Chapter 44: Issuing a Challenge

He Yuting’s cries were stuck in her throat. She was stunned for a long time before she realized the young man standing in front of her was helping. She didn’t want to die, but… He Yuting reached out and tugged at Lin Kuo.

Lin Kuo turned his head to look at her. Before He Yuting could say anything, Lin Kuo turned back and held up the bone card that was originally in her hand.

“6,” Lin Kuo said.

He Yuting immediately raised her head and looked at Lin Kuo in disbelief. Granny Chen also showed a look of disbelief. Lin Kuo handed the bone card back and said to the Miao girl, “Congratulations.”

The Miao girl was speechless, her face turning white and then black like a dye workshop. Her eyes, staring at Lin Kuo, were filled with venom and resentment. She didn’t dare to say another word, only looking at Granny Chen for help. She had drawn the bone card under Granny Chen’s instruction and knew which numbers were on the cards in Granny Chen’s hand now.

A total of nine cards: one “1” and the rest all “9s.” The people of Zhuo Zhai had used this method to make many outsiders “voluntarily” offer themselves to the Gu, but she never thought she herself would fall into this trap.

Granny Chen took the bone card from Lin Kuo. “Outsider, Zhuo Zhai values ‘voluntariness’ and, at the same time, ‘fairness.’ So I must tell you, the number on this bone card is ‘9.’”

Lin Kuo was prepared. Before Granny Chen could finish her sentence, Lin Kuo snatched the bone card from her hand with the speed of lightning. Granny Chen’s face changed instantly.

Lin Kuo, imitating Granny Chen’s earlier action, held the bone card face down in his palm. The human bone used to make the card had been shaved into a thin layer, but its texture was still hard, the edges poking the tender flesh of his palm. He looked at Granny Chen with a blank expression. “9?”

Then he smiled. “Then let me see what ‘6’ looks like.”

He was about to flip the bone card when Granny Chen immediately said, “I’m old, and my eyesight is not good. I must have seen it wrong. This bone card is a ‘6.’”

Lin Kuo’s action stopped. He reached out and handed the bone card back to Granny Chen. His goal had been achieved. With Granny Chen’s words, he led He Yuting out of the drum tower.

On the way, the people of Zhuo Zhai all watched them, looking at Lin Kuo as if he were a mortal enemy. The resentment in their eyes almost spewed fire. Everyone’s face was also contorted into a fierce expression, looking both ferocious and ridiculous.

Lin Kuo didn’t smile, but A-Qi couldn’t help but laugh, angering the village chief beside him into gritting his teeth and saying, “You all follow me! I’ll take you to your temporary residence!”

He Yuting immediately hid behind Lin Kuo and A-Qi. The three participants all looked at Lin Kuo, seemingly handing the decision over to him. Lin Kuo picked up his Fetal Gu again, as if to follow the village chief. Although everyone else was hesitant, since Lin Kuo had already decided, they naturally had no more objections.

Lin Kuo, along with the three participants, followed the village chief and left the drum tower. The village chief led them to a stilt house in the west of the stockade, then stood outside and pointed at the house, saying, “This is it. There are three rooms. How you distribute them is none of my business.”

No one thanked him.

The village chief sneered and said, “You are Gu raisers, outsiders who will help Zhuo Zhai in the Gu battle arena. Our Zhuo Zhai welcomes your arrival and will also prepare food for you. The only requirement is that you can raise your Gu well.” At this point, the village chief emphasized, “Especially the Fetal Gu.”

Not seeing the expression he wanted on Lin Kuo’s face, the village chief said viciously, “There is a rule in Zhuo Zhai that I must tell you, and that is, each of us can get the opportunity to offer to the Gu, even if that opportunity is hard to come by.” After speaking, without waiting for the participants to ask, he left in a huff.

A-Qi said doubtfully, “Why don’t the NPCs in this instance speak properly?”

