Chapter 139: This Isn’t the Silver Note You See, But Toilet Paper in My Eyes!

These silver banknotes in Chen Xiang's possession were looted from the cultivators he had eliminated.

Those hundreds of thousands of taels of silver banknotes were merely what a single Nascent Soul stage cultivator kept in his storage bag. If he were to take all of them out, he probably wouldn't even be able to hold them with both hands.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the banknotes in his hand, their eyes turning red with envy.

Hundreds of thousands of taels! That was the entire fortune of a prominent family!

"Chu Liuxiang, since you have so much money, why did you insist on upping the stakes? You probably won't be able to spend all these banknotes in a lifetime!" Young Master Wang said, his eyes splitting in anger.

Earlier, he had tried to mock Chen Xiang by using Spring Banners worth a thousand taels of silver each, but now it felt as though a giant palm had heavily slapped him across the face, leaving a burning sensation.

Madam Xiao also looked at him in wonder. She hadn't expected this man to be such a mega-typhoid lord. With her discernment, she could naturally tell that those banknotes were genuine. With such wealth, why was she wasting time with petty squabbles?

Chen Xiang raised an eyebrow and said with a troubled expression, "Ah, Brother Wang, you don't understand. I was born with a golden buttocks, accompanied by ten thousand miles of rosy clouds illuminating the sky and a divine warning stating that I must never touch common paper with them, but can only use silver banknotes worth ten thousand taels or more. Otherwise, my Chu family would remain mediocre for generations; conversely, it would bring immense wealth and prosperity. Therefore, what you see in my hand is not silver banknotes, but mere toilet paper in my eyes!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd felt their blood and Qi surge violently within them, almost causing them to vomit on the spot!

The hell am I going to believe that?!

Golden buttocks? Why didn't you just say your entire body was made of gold?!

Everyone was so angered they were rendered speechless.

Even Madam Xiao furrowed her brows slightly.

Wasn't this Young Master Chu quite refined and empathetic earlier? Why did he suddenly act like a completely different person? Could this be his true nature?

Young Master Wang looked at the banknotes in Chen Xiang's hand, his eyes suddenly lighting up. A smile crept onto his face as he said, "Brother Chu, since you mentioned increasing the stakes, I accept!"

"Brother Wang, you mustn't!"

"Young Master Wang, what are you doing?"

"The combined family fortunes of all of us here don't even add up to one million taels!"

"Everyone, I suddenly feel an irresistible urge from my lower extremities, I must take my leave!"

...

As soon as Young Master Wang spoke, his followers were startled and hurriedly tried to dissuade him. One of them, seeing the situation turning sour, made a hasty exit under the guise of an urgent toilet break.

One million taels was no laughing matter; it represented their families' entire wealth. Although they didn't believe Chen Xiang could win, it was always better to be safe than sorry. If they lost, their entire families would be left drinking the northwest wind!

Ignoring their advice, Young Master Wang looked at Chen Xiang and said, "However, since it's a wager, and there are many of us on our side, it would be somewhat unfair for us to add more stakes. How about this, Brother Chu, you bring out all the silver banknotes you have as the total stake, and the winner takes all!"

Young Master Wang revealed his true intention, and everyone's heart heated up, their breathing instantly turning somewhat rapid.

So there was this play after all, simply brilliant!

If they won, tens of thousands of silver banknotes divided among them would mean tens of thousands per person, which was equivalent to several years of their families' income!

Chen Xiang saw through their intentions clearly and didn't mind in the least, as long as they were willing to agree.

*Heh heh, wanting to deal with me? You'll have to bring all the meat from your homes and deliver it to me on a platter!* Chen Xiang thought to himself.

"Fine, I agree!" Chen Xiang said very casually.

Young Master Wang wore a smile on his face.

Young Master Zhang and the others also felt their hearts tighten.

A wager is a wager, of course one has to gamble to reap profits! Besides, they still believed their side had the highest probability of winning!

"Good! As expected of Brother Chu, you have guts. However, our combined family assets don't amount to one million taels, let's make it fifty taels—err, fifty thousand taels—no, fifty-something—let's make it five hundred thousand taels, that's the absolute limit we can barely scrape together," Young Master Wang exclaimed in admiration first, then looked around the crowd.

"No, no, no, you can write an IOU. What's the use of bringing just fifty thousand taels? I can only wipe my ass fifty times with that," Chen Xiang refused.

The crowd's lips twitched. Looking at that swaggering attitude, they really wanted to smash the sole of a shoe onto his face.

