EBE Chapter 308 Gambling Fight
Chapter 308 Gambling Fight
Chapter 308 Gambling
When the embroiderer's voice came through the mask, the intonation of her voice changed so much that even she didn't recognize it. Si Rongnong, sitting next to her, was taken aback at first, but then understood after realizing it was the mask's voice-changing function. The Qiu family auction house had gone to great lengths for this; in this way, those who wanted to identify the target by voice were rendered helpless, and bidders could bid more boldly.
"Bidder number sixty-seven bids thirteen thousand gold coins!"
"Fourteen thousand!"
Thirteen bidders immediately placed their bids.
"Number thirteen has bid fourteen thousand gold coins!"
"Fifteen thousand!"
"Seventeen thousand!"
"Twenty thousand!" The embroiderer immediately called out a high price of twenty thousand, which was already in line with the usual market price.
After the embroiderer raised her paddle, number thirteen, who had been bidding against her, fell silent.
……
"Buyer number 67, 20,000 gold coins, sold in three transactions! Congratulations to buyer number 67!" As the auctioneer brought down the gavel, the staff immediately carried Lei Yinshi off the stage and brought him to the two embroiderers' seats for the transaction.
"I challenge you to a duel!"
At that moment, number thirteen immediately raised his placard to apply.
"I refuse!" The embroiderer refused arrogantly without even thinking; they had already prepared a solution for this situation. After paying an extra two thousand gold coins as commission on the spot, she put the Thunder Concealing Stone into her storage bag.
Number Thirteen had no choice but to give up in frustration. The other party was a high-ranking noblewoman, and no one dared to look down on her for refusing the challenge; on the contrary, they felt that this would better reflect her nobility.
"Now auctioning the twelfth item..."
After the embroiderer refused, the auctioneer didn't linger and immediately started the next round of bidding; such things were already commonplace for them.
The items for each auction are announced in advance, so those who have won their desired items but lose interest in later treasures will leave the venue early. Therefore, after winning the Thunder Concealing Stone, the embroiderer left the auction hall with Si Rongnong. According to the auction house's rules, those who have won treasures leave through a separate exit, so there's no need to worry about being followed. Unless, like Gan Ran last time, someone tampered with the treasures.
After leaving the Qiu family mansion, the two boarded a pre-arranged carriage and headed directly to the Wushuang Hotel in the imperial city. Just as the carriage was about to cross the central axis of Tianxin City, a black carriage parked by the roadside suddenly rushed over, seemingly out of control, and crashed head-on into the carriage carrying Xiu Niang and her companion. Although private duels were prohibited on Qiu family territory, by using some tricks to make the ambush appear as an accident, even if the Qiu family arrived, the perpetrators could insist on their story, and the Qiu family couldn't say anything. Moreover, this was the center of Tianxin City's main road, the junction between the Qiu family and the imperial city, where it was difficult to control either side. Therefore, the middle of this nearly thirty-zhang-wide road had become the most likely place for 'accidents' to occur in Tianxin City.
The coachman of the black carriage was clearly a specially trained assassin with peak Earth-rank cultivation. Just as the two carriages were about to collide, the assassin, disguised as the coachman, leaped from the carriage. As he flew forward, two streaks of azure light shot out from his hands. The azure light flashed and disappeared, shooting into the carriage shed ahead. These were two throwing knives coated with deadly poison. The assassin cultivated a metal-based profound art, his attacks swift, accurate, and ruthless. Even if the person inside the carriage had reached the early Heaven-rank cultivation level, they would be struck without warning.
'boom! '
Just as the throwing knives were about to strike the carriage canopy, Si Rongnong, inside the carriage, slammed his palm against the canopy frame. The canopy exploded with a deafening roar, and fragments of the shattered canopy shot towards the onrushing assassin like arrows. The assassin, at point-blank range, didn't even have a chance to react before being struck head-on by the flying debris. Si Rongnong, leaping from the carriage, caught the two throwing knives in his hand, coldly watching the assassin, now riddled with the shards of the canopy.
As the embroiderer leaped from the carriage and landed to the side, the two carriages collided violently. The black carriage was smashed to pieces, and the luxurious carriage in which the embroiderer and her companion were riding also overturned, its canopy shattered and its frame severely deformed.
