Khan's eyes focused on Caesar, particularly on his hand, for those who trained in the art of gambling, especially dice gambling, would always have a deft hand that could move like a snake and fluid like a river stream.
Caesar used his hand and skilfully lobbed the cup in the air, due to centrifugal force, the dice didn't fall down to the ground as it kept on spinning inside the cup, emanating rattling sounds which became clearer inside the silent dimmed hall.
Everyone's eyes stared at the cup, following it like a ball in mid-flight, Khan's eyes twitched, for the movement inside the cup suddenly became rhythmic, he willed as a golden thread of light sneaked towards the cup, imbuing itself into the dice.
'Judging from the speed of the dice, it should bounce for about three times until stopping,' Barhan's eyes shone in a critical light and as Caesar slammed the cup on the table, he inwardly exclaimed, 'High!'
Caesar leaked a confident smile on his face and gestured towards Khan. The latter shrugged, he moved a red chip and was about to slam it to high, but before he could do so, he noticed a hint of gloating coming within Caesar's eyes and decided to change his decision into low.
Caesar's expression froze, yet on the outside, he looked as cool as ever as he opened the cup and revealed the number '3'.
The crowd around them stared in shock, 'Did he just actually win a round against that a member of the Castillion Family?'
The reason why Caesar was so confident about his odds of winning was due to the prowess that he developed by fighting with his fellow clansmen whose strength in gambling surpassed even those Masters and Grandmasters, after all, he came from the Castillion Family, the family that everyone in the entire continent regarded as the Gods of Gambling.
Caesar's eyes shone in an incredulous light but maintained his calm for he didn't really exert his true strength at that round, but now that he understood that the young man before him wasn't a pushover, he decided to user everything he had to thoroughly crush him under his feet.
His eyes shone in an anticipating light, of which, he quickly dissipated as the two silently switched places, with him as the better and Khan as the dealer.
Khan's hands fluidly moved, shuffling the cup back and forth between his two hands, his leisurely appearance made him look like he was making hand-pulled noodles, and the smile on his face indicated his confidence.
Khan didn't have any grudge towards this man, however, since he acted so arrogant, he was curious to know the reason why, and so, Khan decided to place a little bit of effort towards this game.
He summoned a thread of his Qi and enveloped the dice that spun inside the cup. Even though every cultivator had the power to detect Qi from everywhere and from everyone, that doesn't mean that they could detect the power of those with higher cultivation.
If Khan wanted it, he could just annihilate Caesar with a thought, however, he disliked homicidal acts that doesn't benefit him, instead, he went on and played along with his scheme.
Caesar's focus didn't falter as it stared at the metal cup. He didn't even put Khan's movements that looked aesthetically beautiful, instead, he scoffed in disdain towards his actions.
'To think that I'm trying my best towards an amateur...' He inwardly thought, for Khan's movements didn't really look like it came from a professional gambler, his hands moved erratic and would sometimes pause in the air, indicating that all of his movements contained hesitation within it.
And hesitation during dice spinning could prove fatal if you want to manipulate the result, hiding his disdain, he assumed a solemn expression as his ears, repeatedly twitched in every clang.
Within the next few seconds, a banging sound echoed as Khan slammed the cup on the table, his eyes shone in an imperceptible light as he stared at Caesar,
"Your bet?"
The light that came from Khan's eyes momentarily startled him. He pretended to ponder for a while before reluctantly deciding, "High."
The old man behind Barhan had beaded sweat forming on his forehead, for he also deduced that the dice were on the higher end.
And indeed, it was, but for Khan, it was as easy as a thought to manipulate the results.
With his will, the thread of golden Qi enveloped the dice, covering every edge of it, then it slowly moved, without any sound towards a lower number.
By the time that the dice finished its movements. Khan had already moved his hand and opened the cup, stunning everyone in the vicinity.
"I-I-It's actually low!"
The shock that the old man felt wasn't less than Caesar who was now inwardly cursing in his heart, 'How the hell did it become low?! I'm pretty sure that all movements ceased by the time that, the kid placed the cup!' His eyes shone in a critical light as he scanned Khan's body.
He started from his wrist, before sending a scouring Qi towards Khan's body. His frown deepened even further when he noticed that Khan seemed to be an average person.
"Kid, It looks like you have some good beginner's luck, right there." He spoke in an amused tone, but the men who stood around him shivered upon noticing the burning light hidden within his pupils.
