Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Gambling Game

A moment later.

The noise in the main courtyard continued, while the back courtyard remained as quiet as yesterday.

It wasn't until someone broke the silence that the stillness was interrupted.

The man with a horse face seemed unable to endure any longer. He suddenly turned around and asked, “What are you two following me for?”

It turned out that Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan had been standing behind him all this time!

When their gazes met, Mei Yinghan’s brows furrowed slightly. Bai Zhengliu calmly asked, “Aren’t you the one who’s been watching us?”

The swordsman had always been sensitive to the gaze of others. Thinking back, he had sensed the moment the horse-faced man’s eyes had turned towards them again. At that time, Mei Yinghan was still pondering what made Qian Gui so special.

Recalling Nie Qing’e’s earlier mention of the gambling game, Bai Zhengliu actually didn't want to deal with the horse-faced man. But when he looked at the other guests who were obviously avoiding their group, the swordsman thought that, in comparison, this man—this ghost—at least hesitated, which made him seem more approachable.

Might as well try.

Sure enough, after Bai Zhengliu glanced at the man several times, the horse-faced man stood up.

Without hesitation, Bai Zhengliu pulled Mei Yinghan along and walked with him through the hallway to the location.

Upon hearing Bai Zhengliu’s words, the horse-faced man frowned. “I never—”

Bai Zhengliu looked at him. After a moment, the young man spread his hands, “You didn’t? Well, I must have been mistaken.”

The horse-faced man was immediately stumped, looking at him with a conflicted expression.

Bai Zhengliu met his gaze, showing no sign of hesitation.

After a while, the horse-faced man relented.

He quickly glanced towards the main courtyard, then whispered, “I still need to make some flashy moves with the others, but for now, we’ll settle this quickly. Just one round, higher or lower. If you win, I’ll tell you how to leave this place. If I win, then I’ll take all of your belongings in exchange.”

His words were vague. If Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan hadn’t already heard Nie Qing’e talk about the key point of the gambling game, they might not have understood what he meant by his light mention of “all your belongings.”

Watching as the man took two gambling cups from his sleeve, each containing three dice, Bai Zhengliu asked, “What if both sides roll the same number?”The man with the horse face showed a flicker of joy in his eyes, but his tone was calm: "Naturally, the banker wins."

Bai Zhengliu smiled and said, "It seems like you’ve already secured your victory, Brother."

The man with the horse face became impatient: "It’s all about skill. Besides, you haven’t rolled yet, how do you know I’ll win for sure?"

As he spoke, he made a gesture to shake the gambling cups.

Mei Yinghan watched quietly and softly called out, "Bai Brother."

Bai Zhengliu turned to smile at him, then looked back at the man with the horse face and said, "Oh, I’m not going to play by your rules."

The man with the horse face was stunned, then his expression darkened: "You!"

Bai Zhengliu assessed him and said, "I never agreed to your terms before, so now that I say 'no,' it doesn’t count as breaking the rules, does it?"

The man with the horse face’s cheek twitched, looking like he was about to get really angry. But Bai Zhengliu had already seen through him. "Brother, don't put on that act." His face remained calm, and the surrounding temperature didn't drop, showing that the other man was simply angry.

The man with the horse face really had no way of handling him. Hearing Bai Zhengliu’s words, he could only huff and puff in frustration, yet couldn’t do anything.

Just as the man was about to put the gambling cups away, Bai Zhengliu quickly added, "I only said I won’t play by your rules, not that I won’t play."

The man with the horse face shot him a cold glance, but Bai Zhengliu had a smile on his face. He guessed, "Earlier, you openly invited us to gamble in the main courtyard, but now you’re only willing to bring us here to the back. Brother, are you avoiding someone in the front? Is it Mr. Tan?"

The man with the horse face remained silent.

Bai Zhengliu thought to himself, "He didn’t deny 'the front'… Ha, so Tan’s house really isn’t just a simple 'cycle!' But I still can’t figure out what it is that Mr. Tan values so much in Brother Qian, that even the wandering ghosts are holding back, afraid to compete with Mr. Tan."

As he pondered these thoughts, there was no sign of it on his face. He continued speaking to the man with the horse face: "Now that we’re here, we won’t tell Mr. Tan what you’re doing," No, this was an open threat, "If you don’t reveal something, I’ll go tell Mr. Tan," "…How about we play a few small rounds?"

The man with the horse face naturally understood the implied meaning in Bai Zhengliu’s words. His face darkened even more, but it was he who couldn’t resist his gambling nature earlier and brought them to the back. Now, he could only figure out what the swordsman in front of him wanted to do.

The man with the horse face growled, "How small?"

Bai Zhengliu smiled and asked, "Apart from 'all your belongings,' Brother, what else would you like to gamble?"The man with the horse face looked up and down at him. After a while, his gaze landed on the twenty-eight swords at Bai Zhengliu's side.

Bai Zhengliu: "......"

Before the man with the horse face could speak, the swordsman dryly added, "Except for my blade, of course."

The man with the horse face sneered, clearly disdainful of the swordsman's meanness.

Bai Zhengliu watched him for a moment, then suddenly said, "Since you like to gamble, let me take a wild guess—do you also enjoy wine?"

The two things seemed unrelated, but Bai Zhengliu had seen all kinds of people and understood that there was a balance between gambling and drinking. And for someone like the man with the horse face, who could still hold onto the dice even after becoming a ghost, he clearly didn’t know moderation. So, Bai Zhengliu naturally assumed that he also liked wine.

