Chapter 167: Fang Jingbao

"Are you done?" Ximen Kankan looked at Duan Rong and urged him.

Ximen Kankan had already finished shaking, but Duan Rong was still there, shaking it gently bit by bit, his movements looking as if he were having a cramp.

"Done." Ximen Kankan had already been waiting until he was somewhat impatient, and only then did Duan Rong suddenly raise his head.

Ximen Kankan curled his lip and said coldly, "Amateur! Shaking a pair of dice, so slow and sluggish."

The two opened their dice cups almost simultaneously. Ximen Kankan looked at Duan Rong's point total, and his complexion instantly turned dark; naturally, Duan Rong had won. He had been dawdling there shaking for a long time just to shake out a total higher than Ximen Kankan's, but his technique was not up to par, and the dice in the cup simply would not obey him...

Ximen Kankan gave Duan Rong a strange look and thought to himself, "Bizarre!"

"Again!"

Just at this moment, Jiang Qingyu's Personal Attendant, Jiang Rong, suddenly pushed the door open and entered, saying, "Master, something has happened in the Xin Zi Room next door!"

"What happened?" Jiang Qingyu raised his eyes and asked.

"A card sharp was caught; listening to the shouting, it seems to be Fang Jingbao," Jiang Rong said.

"Fang Jingbao?" Ximen Kankan let out a cry, his eyes instantly lighting up.

This Fang Jingbao, come to think of it, could be considered a legend in the street life of Xiangu County.

This person was originally a pickpocket on the streets.

A pickpocket is a thief.

Those who steal with their bare hands are called "Clear-Pickers," and those who use scissors, blades, and the like to steal are called "Rough-Pickers."

Fang Jingbao was the leader of the Clear-Pickers on these streets.

Later, somehow, he actually learned a set of miraculous Thousand Arts from a blind beggar who had drifted into the county from elsewhere.

From then on, he mingled in major gambling dens and made his fortune.

But no matter how high one's Thousand Arts are, they are ultimately unable to see the light of day. Before long, the gambling dens in the nearby prefectures and counties had all blacklisted him and would not let him through the door.

Ten years ago, this person suddenly vanished without a trace; some said he had gone to gambling dens in other regions, and others rumored that he was already dead...

"Let's go, let's go over and take a look." Ximen Kankan had always loved watching the excitement; he immediately jumped off his seat and rushed toward the door in a hurry.

Duan Rong and Jiang Qingyu also walked out together.

As soon as the three stepped out of the room, they saw that a crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the Xin Zi Room next door.

Ximen Kankan was short, and standing in the back, he could not see anything at all. He pushed and shoved until he squeezed to the very front, and Duan Rong followed the gap Ximen Kankan had squeezed out, also drilling his way in to stand at the very front.

Inside the room, one could see some gambling tools scattered on the gorgeous carpet on the floor, and bank notes and Pai Gow tiles were piled on the side table. Three people were still sitting in front of the table; clearly, these three had just been playing Pai Gow...

And inside the room, with their backs to the door, three people were also standing.

One of them was dressed as a scholar, while the other two were Martial Artists in tight-fitting clothes, gripping blades behind them.

Ximen Kankan whispered in Duan Rong's ear, "That is the owner of Weiyang Workshop, Wei Yutian."

Duan Rong glanced at the back of the person dressed as a scholar; this person's robes were loose and his figure was thin. If one only looked at his back, he even had a somewhat transcendent and refined air...

Wei Yutian stared with deep eyes at the person in front of the side table and said, "Mr. Fang Jingbao has arrived, why not show your true face?"

That person was an old man with a refined, gaunt face and graying hair. He wore brocade robes with trimmed edges, possessing an air of grace and nobility.

This old man let out a long sigh and swept his gaze over the other two people in front of the gambling table; he had originally intended to fleece a mark, but he had not expected to be exposed the moment he entered the door.

The old man looked at Wei Yutian's unkind gaze and finally raised his hand to peel off the scalp of gray hair he was wearing, revealing a head of cropped black hair, and then he tore a layer of skin off his own face.

His wrinkled face immediately transformed into a sallow, thin face of a middle-aged man.

"It really is you!" Wei Yutian's pupils constricted.

Fang Jingbao said, "Ten years have passed, and Mr. Wei still remembers me?"

"Mr. Fang won seventy or eighty thousand taels in one night; how could I dare to forget?" Wei Yutian sneered.

Fang Jingbao said, "I am puzzled; my Disguise Technique also has quite a bit of skill, so how could Mr. Wei see through it the moment I entered the door?"

"You have not returned for ten years! Do you think your old flame is still of one mind with you?"

