The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 10: Turning One Liang into a Thousand Liang

“Is that you, kid? I didn’t expect you’d actually dare to show up at my Hongyun Casino. What’s the matter? Is this all the money you have left after losing?” Watching Li Xuanba toss a single liang of silver back and forth in his hand, Hong Dangtou sneered at him, never imagining that this single liang wasn’t money Li Xuanba had left over—but rather, something he’d conjured from that single wen. Seeing that the boss didn’t understand Li Xuanba’s true capabilities, the dealer hurriedly leaned close to Hong Dangtou’s ear and explained in detail just how formidable Li Xuanba was. “What! He won all ten hands he bet on?” Hearing the dealer’s words, Hong Dangtou stared at Li Xuanba—who was smiling calmly—with a mixture of shock and suspicion, then glanced again at the one tael of silver in Li Xuanba’s hand that had been transformed from a single cash coin. Li Xuanba tossed the silver in his hand and said indifferently, “The casino has opened its doors to welcome guests from all corners of the world. Do I need to have a specific status just to gamble here?” “That’s not it! However, if anyone dares to cheat in my casino, having their hands or feet cut off would be the least of their worries. Who knows—one day, their body might end up dumped in the wilderness. That’s certainly a possibility.” Thinking of Li Xuanba’s masterful gambling skills, Hong Dangtou issued this warning, the underlying meaning behind his words being utterly vicious. “Ha ha! Rolling the dice and shaking the cup—all that’s handled by your casino’s dealers. I haven’t even touched a single thing. How could I possibly cheat? And as for being dumped in the wilderness?” Li Xuanba narrowed his eyes and coldly surveyed the casino’s thugs and Hong Dangtou, declaring haughtily, “I’m just waiting to see who dares to mess with this young master. Millions have died by my hands—a few weaklings like you wouldn’t make a dent!” “Boom!” No sooner had Li Xuanba finished speaking than a faint red mist of blood—invisible to others—suddenly surged from his body. The mist drifted and swayed, as if formed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, radiating a sky-piercing malevolence and a bone-chilling cold—the overwhelming aura of death forged by Li Xuanba single-handedly slaughtering a million soldiers with just his two hammers. “Clang! Struck by the overwhelming malevolent aura emanating from Li Xuanba, Hong Dangtou and his henchmen stumbled back three steps, their teeth chattering as they stared in shock and disbelief at Li Xuanba, who stood there with haughty defiance. As for Mei Hanxue, she seemed completely unfazed, still standing charmingly by Li Xuanba’s side. Yet Li Xuanba’s malevolent aura, sensing her thoughts, had directly spared this lovely young woman. “Pfft! Coward!” Li Xuanba shot a glance at the cowering Hong Dangtou and the thugs from the Hongyun Casino, curled his lip in disdain, and waved his hand at them. “Hurry up and keep rolling the dice! This young master still has more money to win!” One liang of silver isn’t enough to pay off the debt, so it’s better to win a little more. Um… and while I’m at it, I’ll win a little for myself, so I don’t end up like Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, who was brought to his knees by a single coin. “You…,” Hong Dangtou had intended to point at Li Xuanba and hurl a couple of threats, but when he met Li Xuanba’s gaze—laced with a cold, murderous intent—he swallowed nervously in fear. He didn’t dare raise his hand and held back the words he’d been about to say. Though he didn’t dare threaten Li Xuanba, Hong Dangtou’s beady eyes darted about as another plan formed in his mind. He then bowed slightly to a man in a long robe standing beside him. “Master Chang, I’m counting on you!” “Don’t worry! Leave it to me!” Mr. Chang acknowledged Hong Dangtou with a nod, then strolled leisurely to the dealer’s position at the gambling table. He shot Li Xuanba a haughty glance, made no flashy gestures, picked up the three dice with his left hand, placed them one by one into the cup, and began to shake it slowly. The sound was very soft! Very soft! Though his movements were slow, they made Li Xuanba’s clear eyes light up. The simpler the thing, the simpler the action—the more it showed that this Mr. Chang was no ordinary man! Abandoning dazzling tricks in favor of a return to simplicity—and with the clatter of the dice against the cup barely audible—this was a skill bordering on the divine! Unfortunately for the Master, he’d run into an oddball like Li Xuanba. With his “Scanning Technique,” the numbers on the dice flashed clearly before Li Xuanba’s eyes. And even without that scanning technique, after listening to just ten rolls of the dice, Li Xuanba’s keen ears could discern the numbers on the dice inside the cup with absolute certainty—because he was that clever. “Ladies and gentlemen, once you’ve placed your bets, there’s no turning back!” Mr. Chang spoke these words in a matter-of-fact tone, yet his eyes were fixed solely on Li Xuanba; he paid no attention whatsoever to the other customers. “Heh! How interesting!” Noticing Mr. Chang’s defiant gaze, Li Xuanba gave a faint smile. He flicked the silver coin in his right hand toward the table and murmured, “Four, five, six—fifteen points. Big!” Watching that one tael of silver land on the number “fifteen,” Mr. Chang’s eyes narrowed. He shot Li Xuanba a surprised glance, didn’t even open the dice cup, and simply nodded to the bookkeeper who had followed him over, saying indifferently, “Pay out the winnings!” “Yes, sir!” The bookkeeper glanced at Hong Dangtou; seeing him nod, he took ten taels of silver and handed them to Li Xuanba. “Heh! Interesting! Keep going!” Li Xuanba’s clear eyes appraised the casino manager—who hadn’t even opened the colored cup—as he tossed the ten taels of silver, still light in his hand, and smiled faintly. The words that came out of his mouth still carried his characteristic arrogance. “Clang! “Go ahead!” This time, the dealer didn’t bother with any polite formalities. After shaking the dice, he fixed his gaze directly on Li Xuanba, and his words were much more straightforward. “Clang!” “Five, five, six—sixteen. Big!” Ten taels of silver landed on “sixteen,” and Li Xuanba’s voice rang out. “Pay out!” “Whoa!” “My goodness! He actually won a hundred taels of silver!” “This guy’s a master gambler! So far, he’s placed 12 bets and won all 12 in a row!” “That’s amazing! He’s beaten Master Zhang twice now!” Seeing the ten gleaming silver ingots in front of Li Xuanba, the gamblers around him erupted in a commotion—they had watched with their own eyes as Li Xuanba had gone from winning a single cash coin to now holding one hundred taels. What’s more, Li Xuanba had even gone head-to-head with the casino’s head croupier and managed to win two rounds—this caused all the gamblers’ eyes to fixate on him. Seeing just how formidable Li Xuanba was, Mr. Chang narrowed his slanted eyes and fixed them intently on Li Xuanba. He picked up the dice cup from the table with his right hand, gave it just three light shakes, then set it down gently and said indifferently, “Go ahead!” “Hehe! Nice technique! This round—” Li Xuanba paid Mr. Chang a compliment, then—amidst the man’s horrified gaze—pushed the one hundred taels of silver in front of him toward the table and smiled calmly, “I’m betting on a triple—six, six, six!” “Good heavens! A triple! Nine to one odds! If he hits it again this round, the casino will have to pay out a thousand taels!” “A thousand taels! That’s a thousand guan of copper coins! Enough to keep me going for the rest of my life!” “Come on! If you won a thousand guan of copper coins, I don’t know if that’d be enough to live on for a lifetime, but you’d probably lose your life right here!” “Shh! Quiet!” As soon as the man who knew the casino’s rules spoke, someone nearby grabbed him and, together, they took seven steps back, cautiously watching Li Xuanba in the center of the crowd. Their eyes held a hint of resignation, as well as a touch of schadenfreude.