SQLJBFDTW Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Dice, It’s You Again

Chao Jianxue was deep in thought.

He watched someone play dice, losing again and again, until they had nothing left, not even their underwear. Then, they wagered their own limbs, finally crying and being carried out.

The person shaking the dice saw him standing by the table, unmoving, and impatiently said, “Are you betting or not? If not, I’m opening!”

Chao Jianxue hesitated, swaying left and right, and finally placed spirit stones in his hand.

“Open! Open! Open!” the crowd around the gambling table roared.

The dice were revealed: two sixes, the largest possible roll. The spirit stones Chao Jianxue had bet were swept away by a long rod.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Losing on the first try was better than tasting success and becoming addicted.

The winners were all smiles, while the losers groaned, but both sides were consumed by the gambling frenzy.

Chao Jianxue squeezed out of the noisy crowd, struggling to pull his clothes free. He no longer paid attention to the lunatics who didn’t know day from night. The noise here gave him a headache, and he walked upstairs, following the stairs on either side.

Around a corner, a team of dwarf demons dragged a corpse down the stairs, blood dripping down the steps. People treated it as commonplace, not even glancing at it.

“Another one who lost to the Gambling House Lord,” Chao Jianxue heard someone say.

The dwarf demons dragged the body, muttering to themselves. Behind them, another dwarf was wiping blood from the stairs, also muttering, seeming annoyed by the task.

Chao Jianxue lifted his foot to avoid the dripping blood, and the dwarf demons brushed past his clothes as they went downstairs.

Chao Jianxue’s impression of the Youmin Gambling House deepened from a “den of luxury” to “a place that eats people without spitting out bones.” He firmly remembered that he was only here to ask about the whereabouts of the Bone Cleansing Elixir. He must not touch a single dice here!

The third floor and above were all private rooms, with a much quieter and more elegant environment.

As soon as he stood there for a moment, someone came over with a smile, “What would this guest like to play?”

Chao Jianxue’s face was hidden beneath a black veil, and his voice was deliberately hoarse, barely discernible as a young man’s: “I’m looking for the Bone Cleansing Elixir.”

The attendant clearly knew about this, and the curve of his lips didn’t change at all: “For such a rare item, please go further up, guest.”

Go further up?

Chao Jianxue looked up. The ornate ceiling decoration was colorful, but the pattern depicted the bloody maw of a coiled giant snake, its golden tongue seemingly trembling slightly. His heart beat involuntarily faster, but his legs seemed urged by something to go up, to walk into the snake’s mouth.

He had a moment of hesitation, but when he thought of Li Zhenzhen and Yu Wei outside, and his own future life, he clenched his fist and stepped forward.

Reaching the highest floor, the attendant led him to a luxurious room and sat him down, bringing exquisite tea and snacks: “The guest has come at a good time. The Gambling House Lord is here today. The item the guest is looking for requires the Gambling House Lord’s approval. Please wait a moment.”

The politeness and respect were impeccable, giving Chao Jianxue the illusion that he had come from the underground ghost market to some high-end establishment. Then again, wasn’t this a kind of high-end establishment?

After the attendant finished speaking, he withdrew and closed the door, and the space fell into a silence where even a pin could be heard dropping.

Chao Jianxue didn’t touch the so-called tea and snacks. He stood up and slowly walked along the wall, carefully examining everything. They were all windows, but the carvings on the windows weren’t the usual clouds or flowers. Instead, they were all skulls with bulging eyes, the hollowed-out kind, but spotless. The eyes, the size of rice grains, seemed to be able to move.

However, when he reached one of the walls, Chao Jianxue faintly felt a certain fluctuation of power. He leaned down, narrowed his eyes, and carefully examined it. He reached out and pushed it, but it didn’t move.

But there was indeed a feeling of being watched coming from this wall.

On the other side of the wall, the attendant respectfully presented a towel for cleaning hands and said, “He wants the Bone Cleansing Elixir. Is the Gambling House Lord interested in going?”

A hand lazily cleaned the bloodstains. The person seemed completely uninterested, threw the towel away, and said, “I’m tired. Set the price at fifty million. Also, tell him to take off his hat. I don’t like doing business with masked people.”

