Invincible Dad

Dongfang Xun's pitiful and miserable appearance was a sight to behold. If his admirers back in Harbour City had seen him like this, they would have been stunned speechless.

Was this the same confident and spirited Feng Shui Taoist?

He looked even worse off than a beggar.

"My life is just too hard. I'm so unlucky," he lamented.

Dongfang Xun choked up as he continued, "I should never have come to the Inland. If I hadn't come, my Boundary wouldn't have been destroyed. If my Boundary hadn't been destroyed, I wouldn't be homeless on the streets. If only..."

As he sobbed, he sneakily glanced at Xu Lai, his heart pounding incessantly.

Could it be that the grand master had found out about my bragging at the Ruan Family, about how I dealt with Xu Lai?

Xu Lai frowned. "Shut up."

"Okay!"

Dongfang Xun instantly fell silent. He looked at Xu Lai earnestly, his eyes as pitiful as they could be, as helpless as a little lamb cornered by a big bad wolf.

"I hear you ride a flying sword, wield the Seven Stars Formation, and suppressed me after discovering I was a 'monster'?" Xu Lai asked blandly, a smile that was not quite a smile playing on his lips.

Exactly as I feared!

Dongfang Xun's heart skipped a beat. He slammed his head against the ground and cried out, "Have mercy, Senior, have mercy!"

"You're very afraid of me."

"Mhm, mhm, mhm."

Dongfang Xun nodded subconsciously, then quickly shook his head and said sheepishly, "You are a true deity among men. I'm just a broken-down old man. It's not fear, it's respect... yes, I respect you."

Xu Lai tsked.

This old fellow really is thick-skinned. No wonder he dared to come to the Inland to scam people with a fake Jade Pendant.

However, thanks to Dongfang Xun, Xu Lai had made a small fortune of five hundred million, just enough to gather the bride price his demanding mother-in-law wanted.

"Get up. I'm not going to kill you."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Xu Lai said indifferently, "What were you doing at the casino?"

Dongfang Xun looked awkward but dared not conceal anything. He explained, "My master told me to investigate you, but I didn't dare to. So, I went to gamble and drink instead. I lost all my money at the other casinos and just came here to try my luck..."

Dongfang Xun's master? That would be Li Sanbai, the number one Feng Shui Taoist in Southeast Asia.

Any dignitary who knew that name would have been shocked, but Xu Lai had no idea who the man was, nor did he care.

He was, however, somewhat interested in the beautiful young woman who had slipped her business card into his pocket.

"What's the background of this casino's owner?" Xu Lai motioned with his chin.

"...Not much of one. She's just an ordinary woman who got lucky and saved up enough money to open a casino," Dongfang Xun said, shaking his head honestly. If she truly had connections, he wouldn't have dared to come here.

After all, in East Sea City, he was persona non grata.

He chuckled and probed, "Senior, are you interested in her? I may have mainly focused on studying Feng Shui and Formations, but I'm also quite knowledgeable about medicine. I have potent drugs, slow-acting ones... just tell me what you need, and I guarantee she'll be meek and compliant."

Xu Lai remained silent, looking calmly at Dongfang Xun, who broke out in a cold sweat and said awkwardly, "Right, with your status and strength, Senior, why would you need drugs to get a woman... I was being foolish..."

Xu Lai was indeed interested in the woman named Murong Chi, but not in a romantic sense.

He gazed intently at the tightly locked doors of the casino. The proprietress was certainly not as simple as she appeared.

But he didn't dwell on it.

As long as the Earth wasn't exploding, whatever demons or monsters lived here had nothing to do with him.

He waved his hand. "Get lost."

"Yes, yes! Right away!"

Dongfang Xun really did roll for dozens of meters across the ground. He didn't stop until Xu Lai's figure had disappeared from sight, and only then did he feel as if he had been granted a pardon.

At that moment, Dongfang Xun realized his clothes were soaked with sweat, sticking to his body uncomfortably.

"Good thing I'm quick-witted, or I would've lost my life today."

Having survived the ordeal, Dongfang Xun wore a bitter expression. "But how do I explain this to my master?"

He had gambled away all fifty million he'd swindled from the Ruan Family.

Should he continue wandering around East Sea City, or should he scam someone for travel money to get back to Harbour City, grab Xiao Qi, and flee to another country?

After weighing the pros and cons, Dongfang Xun made his decision.

Master is definitely no match for Xu Lai. Not even ten of him would be enough. I'll just make up some fake intelligence and fob him off with that.

Dongfang Xun silently applauded his own cleverness.

「...」

Xu Lai arrived back home.

There was nearly forty centimeters of snow in Haitang Court. He took off his shoes and, upon entering, heard his sister-in-law's disgruntled voice.

"Brother-in-law, what took you so long? Did you go to that foot massage parlor down the hill?"

"Massage?" Ruan Tang asked, puzzled.

Ruan Lan smirked. "The risqué kind."

Xu Lai tapped Ruan Lan on the head and said irritably, "I was only gone for ten minutes. What could I possibly do in that amount of time?"

Ruan Tang nodded in earnest agreement.

Ruan Lan said with a playful smile, "That's true. My sister would know."

Ruan Tang blushed fiercely. "Know what? You little minx, I think you're asking for a beating!"

"Nyah, nyah, nyah."

Ruan Lan stuck out her tongue and urged, "Did you buy the cards? Hurry up! The Gambling Goddess Ruan Lan can't wait to make you kneel and call her Daddy!"

Ruan Tang: ???

Xu Lai: ???

Then Ruan Lan received two solid flicks on her forehead. She teared up from the pain, regretting her loose tongue.

"Let's not even talk about whether you can get me drunk. Just based on my card skills, there aren't many who can compare to me," Xu Lai said indifferently.

"Heh."

Ruan Lan laughed. She enunciated each word, "Back in the day, Chen Daozai could turn twenty bucks into thirty-seven million. Today, it'll be no problem for me, Ruan Lan, to take on both of you."

Xu Lai nodded.

Good. He liked this kind of confidence. Soon, he would let his sister-in-law know who the real 'daddy' was.

The three of them sat on the floor, which wasn't cold thanks to the underfloor heating.

Each person would draw one card, and high card wins.

The two was the lowest card, and the ace was the highest. The suits were ranked from highest to lowest: spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds.

The rules were simple.

The loser had to drink a glass of alcohol.

Xu Lai drew first, pulling a six of hearts. Confident she would win, Ruan Lan drew a card and slapped it face down on the ground, only to reveal a two of diamonds.

"How impressive," Xu Lai praised sarcastically. "As expected of the Gambling Goddess. You even managed to draw the smallest card."

Ruan Lan: "..."

Her face flushed as she grabbed the glass and drained it in one go. She grumbled, "Again!"

This time, she drew a king of clubs, a very high card.

She beamed. "Your turn to draw."

Ruan Tang wasn't particularly interested in the game. She casually drew a card without looking at it and muttered, "I have a feeling mine is bigger than yours."

"Ha!?"

Ruan Lan scoffed. "Excluding the jokers, there are fifty-two cards in the deck. I refuse to believe you can beat my king of clubs. The odds are laughable!"

"And if we do? What then?" Xu Lai asked.

"I'll eat this entire deck of cards right here and now!" Ruan Lan declared confidently.

Xu Lai flipped over the top card of the deck. It was a king of hearts, outranking Ruan Lan's card by suit.

Before his sister-in-law could say anything, Ruan Tang flipped over the card she had chosen.