The red veil parted only slightly. From this position, only Xie Lian could see the person behind the scenes. The other ghosts in the hall were blocked by his body and could not see. Of course, they did not dare to look. The left eye stared at Xie Lian, and Xie Lian stared back, slightly lost in thought.
Hua Cheng's appearance not only looked a few years older, but also taller. Before, Xie Lian could barely look him in the eye, but now, he had to raise his head.
After staring at each other for a while, Hua Cheng slowly spoke.
He said in a deep voice: "Do you want to compare the bigger or the smaller one?"
The voice was low and pleasant, and Xie Lian finally came back to his senses. It made no difference whether it was bigger or smaller, so he replied, "Bigger."
Hua Cheng said, "Okay. I'll go first."
Xie Lian held the base of the black wooden gambling cup with his left hand, his right hand pressing down on the round lid. Hua Cheng stood across from him, his right hand covering his left, gently shaking it, and then opening the cup. On the base lay two dice: one with a six, the other with a five.
Lang Qianqiu, who was hanging above, could see it clearly. Seeing it grow so big after just one shake, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and said in amazement: "How could this happen?"
Hua Cheng loosened his grip slightly and said to Xie Lian, "Try shaking it this way."
Xie Lian imitated him and shook it twice. Hua Cheng said, "That's not right."
Although he was saying that Xie Lian was wrong, his tone was extremely gentle and patient. As he spoke, Hua Cheng once again supported his lower hand, and his left hand also reached out, covering Xie Lian's right hand that was pressing down on the lid, and whispered, "This is it."
In this way, the backs of both of Xie Lian’s hands were covered by Hua Cheng’s palms.
Their skin touched, cool as jade, while the ornate, delicate silver wristbands felt as cold as iron. However, Hua Cheng's movements seemed careful not to let them touch Xie Lian. His hands held Xie Lian's, slowly shaking the black wooden gambling cup.
One, two, three times.
Ding ding, ding ding, ding ding.
The two dice rolled and tumbled in the black wooden bowl, colliding with each other with a crisp sound. Even with such a weak vibration, Xie Lian felt a slight numbness in the palm and back of his hand. This numbness then crept up his wrist and spread outward.
As he swung, Xie Lian inadvertently lifted his eyelids and glanced over, realizing Hua Cheng wasn't even looking at the gambling cup, but was staring intently at him, his lips curled slightly. Xie Lian couldn't help but smile at him, but then remembered there were so many people and ghosts watching from above and below, and he immediately dropped his smile. He lowered his head and carefully imitated the hand gestures Hua Cheng was making, saying, "Is that so?"
Hua Cheng's smile deepened as he said, "Yeah. Yes, that's right."
Seeing Xie Lian shaking it a few times with hope, he asked again, “Open it and see?”
Xie Lian opened it and saw two white dice on the bottom plate, both with threes.
Two three points was already an unprecedented and astonishing achievement. Xie Lian felt as if a spring breeze was blowing through his heart, and thought to himself, "Could it be that I have really grasped the trick?"
However, even if the result was amazing, six points was still smaller than eleven points. He coughed lightly and said, "Sorry, I lost."
Hua Cheng said, "It doesn't matter. This doesn't count. I'm just teaching you now. Come again."
When this sentence came out, both Lang Qianqiu and Shi Qingxuan were dumbfounded. The ghosts in the hall were even more stunned, and they all started to murmur:
"What's wrong with the City Lord? I thought the City Lord was trying to please him, but it turns out he's actually teaching him a lesson?"
"Can this game not be counted? Can we still play it like this?"
"If this one doesn't count, then when will it count?"
"It seems that the City Lord is in a really good mood today..."
Hua Cheng raised his left eyebrow, and the girl outside immediately said, "Please be quiet for a moment."
The hall instantly fell silent again, but even though no one spoke, their gazes became even more brazen. Hua Cheng smiled and whispered softly in his ear, "Come again?"
Perhaps because there were so many people and ghosts in the gambling house, Xie Lian inexplicably felt the surface of his cheeks getting a little hot. He said, "Okay."
Lurch, lurch, and shook it twice more. This time, when he opened it, he saw two fours.
