Chapter 172: Gambling House Storm

Yan Jing reached out to stop him, but ultimately couldn't hold him back.

Tiger filled in all the evaluations with "first-rate" in a single breath.

But as he reached the end, he let out a soft sound of surprise.

At the very end of the register, a few lines of text had appeared:

"Please select one of the following tasks for the clerk's final evaluation:"

"1. Deliver herbal plaster to Shopkeeper Li at the dumpling shop."

"2. Deliver wooden sticks to the street vendor, Sugar Figurine Wu."

"3. Help Shopkeeper Mao on West Street sort through his recently collected furs."

"4. Deliver the reserved Cooling Oil to Shopkeeper Liu at the pawnshop."

"This evaluation has a time limit of 30 minutes and must be conducted fairly. Any malicious grading or excessive favoritism will result in punishment."

"Amazing."

Tiger stared wide-eyed at the words and rose to his feet.

Everything written there represented orders he had recently received but hadn't yet found the time to process.

The rules of a complete Domain truly were comprehensive to have consolidated all of this.

Moreover, the rules of this Domain could actually affect Inner World residents like them.

"Which one should I choose..."

Tiger began to ponder.

He wanted to pick a relatively simple task for Yan Jing, so he mentally reviewed the people on the list.

Shopkeeper Li had too fiery a temper. Not a good choice.

Sugar Figurine Wu was a sugar cultivator. Coming into contact with him could turn a person's body to sugar, and rumor had it he wasn't very friendly to humans. Also not a good choice.

That left Shopkeeper Mao on West Street and Shopkeeper Liu at the pawnshop, both of whom were supposedly decent.

But Shopkeeper Mao was on West Street. It was far away, so 30 minutes might not be enough, and that street was a bit eerie...

Making his decision, he immediately turned to Yan Jing.

"Xiao Yan, I have something for you to do. It concerns your task evaluation."

"Alright."

Yan Jing nodded.

Shen Youran had already provided him with the hidden information regarding Stage A of this task, so he wasn't surprised.

As one's Tier continuously rose, the difficulty of their assigned tasks would increase accordingly.

This was exactly why higher-Tier existences often ended up using Dungeon Postponement Vouchers.

They simply weren't prepared and lacked the confidence to clear their tasks.

"Take this to Shopkeeper Liu."

Tiger took a small, round iron box from a wall shelf and handed it to Yan Jing.

"The pawnshop is at the northernmost end of East Street. Shopkeeper Liu is a good guy, so there shouldn't be any issues. Come straight back after you hand it over."

"Understood."

This errand truly didn't sound difficult at all.

Yan Jing promptly took the iron box and headed out the door.

Before long, he arrived outside the pawnshop.

At the moment, a long queue stretched outside, but the shop's front doors were tightly shut. It seemed Shopkeeper Liu wasn't in today.

"Let me in, Shopkeeper Liu! I want to redeem the flesh I pawned yesterday! It hurts so much!"

Someone lay shouting at the entrance; desperate for money yesterday, he had pawned two taels of flesh from his stomach.

Hearing this, the people around him began to chime in:

"Let us in! I'm not pawning my child anymore, another place offered a higher price..."

"I need to eat! I really want to eat, give me my mouth back..."

"..."

This was a flesh-and-blood pawnshop.

The manager of this shop only accepted flesh and blood, which was a low-tier ability of Pawn Cultivation.

Rumor had it that once a practitioner of Pawn Cultivation reached a higher Tier, they could accept a wider variety of items.

Sleep, appetite, memories... even lifespan.

Rumor had it that over by the Lake, there was a mysterious pawnshop that accepted absolutely any item you wished to pawn, essentially operating without taboos.

Seeing that the pawnshop manager wasn't in, Yan Jing blinked, not feeling overly surprised.

He hadn't spent the past dozen days in East Street for nothing. He immediately changed direction, walking several li away to a small wooden door, and knocked.

Creak—

The door was pushed open. Behind it stood a short, scrawny man.

"What's your business?"

"Here to earn gold."

Yan Jing answered fluently.

"Human?"

The scrawny man revealed his true form, his entire body growing even thinner. He hardly looked human anymore, resembling one of those evil ghosts from a picture book, with a green face and protruding fangs.

This was a practitioner of Warden Cultivation—a warden as in a gatekeeping runner.

