Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Once Nineteen departed, the gambling den’s true ordeal began. Shen Lang swept through every single table. The gamblers were on the verge of a frenzy. They had never witnessed someone win so much money. It was an absolutely mind-boggling sight. Shen Lang looked at them and said.
"Why are you all standing there like fools? Follow my lead and place your bets!"
The several hundred gamblers, who had been dazed, erupted into a frenzy. They all started betting with Shen Lang. Wherever he placed a bet, they followed suit. It was the day of reckoning for the Fortune House. A moment ago, only Shen Lang was winning; now, every customer in the gambling den was winning alongside him. Among Tian Heng’s numerous gambling dens, only the Fortune House was losing money.
"Agh!"
A dealer at another table, unable to withstand the immense stress, clutched his heart and fainted. He foamed at the mouth, his entire body convulsing.
"God of Gambling, God of Gambling, God of Gambling!"
"Lord Shen Lang, long may he live, long may he live!"
The entire den was in an uproar, and Shen Lang became a hero to the hundreds of gamblers. Normally, either Nineteen or the den’s manager could have immediately halted all gambling, even temporarily closing the establishment. But with Nineteen gone to report to Tian Heng, there was no one in charge to shut the doors, and Shen Lang, leading hundreds of gamblers, proceeded to clean out the Fortune House.
* * *
Inside the Xu Clan's residence, Tian Heng laughed boisterously.
"Hahaha. Did you all hear? Yesterday, Shen Lang told me to my face that I would personally break Thirteen's legs. He even swore he would make it happen. Isn't that just ridiculous?"
"On what authority? Does he think he's above the heavens just because he married into the Count's family?"
"Since he became the Count's son-in-law, I can't touch him. I even had to hand over money when he came to extort me. But to think I'd cripple my own man for him? He must be dreaming. Right now, the King is trying to strip the old aristocracy of their power, so the Count of Xuanwu can't interfere in local affairs at all. As long as I don't cause trouble in the Count's domain, what can they do to me?"
Tian Heng boasted loudly. If he didn't have the backing of the City Lord and the Prefect, he wouldn't have dared to utter such words. The night Shen Lang married into the Count's family, Tian Heng had promised Zhang Jin a hefty sum to secure the Zhang Clan's protection. With that backing, his fears had vanished.
"After he married into the Count's family, we couldn't kill him even if we wanted to, couldn't even touch a hair on his head. But unexpectedly, the idiot must have had a death wish, because he walked right into my gambling den on his own."
"He's grown arrogant and forgotten his place. That's how petty people are."
"Do you know what my gambling den is? It's a den of devils. Even if Shen Lang weren't an idiot but a master gambler, he'd be bound to lose. I have no intention of letting him go until he's lost at least ten or twenty thousand gold coins."
"If he loses over ten thousand gold coins, we won't even have to lift a finger. The Count of Xuanwu will personally kick him out of the family and sever all ties."
"Or he might even beat him to death! Either way, Shen Lang is a dead man. Now that he's walked into his own grave, dealing with him will be a piece of cake!"
Tian Heng declared.
"An idiot will always be an idiot; he can never be the hero! Now, let's just wait for the Lord Count to uphold justice and beat this wretched cur to death!"
Just then, Nineteen from the Fortune House rushed in, his face pale and drained of all color. He hurriedly knelt before Tian Heng, his voice hoarse and trembling.
"Gang Leader. It's a disaster. A disaster!"
His throat was tight, and despite his intentions, he couldn't speak loudly. Tian Heng had never been particularly fond of Nineteen. His martial arts skills were subpar, and he wasn't as ruthless as Thirteen. Thirteen was his favorite subordinate.
However, Nineteen was skilled at gambling, which made him useful. His shrewdness brought in a lot of revenue for the gambling dens, which was why he could remain one of Tian Heng's trusted men. Seeing Nineteen gasping for air, Tian Heng's anger flared, and he bellowed.
"What's wrong with you? How pathetic is your stamina? You're so out of breath from running here that you can't even speak properly. You should be ashamed!"
Nineteen immediately kowtowed, pressing his forehead to the ground in apology. The head of the Xu Clan chuckled.
"Brother Tian Heng, your men are truly loyal."
"Who are you putting on a show for? Have you dealt with that bastard Shen Lang? How much did he lose? If it's less than ten thousand gold coins, I'll have your hide."
Tian Heng had calculated that ten thousand gold coins was the limit of what the Count's family could afford. People assumed that a noble family with over a century of history would be wealthy, but in reality, they didn't have much money. Their fiefdom was much smaller than it had been in its heyday. The Count of Xuanwu's Estate was currently supporting an army of three thousand with its remaining lands, so their finances were under considerable strain.
Moreover, the Count of Xuanwu cherished his people like his own children and did not exploit them. The estate's financial situation was a closely guarded secret, but according to the calculations of the Xu Clan's head and Tian Heng, the Count's estate was operating at a loss every year.
Ten thousand gold coins was no small sum for the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. If Shen Lang lost that much, he would either be thrown out of the family or beaten to death. Hearing Tian Heng's triumphant words, Nineteen was consumed by terror and couldn't bring himself to speak. He knew that the moment Tian Heng learned Shen Lang had won sixteen thousand gold coins, he would be kicked to death on the spot.
"Brother Tian Heng, what if the Count's family refuses to pay?"
"Shen Lang will be borrowing gold coins from our gambling den, so the loan will be clearly documented on an IOU. Furthermore, many people will testify that Shen Lang came to our den to gamble of his own free will, that I neither forced nor lured him. With that, I can sue Shen Lang at the Prefect's office and have a solid case."
