Nine Nether Dragon Emperor-Chapter 165: Let her open the market again, who agrees? Who opposes?
All eyes turned to the source of the sound.
In a corner sat a lavish, eight-bearer palanquin. The bearers themselves were eight beautiful young women. The palanquin’s curtains were drawn, and the speaker clearly had no intention of revealing themself.
After a moment, someone regained their senses and said sarcastically, "Riding in a palanquin? Who does this person think they are, acting so high and mighty? Aren’t they afraid of suffocating in there?"
PFFT!
A whistling sound had just rung out, and the man who spoke was already clutching his throat, his eyes wide with shock.
Ning Xuan raised an eyebrow. He had seen it clearly. The one who attacked was the woman at the very front-left of the palanquin. She was barely in her twenties, yet she was a King Realm master. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
"That’s Lin Xihua, the ’Flower-Cherishing’ Young Master!" someone not far from Ning Xuan whispered to their companion.
Mo Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but mutter under her breath, "What kind of name is that? It sounds neither manly nor feminine."
WHOOSH!
Another sound of something tearing through the air was heard.
Ning Xuan’s eyes flashed as he reached out, catching a leaf between two fingers. The tip of the leaf had already nicked his black veil.
The woman who had attacked looked at Ning Xuan with a hint of surprise and was about to strike again. But after Lin Xihua said something from inside the palanquin, she gave a slight nod and stood down, ignoring them completely.
Mo Xiaoxiao looked at Ning Xuan, her expression conflicted.
Ning Xuan asked her, "Who is he?"
Mo Xiaoxiao let out a sigh of relief and quickly answered, "I don’t know. I’m usually cooped up at home all year. I only know about that guy from the Jun Family..."
"He’s the young master of the Lin Family, which ranks third among the ten great noble families! Most importantly, he’s the younger brother of that peerless prodigy of the Lin Family!" a bystander, who had witnessed Ning Xuan’s skill and overheard their conversation, voluntarily spoke up.
"Thank you," Ning Xuan said politely before turning his attention back to Qian Yourong.
Coincidentally, Qian Yourong’s beautiful eyes were also looking in his direction.
She smiled faintly, but still refused. "I ought to give face to Young Master Xihua. However, if I agree, it would be unfair to those who have already placed their bets."
Lin Xihua’s languid voice drifted from the palanquin. "I wish for her to open the betting again. Who agrees? Who objects?"
Simultaneously, the crowd heard a sweet, coquettish hum from the palanquin. There was a woman in there with Lin Xihua. No one spoke a word.
"Now, can you open the betting?" Lin Xihua’s voice was still languid, but his smugness was palpable.
Qian Yourong sighed and said reluctantly, "Since no one has any objections, I shall open it again. How much does Young Master Xihua intend to bet, and who will you be backing?"
"What about all of you who wanted to bet earlier? This Young Master has secured this opportunity for you, so act quickly! You only have a quarter of an hour!"
At Lin Xihua’s words, those who hadn’t bet before rushed to do so. Those who had already bet emptied their pockets to add more to their wagers.
「A quarter of an hour later.」
Lin Xihua inquired, "This Young Master would like to know the current state of the wagers."
Qian Yourong didn’t speak, instead motioning for someone to bring the account book over.
"No need. You speak, and This Young Master will listen."
"Currently, a total of 7,756,745 Heavenly Crystals and various supreme-grade Elixirs have been wagered on Young Master Ning Xuan’s victory... A total of 553,255 Heavenly Crystals and various supreme-grade Elixirs have been bet on Young Master Jun Ting’s victory..." Qian Yourong recited the figures as if listing her own treasures.
Before she could finish, Jun Ting, on the high platform, grew displeased. "Sister-in-law, did you make a mistake? Why are the bets on me so low?! Back in the Lower Realm, I was... Forget it. We won’t talk about the Lower Realm. The only reason this guy even made it to the Cloud Summit Heavenly Palace is thanks to me..."
In response, "Ning Xuan" mercilessly interrupted, cutting him to the quick. "Give it a rest! Thanks to you? You have the nerve to say that? You clearly used me to break the realm barrier and escape back here! Otherwise, I would have erased you back in the Lower Realm! Would I have let you live until now?!"
Jun Ting’s face turned green.
Ning Xuan watched the drama unfold with a smile. Qian Yourong is really something else. She even managed to get Jun Ting to expose his own dirty laundry!
"Hahaha, interesting! This Young Master bets on Ning Xuan to win! I came for him in the first place."
As his voice fell, a corner of the palanquin curtain lifted, and a Storage Ring flew out. It landed firmly on the betting table as Lin Xihua’s voice rang out again, "There are five million Heavenly Crystals inside. All in!"
"Young Master Xihua, won’t you reconsider? Betting on Young Master Ning Xuan has one-to-one odds, but betting on Young Master Jun Ting is one-to-ten. Alternatively, you could bet on both sides, that way..."
Lin Xihua cut her off with a snort of disdain. "Jun Ting? As if he’s worthy. It might be a different story if it were Jun Wuxian."
Ning Xuan clearly saw a flicker of disappointment in Qian Yourong’s eyes.
This woman is ruthless! Even now, she’s still trying to pluck a feather from a passing goose.
"Lin Xihua, you’ve gone too far!" Jun Ting roared from the high platform, suddenly enraged.
The next moment, he faced "Ning Xuan," his killing intent overflowing. "Ning Xuan, get over here and die! Today, I will slaughter you in front of everyone!"
Across from him, "Ning Xuan" sneered, "Such shameless boasting!"
The two immediately clashed in a fierce battle, and all eyes were riveted on them.
Only Mo Xiaoxiao watched for a moment before losing interest. She sent a sound transmission to Ning Xuan, "You’re going to die, and I bet it’ll be a miserable one." She sounded quite pleased with the idea.
Ning Xuan simply smiled without a word. If Mo Xiaoxiao were the one running the bets, Jun Ting would have surely been the winner. But the bookmaker was Qian Yourong. Things were about to get very interesting. Ning Xuan began to look forward to it.
The wait lasted for the time it takes three incense sticks to burn.
The crowd below started whispering.
"Why is this happening?"
"Don’t tell me they can’t determine a winner?"
"That’s impossible!"
"Something’s not right! Why are they lighting incense at the betting table?!"
"Yeah! And every time they replace an incense stick, they even confirm with us before lighting the new one!"
"Something is definitely wrong here!"
As the crowd exchanged confused glances, someone spoke up meekly. "I think I saw a line of red text beneath the betting rules..."
"What does it say?!"
"I think it says that if a winner isn’t decided within the time it takes for four incense sticks to burn, it’s considered a draw!"
"A draw? Wait... so what happens in a draw?!"
"The house takes all."
The crowd was utterly stunned.
Mo Xiaoxiao was dumbfounded. That wicked woman is too vicious!
Under his cloak, Ning Xuan smiled. He had guessed the outcome the moment they replaced the incense stick.
Staring at the seemingly tense figure on the stage, Ning Xuan couldn’t resist sending a sound transmission. "As expected of you. You certainly live up to your surname!"
"You flatter me, Young Master Ning," Qian Yourong replied, her voice growing more nervous toward the end. "I poured my heart and soul into designing this scenario, all while worrying it might anger you. By the way... you aren’t angry, are you?"
"Let’s drop the act." Ning Xuan cut straight to the point. "Tell me, why did you do this?"
