Chaotic World Book
Chapter 235 - 230 The Biggest Gamble

Chapter 235: Chapter 230 The Biggest Gamble

Vermilion Bird was reluctant to doubt her own Twenty-Eight Constellations but was quite willing to believe Zhao Changhe’s judgment.

Perhaps it was because Zhao Changhe had solved several cases effectively, making people subconsciously trust him?

In reality, those two or three cases, when thought about in detail afterward, did not demonstrate any profound criminal investigation capabilities in Zhao Changhe... His reasoning abilities were acceptable, and his observation of details was not bad, which is a prerequisite, but the main way he solved cases was simply by assuming a result and then verifying his conjecture.

This method, if verification failed, would leave him frantically replacing guesses, but fortunately, each verification always yielded the desired results. It could be considered luck or perhaps his initial intuitive guesses were exceptionally sharp and accurate.

She hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "So, what should we do now?"

"I need to visit a place, and you’d better not do anything; go back to the Pinghu Association and rest. If it’s discovered that you slipped out in the middle of the night, it might arouse suspicion."

Vermilion Bird’s eyes widened, "So, you really consider me a burden."

"Not at all," Zhao Changhe replied with a conciliatory smile, "You are my main fighting force, while I’m just a weakling."

"Really? Call me big sister."

"Big sister."

The satisfied Vermilion Bird stood up, "Seeing that you called me so sweetly, I’ll reluctantly cooperate with you. Let’s go."

A fragrant breeze swept by, and she was gone.

Zhao Changhe looked out the window at the bright moonlight and thought to himself that this sister’s powers might not be so simple after all.

The Four Symbols Sect was truly a place with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Initially, he thought Wan Dongliu was quite impressive, but now it seemed that merely being young afforded him the opportunity to be ranked among the Twenty-Eight Constellations; his real power was far less.

The critical information this sister brought was that Han Wubing really wasn’t captured by Yan Lianping, which reaffirmed many of Zhao Changhe’s thoughts, making him almost ninety percent certain of Han Wubing’s whereabouts.

He pondered for a moment, then hid the Dragon Sparrow in the house and left empty-handed.

Moments later, a dark-faced man appeared at the entrance of Kangle Gambling House. The guard sized him up and lazily ignored him.

Such gambling houses prohibited anyone from entering with swords or weapons, as fights could break out any day; Zhao Changhe had anticipated this and didn’t bring any. As long as the weapons were not too obvious, and if one hid some small items on their person, the guards, who were lazy from making business, wouldn’t stop and search.

Entering the inside of the gambling house, the space was vast. But no matter how large, it couldn’t stand the crowd of people, this time of night being when gamblers were most frenzied. The area was packed with people, crowded around various gambling tables, noisy and bustling, making it almost impossible to hear anything clearly for those with weaker senses.

Around the hall were countless VIP rooms, with undisclosed activities inside. Zhao Changhe didn’t concern himself with the rooms, his gaze landed on a huge gambling table at the back of the hall, where a young lord was shouting from the dealer’s position, his face flushed with excitement.

The house dealer was dressed like a rich young master, which was somewhat incongruous, as was his name.

The lord of Kangle Gambling House, Sha Qi, sounded like a rough underworld figure, but he was such a young master. He wasn’t on any list, extremely low-profile, yet well-known enough in Sword Lake City; Zhao Changhe merely grabbed a passerby and figured out Sha Qi’s features.

Numerous gambling house guards surrounded the venue, many with bulging temples suggesting decent cultivation, all amassed at a mere gambling house... This wasn’t just a casino, it was a gang with a solid backing.

Zhao Changhe’s eyes swept across the guards’ waist swords, silently estimating whether he could escape if they swarmed him.

Seeing a stranger scrutinizing the inside, a man approached, "Sir, what would you like to play?"

Zhao Changhe’s eyes moved away from the guards’ swords and gestured towards Sha Qi’s area, "What game is Qi playing over there?"

"Oh, he’s playing a dice game called ’Three Sixes’. Would you like to play?"

"Do I need to exchange chips?"

"You can exchange chips, or use gold, silver, or even pawn deeds."

"Alright." Zhao Changhe casually walked over as Sha Qi, with a face glowing red, shook the dice box, "Lock and release, lock and release!"

"Smack!" Zhao Changhe slapped all the broken silver he had snatched from a Kangle Gambling House thug during the day on the ’Three Sixes’ area, "I’m betting on Three Sixes."

No one paid attention to such a small amount of money, and Sha Qi opened the dice box, "Two, two, four, small! Sorry, folks!"

"Wait a minute." Zhao Changhe stopped him from gathering the chips, "What do you mean two, two, four? Isn’t this ’three sixes’?"

Everyone looked down and indeed the dice that were clearly showing ’two, two, four’ had somehow transformed into ’three sixes’.

Everyone was taken aback, now casting playful looks at Zhao Changhe.

Well, Inner Strength silently changing the direction of dice... was he here to cause trouble?

