Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

Xie Xiaoyi wasn't in a hurry. After Bao Guan had opened a few cups and listened carefully several times to confirm the betting was correct, he smiled and asked, "Bao Guan, is there a limit to the number of bets?"

Bao Guan, a seasoned middle-aged man, seeing Xie Xiaoyi's somewhat arrogant tone, loudly proclaimed:

"Everyone in Jieshi knows that Qianjin Pavilion's gambling dens have no bet limits; otherwise, what would be the point of its name?"

Xie Xiaoyi grinned mischievously and gave a thumbs-up: "Very good, then I won't be polite!"

Upon hearing the dice roll, which showed a high fourteen, he announced loudly, "I bet—"

All the gamblers at the table craned their necks, their eyes glued to Xie Xiaoyi's hands.

When he asked the official "Is there a limit to bets?" just now, his nonchalant arrogance had already raised everyone's expectations to the limit.

Some guessed he would pull out several dozen taels of silver notes, while others bet he would simply throw out a hundred taels of cash.

Even the guy upstairs, Huba, was watching how this arrogant young man would place such a large bet.

That'll make him lose everything in one go.

"It must have been a big spender! I saw him throwing money at Li Qiaoyun this morning, acting all high and mighty!"

"Hmm! It should start at least at fifty taels; only then would it be worthy of a bet from Qianjin Pavilion!"

Amidst the murmurs, Xie Xiaoyi slowly reached into his robes.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes following the movement of his fingertips—

But the next second, what he pulled out was not a stack of heavy silver notes, but a shiny piece of silver.

With a crisp "smack," he slammed the loose silver coins onto the gambling table: "Bet on big."

The room fell silent instantly, and all the gamblers curled their lip in disgust.

Fuck!

They thought they had prepared a big surprise, but ended up with a huge mess.

The excitement and anticipation on the faces of the gamblers froze into a uniform look of utter bewilderment.

Xie Xiaoyi completely ignored the surrounding laughter and gossip, a slight smirk playing on his lips:

"I'm going to force your boss to show himself today! Otherwise, I'll use this one or two taels of silver to take over your entire Qianjin Pavilion!"

As soon as he said that, everyone in the room burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Has this kid gone mad? Winning a thousand-gold pavilion for a mere tael of silver? A pipe dream!"

"Oh, so you're trying to cause trouble with a tael of silver? Hahaha! I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts."

Li Qiaoyun looked at the lone one or two taels of silver on the table, and then listened to Xie Xiaoyi's arrogant words. Her heart jumped into her throat.

"My benefactor, we..."

Xie Xiaoyi waved to her and smiled faintly, "Stand next to me, don't go anywhere, just keep an eye on things!"

Li Qiaoyun's only support right now is him. Although her behavior just now was indeed arrogant, she had no other choice but to grit her teeth and nod.

Bao Guan was amused by Xie Xiaoyi's wildness. He lifted the dice cup, and the three dice shone brightly with 446, a total of 14 points!

"Great!" Bao Guan greeted him, casually pulling out a tael of silver from the money box and tossing it over, his face full of disdain. "You've got good luck, kid. Consider yourself lucky."

Xie Xiaoyi, however, pushed all two taels of silver on the table away, his roguish grin unchanged: "Don't stop, continue."

With a flick of his wrist, Bao Guan placed the dice cup face down on the table and shook it vigorously.

The dice clinked loudly in the cup, then slammed down on the table with a "thud": "Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!"

Xie Xiaoyi listened intently for a couple of breaths, then lightly tapped his fingertip on the table: "Suppress the large."

Bao Guan chuckled and suddenly flipped open the dice cup—three, five, six, fourteen points!

"Big!" The shout ended abruptly, and the laughter that filled the room ceased.

Bao Guan's disdain froze for a moment, then he paid out another two taels. Xie Xiaoyi casually pushed all four taels of silver into the betting area: "Continue."