The attendant already understood that fifty million was to make this person back down. If he didn’t want to leave, the Gambling House Lord wouldn’t care whether he lived or died. The attendant’s tongue flicked out of his mouth, revealing a row of white, sharp teeth: “Yes.”

Before Chao Jianxue could carefully examine the strange wall, the previous attendant returned and said with a smile, “Please remove your hood, guest. The Gambling House doesn’t do business with masked people.”

Chao Jianxue hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and took off his hood.

The front door wasn’t closed, and the sound of a teacup breaking suddenly came from next door.

Chao Jianxue’s attention was drawn away for a moment, and then he heard the attendant continue, “The Gambling House Lord is asking for fifty million.”

Fifty million…

Chao Jianxue felt like he was being ripped off the entire way here, but in reality, he did have fifty million.

Although he was short on funds, he had a total of fifty million spirit stones on him. If he gave it all away, he would become dirt poor.

After weighing the pros and cons, Chao Jianxue felt that he could earn more after becoming poor. He didn’t have any special expenses in the sect in the future. But if he couldn’t become human, his life would really be in danger.

“I can,” he nodded.

The attendant’s unchanging smile finally had a slight crack: “What?”

Chao Jianxue said, “Bring the Bone Cleansing Elixir. I’ll pay upon delivery.”

The attendant scanned him up and down again, as if trying to figure out where he would get fifty million, but before he could figure it out, he heard his Gambling House Lord’s voice at the door: “Step aside.”

Chao Jianxue shuddered at the sound and took a step back.

The person who walked in was none other than the snake demon he had clashed with in the Northern Border.

The snake demon’s sinister gaze swept across his face as he walked over leisurely, exuding a treacherous and terrifying aura.

Cold sweat broke out on Chao Jianxue’s brow.

Why was it him again?

“I knew it, I knew you weren’t a simple human cultivator,” he said maliciously. “A half-demon body, no wonder you want to cleanse your bones.”

Alarm bells rang in Chao Jianxue’s mind. He slowly retreated to the window.

The snake demon stuck out his tongue and sniffed him carefully: “What kind of demon are you? How did you recover so quickly from my poison last time…”

Chao Jianxue’s ears lowered, and he was ready to use the Thousand Mile Clarity Technique to escape.

He didn’t know how to calculate a demon cultivator’s cultivation level, but either way, he had no chance of winning on someone else’s turf!

He had already touched the window frame. As long as he pushed it open, he could jump out. Last time, he had seriously injured the snake demon, so it definitely wouldn’t let him go easily.

Unexpectedly, the snake demon just clapped his hands, and a gambling table appeared out of nowhere.

He sat down and said to Chao Jianxue, “If you win one game against me, I’ll give you the Bone Cleansing Elixir. If you lose, you’re mine.”

He casually tossed the dice on the table with his slender fingers, rolling two fours, and smiled wickedly: “Very good numbers.”

Chao Jianxue refused. As an amateur, he had no chance of winning.

He said, “You said the price was fifty million. I’ve already agreed.”

The snake demon brazenly opened his hands: “I’m the Gambling House Lord. What I say goes. That was then, this is now.”

Chao Jianxue: “I don’t want it anymore.”

The snake demon: “You have to.”

Chao Jianxue: “If I leave, you might not be able to stop me.”

The snake demon: “This is my territory. You’re welcome to try. But I can’t guarantee how miserably you’ll die in the end. I have two pets in my gambling house who love to eat the flesh and blood of people with spiritual power.”

Chao Jianxue: “…What are we playing?”

The snake demon giggled: “Anything you want.”

If they played something else, Chao Jianxue really wouldn’t know anything. The only thing he knew was guessing high or low, and the odds seemed to be fifty-fifty.

But…

“I’ll shake the dice. Otherwise, who knows what tricks you’ll play,” Chao Jianxue said.

The snake demon generously nodded: “Fine.”

Downstairs, hearing that the Gambling House Lord was personally gambling with someone again, the crowd rushed up the stairs, curiously crowding around the door, quickly blocking the place.

The snake demon clapped his hands and, for once, let everyone in, creating layer upon layer of people, making the air thin.

