155: Chapter 154 A Seasoned Deadbeat

Cao Xiao turned back, smiling as he looked at Linghu Yashu with great interest. His right hand slowly reached behind him again, as if reaching for a gun. He approached Linghu Yashu and said, "Are you sure you want to represent the family in a life-and-death struggle with me? Shouldn't you ask for your family's opinion first?"

"You lunatic! Now that He Ting has fainted, you should have vented your anger. I'm taking him away immediately!" Seeing Cao Xiao's movement, Linghu Yashu could no longer remain calm. This man acted at the slightest disagreement and completely disregarded conventional logic. Being alone, he was truly afraid that Cao Xiao would actually attack him.

"Hehe! You can take him away, but you'd better keep him locked up from now on. Otherwise, if he comes out and bites someone again, I'll chop him up and feed him to the dogs! Brother Duan, let them go!" Cao Xiao narrowed his eyes at Linghu Yashu, a dangerous glint flashing in them as he spoke sharply.

"Humph!" Linghu Yashu snorted coldly without a word. He bent down and tried hard to help He Ting up, but unfortunately, he lacked the strength. In a moment of carelessness, his grip slipped, and he nearly fell over from his own exertion.

"This guy is so useless! Haha!" Seeing Linghu Yashu's pathetic state, Liu Chang, who was never afraid of anything and loved to stir up trouble, naturally interjected at the perfect moment.

"You... Humph!" Linghu Yashu turned toward the sound and saw Liu Chang. He was about to lash out in embarrassment and anger, but he immediately saw Cao Xiao staring at him with eyes like sharp arrows. Fearing any further complications, he could only endure it and settle for a cold snort. He turned to the several people standing with Jiang Hezheng and said with a balanced tone, "I'll have to trouble you gentlemen to help me out!"

The men didn't hesitate, immediately jogging over to help support He Ting and carry him out. For them, being able to strike up a conversation and become familiar with the young master of the Linghu Clan was a rare opportunity they wouldn't normally get; usually, such a person wouldn't even give them a second glance.

"Wait!"

Hearing Cao Xiao's voice behind him, Linghu Yashu paused, turned back, and looked at Cao Xiao with a frown of displeasure.

Cao Xiao's eyes gazed intently at Linghu Yashu, and with a half-smile, he said in a low voice, "Don't make that constipated face. I just want to remind you: I hope you never appear in front of me or Yueyou again. Don't even dream of interfering in our marriage, and don't think about seeking revenge. Otherwise, I will personally pay your family a visit. When I lose my temper, even I'm afraid of myself. This isn't a joke; I'm serious. You can ignore my words if you like, but let me tell you, I like people who use violence to solve and create problems. Since I was a kid, I've especially loved setting off fireworks. I wouldn't mind sending some 'big firecrackers' to your house and letting the people of Huanghe City watch a spectacular show! You can go back and repeat my words to your family. Tonight, I'll be eating at the Junxia International Hotel. You may go!"

Linghu Yashu didn't respond. He just stared deeply at Cao Xiao, his gaze lingering for several seconds before he hurriedly walked out of the warehouse.

Seeing Linghu Yashu's strange reaction, Cao Xiao felt a bad premonition. There were too many people in this world who didn't believe in the impossible, and it was hard to guarantee that the Linghu Family wouldn't ignore his threat. On the surface, his identity was merely that of Elder Chen's student with a bit of assets; to the deep-rooted Linghu Clan, he was simply not worth mentioning. In their eyes, he might just be a strong ant. Would a giant care about an ant's threat? It was no wonder he had used such crazy words to threaten Linghu Yashu. If he didn't act so arrogant, Linghu Yashu and the Linghu Clan would never take him seriously and would definitely strike at him recklessly. He wasn't afraid of that; what he feared was the Linghu Clan interfering with his marriage to He Yueyou. With their influence, it wouldn't be hard to find the weaknesses of He Yueyou's parents. If they used underhanded means to coerce them, his engagement ceremony tomorrow could very well face a major disaster. By then, even if he wiped out the entire Linghu Clan, it would be hard to make up for the regret in his heart. Immediately using violence to destroy the Linghu Clan and nip the crisis in the bud was only a last resort. Unless forced into a dead end, he didn't have the guts to do something so abhorrent, because that was his only trump card against the Linghu Family. Since ancient times, sabotaging a marriage was an irreconcilable enmity; he feared that he would be blinded by hatred and, in a fit of rage, seek reckless revenge regardless of the cost. But now, he had given the choice to Linghu Yashu. As for how things would develop, it was up to fate.

"Mr. Jade King, our bet hasn't even started yet! Where do you think you're going?" Cao Xiao turned back with a heavy heart, only to see Jiang Hezheng and his companions cautiously trying to slip past him toward the exit.

