Scam finale

Not a single soul that happened to live in the city for a prolonged time could avoid being scammed.

Some would fall prey to a slight of hands. Others would lose their money in a fake trade. Untrustworthy partners, fake products, manipulated trade… There were all sorts of scams present on every street of every city with their operators just waiting for someone to fall into their greedy eyes.

It was for this reason that all of those former victims developed a huge hatred for all sorts of swindlers and scammers. Not because they lost a life-changing amount of money to a scam. No one would even try scamming for such huge amounts as it would inevitably invite serious revenge and payback.

No, city folk was united in hatred because the swindlers would always walk the thin line of acting in a way that would let them get away with whatever they were doing.

That's why, when Theo slammed two more coins on the table and when his customer revealed that he couldn't match the bet…

The innate hatred all those people had for those slimy bastards reignited all at once… Just like their desire to pay all those scammers back, even if by a proxy.

A proxy that in this particular case, turned out to be Theo himself.

"Those two gold coins were all I had!" Theo's victim revealed with a helpless look on his face.

And at this moment, everyone recalled when they themselves were in the poor man's shoes, unable to do anything against the crafty words and actions of the ones who stole money from them.

"I saw it," the respectable-dressed man said as he nodded his head. "So it's only right for me to back up those words with action, isn't it?" The man reached into his pocket and pulled out two gold coins to the murmur of satisfaction from the crowd.

Yes, that's exactly what they wanted. To have someone else take the risk but for all of them to enjoy the fun of it!

The helper of Theo's victim didn't dare to waste any time or chances. He saw how quickly Theo operated… and from the sour look on his face, he was already used to it.

So, before Theo could cook up any excuse at all, he took a step forward and slammed the two coins on the table.

"Everyone, wait!" a new, powerful voice suddenly filled the area.

'A cultivator?' Theo thought, furrowing his brows.

He could tell that this voice… wasn't just a product of powerful lungs alone. This voice came from someone… who was used to giving orders and having people listen to them!

The crowd moved around for a bit before they parted ways and allowed one of the city guards to pass through.

A city guard. A former cultivator or even an active one who opted to live out his days making sure fellow cultivators wouldn't abuse their power over the mortal folk.

Or in other words, a figure that even cultivators like Theo had to be wary of when venturing into the lands outside of their sect' direct grounds.

"From what I have heard, you raised the bets while the game was on, is that right?" the man asked, staring down at Theo with an intensity that made the young man instantly sit down and lower his head.

"That's r-right, s-sir…" Theo mumbled, unable to take on the pressure. He then bit down on his teeth before forcing his head up. "Sir guard, I'm telling the truth! The two of them saw it wrong! And the rest of the crowd just followed their lead!"

Theo's voice was filled with desperation.

Now that the guard was here, no illegal activity would be allowed. No sleight of hand or trick to fool the crowd could pass under his watchful eyes.

And what was even worse, no bullshit would stick when the guard could freely flaunt his authority around!

"I'm raising the bet to five gold coins," the guard said in a calm, determined voice right. He then gently pulled out his money from a hidden pocket in the inner part of his uniform before, just as gently, placing it down on the table.

The guard raised up and gave Theo a gentle smile of self-satisfaction.

"And since it's fine for you to raise the bet while the game is going on, then it should be fine for all those gentlemen to join in on the fun as well, right?"

"WHA…" Theo opened up his eyes wide right as his head shoot up.

Yet, he could do nothing but stare with terror at the guard, powerless to stop the wave that followed.

"I'm betting two!"

"I'm matching the bet of five!"

"I'm betting one!"

Three cups. A game that usually had its bets no bigger than a few silvers. A game where a single golden coin bet was something unheard of.

And under Theo's guidance, it turned out into a game where the crowd forked up a total of eighty-three golden coins.

"You know the rules, don't you?" the guard smiled once he realized the wave of enthusiasm from the crowd died off. "You need to match every bet. If you can't you need to put all your money and I will ensure it will be split accordingly to everyone's bets."

The guard's announcement earned him a hail of praise from all the parties concerned.

"I'm telling you," Theo uttered through his pursed lips. "They all saw it wrong!"

"Stop with this bullshit and pay up!" the guard ordered. He put on a tough face and raised his voice.

The time for fun was over. Now, it was high time to resolve the dispute and disperse the crowd before the situation could turn worse.

The guard obviously didn't want to see a huge fight appear from what looked like just a small gambling dispute like many.

In this situation, Theo had no other choice. He pulled out his pouch before spreading its hole open and pouring all the money he had on the table.

Even a cultivator like him was not a match for the average guard of the city. There would be no law and order in the world if the group of people enforcing the laws within the city couldn't handle a small fry like him!

"So you can match all those bets, after all," the guard muttered as his face took on a darker tone. "You must've been… playing around, didn't you?"

Theo raised his eyes and looked at the guard without holding back the hate in them.

"Just finish it already," he spat out his words.

"Oh, and here I thought you would let everyone have a little bit more fun" The guard grinned as he reached out for the left cup that used to be in the middle before Theo's sleight of hands.

The guard raised the cup… only to show nothing more but empty space to the crowd.

The guard's face filled with confusion. He then reached out for the second cup, the one that Theo moved to the middle.

Yet, as soon as he raised it, his face soured.

There was no ball underneath the second cup as well!

The guard cast away his hesitation, replacing it with worry as he reached out for the third cup, the one that everyone nearly forgot about during the commotion.

The cup that wasn't involved in the swap. The cup that not a single soul ever pointed at.

Eager to prove that there was no ball at all, the guard raised the third and the last cup…

Only for the small wooden ball that Theo himself carved out to roll around for a bit before stopping for everyone to admire.

"I've warned you many times." Theo spread his arms open.

The wrath, panic, and anger from before all vanished from his face, replaced with just casual happiness.

"And now, mister guard," Then then moved his eyes towards the only authority that he could rely on in such a crowd, "I hope you will ensure no one will try to swindle me out of the money that I rightfully won!"

"The original customer!" someone shouted as reality started to dawn upon them. "The guy who made the initial bet, where is he?!"

People started to look around… but there was not a single sigh from Theo's original customer within the crowd.

Just as if he knew what was about to happen….

Roughly thirty minutes later, Theo entered one of the many dark alleys in the city. His pouch was now nearly twice as heavy as when he left for the job, with two spare gold coins in his hand.

He packed quite the treasure to enter the back alleys of the city so bravely… but he had no fear.

In this city, only a selected few bigshots and the guards themselves could pose any threat to him. And what was even more important, the people waiting for him in the backstreets…

"Good work out there." Theo smiled as soon as he noticed a figure hiding in the shadows. "Your acting was impeccable!"

"Thanks." Theo's original customer nodded his head to show his gratitude for the praise. He then reached out his hand, only for Theo to pass over the two golden coins. "What now?"

"We need to move down south." Theo looked over his shoulder as if wary of people tailing them. "We created too much heat in here so switching locations is a must. And we have to move fast," he added. "By tomorrow, everyone will know about the new scam going around!"