Supremely Talented Tyrant

"Hmph! Hao Jian, if I hadn't run into you today, then it would've been nothing. But since fate has thrown you in my path, if I were to retreat in front of you, how would my Ye Family, and the people of Capital City look upon me, Ye Wenying?!"

"Today, this young master is determined to see whether I, Ye Wenying, can turn the tables!"

Ye Wenying's face was icy, he paid no mind to the killing intent radiating from Hao Jian, because this time he had no intention of using physical force to settle the contest with Hao Jian—such a confrontation would undoubtedly end in his loss, no matter how many people he had on his side.

Hao Jian was notoriously tough in a fight, not just anyone could take him down. Since martial prowess was not an option, other avenues must be explored.

Looking at Hao Jian, the corners of Ye Wenying's mouth slowly curled into a smirk, his heart sneering. So you think you're tough? Well, this young master will just not fight you today. Since you're here at the Gambling Stone Site, let's gamble with stones and make sure you lose disastrously. By then, my status within the family will surely rise!

With this plan in mind, Ye Wenying didn't hesitate at all. He sneered at Hao Jian and said, "Hao Jian, I won't quibble with you today. You want to gamble on stones, don't you? Then let's see who's better at this gambling stone thing!"

Actually, he only had a smattering of knowledge about jade betting; otherwise, he wouldn't have lost so much money at the Gambling Stone Site. Today, he proposed stone gambling with Hao Jian mainly because of the man around forty years old behind him—he was his real trump card!

The king of stone gambling!

Almost all the raw stone materials he handled were the kind that would at least break even, making a profit. In his hands, it was just a matter of whether the jade would emerge or not, and once it did, it was of high value!

This was where the man's strength lay. Ye Wenying had stumbled upon him accidentally and, through an introduction by a clan member, temporarily took him into his service. Today was the first time he took this man out for stone gambling, intending to fully flaunt his expertise, but who would have thought he'd run into Hao Jian here.

"Stone gambling?"

On hearing this, Hao Jian was slightly taken aback and then looked at Ye Wenying with a strange expression, along with the man next to him radiating with arrogance. Did this guy not know that this stone gambling expert had lost a lot of his wealth gambling in Yunnan?

Hao Jian had come across this information while browsing the internet on a small local forum, but he didn't pay it much attention. After all, he didn't know if he would ever meet the man, so why should he care?

However, he had not expected him to appear before him today. If Ye Wenying knew that this guy had once lost a large sum of money due to stone gambling, would he still hire him?

Today was supposed to be a day out with the mother and daughter, and Hao Jian didn't want any bloodshed, even considering the earlier incident with the driver, which was just an annoyance for Hao Jian.

Now that this guy actually wanted to gamble on stones, Hao Jian naturally wouldn't oppose it. Instead, he nodded his head, indicating his agreement to the suggestion.

"We can gamble on stones, but if you lose, you'll have to apologize to me and my family—on your knees!"

Hao Jian gestured to Moon Goddess Jiang behind him and spoke indifferently.

He could tolerate insults against himself, shake them off like nothing, but no one was allowed to insult his family or those close to him. That was Hao Jian's protective nature.

Although Ye Wenying had not intended to involve the two of them, he was not averse to using the situation to belittle Hao Jian—as he saw it, just a slight use...

At least, that's what he thought!

"Why should I?!"

On hearing that Hao Jian wanted him, the Young Master of the Ye Family, to apologize to Hao Jian's woman, his face turned ugly.

"There's no 'why.' Whether you agree or not is up to you."

Hao Jian clenched his fists, and the killing intent on his body suddenly erupted, causing the hearts of the people within three meters to tremble and their faces turn pale, prompting them to quickly move away.

"After all, I, Hao Jian, have always believed in letting fists do the talking..."

His words slowly entered Ye Wenying's ears, sending cold sweat streaming down his forehead. Was this guy intending to force a confrontation?

And Ye Wenying knew he had no room to refuse because if he did, this bastard might just beat him up in front of everyone.

"You! I agree!"

Ye Wenying wanted to say a few more words to save face since he had just mocked and ridiculed Hao Jian moments ago. But now he was on the backfoot, a reversal that was particularly hard for someone like him to bear. Yet, he had no other choice; after all, this was Hao Jian.

"Gambling on stones is not something a kid like you can afford to play with!"

The gambling stone expert standing behind Ye Wenying, named Shi Qiu, looked at Hao Jian with that expression and immediately lifted his head in pride, shook his head disdainfully, and mocked, "I have immersed myself in the art of gambling on stones for thirty years; my experience is something a kid like you can't match."