Chao Jianxue’s face was tense, but his back was already completely wet. He felt his fingertips trembling slightly.

“If the Gambling House Lord makes a move, I wonder how this person will die. One was fed to the fish alive this morning, and another exploded from all seven orifices.”

“Is this person a cat demon? Why is the demonic aura on his body so weak?”

“Judging from the Gambling House Lord’s attitude, is he attracted to his handsome face and wants to take him in?”

The surrounding chatter was endless. Another drop of cold sweat dripped down Chao Jianxue’s forehead. Leaving aside being taken in, he felt that if this snake demon transformed into his true form, he could swallow him whole with one bite and keep him in his stomach.

“Just one game, to determine the winner and loser,” he said, pursing his lips.

Seeing him trying his best to hide his nervousness, the snake demon rested his chin with interest: “Let’s begin.”

Just one game. The dice cup opened meant life or death.

Chao Jianxue cautiously picked up two dice, which were cold and heavy in his hand, as if made of a special material. He said, “I want to change the dice.”

The snake demon paused and then agreed: “Go and change them for him.”

Chao Jianxue said, “I don’t want the dice in the gambling house. I want someone to buy new ones for me from a shop outside the gambling house.”

The snake demon was obviously impatient now: “Don’t push your luck.”

Chao Jianxue fearlessly said, “Since it’s a life-or-death game, it’s only natural that I be cautious. The Gambling House Lord should understand, right?”

The snake demon tapped his finger on the table: “Go.”

Chao Jianxue didn’t want the attendants in the gambling house to go, but wanted a gambler to go, giving them ten spirit stones as a running fee. Naturally, the other party was happy to go.

The dice were bought back, and Chao Jianxue was finally at the point of no return.

He looked around. The gambling house was surrounded by walls. If he wanted to break through the encirclement, he could only go through the window. Then, he could take the route he came from and run to the well…

“Let’s begin,” the snake demon issued the final ultimatum.

Chao Jianxue put his hand on the dice cup, put the two wooden dice in, and then stood up, putting on a show of strength, and began to shake it up and down.

While shaking, he observed the snake demon’s expression.

He was obviously listening carefully to the movements inside the dice cup. Chao Jianxue suddenly realized that this guessing high or low could also be used to identify the final result through hearing.

Suddenly, his hand shook, and the two dice flew out and fell to the ground.

“…”

Chao Jianxue quickly picked them up and smiled apologetically: “Sorry, sorry, this is my first time shaking this. I inevitably have shaky hands…”

The snake demon frowned in displeasure.

Chao Jianxue shook it again.

“Cough, cough, cough!” Chao Jianxue coughed affectedly, and the snake demon frowned even deeper.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough!” Chao Jianxue coughed loudly while shaking and said to him, “Sorry, the air in your gambling house isn’t very good.”

The snake demon narrowed his eyes.

Chao Jianxue continued to shake, shaking and walking around the gambling table, making strange, ambiguous noises as he walked.

The surrounding crowd then began to chatter again, guessing if he was sick.

After walking around once, Chao Jianxue still felt it wasn’t enough. He walked and jumped around again. The crowd’s debate grew louder and louder. Where had they ever seen such a bizarre way of shaking dice?

He was about to jump around again…

The snake demon couldn’t bear it any longer. Veins appeared on his forehead: “Enough.”

Chao Jianxue exaggeratedly amplified his movements and said loudly, “Okay, okay!”

With a “slap,” he placed the dice cup on the table and stepped on the table with one foot.

He exhaled a long breath, pressing on the dice cup: “You go first.”

The snake demon pondered for a moment and pointed to the word “Big.”

Chao Jianxue swallowed and pointed to the word “Small.”

The snake demon smiled and said to the people around him, “Is there anyone else who wants to follow? I allow you to follow.”

The crowd was silent for a moment, then piled all their bets on “Big.” Since the Gambling House Lord had taken office, he had basically never lost, especially against an amateur who didn’t even know how to shake dice.

So on the table, the “Big” side was piled up with a small mountain, while the “Small” side was just Chao Jianxue alone.

The snake demon had a satisfied smile on his face.

He raised his hand: “Open it.”

Chao Jianxue looked at him, his heart about to jump out of his throat.