Path of Alchemy Mastery
Chapter 156 - 158 The Gambler

Chapter 156: Chapter 158 The Gambler

The bald gambler almost choked to death on Mu Can’s words; he had clearly been drooling over these treasures just a moment ago, yet he rejected them decisively and neatly.

Mu Can sneered inwardly, although he was attracted to the treasures on the shelves, he had no intention of showing an obsession like that.

"Young brother, with so many treasures here, aren’t you tempted?" The bald gambler’s dice cup shook even faster in his hand.

"Although the junior is tempted, the junior knows that the senior’s possessions are not so easily taken." Mu Can pretended to be naive as he spoke.

The bald gambler chuckled to himself, I’m not afraid that you don’t want it, kid; I’m just afraid you won’t be tempted, for once you’re tempted, there’s no way you won’t lose.

"No need to keep calling me senior, just call me Uncle Lan." The bald gambler squeezed out an amiable smile.

Poor Tiger contemptuously curled his lips upon seeing this. This old fellow might look benign, but his heart is as black as pitch. I almost lost my pants to him here once.

Poor Tiger coughed softly a few times.

"Uncle Lan, do you remember me?" Poor Tiger tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, to prevent anyone from detecting the fluctuations in his tone.

If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t beat this old fellow, Poor Tiger would have turned hostile long ago. He had saved up treasures for several years, only to lose them all here to the old man, and after being left penniless, he was casually pushed out of the secret room by the elder.

"Oh, it’s Little Tiger, isn’t it? I’m still keeping the horsetail whisk you left here back in the day. Are you here to win it back?" The bald gambler looked at Poor Tiger, remembering the tiger that lost to him that year, and spoke excitedly.

"You know him?" Mu Can whispered, judging from the conversation, Poor Tiger must have suffered a huge loss here back then.

"This old senior is very strong, and his gambling skills are even better." Poor Tiger explained in brief and said no more.

Mu Can turned his head to Uncle Lan and smiled naively, "Uncle Lan, let’s just say our goodbyes here, I still have a journey to hurry on."

As soon as Uncle Lan heard that Mu Can was leaving, his expression changed instantly. He hadn’t had a visitor for several years, and if he didn’t get to gamble this time, he was going to go insane.

"Wait a minute, look at all these weapons, Spirit Pills, Martial Skills, is there really nothing that you need?" Uncle Lan tried to keep his voice smooth so that Mu Can wouldn’t detect his anxiety.

"Look at all these treasures, if you win against me, I’ll let you pick any three to take with you, just gamble with me once."

This was a total bloodletting; he couldn’t believe anyone could resist such a temptation.

But who would have thought that Mu Can would shake his head after hearing this.

"My dad told me that if I gambled outside, he would break my legs." Mu Can kept up his honest and simple appearance, adamantly refusing to agree to gamble with Uncle Lan.

"Isn’t there a saying that a little gamble makes for good fun? Let’s just have a small bet, it’s nothing serious." Uncle Lan’s dice cup spun even faster in his hand.

Mu Can still shook his head.

"How about this, if you win you can pick any five items to take with you, and if you lose, I’ll only take one Treasure from you."

Uncle Lan continued to lower his bottom line. It had been too long since he had gambled with someone, and now that he had finally encountered an outsider, Uncle Lan did not want to miss this great opportunity.

Unfortunately, no matter how Uncle Lan persuaded, Mu Can refused to agree to gamble with him, repeating over and over again, my dad doesn’t let me gamble.

"You, young man, are really trying my patience." Uncle Lan talked until he was dry-mouthed and tongue-tied, but to no avail; Mu Can was determined not to gamble with him.

"What if you win and you get to choose any ten items, is that still not good enough?"

"Twenty items?"

"What do I need to do for you to agree to gamble with me?"

Uncle Lan felt like his head was about to explode; he’s never encountered anyone so stubborn.

Mu Can put on a naive and simple appearance, but inside, he was already overjoyed. The more the other party wanted to gamble with him, the less he was willing to accommodate their wishes.

"You tell me, what do I need to do for you to gamble with me?" Uncle Lan, completely out of patience, asked weakly.

"I don’t know how to gamble," Mu Can finally stopped mentioning the fact that his dad didn’t allow him to gamble and said with a shy smile.

"I’ll teach you."

"Okay."

Seeing Mu Can agree so readily, Uncle Lan felt something was off but didn’t think much of it. His only goal now was to quickly teach Mu Can some gambling skills to get him to gamble with him.

In fact, Mu Can’s purpose had been simple from the start. Uncle Lan presided over this secret room space and certainly had his own unique skills. It wouldn’t do for Mu Can to leave empty-handed.

The initiative was in Mu Can’s hands. As long as Mu Can didn’t agree to gamble with him, Uncle Lan could do nothing about it.

"This... My dad said I shouldn’t gamble."

Mu Can twisted the hem of his clothes, looking embarrassed. Uncle Lan was on the verge of exploding.

"I think little brother Mu seems to be setting a trap," Xiao Yao felt that something was off, as Mu Can wasn’t acting like his usual self.

"Wait and see," Qiong Hu gave Xiao Yao a look, signaling to keep silent.

"So, what exactly do you want?" Uncle Lan grabbed his head forcefully, asking in frustration.

"I have nothing to gamble with," Mu Can said, scratching his head with an embarrassed look.

"I’m begging you, if you gamble with me, you can pick any five items from here." Uncle Lan decided to throw caution to the wind, directly breaking his own rules. There’s never been a precedent here where a newcomer could take things away whether they win or lose.

Uncle Lan thought that Mu Can would flatly reject him, and he was considering upping the stakes further, but to his surprise, Mu Can accepted the offer immediately.

"Okay, I’ll gamble with you." Mu Can chuckled slyly; this was exactly the effect he wanted. If it really came down to a contest of gambling skills, how could Mu Can possibly be a match for this old gambler? So, he had to slowly lure Uncle Lan in, and at last, he succeeded.

"Ah? What did you say?" Uncle Lan was probably shocked by the news as well; this intractable kid actually agreed to gamble with him.

"I said I accept your terms, I’ll gamble with you," Mu Can repeated, and only then did Uncle Lan hear him clearly.

"Aren’t you afraid of your dad?" Uncle Lan asked curiously.

"In the military, one can be exempt from certain orders. Besides, as long as I don’t tell my dad, how would he know?" Mu Can said with a simple, naive smile.

"Alright, then let’s gamble on one round," said Uncle Lan excitedly.

As long as he could gamble with Mu Can, any price was worth paying. The days without anyone to gamble with him were almost driving him insane.

"It’s simple, we’ll play with dice. Whoever rolls the higher number wins," Uncle Lan chuckled, placing the dice cup on the table.

Mu Can sensed the dice cup but found that his Divine Sense couldn’t penetrate it at all.

"Don’t worry, it’s made from special material that Divine Sense cannot see through. Young friend, you go first."

Once the gambling started, Uncle Lan radiated an aura that made Mu Can inexplicably nervous. Even though he wouldn’t have to pay any price if he lost, facing Uncle Lan made Mu Can feel tense.