“Having been targeted in this regard more than once, Lian Yu was highly sensitive to such matters, and the slightest unusual movement would lead her to make associations in this direction.
Hu Niu said hesitantly, “Given his circumstances, how foolish would he have to be to dare set his sights on you, Madam?”
During business hours, Lian Yu gently tapped the armrest of her reclining chair with the scroll in her hand, saying, “Of those who run to Tianji Mountain to gamble with their lives for wealth, how many are truly content? Pick any one of them and place them in the mortal world, and they would be among the richest in the region, yet they are still unsatisfied.”
Hu Niu sighed, “True. He is already the number one person at the Chaoyang Assembly and will never lack for money, yet he is still not satisfied and comes to Tianji Mountain. I hope we are just overthinking it.”
Lian Yu said with a light laugh, “We will know if we are overthinking it once we test him.”
Hu Niu asked suspiciously, “How do we test him?”
Lian Yu smiled gracefully, “Give him a chance to get close to me, and we will see.”
During business hours, Hu Niu asked, “What do you want to do?”
Lian Yu raised her hand and pinched her forehead, seeming to have a slight headache or feeling helpless. “The eldest young master of the Liang family in the Mirage City has been inviting me for drinks. It is not good to offend him, and I cannot keep refusing. Let us just be straightforward about it. All who come are guests, so let us invite those few who came to show their support to a banquet as well.”
Hu Niu thought for a moment and nodded, “Alright, I will arrange it right away.”
Just as Yu Qing and his fellow disciple were figuring out how to get close to Lian Yu, their door was knocked on.
Mu Aotie opened the door and saw an attendant outside, greeting them with a beaming smile.
Mu Aotie asked suspiciously, “What is it?”
The attendant smiled and said, “It is like this. The proprietress of our inn is hosting a banquet tonight to entertain some distinguished guests. We are also holding a lottery for the other guests, and the lucky ones will be invited to join the banquet. There is no obligation, it is just a notification. See if you are interested in participating. If you are willing, please draw a lot.”
Having said this, he took a few steps back and gestured towards the corridor.
At this time, rope-operated boxes were also going up and down in the deep well of the corridor.
Mu Aotie immediately walked out of the door and looked around the circular corridor surrounding the deep well. He saw that other guests had also been knocked on their doors and asked to come out. Several attendants were holding a box, going to each guest one by one and asking them to draw a lot.
Of course, there were also guests who had no interest in this. They took a look at the situation and went straight back into their rooms, closing the doors.
Those who could afford to stay here indeed included some who would not take the proprietress of the Stone Heart Residence’s banquet seriously. It was perfectly normal.
Hearing about the lottery, Yu Qing also quickly came out. He was an expert at drawing lots. He first looked at the situation outside, then looked at Mu Aotie. He was just figuring out how to get close to that proprietress, and unexpectedly, they were hosting a banquet. This was a perfect opportunity to get close.
However, if this good opportunity depended on a lottery, it might not be so good after all. Regarding this, Yu Qing was still a bit doubtful. He stopped the attendant who was about to leave and knock on the next guest room door, and asked, “Has your inn held such a lottery before?”
The attendant smiled and said, “Not very often, just occasionally. When the proprietress wants to host guests, there are always a few times a year.”
This was not false talk. The staff below could not even figure out why the proprietress wanted to host guests. It felt like it was purely based on her mood. Some things could be seen. Sometimes, the proprietress hosted guests on a whim purely out of emptiness and loneliness.
As for why the lottery method was adopted, it was because the proprietress was basically unfamiliar with the guests. All who came were guests, and it was not good to favour some over others. Deciding by lottery was the best.
Hearing that they had done this before, Yu Qing’s doubts immediately vanished. If this was the first time they were doing this, was it too coincidental that they encountered it right after arriving? Having been ambushed so many times, it was hard for him not to be vigilant.
The lottery box was carried from room to room. The guests who had drawn lots saw the results and either closed their doors speechlessly or shook their heads with a smile. In short, they had no more communication with the attendants. It seemed the results were not great.
Soon, three attendants who came together brought the box in front of them. The attendant on the left explained, “If you draw a white-core ball, you are not selected. If you draw a red-core ball, you are respectfully invited to attend our proprietress’s banquet.”
Yu Qing asked, “How many red-core balls are inside?”
The attendant on the left said, “Five red-core balls and twenty white-core balls.” Yu Qing asked, “Are you going to invite five winners to the banquet?”
The attendant on the left said, “Not necessarily, it depends on luck. The drawn balls are thrown back into the box, so everyone has an equal chance. After all the guests have had a turn, the five red-core balls might be drawn by twenty people, or possibly no one at all. In short, however many people draw them, that is how many will be invited.”
Yu Qing chuckled and said, “Your proprietress is truly a woman of spirit.”
The attendant in the middle shook the box he was holding again with a rustling sound, “You two, please.”
The two fellow disciples looked at each other. Mu Aotie took the initiative to yield, “You have good luck, you draw.”
This was truly not just politeness or flattery. How could ordinary people compare to the skill of winning several times in a row at the Chaoyang Assembly? Since they had already decided to get close to the proprietress, naturally, they should let Old Fifteen, the one good at drawing lots, do it.
However, after looking at the lottery box, Yu Qing could not help but reveal a bitter smile. It was completely an impenetrable black box. He knew nothing about the situation inside and had no way to start. His Observation Technique was useless.
