Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

Inside the gambling house, the Compulsive Gambler had grown desperate.

He could accept losing one round. He could even stomach losing two or three.

Yet so far, the two of them had played a total of seven rounds.

He hadn’t won a single one.

Jiang Ran had been cheating from the very first round, yet after watching him closely for all seven, the man couldn’t find a single trace of it.

The Compulsive Gambler had been gambling his entire life. He’d seen countless tricks at the table.

But he had never seen anyone like Jiang Ran.

So he refused to accept it... and in a fit of pique, the gambler decided to bet himself.

Jiang Ran was amused.

"Are you serious?"

The Compulsive Gambler nodded at once. "Words spoken at the gambling table are binding."

"Interesting. Then it’s a deal."

Jiang Ran smiled, then heard Ruan Yuqing whisper:

"The man’s a hopeless gambling addict. I fear it’s not a good thing to keep him by your side."

"It’s fine. I have my ways."

Jiang Ran smiled, but just as he was about to continue, he suddenly heard a commotion from behind.

"Prince Yu?"

"Prince Yu, what brings you here?"

Jiang Ran and the others turned to look. A burly man with a distinctly masculine face was strolling into the Soul Hook Gambling House, dressed in pink robes and with his hair styled like a married woman’s.

As he glanced around, he projected both a commanding presence and an indescribable aura.

All who saw him were irresistibly drawn to him, their hearts pounding in their chests, fluttering without cease.

Ruan Yuqing’s brow furrowed. A faint, flowing Sword Intent flashed through her eyes, and the nascent palpitations in her heart were instantly and cleanly severed.

Luo Qingyi, however, stared blankly at Prince Yu as if gazing upon a peerless beauty, on the verge of being completely enthralled.

As for Liu Xiao’e... she hadn’t looked up from the start, so she remained unaffected.

At the same time, the ’Evil Ghosts’ within the gambling house also fell under his spell.

It was as if they all wanted to rush up to him and do as they pleased.

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow and flicked Luo Qingyi on the forehead.

Luo Qingyi snapped back to her senses, sweat instantly beading on her forehead.

"Wha... What happened?"

"Just an enchanter."

Jiang Ran spoke lightly, though he was inwardly surprised by the various methods of the Ghost King Palace.

He couldn’t help but suspect this place had no connection to the Heartless Ghost Mansion, but was perhaps related to the Demon Sect.

First, there had been the Enchanting Order on the Bewitching Ghost Wall, and now there was the bizarre charm of this Prince Yu.

Although Jiang Ran couldn’t feel a thing from the latter, the fact that everyone around him could was a testament to its potency.

"You painted fox, what are you doing in my gambling house?"

The Compulsive Gambler’s roar, filled with Inner Strength, instantly exploded in everyone’s ears.

Jiang Ran gently rubbed his ears, shooting a reproachful glance at the Compulsive Gambler.

’Shouting that loud without giving a heads-up.’

He could, however, detect the fury and apprehension in the Compulsive Gambler’s voice.

At his shout, the ’Evil Ghosts’ in the room regained their senses.

They immediately lowered their heads, not daring to look again.

Prince Yu scanned the room and then smiled faintly.

The next moment, he grabbed his own head with both hands and gave it a vicious twist.

With a loud SNAP.

His entire head twisted around to face backward. Blood instantly poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and a moment later, his corpse toppled to the floor.

The scene was bizarre to the extreme.

It was enough to scare the daylights out of a ghost, let alone a person.

"Wh-what’s going on?"

Hearing the commotion, Luo Qingyi instinctively looked up, only to see that Prince Yu—the man who just moments before had so astonished and horrified them—was now dead on the floor.

Ruan Yuqing’s brow furrowed, and she glanced at Jiang Ran.

She saw Jiang Ran narrowing his eyes, his gaze inscrutable.

"What are you thinking?"

Ruan Yuqing asked softly.

Jiang Ran smiled. Instead of answering Ruan Yuqing, he turned back to the Compulsive Gambler and said laughingly:

"Well, this is interesting.

"I didn’t realize you people were so addicted to your smoke and mirrors that you’d perform the ’turning into a ghost’ trick right in front of everyone."

"..."

The Compulsive Gambler’s face turned ashen, his expression one of utter confusion. Finally, he just waved a hand.

"Drag him out. Don’t let him dirty the place."

"Yes, sir."

A couple of the other gamblers immediately stepped forward and dragged Prince Yu’s body away.

Only then did the Compulsive Gambler say:

"Come on, let’s continue!"

Jiang Ran smiled. That was the true nature of a gambler—not even a catastrophe could distract him from the outcome of the current round.

"Alright. Who goes first?"

"This time, let’s change the rules."

The Compulsive Gambler sneered.

"Before, we were betting on who rolled the higher number.

"This time, let’s change it. We’ll play for the lowest number.

"Ties go to the first player. I’ll go first."

"Fine by me."

Jiang Ran nodded. "As the guest, I’ll follow the host’s lead."

Seeing Jiang Ran’s confident, victorious expression, the Compulsive Gambler couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

The dice were the same, and the shaker cup was unchanged.

The Compulsive Gambler swept up the dice, and a RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE sounded from within the shaker cup.

This time, he didn’t keep the cup on the table; it moved so fast in his hands that it left afterimages.

Although Ruan Yuqing’s thoughts were still mostly on Prince Yu’s bizarre death, she couldn’t help but analyze the scene before her.

’The reason the Compulsive Gambler changed the rules is actually quite simple. Jiang Ran has been using his incredible sleight of hand to steal the dice right out of the gambler’s cup every single time.

’That’s why he’s lost every round.

’Now, they’re playing for the lowest number. If Jiang Ran steals the dice again, the gambler’s result will be zero—making it impossible for Jiang Ran to win.’