The Gambling Empress

Linxi Market, East Street.

The blazing sun hung high overhead as Qin Lin sat behind a battered wooden table.

A large sheet of red paper was spread across it, bearing an exceptionally down-to-earth message:

“Listen to a five-minute introduction to the Wentian Sect and receive ten Spirit Bone Black Chicken Eggs for free! (First come, first served.)”

This was one of Qin Lin’s tried-and-true marketing tactics from his previous life.

Sure enough, less than half the time it took an incense stick to burn after setting up his stall, it was already surrounded by market aunties and elderly independent cultivators.

Qin Lin sat calmly in his Grand Master’s chair.

His Sect Master’s Robe remained spotless.

Outwardly, he maintained the serene composure of an enlightened master.

Secretly, however, he was frantically activating the Insight Panel in his vision, sweeping across the crowd like an airport security scanner.

[Aptitude: Mortal Bones.]

[Trait: Penny Pincher (Would fight you to the death over ten eggs.)]

[Aptitude: Crippled Spirit Root.]

[Trait: Neighborhood Gossip (The market’s unofficial news courier.)]

[Aptitude: Mortal Bones.]

[Trait: Professional Scam Artist…]

‘This is tragic…’

Qin Lin sighed inwardly.

There were over two hundred people here, yet not a single one even possessed Grade C aptitude.

The overall quality of the cultivation world’s lower class was so painfully average that it rivaled the aunties back on Earth scrambling for discounted eggs at the supermarket.

Just as Qin Lin was losing hope and preparing to pack up and return to the mountain to continue exploiting his eldest disciple, Yu Ruyan, a loud commotion suddenly erupted across the street.

It came from Golden Toad House, the largest underground casino in Linxi Market.

Bang!

A slender figure was violently thrown out of the vermilion entrance.

She crashed heavily onto the moss-covered stone pavement, sending dust flying everywhere.

“Hey, Luo!”

“You lost your hairpin yesterday, your magic robe today, and now you can’t even afford Fasting Pills!”

“And you still had the nerve to occupy a seat in the VIP area?”

“Get lost!”

“If you dare step into Golden Toad House again, we’ll break your legs!”

Several fierce-looking casino guards stood atop the stairs, spitting contemptuously onto the ground.

The surrounding aunties instantly forgot all about the free eggs and enthusiastically joined in the ridicule.

“Tsk tsk, it’s that gambling addict again.”

“She’s pretty enough to be a fairy, so how did she end up with such a terrible habit?”

“I heard she keeps calling herself some kind of Empress.”

“She must’ve gambled away her sanity.”

“I even saw her fighting a stray dog for dried rations yesterday.”

Following their gaze, Qin Lin looked over.

As the dust settled, the woman slowly climbed to her feet.

She wore coarse linen clothes that were clearly too large for her.

Yet even dressed in rags, her aloof and domineering aura couldn’t be concealed.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her skin was as white as snow.

Her narrow phoenix eyes were cold enough to freeze the soul.

Most absurd of all…

Even after being tossed out like garbage, she still dusted herself off with impeccable elegance.

“How noisy.”

She cast a frosty glance at the guards.

The overwhelming authority hidden within that gaze was so terrifying that the several Foundation Establishment cultivators actually took an involuntary step backward.

“My luck merely suffered a slight fluctuation today.”

“Tell your master to wash his neck and wait.”

“Once I gather enough capital…”

“…I shall empty your Golden Toad House down to its last spirit stone—with interest.”

Having delivered the classic gambler’s declaration of revenge, she turned and walked away.

Her posture remained proud and dignified.

But Qin Lin’s sharp eyes noticed something.

Inside those worn straw sandals…

Her toes were curling ever so slightly from overwhelming hunger and embarrassment.

This woman perfectly embodied the contradiction of someone who was terrible at gambling yet hopelessly addicted…

Flat broke, yet stubbornly maintaining an air of supreme superiority.

The moment Qin Lin’s gaze landed on her…

The Insight Panel erupted with a dazzling dark golden light.

[Name: Luo Youmeng.]

[Identity: Empress Divine Phoenix of the Nine Heavens.]

[Aptitude: Supreme Grade A.]

[Trait 1: Imperial Pressure.]

[Trait 2: Guaranteed to Lose Every Gamble.]

[Current Status: Penniless. Extremely hungry. Gambling addiction currently flaring intensely.]