"Cao Xiao, today's bet is canceled. We have urgent matters to attend to," Jiang Hezheng said, stopping in his tracks and speaking evasively after being caught.

Cao Xiao's face turned cold as he said decisively and beyond dispute, "You said you wanted to bet, and I accompanied you. But now you say the bet is canceled? Are you making fun of me? Since you want to cancel, then consider it your loss. Hand over the money! Not a single cent less than 6.5 billion huaxia currency, and then you can leave. Otherwise, stay here and continue fulfilling the bet!"

"Fine! We'll continue then, you said it! If you lose and refuse to pay, we can't do anything to you, but from now on, no one in the circle will do business with an untrustworthy person!" Jiang Hezheng was truly afraid of this lunatic Cao Xiao now. He pulled a gun at the slightest provocation and was even capable of something as insane as hitting an old man—Jiang Hezheng had experienced it twice himself and couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be a third or fourth time. Furthermore, Cao Xiao's cousin was also a psycho; she had actually snuck up on him while he was down earlier, using her body to shield her actions while she pinched his ear with an expression of pure ecstasy. He was so old, yet he had nearly been moved to tears by a little girl. Now, that psycho was rubbing her hands and looking at him excitedly, scaring him witless. What kind of people were these! He sighed inwardly in silence; if he didn't finish the bet today, he probably wouldn't be able to leave! He had to bite the bullet. He couldn't let a chance to pick up a billion us dollars go to waste, but he was also afraid Cao Xiao would renege if he lost, so he tried to speak as tactfully as possible, fearing he might accidentally provoke him again.

"I'll give you the check directly. If you have the skill to win, you can take it. Start cutting the stones! I don't have time to waste with you!" Cao Xiao said impatiently after filling out a check, tearing it off, and handing it to Jiang Hezheng.

Jiang Hezheng whispered with the others for a while before saying, "Fine! It's just us here now. The cutting machines are all empty. We'll cut them all at once to decide the winner."

"Cao Xiao, I've already called my parents. They told you to be careful. Actually, you didn't need to be so aggressive. No matter how overbearing the Linghu Family is, they can't cover the sky with one hand. Besides, there's the government; the authorities don't recognize any 'Clans.' In modern society, the existence of such families is neither reasonable nor legal. They wouldn't dare do whatever they want openly. It's one thing for them to act bossy usually, but if they really dared to ignore the law and cause a major incident, the authorities would definitely uproot them immediately. Otherwise, there wouldn't be only four so-called 'Clans' in our province; it would be a landscape full of them," He Yueyou said softly as she came to Cao Xiao's side.

Hearing this, Cao Xiao thought to himself that things weren't that simple! He Yueyou made a lot of sense; the Linghu Clan might play nice in front of the government, but in their own eyes, Cao Xiao was also a nobody they could deal with at will. They wouldn't realize that provoking Cao Xiao could lead to such a massive disaster. However, he couldn't let He Yueyou worry, so he smiled and said, "It's fine, I know what I'm doing. I'll call your parents in a bit."

He used chalk to draw lines on the raw stones and had the bodyguards move them onto the cutting machines to be fixed. He told them to start cutting along the lines. Cao Xiao wasn't in the mood to play games of suspense with Jiang Hezheng, so the lines he drew were designed to show green in one cut; as long as they cut along those few lines, the jade inside could be extracted entirely.

On the other hand, Jiang Hezheng's side was also bustling. Every time he drew a line, he would proudly explain it to the others. Everyone acted as if they were enlightened, occasionally offering profound and seemingly impressive flattery, making Jiang Hezheng feel as if he were standing at the peak of the world, looking down on all living things. He almost forgot he was currently in a bet with Cao Xiao.

"Master Jiang, there's green over there!"

"Ah! It's showing red!"

"glass species! Poplar Green!"

"It's huge!"

Fortunately, there were a few sober people on that side who had been keeping an eye on Cao Xiao's progress. They shouted at Jiang Hezheng in shock and urgency.

"Huh? How is that possible! I just finished drawing my lines. Are they chopping firewood over there? Cutting directly without even drawing lines! Even if there's jade inside, it'll be cut to pieces!" Jiang Hezheng said in a daze, looking blankly toward the machines Cao Xiao was using.

"Master Jiang, they also drew lines before cutting, and they haven't damaged the jade meat. We should hurry and cut too!" one person said anxiously.

"Master Jiang, the situation is bad! The opponent has already cut out a piece of glass species, and it's not small. Also, another piece is showing red; from the cut surface, it's at least ice species, and the volume won't be small either. The third piece is showing green too, though it's a bit small and hard to see clearly from here," another person said heavily.

"Master Jiang, you absolutely cannot lose! I've put in all my liquid capital; I haven't even paid for a batch of goods I bought!" one person said worriedly.

