Chapter 325: No One Survived

At the poker table, players took turns leaving one by one: first Sally Sally, then the Gambler, then I Kesi , and as their hands emptied, the pile in the center grew thicker—only the God of Wealth and Xia Yubing remained.

Xia Yubing looked down and saw she held only two cards: the Jack of Hearts and the Big Joker.

The God of Wealth also held exactly two cards.

In the late stage of the game, with the number of players and total cards in hands reduced, even the unluckiest would keep drawing cards matching their own, quickly clearing their hands—the total number of suits and ranks was limited.

It was Xia Yubing’s turn to draw.

The headless old corpse, draped in a loose Confucian robe, placed its own head on the table, cradled its last two cards in its hands, and waited for Xia Yubing to draw.

At this stage, even the worst memorizer could deduce the opponent’s cards by their own hand—no uncertainty remained—but Xia Yubing felt tense, breathing in sharply.

“I have the Big Joker and the Nine of Hearts, so the God of Wealth must have the Small Joker and the Nine of Diamonds. I will definitely draw one of those two—no other possibility exists.”

Xia Yubing’s hand hovered midair, slowly reaching toward the God of Wealth. Sally Sally and I Kesi sat silently in their seats watching. The Gambler bowed his head, mute.

“There are two possibilities: I draw the Nine of Diamonds, or I draw the Small Joker.”

“First possibility: I draw the Nine of Diamonds, discard it with my own Nine of Hearts into the pile—then both of us hold only one card left: He has the Small Joker, I have the Big Joker.”

“Second possibility: I draw the Small Joker. Since jokers cannot pair with any other card, I must keep it in my hand. Then it becomes the God of Wealth’s turn to draw—he must randomly pick one from my three cards.”

That would mean three further possibilities.

Fortunately, reality proved simpler than imagined: Xia Yubing flipped the card drawn from the God of Wealth—it was the Nine of Diamonds.

The game ended.

The God of Wealth gently placed its final card on the table for all to see: a black-and-white joker. Xia Yubing quickly discarded both nines into the pile—she now held only one card: a vivid red-and-yellow joker.

A head of white hair was placed on the table. The God of Wealth opened its aged, cloudy eyes, staring fixedly at Xia Yubing across the table. Within its yellowish vitreous humor lay a emotion named malice. It reached into its pocket, pulled out a copper coin, slammed it hard onto the table, and pushed it toward Xia Yubing.

Xia Yubing flinched violently, cold sweat soaking her temples.

“Huh…” Xia Yubing cautiously accepted the coin the God of Wealth had pushed. Seeing no reaction from the Gambler, she also took the copper coin originally belonging to A Lun, then wrote a line in her notebook.

【I won】

Though she had won all the stakes, Xia Yubing didn’t understand how she had won—it felt haphazard. If holding the “Big Joker” was the condition for victory, then the condition had been too easily met: this card had been dealt to her from the start and never moved, just like the Small Joker in the God of Wealth’s hand.

Previously, Xia Yubing had thought the Gambler had astonishing luck—but now it seemed she herself was the luckiest of all players here. Her luck far surpassed the Gambler’s. Why? She couldn’t figure it out. Across the table, the God of Wealth staggered to its feet, one hand lifting its white-haired head, leaving a dark crimson stain on the glass table, the other clutching a tattered money pouch embroidered with a hundred birds flying toward the phoenix. Its bony, skeletal hand slowly rose, reaching toward the tall male corpse directly opposite—silent.

Xia Yubing blinked, then immediately understood what was happening—the God of Wealth was demanding money from the Gambler.

This was the rule of Wu Tong: anyone who met the God of Wealth, human or ghost, was forced to choose—either pay to buy their life, or sell their life for money. No third option existed. The God of Wealth forced both sale and purchase.

“Perfect…” Xia Yubing rejoiced inwardly: “The God of Wealth and the Gambler are clashing. If the Gambler lacks enough money to buy its life, the God of Wealth will force it to sell its soul—maybe… maybe the Gambler will die here!”

A clinking sound shattered Xia Yubing’s joy: the Gambler pulled four copper coins from its tattered robes, dropping them one by one onto the table.

The Gambler had money to buy its life.

Instantly, Xia Yubing’s joy turned to dread—she could already guess what would come next…

The God of Wealth accepted the Gambler’s payment, then turned and reached toward I Kesi beside it. All beings present were its clients—none were exempt.

Ding—

As a copper coin landed on the table, I Kesi rolled his eyes back, collapsed heavily onto the table, and died instantly.

!

The God of Wealth known as Wu Tong had been enslaved by the Yin family of Yunzhou for generations. After the Yin family was exterminated, it fell into Ji Bochang’s hands for over forty years. Thus, coins for buying life were exceedingly rare beyond the Nine Provinces, nearly nonexistent in circulation. I Kesi had no money to buy his life—he could only sell it.

After I Kesi died, the God of Wealth reached toward Sally Sally, who stood frozen beside her seat. She had turned deathly pale, tears brimming in her eyes, unable to utter a single coherent word.

“No… don’t… I… I don’t have… any money…”

Before she finished speaking, her soft body collapsed helplessly, her eyes already lifeless. Sally Sally was dead.

The small room was thick with oppressive death. The God of Wealth wore flowing robes; the Gambler, tattered clothes. Both ghosts fixed their gazes on the last living person. Xia Yubing’s hands trembled slightly, the two copper coins in her palm clinking together.

The God of Wealth’s pale, bony hand slowly extended toward her, its tattered, bloodstained money pouch opening its black maw. This was Xia Yubing’s fourth transaction with the God of Wealth.

The price for this fourth transaction was:

Spend sixteen copper coins to buy one life.

Sell sixteen lives to obtain one copper coin.

(End of Chapter)