Chapter 255 143: The Compulsive Gambler (Part 2)

Shaking the dice cup didn't take long.

But in Ruan Yuqing's perception, that moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

After what felt like an age, a sharp CLICK echoed out.

Jiang Ran's dice cup was down.

Ruan Yuqing had been watching the gambling fiend the whole time. His expression was utterly bizarre—it was as if he wanted to laugh, yet was also surprised. In the end, it settled into a look of deep disappointment and cold severity.

She heard him slowly say:

"Reveal!"

As that single word fell, every "Evil Ghost" in the gambling house shouted in unison:

"Reveal!"

"Reveal!"

"Reveal!!"

The voices converged, making one's ears ring.

Liu Xiao'e, seemingly overwhelmed, clamped her hands tightly over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to look at anything around her.

Ruan Yuqing couldn't help but look at Jiang Ran's hand.

She watched as Jiang Ran slowly lifted the dice cup, revealing a single, large red dot.

"A one?"

A die has six sides, numbered one to six.

Ruan Yuqing knew this much. She couldn't help but ask Jiang Ran:

"Is it... the smaller the better?"

Jiang Ran gave Ruan Yuqing an odd look.

"You're overthinking it. One is the lowest."

"...Then we're guaranteed to lose, aren't we?"

Ruan Yuqing's eyes went wide. "And you said you were a good gambler? There are six sides! Even a random shake shouldn't have produced a one. If I'd known, I would have done it myself..."

"There was nothing to be done about it."

Jiang Ran spread his hands.

"There are no guarantees at the gambling table. Even with my amazing skill, I can still slip up now and then."

The gambling fiend sighed.

"I was expecting a good fight, but this is just disappointing."

"Forget it. Hand over the Jiaowei and get out of my Soul Hook Gambling House."

Jiang Ran just smiled at his words.

"Not so fast."

"Hm?"

The gambling fiend's face grew cold. He bit out each word, "Are you trying to welsh on the bet?"

"Not at all."

Jiang Ran chuckled.

"It's just that you haven't rolled yet. How can you be so sure you'll win?"

"You..."

The gambling fiend had only spoken a single word when his brow furrowed slightly. He slowly nodded.

"Fine. I'd like to see what tricks you have up your sleeve."

With that, he reached out his hand. With a WHOOSH, the die and the dice cup flew into his palm.

He gave his hand a flick, but unlike Jiang Ran, he didn't shake the cup with a deafening rattle.

He simply slid it casually across the table before looking at Jiang Ran.

"Whatever tricks you have, use them now."

"The moment I lift this cup, the outcome will be set in stone."

He stared at Jiang Ran, his tone and expression utterly serious.

He knew with absolute certainty that even with just a light slide across the table, the die inside would land with the six facing up.

Once the cup was lifted, Jiang Ran was certain to lose.

Jiang Ran just picked at his ear.

"Stop dawdling like a woman. Open it."

The gambling fiend sighed and glanced back at Luo Qingyi.

"It seems your Young Master doesn't care much for your life. Acting so flippantly... it means the stakes weren't high enough."

Luo Qingyi just snorted coldly at that.

"How could a demon like you possibly fathom the Young Master's methods?"

The gambling fiend shook his head and said no more. He slowly lifted the dice cup.

Everyone in the room—or every 'ghost'—was staring at the table, except for Jiang Ran.

The next moment, everyone's expression, including Ruan Yuqing's, changed dramatically.

The gambling fiend was dumbfounded.

"This... this..."

Beneath the cup, there was nothing.

The die... had vanished into thin air.

"Oh dear."

Jiang Ran grinned.

"Strange things happen at the gambling table. See? You flung your die away. Now you have a score of zero. How can you compete with me? By that count, my point is still higher."

This time, even Ruan Yuqing was left speechless.

'His cup never even left the table. How could he have flung the die away?'

'And where could it have flown to?'

'But... if it wasn't flung out, where did the die go?'

With so many people present, Ruan Yuqing considered her own martial arts to be quite good, and her eyesight was exceptional.

But even she had no idea how the die had disappeared.

The gambling fiend's head snapped up to look at Jiang Ran.

"The Sky-Stealing Sun-Swapping technique!?"

"You flatter me."

Jiang Ran cupped his fists.

"Now, release him."

As he spoke, he lowered his hands below the table, and one by one, Cold Moon Nails silently appeared between his fingers.

A vein bulged on the gambling fiend's forehead. He gritted his teeth and said:

"A bet is a bet... Release him!!"

Jiang Ran was momentarily surprised. The next instant, the strange men with dice on their faces all withdrew their weapons from Luo Qingyi's body.

At the same time, with a CLICK, the floorboards beneath Luo Qingyi's feet slid shut.

The gambling fiend turned back, chopped his hand through the air, and with a SNAP, the ropes binding Luo Qingyi broke apart.

"Get out!!"

"Pah!"

When had Luo Qingyi ever shown weakness?

'You tell me to get out, I'll spit right in your face.'

The gambling fiend flew into a rage. However, after glancing back at Jiang Ran, he ultimately just snorted.

"My skills were inferior, and a bet is a bet... I'll tolerate your disrespect this once."

"But if you dare to be so insolent again, I won't be so lenient."

Luo Qingyi sneered and was about to speak, but then he heard Jiang Ran say with a laugh:

"Qingyi, come back."

"Yes."

Luo Qingyi immediately obeyed, returning obediently to Jiang Ran's side.

Jiang Ran asked softly:

"What do you make of this place?"

Luo Qingyi's brow furrowed.

"It's a chaotic dance of demons and ghouls, like the Eternal Hell... I don't know what tricks this gang used to put on such a supernatural charade, but it's so convincing it looks real."

Jiang Ran looked at him with some surprise.

'This man really is stubborn to the core.'

Jiang Ran had been puzzled earlier. Seeing Luo Qingyi tied to that rack, seemingly completely unaffected by the weapons held by the six strange men, he couldn't help but ask.