The Mirror Master

Seeing Luo An so worked up again, Luo Hongyuan frowned and snapped, "If this is about the martial arts challenge between Lu Bai and Mo Shaohan, don’t bother."

"Oh, so everyone already knows."

Luo An ducked his head and added, "It’s already spread throughout the city. Almost everyone knows by now."

"How did it spread so fast?"

Li Tianxing frowned deeply.

If the news hadn’t spread, there might have been some leeway.

But with it spreading throughout the city and everyone watching, Lu Bai would be put on the spot. The fight would be nearly unavoidable.

Luo An said, "Boss Jin from the Drunken Flower House spread the news. He’s set up a betting pool with five different lines."

Li Tianxing snorted. "Second Master Jin is certainly well-informed. He’s planning to make a fortune off this."

"This fight certainly has a lot of angles drawing attention."

Feng Yang sighed and said, "First, it’s the clash between a Cultivator and a Martial Artist. Second, Mo Shaohan just broke through to a new major Realm and defeated Mingzhao.

"Third, Lu Bai has recently shot to fame as the ’Black Hand Young Hero.’ Fourth, Lu Bai is only in the Inner Strength Realm, so the disparity in power is immense. And fifth, this fight is also over that Tier Two Profound Iron Ore deposit...

"Boss Jin is a businessman. How could he possibly miss an opportunity like this?"

Li Tianxing suddenly thought of something and asked with a frown, "Why would this fight have five different betting lines?"

Normally, a martial arts challenge like this would only have three possible outcomes.

One: Mo Shaohan wins.

Two: Lu Bai wins.

Three: a draw.

Luo An explained, "Besides a win for either side or a draw, Boss Jin added two more lines: one for Brother Xiaolu to win and Mo Shaohan to die, and another for Mo Shaohan to win and Brother Xiaolu to die."

Feng Yang said, "Boss Jin probably added those lines to mitigate his risk."

"That’s not right!"

Li Tianxing sensed something was wrong. His expression turned grave as he said, "Lu Bai, this fight is no small matter. Once you step onto the Martial Arts Discussion Platform, it may no longer be about winning or losing, but about life and death!"

Luo Tianxiong quickly asked, "But killing is forbidden in a martial arts challenge, isn’t it?"

"Normally, that is true for challenges between Martial Artists."

Li Tianxing continued, "But as you all know, there is also a ’Deathmatch’ format for these challenges. In a Deathmatch, neither side has to hold back. They can fight without restraint."

Luo Mingzhao frowned. "But this isn’t a Deathmatch."

"For Boss Jin to suddenly open this line, I suspect he’s received some kind of insider information."

Li Tianxing looked at Lu Bai and said in a low, serious voice, "If Mo Shaohan suddenly proposes a Deathmatch on the day of the fight, you can use that as a reason to refuse and forfeit."

Lu Bai just smiled, then looked at Luo An and asked, "What are the odds for the five lines?"

Luo An replied, "For Brother Xiaolu to win, the odds are 20 to 1. For Brother Xiaolu to win and Mo Shaohan to die, it’s 25 to 1. For a draw, it’s 15 to 1."

"Odds of 20 to 1" means that for a bet of one tael of silver, a win would yield a total of twenty-one taels: the original bet returned, plus twenty taels in winnings.

Such high odds proved that almost no one expected Lu Bai to win.

Boss Jin was the house, and he would also take a percentage as his commission.

It was a practically risk-free profit for him.

The only way the house could lose money would be if there was a major upset and someone had placed a huge bet on it.

Luo An continued, "For Mo Shaohan to win, the payout is one tael and one qian for every tael of silver bet. For Mo Shaohan to win and Brother Xiaolu to die, the payout is one tael and two qian."

If you bet one tael of silver on Mo Shaohan to win, you would get back one tael and one qian.

The payout was very low.

Even so, a bet on Mo Shaohan was still profitable.

The only real gamble was choosing between Mo Shaohan simply winning, or winning and managing to kill Lu Bai.

The uncertainty there was simply too high.

Anything could happen in the martial arts challenge three days from now.