"Don't worry, these stones are all old pit materials that produce high-quality green. I'm confident I can cut out top-grade jade! Cut them now!" Jiang Hezheng's heart sank upon hearing this, and a strong sense of crisis suddenly enveloped him. He thought he might have misjudged things; Cao Xiao was very likely a gambling stone expert. To be able to cut out a glass species, which was rarely seen even once a year—if it were just heaven-defying luck, it wouldn't be such a coincidence to happen right now, and with a piece of red jade that was at least ice species at the same time. How could there be such a coincidence in the world! He thought this, but didn't dare say it out loud. He even had to maintain a look of full confidence so the people around him wouldn't lose faith in him.

"Master Jiang, we've got green too! ice species Onion-heart Green! The cut surface is as big as a fist! It might be even bigger than the red jade over there!"

"Keep cutting!"

"My god! Master Jiang, it's glass species! We've cut a glass species, but it's colorless! I'm going to buy firecrackers right now!"

"This piece is also ice species, Violet! Unfortunately, it's not full color, and it's only the size of a fist!"

"Hehe! Let's get it all out first!"

"Master Jiang, there's no green on this side!!"

"Keep cutting!"

"Master Jiang, still nothing. Could it be a 'thin slice of green'?"

"Master Jiang, the glass species has a crack, and that inclusion on the other side has eaten into it. We can't even get a bracelet out of it. What do we do!"

"The Violet is out. The color is very pure, and the transparency is excellent!"

Cao Xiao's side had long since extracted all the jade and polished off the stone skin. There was a volleyball-sized piece of glass species Poplar Green; a basketball-sized piece of ice species Cockscomb Red; and finally, a flat piece of glass species Imperial Green, two palms wide and ten centimeters thick. Watching the chaos on Jiang Hezheng's side, he grew impatient. No one knew better than he did what was inside those three stones of Jiang Hezheng's. He already had victory in his grasp. He had only waited patiently for half an hour to win legitimately, but the other side had dawdled for ages before starting to cut, and then hesitated after every slice. After all that time, they had finally cut out the rough outlines of the jade, and it looked like they still weren't giving up and wanted to continue grinding. Cao Xiao couldn't watch any longer and walked over, having someone carry the jade.

"Old man Jiang, stop struggling. The results are clear at a glance. Pay up!" Cao Xiao said, looking at Jiang Hezheng with disdain.

"I've hunted geese all my life, only to have my eyes pecked out by one today. Old Man Chen really did take in a good student! Cao Xiao, I very much hope to see you again at the Myanmar Jadeite Public Auction! Everyone, pay the money!" Seeing the jade Cao Xiao had brought before him, Jiang Hezheng slumped down, almost sitting on the ground as if all his strength had been drained. His expression was very dejected, but then something suddenly occurred to him, and he looked up at Cao Xiao with a slight smile.

Cao Xiao didn't overthink it and laughed, "Hehe! I happen to be going to that too. But do you still have money? If you're short ten billion us dollars, I'm not interested in playing with you."

"Master Jiang, they must be cheating! They bought polished jade from outside to fake it. Otherwise, how could a layman like him cut out a glass species Imperial Green! Not to mention two glass species in a row! I don't believe it. Anyway, I'm not paying!" a middle-aged man said bluntly to Jiang Hezheng. He alone was responsible for 800 million, but he had never intended to pay.

"Bullshit! I have the video of the stone cutting right here! You clearly lost and want to be deadbeats!" Liu Chang said indignantly, holding up her phone and playing the video for everyone to see.

"Even if you cut out the jade, it doesn't prove you picked the raw stones yourselves. Cao Xiao's teacher is a titan in the geological academic world; Elder Chen must have helped select the stones, so it doesn't count. And since you cheated, you should be considered the losers!" the man said, unwilling to admit defeat and even trying to shift the blame.

"Yeah! This is a conflict between you and Master Jiang; it has nothing to do with us!" another person joined in.

"Gambling is an illegal activity. We are all law-abiding citizens; how would we dare to actually participate in gambling!" yet another person stood up and said with an air of righteousness.

Cao Xiao looked at these people seriously as if he had discovered a new continent. He thought to himself that he had actually encountered some 'great masters' today! These people had looked elegant and well-dressed earlier, but now they looked like beasts in human clothing! To be able to pull out hundreds of millions in cash, they must run sizable businesses, but without integrity, how on earth did they manage to grow their businesses so large? What a load of crap! The term 'deadbeat' was perfectly illustrated by them; they probably made their fortunes based on their thick skin!

"Transfer the money to my account within three minutes, or go feed the fish in the Yangtze River! Brother Duan, if anyone says another word, break one of their legs! Brother Li, go find some gunny sacks!"