Chapter 86 Stone gambling

Fang Zheng followed behind her, scratching his head with a troubled expression. Why did so many things go wrong today? I clearly remember Brother taking me around the caravan when we were younger and doing all these things without any trouble. Why am I so bad at it when I try the same thing?

Lost in thought, Fang Zheng failed to notice that Jin Zhu had suddenly stopped and walked straight into her.

“Sorry! I wasn’t looking…” Fang Zheng hurriedly apologized, only for his attention to suddenly shift past her. “Huh? Is that my brother?”

Not far ahead, Gu Yue Fang Yuan stood before the entrance of an enormous tent. Two pillars stood on either side of the entrance, each engraved with a line of words.

On the left: A little courage brings fortune through spring, summer, autumn, and winter. On the right: Show your skill and gather wealth from every direction.

Above them hung a horizontal plaque bearing three large words: Good Fortune Arrives.

This was the caravan’s stone gambling den. Covering several acres, the enormous tent was one of the largest and liveliest establishments in the entire temporary market.

“It’s him… Gu Yue Fang Yuan!” Jin Zhu stared in surprise.

Among this year’s academy students, Fang Yuan had already become something of a notorious figure. Despite possessing only C-grade aptitude and having no powerful elder supporting him, he had consecutively defeated the heirs of both the Mo and Chi branches.

While Fang Zheng and Jin Zhu were still stunned staring at him, Fang Yuan paid them no attention and walked straight into the stone gambling den.

“Brother, how could you pick up such a bad habit as stone gambling? Don’t you know how many people have ruined themselves because of it?” Fang Zheng muttered as he watched Fang Yuan disappear into the tent, recalling the warnings he had heard from the clan elders.

Stone gambling was notoriously risky. Countless people had dreamed of changing their fortunes overnight, only to lose everything instead. Even throughout the history of Gu Yue Village, there had been clan elders who squandered their wealth in stone gambling dens.

Yet seeing Fang Yuan walk inside made Fang Zheng feel strangely relieved. His brother had always seemed so composed and capable, making Fang Zheng feel as though he could never catch up no matter how hard he tried. But now Fang Yuan was actually placing his hopes on something as unreliable as stone gambling.

For some reason, Fang Zheng suddenly felt that the distance between them was no longer quite so overwhelming.

“It’s Fang Yuan! Come on, let’s follow him and see what he’s doing,” Jin Zhu said excitedly.

“Huh? Follow him?” Fang Zheng hesitated. “Isn’t that a little…”

“What are you afraid of? He’s your own brother. Come on, let’s go inside.”

Before Fang Zheng could refuse, Jin Zhu grabbed his hand and dragged him into the stone gambling den.

______

Inside the tent Fang Yuan had entered, three long rows of counters stretched along the sides. Pieces of amber and strange rocks were displayed across them. Some were only the size of a palm, others as large as a washbasin, while a few were nearly as tall as a person and had to be placed directly on the ground.

Unlike the noisy shops outside, the stone gambling den was remarkably quiet. Everyone inside seemed completely absorbed in what they were doing.

Groups of Gu Masters stood before the counters examining the stones. Some carefully studied every crack and marking on their surfaces, while others picked up stones and repeatedly rubbed them between their palms, trying to judge their texture. A few whispered among themselves, while others quietly negotiated prices with the shop assistants. Even when speaking, everyone instinctively kept their voices low so as not to disturb those around them.

This was a stone gambling den, a place that specialized in selling Gambling Rocks that might contain sleeping Gu worms.

There were countless varieties of Gu in the world, and each had its own particular food. Without sufficient food, a Gu could only survive for a limited period before eventually starving to death.

Yet nature was cruel while still leaving behind a slim chance of survival. When faced with extreme conditions, certain Gu worms could enter a deep sleep and seal themselves away, reducing their needs to the absolute minimum and preserving their lives for an extremely long period of time.

For example, if a Moonlight Gu could no longer obtain Moon Orchid petals, it might seal itself. Its power would contract completely as it entered a state resembling hibernation. The blue radiance surrounding its body would disappear, while its translucent crystal-like form would gradually become covered by a gray stone shell. As the years passed, layer after layer would accumulate until the Gu was completely enclosed within what appeared to be an ordinary rock.

The Liquor Worm was another example. When sealing itself, it would curl its body inward and form a white cocoon around itself before entering a deep sleep.

Of course, not every Gu possessed the ability to seal itself. In fact, such cases were extremely rare. Most Gu deprived of food would simply starve to death. Only a small number could enter this dormant state, and even then, they required specific circumstances to do so.

Throughout history, Gu Masters occasionally stumbled upon such rocks, fossils, or cocoons and managed to awaken the Gu sleeping within. Some earned a sudden fortune, while others obtained rare Gu that completely changed their lives and allowed them to become powerful experts.

Such incidents had occurred often enough throughout the five regions that countless stories had spread among Gu Master. Some were true, others exaggerated or entirely fabricated, but together they continued to fuel people’s hopes of becoming rich overnight.

The strange rocks displayed throughout this gambling den came from precisely such sources. From the outside, however, there was almost no reliable way to determine whether a rock truly contained a sleeping Gu or was nothing more than an empty shell. Only after cutting it open would the answer be revealed.