C1 Stone Gambling

The nine-story tower rose majestically into the sky, its top adorned with a rosewood plaque that bore the inscription "Endless Depository" in bold golden letters.

Beneath the tower stood two young men. The one in the lead was strikingly handsome, his head crowned with a purple-gold diadem, draped in a moon-white robe, and sporting the latest style of rhinoceros leather boots. With a gold-embellished folding fan in hand, he exuded an air of effortless elegance that drew admiring glances from many passing ladies and young wives, despite his noticeably pale complexion that hinted at a recent illness.

The young man gazed up at the plaque, a look of confusion in his eyes. "Endless Depository, what place is this?" he murmured.

Behind him, a servant boy dressed in green attire and a modest cap overheard the question and his face fell with disappointment. "Young Master, don't you remember? This is the largest raw stone merchant in God Burial City. You always enjoyed coming here to the Endless Depository to gamble on stones."

"Really? Well then, we must go in and have a look," the fan-wielding youth replied with keen interest.

The servant, Hua An, couldn't help but wear a bemused expression upon hearing his master's words.

Just a few days prior, the young master had suffered an accident, and upon awakening, he had inquired if they were in "Zhengdian" and if everyone was acting in a historical drama. No one could make heads or tails of the young master's ramblings. The city's physicians attributed it to shock.

Yet, none could fathom why the young master had lost his memory upon waking, nor could they offer a remedy. Since Master Hua had summoned the doctors to attend to his son, the young master had remained silent. After the doctors departed, he secluded himself in the Hua Manor's library for nine full days and nights.

This morning, the young master had abruptly expressed a desire to revisit places he once frequented, hoping to jog his memory. Master Hua readily consented.

With a gentle flick of his fan, Young Master Hua stepped into the Endless Depository. Inside the grand hall, he wandered and paused intermittently, as if searching for a lost piece of himself.

Tens of thousands of raw stones filled the grand hall, arrayed upon the white jade tables. These stones varied greatly in size, from as small as a thumb to towering several feet high. Their surfaces were equally diverse: some were as white as snow, others as dark as iron, some bore tiger-striped patterns, while others glowed red, radiating intense heat.

"Young Master, most of these raw stones come from the Spirit Stone mines near the God Burial City. It's nearly impossible for Divine Sense to penetrate them. To discover whether they contain any top-tier Spirit Stones, one must rely on luck," Hua An whispered.

"Really?" Young Master Hua responded nonchalantly, though he pondered, "Why can my eyes see that some of these stones are empty, while others shimmer with brilliance? And that brilliance varies—some faint, some dazzling."

The hall bustled with activity, yet no one paid any mind to Young Master Hua and his companion. The crowd was engrossed in examining the raw stones, heatedly debating the merits of their surface patterns.

"These people ignore the inner glow of the stones, fixating instead on surface quality. Isn't that missing the point?" Young Master Hua mused, watching the throng. "Perhaps they're unable to see the glow at all?"

Suddenly, from the western side of the hall, a cry of "It's increased in value!" rang out. Young Master Hua made his way toward the commotion and saw a group admiring a fist-sized, vibrant Spirit Stone. The owner, grinning smugly amidst the onlookers, clearly delighted in the newly revealed treasure.

The man, emboldened by his find, proceeded to cut over ten more stones, yet none matched the quality of the first. Once the man's raw stones were exhausted, Young Master Hua lost interest and returned to the main part of the hall.

Approaching another white jade table, Young Master Hua snapped his folding fan shut with a flick and pointed at two particular stones, "This one, and this one... Hua An, these raw stones have an extraordinary appearance and brim with Spiritual Energy. Hold on to them; let's take our chances as well."

Inwardly, he mused, "When I observed that person cutting into the raw stone earlier, I noticed a glow within. If a Spirit Stone was revealed, a bright glow indicated a higher quality stone. If the interior was hollow, it meant there was nothing at all. Could the presence or quality of Spirit Stones within the raw stone be related to the glow I perceived?"

Hua An was at a loss for words as he examined the raw stone his young master had selected. Where did this exceptional appearance and overwhelming Spiritual Energy come from? Wasn't the greenish-gray exterior just like the large paving stones used in God Burial City?

Hua An seriously questioned his young master's judgment, but ultimately resigned himself to the idea that this was just money spent on his young master's recovery.

In the western stone cutting hall, the crowd, upon seeing Young Master Hua return to stone gambling after a long absence, immediately bombarded him with a barrage of jeers and taunts.

"Isn't that Young Master Hua? Here to donate more money to Great Boss Wu, are we?"

"I heard you gambled away half of your father's fortune to the third son of the City Lord's family. Unable to settle your debts, you had to enter the Ghost Cry Cave as per the wager. Is that true?"

"Young Master Hua is still among the living? I was under the impression that Young Master Hua had perished in that treacherous Ghost Cry Cave."

"He truly is a calamity that lingers for centuries!"

Young Master Hua broke out in a sweat, realizing just how poor his reputation was; among the many present, not one seemed to wish him well.

Once the others had finished their cutting, Hua An hefted the two raw stones onto the cutting platform. Young Master Hua tucked his folding fan into his waistband, rolled up his sleeves, and readied himself for a significant endeavor.

