The person who spoke was none other than Boss Sun. With an expression as if he were settling in to watch a good show, he patted his long robe and repeated, “I will pay for him.”
“You!” Mei Li’s eyes widened instantly. He gritted his teeth as he looked at Boss Sun and threatened in a low voice, “Sun Yan, have you lost your mind? Do you no longer want that treasure of mine?”
“Aiyee, Boss Mei! It is just having a bit of fun with the young lad. Or are you afraid of losing?” Sun Yan folded his arms across his chest with a mysterious smile, watching as Mei Li was left unable to back down.
Who did he think he was, trying to threaten him?
“Fine. Very well then, let us have a proper gamble.” Mei Li laughed out of extreme anger. His squinted eyes stared at Wen Zui as sharply as a sword.
“However, what is the stake? You cannot possibly let Boss Sun pay for you again, can you, kid?” Mei Li sneered. His malicious gaze swept over the seemingly penniless young man. He did not believe for a second that the boy could produce anything of value.
“How about this?” Wen Zui chuckled softly, drawing everyone’s eyes to the center of his palm. As his slender fingers unfurled, an ice-blue, snake-shaped jadeite ring appeared before them.
“Heavens! That is glass-grade Sky Blue! A biological rarity!”
“Look at that clarity and texture! It is a real eye-opener!”
“That has to be worth at least seven figures. He is dressed so shabbily, yet he is that wealthy?”
“Now the real show begins. What will Boss Mei use as a stake?”
Hearing the crowd’s praise, Wen Zui felt as though a tail were wagging behind him. He cocked an eyebrow playfully at Mei Li.
“Boss Mei, do you dare to bet?”
Mei Li stared at the ring, and greed surged within him. That was truly a magnificent item!
Despite his desire, Mei Li felt a lingering sense of unease. This was the business intuition he had honed over decades—the secret that had transformed him from a penniless thug into a man worth millions. It made him hesitate.
Sun Yan seemed to sense this. He chuckled, stepped closer, and patted Mei Li on the shoulder. “Boss Mei, what is the matter? Are you afraid to compete with my little disciple?”
“Who is afraid? I will use this as my stake!” Under the watchful eyes of the public, Mei Li could not bring himself to back out. While he spoke harshly, he comforted himself that nothing would go wrong.
Could a green boy who had picked up a few tricks really beat him? Did he think Mei Li had been eating air all these years?
At that thought, Mei Li’s frustration cleared, and he felt refreshed. He abruptly pulled out the ancient bronze tripod he had originally intended to trade with Sun Yan and placed it on the jade stall.
“Hmph, this broken tripod? It looks like it was pulled out of a furnace. How much could that possibly be worth?”
“Exactly! Boss Mei is being a bully!”
“This is not fair at all. Does he take that young man for a fool?”
“Indeed, Boss Mei. You cannot bully our little friend, can you?” Sun Yan added fuel to the fire, clearly enjoying the chaos.
A surge of rage rose in Mei Li’s heart. He cursed Sun Yan internally. That grandson of a turtle clearly knew the value of the tripod, yet he kept fanning the flames just to make things difficult for him.
Burning with fury, Mei Li slapped his own head and shouted, “Fine! My entire net worth will be the stake for this gamble!”
“Deal! Now that is generous of you, Boss Mei!” Wen Zui did not give him a second to regret it. He jumped on the offer immediately with a beaming face, looking as though victory was already in his grasp.
This announcement caused a massive stir. The crowd instantly erupted.
“A stake this large has not been seen in decades. We will be talking about this for years!”
“Boss Mei is too confident. He actually dares to bet everything?”
“There are too many rich people. Someone give me some money!”
“Exactly! I want to hang them all from the lampposts!”
“I bet this poor kid will lose even his underwear in a moment. How tragic.”
…
Sun Yan was also stunned by Mei Li’s words, but he quickly recovered his smile. He hurried the two of them to draft a written agreement, which was signed and sealed with thumbprints.
“There. Now it is settled, and no one can back out.”
Mei Li also felt this was reliable. He was actually afraid the brat would not honor the debt. What did it matter if he signed?
The duel officially began. Mei Li smiled and patted Wen Zui on the shoulder. “Young lad, do not worry. I will certainly leave you enough for a plane ticket home. Your Uncle Mei is a kind-hearted man.”
“Hehehehehehe.” Mei Li laughed as he walked away to pick his stone.
“I cannot wait to see him weeping bitter tears!” Wen Zui rotated his wrist, his mood shifting from gloomy to bright.
A sharp sting came from his collarbone. Yun Qi’s cold voice echoed in his mind: “Do not let anyone else call you ‘disciple’.”
“Eh? Master, are you jealous?” Wen Zui joked playfully. He reached out to pat Yun Qi’s head, and before Yun Qi could grow angry, he whispered a promise: “I know, I know. I am your disciple alone. Are you satisfied?”
Yun Qi gave a cold snort and did not reply, but his tense body softened significantly, making Wen Zui laugh again.
With his eyes covered by Yun Qi’s spiritual energy, every jade stone in his sight turned into essence. A single glance made them appear transparent. There was no rush, so he stayed in place and chatted idly with Yun Qi.
“Yun Qi, do you have any other siblings?”
“No. They are likely long dead.” After all, he had been cultivating for a thousand years, while the lifespan of an ordinary snake was only a little over a decade.
“Then you are an orphan just like me. Master, we are truly fated!” Wen Zui was happy to find another similarity with Yun Qi.
No one had ever spent time with him with such intensity. Although they had only known each other for a few days, it felt more intimate than people he had known for years.
