Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

"That...it's just a pity...what?"

"It's such a pity..." The old man's expression turned extremely painful at the mention of this matter, and tears streamed down his face in an instant: "It's such a pity that just a year ago, I had a terrible accident—"

"That horse race was the same as today's, but back then, the people from the city lord's mansion hadn't intervened yet. Everything depended on the skills of us horse riders and the quality of the horses. At that time, I was obviously the strongest of all the horse riders, and my Red Rabbit... was also the best horse."

"But, but... I never expected this, I really never expected this. Just as I was sprinting towards the finish line, about to complete my three-crown feat, for some reason, it seemed as if a mysterious force caused my center of gravity to shift, and in a moment of carelessness, I fell off the track with Red Rabbit..."

Duan Xingchen covered her mouth in astonishment, her gaze involuntarily falling on the old man's right leg.

"That's why...this injury happened..."

"Yes."

The old man sighed and then pointed to the dark passageway on the field, marked with huge characters.

With a dazzling crimson plaque floating directly above the passageway, the old man took a deep breath and said, "Although I am injured and can no longer ride a horse, Red Rabbit only suffered minor scratches... But... But the people from the City Lord's Mansion said that since I can no longer ride a horse, I am worthless, and forcibly took Red Rabbit from me!"

"Look at Exit Four... that's the passage that carries the glory of countless years for me and Red Rabbit. Red Rabbit and I came out of that exit, defeated countless opponents, and overcame countless hardships and obstacles, and in the end—"

"The Red Rabbit became someone else's horse..."

At this point, the old man choked up.

He wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, and then shook his head helplessly.

Duan Xingchen's gaze towards the old man was now filled with pity and sympathy. With her naturally strong empathy, she could already imagine the old man's appearance at home, feeling ashamed and inferior because of his own powerlessness after his beloved horse was taken away.

That's just too tragic...

"That's why I can't stand the people in the City Lord's Mansion..."

The old man suddenly changed his tone, his voice becoming unusually sharp: "Leaving aside the matter of stealing Red Rabbit, Red Rabbit is a born strongman, the king of horses, born unruly and invincible."

"But these people from the City Lord's Mansion dared to make my Red Rabbit... make my Red Rabbit fix a race! This is not only an insult to the sacred and solemn cause of horse racing, but also an insult to my Red Rabbit..."

"Its life was one of unparalleled brilliance, yet one day it was reduced to becoming a stepping stone for gambling!"

"Young lady, seeing how kind-hearted you are, I won't accept these five hundred gold coins. Just listen to me and bet all your wealth on that number seven, and I guarantee that those heartless casinos and the city lord's mansion will lose everything! That will avenge the arrow that struck my Red Rabbit horse!"

These words were spoken with righteous indignation and were filled with anger towards the people of the city lord's mansion.

It has to be admitted that Duan Xingchen is indeed a soft-hearted person, especially after the old man recounted his tragic experience. She felt that the old man was truly pitiful...

He was clearly a man of great honor, yet in his old age he had his beloved horse taken away and was forced to watch others ride on his horse to fix races.

It's all so green!

And so—

"Thank you, young lady."

After Duan Xingchen spent all four thousand gold coins on Number Seven, the old man's expression improved somewhat.

Duan Xingchen shook his head: "No, it's just a small amount of money, please don't thank me, sir."

"Even a little money is fine, as long as those people in the City Lord's Mansion lose money, I'll be happy! You know, the odds for number seven are frighteningly high. This four thousand gold coins will bring back at least one hundred thousand gold coins. The City Lord's Mansion definitely can't afford this back and forth!"

"That's what they say..." Duan Xingchen looked at the old man with some curiosity: "But how do you know the inside story, sir?"

"..."

Faced with this question, the old man hesitated for a second, coughed, and then explained, "Well, I've gotten to know quite a few people in this arena. Some of them naturally have connections with the City Lord's Mansion, and that's how I found out about them."

"I see."

Duan Xingchen nodded, completely accepting this premise.

The old man smiled, and then struggled to get up from his seat. Only then did Duan Xingchen realize that he had brought a cane.

The old man walked slowly, his steps appearing somewhat unsteady.

“Young lady, I’ll go find a few more people… If everyone bets on the conspiracy, the City Lord’s Mansion… will definitely lose a lot of money.”

"Alright, take care, sir."

After watching the old man leave, Duan Xingchen breathed a sigh of relief.

It was at this moment that a silver-haired girl suddenly approached.

"Xingchen, do you know that person from earlier?"

"Huh?!" Duan Xingchen was startled by Ye Yuchan's sudden appearance. He turned around and replied, "Ah... sort of, more like this—"

Duan Xingchen's gaze swept past Ye Yuchan and landed on Jiang Yuetian, who was standing next to Yuchan.

The latter seemed to notice his junior sister's gaze and turned his head away.

"Hey, Senior Brother Jiang, which number are you planning to bet on?"

