In the Great Zhou Kingdom, a certain story circulated among the sprites.
Every full moon night, a lavish grand ship would appear on the Long River. Aboard this vessel, anything could be wagered—money, treasures, even lives.
It turned no one away. Humans, demons—anyone with sufficient “assets” or a personal invitation could board.
Countless people lost every scrap of their wealth here, while a fortunate few claimed the objects of their deepest desires.
The ship’s owner was a mysterious figure known as the “Ghost King,” who from time to time hosted exclusive “banquets.” She would offer treasures so enticing that even Innate Experts grew covetous, all for her own amusement…
“I heard—just, y’know, I heard,” Xiao Luo said as she wiped the drool from her face, “that the Ghost King Ship has a special pill called the Soul-Reviving Pill. It can mend a damaged soul and drag someone back from the edge of death…”
“You two want to get your hands on the Soul-Reviving Pill?” Yin Luan asked. “That’s insanely dangerous. Why not wait for me to get back so we can tackle it together?”
Xiao Luo and Ren Tan’s strength was nothing special. Even with the boon from the Divine Dragon, they could only hope to defend themselves against run-of-the-mill Innate Experts.
They hadn’t run into any real trouble yet, but the Little Snake Demon was dead certain that terrifying powerhouses lurked aboard—not the sort of foes any ordinary master could take down.
“It’s my call,” Ren Tan said, shouldering the blame. “No one knows how long Mother’s condition will hold. I was frantic with worry, so I begged Senior Xiao Luo to come along.”
“You can’t pin it all on me for the rotten idea,” Xiao Luo muttered. “How was I supposed to know when you’d show up…”
When it came to saving a life, no one could afford to dawdle—least of all when the patient was one’s own mother.
The Little Radish Spirit had proven a true friend, accompanying the Eldest Young Lady into the dragon’s den and tiger’s lair despite having no stake in the matter herself.
“I wasn’t blaming either of you,” Yin Luan said, consoling them both. “It’s just a shame. If I’d known you’d get tangled up in this, we might’ve been able to consult it…”
The “it” to which the Little Snake Demon referred was, of course, Immortal Jing.
Jing might be dead, but the power she had left behind seemed formidable enough to make a difference. That said, an immortal’s whims were impossible to predict. Who could say how she might react?
“I’ve left Mother in Lily and the others’ care,” Ren Tan went on. “I’ve settled everyone in a spot that’s absolutely secure. The new trade route is coming along nicely, so losing the outpost hasn’t set us back much. Once the Luo City celebration kicks off, I can confront my brothers face-to-face and settle the score…”
Without this crisis, the Eldest Young Lady would no doubt be rallying everyone for their grand comeback.
Her brothers’ assault had failed, but it had also succeeded in another way—by forcing Ren Tan to divert her focus to this unforeseen mess.
“Business is small potatoes,” Ren Tan said gravely. “I’ve got it handled. Saving Mother is the top priority right now…”
No matter how shrewd or poised Ren Tan might be, she was still just a girl about Yin Luan’s age (assuming the Little Snake Demon’s apparent youth matched her true years). With a loved one in agony, even she couldn’t keep her emotions entirely in check.
“Don’t worry—we’ll save her for sure!” Yin Luan clapped her on the shoulder and nodded firmly. “We’ll all pitch in to help!”
“Yin Luan…”
The Eldest Young Lady’s frown melted into a grateful smile.
“How about a friendly lick? They say one lick chases all your blues away!”
“St-stop! No, shut your mouth! Ditch that awful habit already!”
~~~
With the Little Snake Demon back in the fold, the group felt a surge of confidence.
If things went south, they could always jump overboard and swim home with the current.
“I did some scouting,” Xiao Luo said. “The open-access venues are all standard ones, where they gamble on gold, silver, jewels—the usual mortal junk. Even the smallest Ghost King Coin is worth about a year’s living expenses for your average family.”
“Come midnight, they open the ‘Midnight Venue.’ The stakes there run the gamut. Anything deemed valuable gets swapped for Ghost King Coins, with the Ghost King’s people calling the shots on worth.”
“Every wager in the Midnight Venue earns you your opponent’s coins plus ‘points’ for the leaderboard. When time’s up, the top scorers get a personal invite from the Ghost King to the ultimate ‘Ghost King Gamble.’ The victor walks away with whatever treasure she’s holding.”
“I’m betting,” Yin Luan said thoughtfully, “the Soul-Reviving Pill we need can only come straight from the Ghost King herself.”
