Thousand Faces looked troubled, not knowing how to speak. Sang Que quickly explained the rules of the gambling den where the Gambling Ghost kills, which Xue Er had told her before.
Now, what troubled Sang Que was that when gambling with the Gambling Ghost, losing would first forfeit the lives of family mbers. Her mother, not related by blood and in another world, would not be affected by a re fourth-layer Gambling Ghost.
But in the Deceit Dynasty, she had a brother, and He Buning was also fourth-layer. If she lost, she wondered if He Buning could withstand the Gambling Ghost’s attack.
Recalling the Li Family Widow’s curse from last ti, which didn’t affect He Buning, Sang Que could only hope that He Buning would remain safe.
Furthermore, she still didn’t know if her biological parents were alive or the order in which the Gambling Ghost kills family mbers.
The more she thought about it, the more chaotic and disturbed Sang Que felt, her mind ticking incessantly, adding to her frustration.
Suddenly, although not a believer in ghosts and gods, Sang Que began to consider praying to the Witch Lady for protection.
The betting ti couldn’t be extended too long. While Sang Que was speaking to Thousand Faces, an invisible force raised their hands halfway.
"... Last ti Wei Wu and others managed to escape because White Servant Li Yuan and Silver Traveler Ma Zi placed bets on big and small, respectively. Li Yuan’s win indicated the Gambling Ghost didn’t cheat, offering a slim chance for survival in the den. We can each bet on big and small. No matter who wins, we leave the table first."
Thousand Faces, smart and understanding Sang Que’s words, imdiately placed her hand on the ’big’ character in front of her.
Reaching too forcefully, Thousand Faces gasped as she pulled at her shoulder wound, inadvertently glancing at Sang Que.
Sang Que suddenly rembered shooting an arrow at Thousand Faces that night, "I’m sorry, it was my duty that night..."
"Alright, alright, don’t ntion it. I was thinking of asking you to pay my dical expenses, but your earnest apology makes embarrassed. Quickly place your bet."
Thousand Faces wondered if she was considered an orphan. To others, she appeared to have parents and two brothers.
’Her father’ guarded the Yizhuang outside the city, returning ho every three to five days.
’Her mother’ stayed ho weaving, reclusive and disliking social interactions.
’Her eldest brother’ studied at the academy, returning ho monthly.
’Her second brother’ worked as an escort master, traveling year-round, occasionally sending letters ho.
Neighbors had all t her ’family’ at her place, even though in truth, she played every role herself.
So Thousand Faces didn’t know if these counted as her family under the Gambling Ghost’s rules. If she lost the gamble, would these identities perish, or would it be her?
Thousand Faces glanced at Sang Que again. It didn’t matter; the Female Night Wanderer had previously shown how fast she could run, and she had another face for replacent.
Sang Que didn’t rush to place her hand down. She first took a piece of silver from her bag, trying to place it as a bet, but the silver flew away upon touching the table, indicating that pre-arranged stakes wouldn’t work; life had to be wagered at this table.
Seeing this, Sang Que sighed resignedly. She glanced at Lu Da in the distance, occasionally glancing at the table, mostly watching Wei Wu at the gate, with Shi San still unconscious and losing blood. Lu Da had only perford simple bandaging earlier.
Sang Que’s body was restricted to the table, preventing escape, yet her abilities weren’t fully suppressed. She extended Evil Mist from her feet, sealing the area around the table, ensuring Wei Wu and Lu Da wouldn’t see anything happening in the next monts.
If they couldn’t see, they wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.
As she arranged this, the Gambling Ghost’s imnse pressure forced Sang Que’s suspended hand downwards. Once her Evil Mist was set, her right hand pressed heavily onto the ’small’ character on the table.
An icy chill penetrated her body, as if pressing against ice, freezing her palm painfully.
anwhile, Sang Que recalled the inspiration she got from Yu Da speaking of the Eight Diagrams and Eight Gates previously.
Having removed her mask about ten minutes ago, the Yansheng coin could be used now.