Having already learned about the inside story, Duan Xingchen planned to inform Jiang Yuetian of its outcome.

In this way, my senior brother, who has terrible luck at gambling, might be able to make some money.

"I?"

Jiang Yuetian was taken aback at first, then glanced at the ten thousand gold coins missing from his pocket, and replied:

"I'm the same as last year, but last year I bet 100,000 on number four all at once. This year, I'll bet 10,000 first and see. That Red Rabbit and Fierce Horse is quite famous."

"Oh……"

Duan Xingchen nodded, and just as he was about to say something, he suddenly realized something.

"Wait, senior brother, you said you bet 100,000 on number four last year?"

"Yes."

Jiang Yuetian didn't understand why Duan Xingchen was suddenly so shocked: "That Red Rabbit steed is a champion horse, of course I bet on it, but I don't know what happened last year, it was running perfectly fine, almost at the finish line, when suddenly the horseman lost control, and all the money in my hand flew away..."

"Oh, what bad luck."

……

Duan Xingchen stared at Jiang Yuetian, speechless for a moment.

—She seemed to know whose fault it was that the old man was injured.

"Senior brother, this isn't just bad luck. Other people bet on horses to see their ranking, but you almost bet your horse to death..."

Jiang Yuetian: "..."

—So you mean I can be blamed for this too?

9. What's wrong with you, little bro?

"So you listened to that old man... and bet on number seven?"

Jiang Yuetian stared blankly at Duan Xingchen in front of him, her expression indescribably strange.

If Jiang Yuetian had only heard Duan Xingchen's account, he would have truly believed that his junior sister had been deceived.

After all, that story seemed fabricated no matter how you looked at it... although it was quite logical.

"Senior brother—"

Ye Yuchan clearly noticed the problem as well, and immediately turned to Jiang Yuetian to confirm, "Didn't you come here last year? Do you remember who the owner of that horse number four was?"

“How would I remember that…” Jiang Yuetian shook his head helplessly, “But it seemed to be a man… I really don’t know if he was old or not.”

"So, you can't use this to determine whether it's true or false...?"

Ye Yuchan rubbed her forehead, a hint of helplessness and distress flashing in her eyes. She turned to Duan Xingchen and said, "Xingchen, you're too naive... You've lived to be so old... How could you so easily trust a complete stranger who suddenly appeared?"

At such an advanced age...

Duan Xingchen's pretty face darkened. She was about to retort that she was only in her early fifties, but she first defended her behavior.

"Actually, I really don't think it's fake... His tone of voice and expression were very genuine, and... that leg injury... it shouldn't be faked, right?"

"Who can say for sure? Maybe he's just a master storyteller who's willing to spend a fortune. Even old scoundrels often lie, and I've never seen him blush or feel nervous."

"And most importantly—"

Jiang Yuetian picked up where Ye Yuchan left off, took a deep breath, and turned his gaze to the dark No. 7 intersection.

"That horse number seven has absolutely no chance of winning."

"Why?" Duan Xingchen and Ye Yuchan asked at the same time.

In response, Jiang Yuetian explained, "Before I came here, a few friends who are good at gambling gave me some information. Although it wasn't very detailed, it at least helped me familiarize myself with the horses. And this horse number seven... has an extremely low probability of winning because—"

"That was an old horse."

"Old Ma?" Duan Xingchen was taken aback. "How old is he?"

"It's probably the kind of horse that's so old that it's hard to run and it'll collapse from exhaustion after the race..." Jiang Yuetian's expression was full of helplessness. "It's said that the horse trainer was just coming here for fun. Although the horse was very strong when it was young, it's old now and definitely can't outrun those strong horses."

In other words—

Ye Yuchan stepped forward and patted Duan Xingchen on the shoulder, giving her a subtle smile: "Xingchen, you've been tricked~"

"How could this be..."

The old man's expression was so real, his sorrowful tone and the forty-five-degree angle at which he looked up at the sky were so genuine.

So... it turned out to be a scam?

Duan Xingchen was momentarily dazed. Could it be that he had been tricked into showing kindness and was being used by the other party?

Surely... no way?

Duan Xingchen chuckled bitterly. Just as Ye Yuchan had said, even though he was such a grown-up, his emotions were still so easily stirred.

She spent the first forty years of her life in the Holy Feather Sect and never went out to see the world. After becoming a Holy Maiden, she spent every day thinking about managing the sect's disciples. The phrase "inexperienced in worldly affairs" is truly an apt description of Duan Xingchen.

She sat down blankly, gazing at the track crossing that was gradually radiating dazzling light, lost in thought.

And it was at this moment—

A sharp and loud neighing sound rang out.

In an instant, fifteen different horses and their grooms appeared together at the intersection with the brightly lit sign.

The most eye-catching one is naturally number four, which Jiang Yuetian bet on.

Red Rabbit and Fiery Horse.