Lin Kuo walked into the stilt house and briefly surveyed the scene. As the village chief had said, there were three small rooms inside. He walked into one of them and opened the wardrobe to check. The wardrobe was empty, without the scalp-numbing weasel cubs from the weasel world. The other three didn’t know the reason and just thought Lin Kuo was choosing a room, so they naturally chose the remaining two rooms.

He Yuting took one room alone, and A-Qi and the other participant took one room together. After they had chosen, they sat in the small living room and discussed the Gu.

A-Qi’s Gu was a Human Head Spider. Its body was a spider, but its head was a human head the size of a knuckle. Granny Chen had told him that the Human Head Spider’s venom was extremely strong. It was good at using sweet words to break down its prey’s vigilance and then, when the prey was unprepared, it would inject its venom into the prey’s body. Right now, the Human Head Spider was still small. Over time, it could grow to the size of a palm, and the venom in its body would also strengthen with its size.

He Yuting’s Gu was a Beauty Ant. Like an ant queen, it would grow wings at a certain period. It could mate with anything. After completing its mating task, its wings would break off at the base. It would dig a vertical shaft downwards in the ground. After the shaft was dug, it would then dig a ‘maternity ward’ for itself. After that, it would just quietly wait to give birth. However, the eggs it laid did not hatch into ants, but rather a combination of everything it had mated with. The number of these combinations was very large. After the elimination of the inferior and the retention of the superior, the remaining combination would be the Gu insect that would ultimately stand on the Gu battle arena.

The other participant’s name was Ma An. His Gu was a Ma’, which was the most common Gu in the Miao region. The method of raising it was also very simple. In the Gu, rotten meat was the fertilizer for the ‘grain.’ When the ‘grain’ had absorbed enough fertilizer, its skin would turn into thousands… there was no need to feed the ‘grain’ anymore, just put the hundreds of flying insects in the Gu and let them eat each other. The one that remained in the end was…

The three of them shivered. In the end, their gazes all landed on Lin Kuo, then slowly moved to his Gu bell.

Lin Kuo thought for a moment and said, “Fetal Gu. I don’t know anything else.”

A-Qi asked, “A… a child?”

Lin Kuo said, “Mm.”

Ma An asked, “Can I see it?”

Lin Kuo had nothing to hide and said, “Sure.”

When he and He Yuting and A-Qi immediately leaned over to look, the three of them, with six eyes focused, before they could see the fetus in the container clearly, a face, and then the Gu bell let out a gegege laugh. The three of them: “…”

Lin Kuo suddenly felt the tension of a child in the family who had done something bad. Just as he was about to say something to ease the inner embarrassment, there was a knock on the door. He Yuting immediately became nervous. In her opinion, all four participants were inside the room. The person knocking on the door must be from Zhuo Zhai, and the people of Zhuo Zhai already had an irreversible negative image in their minds.

Perhaps because no one had opened the door for them for a long time, the Zhuo Zhai people outside became more and more impatient. The force of the knocking also became greater, accompanied by impolite shouts, “Open the door!”

Lin Kuo went forward to open the door, his action pausing as he got close to the door. He smelled a strong scent of blood, and that scent had already drifted into the room through the crack in the door. The Gu bells of the four of them immediately started to ‘buzz.’ The Fetal Gu lifted its own lid. The fetus in the Gu bell propped itself up with its transparent hands on the edge of the Gu, its eyes staring straight at the door, making a ‘gugu gugu’ sound.

A-Qi immediately covered his Gu. He didn’t want to see his Human Head Spider. Ma An and He Yuting’s thoughts were basically the same as A-Qi’s. They all held the lids of their Gu tightly. They had all guessed who was outside the door and what they were here for.

Sure enough, when Lin Kuo opened the door, he saw A-Yun. A-Yun was holding a wooden basin. The water retention of the wooden basin was clearly not good, and bright red blood had soaked through the bottom of the basin and dripped onto the floor. Lin Kuo glanced into the wooden basin, and his stomach immediately churned. A-Yun didn’t seem to see Lin Kuo’s ugly expression and pushed the wooden basin into his arms. Fresh blood soaked the clothes on Lin Kuo’s chest. He took a step back, not intending to take the wooden basin. When Lin Kuo didn’t reach out to take it, A-Yun didn’t hold it for long either.