“That’s right,” Xiao Luo said with a slight frown. “Actually, I always thought the Ghost King Ship was just made up… This is the Great Zhou Kingdom—how could they tolerate something like that?”
“The Demon Subduing Division’s job is to maintain stability in the Great Zhou Kingdom,” Ren Tan explained. “As long as the Ghost King doesn’t stir up trouble and keeps her activities confined to the ship, there’s no compelling reason to take her down… especially since this Ghost King wields power that even the Demon Subduing Division has to respect.”
“How could she not cause trouble?” Yin Luan shook her head. “The people on the ship I took to get here were probably kidnapped by her. That guy’s definitely a big villain.”
“No, you’re mistaken,” Ren Tan said, as if guessing that the Little Snake Demon hadn’t boarded in the usual fashion. She explained, “The Ghost King doesn’t force anyone to stay on the ship. She simply lets people make their own choice… gamble, or walk away?”
“This…”
The Little Snake Demon found it hard to believe.
“You didn’t think all those servants on the ship were kidnapped by the Ghost King, did you?” Xiao Luo asked. “If that were the case, the Demon Subduing Division would’ve mobilized ages ago and wiped her out. The truth is, these are all people who lost ‘themselves’…”
With some time to spare, Ren Tan and Xiao Luo led Yin Luan to the “Servant Warehouse,” which visitors were free to tour.
A pale-faced woman with no vital signs yet remarkably articulate welcomed them and began the introduction.
“People fetch a high ‘price’,” she said. “Different individuals are worth different sums, but even a total washout can trade their soul for a decent stack of Ghost King Coins, if they’re willing.”
“Sell their soul?”
“Exactly—sell it to Lady Ghost King,” the woman confirmed with a nod. “Afterward, they end up like these servants: eternally obedient, until their bodies finally give out or the obsession keeping them animated fades away.”
“Why do you look different?”
“Some earn the Ghost King’s favor and get special perks, but at the core, it’s no different.”
Selling your soul for gambling chips… it had a real devilish ring to it.
“Then,” Ren Tan said after listening to the woman’s spiel and mulling it over, “can you win back a soul you’ve lost?”
“Of course,” the woman replied. “Though it’s never actually happened.”
“Why not?”
“Because the soul is usually a person’s final chip. Lose that, and you’ve got nothing left to turn the tables.”
That tracked. When you’re wagering your life, what comeback do you have without any other stakes?
“Care to watch?” the woman offered. “We’ve got a fresh batch of ‘volunteers.’ You can see the whole process firsthand.”
The volunteers’ station was in the room next door.
If the Midnight Venue was for the evening’s early winners, this was the losers’ last shot at redemption.
The Little Snake Demon also spotted the Old Merchant and the crew from her cargo ship.
“How did they end up here?”
Yin Luan frowned.
“Invitation,” the woman said. “We spotted your vessel passing by and sent someone to extend the invite… Oh, and one of our servants went over but never returned. Any idea what happened?”
“Did they accept?”
Rather than answering, the Little Snake Demon pressed on.
“Yes,” the woman said without missing a beat. “If they hesitate, we settle it with an on-the-spot gamble.”
“Let me guess—you always win those.”
The Little Snake Demon eyed the woman.
“They have a choice,” the woman replied with a faint smile. “They can always decline to board.”
Just then, the “final gambles” kicked off inside.
The setups ran the gamut: some so convoluted they defied comprehension, others dead simple—like drawing straws.
“Please choose.”
The figure in plain robes addressed the Old Merchant politely.
“I… I…”
The Old Merchant’s hand shook as he reached out. Cold sweat poured down his cheeks, his lips twitched, his face drained of color, his eyes bloodshot with a mix of terror and thrill.
Without their earlier encounter, the Little Snake Demon never would’ve pegged the kindly elder who’d given her passage as this wreck of a man.
“Please choose,” the other prompted. “Win, and you reclaim everything you’ve wagered—your arm, both legs, both eyes. Lose, and you surrender your soul.”
“I…”
The Old Merchant convulsed harder, until the mounting pressure broke him. With a sudden lunge, he snatched a lot, clenched it in his fist, and squeezed his eyes shut, too afraid to look.
The opponent pulled out the other stick, flipped it over, and showed him the character on it.
Middle.
There were only two sticks. His was Middle, so the one in the Old Merchant’s hand could only be Miss.
“No, no! I’m not playing anymore! Please! I…”
The Old Merchant immediately dropped to his knees, begging frantically, but it was no use. Moments later, two staff members dragged him away.
Most of the others met the same grim end.
