6 A Great Way to Make Money (2)
Li Ming came back to the main room with Elder Fu. Two more customers were sitting with the previous ones. They all were busy playing chess.
She went towards their table and let out a deep sigh as she spoke to no one in particular, "Why do all men like to waste their time in playing this childish game?"
She sounded like she was talking to herself but her comment was loud enough to grasp the attention of the group of men who were playing that exact game.
"Little Girl, what rubbish are you spouting? Do you think that playing chess is a child's play?" One of the men said mockingly while his companions chuckled.
"Of course! What's so great about playing chess? I have never lost to anyone in this game. At this point, there's hardly anything about this game that can excite me." She sounded both confident and bored as she answered.
"Haha...! A little girl like you and you think that you are such a great player. Hilarious!" Another man commented and he along with his buddies burst into laughter.
Li Ming finally turned her full attention to them as she walked closer to their table while speaking in a challenging tone, "You can't judge me without experiencing my true ability. If you really think that I'm just boasting around, why not play a round with me?"
The men looked at each other with questioning gazes before one of them accepted her challenge. "Alright! Let's see how great of a player you are."
They were just passing time while playing chess, so there was no harm in keeping a child's heart.
In reality, Li Ming was just an average player when it came to chess. But since she could read minds, she was confident that it would be easy for her to win.
Though she hated reading other people's minds, the situation needed her to use the power since she lacked the talent.
"Little Girl, seeing that you are from the younger generation, we are giving you our worst player. We won't take the game too seriously," Another man said laughingly while looking at one of the men whose face had turned red from embarrassment.
"I'm not going to lose to a little child." The red-faced said grumpily.
Li Ming didn't say anything in response and soon the game began. Although Elder Fu was confused by her behavior, he didn't say anything and asked his eldest daughter, Huang Qing, to serve tea to the guests.
Almost within 20 minutes, Li Ming won the game. The men were surprised to see a little child playing chess so well. After a few minutes of discussion they started another round but this time her opponent was a different person.
After two hours she had won every single round against the four men. The men could not believe that they lost to a little girl. After all their Young Master, who was known as the best chess player in the entire capital city, had taught them the art of playing chess and although they were not geniuses but their skills were still good enough.
These four people were the guards of the General's residence. They came to the black market with the eldest young master of the General manor. Since their master was busy in 'Breezing Flowers' (Breezing Flowers also provide the service of a brothel), they decided to spend their time in this quiet inn by playing chess.
But who had known that they would lose to a child and not only once but every single round? They already accepted that the little miss was a genius player. No matter whatever way they used, she already had a way to defeat them.
Finally, they paid for their tea and left the inn. But they could not forget about the embarrassment that they felt while losing to a child.
Elder Fu was confused by what just happened. He couldn't control his curiosity anymore and finally asked Li Ming, "Miss Li, I'm unable to understand what you are planning to do. Were you just passing your time by playing chess? Though I'm really impressed by your skills."
Li Ming smiled as she looked at Elder Fu and asked, "Elder Fu, do you know who these men were?"
"Sorry Miss Li. Though I know many people in the black market and the Capital City, I have no idea who these men were. By looking at their attire they appear to be guards." Elder Fu replied with confusion evident in his expression.
"You are right. These are the guards of the General manor. They came here with their eldest young master. Now tell me what you know about the eldest son of the General." She asked Elder Fu while enjoying the sweet flavor of the tea.
"It was known throughout the capital city that the eldest young master of General manor has a strong personality. He is famous for his great achievements in martial arts. He's also famous for playing chess as he is almost undefeatable in the game. He's the number one chess player in the entire Capital City." Elder Fu told her what he had heard through his friends and servants or the customers about the Eldest Young Master Wei.
"Exactly! Now, all we have to do is to wait for his arrival. I'm sure he will soon visit us to meet the person who has defeated his men in the game that he loves to use to boast around," Li Ming said with a smirk on her lips which was hidden because of the veil.
Although Elder Fu was still confused but when he saw her closing her eyes to rest for a while, he didn't say anything and left her alone.
- - - - - -
On the other side of the black market, Wei Rong, the eldest son of General Wei, noticed the sullen face of his guards.
He first didn't ask them anything but when they continued to ignore his words like passing breeze, he got irritated.
"What the hell is wrong with you all? Did something happened?" He asked while looking at them with a frown.
"It's nothing, Young Master Rong. It's... just today... we lost in the game of chess to a little girl. No matter which one of us was her opponent and how hard we tried but in the end, she defeated all of us with such ease," One of the guards told him embarrassingly. There was no point in hiding the truth from their young master.
"You are saying that you lost to a little child? You bunch of useless people!! How could you shame me like that?" Wei Rong shouted at them in rage but quieted down when he saw their sad faces.
He thought for a while and finally said, "Take me to that inn. I taught you guys the art of playing chess. But you all made me lose face today. Now I have to get my honor back."
The guards obeyed and took him to Elder Fu's inn.
- - - - - -
Wei Rong entered the small inn at the end of the street. The first thing that caught his attention was a 12 or 13-year-old girl who was relaxing in one of the seats.
Although she was young and her body had not matured but she was beautiful. For a while, Wei Rong was unable to move his eyes from her but then an old man came to welcome him.
"Master Rong, what a great pleasure to see you here!" Elder Fu bowed and asked the man to take a seat.
Li Ming opened her eyes at Elder Fu's voice and looked at the young man who had entered the inn. He was quite looking but his expression made him appear quite funny to her.
He was wearing white brocade robes. His hair was long and nicely combed while a huge sword was hanging on his waist. His skin was fair like jade and he had dark eyes, with a height of 5'11". Overall, he could join the celebrity industry of the modern world with his looks but she doubted if he would succeed in getting the role of the male lead.
The guard behind him said something in his ear and the man smiled. He nodded his head and walked towards her table.
"So, you are the one who defeated my guards in chess. I'm really impressed. If this Young Miss doesn't mind, then I also want to play a round with you," Wei Rong said in a confident tone as he took a seat opposite her.
He was unable to tell the identity of the girl. She looked like a young miss of a noble family but since her face was hidden, he could not tell if he had seen her before or not. Also, he was unable to tell her cultivation level.
It could only mean two things, either her cultivation level was above his own, which was kinda impossible as she was so young and the other one was that she was a trash. But he was not an idiot to judge someone so early.
"Master Rong, not everyone is as free as you think. Why I would waste my time in playing chess with you when I'm gaining no benefit from it?" Li Ming asked in a soft voice.
Wei Rong looked at the girl in front of him with a frown decorating his face. He thought for a while and finally asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Li Ming smiled and said, "You are one of the best players of chess in the entire capital city. Why not make a bet?"
Thus they both ended up making a bet of 1000 silver taels. Wei Rong put a pouch full of 1000 silver taels on the table and looked at her.
Li Ming also produced a pouch of money out of thin air and placed it on the table.
She had created this money using her illusion powers. Although her powers were weak it was enough to make anyone below Elder Cultivator level believe in her illusion.
The illusion would work for 8 hours but after that, it would start wearing off. Also, the act of producing the pouch out of thin air was to show the people around her that she was not a trash just because they were unable to feel her aura.
Her idea worked as after seeing the little girl producing a pouch full of money in the thin air, everyone was left surprised. They all had the same thought, that the girl's identity was not normal.