Khan, who experienced all kinds of schemes and facades, noticed that indiscernible light, but on the outside, he scratched his head, looking somewhat awkward as he spoke,
"You flatter me, Sir Caesar." His tone embarrassed, which almost made Lily who observed at the side unable to hold her laughter, her figure visibly trembled as she clutched his arm.
Khan and Caesar's gaze filled with confusion landed on her, prompting her to immediately retort with readied excuses, "Nothing, It's just I remembered something funny from yesterday's show."
"I see, well then, It's time for us to change places." Caesar nodded his head, his expression indifferent, yet inside his mind, a burning rage accompanied with incomparable humiliation seethed.
The pair moved towards the other side, Khan maintained his cool expression while Lily became somewhat on guard towards Caesar. Noticing Lily's apprehension, he ruffled her head in assurance.
Barhan noticed Caesar's irritation and couldn't help but had a light of schadenfreude shining within his eyes, 'Hmmph, serves you right for underestimating that kid, Let's see how you're gonna deal with him.'
Caesar's hand moved with the same movements as before, however, if you looked closely, you would notice that a distortion faintly enveloped the cup. Khan leaked a slight smile, his eyes shone in an amused light as he stared at the cup that Caesar repeatedly shook.
Caesar's strategy was to cover the entire cup with his Qi that he hid using a high-level technique, and so, he felt quite confident that no one would notice him, tampering the results.
But who was Khan? Now that he's back at his peak, no schemes could stand under his might, all of them will have the same fate, and that was, to be crushed under his feet.
Khan's eyes stared at Caesar as if he was looking at an amateur expressing his skills before a true expert. Lily noticed his gaze, her smile became filled with confidence and security.
With a banging sound, the cup descended down and slammed the table, Upon noticing that the distortion had disappeared, Khan shrugged, moving a chip, he placed it on the 'high' side which made Caesar's expression turn for the worse.
Caesar's hand visibly trembled, his eyes shone in a light of disbelief as he stared at the young man before him whose movements didn't look to be that experienced. But this was the third time, the third time that he bested him in gambling.
Now he was sure that Khan was acting as a pig to eat a tiger, and upon realizing this fact, his face reddened in incomparable anger and humiliation, as a member of the strongest gambling family, the Castillion Family, it was the first time for him to experience the feeling of defeat.
And the profound shame that enshrouded his body, made him in denial towards this fact as he grunted and directly moved towards Khan's side to indicate that it was time for them to change places.
But as he moved, he materialized a needle of his Qi and sent it towards Khan's crucial acupoint located at the side of his torso. If it struck, Khan's body would grow numb and eventually become a vegetable.
A cold light flashed within Khan's eyes, with a thought, the needle reflected back to Caesar's side without the latter noticing it, however, on the outside, his figure startled for a while, sweat filled his face as he complained to Lily.
"Why does it feel like my waist hurts?" Lily threw a confused look towards Khan, evidently, she didn't notice the small needle that Caesar sent, indicating the latter's prowess when it comes to discreet attacks.
Of course, Caesar noticed his complaint as an unnoticeable light of glee shone within the depths of his eyes, he focused on the next part of the match and didn't bother about the shame of losing anymore.
In the end, Caesar's expression became sullen, he took a deep breath and exhaled, he stared at Barhan, and spoke with a hesitating tone, "It seems like you actually invited a dragon instead of a lizard, I'll let you off, for now, Barhan."
The men around him converged towards his location as they swiftly moved towards the exit, but before their silhouette disappeared, a small distortion in the air made its way towards Barhan, striking him at his side.
Khan's eyebrows locked, he pretended to not notice it as he waved goodbye towards the Caesar who gently smiled at him in return.
With Caesar's group gone, Barhan boisterously laughed, he repeatedly slapped Khan on his shoulder and his expression exuded the mirth that he felt towards the matter,
"Damn kid, you actually hid yourself so deeply, to think that you actually defeated a member of the Castillion Family in a dice gambling match!" The old man who stood behind Barhan gave a crooked smile: 'At least, my defeat wasn't undeserving...' He thought in his mind as he sighed.
Khan shrugged his shoulders and the group started to walk towards the door hidden deep in the shadows. But before they could enter, deep and hurried footsteps echoed behind them followed by a miserable and begging scream.
"Y-y-y-young master!!!"
Caesar's figure appeared behind them, his expression filled with apprehension and fear, his left arm strangely drooped at the side, looking like it has no substance as it swayed in the air.
He arrived before Khan and deeply kneeled down.
"S-s-s-Save me... Young Master!"
(4/12)
Seems like I will be unable to finish the quota... *sigh*