“Isn’t it? In a simple two-choice lottery like this, how did so many people lose?” Xiao Luo said. “Are you cheating or something?”
Her words seemed to trigger something. Suddenly, the three of them felt a chill sweep through the air around them.
“Guest, please mind your words,” the woman said coolly. “On the Ghost King Ship, ‘cheating’ is not a term to be thrown around lightly…”
“Understood,” Ren Tan said, signaling to her two companions before continuing. “Thank you for the explanation. I won quite a bit during the first half of the night. Can I head to the Midnight Venue now?”
“Of course,” the woman replied with a faint smile. “I hope you obtain everything your heart desires.”
With the free tour concluded, Yin Luan and the others left the warehouse district together.
As they departed, the Little Snake Demon glanced back. The Old Merchant appeared to have finished his transformation, now a lifeless servant devoid of any vital energy.
“Everyone has desires,” Ren Tan sighed. “Some people just don’t show them easily… For ordinary folk, a temptation strong enough can shatter their mental defenses.”
One could say that the moment they stepped onto this ship, they had already lost their most precious possession.
Their convictions.
~~~
They had rested and seen all there was to see. Now it was time to act.
“Act?” Yin Luan perked up. “Does that mean fighting? Should we set the ship ablaze? Let me tell you, my strength has improved by leaps and bounds lately—I’m way stronger than before!”
“Didn’t you remember a single word of our earlier discussion…?” Xiao Luo’s mouth twitched as she shot back. “The Ghost King’s power might surpass anything we can imagine. We have to play by the ship’s rules…”
Enemies with visible health bars—even Immortals—weren’t cause for fear.
The real threats were elusive figures like the Ghost King, the kind even the Demon Subduing Division hesitated to confront and slay. She had to have some serious skills.
Brute force wouldn’t work, so they would have to outsmart her.
The Little Snake Demon turned to the Little Radish Spirit.
“Why are you looking at me?” Xiao Luo spread her hands. “You think I’d pull off some weird scheme? I’m just a simple Sprite!”
“Then we’re done for. If we go in there, forget hands and feet—we might not even keep our hearts, livers, gallbladders, or kidneys…”
“I’m out,” Xiao Luo said, stretching out her little hand as if to pat the Eldest Young Lady’s shoulder. When she couldn’t reach, she patted her rear instead. “But she can! She’s got what it takes!”
“She’s… strong?”
Yin Luan eyed her skeptically.
“You said you won big in the first half of the night… Just how much are we talking?”
“Haha, not that much,” Ren Tan laughed. “In Ghost King Coins, I turned about twenty into three thousand seven hundred.”
“A gam… gambling god?”
Yin Luan hadn’t realized the Eldest Young Lady possessed such talent.
“Well, I am a merchant,” the Eldest Young Lady explained with a joking shrug. “You’ve got to have a knack for numbers. Most gambling boils down to calculation—it’s not as complicated as you might think.”
“It’s not nearly that straightforward…”
If it were just math, every Innate Expert with a powerful soul and eidetic memory would be a gambling deity.
No, this took innate talent!
The Midnight Venue lay at the heart of the massive ship, its decorations far more opulent than the outer areas, evoking the grandeur of an imperial palace.
The servants attending the guests had multiplied several times over—the men strikingly handsome, the women alluringly pretty, though every one of them shared the same pallid complexion.
Winners trickled in steadily, their faces alight with confident grins, as if they could already picture themselves dominating the tables and claiming the top spot in a single night.
“They all look pretty cocky.”
The Little Snake Demon scanned the room and remarked.
“You need confidence to even board this ship,” Xiao Luo chimed in. “People swell up after a win—it’s human nature.”
“It’s a big venue,” Ren Tan murmured after taking it all in. “We’ll split up for now. Grab a few chips and wander around. See if you can dig up more intel on the Ghost King.”
“Got it,” the Little Snake Demon nodded enthusiastically. “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll triumph in a hundred battles!”
Their goal wasn’t to gamble their livers, kidneys, and internal organs against the people in the venue. No, they sought to obtain the Soul-Reviving Pill from the Ghost King’s own hands.
The venue grew ever more crowded. When the bell tolled once again, an atmosphere of frenzied excitement instantly swept through the air.
The Host took the stage, his voice booming in a tone designed to ignite the deepest desires buried in every heart.
“Welcome to…… the Midnight Venue!”
“Here, you will taste pleasures beyond anything you’ve ever known. Your goals are just one step away.”
“Unleash yourselves completely on this night!”
“You are the one true victor!”