"Humans aren't allowed in!" he barked sharply.

"Can't humans earn gold too?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Whatever the case, humans aren't allowed in!"

The practitioner of Warden Cultivation wore a fierce expression.

Yan Jing peered behind him. The passageway was narrow; even though the cultivator before him was skinny, he still blocked most of the path.

However, if he really wanted to get in, there was certainly still a way. He was carrying three bottles of Mental Immunity Potion on him.

What surprised him, however, was that according to what he knew, this gambling house wasn't supposed to have any rule banning humans.

He didn't know why he was being blocked today.

Just as he was pondering this, another Inner World resident arrived beside him.

Upon seeing Yan Jing, this newcomer also offered an unfriendly look, but instead of revealing his true form, he headed straight for the gambling house entrance.

Unexpectedly, the warden blocked him as well, though this time the excuse was much milder:

"It's full inside at the moment. You'll have to wait fifteen minutes."

At this, Yan Jing, waiting by the side, grew intrigued.

It seemed he wasn't the problem.

Hearing that he still needed to wait fifteen minutes, the Inner World resident glanced at Yan Jing, then immediately turned and left, while Yan Jing smiled at the warden.

"What are you smiling at!"

The practitioner of Warden Cultivation roared, his expression incredibly fierce. "Get lost! Didn't you hear me?! Keep smiling and you'd better watch your back!"

This behavior perfectly demonstrated the face-changing skills of a gatekeeper.

Then, the practitioner of Warden Cultivation watched as a small vial materialized in Yan Jing's hand.

After downing the Mental Immunity Potion, Yan Jing directly reached out and grabbed the warden by the neck.

The man's expression instantly changed. He tried to dodge, but with a faint crack, his body froze, and he promptly passed out.

Without causing any further complications, Yan Jing walked straight into the gambling house.

The space inside wasn't large.

There were three tables in total. One was for Pai Gow, one was for Dice, and the last hosted a mix of everything.

Besides these three tables, there was also a back room.

It took Yan Jing no effort to locate Shopkeeper Liu from the pawnshop.

Sporting a handlebar mustache, a high-quality silk gown, and a skullcap, the man stood in front of the Pai Gow table with two unrevealed tiles in his hands.

"Shopkeeper Liu."

Yan Jing stepped closer and handed him the Cooling Oil. "This is your Cooling Oil."

"Alright, thanks."

Shopkeeper Liu kept his eyes glued to the Pai Gow tiles in front of him, entirely failing to notice Yan Jing's appearance.

This suited Yan Jing perfectly. He immediately turned around, preparing to leave.

With this, two tasks could be considered complete.

All the groundwork he had laid over this long period hadn't been in vain.

Stage A was proving to be fairly relaxed.

Unexpectedly, a figure suddenly ran out from the gambling house's back room and glared viciously at Yan Jing:

"How did you get in here?!"

"Through the door."

Yan Jing pointed at the door behind him.

"I'm asking you, how did you get past the door!"

The man's eyes were bloodshot.

Yan Jing blinked, seemingly realizing something.

"I suppose... I walked in."

"Motherfucker!"

Unable to hold back, the man cursed aloud and revealed his true form.

The head atop his neck instantly morphed into a Pai Gow tile as he charged straight at Yan Jing.

But before he could run more than a few steps, a figure wearing a Chinese tunic suit slowly walked out from behind him.

It was a man in his thirties with stubble on his chin and a faint smile on his face.

"Sir, throwing a tantrum in our gambling house just because you lost isn't right, is it?"

"Moreover... did you not know that our gambling house forbids gambling cultivators from entering?"

As soon as those words fell, the man with the Pai Gow tile for a head froze. Pure terror immediately radiated from him, and his initial killing intent toward Yan Jing vanished without a trace as he instantly sprinted toward the exit.

The man in the Chinese tunic suit chuckled, reached out a hand, and pressed down.

A massive, overwhelming pressure instantly materialized, descending from the air like a crashing mountain to firmly pin down the Pai Gow figure.

The man walked over to the Pai Gow figure, smiled, and looked around the now-silent gambling house before announcing loudly:

"Everyone!"

"Our Bi's Gambling House promised everyone that absolutely no gambling cultivators would be allowed on the premises!"

"If a gambling cultivator is discovered, according to our rules, we chop off one of their hands on the spot!"

"No, no, no..."