The wooden basin fell to the floor with a thud, and the contents rolled out. In the basin was the Miao girl who had drawn the bone card with He Yuting, but in the basin, there was only half of the Miao girl’s head and half of her arm. The rest were scattered internal organs.

He Yuting’s hand trembled, and the Gu bell under her hand was knocked over. The Beauty Ant crawled out of the Gu. It had not yet reached the stage of growing wings. Its appearance was similar to an ordinary ant, only countless times larger, about the size of an adult man’s fist. It went out the door so recklessly, then climbed onto the half-head of the Miao girl and began to eat.

“Puke.” He Yuting couldn’t stand the gruesome scene and immediately threw up. She was trembling all over. If Lin Kuo hadn’t helped her, she would be what was in the wooden basin now.

A-Yun glanced at the limbs at his feet and said threateningly, “Shan A-mei offered herself to the Gu, and this is how you treat the offerer? Do you all have any idea that being contemptuous of the Gu God will get you thrown to feed the most ferocious Gu?”

“The ones who killed her were you,” Lin Kuo said coldly.

A-Qi, afraid of angering A-Yun and really being fed to the Gu, quickly stepped forward and pulled Lin Kuo back. Then he forced himself to endure the nausea and went to find something to use as a pad. But after searching the room for a long time, he couldn’t find anything suitable. He could only take off his jacket and use it to pad his hand to put the Miao girl’s limbs back into the wooden basin.

After doing all this, A-Qi showed a fawning smile, “Sorry, it was an accident. None of us meant to be contemptuous of the Gu God.”

A-Yun sneered and said, “In two hours, I will compete with you for the opportunity to offer to the Gu.”

A-Qi’s expression cracked. “What?”

A-Yun pointed to Lin Kuo behind A-Qi. “I think the village chief has already told you that each of us can get the opportunity to offer to the Gu. If you dare to refuse, then I will consider you to be contemptuous of the Gu God!” After fiercely issuing the challenge, A-Yun left without looking back.

A-Qi said with a changed expression, “Dumbass thing. If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t actively attack NPCs, I would have twisted your head off… puke… no, I’m going to throw up, I can’t take it!”

A-Qi threw down the clothes in his hand and rushed to the sink outside the stilt house to wash his hands. Lin Kuo also walked over. He had originally planned to take off his clothes to wash them. His hand paused when he touched the soapberry. He released the hand pulling at his sleeve cuff and instead pulled the bloodstained part of his body under the water pipe to rinse.

A-Qi glanced at Lin Kuo. “Why don’t you take off your clothes to wash? It’s so inconvenient for you to do it like this.”

Lin Kuo said, “I have a partner.”

“Huh?” A-Qi seemed to have thought of something and smiled. “The rich lady Sweet as the Wind?” He had only watched half of Lin Kuo’s second book and hadn’t seen the end, so he still thought Sheng Wen was a girl. He winked and said, “I didn’t expect it! Such a devoted man!”

“…Mind your own business.”

Saying this, he ignored A-Qi, crushed the soapberry, and smeared the paste-like substance on the bloodstained part of his clothes, then quickly rubbed it. After he had cleaned all the bloodstains on his clothes, when he returned to the stilt house, the expressions of He Yuting and Ma An inside were not very good.

Following their gazes, besides Ma An’s Grain, the Human Head Spider, the Beauty Ant, and the fetus were all buried in the wooden basin, feasting. Lin Kuo stepped forward and pulled on the fetus’s umbilical cord, throwing the Fetal Gu into the Gu bell. “If you eat human flesh again, I’ll kill you.”

The Fetal Gu whined in protest. Lin Kuo, thinking of Sheng Wen’s show of strength, kicked the Gu bell. It was indeed very effective. The Fetal Gu didn’t dare to make any more strange noises. There wasn’t much left in the wooden basin. Ma An, seeing Lin Kuo take away the Fetal Gu, only then timidly stepped forward. Trying not to disturb the other two Gu’s meal, he then picked up a piece of meat and threw it into his own Gu bell.

