19 The Gloves Are Off

Jun Xie gave a mocking smile and stood-up. "Do you guys have more money to lose? If not… then I must go home and take some rest. I've won such a less amount of money even after investing so much of my time. It has been such a disappointment. What do you think, Miss Dugu?" Jun Xie knew that he had spoiled a part of the enemies' plan.

"You can't leave," Li Zhen said in an anxious manner. Everyone's minds – including Meng Haizou's – had been frozen; so much so that they couldn't even estimate the extent of their losses.

All of them had a better understanding of gambling than Jun Moxie. Moreover, they had all teamed-up in order to corner him. They were sure that Jun Moxie had consumed the drugs. In addition, they had tampered with the dice. Meng Haizou's clothes had also been sprayed with a unique perfume to disturb Jun Moxie's drugged mind. Yet, they had lost to Jun Moxie.

How could something like that be explained?

Was Jun Moxie really so lucky? But, he had scored only a few points higher than theirs in each of his game. This couldn't have been a coincidence. However, they couldn't explain how he had been cheating. Jun Moxie had consumed the drugs, and had turned his gambling skills into a complete mess to cheat. They felt as if they had seen a ghost.

Their well-thought plan involving Tang Yuan had gone smoothly at first. However, they hadn't been able to proceed to the next step of their plan after their main target Jun Moxie had arrived. They had lost everything they had instead. How could they even think about going forward with their plan?

A trace of fear crawled into their eyes as they realized that they had failed to accomplish the assigned task.

They feared the gentle look on Li Youran's face more than the laugh of a demon since Li Youran could issue an order to execute someone… or several people with the same 'gentle' expression on his face.

He was more dangerous than a demon!

"I want to continue the game. I still have a few assets left with me," Meng Haizou spoke as he took off the accompaniment jade from his waist and threw it on the table.

"Hahaha… do you guys think that I'm interested in damaged property? You want to continue the game with such a useless item? I would rather go home and take some rest," Jun Xie smiled and replied. He then shook his head and turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Meng Haizou shouted. He then looked at Li Zhen and the others and said, "Show me everything you have."

Li Zhen and the rest of people were aware of the consequences of the failure of their scheme. So, they hurriedly took off all the valuable possessions like precious stones, pearls, and other ornaments from their bodies.

"This is Tang Yuan's personal sword and accompaniment jade. I wish to place a bet with these two. Their combined price is one-and-a-half-million liang. But, I'll put its value only as one-million liang." Meng Haizou looked at Jun Xie and said, "Jun Moxie, I think you would like to win it back for your friend. Don't you?"

Dugu Xiaoyi started blankly for a moment. She knew the origins of Tang Yuan's sword and accompaniment jade. She understood that this was no more just a game. However, she wasn't scared. She didn't try to escape from the situation either. This situation was far too interesting.

Jun Xie looked at Tang Yuan and said, "I'm not Tang Yuan. His possessions have nothing to do with me. They'll become my possessions if I win this game. Then, I can do anything I want with them. I may throw them in the garbage… or I may give them to someone else. It has nothing to do with Tang Yuan. Why would I win them back for him? You people surely are a creative 'lot'. Tang Yuan pawned these items for money. That's none of my business. It won't be my business… if he brings money to redeem these items later on."

Jun Xie looked at the sword and the jade as he spoke. [These items aren't ordinary from any standard.]

Jun Xie then smiled in an unpleasant manner and said, "Young Master Meng, what do you think? What I'm saying is right or not?"

Everyone was shocked to hear Jun Xie's words. Tang Yuan's face had revealed an excited expression after he had heard Meng Haizou's words. However, his face soon became pale.

Meng Haizou's expressions changed. He had clearly understood the meaning behind Jun Xie's words. He seemed confused. He wasn't sure if he should still proceed with the game. What if they lose the sword and the jade to Jun Moxie? What will they do if Tang Yuan comes to them with the money to redeem his assets later on?

No one could deny the truth behind Jun Xie's words. However, there were a few rules to the game. One's assets could only be sold if one failed to redeem them until a certain period of time. So, it would be unjust to sell Tang Yuan's possession at present.

Tang Yuan had suffered a huge loss at the hands of the Li and Meng brothers. So, he wouldn't lose the opportunity to create a catastrophe if they failed to return his assets in exchange for money. Moreover, his own shortcomings would provide him with an opportunity to create a catastrophe.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Meng Haizou's mind, [I'm already stuck in a problem. I should first think of getting out of it. I can think of the future later on. Moreover, I'm unlikely to lose the bet this time.]

"We can deal with Tang Yuan on our own. Third Young Master Jun shouldn't worry about that. Moreover, there's no guarantee that Third Young Master Jun will win all these items." Then, Meng Haizou put a jade, a pearl, and a sword on the table. He bit his lip and said, "Third Young Master Jun, this ruyi jade was given to me by His Majesty – the Emperor. This is my uncle's most precious sword. And, this glowing pearl was given to Li Feng by the Grand Preceptor Li. These are extremely precious objects. Their combined cost would be in the range of millions of liang. So, the money in Third Young Master's possession isn't enough to bet against these items. But, if Third Young Master is willing to play… then I can allow him to play with something else."

"What will you suggest me to play with? Will you ask me to gamble with my body? Or do you want to marry-off your still unmarried little sister to me? But, wait… I've never heard of this little sister of yours," Jun Xie picked his ear and replied.

Dugu Xiaoyi burst out laughing as she heard these words. However, she controlled herself, and resumed her normal expressions. She then kicked Jun Xie from under the table. Jun Xie bit his lip and smiled.

Meng Haizou was so angry that he felt like vomiting blood. However, he controlled himself and said, "So… Third Young Master Jun likes to joke. But, this bet is quite simple. These precious items will go in the possession of Third Young Master Jun if I lose. But, if I win… then Third Young Master will have to help me with something. Is that fine?"

"Are you serious? How can I accept such a condition?" Jun Xie thought, [They're slowly coming to the point. It must've been very hard for them to hold-up until this moment.] He then laughed and said, "Am I supposed to commit suicide if you guys ask me to die? If you ask me to give all the possessions of Jun family to you guys… then am I supposed to do that? This condition is really… tsk… tsk… Do you think that I'm a fool?"

"I assure you that such a thing won't happen. This bet doesn't involve any money. Moreover, Third Young Master Jun won't be harmed in any manner. I'll only ask you for something that you can easily manage to do. But, we can forget that something like this ever happened if you still think that this bet is impossible…" Meng Haizou felt like punching and kicking Jun Moxie.

"Well… in that case… why not?" Jun Xie nodded. "How will we bet?"

"We'll play a game of dice." Meng Haizou had a curious expression on his face. He then said, "This bet is going to be between you and me. There'll be no banker. Whoever scores the highest will win. Do you accept, Third Young Master?"

"Hahaha… why would I be afraid of playing with a loser like you; that too a game of dice. Do you think that you can beat me? That's funny!" Jun Xie's face revealed an expression as if he was about to soar to the sky. In fact, he would've soared to the sky if he hadn't been kicked below his belt a moment ago.