Fang Jingbao's breathing hitched. He looked at Wei Yutian, then gave a miserable laugh and said, "I understand."

"I wonder how Mr. Wei intends to deal with me?" Fang Jingbao's expression was not the least bit panicked; he was, after all, someone who had seen the world and drifted through the jianghu.

"Ten years ago, the joint expulsion order issued by the major gambling dens stipulated that if Mr. Fang entered a gambling den again, once caught, your hand would be severed!" As Wei Yutian spoke, his gaze swept over Fang Jingbao's right hand.

Fang Jingbao just sat there coldly, his face devoid of any expression.

Wei Yutian was a powerhouse of the True Qi Realm; let alone wanting to cut off his hand, even if he wanted to kill him, he could only accept his fate!

"But Mr. Fang, you did keep your word for ten years! In these ten years, not only have you not stepped into Weiyang Workshop, but you have also not trespassed into the gambling dens of the nearby prefectures and counties."

"You kept your word for ten years! Leaving your home and native land, that is not easy!" Wei Yutian sighed and said.

Fang Jingbao's eyes flickered; he heard that Wei Yutian seemed to have the intention of showing him leniency.

"If I sever your hand, you will certainly not be convinced." Wei Yutian's gaze was like lightning as he swept a look at Fang Jingbao and said, "I will just cut off one of your thumbs to leave a mark."

Fang Jingbao's lips trembled. He turned his head to look at Wei Yutian and said, "Mr. Wei is benevolent and righteous!"

This remark from Fang Jingbao came from the heart; Wei Yutian only cutting off one of his thumbs was already considered letting him off the hook.

Wei Yutian tilted his head and said concisely to a Martial Artist beside him, "Right hand! The thumb!"

Upon hearing this, the Martial Artist immediately drew his blade and walked to Fang Jingbao's side, raising the blade as he said coldly, "Mr. Fang, please!"

Fang Jingbao's eyes flickered. He slowly raised his right hand, removed a dark green Jade Thumb Ring from it, placed it on the side table, and then placed his right hand on the edge of the side table.

The Martial Artist gripped the blade with both hands, aiming it at Fang Jingbao's thumb like a guillotine; his eyelids twitched, and he brought it down.

It is said that the ten fingers are connected to the heart.

Fang Jingbao felt a sudden, intense pain. His right hand shrank back instinctively, and he immediately covered the severed stump of his thumb with his left palm. Fang Jingbao's face instantly turned deathly pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Just as his right hand shrank back, his elbow bumped into the Jade Thumb Ring on the side table.

The Jade Thumb Ring slid through the bloodstains, rolled off the side table, dropped onto the carpet, and rolled clatteringly toward the door, stopping at Ximen Kankan's feet. Ximen Kankan immediately shifted his position to avoid the Jade Thumb Ring.

Before the Jade Thumb Ring fell, it had rolled through the pool of blood on the side table, and now a few spots of blood remained on its edge...

Duan Rong glanced at the thumb ring on the carpet, his heart stirred; he took half a step forward, bent down, and picked up that Jade Thumb Ring.

At this moment, everyone in the room looked at Duan Rong and the Jade Thumb Ring he held in his hand; even Wei Yutian turned around and fixed his gaze on Duan Rong.

Duan Rong's expression remained unmoved as he walked toward the small table with the Jade Thumb Ring, but the moment he picked up the Jade Thumb Ring, he had already silently commanded the Spirit Reader in his heart.

At this time, looking at the set of data appearing before his eyes, Duan Rong felt slightly surprised; this Jade Thumb Ring was actually a Third Tier Spirit Tool.

Artifact: Jade Thumb Ring.

Spirit Artifact Tier: Third Tier.

Devour Requirement: Host Spirit Power Level 3 (Satisfied).

Devour Effect: Mastery of Qingcha Sleight of Hand, Mastery of Hundred-Change Thousand Arts, Mastery of Disguise Technique.

"Three unorthodox strange arts, and all at the Mastery level?"

Duan Rong walked to Wei Yutian's side and silently commanded in his heart: "Devour!"

As the data panel before his eyes flickered and dissipated, Duan Rong placed the Jade Thumb Ring on the small table in front of Fang Jingbao; Fang Jingbao glanced at the Jade Thumb Ring before him, looked up at Duan Rong, and said, "Many thanks."

Duan Rong merely gave a soft grunt, cast a glance at Fang Jingbao's bloodied, mangled severed finger on the table, and turned to walk back to the room's entrance.

As Duan Rong walked back, Ximen Kankan's curious gaze swept across Duan Rong's face...

(End of this chapter)