By this time, the Qiu family and the imperial city patrol had arrived after hearing the news. This was the main avenue, bustling with people, and many had witnessed the entire incident. Anyone with a modicum of sense knew this was a blatant assassination attempt. The imperial city patrol quickly protected the two women, including the embroiderer, and only after confirming they were safe did they send men to the scene to investigate. Whether they knew the noblewoman in the luxurious carriage or not, she was someone they were responsible for protecting; their existence was to serve the imperial family and nobility. Even if a noblewoman was unharmed in public, an assassination attempt could still be considered dereliction of duty on their part.
The Qiu family's martial artists, upon arriving, didn't concern themselves with such matters. They simply investigated the incident according to the rules of the martial arts world. Seeing that the two noble ladies were unharmed, they directly restrained the assassin who was still struggling in pain on the ground, hoping to extract some useful information from him.
Standing on the seventh-floor corridor of the Qiu family building, Master Fu and the others witnessed the entire event. On the surface, the three appeared to be bystanders watching the spectacle, but secretly they were communicating using their Soul Jade.
"As expected, they tampered with the Thunder Concealment Stone as well, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to track the Embroidery Girl and her companions so accurately. I didn't expect them to be so capable, leaving marks on all sorts of treasures," Shi Potian said.
"They sent an assassin at the peak of the Earth Rank to carry out an assassination in broad daylight. It's obvious they were testing them. Since the embroiderers and their companions are dressed in the usual attire of the nobles of Tianxin City, these people couldn't be sure of their identities. The purpose of the assassination was to find out their cultivation level and their background. It seems reckless, but it was actually a necessary move," said Master Fu.
“Although they didn’t hurt the two embroiderers, they did gain something. They now know that the two embroiderers are not ordinary noblewomen, but masters of profound martial arts. And to be able to defeat an assassin at the peak of the Earth Rank in an instant, one’s cultivation must be at least at the peak of the early Heaven Rank. There are very few noblewomen in Tianxin City with such skills!” Mo Wen said.
"So what?" Gan Ran, who was sitting by a small river on the outskirts of Tianxin City dressed as a fisherman, was completely unaware of what was going on.
“They’ll follow us and rob us again, just like they did last time! Because they’ve confirmed that the two embroiderers aren’t from Qin State, or at least not nobles from Tianxin City,” Sikong Nong, disguised as a farmer and resting in the shade of a tree, replied through the Soul Jade.
How should we respond?
Xiao Bohong, who was temporarily staying in a small town more than 70 miles away from Tianxin City, also participated in the exchange.
"The two embroiderers shouldn't rush out of the city. Wait at the Wushuang Hotel for now, and make a decision after the auction this afternoon. Since they're swarming around like flies, let's swat them!" Shi Potian said.
"Embroiderer, you two should examine the Thunder Concealing Stone in the secret room of the hotel to see what they've done to the treasure. You can also use spiritual fire to roast the Thunder Concealing Stone and the wooden box. Thunder Concealing Stone and lightning-struck wood are not afraid of fire; ordinary flames have little effect on them, but they can burn away marks like nectar and subtle fragrance. If you're still being followed, they might have a sensory detection device. Minerals like Thunder Concealing Stone, which are highly reactive, can be detected within a certain range. However, detection devices are very sensitive to the intensity and distance of spiritual energy fluctuations; they generally have difficulty detecting objects beyond a hundred feet. The weaker the spiritual energy fluctuations emitted by the treasure, the less effective the detection becomes. The solution is to buy sealing runes from a nearby spiritual artifact shop, affix them to the wooden box, and then place the treasure in a mid-grade storage bag. This will help you avoid their search."
Intermediate-grade storage bags offer significantly better insulation than low-grade ones, effectively blocking the spiritual energy emitted by most treasures.
Iron Bridge, far away in Yishi Valley, also learned about the situation here and taught them how to deal with the enemy's secret marks.
The two embroiderers left under the protection of the imperial guards. The assassin was already dead, and neither the Qiu family members nor the guards who arrived at the scene found any valuable clues.
Shi Potian and his group continued to wander around the Qiu family's grand building. Fortunately, the first to sixth floors of the building were all shops, selling everything imaginable, including food, drinks, and entertainment. Naturally, there were many people coming and going, and many people would stay in the building for an entire day. So, Fu Ye and his group also moved between the floors like tourists, seemingly aimlessly, but actually searching for the traces of the Blood Fiends.
Time flew by and it was already afternoon. The three of them had walked through every area of the building but hadn't found anything suspicious. However, they could sense that there must be spies hiding in the building watching them.
The fifth auction began, and Shi Potian and Mo Wen entered the venue to participate in the auction of Earth Flame Crystals. Earth Flame Crystals are dark red minerals containing extremely pure fire-attribute energy, making them very high-grade fire-attribute gemstones. They are generally used to forge high-level weapons, and fire-attribute cultivators can also use them to aid their cultivation. They are also an indispensable material for array masters to set up fire-type arrays.