He Yuting saw this. “Lin Kuo-ge, wouldn’t it be bad not to let it eat human flesh?”

Lin Kuo said, “What’s bad about it?”

He Yuting quickly explained, “What I mean is, if we don’t let it eat human flesh, what about the Gu battle arena?” Now they all knew about the weasel world and that the Gu battle arena was a duel between the two worlds.

Lin Kuo didn’t say anything. In his heart, he recalled Sheng Wen’s words. Sheng Wen’s meaning was to let Lin Kuo go to the Gu battle arena first. After Lin Kuo left the instance, he would then go to the Gu battle arena. But a Gu could defend the arena. Lin Kuo didn’t know how powerful the Fetal Gu was, so he didn’t want the Fetal Gu to be too invincible and increase the difficulty for Sheng Wen. Another thing was that Lin Kuo rejected the practice of feeding Gu with human flesh.

A-Qi, seeing He Yuting mention that, suddenly thought of the challenge A-Yun had issued when he left and quickly asked Lin Kuo, “What did that stupid NPC mean? Does he want to gamble with you for your life?”

Lin Kuo said faintly, “Mm.”

He probably understood what the village chief’s sentence ‘each of us can get the opportunity to offer to the Gu’ meant. The people of Zhuo Zhai could take the initiative to challenge the participants. That challenge was the gambling-like arena that He Yuting and the Miao girl had had this morning. The participants could not refuse. If they won that challenge, the result would be the same as the Miao girl’s: dismembered and sent to every household in Zhuo Zhai to feed the Gu.

When He Yuting heard this, her face turned even paler. A-Qi let out an ‘oh, holy shit’ and quickly said, “This is the Miao version of a ‘Macau casino.’ The people of Zhuo Zhai are the house, and we are the players. In all gambling, the house’s winning rate is always higher than the players’. Do you know why?”

Lin Kuo had never gambled, but he understood. A-Qi sighed. “Because the house will cheat. They basically control the winning rate of the game. In order to lure gamblers in, they will give the gamblers a little taste of sweetness in the early stage. When the gamblers are completely immersed in the game, then what awaits them is an abyss. If you want to get rich from gambling, it’s difficult even with Lady Luck on your side.”

Ma An also joined in, “Yes, that Granny Chen this morning was obviously cheating. The cards in her hand definitely had something fishy. The moment He Yuting drew the bone card, she was sure that He Yuting would ‘win’ the opportunity to offer to the Gu. I dare to guarantee that of the 9 cards in her hand, at least 8 of them were ‘9,’ and the remaining ‘1’ definitely had a mark on it.”

Only then did He Yuting realize what she had experienced. The thought of almost dying in the gamble made her tremble uncontrollably. “It was actually like that!” After speaking, she quickly advised Lin Kuo, “Lin Kuo-ge, don’t go to the gamble in the afternoon!”

Lin Kuo naturally didn’t want to go, but there was no way. The rules set by this Zhuo Zhai were laughable. They forced them to participate in gambling. If they wanted to refuse, they would be deemed contemptuous of the Gu God and sent to feed the Gu. The participants could only go and gamble with a stiff upper lip. Once they won the opportunity to offer to the Gu, it was a voluntary offering to the Gu.

A-Qi thought for a moment and said, “Lin Kuo, they must know that you saw through their gamble today. The gamble in the afternoon should have a different trick. Be careful.”

Lin Kuo: “Mm.”

Saying this, Lin Kuo threw the crushed soapberry into the Gu bell. He said to the Fetal Gu, “Eat this.” The Fetal Gu was extremely resentful.

In the afternoon, the people of Zhuo Zhai came to the door. They clamored to drag Lin Kuo to the drum tower. Lin Kuo broke free from their grip and didn’t let anyone get close. “I have legs.”

