Song of Adolescence

Chapter 209 Under Heaven Den

A gambling den, a place where people gather for gambling. People have been known to stake a thousand gold on a single play, some people get rich overnight, and some lose their family fortunes. In this place, desire, greed and cruelty, all the weaknesses human beings were born with, were on full display.

In Beili, there were four gambling dens that were the most well-known.

Heavenly Revelations City’s Grand Golden Terrace. It’s called Grand Golden Terrace because in its center, there was indeed a high platform constructed of a thousand gold. It was located in the imperial capital. From the aristocrats of the Xiao Clan to the wealthy merchants of the city, anyone who could step into Grand Golden Terrace was no ordinary folk. However, even a nobleman of the imperial court had to pay up if they lost money at Grand Golden Terrace, because the identity of their patron was very mysterious. Once, the eldest son of the Minister of Revenue lost money at Grand Golden Terrace and created a huge fuss, but afterwards, he disappeared inexplicably. The next day, the young master was transported via a carriage to the Minister’s Residence. He didn’t lose his name but lost his right hand forever. If you mention the number one gambling den in Heavenly Revelations, it must be Grand Golden Terrace.

Sangu City Beauty Villa, a merchant city at the border. Because any trade that was conducted at the border were exempted from taxes, the merchants that had come from all over the country used bucketloads of luminous pearls to conduct transactions instead of Beili’s currency of bills. The large gambling stakes and the boldness of the gamblers there were second only to Grand Golden Terrace in Heavenly Revelations.

The third-ranked gambling den was in Qingzhou’s Bai City. The merchants of the Nine Cities of Qingzhou represented nearly 80% of the economy of Beili so the gambling den they built was naturally the most luxurious. There were nine luminous pearls at the door and it was said that after dark, there was no need to light lanterns at the door because the nine night luminous pearls could light up the entire place. This gambling den was called Unfettered Den. Yet, not everyone could enter this gambling den. First-time visitors had to be brought in by a distinguished guest recognised by Unfettered Den.

The fourth-ranked gambling den had the most domineering name, called Under Heaven Den. And it was indeed the largest gambling den in the whole of Beili. It was divided into an area for casino gambling, and an area for animal gambling. Casino gambling included Liubo, Chupu, Saixi, Paijiu, Danqi, Madai, Majiang, Yabao, Huahui, Zibao, and so on. Animal gambling included cockfighting, quail fighting, thrush fighting, wren fighting, cricket fighting, duck fighting, goose fighting, as well as horse racing, hound racing, and so on. There was nothing they didn’t gamble on. There even used to be duels, but that was banned just ten years ago. Of course, it was called Under Heaven Den not only because of its size, but also because of the owner behind it.

"Unrivaled City Under Heaven." A one-eyed burly man grinned. "Little lady, you want to go to Unrivaled City Under Heaven?"

"That’s right." The curvaceous, delicate-faced lady attracted everyone\'s attention the moment she stepped into the gambling den. She was dressed in white with a large ‘gamble’ word written on her back. Following her was a youth armed with a whole body of swords and when he walked, they clashed together creating a racket. The youth and the lady wore the same style of clothes, and he also had a large ‘gamble’ word written on the back of his robe.

The burly man was picking his teeth with a toothpick. "Unrivaled City Under Heaven is a martial city. Outsiders are not welcomed. If you want to enter Unrivaled City Under Heaven, you must have an Unrivaled Order. Otherwise, on the thirty miles of road from here to Unrivaled City, you’ll be ambushed by tens of martial experts."

"Shifu, are we afraid of tens of their crap martial experts? What do we need the Unrivaled Order for?" the young man whispered.

"Shut up." The beautiful and alluring lady glared at him.

"But we do indeed have such an Unrivaled Order in our Under Heaven Den. This lady just walked in here and demanded for the Unrivaled Order, but are you aware of the rules of Under Heaven Den?" The burly man stopped smiling and his eyes revealed some ferocity.

"I know. Nine tables of life-staking gamble under Heaven, leave your fortune and your life to Yama. I have gambled for so many years, and have always wanted to bet on this one." The lady’s eyes, which had been as gentle as water so far, began to show a measure of fierceness.

The burly man was stunned for a moment. He’d seen such expressions in people’s eyes before. It was an expression that only appeared on desperate gamblers. Then, he returned a sneer. "Looks like you don’t really know what kind of place Under Heaven Den is, and what kind of people we are. Even if you’re willing, do you think you’re qualified to make us open this nine tables of life-staking gamble for you?"

The lady returned a dainty smile. "I think it’s you who don\'t know who we are. Dear disciple, tell them who we are."

The youth stepped forward and shouted loudly, "I am Luo Mingxuan!"

The burly man sucked in a cold breath. "Luo Mingxuan!" He exclaimed out loud before he realised something, thinking to himself, I don\'t seem to have heard the name before, ah. So he hurriedly turned his head and looked at a companion who was waving a feathered fan.

The man waving a feathered fan thought hard about it and shook his head. "Never heard of him. This name doesn’t sound familiar."

"Boy, are you playing me?" the burly man said angrily.

"This is my shifu." Luo Mingxuan ignored him and cleared his throat. "Yin Luoxia."

"Oh, whatever sunset clouds or rosy clouds, I’ve never heard of… " The burly man waved his hand without thinking, but he quickly trembled all over, looked at his companion, his voice shaking. "Yin… Yin Luoxia?”

"Yin Luoxia!" Everyone in Under Heaven Den exclaimed.

"The daughter of the King of Gamblers, who once avenged her father in Unfettered Den and won three consecutive games against Lian Rulie, the most powerful man in Qingzhou at the time, and regained the position of King of Gamblers, that Yin Luoxia?" The burly man properly inhaled a breath of cold air.

"Yes, back then I was only ten years old." Yin Luoxia smiled, stepped on the stool, put her hand on her lap, and looked at the burly man pointedly. "This year, I’m 30 years old."

Luo Mingxuan crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood beside Yin Luoxia, speaking with a smug expression, "Although my shifu is as gorgeous as a flower, she still looks no older than twenty-eight years."

Yin Luoxia slapped him across his chest. "You shut up. I was finally gaining momentum and you ruined it all!"

The burly man who had been picking his teeth with disdain suddenly turned respectful. Even all the gamblers in Under Heaven Den who were originally taunting them and waiting to watch a good show turned respectful at this moment. This battle of the King of Gamblers in Unfettered Den in Qingzhou was a legendary story these gamblers had been hearing for more than ten years. Now, the King of Gamblers was here in person in Under Heaven Den, and everyone grew excited. The burly man cupped his fists and said, "Since the Fairy has graced us with her presence, and is willing to try our Under Heaven Den’s nine tables of life-staking gamble, then we are most honoured to acquiesce with her request." He clapped his hands three times.

All the onlookers retreated into two lines, opening up a very long aisle. The gambling den staff quickly lined up the nine tables, and a person sat at each of the nine tables.

"Chupu, Paijiu, Xuanhe, Madai, Yabao, Huahui, Zibao, Mahjong, Liubo." The burly man announced, "This is our Under Heaven Den’s nine tables of life-staking gamble. The wager is not wealth and treasure, but a verdict on life and death. Fairy, please!"

"Such manners. I’m game." Yin Luoxia stood up and walked towards the nine gambling tables with a smile.

"The wager is not wealth and treasure, but a verdict on life and death?" Luo Mingxuan sneered, placed his hand lightly on his sword and followed after her.