With the stone cutter's expertise at his disposal, Young Master Hua positioned the elongated raw stone just right. The cutting knife glided smoothly, gradually shaving off the stone skin at one end of the raw stone. As the greenish-gray stone beneath was revealed, Hua An couldn't help but sigh—it was already half ruined.

Yet Young Master Hua remained unfazed. He adjusted the stone's position and, with a swift motion of the cutting knife, sliced open the stone skin on the opposite end of the elongated raw stone.

Upon seeing the freshly cut surface of the raw stone still a dull greenish-grey, Hua An's complexion took on a greenish tinge.

This didn't bode well.

Young Master Hua remained unfazed. He split another long stone in half, only to be met with disappointment as the same greenish-grey revealed itself.

This time, it was a true loss.

Witnessing the scene, the onlookers' jeers intensified.

"Tsk tsk, talk about wealthy. Four hundred taels of silver per slice. Twelve hundred for three cuts—that's way beyond our means compared to slicing cakes."

"Such a spendthrift, it's not right to squander money like this!"

...

Unperturbed by the crowd's sneers and jeers, Young Master Hua was indifferent. The raw stone lacked any luster; his focus was on the second stone, which promised brilliance. What treasures might it yield?

Having finished with the first stone, he promptly cleared a space and positioned the next stone, about the size of a flat peach, cutting down decisively.

As the outer layer of stone fell away, the crowd's expressions shifted dramatically.

The freshly revealed surface of the stone was markedly different from the first, faintly emitting a pure, translucent jade-green.

"Is this... a high-quality Wood Spirit Stone?"

"How come it looks even more lustrous and crystalline than the high-quality Wood Spirit Stone that guy cut earlier?"

"Hiss, if my old eyes don't deceive me, this Wood Spirit Stone might just be of the finest quality," the stone-cutting master mumbled.

"Young Master Hua, no more cuts. I'll take it off your hands for ten thousand taels of snowflake silver."

"If you cut again and it collapses, it'll lose its value."

...

Young Master Hua seemed to turn a deaf ear to the crowd's reactions.

After the initial cut, he confidently made another without a moment's hesitation.

With that stroke, a bewitching, fiery red burst forth, catching everyone's eye.

"It's actually a top-grade Wood Fire Double Attribute Spirit Stone, incredibly rare!" The stone carver's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"This... Young Master Hua, please stop. I'll offer a hundred thousand taels of snowflake silver for your Spirit Stone."

"Don't listen to him, let him cut. What are the odds he can produce a top-grade Three-attribute Spirit Stone?"

Undeterred, Young Master Hua made another cut, revealing a robust, earthy yellow at the incision.

"How could this be? It's actually a top-grade Spirit Stone with Fire, Wood, and Earth attributes!"

"I bet his next cut will definitely ruin it!"

As Young Master Hua made the fourth cut, the exposed surface prompted someone to gloat, "It's ruined, see! I told you it would be."

"Young Master Hua, look what you've done. I offered you a hundred thousand taels of silver just a moment ago, and now it's worthless."

Yet, just then, a smooth and astute voice chimed in, "Who says it's ruined? This cut may resemble the hue of the great green stone, but it's actually a top-grade Spirit Stone with the Black Water Attribute. Where do you see ruin?"

Had anyone else made such a claim, there might have been objections, but this was none other than Great Boss Wu from the Endless Depository.

The crowd fell silent, well aware of Great Boss Wu's keen insight.

Amidst the debate, Young Master Hua's final cut was made with a "snap."

Everyone gasped at the sight of the fifth cut, gleaming with a metallic sheen, and held their breath.

"All five elements in balance, this is a top-grade Five Elements Spirit Stone! Am I dreaming?"

"How long has it been? When was the last time a Five Elements Spirit Stone emerged from the Endless Depository in God Burial City?"

"There was one ten years ago, but alas, it was only upper-grade. If you're asking about the last top-grade Five Elements Spirit Stone, that was fifty-three years ago," Great Boss Wu, clad in his merchant attire, informed the crowd.

His words cast a hush over the onlookers.

It was only broken when Young Master Hua asked, "A top-grade Five Elements Spirit Stone? Is it worth a lot?"

His question drew stares sharp as daggers.

It's common knowledge that a single-attribute top-grade Spirit Stone is as valuable as its weight in gold.

With each additional attribute, the value of a Spirit Stone multiplies at least tenfold.

A genuine top-grade Five Elements Spirit Stone is worth no less than ten thousand times its weight in gold. But in truth, acquiring one typically requires a trade of equally rare treasures from heaven and earth.

Young Master Hua inquiring about the value of the item was a grave insult to the Five Elements Spirit Stone.

"Congratulations to Young Master Hua on your auspicious start and the significant increase in your bet! The Endless Depository is willing to auction this stone for you, Young Master Hua, without charging a fee. I wonder if Young Master Hua..." Thankfully, Great Boss Wu was adept at handling situations, quickly stepping in to assist Young Master Hua and simultaneously drumming up business for himself.

But before Great Boss Wu could finish his sentence, he was cut off by another voice.

"My dear Young Master Hua, Huah Yunfei, when do you plan to settle the gambling debt you owe me? Surely you're not considering defaulting on it? Perhaps you could use this Five Elements Spirit Stone to clear your debt?"