"If you know what's good for you, you should apologize to Young Master Ye, admitting your mistake. Otherwise, when you lose later, don't come kneeling to beg Young Master Ye to spare you!"

Shi Qiu's pride obviously came from his capital to be proud. Even Ye Wenying treated him with a negotiating tone. After all, as long as he played his cards right, he could be her cash cow; Ye Wenying needed to be somewhat careful around him.

However, the presence of a great family's young master still dominated the scene, and Shi Qiu couldn't go too far. After all, his livelihood depended on this Young Master Ye.

"Spare me? Haha, you sure have the nerve to say that!"

Shaking his head, Hao Jian turned around, chuckled as he looked at Moon Goddess Jiang, and with some apologetic words, said, "Sorry, I didn't expect today's events to unfold like this. After I get everything settled, I'll take you out for a good time!"

This time the plan had been to take the mother and daughter out for a pleasant time, but one thing after another cropped up, making Hao Jian quite unhappy. Still, there was no helping it; if these issues weren't dealt with, the delay would be even longer...

"Go ahead and have fun. Lulu and I will just watch from the side. At least we haven't come away empty-handed. At least in the future, when Lulu goes out, she can brag to her little friends about how amazing her dad is..."

In response to Hao Jian's roundabout apology, Moon Goddess Jiang also smiled and shook her head, stretched out her hand to stroke Hao Lu's hair, and a soft, gentle voice gradually emerged from her slightly parted lips.

"Haha! Fine! This time, I will open your eyes! Let you understand what real gambling on stone is!"

Hearing Moon Goddess Jiang's words, Hao Jian burst out laughing with boundless bravado, and directly addressed Shi Qiu with a shout, "Let's start!"

"Hmph! You'll see your loss soon enough!"

Shi Qiu snorted coldly and then nodded to Ye Wenying, wearing a face full of arrogance, as he headed to a section where a single piece of stone material was worth hundreds of thousands to pick out a stone.

His vast experience told him there was a piece of Water-Type Jadeite of decent quality among those stones, which he believed would be sufficient to defeat Hao Jian, the outsider in his view.

The rules of stone gambling are actually quite simple: both parties choose the stones they want, and then take them to the Stone-Cutting Master to cut open. The final win or loss is determined based on the water content and price grade revealed within the raw stones.

The crowd, upon seeing Young Master Ye of Capital City and the Overlord of Hua City, Hao Jian, start a round of stone gambling, instantly became excited as if injected with chicken blood, each one wishing it were them in the arena.

It's no wonder they're so thrilled; such a pinnacle duel is rarely seen, and now they have the chance, they surely want to stick around to watch the end, right? Some even pulled out their phones, intending to record this battle, only to be stopped by the staff at the Gambling Stone Site as soon as they took their phones out.

Time passed swiftly, and in just over ten minutes, Shi Qiu came over, cradling a stone the size of a human head, seemingly quite heavy. Even with his sturdy frame, he found it difficult to carry.

"Boom!"

The raw stone landed heavily on the stone-cutting table, making the table tremble. Then Shi Qiu nodded to Ye Wenying, and his confident demeanor made Ye Wenying's smile even richer. Since Shi Qiu said there was no problem, it seemed this time Hao Jian was doomed to lose!

At least Ye Wenying had not seen Hao Jian go to pick the raw stone to gamble against Shi Qiu, which led him to wonder if Hao Jian was giving up?

"Kid, where's your stone!?"

After finally carrying the stone over, Shi Qiu saw Hao Jian still standing there with a calm face, with no action taken, and his face showed annoyance, "Even if you want to surrender, at least grab any stone to prove you're gambling against me. Otherwise, winning over you like this, I won't feel any superiority!"

"Heh heh."

Shaking his head with a laugh, Hao Jian then casually picked up a fist-sized stone from a low-end stone stall behind him under everyone's watchful eyes and slowly placed it on the stone-cutting table. Then, with a smile, he walked over to Moon Goddess Jiang's side, playing with Hao Lu.

To others, Hao Jian seemed indeed to be giving up, considering that no one who truly knows stone gambling would be so casual. Doesn't everyone use professional tools, assessing and speculating slowly?

Not only the onlookers but even Ye Wenying began to suspect that Hao Jian was conceding defeat, yet something inside her felt uneasy.

Shaking her head slightly, Ye Wenying cast out these worries, refusing to think about it anymore. Maybe Hao Jian really was giving up?

......