Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 43 Chicken Overlord
At night, while eating barbecue, Ji Cheng decided to grill... oh no, test Da Huang.

What they were eating was a fresh beef leg that Da Huang had stolen from Butcher Guo Laosi's house.

High-end ingredients often require only the simplest cooking methods. Ji Cheng simply breathed fire and roasted the beef thigh.

Taking this opportunity, Ji Cheng wanted to test Da Huang: which is more expensive, beef or chicken?
"Wang!"

Now Ji Cheng and Da Huang have developed a good understanding and can understand several different meanings of "woof".

Big Yellow's bark was clearly a response to Niu Gui's comment.

"Wrong, chicken is expensive!"

"Wang?"

Big Yellow looked puzzled.

"Nine oxen, one cent; a chicken, eight cents!"

After Ji Cheng finished explaining, he chuckled.

Big Yellow was stunned, looking completely bewildered.

For some reason, I suddenly feel very cold.

Ji Cheng laughed for a while, then looked at Da Huang with the kind of look one would give someone with intellectual disabilities, and said, "Da Huang, this joke is still too sophisticated for you."

Ji Cheng wondered if there were any jokes that Da Huang, with his intelligence, could understand.

Dahuang remained silent, simply munching on the roasted beef leg.

the next day.

Ji Cheng was carried out of the house by Zhao Yan again.

During this period, because of cockfighting, the relationship between Zhao Yan and her father, Master Zhao Er, has improved considerably. Ji Cheng sometimes feels that without his rooster, the Zhao family would fall apart.

"Master Zhao, I've come to seek revenge. This time, I want to bet you a thousand taels!"

At the Green Bamboo Gang's cockfighting arena, Xu Dingsheng and the cross-eyed master made some startling remarks.

Wow, a thousand taels!

The crowd erupted in uproar, their eyes widening in a frenzy; they knew something interesting was about to happen.

"A thousand taels? Are you out of your mind? Where would we get that much money to gamble with you?"

Zhao Yan refused outright, thinking that Xu Dingsheng must be crazy, and told Second Master Zhao not to pay any attention to him.

Xu Dingsheng and the old master mocked Zhao Erye back and forth, deliberately provoking him to accept the challenge. They said that if Zhao Erye didn't dare to gamble with them today, he would have to kneel down and call them Master Xu whenever he saw them in Wuzhen, and shout that they were cowardly bastards!
Given Master Zhao's personality, how could he tolerate this?
He pulled Zhao Yan aside and whispered, "Yan'er, I think there seems to be something wrong with this Xu Dingsheng."

He pointed to his head as he spoke.

The implication was that Xu Dingsheng was clearly acting like a fool with too much money. This was a thousand taels of silver, practically free money, so why wouldn't we take it?

He asked Zhao Yan, "Do you remember last time Xu Dingsheng lost a hundred taels of silver to us?"
Ji Cheng silently shook his head. In the end, Master Zhao was still greedy and his mind was blinded by the thousand taels.

That's normal, though. If a gambler can resist the temptation of money, he won't become addicted.

Zhao Yan remained clear-headed and asked, "Where would we get a thousand taels? What if we lose?"

"We can't lose, how could we lose? Even if you don't trust your father, don't you trust the ever-victorious general?"

Master Zhao confidently assured Zhao Yan that he would not lose.

He never even considered the consequences of losing.

Ji Cheng was all too familiar with his rhetoric; he had seen countless gamblers say the same thing in the anti-gambling forum in his previous life—it was all too classic.

Zhao Yan hesitated, still feeling it was inappropriate, but Second Master Zhao had already agreed.

Both parties signed a written agreement.

As usual, Xu Dingsheng took out a thousand taels of silver notes, and Master Zhao put his fingerprint on the paper.

This gambling match alarmed Gong Lei, the head of the Green Bamboo Gang's cockfighting arena, who personally intervened.

After all, this is a 1,000-tael bet. The cockfighting arena takes 20%, which is 200 taels, so it deserves serious attention. "Let me make this clear first: once the agreement is signed and the bet is settled, no one can go back on their word. Otherwise, I, Gong, as the notary, will show no mercy!"