Furthermore, he was his Master. “A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime.” Did this mean he finally had family?
“Yes, we are quite fated.” Yun Qi looked at the dark red thread on his body, feeling a strange anticipation for how Wen Zui would react when he eventually learned the truth.
This master-disciple relationship was entirely fake.
Time ticked by. The sun began to sink in the west. Wen Zui had simply moved from standing to sitting, showing no intention of taking a single step.
Speculation ran wild among the crowd. One group thought he had gone mad, while another believed he had already purchased a raw stone or had some hidden plan. After causing the initial trouble, Sun Yan said nothing and simply waited for the excitement. He stood to gain regardless.
If Wen Zui lost, Sun Yan would say he intentionally let Mei Li win money. If Mei Li lost, Wen Zui would have to thank him.
At that thought, Sun Yan’s face glowed with health. He sat back in a rocking chair and waited leisurely for the drama to unfold.
Finally, as the sun was about to set, Mei Li returned with his raw stone. He had heard the news that Wen Zui had stayed in place the entire time, and he was overjoyed. He strode toward Wen Zui with the air of a victorious rooster.
“Kid, if you kneel down and kowtow to me right now, I will return half of the stake to you. How about it?”
“Heh, Boss Mei has quite a big mouth. You need not trouble yourself.”
Wen Zui stood up unhurriedly and stretched. He walked past Mei Li.
“You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Do not come crying to me later!” Mei Li shouted viciously.
Wen Zui had already located the most valuable jade in the market. He walked to the small stall of an old man with a white beard, picked up a black raw stone about the size of a palm, and paid ten thousand yuan with a smile.
“Is this kid insane?!”
“How can such a tiny piece of jade be more valuable than Boss Mei’s?! Boss Mei spent a million yuan on his stone!”
“It is over. I lost my bet!”
Regardless of the crowd’s opinions, Wen Zui did not care. He walked back to the betting stall step by step.
“Boss Mei, if you kneel and kowtow to me now, I might consider giving you back half of your assets.”
Wen Zui returned the insults with a smile and cocked an eyebrow at Mei Li.
“Hahahaha! Are you truly mentally ill? With a stone that small, unless it is Imperial Green, how could you possibly compete with me?” Mei Li laughed until his face nearly stiffened. He could almost see the piles of cash waving at him. He felt like singing at the top of his lungs.
His luck was as incredible as ever! First, he bought the tripod for a thousand yuan, and then he met such a fool. This year was truly a windfall!
Wen Zui raised his eyebrows, handed the raw stone to the judge, and looked at Mei Li. “What a coincidence. It actually is Imperial Green, Boss Mei.”
How was that possible? Mei Li looked into Wen Zui’s mocking eyes and was instantly drenched in cold sweat. His shirt stuck uncomfortably to his thick back.
“Absolutely impossible. Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Mei Li’s voice grew louder and more adamant. He glared at Wen Zui and then turned to the judge. “Start the cut! Make this kid accept his defeat!”
“Wait!” Just as the judge was about to put the stones into the cutting machine, Wen Zui called for a halt.
“Hehe, are you scared? It is too late now!” Mei Li glared at Wen Zui as if he wanted to devour his flesh and blood.
“I am not scared.” Wen Zui replied calmly. He turned to the judge. “Sir, this jade cannot be cut. Please sand it down by hand.”
For a moment, the entire market fell silent. Everyone held their breath, staring at the palm-sized stone as if trying to bore a hole through it.
As the sound of the mini-electric sander started, the pitch-black exterior was gradually worn away. A corner of green was revealed.
“Heavens! It really is Imperial Green!”
“How is that possible? How did he pick such a stone?!”
The stall owner who had sold the stone for ten thousand yuan was filled with such regret that his hands trembled, and he could not say a word.
“No! Impossible! Sir, keep sanding. There must be nothing but marble behind it! This kid is just lucky!” Mei Li refused to believe it. He stubbornly demanded the judge continue, his heart feeling as though it were tearing in half.
The skin was so rough, and the clarity under the light was poor. How could there be Imperial Green!
Unfortunately for him, the reversal he hoped for never happened. By the time the judge had sanded the entire stone into a clear gem, the crowd had no choice but to believe it. The stone Wen Zui had chosen at random was indeed Imperial Green.
Meanwhile, Mei Li’s stone was also cut. It was indeed a high-quality ice-grade jadeite, but compared to Imperial Green, it paled in significance. The winner was undeniably Wen Zui.
“No! Impossible!” In an instant, Mei Li lost all his strength. He looked as though he had aged twenty years in a second as he slumped to the ground, his face grey with despair.
He had nothing. He had nothing left!
“Boss Mei, look at you. I asked you to kowtow earlier and you refused. Now, look at this. I will leave you enough for a plane ticket home. Do not say I did not give you face.” Wen Zui’s calm voice came from above, followed by several hundred-yuan bills fluttering down in front of him.
“You! I will kill you!” With bloodshot eyes, Mei Li pulled a short knife from his waist and lunged at Wen Zui.
“Bang!” The crazed Mei Li was kicked aside by Wen Zui. Playing with the short knife in his hand and tucking away the unassuming tripod, Wen Zui smiled mischievously. “Thank you for the gifts, Boss Mei. I will be going now. Boss Sun, you will help me secure the funds, right?”
He cocked an eyebrow at Boss Sun, mouthed a few silent words, and vanished before anyone could react.
In that moment, a blue light flashed in Sun Yan’s eyes. The command given by Yun Qi had taken effect in his mind.