Hua Cheng said: "How is it? Is it a little bigger?"
Although he felt something was amiss, Xie Lian nodded and said, "Yes... it's a little bigger."
Hua Chengdao: "Well done, keep going."
He patiently coaxed her, but for some reason, he could hear a lot of ambiguous giggles all around him. Judging from the voices, they all seemed to be female ghosts. Xie Lian couldn't figure out what the correct position was. At first, he had been diligently studying Hua Cheng's hand placement and the speed, but now he just let Hua Cheng lead him, shaking his body randomly. As he shook, a thought grew stronger and stronger. Xie Lian thought to himself, "Is Sanlang trying to coax me..."
Lang Qianqiu had been watching from above, and probably felt the same way as him. He couldn't help but say, "You, stop shaking. He's clearly trying to trick you. There's no such thing as a correct posture. He must be cheating!"
He shouted so loudly that Shi Qingxuan covered his face again.
The ghosts below booed loudly, throwing a shower of dice at Lang Qianqiu, all shouting, "Silent boy, shut up!"
"What are you arguing about? We're all watching the exciting part!"
"That Taoist priest followed our city bishop's instructions, and the results he got were getting worse and worse. It's the truth!"
"That's right! What do you know!"
Lang Qianqiu angrily said, "You, you are a bunch of rabble who lie with open eyes...Ah!!"
He suddenly stopped talking, his face flushed red. It turned out that several female ghosts below tugged at his hanging belt and scolded him, "Little brother, stop making noise! If you keep talking nonsense, the sisters will pull down your pants!"
Lang Qianqiu had never been threatened in this way before. He was so angry that he was speechless and said, "You...you!"
If he'd just been beaten up by a bunch of ghosts, that would have been fine. But if he'd actually had his pants stripped off, it would have been a huge loss of face for him, a venerable Martial God who ruled a region. Lang Qianqiu didn't dare say anything more. Xie Lian looked up and saw him staring at him intently, feeling both amused and pitiful. He lowered his head and whispered to Hua Cheng, "...Sanlang."
Hearing him shout like that, Hua Cheng smiled and said, "Don't worry about him. Let's continue."
“…”
Xie Lian had no choice but to hold up the gambling cup and shake it twice more. As expected, this time, he shook out two "fives".
Seeing this, the ghosts were even more amused and started teasing Lang Qianqiu even more crazily, saying, "See? It's getting bigger and bigger!"
Xie Lian had already figured out that Hua Cheng was playing him. He felt a bit amused and confused, thinking that there really was no such thing as a correct position. For someone like him, every position was wrong. He could completely abandon any thought of changing his luck from now on. Just as he was about to give up and take one last spin, Hua Cheng said, "Wait a minute."
Xie Lian felt the pressure of his palm covering him become a little heavier, so he paused and asked, "What's wrong?"
Hua Cheng said half-seriously, "Brother, I don't think you've told me yet. What will we do if we lose?"
Hearing him call Xie Lian "brother," the expressions on Shi Qingxuan and Lang Qianqiu's faces were beyond words. The ghosts were also terrified, with some even dropping their heads to the ground in terror.
It was a bit embarrassing to say, but in his haste, Xie Lian hadn’t really considered the stakes. “This…”
He had originally considered betting ten years of his own life, but the lifespan of a priest was long, so ten years was probably nothing. Money and treasures? None. Mana and spiritual power? None. For a moment, Xie Lian couldn't think of anything to bet, so he had to ask the gambling house owner. He asked, "Do you think I have anything worth betting?"
Hearing this, Hua Cheng laughed.
He said, "I don't care. What did you bring with you?"
Xie Lian thought for a moment, coughed lightly, and spoke truthfully, “I… this time, I only brought one uneaten steamed bun with me.”
Hearing this, Hua Cheng burst out laughing. He laughed, but the others wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
After laughing, Hua Cheng nodded and said, "Okay. Let's go with that steamed bun."
When these words were spoken, not only the ghosts but even the girls in charge of the gambling tables were shocked.