All the people of Zhuo Zhai gathered in the drum tower. Granny Chen was still sitting in the same position she had sat in this morning. When she saw Lin Kuo arrive, a trace of resentment flashed in her eyes. When Lin Kuo looked over, she immediately concealed her resentment.

Lin Kuo retracted his gaze and walked up to the drum tower without hurry. At the same time as he walked up to the drum tower, A-Yun also jumped onto the drum tower. The crowd immediately erupted into enthusiastic cheers, waving their hands from time to time to cheer for A-Yun.

Granny Chen glanced at the two people in front of her. “The opportunity to offer to the Gu is hard to come by. Each of us is willing to offer our own flesh, but not everyone can get the opportunity to offer to the Gu. So the Gu God set this rule: only those who win in the arena can voluntarily offer themselves to the Gu.”

A-Yun placed his right hand on his chest. “Long live the Gu God. I am willing to abide by the rules of the Gu God and participate in the duel.”

Granny Chen said, “Good child.” After speaking, she looked at Lin Kuo.

Everyone was looking at Lin Kuo, seemingly waiting for him to swear an oath. Lin Kuo said impatiently, “What do you want to hear me say?”

A-Qi, worried that Lin Kuo would offend people before he even started gambling, quickly shouted, “Lin Kuo!”

Lin Kuo took a deep breath, suppressed the annoyance in his heart, and said, “May the Gu God bless you.”

“…”

Granny Chen probably really wanted Lin Kuo to die, so she didn’t say any more high-sounding nonsense and instead took out her bone cards again. This time, she had more than just 9 bone cards. Lin Kuo glanced at them and had a rough number in his mind. This stack of bone cards had at least 20.

Not knowing what kind of gamble he would be participating in, Lin Kuo frowned. Granny Chen tapped the ground with her cane, and then two Miao men brought up a wooden table. In the center of the table was a very high partition. This table was placed horizontally in front of Lin Kuo and A-Yun, and the partition directly blocked most of A-Yun’s face.

Lin Kuo looked at this partition. As expected, this partition was also made of human bone. Before Lin Kuo could feel disgusted, Granny Chen divided the 20 bone cards in her hand into two. After distributing them, she looked at Lin Kuo. “Outsider, you can start choosing.”

Lin Kuo reached out. Under everyone’s gaze, his hand pressed down on the two stacks of bone cards, his tone faint, “First, the rules.”

Granny Chen seemed to know that Lin Kuo would not choose easily. She looked at Lin Kuo’s hand on the bone cards and said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Both stacks of bone cards have numbers from 1-9. We worship the number ‘4,’ so you and A-Yun have a total of 4 chances to draw cards. After drawing 4 cards, the total sum of the numbers on the cards, whoever’s number is larger will get the opportunity to offer to the Gu.”

Lin Kuo said with a blank expression, “If you don’t finish explaining the rules, the Gu God will punish you.”

Granny Chen was stunned for a moment, then said in a huff, “If the number on the bone card is ‘4,’ then the previously drawn numbers are all void!”

Lin Kuo glanced at the bone partition in the center of the wooden table and flicked it with his finger. The bone partition made a ‘clang’ sound. Amidst this crisp sound, Lin Kuo said, “And?”

Lin Kuo had already understood the gambling rules Granny Chen had stated, but he didn’t think those rules had any necessary connection with the partition, unless Granny Chen was hiding another rule. Sure enough, Granny Chen’s face had darkened to the point where water could drip from it. She said coldly, “The 4 chances to draw cards are not absolute. You can call a stop at any time, but it’s not your own number of draws that stops, but the opponent’s.”

Lin Kuo didn’t say anything, processing Granny Chen’s words. That is to say, he and A-Yun would each be dealt 10 bone cards. The smallest number on the bone cards was ‘1,’ and the largest was ‘9.’ There would be a total of 4 rounds of drawing cards. After 4 draws, he and A-Yun would each have 4 bone cards in their hands. The sum of these 4 bone cards, the one with the higher total would die. But if the number ‘4’ was drawn, then the numbers on the cards drawn in the previous rounds would not be counted in the final total. And during the four draws, he and A-Yun could both make the other stop drawing, but they themselves would not stop and would continue to draw all 4 rounds of cards.

