章節 25: Chapter 23 This Is Like Digging Up Ancestral Graves_1
After Nie Jinlong left the gambling den, the farce naturally ended, and the Disciples of Hundred Peaks Sect responsible for overseeing the place secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the dispute with the disciples of Starshine Peak had escalated—
it would have inevitably fallen to them to intervene and settle the matter.
But facing the hot-tempered, chubby old man in the enforcer's attire, the overseeing disciples from Hundred Peaks Sect were well aware that stepping in to mediate would have meant offering up their heads.
When the pawnshop assistant saw someone dressed in Peak Master attire appear at the pawnshop, he immediately became earnestly terrified and curious, "May I know what the Peak Master requires of me?"
Many in the gambling den had also stopped their wagering at this moment, sneakily inquiring about the commotion inside the pawnshop, curious as to why the Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak was not cultivating at such a time. With those odds, was he here to bet on his own loss?
"I have come here to temporarily mortgage these disciples, in exchange for some Spirit Stones to place a bet on my Four Treasures Peak winning the cultivation duel," Cao Zhen said as he lightly sipped the tea presented to him by the pawnshop assistant. "Once I win, I will come and redeem them."
The pawnshop and the gambling den, already quiet, became deathly silent in that moment.
A Peak Master mortgaging disciples? Within the long history of Hundred Peaks Sect, many strange things had happened, but no one had ever heard of a Peak Master mortgaging his disciples at a pawnshop in order to raise money for gambling.
The crowd curiously looked at Cao Zhen's disciples, wondering if these few who had followed their Peak Master were now so embarrassed that they wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Soon after, they witnessed a bizarre scene.
The disciples poised to be mortgaged by their Peak Master showed not a hint of shame on their faces; in fact, they all stood tall, eagerly showing off themselves as if hoping to be pawned for a higher amount.
"Have they gone mad?" someone finally couldn't help but whisper to the person beside them, "I've heard that the Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak went insane due to cultivation deviating from the path, leading to the appearance of inner demons. It seems not only has the Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak lost his mind, but his disciples have gone crazy as well."
"It looks like they've really gone mad... mortgaging disciples... Can the ancestors of Four Treasures Peak still rest peacefully in their coffins?"
The shop boy at the pawnshop was stunned for a moment before quickly bending down to say, "I can't make this decision, sir. Please wait a moment; I will fetch the shopkeeper."
It wasn't long before the pawnshop shopkeeper, dressed in attire embroidered with Copper Coins and Yuanbao, quickly emerged, his agile steps revealing he was certainly no ordinary person but rather a cultivator of Hundred Peaks Sect, though it was unclear from which peak.
"Peak Master, you are here to pawn disciples?" the shopkeeper said, his goatee quivering with his words, clearly not yet recovered from his shock. At the same time, difficulty flashed in his eyes, "How would our humble shop even begin to appraise them?"
"I was informed by my disciples that after some inquiries, four together should be able to be mortgaged for ten Spirit Stones," Cao Zhen recited what Yan Yourong had told him.
The shopkeeper with the goatee now looked even more troubled and bitter, "The Disciple didn't know that the esteemed guests really intended to mortgage disciples and thought it was just a disciple from some other place coming to tease the staff for their amusement, so he just made a joke."
Cao Zhen was at a loss too; he assumed he would get the money upon arrival, not expecting that the other party would think he was joking.
"Then, can ten Spirit Stones be secured?" Seeing the shopkeeper's difficulty, it seemed he didn't know how to price them. Cao Zhen simply tried his luck in asking.
"It's worth it!" The pawnshop owner immediately saw Cao Zhen genuinely wished to mortgage them and his eyes began to gleam; even the poorest of the four could be sent to the Ministry of Works Immortal Palace to work for a few months and earn a pretty sum!
"Can I pawn them for more, then?" Seeing how readily the shopkeeper agreed, Cao Zhen instantly switched to haggling mode.
The pawnshop owner immediately began shaking his head. To some extent, the disciples of Four Treasures Peak were far more renowned than their Peak Master, having caught almost the entire Hundred Peaks Sect's attention during their entrance exams.
Four kinds of lower limit Great Luo, and upper limit Emperor Level top-tier Immortal Bodies! This prompted the Peak Masters of each peak to collectively investigate, only to later find out that these immortal physiques belonged to an ancient era, and with the changed heavenly rules of today, each of these cultivation bodies was more defective than the last.