Since this gambling house opened, countless incredible bets have been made. They've involved internal organs, lifespans, emotions, and even abilities. However, none of these bets were as incredible as today's: an uneaten steamed bun. Even Lang Qianqiu couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "What...what does this mean? Are you saying I...I'm only worth an uneaten steamed bun?!"
The ghosts laughed and chuckled, and someone shouted, "What's wrong with a steamed bun? You got it for free, why don't you shut up!" Xie Lian recognized the voice of Shi Qingxuan, who was hiding among the ghosts. Just as he was laughing and crying, Hua Cheng said to him, "Come on. This is the last one, don't be nervous."
Xie Lian said, “I’m not nervous.”
The two of them continued to shake hands, palms over backs, for a few more rounds. Although Xie Lian wasn't nervous at all, a light layer of sweat seemed to form on his palm, which was pressed against the gambling cup, and on the back of his hand, which was pressed against Hua Cheng. Finally, the two of them stopped, and when the time came to reveal the winner, he took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and took a look—
Two dice, two sixes!
Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief, realizing what was going on. He looked up at Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, I lost."
Although he admitted defeat in a serious tone, it was completely insincere. The ghosts in the hall were completely silent.
Just now someone was muttering, "If this doesn't count, then when will it count?" Now, the answer is out: it will only count when this person wins.
This is too cruel to release the water!
However, no one would say anything about this. The girl took the black wooden gambling cup, raised it high, and said, "Congratulations, young man, you win this round."
Everyone was very respectful and shouted, "Even if the City Lord lost, he lost perfectly! Beautifully!"
"The winner was taught by the City Lord himself, so the winner is also the result of the City Lord's good teaching!"
"Yeah! Today was truly an eye-opener. I learned the correct way to roll the dice! I've learned so much! I'll be able to use it up in ten years!"
Listening to the sounds of demons dancing wildly around him, Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh. Seeing him laugh, Hua Cheng also laughed and plucked the red gauze. At this time, Lang Qianqiu said from above, "Since you lost, it's time to let me down!"
Hua Cheng continued to stare at Xie Lian, his smile unwavering. Without even raising his eyes, he simply raised his hand and waved it casually. Lang Qianqiu immediately slammed down hard. The loud bang made Xie Lian's eyes twitch. Shi Qingxuan couldn't be exposed, and he couldn't rush over, so Xie Lian turned around, leaned over to check, and said, "Are you okay?"
Lang Qianqiu climbed up, dusted himself off, and said, "It's okay, thank you. He definitely wanted to cheat by letting you go up there and make you lose. Luckily, you won the bet!"
Xie Lian thought to himself, “You’re completely wrong. If he doesn’t give me a break, I’ll never win you back even if I gamble till the end of time…”
Just as he was thinking, he suddenly heard a few clear "ding ding" sounds, followed by low exclamations from all around. Xie Lian turned around and saw that it was Hua Cheng who had finally walked out from behind the red gauze curtain.
In his previous youthful form, Hua Cheng always wore his long hair tied up askew, but now he was draped in red, his black hair loose, his handsomeness tinged with a seductive aura. Only on the right side was a very thin braid, with red coral beads hanging at the corner, which added a touch of playfulness. His wrist guards were silver, as were his boot chains and belt. At his waist hung a slender curved sword, also made of silver, with a smooth and strange arc. The blade was slender, and so was he. He leaned against the half-opened red veil, his arms folded, and said with a half-smile on his face, "Brother, you beat me."
Xie Lian, of course, knew exactly what had happened, and said helplessly, “Stop laughing at me.”
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "No. How could it be?"
The ghosts below were extremely excited, their bodies churning like boiling water. They were all excited and whispered to each other: "Why did the city lord change his skin again today?"
"I'm dying! The City Lord's new skin is so handsome! It's so fresh and exciting!"
"Why are you dying? Weren't you already dead a long time ago, you damn bitch?!"
Apparently, because Hua Cheng never revealed his true appearance, frequently changing his appearance, even the ghosts of the Ghost Market couldn't tell what he truly looked like, believing this one to be a fake. However, only Xie Lian knew in his heart that the figure before him must be the true face of the legendary Blood Rain Scholar.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