He Yuting was confused. A-Qi and Ma An had faces full of unease. This gambling method was practically designed for cheating. First of all, the partition blocked Lin Kuo’s line of sight. Lin Kuo didn’t know what cards A-Yun had, so he couldn’t just call a stop. Secondly, there were these bone cards. Even if Lin Kuo checked all the bone cards, he still couldn’t guarantee that A-Yun wouldn’t switch them. Finally, there were these people from Zhuo Zhai. They surrounded the entire drum tower and could see both Lin Kuo’s bone cards and A-Yun’s bone cards at the same time. They could tell A-Yun the numbers on Lin Kuo’s drawn cards, since the participants didn’t understand the Miao language.

A-Qi cursed, “f*cking hell, they’re so cheap.” Ma An sucked in a breath of cold air. The people of Zhuo Zhai weren’t just targeting Lin Kuo. All of them would be sent to the casino. He seemed to see his own future.

Lin Kuo naturally thought of these things. He stared at those bone cards. Granny Chen generously flipped the bone cards over. “Outsider, Zhuo Zhai ‘voluntariness’ and ‘fairness.’ If you want to check the bone cards, I won’t stop you.”

Lin Kuo glanced at them casually. As Granny Chen had said, these bone cards were very ‘fair,’ with no signs of tampering. A total of 20 cards, four ‘4’s, and two of each of the other numbers. Lin Kuo looked away. “I propose this duel have a total of 4 rounds.”

Granny Chen said with displeasure, “The people of Zhuo Zhai are simple and straightforward. We only look at winning and losing and don’t need complicated rules.”

Lin Kuo said, “Then let’s not compete. I’ll give him the opportunity to offer to the Gu.”

Granny Chen sneered. “You are being contemptuous of the Gu God, outsider. I have said that if you are contemptuous of the Gu God, you will be thrown to feed the most ferocious Gu. Are you sure you want to do that?”

Lin Kuo was not afraid of her. “You worship the number ‘4.’ My proposal is completely based on your beliefs. If you don’t agree, are you being contemptuous of the Gu God, or am I?”

Granny Chen’s expression cracked. She didn’t expect Lin Kuo to be waiting for her here. Lin Kuo taunted, “The holy maiden of the Miao region is leading the way in being contemptuous of the Gu God…”

Granny Chen steeled her heart. “I agree with you!” She loudly announced this rule to the many Zhuo Zhai people. The Zhuo Zhai people all cast unfriendly glances at Lin Kuo.

Granny Chen pushed the bone cards. “Since there are 4 rounds, whoever wins the most rounds can get the opportunity to offer to the Gu. Now, outsider, you can start choosing your bone cards.”

Lin Kuo casually drew a stack of bone cards. The remaining stack of bone cards was handed to A-Yun by Granny Chen.

Granny Chen said, “Now start shuffling. After one minute, you cannot touch the bone cards unless you are drawing, otherwise it will be considered contemptuous of the Gu God. You also cannot peek at your opponent’s cards, otherwise it will also be considered contemptuous of the Gu God.”

Lin Kuo was getting sick of hearing the four words ‘contemptuous of the Gu God.’ He casually shuffled the bone cards a couple of times and then placed them face down on the wooden table. He looked up and saw that A-Yun was still shuffling the cards, muttering in a Miao language that Lin Kuo couldn’t understand. He knew that A-Yun would cheat, so he didn’t rush him.

One minute later, A-Yun had finished shuffling the cards. The Zhuo Zhai people burst into cheers. Granny Chen, possessed by a dealer, stood in the center of the wooden gambling table and announced without emotion, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew a bone card. 9. The beginning already foreshadowed how difficult this gamble would be. A-Qi wanted to stand behind A-Yun and peek, but was held back by the village chief as soon as he moved. The village chief looked at A-Qi with a cold smile. “Outsider, if you break the ‘fairness,’ then you will be sent to feed the Gu.”

