The Trap

Bang!

Barely half an hour after being thrown out, Luo Youmeng returned with her hands clasped behind her back and kicked open the vermilion doors of Golden Toad House.

“Who’s causing trouble at Golden Toad House—”

“Oh? Isn’t this Miss Luo?”

The same vicious-looking head guard sneered as he strode forward with a cudgel in hand.

“What? You begged your way into a few scraps of silver and suddenly think you’re somebody again?”

Luo Youmeng didn’t even spare him a glance.

Holding her snow-white chin high, she walked straight to the largest Big-or-Small gambling table in the center of the hall.

With graceful elegance, she lifted her delicate hand and slammed the heavy brocade pouch onto the table.

Clatter.

The pouch burst open.

More than a hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, each shimmering with dense spiritual qi, rolled across the table like glowing pearls.

The sight instantly blinded the eyes of the Qi Refinement gamblers surrounding the table.

In a remote place like Linxi Market, a single Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was enough to support an ordinary cultivator for half a year.

Over a hundred of them…

That was an absolute fortune.

“You fools with eyes but no vision.”

Luo Youmeng swept a cold gaze across the crowd.

A contemptuous smile curved her lips.

“Now…”

“Am I qualified to sit here?”

The head guard swallowed nervously.

His expression instantly transformed into a flattering smile.

“Of course! Of course!”

“Please come in, Fairy Luo.”

“Your presence brings honor to our humble establishment!”

Meanwhile, in one of the private seats on the second floor, Qin Lin leisurely sipped the complimentary low-grade spirit tea while looking down at everything below.

“Quite the performance.”

“She’s got the aura down perfectly.”

“Too bad she’s nothing more than a walking sack of money.”

On the Insight Panel floating across his vision, the trait above Luo Youmeng’s head—

[Guaranteed to Lose Every Gamble]

—was glowing with an ominous black-and-crimson light.

The game began.

The dealer was a skinny old man with shifty eyes.

In his hands was a specially crafted black iron dice cup capable of blocking divine sense.

“Place your bets!”

Luo Youmeng took a slow breath.

The remnants of the Divine Sense she had possessed as an Empress silently extended beneath the dice cup like invisible threads.

Although her cultivation had plummeted, the quality of her Divine Sense remained at the Imperial Realm.

Nobody in the casino could possibly detect it.

“One… One… Two.”

“Four.”

“Small.”

She saw the dice clearly with her Divine Sense.

A confident smile appeared on her lips.

She majestically pushed forward ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

“I bet on Small.”

The dice cup was lifted.

One.

One.

Two.

Small.

The surrounding gamblers erupted into astonished cries.

Luo Youmeng elegantly collected her winnings, snorting inwardly.

‘Hmph.’

‘A mere mortal gambling game.’

‘With even the slightest use of my abilities, victory is as easy as reaching into my own pocket.’

‘That previous loss was simply because I wasn’t fully rested.’

The second round.

She used Divine Sense again.

She won.

The third round.

Another victory.

After three consecutive wins, the pile of spirit stones before Luo Youmeng had doubled.

The slight pallor caused by hunger disappeared from her face.

Instead, a rosy flush spread across her cheeks.

The icy dignity in her eyes rapidly crumbled, replaced by the unmistakable fanaticism unique to gamblers.

Watching from upstairs, Qin Lin wasn’t worried in the slightest.

If anything…

He was struggling not to laugh.

“So the Heavenly Dao’s curse is actually pretty smart.”

“It knows that if she lost immediately every time, she’d eventually quit gambling.”

“So it deliberately gives her a few wins first…”

“…hooks her completely…”

“…and only then reels her in.”

“This fishing technique is even dirtier than mine.”

The fourth round began.

The skinny dealer vigorously shook the dice cup before slamming it onto the table.

“Place your bets!”

Luo Youmeng extended her Divine Sense once more.

“Six.”

“Six.”

“Six.”

“Triple sixes.”

“The dealer loses to everyone.”

Her heart skipped a beat.

Triple sixes paid fifty to one.

If she hit this bet…

Not only could she repay that mysterious benefactor…

She’d have more gambling capital than she’d know what to do with.

“All in.”

“I bet on Triple Sixes.”

Without the slightest hesitation, she shoved every Mid-Grade Spirit Stone she possessed onto the Triple Sixes section.

Silence fell over the casino.

Everyone stared at her as though she had gone insane.

“Open!”

The dealer slowly lifted the lid.

At the very instant the dice cup opened by the tiniest sliver…

Qin Lin saw the [Guaranteed to Lose Every Gamble] trait suddenly explode with blinding black light.

A faint draft appeared from nowhere.

