Rise of the Demon God

The entire store was silent. Only sounds of breathing could be heard as moments started passing. 

Soon, half an hour passed away as the atmosphere grew even more tense. 

The blue-haired woman was already certain that Long Chen wasn't going to come. Almost everyone from her side was certain about it by now. If Long Chen were actually going to come, he would have come back long ago. This much time was enough for a person to walk from one corner of the city to another. There was no way someone couldn't come back from their home after getting money.

Even the shop owner also felt like he was in the wrong now. Previously, he had trusted the words of his worker after seeing his confidence, but now he was regretting it.

He could certainly kill his helper if Long Chen didn't come as per promise, but that wouldn't mean his problems would be solved. If he actually had his helper killed, he would need to pay his family money. In any way, he was going to be at a loss.

He started walking back and forth as he glared at the middle-aged helper. "You bastard! I promise you that you would die a brutal death if that man doesn't come. You don't know what information is good and what information is bad. If it turns out to be false information, you should be the only one who is to blame!"

The helper gazed at his boss with a defeated look.

He wanted to say why it was his fault. He only told her what the guy had told him. He wasn't the one who bet his life on it. Why was he the one responsible? It was his life that was on the line, and he had no control over it.

This whole situation was so awkward that even Long Chen couldn't stay silent any longer. 

"We are just wasting our time here. It's obvious that the man isn't coming back. He was probably a poor person who grew shocked after hearing the prices," he chimed in. 

"To not be embarrassed before the people in the Store, he made an excuse that he was going to get back the money, not intending ever to come back. This guy must have told us the truth. He wouldn't lie about this to us; I believe it. Let's not punish him. We should search the city. We would find the man faster." He continued as he rolled his eyes.

"Hmph, so what if he lied. We didn't wait here because of that guy's lie. We waited here because this man told us that he would come back," the blue-haired girl let out as she retorted while pointing her finger at the store helper.

"It is because of him that our time is wasted. Our time is certainly worth more than the lives of such trash. Also, we weren't the ones who forced them to take the bet. It was an equal balance of reward and risk based on their trust in their words. It was that confidence which wasted another of our hour. There is no excuse for that," she continued, countering Long Chen's words.

"Exactly. Now that we wasted so much time in this boring place, we aren't leaving without seeing a head fall now. Either this man will keep his words and kill after losing, or we'll have to take things into our own hands.  Let there be some entertainment at the end of this tussle," the red-haired partner of Bing Lui said.

"Am I right?" He asked the dark-haired partner of his, who simply nodded his head in acknowledgment.

'Fine. This is all I can do. I certainly lied to him, but I am not the one who told him to bet. What happens next is not on my head,' Long Chen thought as he gave him an excuse to stop interfering.

Instead, he walked out of the shop and started observing the street.

Soon, the remaining thirty minutes also passed away. Obviously, Long City didn't come, at least not with the same look as last time. He was here but as someone else.

"Time is up. Go on. Do as you promised," the blue-haired girl let out after the time was over.

The shop owner breathed in the tense air inside the shop before releasing it with a sigh.

He shook his head lightly as if he didn't actually wish to do it, but he also took out a talisman simultaneously.

"I have no choice. Don't worry; I will pay your family sufficiently to make up for it. They won't lack money to live the way they had been living," he said to his helper.

Hearing the words, a terrifying fear gripped the heart of the man. He was paralyzed to the spot, the menacing aura holding him in a tightening grip.

Fear became a tangible, living force that crept over him like some hungry beast, immobilizing him, his brain, holding him captive.

"No, master, please don't. I swear on my mother's life that I didn't lie about it. I only told the return and answered the answers of young miss honestly. Please don't kill me. I'll do anything. I can ever be your servant my entire life for free! Please don't kill me. I don't want to die!" he started pleading as he dropped to his knees.

Another sigh left the mouth of the shop owner. "I trust you. Don't worry. You don't have to be scared. I won't kill you. Stand up," he said as he placed his hand on the shoulders of the man.

Even though the man didn't notice it, Long Chen and the others saw full well what he did. He placed a talisman on the shoulder of the man where he had touched.

The man believing the words of the shop owner, stood up only to start feeling extreme pain on his shoulder. He gazed at his left shoulder to find the talisman had begun to shine.

"M-maste-"

He opened his lips with a pale face to say something, but he couldn't even finish a work before his body caught into flames.

"Aaaah!" 

An agonizing scream came out of his mouth that filled the entire shop. It even managed to get out of the shop and fall on the ears of the people who were walking on the streets.

The blue-haired girl and the others stood up only after the man turned to dust.

"There, I finished my side of the bet," the Shop owner said softly as he gazed at the ashes of the ones who used to be his worker until recently.