Xie Lian twisted in place to let the four bouncers carrying the man pass by, and then he continued deeper into the den. A petite attendant in a laughing mask approached to welcome him.
“Gongzi, are you here to play?”
Xie Lian replied with a smile, “I don’t have money on me. Mind if I just look?”
In his experience, the moment you said those words in any establishment, you’d get booted. Why would you enter without money? Yet the petite attendant just giggled.
“No money is not a problem. Those who come here to play don’t usually use money to gamble.”
“Really?” Xie Lian asked.
The petite attendant covered her mouth. “Really. Gongzi, please come with me.”
She waved at Xie Lian, beckoning him, and sashayed away. Xie Lian followed her without a word but carefully observed all around him.
Inside and out, this Gambler’s Den was exceedingly extravagant and stylish but not at all tacky; it was a building rich with taste. The petite attendant brought Xie Lian to the very back of the main hall to a long table that was packed like sardines with guests.
Xie Lian had only just approached when he heard a man cry, “I bet my arm!”
There were too many onlookers. Xie Lian couldn’t get through and could only listen from the outskirts of the crowd. Suddenly, he heard another voice lazily respond.
“No need. Never mind your arm, even your shit life is worthless here.”
Hearing that voice, Xie Lian’s heart suddenly jumped.
He silently mouthed the name, “San Lang.”
He’d indeed just heard the voice of that young man. Yet it was slightly deeper than he remembered, which was precisely why it sounded even more pleasing to the ears. Despite being surrounded by boisterous brouhaha, the voice still rang loud and clear, and cut through the cacophony of the Gambler’s Den to reach him.
Xie Lian looked up. Only then did he notice that behind the long table there was a screen curtain. And behind the curtain, he could see a faint red figure lying back, lounging on a chair.
Chapter 14:
Admiring the Flower through Red Clouds, a Heart Full of Affection
THOUGH HUA CHENG’S WORDS were filled with contempt, the moment he spoke, the man in question allowed the taunting from all around and dared not argue back.
The attendant who had led Xie Lian to the long table said, “Gongzi, you are very lucky today.”
Xie Lian never moved his gaze from the table. “How so?”
“Our Chengzhu3 rarely comes by,” the attendant replied. “It is only these past few days that he has been in the mood, so is this not good luck?”
Judging by her tone, Xie Lian could tell that the attendant held this “Chengzhu” in high regard, as if the mere sight of him was the greatest of fortune. Xie Lian couldn’t help but smile.
The screen curtain was made of soft silk, captivating in its red silhouette, a truly enchanting sight. In front of the red curtain there were a few charming women overlooking the gambling table. Xie Lian was content to just watch from the background at first, but the moment he heard Hua Cheng’s voice, he started trying to push through the crowd, though without drawing any attention to the fact that he was there. Finally, he squeezed through to the table and saw the man in the middle of putting down his bets.
The betting man was a living human. Xie Lian wasn’t surprised, as it was known that there were more than just ghosts in Ghost City—there were also a number of cultivators of considerable skill, and once in a while, mortals at the brink of death, or those who wished to die, would stumble in by accident. The gambling man also had a mask on, but both his eyes were visible, bulging and laced with red as if they were bleeding. His lips were pale, like he hadn’t seen the sun in days. Although he was a living human, he resembled a ghost more than any of the ghosts present.
Both of his hands were pressing down tightly on a black wooden dice cup on the table, and after holding back for a moment, he shouted with the air of a man who’d stopped caring about anything else: “But…how come the other guy was allowed to bet both his legs?!”
One of the croupiers before the red curtain smiled. “The one before used to be an acclaimed bandit, known wherever he went for his light footwork and ability to take flight. That ability was the essence of his life, so his legs were deemed a worthy bet. You are neither a skilled artisan nor a renowned medic; what worth does your one arm possess?”
The man gritted his teeth. “Then I…I bet…ten years of my daughter’s life!”
Xie Lian was stunned by those words and thought, Where on earth is there a father who is willing to bet with the life of his child? Is that even possible?