Chapter 325

At the card table, one player after another left the game. First Sha Li Sha Li, then the Gambler, then Ikes. As several people cleared their hands, the card pile in the center of the table grew thicker and thicker. Only the God of Wealth and Xia Yubing remained until the end.

Xia Yubing looked down and saw that she had only two cards left in her hand: the Heart Jack and the Big Joker.

The God of Wealth also had two cards left in his hand.

As the Old Maid game progressed to the later stages, the number of players on the field and the total number of cards held by players decreased to a certain extent. Even those with the worst luck would constantly draw cards that could pair with their own, thereby clearing their hands quickly—there were only so many suits and numbers in a deck of cards.

It was Xia Yubing's turn to draw.

The headless old corpse draped in a wide Confucian robe placed his head on the table and held his remaining two cards in his hands, waiting for Xia Yubing to draw.

By this stage of the game, even the person least capable of remembering cards could infer the suit and number of the opponent's cards through their own hand. There was no suspense, but Xia Yubing felt a bit nervous and took a deep breath.

"The cards in my hand are the Big Joker and the Heart 9, so the cards in the God of Wealth's hand are the Small Joker and the Diamond 9. I will definitely draw one of these two cards next; there will be no other situation."

Xia Yubing's hand paused in mid-air and slowly reached toward the God of Wealth. Sha Li Sha Li and Ikes, who had already cleared their hands and left, sat in their seats and watched this scene quietly. The Gambler sat silently with his head lowered, not saying a word.

"There are two possibilities next: either draw the Diamond 9 or draw the Small Joker."

"The first possibility: I draw the Diamond 9 and discard it to the card pile along with the Heart 9 in my hand. Then both the God of Wealth and I will have only one card left. His is the Small Joker, and mine is the Big Joker."

"The second possibility: I draw the Small Joker. Because the ghost card cannot be paired with other cards, I can only add it to my hand. Then it will be the God of Wealth's turn to draw, and he will have to randomly draw one card from the three I hold."

In that case, there would be three different possibilities.

Fortunately, the actual development of things was not as complicated as imagined. Xia Yubing flipped over the card she drew from the God of Wealth and saw it: Diamond 9.

The game was over.

The God of Wealth gently placed the last card he held on the table for everyone to see. It was a black-and-white Joker. Seeing this, Xia Yubing hurriedly threw the two 9s into the card pile. She also had only one card left, a colorful Joker with red and yellow tones.

A white-haired head was placed on the table. The God of Wealth opened his old, turbid eyes and stared straight at Xia Yubing across the table. A certain emotion called resentment was contained in the deep yellow vitreous body. The God of Wealth took a copper coin from his pocket, placed it on the table, slapped it heavily on the table with a *snap*, and pushed it in front of Xia Yubing.

Xia Yubing was startled, and cold sweat soaked her temples.

"Hoo..." Xia Yubing tentatively took the copper coin pushed by the God of Wealth. Seeing that the Gambler had no reaction, she also pocketed the copper coin that originally belonged to Alan in the center of the table and picked up her pen to write a line in her notebook.

【I won the bet】

Although she won all the stakes of this game, to be honest, Xia Yubing didn't know how she won. Instead, she had a feeling of being confused. If holding the 'Big Joker' was the condition for becoming the winner, then this condition was too easily satisfied. This card had been dealt to her hand from the very beginning of the dealing stage and hadn't moved since the game ended, just like the Small Joker in the God of Wealth's hand.

Before, Xia Yubing always felt that the Gambler's luck was surprisingly good, but now it seemed that among all the players on the field, the one with the best luck was actually herself. Her luck was far better than the Gambler's. Why was this? Xia Yubing couldn't figure out this problem. The God of Wealth across the table stood up shakily. He carried his white-haired head in one hand, leaving a pool of deep red, nearly black, filthy blood on the glass tabletop, and held a tattered money bag embroidered with a hundred birds facing the phoenix in the other. The withered, skin-and-bone palm was slowly raised and reached toward the tall male corpse sitting directly opposite him, without saying a word.

Xia Yubing was stunned for a moment and then immediately understood what was happening in front of her—the God of Wealth was asking the Gambler for money.

This is the rule of Wealth Wu Tong. Anyone who meets the God of Wealth, whether human or ghost, will be forced to choose one of two options: either spend money to buy life from the God of Wealth, or sell life to exchange for money from the God of Wealth. There is no third option; the God of Wealth forces buying and selling.

"Great..." Xia Yubing was happy in her heart: "The God of Wealth and the Gambler are at odds. As long as the Gambler doesn't have enough money to buy its own life, the God of Wealth will definitely force it to sell its own life. Maybe... the Gambler might die here!"

A crisp *ding-a-ling* sound interrupted the joy in Xia Yubing's heart. She saw the Gambler take out four copper coins from its tattered bosom, dropping them onto the table one by one.

The Gambler had money to buy life.

In an instant, the joy in Xia Yubing's eyes turned into fear. She could already vaguely guess what was going to happen next...

The God of Wealth accepted the Gambler's life-buying money and turned to reach toward Ikes on the side. All living beings are guests; everyone present is his client, and no one can be an exception.

*Ding*—

As a copper coin fell onto the table, Ikes rolled his eyes, and his whole body fell heavily onto the table. He died instantly.

!

The God of Wealth named Wealth Wu Tong had been driven by the Yin family of Yunzhou since ancient times. After the Yin family was wiped out, it fell into the hands of Ji Bochang for more than 40 years. Therefore, life-buying money was extremely rare outside the Kyushu continent, and it was almost not circulated in the market. Ikes had no money to buy his own life, so he could only sell his life.

After Ikes died, the God of Wealth reached toward Sha Li Sha Li, who was stunned on the side. At this time, she had been scared pale by the strange and bizarre scenes in front of her. Her eye sockets were filled with tears, and she couldn't even say a complete sentence.

"No, don't... I, don't have, I don't have money..."

Before she finished speaking, the young girl's soft body fell powerlessly, and there was no spirit in her eyes. Sha Li Sha Li also died.

The small room was filled with oppressive death. The God of Wealth had wide robes and large sleeves, and the Gambler had tattered clothes. Both ghosts cast their eyes on the last living person present. Xia Yubing's hands trembled slightly, and two copper coins collided in her palms, making a *ding-a-ling* sound.

The God of Wealth's pale, withered palm slowly reached over, and the tattered money bag stained with blood opened its pitch-black mouth. This was the fourth time Xia Yubing had done business with the God of Wealth.

The price of the fourth transaction was:

Spending 16 copper coins can buy 1 life.

Selling 16 lives can be exchanged for 1 copper coin.

(End of chapter)