“Mingzhe, get lost you fucker, it’s none of your business what I do here.”
Zen’s eyes flared with anger when he saw this young man name Mingzhe, and his words were full of hostility.
Ignoring Zen’s words, Mingzhe glared back at him and instead came closer.
Stopping in front of Zen, Mingzhe’s head turn up and his eyes looked down at Zen. A wicked smirk slowly spread across his lips before he said, “Zen, is that any way to speak to your brother-in-law? How’s that sister of yours? Is she still missing me?”
Zen’s expression changed and his anger immediately flared, but he clenched his fist so hard it turn white before he held back his anger.
However, his eyes were filled with burning rage as he stared at Mingzhe.
Seeing Zen holding back his anger, Mingzhe made a sound of surprise and sarcastically said, “The hot tempered Zen from the Huang Clan is holding back his anger. Is the sun rising from the west today? Hahaha…”
Mingzhe let out a ridiculing laugh after his words.
“I have nothing to say to you after what you did, you despicable bastard.”
Then turning around, Zen then spoke to Xi Shen and Bai Xiaofung, “Brother Shen, brother Bai, let’s just leave this area, it seems something foul has suddenly come our way.”
Mingzhe ignored Zen’s insult, and instead zone in on Bai Xiaofung.
Stepping forward, Mingzhe's expression turned respectful as he cupped his fist to Bai Xiaofung and introduce himself.
“Young Master Bai, it’s my honor to meet someone of your status. My name is Mingzhe and I’m from the Zhao Clan. My father has always wanted to meet with you and have a cup of tea, but he has never been able to find the time to ask you when you come to our Silent Creek City. If Young Master Bai is not busy, my father would be ecstatic if you came to our Clan.”
Zen immediately frowned at Mingzhe’s words, and he was just about to speak but Bai Xiaofung suddenly interrupted.
His voice was indifferent and his expression had already turned cold when Mingzhe made his rude appearance.
“The Zhao Clan was it? Were you not in contact with the Fei Clan? Given the constant tension between each Major Clans, I doubt it would be wise for me to be visiting your Clan.”
Mingzhe responded, “Our relations with the Fei Clan can be said to be strictly business, having over Young Master Bai wouldn't have caused any problems. However, since Young Master Bai is unwilling then I won’t continue to say anymore. If Young Master Bai changed his mind on this matter then our Zhao Clan has the best tea in Silent Creek City.”
“Hm.” Bai Xiaofung made a sound of acknowledgment.
Mingzhe having failed to invite Bai Xiaofung over, saw no more reason to stay here and he shot Zen a mocking smile before he turned and left with his three bodyguards.
As he walked away, Xi Shen, who he had completely ignored, stared at his back thoughtfully.
Some distance away, one of the bodyguards turn to Mingzhe and said, “Young Master, that was an extremely bad idea. We are closer to the Fei Clan than just business partners. If they found out that you…”
“Do you get paid to talk to me?” Mingzhe bone chilling words entered the bodyguards' ears, making him shut up immediately.
‘Damn it! damn it! damn it!!’
Mingzhe cried out in his heart.
‘This plan fell through, but I shouldn’t have expected anything else. Three months, I have three months left to think of something. Damn it.’
Mingzhe’s face was expressionless, but his heart filled with urgency as he unnoticeably clenched his fists.
“That fucking scum, he should just fall off a cliff to his death.”
Turning to Zen, Bai Xiaofung regain his usual demeanor and asked, “Brother Zen, why is your hatred for this person so strong?”
Hearing Bai Xiaofung’s question, Zen’s expression turned sour as he said, “It’s because my foolish sister somehow fell in love with him. For a year she had been secretly meeting up with him and had somehow gotten it in her head that he would run away with her to get married. Our Clans have been enemies for a long time, our parents would never agree to it. When their involvement was discovered, that bastard had already whispered sweet nothings into her ears so much so that when our parents forbade her from continuing the relationship she threaten to end her own life.”
Zen clenched his fist tight while recalling the memory. He then continued to say, “My sister is extremely talented, she’s only a few years older than me but she has already reached the Core Formation Realm. She’s the hope of our clan to finally have a second person reach the Nascent Soul Realm. Our parents were scared she was really serious about it, and since they couldn’t convince her of Mingzhe’s manipulation they let her go. She went to the Zhao Clan soon after, but they didn’t even let her inside and only shun her away. That bastard Mingzhe denied ever having any relationship with her and openly ridiculed her for being crazy. Since then she locked herself inside her courtyard not wanting to see anyone. Everyone thought that she would do something stupid after having her heart broken, but she didn’t, she was just isolating herself. All of that happen half a year ago.”
Zen seemed to become emotional and he unfurl one of his hands to cover his face.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner brother Bai.”
