The Little Thousand Fate Primordial Chaos Array activated once more.
The dice cup blossomed with a dazzling, flowing radiance, within which the dice rattled noisily.
The onlooking gamblers all stared with wide, unblinking eyes. After all, a single bet of seventy thousand was a fairly substantial sum even at an open table like this.
"Small!
Small!
Open small for this lord!
!!
If it opens small this time, this lord will spread the wealth to his brothers!"
The Horse King had one foot propped on the stool, his eyes bulging, face flushed red, shouting hoarsely.
Finally.
The dazzling radiance from the dice cup gradually dissipated, and the sound of the dice within finally ceased.
At this moment, everyone grew tense, their hearts seeming to leap into their throats. The Horse King stopped shouting, holding his breath.
The maidservant raised her hand and opened the dice cup.
One die showed six pips.
One showed three pips.
One showed two pips.
The sum of the three dice was eleven—big again!
Seeing this, the crowd erupted in an uproar. The Horse King, who had been excited and full of anticipation moments before, instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping onto the stool as if unable to believe his eyes as he stared at the three dice.
"Damn it!
Why is it big again? It shouldn't be!
How many times in a row has it been big now!"
Just like that, the over seventy thousand Immortal Stones he had won consecutively were lost in a single bet.
Seventy thousand was no small figure for many people, and for the Horse King, it was no exception. However, the Horse King was, after all, a veteran gambler. Such sudden despair following great joy, the feeling of plummeting from heaven to hell, was not his first experience, so he wasn't one to dwell on it excessively.
Besides, the seventy-odd thousand he lost were all winnings anyway, so it didn't feel particularly painful.
The only thing the Horse King regretted was not listening to Gu Qingfeng. If he had followed Gu Qingfeng's advice and continued betting on big, this single bet would have won him over a hundred thousand Immortal Stones!
"Ah!
Brother!
This old man regrets not listening to you!
I'm so filled with regret!"
The Horse King pounded his chest and stamped his feet in frustration.
Beside him, Gu Qingfeng shook his head with a smile, took a drink, and said nothing.
"Horse King, weren't you quite the hotshot a moment ago? Lost over seventy thousand in one bet—still feeling cocky?"
The old man whom the Horse King had mocked earlier finally seized his chance to mock the Horse King in return.
"Damn you, Old Huang! You old scoundrel, gloating over my misfortune, are you?"
"Weren't you gloating when you saw this old man lose earlier, kid?"
"You only lost a few measly chips! This lord lost over seventy thousand in one go! Compare yourself to me?
Can you even compare?"
"You're still this arrogant even after losing!"
"Nonsense!
This lord can win big and lose big! What's so great about seventy-odd thousand Immortal Stones? This lord just needs to play a couple more rounds to make it all back and break even!"
Seeing the Horse King still preparing to continue gambling, Gu Qingfeng said, "You're still gambling? How about letting me play a couple of rounds?"
"Forget it, big brother. You'd better keep that thousand Immortal Stones of yours for living expenses."
The Horse King began placing bets again. Perhaps having lost too heavily in the previous round, he restrained himself this time, betting only two thousand Immortal Stones.
He lost again.
Perhaps the Horse King had exhausted all his luck in the first few rounds. In the subsequent bets, he won little and lost much. For every win, he'd lose four or five times. In no time at all, the Horse King had lost another ninety-thousand-plus Immortal Stones.
This time, the losses grew increasingly painful for the Horse King. After all, these Immortal Stones were what he had risked his life to earn over the past six months. Yet even so, the Horse King did not stop. Not only did he not stop, but the more he lost, the larger his bets became. By the time his losses reached one hundred ten thousand, the Horse King's eyes were completely bloodshot with gambling fever.
"Damn it!
This lord is done holding back!"
The Horse King stood up once more, tilted his head back to gulp down several mouthfuls of strong liquor, and pushed all his remaining sixty-thousand-plus chips onto the table. This was his entire fortune. When he had arrived, he had exchanged all the hundred-thousand-plus Immortal Stones he had earned over the past six months into chips.
