"This box of mine contains a Fourth-Grade Spirit Medicine called the Red Flame Dragon Fruit. Yang Xiao, what do you have to bet against me?"
Ye Chenghao wore a look of cold arrogance.
Not to be outdone, Wang Kaitai also opened his medicine box. "While my box doesn't contain a Fourth-Grade Spirit Medicine," he said, "it holds a Level 3 Pill personally refined by my uncle—an Upper-Grade Kunling Pill. When consumed by a Martial Artist, it can enhance the purity of their True Qi. So, Yang Xiao, what are *you* going to wager?"
As the two finished speaking, the crowd was even more convinced that Yang Xiao was doomed.
Let alone the Spirit Medicine Ye Chenghao was holding—a Red Flame Dragon Fruit, a top-tier item among Fourth-Grade Spirit Medicines. Its medicinal potency was nearly on par with a Fifth-level Spirit Medicine, making it a cut above even the Thousand-year-old Purple Blood Orchid that Yang Xiao had picked out for himself. It was absolutely priceless.
But what was even more precious between the two was the Kunling Pill in Wang Kaitai's hands. That was an Upper-Grade Kunling Pill personally refined by Master Wang. If put up for auction, it could probably fetch a price no less than that of a Fifth-level Spirit Medicine. Either one of these items was likely enough to bankrupt an Honored Guest Elder.
But Yang Xiao had brought all of this on himself.
This time, no one sympathized with him.
On the contrary, they felt he deserved to be taught a lesson.
"What do I have to bet against you? I don't have any Spirit Medicines, and I'm out of money. If you really want to make a wager, why don't you tell me what you want?"
But Yang Xiao ignored the way everyone was looking at him as if he were an idiot, and instead spoke with a teasing tone.
'Judging by the crowd's reaction, these two items are very valuable.'
Of course, Yang Xiao coveted the items. It was just that, when it came to stakes, he really couldn't produce anything off the top of his head.
But Yang Xiao was sure they wouldn't mind.
"What a pauper. Brother Wang, what should we make him wager?"
Since the Kunling Pill was involved, Ye Chenghao couldn't make the decision alone, so he asked Wang Kaitai.
Wang Kaitai glanced at Yang Xiao and laughed. "Why don't we bet his life? Didn't he just boast that Younger Brother Ye wouldn't dare to face him on the Life and Death Platform? Well then, let's bet his life. If he loses, he'll be at Younger Brother Ye's mercy. I imagine that will be very fun."
'Treacherous! This Wang Kaitai is far too treacherous!' some of the more astute onlookers thought to themselves.
Everyone knew Yang Xiao was the apple of his father Yang Zhentian's eye. If they really won his life in the bet, his father would surely pay any price to get him back.
In that case, they wouldn't just be getting Yang Xiao's life, but also his father's.
The stakes were simply too sinister.
"His worthless life?"
Ye Chenghao was a little dissatisfied. He wanted other things more than Yang Xiao's life. However, since Wang Kaitai had already decided, there was no need for him to object.
Although he was the Law Enforcement Grand Elder's grandson, Ye Chenghao—who wasn't particularly talented himself—had always known his place. He understood that when it came down to it, Wang Kaitai's standing was actually higher than his.
He knew Wang Kaitai wasn't helping him out of respect for him, but for his elder brother, Ye Chengzong, and his grandfather, Ye Zongling.
'So I'll let him call the shots on a small matter like this.'
So, Ye Chenghao nodded and said to Yang Xiao, "Your life it is! You're not getting cold feet now, are you?"
"Bet my life, is it? Fine. I'm in!"
Yang Xiao deliberately gritted his teeth and reluctantly agreed.
Inwardly, though, he was roaring with laughter.
Just as he expected, they didn't object.
'This piece of trash actually has some nerve! Too bad for him he's run into me, Wang Kaitai!'
Wang Kaitai was also laughing to himself.
He didn't let it show on his face, however. Instead, he signaled to the Juhua Studio Steward, indicating he was going to the apothecary to choose a Spirit Medicine.
The Juhua Studio Steward glanced at Yang Xiao, who was putting on a facade of indifference, and inwardly shook his head.
'I already gave this young man a chance. I never thought he'd be so ignorant of his own limits.'
'So be it. And here I was, thinking I'd found a promising talent…'
At that, he said no more and led Wang Kaitai into the apothecary.
It wasn't long before Wang Kaitai emerged.
He looked at Yang Xiao with extreme confidence.
"Both contestants have selected their Spirit Medicines. However, because the added stakes this time far outweigh the value of the Spirit Medicines themselves, you both must sign an addendum to the betting contract for the new stakes to be valid. In other words, you have one last chance to back out. Does anyone wish to withdraw?"
Once again, the Juhua Studio Steward, convinced that Yang Xiao would lose, gave him one last chance to back out.
He was the only one present who dared to disrespect Wang Kaitai and Ye Chenghao like this. As the presiding Steward, if he really let this young man lose his life just like that, his conscience would not be clear.
That was why he was doing this.
Unfortunately, Yang Xiao did not back down.
Wang Kaitai, of course, was even less likely to back down.
Watching the two of them quickly scrawl their names on the contract, the Steward's disappointment in Yang Xiao was absolute.
With a wave of his hand, he had someone bring forth the already-cut Spirit Medicine Blocks.
Yang Xiao was instantly amused.
'This Wang Kaitai… he certainly gives me a lot of credit. He actually took the only stalk of Three-leaf Reishi Grass from the apothecary, and at that, only a piece of its root.'
It was a known fact that while the medicinal properties of Spirit Medicines were purer than those of common herbs, this was only a relative measure. The properties of some Spirit Medicines differed depending on the part of the plant.
Take the Three-leaf Reishi Grass, for example. Most Pharmacists only used its leaves as an ingredient, discarding the roots entirely.
This was because the leaves of the reishi grass had gentle medicinal properties and were full of Wood Elemental Power, making them suitable for refining Grass Returning Pills. The roots, however, were inclined toward an earth attribute, with convoluted medicinal properties that made them difficult to use.
'Wang Kaitai deliberately chose this root to test me. He's clearly setting a trap.'
'However, I haven't made things easy for him either.'
The Spirit Medicine he had chosen was called Spider King Grass. It was the Spirit Medicine with the most complex properties in the entire apothecary. Just like the Three-leaf Reishi Grass, its different parts had different properties.
And Yang Xiao had chosen its rhizome—the part with the most complex properties of all.
He chose this part because its properties were the most convoluted and it had very little practical value. In fact, removing it would allow the rest of the Spider King Grass to be better utilized.
In a way, his method was ingeniously similar to Wang Kaitai's.
The difference was, Yang Xiao had recognized the Three-leaf Reishi Grass at a glance, but when Wang Kaitai saw the rhizome of the Spider King Grass, he was dumbfounded.
'This thing… it looks too common, like the rhizome of any old Spirit Grass. In my head, I can list at least seventeen or eighteen Spirit Medicines it could possibly be. As for tasting it to determine its properties… I have to be careful.'
'After all, not all Spirit Medicines are beneficial.'
Many Spirit Medicines were dangerously toxic. Being narrow-minded, Wang Kaitai naturally projected his own cunning onto others. He was terrified that Yang Xiao was using this bet as an excuse to poison him. Thus, if he could avoid tasting the sample, he absolutely would.
'But now… what an impossible situation!'
A strange hatred for Yang Xiao began to well up inside Wang Kaitai.
'To think this piece of trash has actually cornered me like this!'
'Damn him!'