“No, this is clearly something too emotional to bring up, I’m sorry for asking in the first place.”
Bai Xiaofung lifted his hand and patted Zen’s back in an effort to show his support.
Xi Shen, who had been silently listening to this story thought in his heart, ‘So that’s why. That Mingzhe person's words and tone didn’t match his true feelings when he was speaking earlier. It seemed as if he was forcing himself to say those words about Zen’s sister. Hmm, wonder what that means.’
Zen calmed down a bit as Bai Xiaofung continue to pat his back in a comforting manner.
“I’m sure if brother Zen and your family show their affection and their support for your sister, she’ll eventually recover with time.”
Letting out a sigh, Zen said with a solemn voice, “That’s not even the end of it brother Bai. My sister is isolating herself because she’s nursing a child.”
“What?!”
Bai Xiaofung blurt out in surprise, but he quickly covered his mouth in a hurry.
After, he asked in complete shock, “Are you serious brother Zen?”
‘Oh, so that’s what it means.’ Xi Shen thought to himself.
Zen nodded his head at Bai Xiaofung’s question and with a dark look on his face said, “She chose to keep it even after I insisted that our parents and Grandfather would never agree to it.”
“Brother Zen then does that mean…”
Bai Xiaofung paused there but his question was obvious.
Zen nodded once a gain and said, “That’s right, I’m the only one in our family that found out, she begged me not to tell anyone. However, Grandfather is in seclusion and when he comes out in a couple of months he’ll easily be able to find out about it. His hatred for the Zhao Clan is so strong that he once claimed he can never live under the same sky as them. If it wasn’t for the City Lord/Leader, our clans would have waged war on each other long ago. I don’t know what he might do after knowing everything that transpired, much less of her pregnancy.”
Zen let out a sigh after that.
Hearing this set-up, Xi Shen wondered if he should perhaps say something or just remain a bystander. This situation can either lead to a disastrous outcome or a peaceful one.
‘That Mingzhe, he seems to have been planning something by inviting brother Fung over to his clan. Did he perhaps want his help? But if that’s the case he should just go to brother Zen directly. Did he not trust him? Or was that he didn’t know brother Zen knew of the pregnancy?’
As Xi Shen pondered on this debacle, Zen suddenly said, “That bastard Mingzhe come and ruin the mood. Brother Shen, this outing is for you to experience the joys of gambling.”
“Hm, that’s right. The Fei Clan, as greedy as they are, have designed a few gambling games that are way too addictive even for us cultivators. Come brother Shen, let us show you around!”
Seeing Bai Xiaofung’s enthusiasm, Xi Shen put aside the love scandal and said, “You-do you think you should be gambling, especially since you still owe me.”
Bai Xiaofung's expression turned slightly awkward at that before he said, “Brother Shen, my family is working on that, as for me, I have some personal savings that I got from selling my alchemy pills.”
With that, a short Bai Xiaofung began pulling onto Xi Shen and Zen’s arms, and headed for one of the larger Pavilions in the square.
And it was at this time Xi Shen realized something else about his friend Bai Xiaofung, asides from him being extremely dense and extremely gluttonous. He was extremely addicted to gambling.
Xi Shen had heard that Alchemy was one of the richest professions, so Bai Xiaofung who always looked like he was lacking money seem to be the exception.
Well, except he wasn’t. The fool was extremely rich, not too rich, but had a sizable amount of spirit stones on him at all times. However, all of that was only revealed when he was in a gambling house.
He seemed to have become a completely different person as he hooted and hollered at the shiny silver ball that was spinning on this wheel-like thingy.
When it landed on his number he was all smiles, but on the wrong one, he seemed to have become a miniature robot that only knows how to spout profanities.
Xi Shen stared at him in bewilderment, while Zen took it in strides. Even the fact that Bai Xiaofung was gambling away money that could've paid him back for all those meals he paid for him.
Well, Zen too was hooting and hollering along with Bai Xiaofung.
Looking around, Xi Shen saw numerous other areas like this one but with different games.
The people around them made him completely dumbfounded, these cultivators seemed to have lost all sense of rationality as they continue to empty their pockets on these games.
‘Is this really so addictive that you lot became this crazy? Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha…’
Xi Shen asked himself before he began reciting his Buddhist scriptures once again. He was afraid if he didn’t, this toxic atmosphere of wasting money, which was carefully designed by the Fei Clan, would influence him.
He absolutely, would never in a billion years, waste his money in this manner.
Based on his calculations of this game and the others like it, the winning percentage of someone playing them was… oh who was he kidding?
These games' statistics of winning were completely skewed, Xi Shen didn’t know who came up with it but it was completely shameless. It was the most shameless thing he’d seen in this era so far, and that’s saying something coming from him!
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