The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 42 "Monkey Demon" Yuan Qu

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 "Monkey Demon" Yuan Qu

Why is this scoundrel here too?

Seeing the person above, Sha Lifei’s face twitched, and he stepped back a few paces.

This was Yuan Qu, the leader of the White Ape Gang.

He was born with unusual features and a mother who was a woman of dubious morals, suffering much bullying. Hence, he mingled on the streets, learning all sorts of sinister tricks.

At a young age, he was nicknamed the "Monkey Demon."

Unlike the Iron Blade Gang leader, Yuan Qu specialized in dirty fighting techniques from the streets. Even though he apprenticed under Zhou Pan, showing decent potential, he joined late and ruined his foundation with indulgences, only barely reaching Hidden Energy.

Though his martial arts ranked lowest among the Eight Vajras, his reputation was no less notorious, known for his cunning.

East City was White Ape Gang territory, and it was rumored that a young master from Chang’an City was behind this gambling house, making even the government wary. Naturally, the White Ape Gang wouldn’t come here.

Sha Lifei chose this place specifically but didn’t expect to run into Yuan Qu, secretly cursing his bad luck.

At the same time, Yuan Qu listened to a few whispered words from a nearby man, then grinned wickedly, "Related to that kid? Go, bring him back for a chat..."

"What are you doing!"

Hearing this, Sha Lifei immediately shouted, "Disciples of Zhou Pan trying to play dirty tricks before the duel, fellow Jianghu people, you all saw it!"

"Damn, you must have a death wish!"

Yuan Qu’s eyes suddenly turned vicious.

Just then, another person stepped out of the room, an old man in an official’s robe, short and stout, with white beard, a smiling face, and a kind and amiable appearance.

He stroked his beard and laughed, "Some small fry, no need for the gang leader to get angry."

"Besides, this is Golden Treasure Gambling House, people just have loud voices without breaking rules, old man is hard-pressed to answer for such shouting and killing from the gang leader..."

Though the words were polite, they didn’t give any face.

Sha Lifei hastily nodded, "That’s right, I naturally have a loud voice, what, having a loud voice means I should be beaten?"

The old man stroked his beard and laughed, "In a gambling house, whose voice isn’t loud, let the customers enjoy themselves, shout however you want."

"If a customer wants to bet on the ring, it just so happens old man is interested too."

"A Fu, unveil the sign!"

With his words, a man with a cold face emerged from behind the old man, leaping over the railing with an elegant forward flip, landing steadily.

His body remained unshaken, breath calm, with no sound from his feet.

"Great skill!"

Many Jianghu people in the gambling house cheered in unison.

The man kept his expression unchanged, cupping his fists to those around, then headed to the rear center stage, took down two boards, gracefully writing the names "Li Yan" and "Zhou Bai," along with the odds.

Li Yan win: one for one.

Zhou Bai win: one for one and a half.

At this moment, the leader of the White Ape Gang, Yuan Qu, also calmed down, smiling fakely, "Boss Wu, you don’t play big..."

He had received some news that the backer of the Golden Treasure Gambling House had suffered misfortune, so he came urgently to discuss acquisition to prevent losing opportunities for profit.

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper refused outright and even gloated over his misfortune.

Though irritated, Yuan Qu didn’t want to turn hostile here, fearing unforeseen complications that would be hard to manage.

After all, this looked suspiciously like taking advantage of someone’s distress.

Shopkeeper Wu maintained a kindly smile, "Just joining the fun, making customers happy is enough. So, does the gang leader want a game too?"

Yuan Qu was about to refuse but his eyes rolled, suddenly chuckling, "If Shopkeeper Wu wants to play, Yuan must accompany him."

"I’ll bet two thousand taels, dare Shopkeeper Wu take it?"

The smile on Shopkeeper Wu’s face didn’t change, waving his hand. Someone below immediately wrote a betting slip, hurried upstairs, and respectfully handed it over.

"Generous Gang Leader Yuan!"

"Generous Shopkeeper Wu!"

After a brief exchange, Yuan Qu saw that Shopkeeper Wu wasn’t angry, so he shifted his target to Sha Lifei below, mockingly saying, "Big guy, since you have confidence in that kid, how much are you betting?"

