"Why did you even bother looking for him, such a bad luck fellow? Aren't you afraid of ominous vibes?" A short man noticed Yuan Ming looking around and called out, asking.

"Oh, I heard that his family has been making incense for generations, and they are quite skilled. I wanted to learn incense making from him," Yuan Ming could only respond accordingly.

"What good does skill do when his luck is rotten? I have never seen anyone with worse luck; in just a few days, he gambled away his entire fortune. Hehe, I heard even his wife ran off with someone else," the short man scoffed disdainfully, laughing mockingly.

"Brother, you are not aware, but he actually owes me quite a sum of money, and I really had no choice. Do you happen to know where Wu Sang is now?" Yuan Ming ignored these idle talks and whispered his question.

"God knows where he has gone to hide from his debts. Trying to find him to get your money back? Maybe in the next life," the short man rolled his eyes and after speaking, turned back to watch the gambling tables.

Yuan Ming asked a few more people, but no one knew anything; he even encountered someone with a bad temper who bluntly told him to get lost.

He felt somewhat frustrated but not entirely without gains. He also took the opportunity to confirm the opponent's name, corroborating the information Old Smoke Bag had gathered.

"Gentlemen..."

Yuan Ming frowned in thought for a moment, then pulled out a shiny silver coin from his sleeve and held it aloft.

At this low shout, he covertly mobilized his Mana, sank his energy into his Dantian, creating a sound with great penetrating power.

The previously noisy and chaotic gambling house suddenly fell silent.

All the gamblers' attention was drawn by Yuan Ming's voice.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, you scoundrel, what are you doing?" An elderly steward in the gambling house, seeing this, scolded.

"Sorry for the interruption, everyone. I'd like to inquire something from you all. Whoever can provide the information, this silver coin in my hand will be theirs," Yuan Ming apologized with a smile towards the old steward, shook the silver coin in his hand, and said loudly.

The gamblers' eyes lit up with a gleam of greed, surrounding him from all sides.

"What do you want to ask? I know, I know it all..."

"Ask me, ask me..."

"..."

In no time, most of the gamblers had gathered around him.

Those who had previously been dismissive or had rejected Yuan Ming were taken aback and began fiercely pushing into the crowd.

The gambling house was noisy and chaotic.

"Quiet down, everyone. I'll start with this question: who knows the owner of the incense workshop?" Yuan Ming asked.

"That Wu Sang, I know him..."

"I know him too, we're quite close..."

Almost everyone raised their arms.

"Who knows his whereabouts?" Yuan Ming asked again.

"I know, I know. His house is in the alleyway behind here, I can take you there," someone shouted.

"They've left that house. I'm his neighbor, I know he has another residence elsewhere," another person immediately contradicted.

"Don't believe his lies, that Wu Sang doesn't have any other property left, he's lost everything and sold himself off to the military camp to hide from his debts," a strong man with a loud voice then shouted.

After shouting, he pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Yuan Ming.

"Wu Sang, the guy has lost everything, his wife ran away and then he owes a mountain of debt, so he sold himself to the military camp to escape his creditors. My brother works there, I know about this," the strong man patted his chest confidently.

Others quieted down after he finished speaking.

At this, Yuan Ming frowned and asked, "You said he's in the military camp, can you take me to see him?"

"I can, but well..." the strong man hesitated as he spoke, glancing sidelong at the silver coin in Yuan Ming's hand, then turning his head away.

The meaning was clear; he needed Yuan Ming to show some sincerity.

Yuan Ming, without another word, rubbed his fingers, turning the one silver coin in his hand into two pieces.

"If you can take me to him, both of these silver coins are yours," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"My friend, you're speaking my language! No problem, I'll take you right there," the strong man's face broke into a wide grin, and he quickly agreed.

Yuan Ming glanced around but still did not see Old Smoke Bag, so he decided to go with the man.

With his current status, he naturally was not afraid of being deceived; the should be afraid were those who tried to deceive him.

Just as he was about to leave, a voice suddenly came from behind: "Young man, if you believe him, you're going to suffer."

Yuan Ming was startled, and the strong man became furiously angry, turning around to see who was interrupting his scheme.

But when he turned around with a raging look, his expression suddenly froze, and quickly turned docile and amiable as his neck shrank and he seemed to hunch down a bit.

It was because the speaker was a fat middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe.

His skin was very fair, approaching the kind of yellow-pale typical of Central Plains people, contrasting starkly with the surrounding Southern Border People. His eyes were bright, his features were fairly regular, and he had a goatee around his mouth, making him look both shrewd and steady.

It was a rather contradictory aura.

"May I ask how to address this gentleman?" Seeing his authority and the strong man's reaction, Yuan Ming had already guessed his identity, and understood the strong man's ill intentions.

"This is Boss You Zhuzha, the owner of the Mountain River Gambling House," Old Smoke Bag suddenly appeared from nowhere, explaining to Yuan Ming.

"Boss You speaks with such righteousness, but do you know the real whereabouts of Wu Sang?" Yuan Ming asked.

