Chapter 42: The Monkey Demon: Yuan Qu

How the hell is he here too?

Seeing the man above, Sha Lifei’s face twitched, and he stepped back several paces.

This man is Yuan Qu, boss of the White Ape Gang.

From childhood, he bore strange omens, and his mother was a prostitute; he suffered constant bullying, so he roamed the streets, learning all manner of underhanded tricks.

Even as a child, he earned the nickname “Monkey Demon.”

Unlike the boss of the Iron Knife Gang, Yuan Qu learned only street-fighting lowlife techniques; even though he became a disciple of Zhou Pan and had decent talent, he entered late and ruined his foundation with wine and women, barely reaching Dark Force.

Though his skill ranks last among the Eight Golden Giants, his reputation is no less fearsome—he’s infamous for being full of malice.

Dongcheng is the White Ape Gang’s territory, and this gambling den is rumored to be backed by a young master from Chang’an; even the yamen dares not come for protection money, so the White Ape Gang certainly wouldn’t.

Sha Lifei deliberately chose this place, never expecting to run into Yuan Qu again—he silently cursed his bad luck.

Meanwhile, Yuan Qu heard a man whisper something beside him, then revealed a sinister grin: “Related to that boy? Go, bring him back for a chat…”

“What are you doing?!”

Hearing this, Sha Lifei shouted: “Are you, disciples of Zhou Pan, planning dirty tricks before the match? All you fellow martial artists, you saw it!”

“Fuck you, you’re asking for death!”

Yuan Qu’s eyes instantly turned cruel.

At that moment, another man stepped out of the room—a stout, short old man in a squire’s robe, white-bearded and smiling, with a benevolent face.

He stroked his beard and chuckled: “Just a few minor players, why should Boss Yuan get angry?”

“Besides, this is Jinbao Gambling Den. The man merely raised his voice—he broke no rules. Boss Yuan, shouting for blood and death like this… how am I supposed to explain it?”

His words were polite, yet utterly disrespectful.

Sha Lifei nodded quickly: “That’s right, that’s right—I was born with a loud voice. What, am I supposed to get beaten just for being loud?”

The old man stroked his beard and smiled: “In a gambling den, who has a quiet voice? Guests come to enjoy themselves—they can shout however they please.”

“If guests want to bet on the death match, I’m interested too.”

“Afu, show the tiles!”

No sooner had he spoken than a cold-faced man stepped out from behind the old man, lifted his palm, leapt over the railing, executed a forward somersault, and landed steadily.

His body didn’t sway, he didn’t pant, and not a sound came from his feet.

“Impressive skill!”

Many martial artists in the gambling den cheered in unison.

The man’s expression didn’t change; he bowed to the crowd, then walked to the main stage at the back, took down two boards, and wrote in bold strokes: “Li Yan” and “Zhou Bai,” along with the odds.

Li Yan wins: one taels bet, one taels payout.

Zhou Bai wins: one taels bet, half a taels payout.

Yuan Qu, boss of the White Ape Gang, had now calmed down, his smile cold and hollow: “Wu Boss, you’re playing small…”

He’d received word that the backer of Jinbao Gambling Den had fallen on hard times, so he rushed here to negotiate a purchase, fearing someone else would snatch the prize.

But the shopkeeper outright refused—and gave him the cold shoulder.

Though he was furious, he didn’t want to break ties yet, fearing the situation might turn worse and become harder to handle.

After all, this move smacked of taking advantage of someone’s misfortune.

Wu Boss still wore a kind smile: “Just adding some excitement, letting the guests have fun. What, Boss Yuan, you want to place a bet too?”

Yuan Qu was about to refuse, but his eyes darted, then he grinned: “If Wu Boss wants to play, Yuan Qu will gladly join.”

“I bet two thousand taels. Does Wu Boss dare take it?”

Wu Boss’s smile didn’t fade; he waved his hand, and someone below immediately wrote the bet slip, dashed up the stairs, and bowed deeply as he handed it over.

“Boss Yuan, what generosity!”

“Wu Boss, what generosity!”

After this verbal exchange, seeing Wu Boss didn’t anger, Yuan Qu shifted focus to Sha Lifei below, sneering: “Big guy, since you’re so confident in that boy, how much are you betting?”