Gong Lei held a high position in the Green Bamboo Gang and was also a master of internal strength. He glanced at Master Zhao and Xu Dingsheng with a hint of anger.

Master Zhao and Xu Dingsheng nodded in agreement, indicating that they understood and would not renege on their promise.

After signing and pressing their fingerprints.

Master Zhao immediately regretted it. Only then did he notice that there was a cage hidden behind the cross-eyed old man. The fighting rooster in the cage had fierce eyes and exuded an aura of dominance.

People gathered around and discussed Xu Dingsheng's fighting rooster; everyone could see that this black-necked rooster was extraordinary.

The horse hoof maker even bluntly stated that the fighting rooster's ferocity was so great that he felt somewhat afraid when he met its gaze.

Master Zhao suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He turned to look at Manager Gong, wanting to ask if the bet could be called off.
Manager Gong seemed to see through his thoughts and immediately glared at him fiercely. "Are you here to make fun of me?"
Master Zhao was too frightened to speak, and gave Manager Gong an awkward smile.

At this moment, Xu Dingsheng began to boast, claiming that his fighting cock was the champion of Meizhen this year, having fought its way out from tens of thousands of fighting cocks.

People were amazed and praised the rooster king in various ways, saying that the rooster was just too... too magnificent.

Many people decided to bet on the rooster to win later.

Only Master Zhao and Zhao Yan looked very unwell; there was no need for further description, the title of "Chicken King" said it all.

The father and daughter realized that they had fallen into Xu Dingsheng's trap!
Unfortunately, the bet has been made and cannot be reversed; the only outcome is either win or lose.

"Dad, can our ever-victorious general defeat that chicken king?"

Zhao Yan was uncertain. She was already worried about the thousand taels of silver, feeling that the king rooster could beat two or three of her own fighting roosters.

Master Zhao forced himself to remain calm and said, "It's alright, Yan'er. Xu Dingsheng's fighting cock is the King of Cocks, and our fighting cock is the King of Cocks. Don't be afraid!"

Ji Cheng cooed and pecked Zhao Erye, "You're the chicken tyrant! Your whole family are chicken tyrants!"
Of course, he didn't use much force; he only pecked Master Zhao so hard it hurt, without even breaking his skin.

Soon, the two fighting roosters were weighed.

"Master Zhao's fighting rooster, a golden breed, weighs exactly ten jin!"

"Young Master Xu's fighting rooster, a black-necked chicken, weighs twelve and a half pounds!"

"The market is now open!"

"Bet on Master Zhao to win the cockfight, payout 20%!"

"Bet on Young Master Xu to win the cockfight, odds of 14 to 10!"

Manager Gong's loud voice echoed throughout the Green Bamboo Gang's cockfighting arena as he told everyone that they could place their bets.

The cockfight attracted a huge crowd, and the staff at the cockfighting arena were extremely busy just with the betting.

Judging from the odds on both sides, the professional crocodile masters at the cockfighting arena unanimously believe that Xu Dingsheng, the "Cock King," has a greater chance of winning.

At this point, almost everyone placed bets on Xu Dingsheng's Chicken King.

Only the horse hoof maker hesitated for a long time before taking out two taels of silver to bet on Master Zhao's cockfighting victory.

"Second Master, you know I've always trusted you!"

After saying this, the horse hoof maker turned around and took out five taels of silver to bet on Xu Dingsheng's Chicken King to win.

Master Zhao's lips twitched.

"Guo Laosi, a game with a clear winner and loser is like getting free money. Aren't you going to place a bet?"

Among the onlookers, Wu Hong nudged Guo Laosi with his elbow and asked, "What's going on today?"

Guo Laosi sighed and said, "Oh well, I guess I'll pass. The cow I just slaughtered last night was stolen, and I'm... well, you know."

"What? The cow...the cow was stolen?"

Wu Hong was astonished. "Such a thing is possible? Who did it?"
Guo Laosi waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to mention it again, and that it should be considered an offering to the mountain god.

Upon hearing the mention of the mountain god, Wu Hong immediately fell silent, appearing as if he were keeping something to himself.

(End of this chapter)