15 Ch 15 - Gambling

The month of May was a transition between spring and summer. It had already been one and a half month since Mo Bei had arrived in this world.

The fragrance of flowers filled the air, the huge mountains evergreen and the sunlight began to gradually release its ardent side.

Under the clear azure skies, the white clouds drifted like cotton.

On Qing Mao Mountain, the bamboo forest was straight like spears as always, pointing towards the blue sky. Weeds grew wildly everywhere, and unknown varieties of wild flowers dotted the grass thicket. As the light breeze blew, the wild grass moved to and fro, the heavy fragrance of flower pollen and the smell of green grass assailing visitors.

The sound of camel bells could be faintly heard in the spring breeze.

The Gu Yue clan members could see a caravan moving like a colorful worm from the mountain side, slowly showing its head.

"It's the merchant caravan!"

"Yes, it's already May, it is about time for the caravan to come."

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Mo Family's residence.

'It has already been a month and a half since I transmigrated to this world. It's about time for merchant caravan to come.'

Mo Bei had already fed Jade Skin Gu once using some jade rocks that were left in his family's storage room. Now very few jade rocks were left which could only feed the gu one more time.

Jade Skin Gu had to be fed once every 10 days. Mo Bei didn't want to purchase jade rocks from outside now since that would reveal that he already had jade skin gu and his plan to use gambling rocks would be wasted. He also planned to replenish the storage room with other jade rocks so that his grandpa does not suspect him of already having Jade skin Gu.

He knew that the rank of a Gu also determines their food intake, the higher the rank the longer the period until it becomes hungry again after it was fed but also at the same time more food would be necessary to feed it until it's full. In other words, a low ranked Gu would eat a small portion of food after a short period of time. A high ranked Gu would eat a large portion of food after a long period of time.

"It is really as the common saying goes around that raising a Gu is like raising a mistress. To keep a mistress you would need to buy food, clothes, a house, etc. It is very expensive and the more you have the more costly it is; a normal man cannot afford it. Luckily, I have Flower Wine Monk's inheritance and my family background supporting me. I should try to advance to Rank 1 middle stage anytime now. With my 72% middle stage essence and continuous refining of the aperture wall, I will be able to break through soon."

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The merchant caravan arrived at the boundaries of the Qing Mao Mountain in the early morning, and by afternoon they were stationed in the Gu Yue Village. When it was dusk, the surroundings of the village had formed into a widespread area of temporary shops and stores. All kinds of red, blue, yellow and green lofty tents were built and every inch between the tents was squeezed with numerous little street stalls.

An endless stream of pedestrians spilled into the area from the village. There were mortals as well as Gu Masters. The little children hopped around in high spirits, and the adults showed an expression of joy akin to celebrating a festival.

Mo Bei walked around and this sight made him remember the festivals he used to celebrate back at Earth. He had brought with him 150 primeval stones and wanted to visit each and every stalls to see what they had to offer.

Suddenly he saw Fang Yuan entering into a store. He knew it was the gambling store. Seeing him, he remembered the day when Fang Yuan visited the Mo Family manor. After some interactions, they came to a simple deal that Mo Bei shall provide Fang Yuan 10 primeval stones every week and in return Fang Yuan shall not extort Mo Bei and even teach him fighting technique once every week.

This deal was very generous for Fang Yuan and hence he accepted it after some minor alterations. He was still low on primeval stone.

For the past 2 weeks, he extorted everyone except Mo Bei. This also led to Mo Bei's name being spread causing awe and fear.

"Fang Yuan is afraid of Mo Bei?! "

"Mo Bei and Fang Yuan must be in this together. Maybe that's why Fang Yuan has not received any punishment from the academy. We cannot beat Fang Yuan nor oppose the Mo Family. We must obediently hand over a piece of primeval stone if we love our life. "

These were the kind of talks going around in the academy.

Even academy elder was shocked by behavior of Fang Yuan. He knew very well that Fang Yuan was ruthless and would not leave anybody so easily. He also didn't seem afraid of Mo Bei. Later on, he came to know about the exact situation from Gu Yue Mo Chen. He was awed by how Mo Bei dealt with the situation.

When other elders tried to accuse the Mo Family of using their name to threaten the students, Mo Chen replied succinctly, "Stop with these baseless rumours. What happens inside the academy is something to be dealt by students themselves. Mo Bei has dealt with that kid Fang Yuan in his own way and it is none of Mo Bei's concern how that kid Fang Yuan deals with other students."

This led to the situation to calm down. Though not many students did not want to accept the situation, they still gave in due to fear of being beaten up and oppression faced by young master of Mo Family.

✵✵✵

Inside the gambling den, Fang Yuan was standing at a particular counter. Every rock on this counter was sold at ten primeval stones each.

He had taken 6 gambling rocks and had just finished paying 60 primeval stones for them.

Mo Bei came to his side and spoke "Gu Yue Fang Yuan, I didn't expect to see you here. It's a pleasant surprise."

Fang Yuan eyed him for a bit but didn't seem to mind Mo Bei's presence. They seem to knew each other better over the course of past 2 weeks. Fang Yuan had met up with Mo Bei 2 times in the past 2 weeks at his home and gave him fighting lessons for an hour. He was surprised by the durability of Mo Bei's body.

He even suspected Mo Bei of using White Boar Gu or Black Boar Gu but he was not able to verify since Mo Bei kept his strength very restrained.

"Greetings, Fellow classmate Gu Yue Mo Bei. What occasion brings you here? ", Fang Yuan was very welcoming and sweet with his words. He was like that everytime there were benefits involved.

Mo snickeres secretely thinking, 'I would totally believed that Fang Yuan is a very sweet person if not for the fact that I know his past and future. He is really good with words. I can't help but want to have a good time chatting with him even though I know it's dangerous to spend time with him.'

"I am just here to look around for some rocks to gamble. I will watch your process before selecting rocks for myself"

"Young master(Mo Bei), I will call for another person to assist you. Till that time, would you like to watch this Young master(Fang Yuan) open the rocks on the spot? Our gambling den provides free service to open the rocks." The female Gu Master who was guiding Mo Bei and Fang Yuan gently advised, sending seductive glances with her eyes. She thought Fang Yuan was a rich young master and wanted to hook up with him.

'She would probably be banging her head on the ground and kowtowing if she knew who's she actually thinking about hooking up with', Mo Bei felt amused at such a thought and said, "No problem"

"Purple gold is my lucky color, and this is my first time betting, it is very meaningful. I'll open the rocks myself!" Fang Yuan spoke at that point. The next moment, the crescent mark on his right palm emitted a faint water-like blue light. Next he closed his fingers and slowly rubbed against the surface of the fossil. The waves of light rippling like water as the purple gold rock shrunk in size, large amounts of powder from rock shavings falling out from the gaps of Fang Yuan's fingers, landing on the carpet of the tent.

Mo Bei was excited to see this in person. After a while, the inside came out to be a solid rock and there was no Gu worm inside.

Mo Bei already expected this and even Fang Yuan expression didn't change.