The King of Martial Arts Betting 3
As I stood with my hands behind my back, surveying the Phoenix Guest Room, a woman in white approached from behind.
"Young Master, I will attend to you. My name is Bai Soa," she said.
Turning around, I found a woman who was undeniably beautiful standing there.
She was wrapped in white robes, adorned with white accessories, and her face was quite lovely.
The accommodations here were all in the form of tents, and the Phoenix Guest Room was one of the largest tents.
Inside the spacious tent, there were partitions made of screens separating the bedding, dining table, and bathtub.
I was no stranger to this place, having often visited the smaller tents.
Bai Soa spoke, "If you need anything, please let me know. Clothing, weapons of your choice, food, and even wine, I can prepare according to your preferences, as long as it’s not too difficult."
I asked with a calm expression, "Is there poison in the food?"
"No, there is not."
While observing Bai Soa's expression, I inquired, "Why not? If Dongfang Yan keeps winning, you all will earn more money."
"What good would it do for an undefeated martial artist to keep winning?" she replied.
"That's not true. It is because of the undefeated martial artist that more gamblers gather. They bring their own martial artists, invite external masters, and challenge Dongfang Yan through acquaintances. Various people come together to offer their money."
Bai Soa smiled and responded, "I see. If the meal is uncomfortable, shall I bring some wine instead?"
"I only drink Dujiang wine."
"Of course, we have that."
"Is it free?"
"Naturally."
"And no poison?"
"Yes."
"Bring it to me."
"I will be back shortly."
Bai Soa turned to leave but paused at the entrance of the tent.
"Ah, Young Master? What about the women?"
"What women?"
"I will serve the wine. However, they are not necessarily children who sleep with you, Young Master. Most just want to serve wine, but who knows? There might be a woman who takes a liking to you. Should I bring a pretty girl for you?"
After a moment of thought, I replied, "If possible."
"Yes."
"Bring someone who can drink well."
Bai Soa tilted her head slightly and responded, "Understood."
Sitting in front of the wine table, I gazed at the woman Bai Soa had brought.
"Can you drink well?"
"Yes. Ah, Young Master, I am Heixiao Ling," she said.
This woman was wrapped in black robes, and even her hair accessories were black.
This was the first time I had closely observed both women.
"Is there a family name of Hei?" I asked.
"It’s my childhood name," Heixiao Ling replied, extending a cup of Dujiang wine towards me.
I did not grasp the cup but lowered my head to smell it.
I sat cross-legged in front of the wine table, closed my eyes, and used my own aura as a reference point, then perceived Heixiao Ling with my heart's eye.
Expanding my awareness while recognizing her as another's aura, I sensed an aura nearby that I presumed belonged to Bai Soa.
This was a technique known as Xiaoyao An, belonging to the Golden Valley Soaring Palace.
I opened my eyes and looked at Heixiao Ling.
She asked, "What are you doing?"
I realized that the only women present were Bai Soa and Heixiao Ling.
In my previous life, these two were rumored to be the most beautiful women in this place.
Honestly, I had expected something extraordinary from them, but I was quite disappointed.
While Bai Soa and Heixiao Ling were indeed rare beauties, I had never been interested in them in my past life.
They were women who had somehow caused challengers to fall, and while their appearances were beautiful, I already knew they hid venomous hearts beneath.
From the perspective of Xiaoyao An, both had mastered the same martial arts.
Their martial arts skills were quite impressive, and they had trained enough to maintain calm expressions, even having trained in drinking and dancing.
I poured wine for Heixiao Ling and handed her the cup.
As she reached out to take it, I deliberately dropped the cup.
Heixiao Ling caught the falling cup but immediately wore a look of dismay.
At the same time, I used the Blood Path to touch her Jianjing and Yinxue points.
Crack!
Heixiao Ling froze, still holding the cup.
I praised her reaction speed, "You have impressive skills."
Despite being struck by the Blood Path, Heixiao Ling looked at me with calm eyes. "……."
