he had heard many people mention it. They said this wine had a very light taste, but its aftereffects were powerful. An ordinary Great Luo Golden Immortal would be done after five or six jars; even with a great tolerance, one would be finished after seven or eight.
He simply couldn't understand how Gu Qingfeng, a guy who had lost all his cultivation, could drink over a hundred jars of Bitao fine wine in less than an hour and, damn it all, show no sign of drunkenness. Such a thing, if not seen with one's own eyes, no one would dare believe. Even witnessing it now, it felt utterly bizarre.
"When I arrived, you said the fine wine here was free. What's the matter? Just had a bit of your wine, and you're getting stingy?"
Gu Qingfeng sat with one leg crossed over the other, holding the last jar of wine, pouring the final cup.
Old Master Li took a deep breath, calming his somewhat chaotic heart. "Young Lord, you jest. Since our gambling house offers free hospitality, we naturally won't go back on our word."
"Then why are you just standing there? This is the last jar, there's no more wine. Hurry up and bring more."
Hearing that Gu Qingfeng wanted to continue drinking, the muscles at the corner of Old Master Li's mouth twitched involuntarily.
Because he had just done a mental calculation.
This Bitao fine wine was worth thirty thousand Immortal Stones per jar on the market. This kid had already drunk over a hundred jars, which came to nearly over four million Immortal Stones!
Good heavens!
This was too ruthless.
When this kid arrived, he only had four million in Chips. Even if he lost it all, drinking over a hundred jars of Bitao fine wine meant he'd still come out ahead!
Not to mention, this kid hadn't lost at all; instead, he had won over thirty million Immortal Stones!
And now.
This kid actually planned to keep drinking.
Just how much could he drink?
Was there no end to this?
What to do?
What could Old Master Li do? Even if he was extremely unhappy inside, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
"Young Lord, please wait a moment. The storeroom currently has no more Bitao wine. When Zhu Guang arrives, this old man will have him fetch some Bitao wine from other gambling houses first."
"This time, bring a lot more. And don't use jars anymore, bring wine barrels directly. That'll save you trouble, and I can drink to my heart's content."
As the words fell.
Old Master Li couldn't help but take a deep breath, as if suppressing a violent surge within. Staring at Gu Qingfeng, he said in a low voice, "Young Lord truly has an impressive capacity for drink. This old man admires you greatly."
"Can't be helped. I'm not a man of great ambition, just born with a taste for this."
"Good!
Good!
Excellent!"
Soon, Zhu Guang arrived with over thirty million in Chips, only to be immediately dispatched by Old Master Li to fetch more Bitao fine wine from other gambling houses.
The over thirty million Chips were piled like a small mountain in front of Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng leaned sideways, half-reclining in his chair, one leg crossed over the other resting on the gambling table. He picked up a Chip worth ten thousand Immortal Stones, looked at Li Fengyan, and said, "What was your name again?
Young Lord Li something?
I was just about to kowtow to you for that ten-thousand Chip, but who knew I'd win? So, no need anymore. Here, take it back."
With that, he directly tossed the ten-thousand Chip over.
Li Fengyan's face was as ugly as it could be, his eyes fixed on Gu Qingfeng like venomous snakes.
He had originally planned to have some fun with that ten-thousand Chip after Gu Qingfeng lost everything. He never imagined that the final roll would actually result in a Leopard, and even more unthinkable was that the ten-thousand Chip he intended for amusement, after being bet by Gu Qingfeng on Leopard, had helped him win another three hundred thousand.
"Thanks also for that ten-thousand Chip just now; it helped me win an extra three hundred thousand. Not bad."
Gu Qingfeng smiled faintly. "To express my gratitude, I borrowed ten thousand from you earlier, now I'll reward you with a hundred thousand!"
Whoosh!
Gu Qingfeng threw another hundred thousand Chips over!
"How dare you!"
Li Fengyan felt insulted and immediately flew into a rage. Slapping the table, he stood up, throwing the hundred thousand Chips Gu Qingfeng had tossed onto the ground. "A mere hundred thousand Immortal Stones? I, Li Fengyan, don't even bat an eye at such a sum!"
"You may not bat an eye, but I certainly do."
Gu Qingfeng walked over, personally picked up the hundred thousand Chips Li Fengyan had thrown on the ground one by one, even wiping them clean with his sleeve. After cleaning them, he placed them back in front of himself. "I hear it's very difficult to earn Immortal Stones in the Great Desolate these days."
"Miss, you've been pouring cup after cup for me, serving me very satisfactorily. Here!
Take it, a little token of appreciation." Gu Qingfeng casually grabbed a handful of Chips from the mountain piled before him and rewarded the maid beside him.
Everyone took a closer look. Good heavens, that handful of Chips had to be worth at least five or six hundred thousand.