Qin Lin inhaled sharply.

A Supreme Grade A aptitude!

A former Empress with her own background and influence!

Most importantly…

She was a pure-blooded jackpot cursed by the Heavenly Dao itself!

“Aunties, we’re out of eggs!”

“Come earlier tomorrow!”

Without hesitation, Qin Lin kicked over the remaining basket of eggs.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he transformed into a streak of white and chased after the proud yet destitute figure.

Inside a deserted alleyway.

Luo Youmeng leaned against a moss-covered wall, clutching her growling stomach.

Her eyes remained fixed on the steamed bun shop at the alley’s entrance as she swallowed hard.

“Damn this Heavenly Dao!”

“If my divine soul weren’t damaged…”

“…if my fortune weren’t suppressed…”

“…how could those leopard dice possibly have rolled Small today?!”

She ground her teeth in frustration.

Once, she had ruled the Nine Heavens.

She simply couldn’t accept being utterly ruined by a gambling game played among mere mortals.

This was no longer about money.

It was about the dignity of an Empress.

At that moment, only one thought occupied her mind.

Borrow money.

Win it back.

Recover everything she had lost.

Just then…

A figure dressed in immaculate white slowly walked into the alley.

Qin Lin stood with his hands behind his back.

His Sect Master’s Robe radiated faint Daoist charm.

His profound gaze settled upon Luo Youmeng as he spoke in a mysterious tone.

“When a dragon swims in shallow waters, even shrimp dare mock it.”

“Your destiny is clearly one of supreme nobility.”

“And yet, because of a temporary shortage of capital…”

“…you’ve been humiliated by these vulgar street ruffians.”

“What a pity.”

“What a tragedy.”

Luo Youmeng narrowed her phoenix eyes.

Instantly, she resumed the lofty demeanor of an Empress.

“Who are you?”

“And what gives you the right to judge me?”

“Me?”

Qin Lin smiled faintly.

He casually tossed a heavy brocade pouch from his sleeve.

Clatter…

The knot came undone in midair.

Over a hundred gleaming Mid-Grade Spirit Stones scattered through the dim alley, each radiating rich spiritual qi.

Luo Youmeng’s gaze immediately locked onto them.

To her, this wasn’t merely money.

It was the capital she needed to storm back into the casino.

“Who I am isn’t important.”

“What matters…”

“…is that I’m a venture capitalist.”

Qin Lin stepped forward and looked down at the fallen Empress.

“I see potential in you.”

“I’m willing to lend you these spirit stones.”

“So you can win everything back.”

“Lend them to me?”

A flash of fanatic excitement appeared in Luo Youmeng’s eyes.

Even so, she stubbornly maintained her composure.

“I never accept charity.”

“What’s the interest rate?”

“Interest-free.”

Qin Lin’s smile became warm and gentle.

Like a saint devoted to saving all living beings.

He produced a parchment contract from his robes and handed it to her.

“I don’t want interest.”

“This is merely a wager agreement.”

“It uses compound interest.”

“Simply put…”

“You take this money and gamble.”

“If you win, the profits are yours.”

“If, unfortunately, you lose…”

“…you’ll only need to work off the debt with a little labor at my sect.”

Luo Youmeng frowned slightly.

She had once been the Empress of the Nine Heavens.

There wasn’t an ancient contract in existence that she hadn’t seen before.

Yet this parchment was filled with countless unfamiliar terms.

She couldn’t understand a single one.

But…

What did that matter?

Her absolute confidence as an Empress—

—and a gambler’s blind obsession with winning everything back—

made her completely ignore such trivial details.

“There is absolutely no way I’ll lose again!”

She snatched the spirit stone pouch.

Without the slightest hesitation, she forced out a drop of blood from her fingertip and pressed it onto the lower-right corner of the contract.

“The contract is sealed.”

Watching a strand of golden Heavenly Dao light flash across the parchment, Qin Lin calmly tucked it back into his sleeve.

He smiled faintly as Luo Youmeng bolted out of the alley like a starving wolf, charging straight toward Golden Toad House.

“Go on.”

“Throw yourself into the pit to your heart’s content.”

“You have no idea how terrifying a curse that guarantees you’ll lose every gamble truly is.”

“And you understand even less…”

“…that modern compound-interest loan sharks can devour people whole.”