I examined the frozen Heixiao Ling and removed her hair ornament to inspect it.
As I examined the round black pearl, I flicked it with my fingernail, causing it to split in half.
Inside was an unknown powder.
"What is this? A powdered medicine. What kind of powder could it be? Will it kill me? Will it not? What should I do? I'm curious. I'm going crazy with curiosity. Ah, I don't know."
I poured the powder from the black pearl into Heixiao Ling's wine cup and looked at her.
"Heixiao Ling, shall we have a drink?"
"……."
I tapped her chin to lift her head, then held her jaw and opened her mouth.
Slowly, I poured the drug-laced wine into her.
The wine flowed with a soft sound.
Heixiao Ling's throat bobbed.
I lowered her head again and crossed my arms, observing her.
"If it's a deadly poison, you die, and if it's not, then it's fortunate. Let's see."
The once calm gaze of Heixiao Ling was now trembling.
I whispered in her ear, "Wow, it seems it's not a deadly poison. You were a good girl. But since it's an important powder, you must have kept it in the pearl, right?"
Looking at Heixiao Ling again, I noticed tears streaming down her face.
Seeing those tears, I felt relieved that I had touched her Yinxue.
After all, crying would be noisy.
I stood up quietly and made my way to the entrance of the tent, standing still in a suitable position.
A moment of silence passed.
The silence continued even as time stretched beyond what could be called a 'moment.' Suddenly, the entrance of the tent swung open, and Bai Soa appeared.
"Young Master?" I quickly touched Bai Soa's Jianjing and Yinxue points, then grabbed her by the nape of her neck and pulled her to sit beside Heixiao Ling.
Removing Bai Soa's hair ornament, a white pearl, I opened it to find powder inside as well.
I dissolved the powder in my wine cup and fed it to Bai Soa in the same manner.
After loosening up a bit, I checked the state of both women, and they were both crying profusely.
"What kind of medicine is this? Why are you crying? Ah, I can't stand being curious again. This is a big deal."
It truly was a big deal.
The eyes of Bai Soa and Heixiao Ling were rolling back in their heads.
"Uh-oh?" Their faces were flushed, yet strangely, they wore a somewhat longing expression.
Only then did I realize the nature of the powder.
"Oh, it's an aphrodisiac. What was I thinking?" Consuming a powder that arouses lust while being restrained, it was no wonder they were crying.
"Taking an aphrodisiac won't kill you. Even if you die, it's none of my business. I'm just going to have a drink. You two should stay alert."
I had no intention of touching the food, water, wine, or snacks provided by the organizers.
And knowing that they were using their beauty to manipulate, I had no intention of touching Bai Soa or Heixiao Ling either.
I left the tent and went to the inn where the gambling was taking place.
Indeed, drinking is best done in an inn filled with foolish guests, watching fights, and gathering all sorts of people.
As I entered, the innkeeper specially offered me free wine.
I asked the innkeeper, "Is there poison in it?"
The innkeeper replied, "If I were to poison it, I would surely be beaten to death by the gamblers."
"What nonsense is that? Poison can be added by anyone, so I need to check."
"Is that so?" The innkeeper, observing the surroundings, sat across from me with a serious expression and said in a solemn voice, "Young Master, may I wager my entire fortune tomorrow?"
"Who do you think will win?"
The innkeeper stroked his chin, pondering seriously.
"You, Young Master."
"Why?"
"That's the problem. I feel like you will win, but I don't know why. Just a feeling from the gambling house? Ah, I shouldn't be betting my entire fortune based on such a feeling. It's too risky."
"Inbo."
"Yes."
"Will you do as I say?"
The innkeeper's expression brightened as if he had heard good news.
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Of course."
I spoke to the innkeeper with a serious expression.
"Quit gambling."
"If I win this time, my life will change!"
"Do you think money can change your life?"
"Are you saying I should spend my life as a mere gambler?"
