Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Thirty-Three: A gentleman seeks revenge with utmost urgency.

After such an incident, Xiao Chong and his two companions naturally lost their mood to continue sightseeing and had no choice but to head back home, but their reactions were quite different.

Xiao Chong walked calmly at the front, leading the way, with a toothpick he had somehow gotten his hands on dangling from his mouth.

Qingmeng remained oblivious, fiddling with the silver ingots in her bosom and adjusting the hairpin in her hair, showing no concern whatsoever for Xiao Chong. Her thinking was simple: her young master was the most capable, so naturally he had nothing to fear from that so-called "scoundrel."

Only the fat man followed behind the two, panting heavily, his heart filled with worry for his brother. Poor thing, despite the sweltering heat, his back was covered in cold sweat.

"That girl had a pretty good figure, but her hips were a bit small. I'm afraid she won't be able to have children in the future."

The cunning voice of the cauldron spirit came from his mind. Xiao Chong, who was walking at the front, suddenly slipped and almost swallowed the toothpick in his mouth.

There is a saying that good things never go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles.

Two disciples from the Xiao and Tie families clashed in the bustling city and decided to fight to the death. The news spread like wildfire throughout Feiyue City in less than half a day, and naturally reached the ears of Xiao Kaixin, the head of the Xiao family.

In the evening, Xiao Chong was summoned to Xiao Kaixin's study. Before he could even speak, Xiao Kaixin, who was in a terrible mood, launched into a tirade of abuse.

"How foolish! You used to be so clever, how could you do something so stupid!" Xiao Kaixin's forehead clearly showed the words "furious and exasperated".

“This involves my parents, and I do not consider it foolish,” Xiao Chong replied with righteous indignation.

That's partly true; one can't teach someone to disregard their parents' dignity. Xiao Kaixin felt a pang of shortness of breath, but she was still very unwilling.

"But your cultivation level is too low, you're not even in the same league as him. What's the difference between doing this and just throwing your life away? A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. Can't you just hold back for now? You could at least find a chance to kill him secretly."

The large characters on Xiao Kaixin's forehead had changed to "heartbroken and indignant".

"A true man makes decisive decisions when necessary." Xiao Chong's uprightness remained undiminished: "Ten years is too long; I am willing to seize every moment."

“Young people are just too impatient and impulsive.” Xiao Kaixin sighed and said helplessly, “It’s too late to say anything now. I had high hopes for you, but now… sigh! Tell me if you still have any unfinished business.”

Xiao Kaixin was still reluctant to part with this troublesome disciple, so he was particularly lenient with him.

"This is setting me up to make my final arrangements, which is rather unlucky," Xiao Chong thought to himself. "However, this is a rare opportunity, and if I don't take advantage of it, I'll be letting down the clan leader's kindness."

Having made up his mind, Xiao Chong calmly said, "It is my fault to trouble the clan leader. I only ask for one thing: if I am lucky enough to survive the hunting competition, I hope the clan leader can do my best to return the ancestral property left by my late father."

“Sure,” Xiao Kaixin replied readily. “And if you really win the competition, all the cultivation resources in the clan will be open to you from now on.”

Xiao Kaixin had expected the other party to give instructions on entrusting the maid to the clan, but instead only made some empty promises. She agreed without hesitation. To show her magnanimity, she even added another condition.

After saying this, Xiao Kaixin waved his hand weakly, signaling the other person to leave. He didn't think Xiao Chong had any chance of winning the hunting competition.

……

……

The city of Feiyue has been exceptionally lively these past two days, as the three major families in the city are holding a hunting competition. This is a grand event held every three years, adding much color to the somewhat monotonous entertainment life of the city's residents.

The fact that an ordinary disciple of the Xiao family, who had never learned anything, was facing off against the Tie family's most talented cultivator in three hundred years, and that it was a life-or-death situation, became a topic of conversation for many idle people.

In the mouths of these people, the Xiao family disciples are overestimating their abilities and are completely disgracing the family. Even if other Xiao family disciples perform well in this competition, the Xiao family will still be ridiculed.

The Xiao family immediately retaliated against these remarks in an attempt to salvage the situation. However, fueled by malicious individuals, their efforts had little effect and instead escalated the situation. For a time, even members of the Xiao family were hesitant to go out.

What ultimately pushed these remarks to their peak and dealt a heavy blow to the Xiao family was a gambling den.

Silver Hook Gambling House, established for only two years, quickly rose to become the largest gambling house in Flying Moon City. Its immense wealth, outstanding reputation, and overwhelming popularity were unmatched for a time. The reason for its rapid development was rumored to be that the true owners behind the gambling house were the Tie family.

The betting odds offered by Silver Hook Gambling House regarding the duel between Xiao Chong and Tie Changqing are quite interesting.

If Xiao Chong dies at the hands of someone else during the tournament, the odds are 1 to 5; if he dies at the hands of Tie Changqing, the odds are 1 to 10; and if Xiao Chong is fortunate enough to escape the tournament, the odds will increase to 1 to 100.

As for Xiao Chong escaping and then killing Tie Changqing in a duel, sorry, with the professionalism of Silver Hook Gambling House, they wouldn't open such a mindless betting scheme; their peers would laugh their heads off.

Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, Silver Hook Casino welcomed its first customer of the day.

The guest looked strange, wearing a large hat with a long brim that completely covered his face, leaving only his mouth exposed, giving off a somewhat sneaky vibe.

Upon seeing a customer arrive, the waiter perked up and greeted him crisply, "Sir, you've come very early. The croupiers aren't even on duty yet. Shall I show you around for a rest and some tea?"

The customer glanced around the doorway, and seeing no one was around, quickly slipped inside and said, "No need. I'm here to place a bet on a life-or-death game; I don't need a dealer. You just need to collect the bets and issue the ticket."

"Alright!" The waiter rushed over to the counter, grabbed some paper and pen, and asked enthusiastically, "What would you like to submit, sir?"

"I bet Xiao Chong won't die in the competition," the customer said, pulling out some silver.

Very few people bet on this; it's the first time in two days, making it almost a guaranteed win for the gambling den. The waiter was excited and eagerly reached out his hand. However, upon seeing the bet offered, he immediately froze.

"You...you're only betting one tael of silver?" The waiter felt his enthusiasm had been wasted, and his address changed from "you" to "you".

“I’m only betting this much on this one, but I’m going to place another bet, betting that Xiao Chong will die at someone else’s hands. The bet is 10,000 taels of gold.”

The guest's voice was excited, sounding like he was going all in.