Chapter 55: Old Gu

At a courier station,

inside a room,

Zhao Jishan and the other higher-ups sat together with a stony countenance. The atmosphere was oppressive.

It was humiliating to think about what had happened today.

One of the high-level members couldn’t contain himself any longer and slammed his palm forcefully on the table, destroying it in the process. “Yama must give us an explanation!” he said angrily.

“Go tell them that if they can’t resolve this matter to our satisfaction, there’s no need for their existence anymore,” Zhao Jishan said menacingly with murderous intent.

“Although the Dragon Lake Institute won and upset our plan, that was not a big deal. With three consecutive victories against the three Great Institutes and the numinous treasures we obtained, we still have a 50% chance of succeeding in our plan.”

The high-level member tried to sound optimistic as he said these words.

“Including the Great Dao Scripture, four of our Numinous Treasures have been destroyed. Even the budding talents we brought this time have had their foundations crippled. Can we really succeed?”

The others appeared to share his concern.

Zhao Jishan shook his head. “We did suffer heavy losses, but nominally, we still have the upper hand. Coupled with the ‘gifts’ we have carefully prepared, there is no worry that Emperor Sheng Wen won’t agree.”

They perfected the plan until everyone was sure there were no loopholes before dispersing.

At the Jade Manor,

Xiao Ran and the other two had just arrived when they saw three people walking towards them.

Two were familiar faces, Wen Fuxian and Chen Wenheng.

There was another Great Scholar, who exuded a thick strong Immense Righteous Energy that spread out like mist. It influenced the surrounding aura to give off a refreshing feeling, like being bathed in a wave of spring breeze.

“Profound Realm?” Xiao Ran thought to himself.

Shen Yiming hurried forward and immediately greeted, “Old Gu, why are you here?”

“This bunch of good-for-nothings. They did not study conscientiously to nurture their Immense Righteous Energy. Instead they actually bet most of their assets on this sort of unorthodox activity.” Old Gu stroked his beard and displayed the demeanor of a wise learned sage.

The corners of Shen Yiming’s mouth twitched violently as he cursed silently in his heart, “You guys were probably worried that the Jade Manor would not be willing to pay up. You were just flexing your muscles as a show of threat?”

Curious, he then asked, “How much did you bet?”

“Not much! Just five million taels.”

Gulp!

Shen Yiming and Little Zhou both swallowed in a loud gulp as they heard the shocking figure.

“Have you guys placed your bets too?” Old Gu asked.

“The Dragon Lake Institute is the only one among the Four Great Institutes which did well. The Scholastic Incubation Institute almost made me lose everything. I even took out my retirement funds for this final round. Fortunately, the students you nurtured didn’t disappoint.”

Old Gu looked very pleased with himself.

Together with Wen Fuxian, they entered the Jade Manor.

Xiao Ran and Chen Wenheng waved and nodded to each other in greeting.

In a secret room,

the Bookmaker of the Jade Manor and his two deputies sat together with gloomy expressions.

He had thought that he could rake in a huge profit this time, but he did not expect the Dragon Lake Institute to counterattack and turn the tables around to save what had remained of the Imperial Court’s honor.

It was a completely lethal blow for them.

“Are you all mute? Aren’t you guys usually quite eloquent?” said the Bookmaker angrily.

One of them said, “Why don’t we run?”

“I think you must be tired of living, is that right?” the Bookmaker sneered at him with condescension.

The other deputy said, “Try to delay! Extend the time as long as possible. When the storm dies down, we can send someone to eliminate the bettors. In this way, we can make up for our losses.”

“Since this is your idea, why don’t you go and destroy the Dragon Lake Institute now? When you come back alive, I’ll ask the higher-ups to reward you.”

The deputy was at a loss for words.

A trusted aide hurried over to give a report.

“Bookmaker, the people from the Dragon Lake Institute and the Divine Sword Guards are here.”

“Who’s leading the team?” The Bookmaker asked.

“Old Gu!”

Gasp!

The three of them looked at each other, scared out of their wits.

In particular, the deputy who had suggested silencing the Dragon Lake Institute, began wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

The Bookmaker glared at him fiercely, then with a sweep of his sleeve, he headed outside.