Although Sha Lifei was nervous inside, he patted his chest bravely, "Brother Yan is bound to win, Old Sha will naturally bet everything he owns!"

With that, he pulled out a heavy money bag from his chest, went to the back, and slapped it on the counter.

The clerk accounting was initially startled, but upon carefully opening it, his face turned odd.

Mostly Copper Coins, barely any scattered silver.

The clerk was speechless, quickly counted, and shouted, "Customer’s bet, a total of nineteen taels and five qian..."

Before he could finish, Sha Lifei took out a tael of silver, muttering, "Almost forgot, need to keep some for meals."

The clerk had no choice but to say, "Eighteen taels and five qian!"

"Hahaha!"

For a moment, the entire gambling house erupted with laughter.

Even Yuan Qu couldn’t help chuckling, mocking, "You pauper, showing off here, why not let me lend you a few hundred taels for fun?"

"No thanks!"

Sha Lifei had thick skin and didn’t care about the ridicule, pocketed the betting slip, and walked straight out of the gambling house without another word.

Being a wanderer in the pugilistic world, he wouldn’t fall for such a trap.

Losing the money he had, he could start afresh, but borrowing from these guys meant a fate worse than death.

The notorious loan sharks would only follow the rules.

Some schemers make a living off this, timing their visits to squeeze a little spending money without including it in the interest, nicely calling it tea fees, errands.

Some small business folks were driven mad by these people.

Of course, these were tactics for commoners.

Faced with Jianghu people, they specifically targeted those with consumption, about to die soon, pestering relentlessly.

If Jianghu people lost their temper and killed someone, they fell right into a trap.

By then, the sly clerks from the government would join in, playing you to death.

Given the existing grudge between the sides, Sha Lifei naturally remained vigilant.

Out of the gambling house, he took off running, disappearing in no time...

In the gambling house, seeing Sha Lifei not fall for it, Yuan Qu grew bored, turned to the shopkeeper beside him, and said in a low voice, "Shopkeeper Wu, please reconsider."

"The price I offer is low, but it’s real gold and silver. If it comes to it, there will be more than one looking to profit empty-handed!"

Saying so, he smiled slightly and walked away.

Behind him, Shopkeeper Wu’s smile remained, eyes fathomless...

Meanwhile, the white-clad swindler from the Hua Family twisted his eyes, shouting, "Hey, a life-and-death bet, betting with lives is much more fun."

"Zhou Bai is the pillar of the next generation of the Zhou Family. Winning this will earn half the profit, but if you want to play big, bet on Li Yan, you can double your money in no time!"

"Where to find such good deals, quick hands will gain, slow hands will not!"

"What, not enough money, look for me..."

Old Jianghu people sometimes feared death, but more often they went all in, ready to gamble big, immediately starting to pool money for betting.

Present were coachmen from the Carriage Shop, laborious dockworkers from the Cao Gang, street kids mingling in the city, and even bandits concealing their identities.

A mixed bag of snakes and dragons, all sorts of people were present.

And the news of this duel quickly spread throughout Xianyang City...

...

Elsewhere, just as Yuan Qu, the leader of the White Ape Gang, left the gambling house, a subordinate approached, quietly saying, "Leader, that Sha Lifei slipped away, he’s clever, the man got away."

"He ran and that’s that, he’s unimportant."

Yuan Qu shook his head, speaking seriously, "Have you found anything?"

The man replied quietly, "Yes, that kid went to Zhang’s Martial Arts School, and afterwards, Zhang Yuanshang started making arrangements."

"But they sparred behind closed doors, none of our people got to see."

"I see..."

Yuan Qu was thoughtful, speaking solemnly, "This seems unreliable, go, invite Mister Chen, also find Zhou Bai, I’ll visit the master."

With a command, everyone dispersed in three directions.

...

Yuan Qu led his men to a large mansion in the west of the city, ordering his subordinates to wait outside while he requested an audience respectfully.

"Is the master available?"

"Yes, Master Yuan, please come in."

Shortly after entering the mansion, Yuan Qu emerged.

Behind him, a carriage followed.

On it was a large iron cage, covered with red cloth, clanging constantly, suppressed growls of a beast within...