Though they frowned, after a moment of thought, they gave their final approval.

"Fine, I agree to that as well," Young Master Wang and the others discussed among themselves before giving their reply.

Chen Xiang turned to look at Madam Xiao and said, "Madam Xiao, then I must trouble you to act as our witness."

Madam Xiao was helpless, but since the matter could no longer be reversed, she agreed.

Subsequently, under Madam Xiao's testimony, Chen Xiang, Young Master Wang, Young Master Zhang, and the others signed an agreement, officially establishing the wager.

Chen Xiang also handed over the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver banknotes in his hand to Madam Xiao for safekeeping.

Madam Xiao publicly verified the authenticity of the banknotes on the spot.

There were a total of seven hundred thirty-four thousand taels of silver banknotes, all of them genuine.

Everyone's eyes turned red with greed. Although they were scholars and none of their families were poor, generally holding a detached attitude toward money...

That was only because the amount wasn't large enough! That was why they looked down on it. Money was the same everywhere; one could never have too much of it!

More and more people gathered in the street below, and the news of their wager involving one million taels of silver caused a massive uproar!

Eventually, the entire street was packed to the brim, a dense sea of human heads, and the businesses along the street saw their trade surge dozens of times compared to normal!

In the end, even the city guards had to be dispatched to maintain order to prevent any stampedes or similar accidents.

Acceding to everyone's demands, Chen Xiang and the others changed locations, moving to the first floor of the Tea Fragrance Pavilion, which was much more spacious and convenient for onlookers.

After everyone had departed, Madam Xiao quietly stowed the pot of Biqing tea into her storage pouch.

There was a high platform on the first floor, and Chen Xiang, along with Young Master Wang and the six others, stood on it facing different directions.

Although it was billed as the resumption of the literary gathering and poetry competition, everyone knew this was a showdown between Young Masters Wang and Zhang and the mysterious Young Chu, while the others were mostly just there to watch the show.

"Brother Chu, you are our guest. Qin, qi, shu, hua, composing poetry or matching couplets... let's decide by drawing lots!" Young Master Wang said, looking craftily at Chen Xiang.

Chen Xiang had finally witnessed Young Master Wang's shamelessness. Initially, he had expected him to propose deciding the format himself, but he never thought he would suggest drawing lots.

Young Master Wang didn't dare to be careless; while he was confident of winning, he refused to take risks with uncertainties.

Young Master Zhang and the others were equally filled with confidence, refusing to believe that so many of them could lose to a single person.

Moreover, driven by the temptation and pressure of the colossal sum of money, they dared not lose, nor could they afford to lose!

"Very well, as you wish!" Chen Xiang didn't overthink it and agreed, because no matter how much they struggled, they wouldn't be able to stop him from gracing their homes with a visit tonight.

With a cold sneer, Young Master Wang took out paper and brush along with the others, writing down several options—except for riddle guessing, which he deliberately omitted.

Afterward, they folded the slips of paper so the writing was hidden, and placed them neatly on the table.

Seeing this, Madam Xiao became quite angry and was about to reprimand them when Chen Xiang stopped her with a swift gesture.

"Madam Xiao, such petty tricks cannot stump me. Just let them be," Chen Xiang said with a smile, turning his head back.

Madam Xiao was momentarily stunned, wondering what on earth he was thinking. She asked, "Young Master Chu, your specialty is riddle guessing, yet they deliberately left it out to make things difficult for you. Why are you so calm?"

With a peculiar expression, Chen Xiang asked, "Who said my specialty is riddle guessing?"

"Uh..." Madam Xiao choked on her words.

Indeed, he had never claimed to excel at riddle guessing; it was simply an assumption they had all made naturally.

His reputation had indeed stemmed from guessing riddles, but he had never displayed his talents in other areas. He hadn't composed any poetry earlier either, making it impossible to judge his poetic talent.

However, who ever stipulated that he was only good at guessing riddles?

With nothing more to say, Madam Xiao could only offer a bitter smile and said, "Very well, then Young Master Chu must be careful. If you lose, you had better leave the city early to avoid being humiliated here in Liuxin City."

Madam Xiao's words carried multiple layers of meaning. The first was genuine concern, as implied by the literal words; the second was that if he lost, no one in Liuxin City would associate with him anymore, not even her own Xiao Manor.

With a faint smile, Chen Xiang replied, "Rest assured, the person who can defeat me hasn't even been born yet!"