Who would have thought the attendant on the right would say, “You two do not need to be modest. As long as you are guests, you can each draw once.”
Since that was the case, Yu Qing did not stand on ceremony. He reached his hand into the cloth-covered opening, fumbled around inside, and took out a yellowish-brown wooden ball.
Having seen how other guests in the corridor drew lots before, he followed their example and pulled the wooden ball in half right there. The result was immediately visible, showing a bright red coating inside.
Is this real or fake? Yu Qing cried out in his heart. His eyes widened a bit, staring straight in disbelief. He slowly showed it to the three attendants who came together, saying, “This is…”
The three attendants smiled at the same time. The attendant on the right cupped his hands and said, “Congratulations. Someone will come to invite the honoured guest to the banquet a little later.”
“That would be excellent.” Yu Qing gave a dry laugh and slowly closed the wooden ball that was split in half.
Seeing him win on his very first try, Mu Aotie looked at Yu Qing with a strange expression, equally unable to believe it. Could he really draw a winning lot? Thinking of the lottery situation at the Chaoyang Assembly, he was completely convinced. In the future, whenever there was a lottery, letting Old Fifteen handle it would definitely be the right choice.
As his thoughts churned, he suddenly heard Old Fifteen cough dryly. His gaze subconsciously fixed on Old Fifteen’s movements, staring at the wooden ball he had picked up to put back into the box. He saw that on the side of the wooden ball facing him, there was a clear scratch.
He immediately understood what it meant and felt somewhat speechless. He had thought he had no chance of going to the banquet, since his luck was bad. He did not expect Old Fifteen to pull this trick casually.
Thump, the wooden ball fell back into the box. Yu Qing withdrew his hand, clasped his hands behind his back, and stepped aside with a smile.
Rustle rustle, the black box was shaken vigorously a few more times, then brought in front of Mu Aotie. “Please.”
Mu Aotie also did not stand on ceremony. He reached his hand into the cloth-covered opening and fumbled around quickly inside. Suddenly, his hand movements stopped. He looked at the three attendants in front of him, then looked at Yu Qing. He slowly pulled his hand out, feeling out a wooden ball, and then opened the wooden ball in front of everyone. He looked down and saw that the result was as expected, so he showed it to the three attendants.
Inside the wooden ball was a bright red coating.
Yu Qing said with a beaming smile, “No way, are we really this lucky?”
On the other side, the guests who had also been knocked out to wait for the lottery stared at them in surprise, seemingly realising something.
The three attendants looked at each other, then all sighed in amazement and shook their heads.
The one holding the box clicked his tongue in admiration, “So many people before you, and not a single one won. You two actually won one after the other. Your luck is truly extraordinary.”
Mu Aotie was expressionless, thinking to himself, “Extraordinary luck my arse. Old Fifteen is just cheating.”
After the three attendants congratulated them one after another, they asked the two to return to their rooms to rest first, indicating that someone would come to guide them to the banquet when the time came, and then they continued to look for the next guest.
Returning to the room and closing the door, Mu Aotie immediately asked Yu Qing, “How did you do it?”
Yu Qing knew what this abrupt question meant. He spread his hands and smiled bitterly, “I cheated for you on the second one, but the first one was truly just good luck.”
Mu Aotie was half-believing and half-doubting, and the expression on his face proved he was obviously still somewhat suspicious.
Believe it or not, Yu Qing was too lazy to explain himself. The key point was that even he felt this explanation was not very believable. At the Chaoyang Assembly, he had drawn the exemption token relying purely on luck without cheating, and now he was saying it was luck again. Anyone would be suspicious.
Fortunately, Mu Aotie was not the type to dwell on a topic. Despite his doubts, he did not say much more.
After the black lottery box went around to all the guests willing to draw lots, it was finally placed on the table in front of Hu Niu.
After Hu Niu removed the board at the lottery opening, there was a rustling sound. The box was turned upside down. After resting for a moment, the box body was lifted, leaving twenty-five seemingly identical wooden balls on the table.
She picked up a wooden ball and opened it in half. Inside was a red core. She flipped both halves face down on the table.
She picked up another and opened it. It was still a red core. She again flipped it face down. After opening all the wooden balls, there was not a single white-core ball in sight. They were all red-core balls, and after being split in half, they were all placed face down.
In the good lighting, she stared at each hemispherical sphere and examined them carefully. Soon, she picked out the hemisphere with the scratch and moved it aside, placing it alone.
She did not let the other hemispheres go just yet. After adjusting the angles and observing them carefully repeatedly, she turned around and said, “Madam, it seems we do not need to wait until after the banquet. Your suspicion is probably correct.”
Lian Yu, who was sitting not far away drinking, lazily stood up. Her bare feet stepped on the thick velvet carpet. Twisting her water-snake-like waist, she walked over gracefully. She bent down and picked up the hemisphere on the table, then turned and sat down on the table with a plop. Wiggling her toes, she examined the scratch on the sphere with intoxicated eyes, and breathed out the smell of alcohol as she teased, “Another clever one has arrived.”
Under normal circumstances, similar lottery activities were indeed related to her mood, but that was only under normal circumstances.
Hu Niu said, “There will be one more gang leader at the banquet.”
Lian Yu played with the wooden ball in her hand and chuckled, “The six gang leaders participating in the Tongque Martial Affairs have all gathered at my place. I suppose tonight will be very interesting.”