"I won't hide it from you, virtually all of Wu Sang's assets were left in the care of my gambling house. The day he left Iron Tiger Town, I felt pity for him and gave him ten copper coins for his travel expenses," You Zhuzha said, walking over while holding his belly.

"If you know Wu Sang's whereabouts, could you please inform me? I would be deeply grateful," Yuan Ming hastily said.

"I indeed know, but why should I tell you? Disrupting the order of my gambling house, yet I haven't had you thrown out—considering that as saving your face," said You Zhuzha with a grin, smiling mischievously.

Yuan Ming's eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled and asked, "Since the boss isn't planning on driving me away, it seems there is room for negotiation. Please tell me, how could you tell me?"

"Gamble with me in one game, if you win, I'll tell you," You Zhuzha chuckled 'heh heh' and said.

"I don't gamble," Yuan Ming frowned and said.

"If you can't gamble, you can learn; if you don't want to gamble, you can leave," You Zhuzha said coldly, displeased.

Old Smoke Bag sidled up and whispered to Yuan Ming, "This Boss You is nicknamed Pork Grease, never goes back on his words. If you don't gamble, he surely won't tell you. Moreover, with your actions today, you've offended him, and things might not end well for you outside."

Yuan Ming glanced down at Old Smoke Bag and sneered inwardly.

"I'll gamble, but someone needs to explain the rules of the gambling table to me," Yuan Ming said, lifting his head.

The moment these words were spoken, the gamblers around perked up, looking at Yuan Ming with various expressions, whispering amongst themselves with the expectation of watching a good show, ready to thoroughly enjoy the gambling round.

"Young man, I knew you are a sensible person with potential. Go on, what do you want to play?" You Zhuzha rubbed his hands together and smiled.

Upon hearing this, Old Smoke Bag promptly volunteered eagerly to explain the rules of dice, Pai Gow, and Guessing Black and White to Yuan Ming. He explained so vividly that even the bystanders were stunned.

After listening, Yuan Ming's expression remained unchanged, and he pointed to a dice gambling table, saying:

"Let's go with the dice, guess the big and small."

"No, no, Boss You's best game is throwing the dice, you have no chance of winning if you play this. You should gamble with him in Pai Gow, you have a better chance there," Old Smoke Bag quickly advised in a low voice.

"It's settled, no change," Yuan Ming ignored Old Smoke Bag and walked over to the dice gambling table on his own.

"Haha, young man, you have guts, I like that," You Zhuzha walked over to stand at the banker's position.

Yuan Ming then stood opposite him at the player's position while the rest crowded around.

The surrounding whispers continued, all discussing how Yuan Ming was oblivious to danger, bound to lose even the clothes off his back.

"You just took out a silver coin, so the stake will be one silver coin. If I win, you lose the silver coin to me. If you win, I lose a silver coin to you, and I will tell you the whereabouts of Wu Sang. How does that sound?" You Zhuzha announced.

"Fair enough," said Yuan Ming, as he placed a silver coin on the table.

You Zhuzha grabbed the dice cup and began to shake it slowly.

"Betting big or small?" After shaking it a few times, he slammed the dice cup on the table and asked.

Yuan Ming slowly pushed the silver coin toward the area marked 'small' on the table.

"Bets are final, open," You Zhuzha uttered in a loud voice and opened the dice cup.

Immediately afterward, a smile appeared on his face as he sang with a flair, "Four, five, six, big. You lose."

"Again."

Yuan Ming, expressionless, took out another silver coin and placed it on the table.

You Zhuzha's smile grew even wider as he shook the dice cup again.

…

Just within a short while, the gambling bout had already gone through twelve rounds.

Yuan Ming lost every single one without exception.

The crowd of gamblers naturally enjoyed the excitement, continuously cheering and creating an even hotter atmosphere at the scene.

It was well known that twelve silver coins were a fortune to the ordinary people of the Southern Border.

Losing so much money in one go, anyone would find it hard to remain calm, but Yuan Ming's expression remained cool and indifferent, as if he truly didn't care.

In fact, he really didn't care.

"Looks like you're out of luck today, continuing to lose like this isn't the way. How about coming back another day?" Old Smoke Bag came up and suggested.

"Continue," Yuan Ming didn't look at him, merely said indifferently.

"Alright, alright, luck in gambling can't always be on my side. Remember I am You Zhuzha, you'll definitely win the next round, if not, come chop me," You Zhuzha, seeing this, put on a broad smile and said.

One more round, you'll definitely win the next one, if not, come chop me; this phrase had almost become You Zhuzha's catchphrase since Yuan Ming lost the fifth round.

As he spoke, he shook the dice cup once again.

After it landed, Yuan Ming still placed the silver coin on the "small" area.

Just as You Zhuzha was about to lift the dice cup, Yuan Ming's fingertip lightly touched the gambling table, sending out a faint wave of mana.

"Sorry, young man, this time a leopard..." As You Zhuzha was lifting the dice cup, he was already mentioning "leopard kills all,"

But before he could finish, he was stunned, staring straight at the three dice on the gambling table, his eyes wide open.

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