Sha Qi’s face stiffened slightly, and he tilted his head with an almost smiling expression, staring at Zhao Changhe for a while, "Right, it’s ’three sixes’. You’ve won. Want to keep betting?"

Zhao Changhe replied, "Let’s bet, but gambling money is boring, how about we change the stakes?"

Sha Qi’s expression became mad again, extremely excited, "What’s the bet? Your head?"

Zhao Changhe said, "I bet the Ji Family’s properties on Taiping Street. If I lose, the properties go to you; if I win, you help me with something."

Sha Qi asked curiously, "On what grounds do you bet the Ji Family’s assets? Don’t tell me you are the young master Ji, hurrying back here?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Why can’t I be Young Master Ji?"

Sha Qi looked him up and down for a while and chuckled, "What can prove you are Ji Bochang?"

Hearing these three words, Zhao Changhe was startled for a moment and looked at his second brother, "This... could we find a room and prove it in private?"

Everyone paused for a moment. Originally, no one had thought of anything vulgar, but prompted by his suggestion, they all realized and burst into roaring laughter.

Sha Qi laughed so hard he thumped the table, "How amusing, how amusing!"

Zhao Changhe kept a straight face, and in fact, after disguising himself, he couldn’t change his expression even if he wanted to, "How about it, Qi Laoqi, would you like to verify it privately with me?"

"Alright, alright!" Sha Qi laughed, gasping for breath, "Come to the VIP room, let’s start a game alone."

People laughed themselves silly, but deep down, they were all slightly chilled.

The so-called "private room" was obviously not for verifying any length of Ji Bochang, but for important secret bets.

Everyone knew about the changes in the Ji Family. Could it really be that Young Master Ji had returned and involved himself in Kangle Gambling House amidst the Pinghu Association and Xingyi Gang dispute?

There were interesting times ahead in Sword Lake City.

Quite a few people slipped away secretly, rushing to inform the Pinghu Association.

Meanwhile, Sha Qi left his position as the dealer and gestured towards Zhao Changhe to follow him to a VIP room nearby. Zhao Changhe smiled faintly and followed.

Originally, there was a wide table between the two of them, but as they walked together to the VIP room, they gradually drew closer, surrounded on both sides by numerous formidable men, vigilantly encircling them.

Neither seemed to care about this, getting closer and closer. Sha Qi chuckled, "I didn’t expect Young Master Ji to have such guts—coming to my Kangle Gambling House, really not afraid of being devoured bones and all, gaining nothing?"

Zhao Changhe said indifferently, "If I were swallowed by the Pinghu Association, I would also gain nothing. After all, a gambling house is just that; spoken in public, Qi Laoqi, you have to go through opposing bets for the sake of appearances, otherwise it would be detrimental to your credibility, right?"

"Absolutely, absolutely," Sha Qi laughed, "But the young master lacks a title deed as collateral; this bet is hard to continue. Maybe the young master has another chip? For example, perhaps the young master learned some Martial Arts from the Divine Brilliance Sect? We would be quite interested in that."

As they spoke, the two reached the VIP room door, less than a foot apart.

Zhao Changhe said indifferently, "If we need to change the stakes, then let’s just switch to a different bet altogether?"

Sha Qi looked at Zhao Changhe’s hand, then at the guards whose knives were already partially drawn, laughed loudly and was the first to enter the door, "Of course, young master, feel free to propose."

Zhao Changhe followed him inside and slowly said, "For example..."

His right hand suddenly struck towards Sha Qi’s neck, "With your life..."

"Clang!" Several waist knives aimed at Zhao Changhe’s heart and neck. Simultaneously, Sha Qi’s body twisted strangely, dodging Zhao Changhe’s grip. His elbow struck back directly at Zhao Changhe’s chest.

Zhao Changhe didn’t dodge and took the blow, his hand blooming like a lotus, as if creating thousands of illusions.

Sha Qi’s twist had no effect whatsoever; Zhao Changhe’s hand had already gripped his neck.

At the same moment, casino guards’ blades also targeted his neck and heart.

Sha Qi calmed down, and it became quiet at the doorfront.

Zhao Changhe, seemingly unaware that he was also under the threat of knives, continued gripping Sha Qi’s neck, finishing his earlier statement, "In exchange for Han Wubing’s life."

Sha Qi stood still for a few moments, his neck gripped making it difficult to speak, but he still managed to laugh, "Isn’t this just you and me exchanging lives?"

Zhao Changhe said calmly, "Before these knives sever my throat, Qi Laoqi’s throat will definitely be cut first. You can completely trust the strength in my hand. To Qi Laoqi, life is but one, whether I can accompany you in death is meaningless."

"You have but one life too," Sha Qi sighed deeply, "Is it worth making such a bet?"

Zhao Changhe smiled slightly, "Isn’t this a gambling house? Betting lives is the grandest gamble of all, don’t you find it thrilling?"

"I’m asking if it’s worth it, not if it’s thrilling. Just for... a friend?"

"These two words, are they not heavy enough?"

Sha Qi was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Worthy of being the Bloodthirsty Shura Zhao Changhe. Bring Han Wubing here."