To prevent the man with the horse face from being the exception, Bai Zhengliu added, "Even if you don’t, there are many people outside who surely enjoy a drink."

After these two sentences, the man with the horse face still tried to control himself, but his swallowing throat betrayed him.

His eyes fell on the wine pouch at Bai Zhengliu’s side, and the man with the horse face said, "Fine. But I’ll make it clear first, you won’t get the way out with this thing."

Bai Zhengliu didn’t care: "I only want a fair game."

After all, the man with the horse face was already a wild ghost of the Tan family, so even if he told Bai Zhengliu the way out, Bai Zhengliu wouldn’t trust him.

Either the man with the horse face had some way he was absolutely sure would never fail, or the so-called "way out" was a lie.

Either way, it wasn’t what Bai Zhengliu wanted. It was better to trade a few cups of wine for the answer he wanted.

The swordsman emphasized, "If I lose, I’ll give you a cup of wine. If I win, you answer one question."

The man with the horse face furrowed his brows again. After a while, he slightly relaxed and said: "......"

He didn’t speak further.

Bai Zhengliu added, "When I say 'a cup,' I mean exactly this cup." He took out a small cup from his pack. "If I lose, I’ll pour it for you."

The man with the horse face gritted his teeth: "Fine! Is there anything else you want to say?"

Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment, "Not for now."After speaking, Bai Zhengliu placed one hand on the gambling bowl.

The man with the horse face did the same. The two of them faced each other, and the gambling bowl shook, making a series of clinking sounds.

Bai Zhengliu casually said, "Perfect, since Brother Mei is here with me, he can witness it as well." He paused and looked at the man with the horse face, who had also stopped, "Shall we begin?"

The man with the horse face stared at him and simultaneously moved his hand away from the gambling bowl.

The three pairs of eyes fell on it at the same time. Bai Zhengliu softly said, "Eh?"

He had originally thought he would see three sixes, but unexpectedly, the man with the horse face only rolled out three fours.

Perhaps his surprise was too evident, as the man with the horse face sneered, "Aren’t you going to reveal yours? Without a way out, what else do you want to ask?"

Bai Zhengliu didn’t reply.

He lowered his head, moved his gambling bowl aside, and revealed the dice underneath.

The man with the horse face continued talking: "Want to know how to survive? That question doesn’t count either... Hmm?"

He looked at the numbers Bai Zhengliu had rolled and was stunned in place.

One five, one two, one one.

The man with the horse face’s face twitched, and he looked up at Bai Zhengliu in shock, "You?!"

Bai Zhengliu innocently met his gaze, "Looks like Brother, you’ve won. Alright, I’ll pour the wine for you."

It wasn’t just the man with the horse face who was shocked. Seeing Bai Zhengliu’s nonchalant demeanor, Mei Yinghan also fell silent for a moment.

It really shouldn’t have been surprising. If Brother Bai were skilled in gambling, he wouldn’t have asked if he knew how to gamble earlier. But now...

Forget it. Mei Yinghan quickly let go of his thoughts. After all, Bai Zhengliu had already used coercion and inducement, fixing the "loss" to something they could accept. It was just a few cups of wine— even if they lost it all, it didn’t matter.

With this thought, Mei Yinghan calmed down. On the other hand, the man with the horse face remained in a dazed state, still stunned even as Bai Zhengliu handed him the cup of wine.

Bai Zhengliu had no choice but to call out to him: "Brother?"The man with the horse face regained his senses and looked back with a complicated expression.

Bai Zhengliu gestured, "Wine?"

The man with the horse face took a deep breath and drank the wine Bai Zhengliu handed to him in one go.

The gambling game continued.

Naturally, Bai Zhengliu wasn’t simply giving wine to the man with the horse face. He was practicing.

A knife-wielding man who had earned fame across the martial world by the age of twenty could quickly master a new skill, no matter what it was.

Out of the first five rounds, he only won one. Even that one win was purely due to luck.

As the game went on, Bai Zhengliu gradually figured out the right feel. Not every round was a win, but at least he could control the dice to land on fours, fives, and sixes. As a result, his wins against the man with the horse face rapidly increased.

With each victory, Bai Zhengliu asked another question.

For example: "What kind of rumors are there in the village about Tang Yuanwai and his daughter-in-law?"

This question contained a small trick.

He didn’t ask, "Are there rumors?" Instead, he directly assumed that there were. Sure enough, after hearing the question, the man with the horse face immediately answered: "What else could it be? It’s just said that Tang Family’s young master Qiu isn’t up to much, and it’s usually the old Yuanwai who goes to his daughter-in-law’s room to act as the groom—next question."

Bai Zhengliu: "Brother, why don’t you elaborate a bit more?"

The man with the horse face was impatient: "We agreed. Win once, ask one question."

Bai Zhengliu: "I’ve lost so many times to you, and I haven’t once withheld any wine from you."

The man with the horse face frowned but finally added: "It was Yuanwai who brought that woman back in the first place. They said the Meng family had suffered some disaster, leaving behind an orphaned girl. He took it upon himself to arrange the marriage between young master Qiu and the Meng family’s daughter."

Author's note:

Man with the horse face: Shocked! Are these two martial world folks a bit too bold for their own good? (Especially this one with the knife!)