Ch. 196 - Source Art

“I’m not bothering with the likes of you,” Wang Shu turned away, ignoring the man.

“Quite the temper,” the Sunset Clouds Sect servant sneered. “Makes sense, though. Your family scraped together that source over generations. Gotta be cautious, or you’ll lose it all.”

“Stop with the snide remarks. We’re not stooping to your level,” Er Lengzi shot back, glaring.

“Bumpkins, stone gambling’s risky. Coming here to try your luck? You’ll be crying before you know it,” the servant mocked. “I’m telling you, this isn’t your place. Source miners should stick to being honest.”

“Get lost. I’ve got source and I’m here to gamble. Mind your own business,” Er Lengzi snapped bluntly. Wang Shu chuckled, “Worry about yourself. Don’t go broke and crawl out crying. Nine out of ten gamblers crash.”

“People like you… no experience,” the servant fumed. “The mines are where you belong. Don’t talk tough. You’ll be crying soon.”

Young Master Liu from Sunset Clouds Sect frowned, saying to his servant, “Why bother with them?” He strode forward, his entourage following.

Super Lucky Gambling House had multiple courtyards filled with source stones, ranging from tens of thousands of kilos to mere ounces, densely packed. The first courtyard held the lowest-grade stones, barely attracting attention. Most were ordinary, some just filler hauled in.

Ye Fan didn’t rush to leave. Having studied the Celestial Source Tome’s basics, he wanted to practice, not to win pure source but to gain experience. He wandered the first courtyard, tapping one stone, knocking another, looking serious.

“Brother Ye, these stones are junk, meant to scam. Let’s go deeper,” Wang Shu suggested.

“No rush. Today’s a trial run. Let’s look around first,” Ye Fan replied, staying put.

Nearby, snickers came from the gatehouse, where the gatekeepers who’d blocked them lounged, arms crossed, watching the show.

“What’s so funny? Go fetch some tea,” Er Lengzi glared.

“Tea? Acting high and mighty!” one gatekeeper retorted gruffly.

“Guests deserve service. Don’t you know the rules?” Wang Shu turned. “That’s how you treat customers? Get the tea, less chatter.”

One gatekeeper’s eyes bulged. “You little brat, just a source miner, daring to act superior!”

“Call your source master. I’ll ask if you’re shutting down business with your nonsense,” Wang Shu sneered.

“Fine, get them tea and be done with it,” another gatekeeper relented, not wanting to escalate and risk upsetting VIPs. They’d be in trouble then.

The gatekeepers faces darkened, glaring venomously at Er Lengzi, who grumbled in annoyance. Ye Fan circled the courtyard, noting thousands of stones, most filler, with only a few containing source. “How are these priced?”

With few gambling here, source masters stayed in inner courtyards, leaving the gatekeepers in charge. One mocked, “These are the cheapest. One tael of source buys a thousand kilos. With your source, you could buy a pile.”

“Really? Then move that stone for me,” Ye Fan pointed to a thousand-kilo boulder in the heap.

The gatekeepers’ faces soured. As mortals, moving a thousand-kilo stone would exhaust them. “You’re throwing money away. That huge rock costs a tael of precious source, and you’ll get nothing,” one cursed.

“Less talk, move it. Don’t want business? Should I fetch the source master?” Wang Shu chimed in.

“You two pick some too. Don’t worry,” Ye Fan told Wang Shu and Er Lengzi.

“Us? Nah, we’re good at mining, not picking stones,” they waved off.

“Just pick. No need to argue.”

Wang Shu, quick-witted, whispered to Er Lengzi, and they began ordering the gatekeepers. “Move that stone,” Wang Shu pointed.

The gatekeepers, already winded, faced another thousand-kilo stone, their faces livid. “Fine, you’re ruthless. Wait till your source runs dry, then cry!” They gritted their teeth, heaving the stone.

A few steps in, Wang Shu shook his head. “What’re you doing? I meant the stone under this one.”

“Damn it!” The gatekeepers nearly exploded.

Wang Shu held a four-to-five-kilo stone, grinning behind them. “I want this one,” Er Lengzi pointed to another, also beneath a large stone.

The gatekeepers’ anger flared. “You’re going too far!” one shouted.

“Not us, you. Looking down on us with your dog eyes,” Wang Shu shook his head. “Don’t move it? I’ll get the source master.”

“You…” They pointed at Wang Shu.

“What ‘you’? I’ve got source and want that stone. Move it,” Er Lengzi said bluntly, long annoyed.

Ye Fan smiled silently, amused by their antics. When the gatekeepers, exhausted like dogs, moved the stones, Wang Shu and Er Lengzi picked new targets.

“That one, under there.”

“This one, hurry up.”

Sipping tea, they directed the men. “Sirs, we were wrong. No more looking down. Spare us,” the gatekeepers pleaded, collapsing, thoroughly cowed.

Finally, Ye Fan cut his thousand-kilo stone, extracting a kilo-plus of source. The gatekeepers, sprawled on the ground, gaped as Ye Fan’s trio entered the second courtyard.