The auction proceeded as planned, and soon it was the turn of the Earth Flame Crystal to be auctioned. This Earth Flame Crystal weighed a full three thousand catties and was packed in an iron box five feet long, three feet wide, and two feet high. The Earth Flame Crystal was not as heavy as the Thunder Concealment Stone, and there were a total of ten boxes.
"Now we're auctioning Earth Flame Crystal, of excellent quality, starting at five thousand gold coins!" As the auctioneer explained, the people below the stage immediately began bidding.
The auction price quickly soared to 20,000 gold coins, but at this point there were still at least a few people bidding. Shi Potian calmly followed the crowd's pace and raised the price.
"Number five bids 23,000 gold coins!"
……
"Number 27 bids 29,000 gold coins!"
"Number 31 has bid 31,000 gold coins! Any more bids?" After the price of local Flame Crystals exceeded 30,000 gold coins, only Number 31 and Number 5 remained to compete with Shi Potian.
"Thirty-one thousand gold coins at a time..."
"Thirty-one thousand five hundred gold coins!" Shi Potian raised the bid by five hundred gold coins, pushing number thirty-one out of the running. It seems that this bid was the limit for number thirty-one.
"Number 27 bids 31,500 gold coins..." Just as the auctioneer was about to make the final decision, number 5 raised the bid again.
"Thirty-two thousand once..."
"Thirty-five thousand gold coins!" Shi Potian suddenly raised the bid by three thousand gold coins, causing Number Five to pause for a moment. After considering it for a long time, he raised the bid again by five hundred gold coins.
"Number Five bids thirty-five thousand five hundred gold coins!" As the auctioneer called out the bid, Shi Potian clearly saw Number Five's body tremble. Although both were wearing masks and their expressions were obscured, it was obvious that Number Five was trying hard to control his emotions, lest he lose control and break the Qiu family's rules.
Shi Potian smiled and raised the price again to 37,000 gold coins.
"Thirty-seven thousand gold coins once!"
"Thirty-seven thousand two!"
"Thirty-seven thousand three times, congratulations to number twenty-seven for successfully bidding on this batch of Earth Flame Crystals!" Shi Potian and others were determined to get their hands on these Earth Flame Crystals, so they finally won the bid with a price that was 1,500 gold coins higher than number five's bid.
"I challenge number twenty-seven!" Number five, who lost the final bid, issued the challenge when Shi Potian settled the accounts. It was clear that number five had no intention of giving up this batch of Earth Flame Crystals.
"I accept the challenge!"
After Shi Potian accepted the challenge, the Qiu family immediately put the Earth Flame Crystal and the number five bidder's 35,500 gold coins together in a mid-level storage bag, then sealed it in a wooden box, and took both challengers away from the auction house.
The dueling arena is on the eighth floor, which has three fighting rings. Outside the arenas are spectator stands, and everyone who comes to watch the fights must pay an entrance fee of one gold coin. There are over a dozen duels every day, so the audience is huge. Next to the rings are betting booths where spectators can place bets on the fights. This attracts even more people to spend money. Because the duelists on stage are all unknown beforehand, and some even wear special masks, it's difficult to know who is stronger. Betting is entirely based on luck, which further attracts those who want to try their luck. Through this unique business method, the Qiu family earns tens of thousands of gold coins every day.
Shi Potian and his companion were taken to the No. 3 fighting arena. The arena, approximately fifty zhang in diameter, was made of black iron and inscribed with numerous runes and restrictions, making it virtually unbreakable. The arena was surrounded by advanced defensive arrays, making it difficult to breach them during a fight, unless the Qiu family deactivated the arrays.
The Qiu family will not interfere with challenges. Whether it's a life-or-death duel or a friendly fight is up to the two sides. The winner takes the treasures and money stored in the storage bag. If it's a fight to the death, the winner can take all the other's possessions and even their corpse.
Due to the restrictions imposed by the Qiu family, each duel could only be a one-on-one fight, so Mo Wen could only watch from the sidelines. Once both fighters had entered the arena, the Qiu family members handed over the valuables from their storage bags for inspection and verification. These were then placed in a corner of the arena, in a recessed area protected by a magic array, ensuring the safety of the items placed there. After everything was arranged, they stepped down from the arena to activate the defensive array. The fight could then begin. If any spectators were interested in betting, they could place their bets at the gambling den next to the arena before the fight.