Chapter 517: This kid is weird!

Wait! Xuan Fu Weng shouted to stop her, "Gu Zhou, let Daoba go with them; Hidden Cloud Valley may not be a secret place, but it's not easy to find."

Let Daoba lead the way for them; with more people together, someone can also help look after Tuan Tuan on the road.

Okay.

Tuan Tuan stretched out her little arms and hugged Xuan Fu Weng: "Grandpa, you're really kind!"

Xie Guzhou coughed upon seeing that.

Tuan Tuan hurriedly turned, walked to him, and snuggled into his embrace: "Uncle Xie, you're great too!"

Xie Guzhou then laughed loudly: "You little clever ghost! If I weren't busy, I'd accompany you on this trip to meet that expert!"

Daoba! Protect the little ancestor! Not a single hair may be missing!

Don't worry!" Daoba replied, led a horse over, and waited at the door.

Xiao Er and Tuan Tuan mounted Red Cloud; the three left the goods depot and headed toward Falling Eagle Gulch.

Tuan Tuan looked around: "Uncle Daoba, where are we going?"

Daoba blinked: "Aren't we supposed to go to the Treasure Cave to get a treasure, then sell it for those ten thousand taels of gold?"

Tuan Tuan tilted her head: "We're not going."

Daoba and Xiao Er both exclaimed, "Whoa—" and came to a halt.

Xiao Er lowered his head to look at her: "Miss, if we're not going to Falling Eagle Gulch, where else can we get a treasure?"

Tuan Tuan asked: "Uncle Daoba, if we go to the Treasure Cave, get the item, and run back to sell it, wouldn't that take several days?"

Daoba calculated: "At least four or five days."

Exactly! Mother is ill; if we get the gold, then go to that whatever valley to fetch the person back to the Main Camp, wouldn't that take even more days?

Besides, those treasures are for exchanging grain with the uncles in the Main Camp; using one reduces the stock, better leave them for them.

Hearing this, Xiao Er's heart warmed: "Miss, how sensible you are!"

Daoba nodded: "That's true. But if we don't go to the Treasure Cave, where can we get that ten thousand taels of gold? That's no small sum!"

Tuan Tuan pondered a moment: "Uncle Daoba, where can we gamble?"

Daoba was stunned: "Gamble, gamble money?"

Yes!" Tuan Tuan nodded firmly, "I want to gamble! Win ten thousand taels of gold and then leave!"

Daoba looked at the chubby little dumpling before him, then at Xiao Er behind her: "Little ancestor, you really are my little ancestor!"

There's no sure win in gambling, let alone ten thousand taels of gold!

Besides, if you truly won that much from a gambling house, you'd likely not even make it out the door before being robbed.

Tuan Tuan widened her eyes: "Why?"

Daoba helplessly said: "Winning little naturally draws no attention, but if you truly walked away with such a huge sum, how could the gambling house stay open?"

That's basically wrecking the place!

Xiao Er nodded in agreement: "Miss, Daoba brother speaks the truth. No gambling house would let you win that much and still let you leave."

Tuan Tuan thought: "Then we just win a few more houses! If we don't gamble all in one place, it'll work!"

This…" Daoba felt his head swell, "Little ancestor, you're so young, have you ever gambled?"

I have! Won thirty-two rounds in a row!

Daoba swayed, almost falling off his horse.

He steadied himself, looked at Xiao Er: "Three, thirty-two rounds? Still consecutive wins? Xiao Er brother, is the little ancestor teasing me?"

Xiao Er shook his head: "Really. When Miss was in Yu Prefecture, the shopkeeper there even wanted to take her as an apprentice, saying she had extraordinary talent and could become a gambling king."

Daoba's eyes instantly sparkled like stars: "Great! I never expected the little ancestor to have this talent!"

I've been to every gambling house in Xibei; come on, I'll take you!

For the big ones we'll win more, for the small ones less; hit up about seventeen or eighteen gambling houses, and that ten thousand taels of gold will be in hand!

Tuan Tuan clapped her little hands: "Great!"

Daoba rubbed his hands, his expression like a weasel that stole a chicken: "Little ancestor, may I discuss something with you?"

Hmm?

When you place your bet, could you let me follow and place a small stake?