With such aptitude, these disciples wouldn't be assigned any important tasks if sent to work at the Ministry of Works Immortal Palace. Making a small profit might be possible, but there was no chance to earn a significant amount.
"Then let's settle for ten liang." Cao Zhen didn't bother to haggle and said directly, "Issue me a pawn ticket. Once I win the money, I will redeem them very soon."
"Win money?" The pawnshop owner swiftly made out the pawn ticket and took over the conversation, "Gambling is unpredictable in terms of winning or losing. If you happen to lose..."
"I know," Cao Zhen said, "If I win this law duel, it will be a tenfold income."
Suddenly, the pawnshop owner felt the thrill of striking it rich. If the master of Four Treasures Peak bet on his own victory, doesn't that mean he would soon run out of money if he loses? Could these four disciples then be continuously used?
Cao Zhen put away the pawn ticket and spirit stones, then tentatively asked, "Shopkeeper, what do you think about using Four Treasures Peak as collateral...?"
"Peak Master, please don't joke," the pawnshop owner waved both hands repeatedly, "I don't want to be expelled from the sect..."
Cao Zhen sighed with disappointment. Although there wasn't much in terms of spiritual medicine on Four Treasures Peak, it was still one of the Hundred Peaks of the Hundred Peaks Sect. If he could use it like Earth and mortgage the land to the bank for a quick cash flip, he would immediately become a real estate mogul.
"Forget it," Cao Zhen shrugged and said to his four disciples, "You all wait here for your master. I will come to redeem you tomorrow."
Ling Xi and Yan Yourong were nodding, while Xiang Ziyu seemed indifferent and continued reading. Only Little Beiyan was waving his hands earnestly, "Master, your disciple won't be able to witness you displaying your immortal prowess tomorrow."
Among the onlooking crowd, curiosity started to rise. With Four Treasures Peak making such a desperate bet, did they truly have a sure-win tactic up their sleeves?
"Come on! I'm betting all on my own victory," Cao Zhen, heedless of the crowd's curiosity, approached the betting stall designated for law duels and took out all his spirit stones.
"Five... five thousand liang..."
The betting clerk rubbed his eyes forcefully, unable to believe where Four Treasures Peak, the impoverished peak, got so much money from. Weren't they on the verge of bankruptcy? Had they already sold their spirit fields? But no one dared to buy those spirit fields! After all, they were registered for the law duel!
At such a time, whoever dared to buy would be violating the rules of Hundred Peaks Sect!
"Yes, all in!" As soon as Cao Zhen thought about getting rich, he couldn't help but hurry the clerk along.
The onlookers at that moment were also stunned. Was Four Treasures Peak really that wealthy? Could it be that Cao Zhen had been acting all this time? That he wasn't that weak? Not that foolish? Was this the moment he had been waiting for?
Cao Zhen pocketed the betting ticket and turned to leave. The moment he did, the betting house exploded with noise. Everyone was discussing whether they should bet a little on Four Treasures Peak's victory. After all, they had staked their entire worth!
"Where is Little Cao? Has anyone seen Little Cao?" Elder Copper Plate rushed into the betting house with an anxious face, grabbing every person nearby and asking urgently, "Has Cao Zhen from Four Treasures Peak been here?"
"He was here, he pawned his disciples and bet the money on his own victory."
Seeing Elder Copper Plate wearing elder garments, a gambler did not dare to be negligent and quickly answered.
"Ah, how foolish! I'm still too late! I had someone secretly watching him! But I was still a step late!" Elder Copper Plate slapped his thighs in regret, "I should have sent him to Medicine Immortal Hall earlier! To cure his inner demons!"
"This elder... Maybe the master of Four Treasures Peak doesn't have inner demons? Otherwise, how could he confidently place a bet of five thousand liang of spirit stones on his own victory?" A gambler, noticing Elder Copper Plate was familiar with Cao Zhen, quickly spoke to probe for the truth.
"Five thousand liang? Where did he get that much money from?" Elder Copper Plate was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed dramatically, "No good! This kid didn't dig up the ancestral graves, did he? Maybe the several ancestral graves on Four Treasures Peak could add up to five thousand liang! Has his inner demon grown that severe? This scoundrel! I need to go kill him!"
Ancestral graves? Hearing Elder Copper Plate's monologue, the crowd wanted to ask more, but they saw Elder Copper Plate had already left the betting house like a whirlwind.
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