I smiled at the innkeeper's words.
"Aren't you just lacking the courage to do something else? You should speak plainly."
"I need money to do something else."
I poured Dujiang wine for the innkeeper and said, "That's not true. You haven't found what you like, what you want, or what you want to do. What do you truly desire? You don't know."
"Do you know, Young Master?"
"Don't ask about others' stories. Ask yourself."
I stared at the innkeeper with a serious expression, and we both drank together.
However, the innkeeper soon stood up with a troubled expression as another guest entered.
"Welcome."
The guest group strode into the inn, and upon seeing the innkeeper drinking, one of them swung his hand and slapped the innkeeper's head.
With a loud smack, the innkeeper's head jerked to the side.
It seemed to be a combination of the one who always hit and the one who always got hit.
The action of the one who hit looked very natural.
The guests laughed and said, "Crazy gambler, drinking again."
The innkeeper smiled bitterly and pointed inside.
"Please, take a seat comfortably."
"You've been drinking, right?"
"I had a drink because something good happened today. I'm sorry. Please go in."
Having skillfully ushered the guest inside, the innkeeper suddenly looked at me with a blank expression. "……."
I watched the innkeeper's expression and laughed out loud.
Then, the innkeeper, who had to go take orders, looked at me and laughed while cursing, "You bastard, this is ridiculous."
The innkeeper was seriously conflicted about whether to suppress his rising anger or let it explode.
One of the guests, hearing the innkeeper's curse, stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"Did you just curse?"
The innkeeper remained silent, and the guest then looked at me.
"Is it you?" I nodded slightly.
Three people who were about to sit down came back and approached me, blocking my way.
One of them said, "Why are you cursing? You bastard. Huh?"
I stood up, looked at the three, then reached out with both hands to touch the Jianjing points of two of them, grabbing the throat of the one in the middle with my left hand.
"Cough!"
I glared at him while tightly holding his throat.
"Why are you hitting the gambler recklessly? You bastard. Huh?"
I prepared to flick him on the forehead with my right hand and blew a hot breath.
Smack!
With a loud sound, the man tumbled backward.
Holding his forehead with both hands, he rolled on the ground, screaming.
I also gave each of the two who had been touched by the Blood Path a flick on the forehead.
Smack!
One of them continued to scream, while the other two fainted from the flicks.
The innkeeper, who had been watching, asked me, "Young Master, is learning to flick difficult?"
"Very difficult."
"There’s nothing easy in this world. I can't even learn to flick."
The innkeeper approached with a somewhat resigned attitude and sat down across from me, pouring himself a drink.
The innkeeper said to me, "By the way, Young Master, have we met before?"
"No."
"Right? It's strangely familiar. If I quit here, where can I find you, Young Master? Somehow, I feel like you won't be here even if you win tomorrow."
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because you're too weak."
"It's because I haven't learned martial arts."
I took a sip of Dujiang wine and said in a calm tone, "I have never thought of myself as a weak man, not even once, even when I hadn't learned martial arts."
"Is that so? How did you think that?"
I poured the remaining wine for the innkeeper.
"I enjoyed it."
"Are you leaving already?"
"It's about time for the Blood Path to loosen up, so I must go."
As I stood up, the innkeeper clutched my pant leg, pleading, "Young Master, please save me. I'm not saying I want to become a hero, but honestly, I think it would be better to live as your attendant."
"Then how about giving me one task?"
"Yes."
"Go to the Black Cat Room and tell them to gather elite masters here by tomorrow at the hour of Shen. Especially tell them to bring all the bags, boxes, carts, and wagons they can gather. Can you do that?"
The innkeeper nodded.
"Understood."
I left the inn and returned to the Phoenix Guest Room, checking the state of Bai Soa and Heixiao Ling with my hands behind my back.
They were sweating profusely, with long hair sticking to their faces, and the mingled scent of their sweat and fragrance filled the air.
I stabbed the table with a flash dagger and glared at the two women.