They didn’t linger there, quickly moving deeper. Inner courtyards had young women guiding guests, introducing stones, with source masters on hand to cut them.

In the seventh courtyard, they met Sunset Clouds Sect’s group again. “Well, well, the three source-mining gods grace us with their presence?” the servant’s grating voice taunted.

“Hey, Donkey Face, why’re you haunting us?” Er Lengzi rolled his eyes.

“Watch your mouth! Too good to stoop to your level,” Liu Sheng, the long-faced servant, snapped. “Let’s settle it with stones. Care to bet?”

“What’s your name? How do we bet?” Er Lengzi asked.

“I’m Liu Sheng. We bet stakes: whatever source one side cuts, the other pays the same. How’s that?” Liu Sheng proposed.

Wang Shu and Er Lengzi hesitated, silent.

Liu Sheng sneered, “Dirty monkeys from the mines, too scared to bet? Why’re you even here? People bet triple, quintuple, even tenfold. Go back to your mines; that’s your place.”

Young Master Liu patted a chosen stone, telling Liu Sheng, “Take this one.”

Liu Sheng took it respectfully, then turned to Ye Fan. “You three mud monkeys, pick a stone.”

Ye Fan circled, selecting a watermelon-sized stone, tossing it forward. “This one.”

Both stones were small but costly, as seventh-courtyard stones had high yield rates. “Source master, cut the stones,” Liu Sheng called.

“Alright, time to wield the knife,” an elderly source master said, ritually bowing to the stone before cutting.

Crack.

Sunset Clouds’s stone was peeled, shrinking, but yielded no source. “Lucky for you. Next one’ll make you cry,” Liu Sheng grumbled. Young Master Liu frowned.

“Cut mine,” Ye Fan said, passing his stone.

“That rock’s obvious waste. Why bother?” Liu Sheng scoffed.

Others shook their heads. “Reddish-brown with white streaks, classic ‘red-white’ junk. No need to cut to know,” one said.

“Too obvious. Waste stone,” others agreed.

Even the source master shook his head. “No need to cut this.”

Wang Shu and Er Lengzi tensed, looking to Ye Fan. “It’s not cut yet. Swap it,” they urged.

“No swap. Some might dodge the bet. This one,” Ye Fan said, skipping the “source god” ritual, grabbing a knife, and slicing.

Crack.

A soft glow emerged as the stone split, revealing a fist-sized, crystal-clear source embedded within. The cut narrowly missed it.

“What! A red-white stone with source?”

“Two kilo, a big win!”

The crowd gasped. The source master was stunned, muttering, “Impossible…”

Wang Shu gleefully extracted the source, cradling it. Er Lengzi strutted to Liu Sheng, eyeing his source pouch. “Hand it over. We got two kilo. Your pouch barely covers it.”

Liu Sheng’s face fell, sweat beading. Two kilo was huge for him, even if Young Master Liu covered it, he’d owe it back. “How… a waste stone yielded source!” he muttered, crestfallen.

“Pay up,” Er Lengzi snatched the pouch.

Liu Sheng collapsed, drained, as if his soul had fled. “Donkey Face, don’t jump in a well,” Wang Shu teased. “Our mines need hands. Join us, I’m recruiting.”

Er Lengzi, hugging the pouch, grinned, adding, “Yeah, food and lodging included. Dig with us.”

Liu Sheng, pale, pointed shakily. “You… you…” Regretting his provocation, he swallowed his broken pride, nearly fainting from rage.

“Interesting. Dare to bet a few rounds with me?” Young Master Liu stepped forward, fanning himself, composed.

Ye Fan smiled. “Why not? A few rounds, dozens, I’m game.”

His heart raced. The Celestial Source Tome was miraculous. He felt he’d grasped source basics, ready to dive into gambling houses. Mastering the book fully, even the Celestial City wouldn’t faze him.

But his luck seemed to falter. The next seven stones he cut yielded nothing, while Young Master Liu cut a fist-sized source, recouping his loss.

“Even miners don’t truly know source. Digging’s grunt work; discerning’s a science,” Young Master Liu mocked. “Not everyone belongs here.”

“Mud monkeys gambling? Over their heads, dreaming of rare sources, only to lose everything,” others jeered.

Wang Shu and Er Lengzi felt uneasy, tense as Ye Fan’s sources seemed wasted. Ye Fan frowned, puzzled. His Celestial Source Tome knowledge was sound, so why the failures?

Crouching, he examined the seven failed stones, feeling them. “He’s gone mad, can’t handle the loss,” someone scoffed.

“Mud monkeys from the mines, no big-world experience. Losing so much, he’s probably ready to jump in a river,” another mocked.

“Seen it before. Losers do crazy things,” a third added.

Some pitied him, but most gloated. Young Master Liu, fanning himself, looked down at Ye Fan. “Back to the mines. That’s your place. You don’t fit here.”

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