The fight might not escalate to a Deathmatch.

Or it could, and Lu Bai might choose to refuse.

Luo Hongyuan said, "That Boss Jin is incredibly shrewd. By spreading the risk across five lines and taking a commission, he’s guaranteed to make a profit."

Luo An said, "Just before I came back, word got out about Boss Jin’s betting. I heard many of the families in Bluestone City are already rushing to the Drunken Flower House to place their wagers.

"Lots of other people have gone too. The Drunken Flower House is a madhouse right now."

Lu Bai pulled out 10,000 taels in silver notes—his recent earnings from looting corpses—from his robes. He handed them to Luo Qing and said, "Sister Luo, when you have a moment, please place a bet for me."

Seeing that Lu Bai was still in the mood to join in on the fun, the others were both exasperated and amused, and they all shook their heads.

Lu Bai looked at Luo Tianxiong and suddenly asked, "Senior Luo, do you dare to gamble?"

"What?"

Luo Tianxiong was taken aback.

Lu Bai said, "If the Luo Family has money to spare, you might as well place your bet on the same line as I do."

"And what line is that?" Luo Tianxiong asked.

"Bet he dies!"

With that, Lu Bai turned and left.

"I’m going to find a quiet place for the next three days. Don’t look for me."

Lu Bai’s voice trailed behind him as his figure vanished, leaving everyone staring in stunned silence.

"That Lu Bai is completely insane."

Luo Hongyuan shook his head.

The others fell silent.

When Lu Bai had uttered those three words—"Bet he dies!"—the same thought had surfaced in everyone’s minds.

After a long silence, Luo Tianxiong suddenly asked, "Mingzhao, how much money can the family come up with?"

Luo Mingzhao did a quick calculation. "We can mobilize about fifty thousand in gold."

"Bet it all!" Luo Tianxiong declared with a wave of his hand.

Luo Mingzhao froze for a second, then asked, "On which line?"

"Father, we need to think this through."

Luo Hongyuan said, "Mo Shaohan winning, and Mo Shaohan winning with Lu Bai’s death... both of those outcomes are possible. It would be safer to split the bet between those two lines."

"No."

Luo Tianxiong’s voice was grave. "We’ll do as Lu Bai said. Bet everything on Lu Bai winning and Mo Shaohan dying!"

Everyone present was stunned to hear this.

"Father, what are you saying!"

Luo Yunxuan quickly interjected, "Lu Bai is being reckless! How can you follow his foolish lead?"

Luo Tianxiong took a deep breath. "If Lu Bai loses, we’ll have to give up the Tier Two Profound Iron Ore mine. How much longer can our Luo Family hold on after that? What will we have left?

"But what if Lu Bai wins? This could be the Luo Family’s chance to turn our fortunes around!"

Li Tianxing and Feng Yang exchanged a look, both secretly shaking their heads.

Luo Tianxiong’s stance was that of a desperate gambler making one last, all-or-nothing bet.

But they could also understand his decision. If he didn’t risk it all, the Luo Family would only continue its slow decline in Bluestone City.

"How could that be possible, Father?"

Luo Hongyuan shook his head again and again. He looked at Luo Mingzhao and said, "Third Brother, don’t listen to Father. Even for a gamble, this is just too reckless."

"Hmph!"

Luo Tianxiong snorted coldly and said slowly, "I am not dead yet. It is not your place to make decisions for this family!"

The words were heavy, and Luo Hongyuan’s heart sank. He didn’t dare to argue back.

Luo Tianxiong said, "Mingzhao, gather the silver notes. You and I will go to the Drunken Flower House tonight."

Seeing this, Li Tianxing and Feng Yang both took their leave.

Although they both wanted to talk him out of it, this was an internal matter for the Luo Family, and it wasn’t their place as outsiders to interfere.

"What a massive gamble."

Feng Yang remarked with a sigh, "Elder Luo really has guts. He’s placing the entire fate of the Luo Family in Lu Bai’s hands."

"Whether the Luo Family rises or falls will all be decided by that battle in three days."

Li Tianxing lamented inwardly, shaking his head.