He swallowed saliva: "I, Daoba, have gambled for twenty years and barely won a few times; I'm infamous in the horse gang for always losing, soon to lose even my pants."

Tuan Tuan looked puzzled: "Of course! What's the problem?"

Daoba rejoiced: "Come on! Let's go gamble!"

Tuan Tuan looked at his body: "Uncle Daoba, aren't you wearing pants?"

Daoba's old face flushed: "Who said that? I am wearing them!"

Wait!" Xiao Er, holding back laughter, called out to the two overexcited people: "Miss, we need to find a place to change clothes first; we can't enter the city looking like this."

Daoba slapped his forehead: "Right! Right! Come on, I'll take you there!"

Before entering the city, each bought suitable attire; Tuan Tuan also dressed as a boy, swaggering to the door of the first gambling house.

Tuan Tuan looked up at the sign on the gambling house: "What does this say?"

Daoba said resentfully: "This place is called Beyond the Pass Tower; they say it's the fairest gambling house in Xibei, but I've lost the most here!"

Xiao Er gave him a sideways glance: "No wonder he brought us here first."

I understand, Uncle Daoba, is this place big?

Yes! It's among the top!

Tuan Tuan reached out with her little hand, one grabbing Daoba, the other pulling Xiao Er: "Then let's hurry inside!"

Just as they stepped over the threshold, a noisy wave of heat hit them.

The main hall held over ten tables, each surrounded by a crowd.

The clinking of copper coins hitting the ground, the rustling of the dice cup shaking, and the winners' cheers mixed with the losers' curses all blended together.

Xiao Er looked around and asked in a low voice: "Is there anything simpler to play?"

"Yes, follow me!" Daoba, familiar with the way, led them through the crowd to a relatively quiet table in the corner.

Only a few scattered gamblers gathered around the table.

"Little ancestor, will this work?" Daoba whispered in Tuan Tuan's ear: "This table has the simplest gameplay."

He pointed to a leaf card placed face down in front of Baoguan: "Just bet on red or black; flipping the card decides win or lose."

Tuan Tuan looked delighted: "Yeah, I get it. Why are there so few people here?"

Daoba replied: "It's too simple, so few people bet."

"Oh!" Tuan Tuan understood.

Baoguan was a thin man in his forties; he glanced at the three of them, lazily tapped the table, and said: "Place your bets, then hands off."

Tuan Tuan tiptoed, took out a small piece of broken silver weighing about one tael from his Sachet, and placed it on the red spot.

Daoba hesitated a moment, then also took out one tael of silver and placed it in the same spot.

Baoguan glanced, then flipped the card.

Red!

"We won! Really won!" Daoba's eyes widened, and he swept the winnings toward himself.

Tuan Tuan tilted his head, smiling with eyes curved.

Second round.

Baoguan shuffled the stack of leaf cards a few times, drew one and placed it face down, then tapped the table.

Tuan Tuan glanced at Daoba, pointed to red, and said: "Put it all here."

"Still betting on red? Fine, I'm in!" Daoba made up his mind and pushed all the silver on the table onto red.

He then took out another ten taels and added them to the bet.

Baoguan's face darkened a bit as he flipped the card again.

Still red!

"We won again!" Daoba's breathing grew ragged, his hands trembling slightly.

The few onlooking gamblers began to whisper among themselves:

"That kid's luck is pretty strong!"

"He's won two in a row, and the scar-faced guy beside him, who also bet two rounds, won too."

"Don't rush, let's see more."

Third round.

Tuan Tuan still had Daoba place all the winnings on red; that initial one tael had now become several dozen taels.

Sweat streamed down Daoba's face as he pulled out all the silver he had on him and bet it all as well.

Baoguan's eyelid twitched, and his hand paused on the card for a moment.

Daoba was unhappy: "Open the card! What are you waiting for?"

Baoguan gritted his teeth and flipped the card.

Still red!

Daoba bellowed "Ah!" and jumped up: "Red again! We won again! Little ancestor, you're amazing!"

The onlooking gamblers' voices grew louder.

"Three reds in a row?"

"This kid is spooky!"

"He couldn't be cheating, could he?"

Baoguan's forehead beaded with sweat as he gave a glance to the side.

An attendant quietly turned and ran toward the back.

Xiao Er moved forward half a step without changing expression, shielding Tuan Tuan in front of him.