On the third turn, Bao Guan shook the cup with a bit more force, pressing down firmly on the rim after it settled.

Xie Xiaoyi's ears twitched slightly, and his eyebrows rose slightly: "Change to Xiao."

The lid was lifted, two, two, three, seven points! The chips instantly rose to eight taels.

The gamblers fell silent, craning their necks, their eyes filled with astonishment and doubt.

In the fourth round, Bao Guan shook the dice quickly and urgently, the sound of the dice rolling was chaotic and disorderly.

Xie Xiaoyi listened quietly for a moment, then said calmly, "Bet on the big one."

The game begins: 454, 13 points! The chips have doubled to 16 taels.

Xie Xiaoyi won four rounds in a row. At this point, the gamblers no longer dared to laugh. Their eyes were wide open, staring at Xie Xiaoyi's hands as if they were staring at an imperial edict.

The moment the fifth round was drawn, someone shouted, "I'm betting too!"

These words were like a signal, and the entire room instantly erupted in chaos.

"I'll bet ten coins! I'll go all in with this gentleman!"

"The younger one will too! Eight coins!"

Repeating this process, Xie Xiaoyi won ten games in a row.

The loose silver on the table had already piled up into a small mountain, a dazzling expanse of white that made one dizzy. A rough calculation showed that it amounted to over a thousand taels.

The gamblers in the room went crazy, making a fortune by following the bettors, and the cheers grew louder and louder.

The table was piled high with loose silver and gold ingots, and Bao Guan was sweating profusely with anxiety: "Accountant! Accountant, come quickly! Exchange the silver notes!"

......

Upstairs, Hubazi could no longer sit still. He stared intently at the calm and composed figure below, his teeth grinding together.

"What an arrogant brat, daring to play tricks on my turf!"

The subordinate, gripping a short stick, frowned and asked, "Master Hu, what should we do? Should we kill him?"

Hu Bazi suddenly looked up, glared at his subordinate, and scolded in a low voice:

"Fool! All the gamblers in the room are watching. If he wins money, we'll take him down?"

If word gets out, who would dare gamble at Qianjin Pavilion? Casinos have their rules; if you break the rules, the business is completely ruined!

His subordinate looked innocent: "Master Hu, what should we do?"

Hubazi's sinister gaze swept across the building downstairs, landing on the gambling table piled high with silver coins:

"This kid's got some skills. Quickly send someone to invite 'Plum Blossom Yaoyao'."

The subordinate bowed and replied "Yes," then hurriedly turned to fetch someone.

But the gambling downstairs didn't stop for a moment. Xie Xiaoyi remained calm and composed, changing the dealer three times, each time using increasingly cunning techniques.

The sound of the dice striking the bowl could be fast or slow, deep or crisp, but Xie Xiaoyi, with his eyes closed, could always accurately pronounce "big" or "small" after listening for a couple of breaths.

In the eleventh round, the dice clinked, sometimes high, sometimes low. He calmly said, "Small," and the dice were opened: one, two, four; seven—small.

The chips have increased to 2,048 taels.

Then came 4,096 taels... 8,192 taels... 16,384 taels.

The gamblers who followed Xie Xiaoyi's lead made a fortune, and they all regarded him as a god of wealth. Their previous ridicule turned into respect.

"Sir, how should we place this bet?"

"Don't call me 'Grandpa,' this is my own father! ...Dad, should we bet on big or small next time?"

Amidst the cheers and applause from the audience, the commotion at the stairwell suddenly ceased.

A slender figure walked down slowly, wearing a fitted, gilded, embroidered short jacket, her dark hair loosely tied into a bun, adorned with a silver hairpin with a red plum blossom.

She was extremely beautiful, yet her eyes held a nonchalant sharpness. Her steps were neither fast nor slow, which made all the gamblers in the room hold their breath.

"The Female God of Gamblers—Plum Blossom One!"