It mysteriously slipped through the narrow opening of the black iron cup.

Tap.

One of the three motionless dice suddenly twitched…

…and rolled over onto another face.

The dice cup was fully lifted.

“Six.”

“Six…”

“Five!”

“Seventeen!”

“Big!”

“The dealer wins everything!”

The skinny old man let out an ecstatic roar.

His hands became blurs as he swept Luo Youmeng’s mountain of spirit stones into his cash box.

Luo Youmeng froze.

She stared blankly at the die showing five.

The same die that had somehow betrayed both the laws of physics…

…and the lock of her Divine Sense.

Her mind went completely blank.

“Impossible…”

“That’s absolutely impossible!”

She slammed both hands onto the table.

Her phoenix eyes turned bloodshot.

“I clearly saw Triple Sixes!”

“You cheated!”

“Return my spirit stones!”

“Miss Luo.”

The head guard approached with a sneer, casually twirling his heavy cudgel.

“You can eat whatever nonsense you want.”

“But be careful what you accuse others of.”

“The rules of Golden Toad House are simple.”

“If you gamble…”

“…you accept the outcome.”

“No money?”

“Then get lost.”

Luo Youmeng’s body trembled violently.

She collapsed back into her chair.

One moment ago, she had been an Empress once more, sitting atop a mountain of wealth.

The next…

She was a penniless vagrant all over again.

The crushing fall from heaven into hell shattered cracks across her Dao Heart.

“No…”

“I haven’t lost…”

“I was only careless…”

Like someone grasping at her final lifeline, Luo Youmeng suddenly turned her head.

Her eyes locked onto Qin Lin, who was slowly descending from the second floor.

She rushed toward him like a gust of wind and grabbed his sleeve.

“Benefactor!”

“Lend me another five hundred—”

“No!”

“One thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!”

“I simply made one mistake!”

“The next round…”

“I’ll definitely win everything back!”

“I swear!”

Qin Lin looked at the bloodshot desperation in her eyes without the slightest ripple of emotion.

Outwardly, however, he sighed as though deeply sympathetic.

“What terrible fortune…”

“I’ve truly never seen anything like it.”

“Still…”

“According to the agreement we signed…”

“…I am indeed permitted to lend you more.”

He generously produced another pouch bulging with spirit stones and handed it over.

“One thousand more.”

“Good luck.”

Half an hour later…

“Seventeen.”

“Big.”

“The dealer wins!”

“Three.”

“Small.”

“The dealer wins!”

“Triple Sixes.”

“The dealer sweeps the table!”

In front of the gambling table…

Luo Youmeng lay sprawled on the floor like a lifeless rag.

Her hair was in complete disarray.

Her eyes had lost all focus.

She muttered despairingly,

“Impossible…”

“The Heavenly Dao is unjust…”

“How could I…”

“…lose to a group of ants…”

Just as she reached toward Qin Lin again…

The warm smile vanished from his face without a trace.

In its place appeared the cold expression of a ruthless capitalist.

With a light flick of his finger…

The golden parchment contract materialized in midair.

“Miss Luo.”

“I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news.”

“You no longer have another chance.”

“What?”

Luo Youmeng stared blankly.

“In other words…”

“You’re bankrupt.”

Qin Lin produced an abacus from his sleeve and expertly flicked the beads.

“Principal.”

“One thousand one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.”

“According to Clause Three of our contract, compounded interest…”

“…plus liquidated damages…”

“…plus compensation for emotional distress…”

Clack!

The final bead slammed into place.

Qin Lin handed her the completed bill.

“You now owe me…”

“…one hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.”

“As repayment through labor…”

“…you will chop wood…”

“…sweep the grounds…”

“…and do the laundry…”

“…at my sect…”

“…for the next five hundred years.”

“Five hundred years?”

Luo Youmeng’s eyes widened.

Murderous intent erupted from her phoenix eyes.

“You dare scheme against me?!”

“I’m the Empress of the Nine Heavens!”

“You think a worthless piece of paper can bind me?!”

With a furious shout, she instinctively tried to unleash the remaining spiritual power within her body and kill the despicable moneylender before her.

The instant her spiritual qi surged…

The drop of her natal blood embedded within the contract exploded into dazzling golden light.

An overwhelming force of contractual backlash descended like an invisible giant hand.

It crushed her to the ground.

She couldn’t move even a single finger.

Looking down at Luo Youmeng, who lay pinned to the earth with tears of humiliation welling in her eyes, Qin Lin smiled faintly.

“Debts must be repaid.”

“That’s only natural.”

“Come.”

“My second disciple.”

“The woodshed behind the mountain is still empty.”