Chapter 144: Storm in the Casino

While Ye Dong was about to embark on a grand adventure outside the Gate of Evil Ghosts, Xiaobao and Dachun were kicking off their own "grand adventure"!

"Place your bets, place your bets! The more you buy, the more you lose!"

Xiaobao tossed a few dice into the dice cup and began shaking it with a great flourish, looking "extremely professional"!

In such a solemn moment, why were they gambling?

It turned out that after entering the stone chamber, they had encountered ghosts—and not just ordinary ghosts, but a few gambling ghosts!

Rewinding the clock by a few minutes:

"Master, are these the antique calligraphy and paintings worth tens of millions?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Xiaobao gently touched the priceless antiques. "Ouch, touching these makes me feel like a multi-millionaire loaded with cash!"

Dachun teased, "If you give one a lick, you'll probably turn into a multi-millionaire instantly!"

"Fine then, let's both lick it. Dare?" Xiaobao was not to be outdone. He wiped some dust off a piece and reached out to smear it across Dachun's mouth.

"Cut it out."

Chen Yao, standing nearby, smiled faintly. "These are the calligraphy and paintings Tian Wanze mentioned. The one in his office was also taken from right here."

"Do you all remember what he said earlier about encountering three trapped Taoist priests here?"

Zhi Zhang gave a goofy chuckle. "I wonder if we'll run into those fellows?"

As soon as he said this, resentful glares shot toward him from all around. In a specific environment like this, one must watch their tongue; bad things must never be spoken aloud. Naturally, someone as tactless as Zhi Zhang was bound to get chewed out. And the first to rip into him, needless to say, was either Xiaobao or Dachun.

"Pui! You jinx!"

Dachun gave the back of Zhi Zhang's head a fierce smack. "You're annoying every single time! You're a grown man, don't you know what should and shouldn't be said?"

"If my words were that prophetic, I'd say I win the lottery every single day. How come I've never even won half a ticket?"

Zhi Zhang shrugged and reached out to examine other paintings that had yet to be revealed to the world, only to find a few figures leaning against the scrolls, staring right at him with grins.

"Holy cow! Master, there are ghosts here!"

Startled out of his wits, Zhi Zhang recoiled two steps and bellowed, "Damn it, you dare try to scare me? Watch how I bust you!"

Just as he was about to draw a spiritual talisman to deal with the ghosts, Chen Yao intercepted him with one hand.

"Disciple, don't be hasty."

Chen Yao pressed down on Zhi Zhang's hand, admonishing, "Master said we're still safe here, so there's no need to worry."

"I... I just thought it was super scary how they popped out of nowhere without a sound and grinned right at me!"

Zhi Zhang gasped for breath, slowly regaining his composure, and pointed a finger at the ghosts. "Don't you know we are practitioners of the Tao? Showing up like this makes it very easy for you to be exterminated!"

Seeing Zhi Zhang fuming with fright, Dachun chuckled gloatingly in a low voice, "Serves you right! Who told you to run your mouth? Now you've really walked right into it!"

Though his words were spoken with a smile, in the quiet stone chamber, they were loud enough for everyone to hear.

Zhi Zhang blushed and interrupted, "Go on, get lost! Is that any way to laugh at someone? I'm supposed to be your comrade-in-arms, at least."

He turned, pointed at the three ghosts who had popped out to scare them, and scolded, "Hey, you ghosts, don't you have anything better to do instead of wandering around when you should be sleeping?"

Seeing Liang Lingzhi trying to pick a fight, the lead ghost replied coldly, "Hey, I haven't even asked what cowards like you are doing coming in here! Didn't you see the sign outside that says 'No Mortals Allowed, No the Dead Allowed'? This is the first time I've ever seen someone barge into our home and talk absolute rubbish."

The other two ghosts looked at Zhi Zhang with utter contempt and mocked, "Exactly! Among Taoist practitioners, you've got to be the biggest coward. If you're that cowardly, don't go around pretending to be tomb raiders—don't come crying to us if you have nightmares every single day after you leave!"

"I—"

Just as Zhi Zhang was about to retort, Chen Yao stopped him again. "Forget it. They are the guardians of this place; let's not bicker over petty words."

"This Taoist priest actually has some cultivation," the lead ghost smiled. "Since you have the jade pendant on you, we won't make things difficult for you. However, rules are still rules."

Hearing the exchange, the rest of the team gathered around.

Officer Li was extremely curious as well. "This is my first time encountering ghosts so easy to reason with in an ancient tomb."

"Judging by your physiognomy, you're a constable, aren't you?" The ghost glanced at Officer Li. "Am I right?"

"Well, in your era's terms, yes, I am a constable." Officer Li gave an awkward smile. "So what if I'm a constable?"

"Shoo, shoo! We don't play with constables." The ghost seemed deeply averse to Officer Li—or rather, deeply averse to police officers in general.

Officer Li furrowed his brow. "Your tone seems to carry a sense of contempt. That's an unhealthy attitude that needs correcting."

"Correct my foot! Is there any law that says ghosts have to salute constables?"

The lead ghost waved his hand. "Go on, get lost. Anyone who isn't a constable, step up and play a game of dice with us. Win, and you can pass through this stone chamber into the main hall of the Tomb of Eternal Life; lose, and please turn back and go home."

"Constables aren't allowed to gamble?"

Xiaowang, standing beside Officer Li, looked helpless. "What kind of logic is that?"

"All of us brothers were beaten to death by corrupt constables because of gambling. Don't you think it's perfectly reasonable for us to hate constables?"

