Chapter 61: I Feel Jealous

Zu An spread his hands and said to the people around him, "You all saw it just now. I really didn't want to get involved, but he insisted I come out and fight him one-on-one. What could I do? Who knew that guy was all talk and actually so weak?"

The gamblers around him looked at him with complex expressions, thinking to themselves, *When it comes to being all talk, there's probably no one here who can compare to you.*

Before, they couldn't understand how such a good-for-nothing could win over the Eldest Miss of the Chu family. They all thought they were no worse than him and could have done it themselves.

But now, they finally had a glimmer of understanding: at least in terms of thick-skinned shamelessness, they truly couldn't compare.

Seeing the indignant expressions of the crowd, Zu An initially wanted to provoke them further, but then he had a change of heart, thinking it better to play the long game. So he said, "I just drew blood; my luck must be great today. Come on, let's start."

"Alright, Young Master, please come this way!" Plum Blossom Seven rejoiced inwardly. Plum Blossom Thirteen, that fool, had just caused a commotion, making him worry that Zu An might not gamble anymore. But now that Zu An was practically asking for trouble, if they didn't win at least a hundred thousand taels from him this time, it would be a shame. The only concern was whether Miss Chu would intervene and stop them. He needed to find an opportunity to get her out of the way, otherwise, it would be difficult to make this guy accrue so much gambling debt.

Zu An was led to a gambling table. After what had just happened, the other gamblers became interested, and many who weren't even gambling gathered around to watch the show.

Zu An focused on the gambling table in front of him. He had only seen dice games like "Big/Small" in gambling movies on TV before; this was his first time witnessing it in person.

Unlike the "Big/Small" game he remembered, the table had many betting areas; simply betting on "Big" or "Small" was just a small part of the game.

Although he hadn't understood it before, the areas on the gambling table were clearly labeled and easy to understand at a glance.

There were three dice in total. A sum of 4-10 was "Small," and a sum of 11-17 was "Big." Betting on "Big" or "Small" paid one to one.

Additionally, if you bet on all three dice having the same number, the odds were 1 to 24.

However, if you broke it down further, as there were six possible combinations for all dice being the same (all 1s, all 2s, and so on), hitting one of these "Leopard" combinations increased the payout to 1 to 150!

You could also bet on the sum of the three dice. For example, a sum of 4 or 17 paid 1 to 50; a sum of 5 or 16 paid 1 to 18. The more likely the sum was to appear, the lower the odds.

"Young Master, are you betting on Big or Small?" Plum Blossom Seven asked with a smile, though in his mind, he was calculating how to make Zu An lose more.

Zu An glanced at him. "Are you thinking of letting me win a few rounds first, so I don't get scared away?"

Plum Blossom Seven froze for a moment, wondering how Zu An knew. But he quickly recovered, smiling as he said, "Young Master, you jest. At the gambling table, it's all up to your luck; how could we possibly control it?"

"Is that so? My wife is a Fifth-Grade grandmaster. If you dare to cheat in front of her and get caught, don't blame us for chopping off your hands." Still uneasy, Zu An pulled Chu Chuyan close to him and threatened Plum Blossom Seven again.

Chu Chuyan glared at him fiercely, clearly annoyed by his overly affectionate use of "my wife." Yet, in front of so many people, she couldn't very well declare that their marriage was a sham.

Hearing Zu An's words, Plum Blossom Seven's smile faltered. "Young Master, rest assured. Our Silver Hook Casino has a reputation, and we naturally wouldn't engage in such practices. Do you see the runes on the outside of this dice cup? These are the work of a master rune-crafter from the capital, capable of isolating cultivators' vital energy to prevent them from sensing the dice. So, Young Master, you can relax."

The other gamblers secretly sneered, thinking, *Which casino doesn't cheat?* Although the dice cup had runes to block cultivators' interference, there were mechanisms under the table that could temporarily change the dice's outcome. However, everyone was hoping Zu An would lose everything, so they just waited to enjoy the show, and no one offered a warning.

Plum Blossom Seven, however, knew his own difficulties. With Miss Chu here, it would be hard to cheat without her noticing. But against a little punk like Zu An, he could make him lose his shirt even without cheating, so he wasn't too worried.

"Young Master, how much are you planning to bet?" Plum Blossom Seven asked again.

Zu An secretly took out a Lucky Pill and swallowed it before saying, "I'm too lazy for small bets. Of course, I'm going all in."

"All in?" Plum Blossom Seven was taken aback, clearly not understanding what he meant.

"And you run a casino, yet you don't know that?" Zu An gave him a disdainful look. "'All in' means betting all your chips."

Plum Blossom Seven's smile froze. *Where did you learn all these strange terms?* he thought, suppressing his annoyance. "Young Master certainly has guts," he said, winking at an attendant. *This guy is betting everything on the first round, so we can't roll a "Leopard" and let the house take it all. That would scare him away immediately.*

The attendant understood. He picked up the dice cup, shook it for a while, and then placed it on the table. "No more bets, please! No more bets!"

Zu An directly took out a stack of silver notes and fanned them in front of Plum Blossom Seven. "Speaking of which, most of these silver notes were willingly given to me by Plum Blossom Thirteen. I wonder how much you'll give me today?"

Plum Blossom Seven's face twitched. *Willingly given, my foot!* He had heard about Plum Blossom Thirteen's situation. It was clearly Zu An who had shamelessly framed him and used the academy teachers to seize the money by force!

Plum Blossom Seven's Rage value +155!

He had just been mocking Plum Blossom Thirteen for being so easily manipulated, and now he found himself losing even more terribly. Wait, listening to his tone...

"Young Master, are you leaving?" Plum Blossom Seven quickly asked.

"Otherwise?" Zu An chuckled. "I've already won fifty thousand taels; why keep gambling?"

He couldn't help but marvel at the effectiveness of the Lucky Pill. He originally had no confidence, yet he actually won purely by luck.

Plum Blossom Seven immediately panicked. If Zu An really walked away with fifty thousand taels, his gang leader would surely flay him alive.

"Young Master, wait! Young Master, stop!" Plum Blossom Seven hastily blocked his path, and the casino's subordinates, armed with weapons, also surrounded them.

Zu An's expression darkened. "What? You won't let me leave after winning money? Is this how you run a casino?"

As he spoke, he pushed Chu Chuyan forward. "Wife, these people are cheating!"

Chu Chuyan was unaccustomed to so much physical contact with him, but she couldn't scold him. She could only redirect her anger towards Plum Blossom Seven and his men. "What, do you want to fight?"

The other gamblers also started booing. Although they disliked Zu An for "the toad eating swan meat," as gamblers, what they hated most was a casino refusing to pay out. If that happened, who would dare to come back in the future?

Gambling harms both oneself and others. The protagonist has a cheat code; you absolutely must not follow his example.