Hearing this, the Pai Gow figure, pinned flat against the floor, shook his head in terror and tried to scramble away, but it was completely futile.

The man continued:

"Just now, I engaged in a gamble with this gentleman."

"According to our gambling house's rules, anyone who initiates a gamble with me gets to set the terms."

"And this gentleman..."

The man smiled down at the Pai Gow man on the floor.

"He chose to bet with me on the number of people who would enter the gambling house within thirty minutes."

"He bet on fewer than 15 people."

"I bet on 15 or more."

"And this human."

He pointed at Yan Jing.

"Is the sixteenth."

"Mr. Human, could you please tell us... what did you encounter when you just came through the door?"

Hearing this, Yan Jing chuckled.

"I bumped into a warden blocking the door and refusing to let me in."

"Did you hear that, everyone?!"

The man in the Chinese tunic suit tugged at his collar and laughed. "That wasn't one of our gambling house's people at all, which means this gambling cultivator cheated!"

He lowered his head to gaze at the Pai Gow man on the floor.

"Tell me, everyone, should this hand be chopped off?"

"It should!"

"Chop it!"

"Chop! Chop! Chop!"

In an instant, the crowd in the gambling house was worked into a frenzy.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing used this opportunity to slip back to the door.

He was just a player. Finishing his task and advancing his Tier was all that mattered.

As for the affairs of Bianliu County, he did want to intervene, but only after he finished advancing his Tier.

Arriving at the door and seeing the still-unconscious warden, Yan Jing casually finished him off.

Since he wasn't someone from the gambling house, there was no need to hold back.

Having done this, Yan Jing glanced back at the gambling house one last time before leaving without further delay, heading straight back to the shop.

Seeing Yan Jing return, Tiger immediately stood up to greet him.

"Xiao Yan, did everything go smoothly?"

"Well enough."

Yan Jing smiled and recounted the entire incident to Tiger.

"Boss, do you think that gambling cultivator who got his hand chopped off will come looking for trouble?"

He looked at Tiger, a hint of hesitation in his expression.

"P-probably not..."

Tiger said hesitantly. Seeing Yan Jing's expression, he recalled Yi Ji's instructions:

"Mr. Tiger, apart from validating your subordinates, the second most important thing is to make sure your subordinates trust you enough."

"How do you get them to trust you? You have to demonstrate your strength and make them feel that following you is the right choice."

Thinking of this, Tiger braced himself and patted his chest.

"Don't worry, Xiao Yan. Even if there is a problem, I'm the boss and I'll shoulder it."

"Alright, Boss."

Yan Jing nodded.

That was what Tiger said, but all afternoon, Yan Jing watched him nervously glance at the door from time to time, worry written all over his face.

As a result...

Just as it grew dark—

A figure really did walk up to the shop's entrance.

"Open the door."

The figure was astonishingly the Pai Gow man from that morning, except now, he only had a solitary right arm left.

Red-eyed, he glared at Yan Jing behind the door.

"You damn human, do you dare gamble with me?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Yan Jing shook his head and promptly called Tiger over.

"Boss, trouble's knocking."

"Mm, I know."

Tiger coughed lightly. "Brother, I heard about what happened this afternoon—"

"Cut the crap!"

The Pai Gow man interrupted.

"Just tell me if you dare to gamble or not!"

"If you don't, I'll come to your storefront every day and make sure you can't do business!"

"You..." Tiger wore a hesitant expression. Now that Mr. Yi Ji, Old Man, and the others weren't around, being forced to make such a big decision for the first time left him feeling insecure.

Left with no choice, he could only try to remember what Yi Ji and the others would do.

If it were Old Man, he would definitely obliterate the person in front of him with a single punch.

If it were Mr. Yi Ji, he would probably just attack as well.

But... his own strength was lacking.

Only now did he understand the importance of strength.

Following Yi Ji and the others around, he had grown accustomed to never having to fight.

Now, he regretted having so little power right when he needed it most.

However... there was no time left for regret.

Seeing the expectant look in Yan Jing's eyes, and remembering Yi Ji's advice, he gritted his teeth.

"Tell me, then! How are we gambling?!"

He had originally wanted to say this with imposing momentum, but right after finishing, he subconsciously added weakly:

"Just so we're clear up front, the stakes can't be too high..."

"My luck hasn't been great lately..."