Seeing Xiaowang and the others ready to argue back, the lead ghost grew somewhat irritated. "If you refuse to play by the rules, I'll have no choice but to trigger the traps. Don't blame me for not showing respect to the Taoist priests then!"

Chen Yao gave a wry smile and motioned for Officer Li and the others to step aside. "Leave this to us."

Officer Li glared at the lead ghost, then stepped back a few paces with Xiaowang and Xiaoyang to light up cigarettes.

"Alright, the rules are as follows: we'll gamble with high stakes, one hundred gold pieces per person, taking turns as the dealer. After thirty rounds, we'll see who has the most. If the top place belongs to one of our people, then you lose, and you can pack up and go home. If the top place belongs to one of yours, then we will respectfully invite you inside to make your fortune."

"Holy crap, these three are actual gambling ghosts!"

Zhi Zhang looked thoroughly disgusted. "They died over gambling, and now that they're tomb-guarding ghosts, they're still gambling."

"Never mind that, we enjoy it!"

The head gambling ghost waved his hand, and out of thin air, a gambling table appeared on the ground. On the table sat six piles of gold blocks of equal size, with three dice and a dice cup in the center.

"Three against three. Our side will put forward three people, and as for you lot, pick whoever you want."

The gambling ghosts exchanged smiles, looking as though victory was already in their grasp, which thoroughly infuriated Zhi Zhang.

"You haven't even started gambling yet and you're already acting so cocky! Do your words count? If we win, will you clear the way immediately?"

The first gambling ghost chuckled. "There are three formidable Taoist priests right here; even if we wanted to refuse to clear the way after losing, could we?"

"He mentioned three formidable Taoist priests—that must be Master, Uncle-Master, and Senior Brother Ziyong, right?"

Zhi Zhang wasn't stupid; he quickly figured it out. "Because Master has the jade pendant, otherwise we'd have been ambushed the moment we stepped in here. It seems this gambling match is just for show."

"If you want to pass, you must follow the rules," the first gambling ghost smiled again. "Time to pick your people."

Simple as the gambling ghosts made it sound, the astute Officer Li quickly realized that a three-on-three gambling match involved game theory and wouldn't be easy to handle.

"I'll count to ten, and you'd better send out three people to fight," the gambling ghosts chuckled, starting to count immediately. "Ten, nine..."

Chen Yao's gaze sharpened, and he revealed an enigmatic, confident smile. "Ziyong, Xiaobao, Dachun, the three of you go."

"You got it!"

Xiaobao and Dachun seemed thrilled, breaking into wide grins. "We haven't seriously touched dice since joining the Tao. I really miss the days when people crowded around cheering us on as 'Gods of Gamblers'."

Dachun echoed the sentiment with a nostalgic look. "Yeah! Back when the two of us—one big, one small—were storming the casinos, these gambling ghosts probably hadn't even woken up yet."

"Pfft, bullshit! All you do is brag."

The first gambling ghost snorted, looking quite smug. "When I was alive, I crushed plenty of trash who called themselves Gods of Gamblers every single year. Today, I'll open your eyes!"

"Hmph, we don't have much time, let's get started."

Ziyong shook his head and strode forward. Without a second word, he picked up the dice cup, shook it vigorously, and slammed it to a sudden halt. "Gambling ghosts, place your bets."

"Oh? This kid's got some backbone."

A ghost arched an eyebrow, his estimation of Ziyong rising a notch.

"Ten gold pieces, Big!"

"Ten pieces for me too,"

"Ten pieces for me too,"

All three gambling ghosts placed identical bets.

"And you guys?"

Xiaobao and Dachun exchanged glances and unexpectedly followed suit, betting on Big as well.

Ziyong smiled faintly. "Very well! Open the cup!"

"One, two, three—Small!"

"Nice! Won fifty gold pieces right off the bat!"

Ziyong cheerfully collected the gold blocks they offered and pushed the dice cup toward the third gambling ghost. "Your turn to deal."

"Hmph, watch me pull off the ultimate cup!"

The third gambling ghost chuckled, shaking the cup for a long time before finally slamming it down.

"Place your bets!"

Ziyong glanced at the third gambling ghost and smiled faintly, "My friend, originally I wanted to bet everything, but you only have ninety gold pieces left on the table, so I'll just bet ninety! Big—open it up and let me see!"

"You!!"

The third gambling ghost never expected Ziyong to try and wipe him out in a single shot. Alongside a surge of irritation, he couldn't help but admire Ziyong's audacity.

"Oho, this just got a whole lot more fun."

Dachun chuckled, "Since Ziyong went all-in on the dealer's gold, I won't bother placing a bet. Even if I did, you couldn't afford the payout. For this round, I'll just sit back as a spectator."

"That's right, I won't bet either."

Smart as he was, Xiaobao naturally refrained from betting, merely grinning as he stared at the dice cup in the third ghost's hand.

"Open it, don't waste time," Ziyong urged again. "Our time is very precious, let's make it quick!"

"Four, five, six—Big."

The third gambling ghost's expression darkened as he said coldly, "You... you win."

Ziyong laughed heartily. "Much obliged."

With that, he scooped up all of the third gambling ghost's chips in one sweep, the pile of gleaming gold dazzling under the dim light.

"Who... who on earth are you!?"

The third gambling ghost was utterly shocked. Having dominated the gambling dens for decades, he couldn't see through the young man before him at all!

"You've been dead so long, you probably don't know my nickname, do you?"

Beneath the golden glow, Ziyong smiled faintly. "In the pugilist world, they call me the Lucky Dragon."