Volume 1: Storm in the Western Regions Chapter 31: Stumble
The gambling house boy picked up the sword and handed it to Zhao Rang.
In such an impromptu bet, the bookmaker of the gambling house will only ensure fairness. As for the authenticity of the object, Zhao Rang can count it if he has no objection.
Although Zhao Rang has never used a sword, this does not hinder his vision.
He looked at this sword. The blade was completely black and extremely sharp.
The body of the sword is engraved with nine golden dragons, which are lifelike. The golden dragons swallow clouds and spit out mist, with the head but not the tail visible, which is extremely exquisite.
After looking over it, Zhao Rang was surprised to find that this sword was actually real!
Others only knew that Old Master Fan was a master of painting, but they did not know that he was also one of the best weapons masters in the previous dynasty.
This "Lingfeng" sword was one of the twelve famous swords he forged during his lifetime, and it was a pair with the "Feishuang" sword. On the day it was forged, it was collected by the former royal family.
When the previous dynasty was overthrown, this sword was lost among the people.
The "Feishuang" sword was accidentally acquired by the ancestors of the Zhao family, and it still hangs in the "Hundred Swords Hall" in the Zhao family's residence, while the whereabouts of the "Lingfeng" sword are unknown. This is why Zhao Rang can tell the difference.
But this young man had just produced a fake painting, which made Zhao Rang unable to believe his own judgment.
The young man saw that Zhao Rang was a little confused, so he took out a piece of paper from his arms, slapped it on the table, and said:
"This sword has been owned by shopkeeper Li Da of Tongbao Bank. It is definitely not a counterfeit, and it is valued at thirty thousand taels!"
Tongbao Bank spans the northern and southern areas of Dawei, and has branches in all four countries in the Western Region.
The shopkeeper, Li Tongbao, was a pawnshop clerk and was known as "a quickie". He has been in the industry for more than 30 years and has seen tens of millions of treasures, but he has never made a mistake once.
Seeing that Li Tongbao's judgment was the same as his own, Zhao Rang was relieved and stopped thinking about it.
There are always gods and men in the world, who can do things that ordinary people cannot do, and have things that ordinary people cannot have, but many people are unwilling to show them off.
Every knife hanging in his "Hundred Knife Hall" in Zhao's family is a peerless sword.
But even in his home, only a handful of people could get in and take a look.
However, although there is no problem with this sword, Zhao Rang himself has a big problem!
That means he can't afford to gamble...
The young man piled five hundred taels of chips on the table, not to mention the "Ling Feng" sword.
Before the game starts, the dealer needs to verify whether the chips of both parties are equal, otherwise the one who does not have enough chips will be directly judged to lose!
In this way, even if Zhao Rang was absolutely confident that he could win the bet, it would be useless because he was not qualified to participate at all and lost from the beginning.
"Master, please bring me some silver or something of equivalent value."
The banker of the gambling shop urged from the side.
The young man adjusted the mask on his face, then waved his hand towards the dealer, and said to Zhao Rang:
"Can you please take a moment to speak?"
Zhao Rang didn't know what he was going to do.
In full view of everyone, he had indeed agreed to bet with him, and could not refuse, so he could only follow him to the side.
The young man didn't stop until he reached the corner of the hall.
It is extremely quiet here, almost a world away from the hustle and bustle of the casino.
After standing still, Zhao Rang took the lead and asked:
"what do you want to say?"
The young man smiled and said:
"Haha, you seem to be very hostile to me!"
Zhao Rang remained silent.
His expression was hidden under the mask and no one could see it.
However, Zhao Rang gradually realized that he seemed to have fallen into a well-designed "game".
The young man first took out a fake painting to attract his attention, and then came forward to provoke him.
And he had a preconceived idea that this young man was just a deceiver, and he was really dull these days... When he entered the gambling house, he couldn't control himself, so he immediately agreed.
But he never expected that this young man would actually take out the "Ling Feng" sword.
How could a person with such ability and financial resources use a fake painting to deceive someone? If he was discovered, he would not be able to leave the casino without a trace.
It is so intricately interconnected that it must have been planned and arranged in advance.
After thinking about this, Zhao Rang certainly didn't have a good temper towards this young man, and calling him "hostile" was not far off.
"That painting has been prepared for a long time, right?"
Zhao Rang asked rhetorically.
That fake painting had not been for Zhao Rang's keen eyesight, who could have noticed that the paper was wrong. But in terms of painting skills, it was already considered the pinnacle of copying, and it had to be done by the most skilled master craftsmen with great effort.
"I'm thinking of you! The one who copied it was really good. I was a little nervous at first. What should I do if you can't tell it's fake?"
"Now I have to apologize to you. I shouldn't have underestimated your vision before. The eldest son of the Zhao family is indeed both civil and military!"
Zhao Rang's heart skipped a beat.
Since the other party can reveal his identity, it means that he has completely fallen into the trap.
Then he became calm and asked calmly:
"Just tell me, it's good for both of us, at least it won't waste time!"
Zhao Rang said, lifting up his blouse with his right hand and holding it on the handle of the knife at his waist.