The head of the Xu Clan said.
"Won't that make you a complete enemy of the Count's family?"
Tian Heng sighed internally. Did he want things to go that far? He was just an underworld boss. Though he held the official title of a local military commander in Xuanwu City, he was still an underworld boss, and his hands were far from clean.
Most of the old aristocratic families had to tread carefully to avoid antagonizing the King due to the policy of administrative independence being pushed in the State of Yue. Even an old noble family like the Count of Xuanwu's had adopted a conservative strategy, refraining from interfering in local politics. In the past, Tian Heng would never have dared to pull the tiger's whiskers, so to speak. To be honest, even now, the Count's family was not an opponent to be taken lightly, and Tian Heng had no desire to make an enemy of them.
But he had no choice. That bastard Shen Lang was relentlessly pushing him, using the Count's family's influence to back him into a corner. He had to settle things once and for all. He couldn't just break his subordinate Thirteen's legs, could he? If he did that, his reputation would be in tatters, and he'd never be able to show his face in Xuanwu City again. Tian Heng couldn't voice these thoughts aloud. Instead, he spoke calmly.
"Behind me now, I have not only the City Lord's Manor and the Prefect's Office but also the Governor's Office. The state is implementing administrative independence in each region, so suppressing the Count's family is in line with the King's will. This is the way things are headed, so what does it matter if I make an enemy of them? Once they lose their fiefdom and military authority, even a hundred-year-old noble family is just a fallen aristocracy."
"Well said. Do you know why it's so difficult to push for administrative independence in our Xuanwu City? It's because of the lingering presence of an old noble family like the Count of Xuanwu's. Let's use that wretched Shen Lang as our breakthrough. It's the Count's family's misfortune for taking him in as a son-in-law."
Tian Heng laughed along, but inside he was miserable. Because his relationship with the Count's family had soured, he had sought Prefect Zhang Chong as a backer for his own protection, and the price was an annual payment of ten thousand gold coins. This sum was more than half his income. Nearly half the net profit from his five gambling dens had to be paid to Prefect Zhang Chong each year. The gold would pass through Xu Guangyun's hands to the Prefect.
"Brother Tian, rest assured. Prefect Zhang Chong has promised to stand by you. Don't worry, just take Shen Lang's IOU to the Count's estate and demand payment!"
Tian Heng knew the Prefect's office was using him to challenge the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, but he had no other choice.
"Alright! I may not have other talents, but I've got guts. This afternoon, I'll take Shen Lang's IOU to the Count's estate and demand my money. I can't wait to see the look on the Lord Count's face, and just how miserably that bastard Shen Lang will die."
"Hahaha. A petty character who does nothing but run around causing trouble isn't even worth mentioning."
"Nineteen, have you caught your breath? Now, tell me. How much did Shen Lang lose, and how much does he owe?"
Nineteen had been catching his breath for a few minutes, so he could finally speak without gasping. Hearing the question from his ever-fearsome boss, Tian Heng, he answered reflexively before he could stop himself.
"Sixteen thousand gold coins."
"Hahahaha. Well done, well done!"
The head of the Xu Clan was also overjoyed.
"Sixteen thousand gold coins. After losing so much, Shen Lang is truly a dead man. The Lord Count must have been blind. He deserves this for taking in such a scoundrel as his son-in-law!"
"Let's go. Let's take the IOU to the Count's estate and demand our money."
"Don't worry. The City Lord's Manor will send three officials to accompany you. It doesn't matter if the Count's family doesn't beat Shen Lang to death. If they don't, we'll press the issue from several angles, and Prefect Zhang Chong will send men to pressure them. As they say, with reason on your side, you can go anywhere in the world. Paying one's debts is an immutable truth."
"Nineteen, where is Shen Lang's IOU?"
Nineteen's head felt like it was splitting. He slammed his forehead hard against the floor, and blood immediately began to flow.
"Gang Leader, it's not that Shen Lang lost sixteen thousand gold coins... It's, it's that we lost sixteen thousand."
After saying this, Nineteen nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Upon hearing his words, Tian Heng didn't grasp the situation at first. A broad smile still lingered on his face, but his eyes gradually glazed over, and he froze like a statue.
Nineteen's words had been too sudden, leaving him no time to prepare. At first, he thought he had misheard. Was he hearing things? Tian Heng glanced at the head of the Xu Clan. He, too, wore a look of utter shock.
"Speak clearly. Are you saying Shen Lang won?"
"Shen Lang won. He won sixteen thousand gold coins!"
Tian Heng froze as if struck by lightning. Sixteen thousand gold coins? That was an astronomical sum! At least, it was the amount his Fortune House would earn in a year if it didn't spend a single coin. And now he had lost it all to Shen Lang? Far from killing Shen Lang, he was about to be skinned alive by the man.
But how was this possible? Nineteen's gambling skills were so exceptional that he was considered unrivaled in Xuanwu City. What Tian Heng didn't know was that Shen Lang had an X-ray vision mode that allowed him to see through every hand, making even a God of Gambling no match for him.
"What happened to you? How could you lose to an idiot like that?"
Tian Heng grabbed Nineteen by the collar, hoisted him up, and roared. Nineteen, unable to breathe, streamed tears as he spoke frantically.
"I don't know! It was as if I was possessed by a ghost; I lost every single round."
"Was he cheating? Was he dealing from the bottom of the deck?"
"No. That's what's so baffling."
Tian Heng suddenly looked at the head of the Xu Clan, his voice trembling.
"Brother Xu, didn't you say Shen Lang was a useless idiot? How does he know obscure characters no one else does, and how is he so skilled at gambling?"
"Why won't that bastard just die?"