A hand covered in corpse spots, with a blue tint and stench of decay, erged from the darkness, swiftly lifting the dice cup.
Thousand Faces clenched her teeth, tensed, inadvertently leaning back, squinting at the dice inside the cup.
One, one, four, six points small.
Thousand Faces lost, Sang Que won.
Thousand Faces held her breath, feeling a great force pressing on her face, quickly instructing her evil spirit to resist.
Her face lted into a shapeless form, a piece of skin falling from her face onto the table, gradually turning into a puddle of blood.
The sight of that face pained Thousand Faces—it was ’her mother’s face.’
Though she had portrayed her mother, she wasn’t created from stone. Her mother was real; all family mbers had been real until a disaster claid their lives, leaving only her, uncertain if unlucky or lucky, becoming a Yin Walker.
Attachnt to family and influence from evil spirits led her to take her family’s faces, impersonating them, pretending she still had family.
Unexpectedly, this allowed her to discover a thod to stabilize and ta evil spirits while playing family roles.
Now the face representing her mother fell, another protection from her mother, finally departing for good.
Deeply inhaling, Thousand Faces quickly adjusted from sadness, glancing at Sang Que beside her, noticing Sang Que’s hand still pressed on the table, eyes glinting oddly, fixated on the darkness opposite the table.
Through Sang Que’s bright black eyes, Thousand Faces vaguely saw the Gambling Ghost’s figure, clutching sothing emitting faint light.
Yet the scene faded as Sang Que suddenly closed her eyes, withdrawing her hand in pain.
"What were you just looking at?" Thousand Faces asked.
Sang Que rubbed her eyes, which hurt slightly. Opening them made vision a bit blurry. She quietly glanced at her right palm, finding a Qian Trigram representing an Open Gate consud.
The Qian Trigram could open eyes, revealing weaknesses.
The Gambling Ghost’s weakness lay in the dice clutched in his hand, crafted from human bones in life.
In Sang Que’s vision, many tornted human souls inhabited those three dice—gamblers and their families’ souls...
Two items materialized on the table—a gold ingot weighing ten taels and a blood-red fingernail with flesh.
Sang Que paused, recognizing it as the nail she traded at the rit Office for rit Points.
Did soone earlier use a nail against the Gambling Ghost? Was it captured and used as a stake?
Li Yuan and Ma Zi placed bets together, and when Li Yuan won, got the gold, and the den doors opened.
So now, she wasn’t bound by the Gambling Ghost and could leave with the gold.
Sang Que had inford Thousand Faces earlier about this.
Thousand Faces watched Sang Que, curious about her choice.
Thinking of the Gambling Ghost’s weakness seen earlier, Sang Que decisively took the nail piece from the table, whispering to Thousand Faces, "No matter what you see later, don’t panic or speak out."
Thousand Faces was taken aback, not expecting such loyalty from Sang Que, willing to stay instead of leaving.
What a good person!
Thousand Faces’ eyes moved, guessing Sang Que planned to use her hidden ace. She nodded solemnly, "Don’t worry, the street folks know I keep my mouth shut. Without money, I won’t open up. Given your loyalty, I promise your secrets stay sealed, even with money offered."
"Thank you."
"No need to be formal. Free spirits don’t dwell on details."
The dice rattled, signaling the start of the second round, snapping their focus back.
This ti, Sang Que and Thousand Faces picked the characters before them, similar to the previous round—Sang Que on small, Thousand Faces on big.
With bets placed, the Gambling Ghost’s hand reappeared, revealing the cup. Sang Que’s luck ran out, while Thousand Faces’ misfortune persisted.
The cup revealed three fours—a trio, an all-kill!
Thousand Faces’ scalp tingled at the Gambling Ghost’s impending attack, preparing a full defensive effort when a hollow-eyed little girl appeared opposite the table, raising her shriveled, pale blue hands to seize the Gambling Ghost’s hidden hand.
Dismbernt!
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