Chapter 81 — CONSEQUENCES, REGRETS, AND A VERY ANGRY STATUE
They woke up at different tis.
This, in itself, should have been a warning.
Chen Wulian woke up first, because Chen Wulian always woke up first when sothing had gone horribly wrong. His eyes snapped open, his brain attempted to reboot, failed, and imdiately blad fate.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar.
That was problem number one.
Problem number two was the pounding in his head, which felt less like a headache and more like a small, angry cultivator repeatedly knocking from the inside with a hamr.
Problem number three was the weight on his chest.
Chen groaned. "If this is a curse... I swear I’ll apologize."
The weight shifted.
A voice followed.
"...Why are you breathing on ."
Chen froze.
Very slowly, he looked down.
Zhao Ming was sprawled across him sideways, one leg thrown over his waist, one arm tucked under his chin like this was the most natural sleeping arrangent in the world. Her hair was a ss. Her expression was peaceful. Far too peaceful for soone who had laughed herself hoarse at a casino twelve hours earlier.
Chen scread.
Zhao scread louder.
Across the room, sothing crashed.
Jin Ruolan bolted upright from the couch, hair wild, hand already reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there.
"WHO DIES," she demanded.
Ouyang Xue’er, sitting calmly at the small table by the window, sipped tea.
"No one," she said. "Yet."
Chen scrambled backward off the bed, pointing wildly. "WHY WAS SHE ON ."
Zhao blinked, then frowned. "Why were you under ."
"That’s not— I WAS HERE FIRST—"
"Prove it."
Chen opened his mouth.
Paused.
"...I cannot."
Ouyang set her cup down. "Good. Because if you start arguing before my tea finishes, I will throw you both out the window."
Jin Ruolan rubbed her temples. "Why do I feel like I lost a duel to the concept of poor decisions."
Zhao sat up, stretching. "Oh, that’s because you did."
Bits and pieces ca back slowly.
Too slowly.
The casino. The lights. The chips. The statue.
Chen stiffened.
"...The statue."
Ouyang raised an eyebrow. "Yes."
Chen swallowed. "Did I... apologize to it."
"You bowed," Zhao said helpfully. "Twice."
"And then," Jin added, "you accused it of colluding with the house."
Chen closed his eyes. "Of course I did."
Qin Shuo chose that mont to wake up.
He was sitting upright on the floor, legs crossed, glasses slightly crooked, staring intently at a piece of paper covered in numbers.
No one had noticed him there.
No one knew how long he had been awake.
"...I’ve identified the problem," Qin said quietly.
Ouyang sighed. "If this ends with us banned from another establishnt, I swear—"
"The problem," Qin continued, "is that the casino’s probability matrices are asymtrical by exactly three-point-two percent."
Chen squinted. "Is that bad."
"Yes."
"Can we sue."
"No."
Zhao leaned over Qin’s shoulder. "Is this why they kicked you out."
"They didn’t kick out," Qin said calmly. "They encouraged to leave."
"That’s kicking you out with manners."
Qin frowned. "...Yes."
A knock ca at the door.
Everyone froze.
Another knock. Firr this ti.
Ouyang stood. Straightened her clothes. Walked to the door with the calm of soone who had already accepted whatever consequences were coming.
She opened it.
A casino staff mber stood there.
Immaculately dressed. Perfectly polite. Smiling in a way that did not reach his eyes.
"Good morning," he said. "We believe you may have left sothing behind last night."
Chen peeked from behind Ouyang. "...My dignity?"
The man smiled wider.
"No," he said. "A bill."
Silence.
Ouyang took the paper.
Looked at it.
Her eyebrow twitched.
"...Why is there a separate charge labeled ’Emotional Distress.’"
The man nodded politely. "That’s for the statue."
Chen fainted.
They spent the next hour arguing.
Not loudly. Not aggressively. But with the exhausted desperation of people who knew they were wrong but hoped reality might be negotiable.
"It wasn’t damaged," Zhao argued.
"It was spiritually offended," the staff mber replied.
"I offered it respect," Chen said weakly from the floor.
"You challenged it to a rematch," the man countered.
Jin Ruolan leaned in. "Hypothetically. If soone were to duel the statue and win."
"We would charge more."
Qin Shuo adjusted his glasses. "What if we pay in installnts."
The man smiled. "No."
Eventually, Ouyang paid.
No one asked where the chips ca from.
No one wanted to know.
When the door finally closed, the room sagged collectively.
Chen sat up slowly. "...I think I’m cursed."
Zhao patted his shoulder. "If you are, it’s self-inflicted."
Jin stared at the ceiling. "I’m never gambling again."
Qin looked up from his paper. "That’s statistically unlikely."
"STOP TALKING," three voices shouted at once.
They staggered out later that afternoon, attempting to look normal.
They failed.
Casino staff watched them leave from a distance, already placing bets on whether they would return.
They did.
By accident.
Because Chen got lost.
Again.
This ti, he wandered into a high-roller lounge.
"WELCO BACK," a hostess said brightly.
Chen scread and ran.
The group regrouped outside, panting.
Ouyang crossed her arms. "We are done."
"Yes," everyone agreed imdiately.
They turned the corner—
And found another casino.
Smaller.
Shadier.
With a sign that flickered.
Chen stopped.
"...Hear out."
"No," Ouyang said instantly.
"Just look," Chen insisted. "This one feels beatable."
Qin narrowed his eyes. "...It does have inferior matrices."
Jin Ruolan cracked her knuckles.
Zhao grinned.
Ouyang stared at all of them.
"...I am surrounded by idiots."
They went in.
Again.
Sowhere in Vermilion’s city-district, a statistician sneezed and didn’t know why.
By the ti night fell again, they were banned from three casinos, one tea house, and a public fountain.
Chen was carrying a small warning slip with his na on it.
Qin was banned from thinking too loudly near gaming tables.
Jin Ruolan had been asked, politely, to stop challenging furniture.
Zhao Ming had sohow made friends with a dealer and was now being waved at from across the street.
Ouyang Xue’er walked in silence, the weight of leadership heavy on her shoulders.
"This," she said finally, "never happened."
Chen nodded fervently. "Agreed."
Qin adjusted his glasses. "I will erase the data."
Zhao blinked. "You can do that."
"...No."
They made it back to their accommodations at last, exhausted, bruised in spirit, poorer in every asurable way.
Chen collapsed onto the bed.
"...Worth it."
Ouyang threw a pillow at his face.
Sowhere in the city, Ember Veil’s statue glowed faintly.
Still judging.
Still undefeated.
And the house, amused and patient, waited.
[Chapter ENDS]
Reviews
All reviews (0)