Although it is a rule to be willing to accept defeat when gambling, it is also a law of the world to obey authority in emergencies.
It’s not that Zhao Rang has no bottom line, it’s just that his bottom line is more flexible!
really!
Zhao Rang's hand was just resting on the handle of the knife. He was gathered around the gambling table and talking about the group of spectators, who all slowly gathered around Zhao Rang.
They are all in the same group as the young people!
Among them were Dawei people and people from the Western Regions, so Zhao Rang was not suspicious at first.
When the young man saw this, he scolded them, and then said to Zhao Rang with a smile:
"Don't worry, sir, not only will you not have to draw your sword, but you will be happy all night long!"
Zhao Rang snorted coldly and turned sideways, guarding against the people behind him.
In case they collude with the gambling house, this is the underground level. It is an excellent place to plot and ambush.
The young man stood with his hands behind his hands, still looking calm and calm.
Although the others were stopped by the young man and made no move, they still stared at Zhao Rang eagerly.
The two sides reached a stalemate.
But the young man enjoyed this feeling very much, and was even a little excited, which reminded him of his days as an eagle.
For people from the Western Regions, hunting is something engraved in their bones and blood.
If you can't be a good hunter, you can't be a real man.
When the eagle flies in September, it is a feast of hunting
This raptor has sharp eyes and high-speed pounce, which brings powerful hunting ability.
A tamed falcon can catch five foxes a day.
As the most cunning animal, and because hunters want to keep its fur intact, few hunters can catch the fox. A comparison between the two makes a judgment call.
But the process of taming it is a difficult game for both parties. It lasts for seven to ten days without sleep, and it is not over until its willpower is completely destroyed.
The chilling atmosphere now is exactly the same as when the eagle was boiled!
And it’s not an eagle that’s suffering, it’s a human being!
This man is also the eldest son of the Zhao family in the north.
The young man's vanity was extremely satisfied at this moment, so he waited patiently for Zhao Rang to bow his head.
After all, it is much more difficult to destroy a person's will than to destroy an eagle. But the satisfaction gained from it is also much greater!
After all, happiness that is too easy to obtain will not last long.
The two sides faced off like this for almost a stick of incense.
The real gamblers in the hall gradually became quiet and looked over.
Everyone noticed the difference in this corner.
Now this place is no longer a secluded place, but has become a target of public criticism.
"Hahaha!"
A burst of hearty laughter broke the lingering silence.
The shopkeeper of the gambling shop, with two and a half fists, moved his chubby body and squeezed through the crowd of people.
"Borrowed, borrowed!"
After passing through this human wall, he exhaled heavily with two and a half fists and wiped the sweat on his forehead.
Zhao Rang saw that his face was a little redder than before, and he looked like he was almost drunk.
After two and a half punches, he waited for his breathing to calm down, cupped his hands towards Zhao Rang and the young man, and said:
"Both of you are distinguished guests. You are a noble person, so you can't do anything wrong! Haha, I have just taken out the melons and fruits from the Western Regions that I have harvested from the ice cellar. They are cool and sweet. You two can try them!"
After saying this, he waved and two servants came up carrying fruit plates.
There were three or four kinds of fruits in the fruit plate, including watermelons, melons, and grapes. Zhao Rang knew them all. But he didn't know what a kind of oblate fruit was.
"This is flat peach, the most authentic specialty of the Western Regions!"
He picked up a flat peach with two and a half fists, broke it open, handed half to Zhao Rang, and swallowed the other half:
"The peaches are so delicious! It's just the peach pit that's annoying. It would be better if there weren't any."
As he spoke, he clenched his fist.
When it was opened again, the hard peach core had been broken into powder.
Zhao Rang took a bite and found that the taste of flat peach was indeed good. The Western Region was indeed the land of fruits and melons!
The young man didn't touch it, but stared at the two and a half fists with extremely angry eyes.
The momentum he had finally built up was completely destroyed by him, and of course he didn't have a good look on him.
He punched two and a half but didn't care. He still boasted about how good these fruits were and kept giving them to everyone.
Having no choice but to speak, the young man had no choice but to say:
"Two shopkeepers, please take care of yourself, I'll wait for everything to be fine!"
After hearing what he said, Liangquan replied with a smile:
"As long as everything is fine, everything is fine!"
Then he moved his chubby body and returned to the counter of the casino, continuing to squint his eyes and drink a small drink.
Being so disturbed by him, the young man lost his patience and said coldly:
"That girl's beauty and figure are all top-notch. I think a lot of nobles in the Four Kingdoms will be interested in her."
Zhao Rang's pupils shrank.
This is the real reason why young people are so confident!
"Where is Yuan Kexin?"
Zhao Rang drew his sword boldly and held the blade straight on the young man's neck.
The young man didn't panic at all. He reached out and gently pushed the blade away, pointed it forward and made a "please" gesture.
It was related to Yuan Kexin's safety, so Zhao Rang really didn't dare to cut it with the knife.
Just now he was still thinking, if he had not entered this gambling house, wouldn't all their preparations have been in vain?
Unexpectedly, the other party actually made two preparations.