A-Qi had no choice but to curse in his heart. He smiled on the surface. “I’ve been standing for a long time, can’t I move around? You think of people as so complicated. Since I’ve come to your Zhuo Zhai, I naturally follow the local customs.”

The village chief said, “It’s best that way!”

A-Qi nodded, thinking in his heart: ‘You undying NPC.’

Granny Chen announced, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew a second card. He flipped it over and looked at it. Good luck, it was another ‘9.’ At this moment, A-Yun’s gaze went over the bone partition and landed on top of Lin Kuo’s head. He said, “Stop.”

Granny Chen looked at Lin Kuo. “You can’t draw any more cards. Of course, you can also make your opponent stop drawing cards.”

Lin Kuo said, “Let him draw.”

Granny Chen: “Draw.”

A-Yun continued to draw cards until the first round of 4 draws was over, only then did he stop drawing. Granny Chen looked at Lin Kuo’s two bone cards, then at A-Yun’s 4 bone cards, and announced, “The outsider’s two bone cards are both ‘9,’ for a total of ‘18.’ A-Yun’s 4 bone cards are ‘7,’ ‘5,’ ‘3,’ ‘2,’ for a total of ‘17.’ The outsider wins the first round.”

A-Yun glared at Lin Kuo as if acting. Lin Kuo’s expression was serious. He lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes barely concealing the thought in his eyes.

Granny Chen said, “Second round, start shuffling.”

Lin Kuo still shuffled the cards casually. Like the first round, he placed the shuffled bone cards face down on the table, his sharp gaze observing A-Yun opposite him. As A-Yun shuffled the cards, his shoulders were also twisting. The second one-minute shuffling time also passed.

Granny Chen looked at the two and continued to announce without emotion, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew a card, but he didn’t flip it over this time. Behind him, A-Qi and the other three were like ants on a hot pan. He Yuting’s tears were streaming down.

Granny Chen announced, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo continued to draw a card. Like his previous action, he still didn’t flip the card over. Lin Kuo didn’t even look at the drawn bone card, his gaze always on A-Yun. A-Yun sensed Lin Kuo’s gaze and met his.

Lin Kuo asked, “Not calling a stop?”

A-Yun ignored him. Lin Kuo sneered inwardly. It seemed there really were A-Yun’s eyes behind him. So he said, “Stop.”

A-Yun was stunned. Granny Chen obviously didn’t expect Lin Kuo to call a stop either. The subtle change in her expression was all seen by Lin Kuo. Granny Chen looked at A-Yun and said, “You can’t draw any more cards. Of course, you can also make the outsider stop drawing cards.”

A-Yun didn’t move for a moment. Lin Kuo tapped his fingers on the wooden table. When Lin Kuo was thinking in the past, he would slowly tap the wooden table, but at this moment, his speed was very fast, and the sound he made, although small, carried a sense of urgent pressure.

A-Yun said, “I won’t call a stop.”

Granny Chen then said, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew a third card, but this time he flipped it over. It was a ‘7,’ not a very good number. Lin Kuo’s hand didn’t stop moving, but his mouth asked, “Calling a stop?”

A-Yun glared at Lin Kuo. “I know when to call a stop, I don’t need you to remind me.”

Lin Kuo said, “Alright.” As his words fell, Granny Chen said, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew a card. It was a ‘6.’ A-Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

Granny Chen said, “Outsider, flip over your cards.”

Lin Kuo did as he was told. He flipped over the previous two cards. According to the order of drawing, Lin Kuo’s four bone cards were ‘3,’ ‘6,’ ‘7,’ ‘6,’ for a total of ‘22.’

Granny Chen announced, “The outsider’s total for the second round of bone cards is ‘22.’ A-Yun’s bone cards for the second round are ‘8,’ ‘7,’ for a total of ‘15.’ The victory in the second round belongs to the outsider.”