Inside a room,

Xiao Ran and the others sat on chairs with a cup of tea in front of them. No one touched the tea.

No one came for quite a long while.

Little Zhou couldn’t resist asking, “Did they run away?”

Chen Wenheng also felt that this was a strong possibility. After all, they had placed so much money. The Jade Manor would not be able to earn a single cent this time. In fact, they might even have lost money. “That’s possible.”

Old Gu stroked his beard with a smile and said calmly and confidently, “Not unless they run away forever.”

Hurried footsteps were heard coming from inside. The three Bookmakers then appeared before them with apologetic smiles.

“Old Gu, you are so humorous. Business with Honor and Integrity is our motto. Our Jade Manor has been operating for a hundred years. We value our reputation very much.”

He scolded one of his subordinates.

“Are you blind or what? Can’t you see that Old Gu is here? How can you serve such a plain beverage to our valued guests? Hurry up and bring out my supreme-grade Sea Spring Black Tea!”

“There’s no need.” Old Gu waved his hand and interrupted them.

He took out the receipt and placed it on the table. He stopped short of saying, “Pay up.”

Shen Yiming and Little Zhou also took out their respective receipts.

Xiao Ran only took out the receipt for the 300,000 taels. It wasn’t convenient to take out the receipt for the other 500,000 taels.

Inwardly, the Bookmaker wanted to curse and swear. He wanted to renege on paying out the winnings.

However, under Old Gu’s gaze, he did not even dare to say the word “No”.

“Bring the money!”

He turned away as he couldn’t bear to watch the proceedings. His heart was practically bleeding.

After receiving the money, Xiao Ran and the others stood up and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Old Gu suddenly issued a warning. “This matter ends here. Don’t cause any trouble.”

The Bookmaker smiled apologetically and repeatedly said that he wouldn’t dare.

When they had left, he slumped weakly into the chair.

This time, they did not even dare to take revenge. Even Old Gu had shown up as a warning to them.

Outside,

“Thank you for taking care of us. We are much obliged.” Shen Yiming gave a fist and palm salute in gratitude.

“You guys are quite honorable. You made your allegiance clear. You stood by us while we were temporarily at a disadvantage and did not go against your conscience to grab some gains for yourself.” Old Gu said.

He then left with Wen Fuxian and Chen Wenheng.

“My Lord, are we out of the woods now?” Little Zhou stuck his head out tentatively.

Shen Yiming kicked him in irritation. “Nonsense! With Old Gu around, they wouldn’t dare to try anything even if other people lent them extra balls.”

“Then who’s treating tonight, you or Brother Xiao?”

“It’s on me tonight. Xiao Ran will treat us tomorrow night.”

“I have no objections.” Xiao Ran shrugged his shoulders agreeably.

“I can’t be stingy either. It’ll be my treat the night after!” Little Zhou knew how to conduct himself.

“Let’s go! Let’s drink to our hearts’ content at the Drunken Immortals Court.” Shen Yiming laughed loudly and swaggered bombastically down the street.

Four hours later,

Xiao Ran left the Drunken Immortals Court, leaving the two of them behind, very drunk and in high spirits.

He used his Transformation Technique to change his appearance, changed his clothes, and returned to the Jade Manor again.

“You want to collect money?” The manager asked.

“Yes.” Xiao Ran nodded affirmatively.

“How much?”

“Five hundred thousand taels.”

Crash!

Startled by what he heard, the manager fell to the floor. After he scrambled to his feet, he stared at Xiao Ran in disbelief. In order to double-check, he asked, “Where’s the receipt?”

Xiao Ran took out the receipt for his verification.

After confirming that it was authentic, the manager did not dare to delay any further. He invited Xiao Ran to an inner room and went to report to his superiors.

In the secret room,

the three bookmakers looked so crestfallen that it appeared as if their parents had died. With such a huge loss, they had no way of reporting to their superiors.

At this moment, his aide reported again, “Bookmaker, someone is here to collect money again!”

“Trash! You want to disturb me over such a trivial matter?” The Bookmaker roared out at his staff.