The private room in the gambling den fell silent for a few breaths.
Mister Cui and his two accomplices stood there, staring at the jade token Chen Yan had slapped onto the table.
"Kongyuan Chief Disciple?"
The shifty-eyed Mister Zhu beside them frowned as he stared at the token on the table, muttering the words.
Clearly, Mister Zhu's brain was currently in a state of short-circuit.
It was normal that he didn't react immediately.
Who could have imagined that the Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, from the Kongshan Sect that commanded the attention of the entire Chenping Continent, would come to this unregulated gambling den in Taiyun City, only to be fleeced like a pig by a few old scoundrels like them?
It was simply unbelievable!
"Chen..."
"You say, you are Chen Yan?"
Chen Yan didn't speak, just observed Mister Cui's reaction.
After another two breaths of time, Mister Cui laughed, but there was no trace of amusement in his eyes, only wariness and ruthlessness.
It seemed he didn't believe it.
Then, Mister Cui spoke up.
"Hahahaha, why suddenly start such a nonsensical joke, Old Yan..."
An extremely thin, razor-sharp thread of true qi sliced across Mister Cui's face, and blood immediately trickled down his cheek.
"Call me Chief Disciple Chen."
Chen Yan said.
Mister Cui's pupils instantly contracted, his legs trembled, and even his breathing became so tense it started to quiver.
As an early-stage Qi Circulation Realm cultivator, having his protective true qi torn open as easily as paper by the young man before him could only mean one thing.
The other party's cultivation level was, at the very least, above the Martial Spring Realm.
In that case, regardless of whether the other party's true identity was really Chen Yan, the Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, it was completely irrelevant.
Mister Cui could only go along with whatever he said.
Beside Chen Yan, the shifty-eyed Mister Zhu also quickly realized the situation was amiss, his first instinct being to flee.
"If your foot dares to move another inch, you die."
Chen Yan said.
Mister Zhu, who wanted to escape, immediately halted his steps, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
Mister Cui's expression began to look worse than crying.
"Chief Disciple Chen, please forgive my offense, Chief Disciple Chen, please forgive my offense..."
He muttered repeatedly, apologizing to Chen Yan.
"What's wrong, Mister Cui?"
Chen Yan was completely nonchalant, a picture of a carefree, elegant young master. It was hard to imagine that this same person, just half an incense stick of time ago, had been there losing so badly his face was flushed red.
"Aren't we still playing?"
Chen Yan said, lightly tapping his finger on the table surface.
"Continue."
Mister Cui didn't move.
"Continue."
Chen Yan added a bit more weight to his tone. Mister Cui's hand trembled twice, then he timidly picked up the dice cup in front of him, gathered the dice from the table, and placed them inside.
Mister Cui's hand trembled again, and one die fell out of the cup onto the floor, making a crisp sound.
"Don't be nervous."
Chen Yan softly advised.
Then, Mister Cui picked up the die from the floor, put it into the dice cup on the table, and began shaking it. After another few breaths, Mister Cui stopped and made as if to lift the cup—
"Stop."
Chen Yan halted Mister Cui's action.
"Wh-what is it, Chief Disciple Chen?"
Mister Cui stammered.
"You shook it wrong just now."
"Wh-where was it wrong? Please tell me, Chief Disciple Chen."
"Why didn't you continue injecting true qi into the dice cup? Doesn't Mister Cui enjoy doing that very much?"
Chen Yan said.
These petty tricks employed by this middle-aged cultivator in vermilion-purple robes could only mystify and confuse cultivators below the Body Forging Realm. Any Qi Circulation Realm cultivator with even a bit of experience could easily see through them.
Not to mention Chen Yan's current cultivation realm had already reached the peak of the Qi Sea Realm.
They were all just insignificant, trivial tricks not worth mentioning.
"Chief Disciple Chen, Chief Disciple Chen!"
Mister Cui directly knelt before Chen Yan.
"You, a great man, should not hold a grudge against a petty person like me. I, Cui Mao, am willing to serve you as an ox or a horse, I beg you, please spare me!"
"To serve as an ox or a horse, you're not even qualified."
Chen Yan said.
"I'll ask you a few questions. As long as you answer honestly, I'll let you go."
"Chief Disciple Chen, please ask away, we guarantee we won't hide anything!"
The Mister Zhu to the side hurriedly agreed.
"You few, are you all rogue cultivators from around Taiyun City?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Not exactly."
Cui Mao replied.
"Among the three of us, only Zheng Yanfeng is a rogue cultivator from around Taiyun City. I'm from Laishan County, and that Zhu Xing beside you, Chief Disciple Chen, comes from even farther away, from the southern region of Qingque Kingdom."
"Then for you to collude together in this gambling den can be considered fate."
Chen Yan joked.
"Reporting to Chief Disciple Chen, actually, it can't really be called fate."
Zhu Xing, the most shifty-eyed of the three, spoke, then paused briefly, hesitating.
"Because, we all came to seek refuge with Senior Zhao."
As soon as the words fell, Cui Mao and Zheng Yanfeng both cast incredibly incredulous looks in Zhu Xing's direction, as if they had been betrayed.
And Chen Yan obviously noticed these subtle shifts in atmosphere.
"Senior Zhao?"
Immediately, he spoke up.
"Who is that?"
"He is the Martial Spring Realm senior named Zhao Wuying, invited back from Ping City by the owner of this gambling den, Huang Renqiu. He has quite a reputation among the rogue cultivators in the western region of Qingque City."
Zhu Xing answered.
"Actually, Chief Disciple Chen, the reason we engage in deception and swindling in this gambling den is also under Zhao Wuying's instruction. As for the money swindled, we've always split it thirty-seventy with Zhao Wuying."
"The seventy percent?"
Chen Yan asked.
"The seventy percent still has to be his!"
Zhu Xing replied.
This had actually been within Chen Yan's expectations all along. In this Huang Family gambling den, besides Zhao Wuying who kept the place in order, there were also several Qi Circulation Realm den managers. For Cui Mao and the others to do such things in the den, it would be impossible without the Huang Family turning a blind eye.
Chen Yan didn't care one bit about Zhu Xing's little scheme of trying to shift the blame onto the Huang Family and Zhao Wuying.
Because from the very start, that wasn't what he wanted to know.
He fixed his gaze on the most taciturn of the three scoundrels, Zheng Yanfeng.
"You are a local rogue cultivator from Taiyun City?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Yes, Chief Disciple Chen."
Zheng Yanfeng answered with utmost respect.
"Then you're very familiar with Taiyun City?"
"Reporting to Chief Disciple Chen, I am thoroughly familiar with all sorts of anecdotes regarding the Seven Great Immortal Cultivation Families of Taiyun City."
"I'm not interested in any of that."
Chen Yan said.
"What I want to know is, how much do you know about the original Immortal Gambling Den in Taiyun City?"
"Could be considered a regular customer."
Zheng Yanfeng replied.
"Then do you recognize that waiter from earlier?"
"That waiter from earlier?"
"That Xiao Li, do you recognize him?"