Dugu Xiaoyi trailed behind Jun Xie, her eyes constantly darting towards the large package held by the guard. She felt her earnings for the day were already quite substantial, but in that final round, Jun Xie had won so many treasures—many of which couldn't be measured in mere currency…

This immediately unsettled Dugu Xiaoyi, who had always felt financially strained. Why should such a useless, good-for-nothing fop win so many fine things? And why should she, who was always obedient and well-behaved, receive nothing?

Dugu Xiaoyi’s eyes darted back and forth: How could she devise a way to extort something else from this fellow? But if she asked outright, wouldn't it compromise her composure as a proper young lady? Confound it, Jun Moxie, why didn’t he offer a few items up voluntarily!

Tang Yuan’s mouth split into a grin that stretched almost to his ears, making him resemble the Maitreya Buddha. He walked with a confident spring in his step, full of vigor. “Third Young Master, today you’ve completely won me over, hahahaha! Seeing those other bastards lose everything they had filled my heart with such glee… Uh, brother, those swords and jade pendants—are they supposed to be mine now?”

“Mine?” Jun Xie stopped short, startled, and looked at Tang Yuan with surprise. “What are you talking about? Why should they be yours?”

Why? Tang Yuan froze instantly. He stammered, “Don’t tell me… don’t tell me you don’t plan to… give them back to me?”

“Give them back to you?” Jun Xie’s expression grew even stranger. “What do I owe you that I need to repay? What on earth are you talking about?!”

“Well… I… ahem…” Tang Yuan looked utterly pathetic. It was only then that he remembered: Jun Xie had won all those items himself, meaning they rightfully belonged to Jun Xie now. On what grounds could he possibly demand such valuable things from him? But… but what would he tell his father when he got home? Money wasn't the biggest issue; the main problem was that the items were now in Jun Xie's hands, making it much harder for him to reclaim them!

Young Master Tang finally realized that even though Jun Xie had returned victorious, his own predicament remained unsolved! Thinking of his father's terrifying expression sent a genuine shiver down the fat man’s spine!

“Giving them back is absolutely out of the question,” Jun Xie shook his head emphatically. “I have never done anything without a benefit attached, and I certainly won't start today, nor tomorrow.” At this, he looked at Tang Yuan’s dejected face and suddenly changed his tune. “However, selling them to you is an option; whatever benefit you gained from this situation, you must use that same measure of benefit to buy it back!” Jun Xie smiled mysteriously and held up one finger.

“Wahoo! He truly is a good brother!” Tang Yuan, having narrowly escaped disaster, was overcome with joy. He leaped up without considering the excitement he felt, throwing his arms around Jun Xie.

He failed to account for his own weight. With that sudden leap onto Jun Xie, his current body simply couldn't bear the load, and they crashed to the ground with a thud. Young Master Tang lived up to his heavyweight reputation; pinning Jun Xie underneath him, all one could see on the ground was fat jiggling relentlessly, obscuring even the edges of Jun Xie's robes…

Dugu Xiaoyi immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, dissolving into silent laughter: These two clowns! They are too hilarious!

Everyone scrambled to pull Tang Yuan off. Jun Xie underneath was nearly suffocated—covered in flesh, not even air could penetrate. Jun Xie was utterly mortified: I was pinned down by a man today; this is unbelievable…

“Fatty Tang, I am furious, and I’m raising the price! I won’t sell those sword and jade pendant for less than a million taels of silver! I’ll leave them for you until tomorrow, but if you come the day after, it’ll be a million and a half!” Jun Xie scrambled up, feeling as though his nostrils were still filled with the stench of pork fat, almost making him gag, and he glared fiercely.

“What?” Tang Yuan let out a pained shriek.

The group walked out of the alley entrance in a grand procession and stopped simultaneously.

To the east lay the direction of the Jun and Tang family estates; to the west was the Dugu family direction.

As they reached the point of parting, Dugu Xiaoyi suddenly felt a strange, indefinable sensation growing in her heart… Looking at Jun Xie’s sly smile, she mused: Jun Moxie, despite his notorious reputation as a complete degenerate, is actually quite entertaining to tease.

With that thought, Dugu Xiaoyi called out sternly, “Jun Moxie, are you coming to my grandfather’s birthday celebration?”

Jun Xie paused. “If my family allows me to go, then I definitely will attend.”

“And if your family forbids you from going?” Dugu Xiaoyi bit her lip.

“Then naturally, I won’t go,” Jun Xie found the question utterly baffling: If they didn't let me go, why would I go? To invite a beating?

“Bastard!” Hearing Jun Xie’s reply, Dugu Xiaoyi, without understanding why, suddenly became furious. She rushed forward and rained down a series of vicious punches and kicks. “If you dare not come, I’ll beat you every time I see you! Do you understand?!”

Jun Xie felt like a tiger brought low in the plains—how pitiful! The world’s foremost assassin was currently being bullied by a young girl with no chance to fight back! When will this body finally be suitable for my purposes? He frantically covered his face, repeatedly assuring her, “I’ll go! I’ll definitely go! I promise!”

“That’s more like it, you smart kid! Make sure you have a handsome birthday gift ready; it can’t be worth less than what you won today!” Dugu Xiaoyi glared at him fiercely, her bright eyes lingering greedily over the large package one last time before she turned away, smiling sweetly. She rubbed her wrist, gave a delicate little harrumph, and skipped away, hands clasped behind her back, chin slightly lifted, like a proud young deer.

It turned out the girl still wanted to extort more items from Jun Xie… However, this attitude was already a significant improvement over before. Even though, in Dugu Xiaoyi’s mind, Jun Moxie remained utterly worthless as a fop…

Once Dugu Xiaoyi had left, Jun Xie turned back and looked at Tang Yuan with a half-smile. “Young Master Tang, you are truly amazing. Tsk, tsk. You even managed to gamble away your fiancée. I am truly impressed.”

Tang Yuan instantly turned crimson with embarrassment!

Looking at Tang Yuan, Jun Xie’s gaze slowly turned cold. “Tang Yuan, it’s one thing for you to fool around, but this time, you nearly got me killed! Do you have any idea how precarious things were today?”

“Huh? Got you killed?!” Tang Yuan was stunned silly, never dreaming that Jun Xie would drop such a bombshell out of the blue.

“Do you really believe your luck is just that bad? Do you truly think you’re that dense and idiotic? Losing money, then losing your sword, then losing your jade pendant? And then, you were so foolish as to bet your own fiancée on the line? Tang Yuan, ask yourself: Are you truly such an idiot? Even if you were that foolish, do you grasp how severe the consequences could have been? The prestige of two great families would have been swept away in a single day! Can you afford that? You never once considered these things! Didn’t you feel that something was deeply wrong?”