"Still betting on small!
This lord refuses to believe this jinx!"
With a slap!
The Horse King placed all sixty-thousand-plus chips on small.
Gu Qingfeng patted his shoulder and said, "You should bet on big this time."
"No!
This lord is going head-to-head with 'small' today!
This lord refuses to believe betting on small can keep losing!
Damn it!"
The Horse King was thoroughly consumed by gambling fever. Having lost several consecutive rounds on 'small' earlier, he was utterly unwilling to accept it and furious beyond measure.
The Little Thousand Fate Primordial Chaos Array activated once more.
The dice cup again blossomed with dazzling, flowing radiance, and within, the dice rattled noisily once more.
This time.
The Horse King did not shout loudly. He clenched his fists tightly, holding his breath. He knew whether he could recoup his losses depended entirely on this single throw.
Perhaps truly frightened by his losses, the Horse King clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and pleaded, "Let this lord win just once. If I win this round, I'll never gamble again. This time, I mean it!
Old Heaven, open your eyes and let this lord win just once!
I beg of you!"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, finding it somewhat amusing and somewhat helpless.
Most gamblers had said these words at some point, and always when they were staking everything on one final throw. Each time, they thought that if they won this round, if they just got their capital back, they would leave. But truly, how many actually walked away after winning that round? Win once, and you want to win a second time; win a second time, and you want to keep winning. This was the psychology of every gambler. Unless they lost everything down to their last coin, no one would ever leave.
Amidst a chorus of sighs, the Horse King opened his eyes with a trembling heart. When he saw the sum of the three dice was sixteen points, he could no longer hold on. He felt dizzy, his chest tight, and short of breath.
If losing seventy thousand the first time hadn't felt particularly painful, then losing his entire fortune this time left the Horse King feeling more than just physical pain. Every inch of his skin, every organ in his body, ached with a heart-wrenching agony.
Broke again.
The Horse King could no longer remember how many times he had lost everything down to his last coin.
But he could never get used to it.
Every time he lost everything, he regretted it, regretted failing to restrain himself and entering the gambling den once more.
"Ah!
Damn it, lost everything again!"
The Horse King slumped dejectedly into his chair, desolate as if someone had beaten him to a cripple. Shaking his head, he said numbly, "No more gambling. Never gambling again, damn it. If I gamble again, this lord will chop off both his hands."
"Come off it, Horse King. You say you'll quit every time you lose everything, but damn it, this old man sees you here every time I come!"
Regarding the Horse King's vow to quit gambling, the surrounding gamblers all laughed it off, for they had all said the same thing.
"No more. This time it's for real. If I gamble again, this lord will be completely ruined."
One had to admit, the Horse King truly could win big and lose big. In just a short while, he seemed to have recovered his spirits. Standing up, he drained a jug of wine, then grinned and said, "Toiling hard for half a year, back to where I was six months ago in a single day. Brothers, this lord is leaving first. You won't see this lord's dashing figure in the Gambling City anymore. This lord is retiring. No more gambling, damn it. Whoever gambles again is your grandson!"
As his words fell, when the Horse King caught sight of the single thousand-value chip in Gu Qingfeng's hand, his eyes immediately gleamed with a sharp light. That fervent gaze was like a starving beast spotting prey. Rubbing his hands together, he said, "Brother, you still have a thousand chips there. How about... we try to win our money back?"
Perhaps worried Gu Qingfeng might refuse, the Horse King quickly added, "Brother, don't worry. Since this old man gave you that thousand chips, I won't ask for them back. If we win this round, it's all yours. If we lose, this old man will take you to the Jinnwu Secret Realm. Follow me from now on. I can't promise to get you cultivating again, but I can absolutely guarantee you'll live without worrying about food or drink. How about it?"
"Alright."
Seeing Gu Qingfeng agree so readily, the Horse King was delighted. He reached out to take the thousand chip from Gu Qingfeng's hand, but Gu Qingfeng blocked him.
"What's this?
Don't trust your old brother?"
"Let me play this round."