Though Sha Lifei was nervous, he puffed out his chest: “Young Li will win—I’ll bet everything I own!”

Saying this, he pulled a heavy money bag from his chest and slammed it onto the counter.

The bookkeeper was startled, but after carefully opening it, his expression turned strange.

Mostly copper coins; not even a few silver fragments.

The bookkeeper was speechless, quickly counted, and called out: “Guest’s bet: total nineteen taels and five mace…”

Before he finished, Sha Lifei pulled out one more tael, muttering: “Almost forgot—I need to save some for food.” The bookkeeper sighed and corrected: “Eighteen taels and five mace!”

“Hahaha!”

The entire gambling den erupted in laughter.

Even Yuan Qu couldn’t help chuckling, sneering: “You beggar, coming here pretending to be generous? Want me to lend you a few hundred taels to play with?”

“No thanks!”

Sha Lifei’s face was thick as leather—he didn’t care about the mockery, tucked away his bet slip, said nothing, and walked straight out of the gambling den.

He’d roamed the Jianghu—he wouldn’t fall for this trick.

Losing his money? He could start over. But borrowing from these bastards? That’d be worse than death.

The nine-out-thirteen-return scheme was still considered decent.

Some scoundrels specialized in this trade—waiting until the time was right, they’d show up daily, harassing until they got their cut, never counting it as interest, calling it “tea money” or “errand fees.”

Many small merchants were driven mad by these men.

!.

Of course, these tricks were only for ordinary folk.

When dealing with martial artists, they targeted those with consumption, who had only days to live, and harassed them relentlessly.

If a martial artist, enraged, killed one of them, it played right into their trap.

Then the slippery clerks of the yamen would join in, like two demons pounding at the door, driving you to wish for death.

Besides, there was already bad blood between them—Sha Lifei was naturally cautious.

Once outside the gambling den, he bolted, vanishing in a flash…

Inside the gambling den, seeing Sha Lifei didn’t bite, Yuan Qu found it dull and turned to the shopkeeper, whispering: “Wu Boss, think again.”

“My offer is low, but it’s real silver. If things go that far, you won’t be the only one trying to grab the prize with empty hands!”

With that, he smiled faintly and turned to leave.

Behind him, Wu Boss’s smile remained, but his eyes grew dark…

In the gambling den, the white-robed cheat from Hua Family shifted his eyes and shouted loudly: “Oh? A death match—betting on lives is far more fun!”

“Zhou Bai is the next pillar of the Zhou family. Bet on him and you get half the profit. But if you want to play big, bet on Li Yan—you’ll double your money in minutes!”

“Who wouldn’t want this chance? Hurry, or it’s gone!”

“What, you don’t have enough cash? Come to me…”

Martial artists, the older they get, the more they fear death—but most are still men who carry their heads on their belts, with a fierce gambling spirit; they immediately began raising money to bet.

Here were carters from the carriage guild, dockworkers from the canal gang, city hustlers, and even bandits hiding their identities.

A mix of dragons and snakes—anyone and everyone.

And news of this match quickly spread throughout Xianyang City…

…………

Elsewhere, as soon as Yuan Qu, boss of the White Ape Gang, stepped out of the gambling den, one of his men approached, bowing low: “Boss, that Sha Lifei is slippery—he’s gone.”

“Let him go. He’s not important.”

Yuan Qu shook his head, speaking low: “What did you find out?”

The man whispered: “Confirmed—he went to the Zhang family martial arts school. After he left, Zhang Yuanshang started making arrangements.”

“But they shut the doors and trained inside—our men saw nothing.”

“I see…”

Yuan Qu pondered, then said: “This matter’s too uncertain. Go, fetch Master Chen. Find Zhou Bai. I’m going to see my master.”

With that order, the men split into three groups and departed.

……

Yuan Qu led his men to a large mansion in the west city, ordered his men to wait outside, then respectfully asked for an audience.

“Is my master home?”

“Yes. Uncle Yuan, please enter.”

Not long after entering the mansion, Yuan Qu came out again.

Behind him followed a carriage.

On the carriage was a large iron cage, covered in red cloth, clanging loudly, with muffled roars of wild beasts…

(End of Chapter)