He Yuting’s heart was in knots. A-Qi paced around anxiously. He originally thought Lin Kuo had figured something out, but he didn’t expect the result to still be this. Ma An, on the other hand, squatted down and pulled at his hair, muttering, “It’s over, it’s over. Lin Kuo has already won two rounds. If he wins one more, it’s over. It’s all over, all over!”

Granny Chen also smelled the signal of Lin Kuo’s impending death and impatiently announced, “Third round, shuffle.”

Lin Kuo shuffled the cards for a full minute this time. Only when Granny Chen announced that the shuffling time was up did he place the bone cards on the table. While shuffling, Lin Kuo wanted to leave a mark on the bone cards. Although he hadn’t drawn the number ‘4,’ he could mark the big cards. Unfortunately, the bone cards were made of human bone, and it was very difficult to leave a mark with his fingernails. But Lin Kuo was not in a hurry. From others’ eyes, they only saw Lin Kuo exuding an air of indifference and alienation. Only Lin Kuo himself knew that his brain was working at high speed at this moment.

Granny Chen said, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew a bone card. He glanced at it. It was an ‘8.’

“Draw.”

Lin Kuo continued to draw the second bone card of this round. He flipped it over and looked at it again. It was a ‘3.’ He said, “Stop.”

A-Yun’s face changed, but there was nothing he could do but stop drawing. Granny Chen continued to announce, “Draw.”

The third time he drew, Lin Kuo didn’t flip the card over again, but instead looked at A-Yun and said faintly, “If you don’t call a stop now, you won’t have another chance.”

A-Yun stuck his neck out and said, “I said it! I don’t need you to decide! Continue drawing!”

Granny Chen then announced, “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew the last card, smiled at A-Yun, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Congratulations, you win the third round.”

A-Yun said, “Granny Chen will announce the result. I don’t need you to tell me the answer.”

Granny Chen was scared by Lin Kuo’s confident look. She had to steady herself before she said, “Outsider, flip over your third and fourth bone cards.”

Lin Kuo did as he was told. He flipped over the third card. It was a ‘9.’ All eyes in the drum tower were on the fourth card in Lin Kuo’s hand. Lin Kuo threw the bone card down—‘4.’

A-Yun’s face changed instantly. Granny Chen’s face was also not good. She pinched her palm before announcing, “Third round, the outsider’s total for the bone cards is ‘0.’ A-Yun’s bone cards are ‘8,’ ‘7,’ for a total of ‘15.’ In the third round, A-Yun wins.”

A-Qi immediately cheered. Ma An was a little dejected. “There’s still one more round.” He Yuting, on the other hand, clasped her hands together and prayed for Lin Kuo.

Fourth round.

Lin Kuo and A-Yun shuffled the cards. As soon as the shuffling time was up, Granny Chen shouted, “Draw!”

Lin Kuo drew the first card. Without even looking at it, he directly called out, “Stop.”

A-Yun froze. “Are you crazy?”

Lin Kuo said, “You can also call a stop.”

A-Yun glared at Lin Kuo. “Continue!”

Granny Chen: “Draw.”

Lin Kuo drew a second card. He flipped it over—‘2.’ A-Yun’s face was not very good. The number was too small. He didn’t dare to call a stop.

“…Draw.” Granny Chen’s voice also trembled.

Lin Kuo drew a third card. Without looking at it himself, he sent the bone card under A-Yun’s nose. It was another ‘4.’

This time, A-Yun was even less likely to call a stop. Everyone was a little dumbfounded. Ma An looked at Lin Kuo’s back blankly. “Does he have X-ray vision?”

A-Qi thought for a while. “f*ck! I know what’s going on!”

With the last draw of the fourth round, Lin Kuo drew a ‘3.’ He glanced at A-Yun and, before Granny Chen could speak, taunted, “Flip over that ‘8’ of yours.”

A-Yun’s face was as grim as if he had seen a ghost. He swallowed, and with a trembling hand, flipped over the only bone card he had drawn. As Lin Kuo had said, it was an 8.