The interior of the gambling house was even larger than it looked from the outside.
Several gambling tables were scattered throughout the hall, surrounded by dense crowds of people.
The air was thick with the scent of tobacco and low-quality ale, mixed with the crisp clinking of gold coins and the occasional burst of cheers or curses.
Magic lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a dim, sallow light that illuminated everyone’s faces in partial shadow.
Elvia raised her voice as soon as they entered.
“Make way, make way—!”
“A great noble’s mistress is here to win some money!”
Those nearby instinctively stepped aside.
It wasn’t just because she was loud.
It was because they recognized her.
A week ago, this excessively beautiful woman had lost ten thousand gold coins here.
Her beauty was difficult to forget.
Golden hair, delicate features, and those captivating eyes; even a single glance was enough to stay in one’s mind for days.
Furthermore, she had made the same entrance last time.
However, they had always been curious about exactly who the “great noble” she mentioned was.
So this time, when they saw her intimately pulling someone in with their fingers interlaced, everyone’s eyes fell upon the man being dragged along.
That must be the great noble, right?
Then, their expressions turned peculiar.
A gray mage robe, washed until it was turning white, with heavy wear at the elbows and fraying at the cuffs.
An oak staff, simple in design without any decorations, lacking even a decent magic crystal inlay.
Black hair, black eyes, and an expressionless face.
In what way was this a great noble?
This was clearly a wandering mage.
The kind who eked out a living in the wilderness, never knowing where their next meal was coming from.
Regardless, they still cleared a wide path for Elvia.
Most of the people gambling here were Gold Rank adventurers.
While their Transcendent power made them big shots in their small home city-states, they truly amounted to nothing in a place that possessed a Transport Guild and a Mage Guild.
Any random member of a transport team could rub them into the dirt.
The registered mages of the Mage Guild were even more untouchable, with the City of a Thousand Towers standing behind them.
Thus, if they could avoid offending someone, they did.
Especially a beautiful woman.
The connections behind a beautiful woman were often much more complicated than what met the eye.
Elvia pulled Lin Gui through the crowd and arrived at a gambling table.
She scanned the stakes on the table and frowned.
“Too small.”
She looked at a few more tables.
“Too small.”
She looked around and raised her voice:
“Are there any ten-thousand-gold matches?”
The corners of the surrounding people’s mouths twitched, but no one responded.
A ten-thousand-gold match wasn't unheard of in a place like Withered Wood Town, but not many dared to play for that much.
After all, most of the people who came here were lumberjacks and bottom-tier adventurers; their life savings might not even reach ten thousand gold coins.
Just as the atmosphere was turning slightly awkward, a rowdy noise came from the door.
“Move, move!”
“Everyone get out of the way!”
The crowd was roughly shoved aside, and several people walked in.
Leading them was a young mage.
He wore the standard uniform of a registered mage from the Mage Guild—a deep blue robe with silver runes embroidered on the collar that shimmered coldly under the lights.
The badge on his chest gleamed brilliantly; it depicted an open book with a star suspended above it.
However, he was quite fat.
His round belly stretched the mage robes tight, and his belt looked like it was struggling to hold on, as if it might snap at any second.
The fat on his face was piled up, squeezing his eyes into two slits where the pupils were almost invisible.
He had several layers of chins that wobbled with every step he took, like quivering jelly.
Following behind him was a female mage, about thirty years old, also wearing a registered robe.
But she walked half a step behind the fat man, her body slightly bowed in a very humble posture.
She was constantly whispering something as if trying to persuade him.
“Young Master, you cannot gamble anymore—”
“Have you forgotten the lesson from last time?”
“The family side—”
“Shut up!”
The fat man turned back and barked at her.
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
“You think you’re worthy of managing me?”
The female mage lowered her head, not daring to speak further.
But she still followed him, her eyes filled with anxiety and helplessness.
When the surrounding Gold Rank adventurers saw those robes, they instinctively backed away a few steps.
They couldn't afford to provoke registered mages either.
The City of a Thousand Towers stood behind these people; if they offended them, they wouldn't even know how they died.
Lin Gui saw them as well.
He then pulled Elvia and skillfully shrunk into a corner.
He used a wooden pillar in the building to hide his form, specifically shielding Elvia’s face.
Watching his practiced movements, one of the nearby Gold Rank adventurers couldn’t help but ask:
“Brother, you’re a great noble, what are you afraid of?”
Lin Gui was speechless.
“I’m not a noble.”
The adventurer was even more surprised.
He glanced at Elvia, then at Lin Gui, and lowered his voice:
“Damn, brother, you’re impressive then.”
“You actually hooked up with a great noble’s woman?”
“Aren’t you afraid they’ll turn you into mincemeat to pad the floorboards?”
Lin Gui sighed.
“I’m with the transport team.”
The adventurer’s expression changed instantly.
He pulled his neck in and gave a fawning smile:
“Oh, Lord, you should have said so earlier.”
“My apologies, my apologies.”
Lin Gui ignored him.
His gaze passed through the gap by the wooden pillar, watching the two people.
The fat man had already walked up to a gambling table.
“Open the table!”
He slapped the table loudly, the force causing the chips to jump.
“Is anyone playing?”
Looking at his robes, no one in the surroundings answered.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to play; it was that they didn’t dare.
Playing cards with a registered mage from the Mage Guild was a lose-lose situation; winning meant offending someone, and losing meant losing money.
It didn't make sense either way.
The fat man waited for a while, and seeing no response, his expression turned even uglier.
“What?”
“Nobody dares?”
The fat man looked around, his gaze falling on the gambling house manager.
“You, play with me.”
The manager offered a flattering smile:
“This Young Master, our gambling house only takes a cut; we don’t act as the house.”
The fat man snorted coldly, about to explode.
At that moment, the eyes of the surrounding people shifted toward the corner simultaneously.
They looked at Lin Gui and Elvia.
To be precise, they fell upon Elvia.
After all, she had just been clamoring for a ten-thousand-gold match.
Although half of Elvia’s face was blocked by the pillar, that half was already enough to make it impossible for people to look away.
Fair skin, a delicate jawline, and eyes that remained bright even in the shadows.
The fat man’s eyes narrowed.
“Oho—”
His tone shifted.
“Beauty over there, how about a match?”
Everyone looked over.
Elvia smiled, using the pillar to hide her face.
She leaned her head to the side and whispered to Lin Gui:
“Going?”
Lin Gui sighed.
Elvia had been too flamboyant when she entered; they had been noticed and specifically called out.
If they retreated, it would be a problem if that inspector, who might or might not have caught up, found out about it.
He patted Elvia’s hand and stepped out from behind the pillar.
He walked to the gambling table and sat across from the fat man.
Propping his face in his hand, he looked at the fat man.
“I’ll play with you.”
The fat man looked him up and down.
That washed-out mage robe and that simple oak staff.
He laughed.
His smile was filled with undisguised contempt.
“You?”
“Do you have the qualifications to gamble with me?”
He paused.
“My bets start at ten thousand gold coins per round.”
“A wandering mage like you—can you afford to play?”
Lin Gui didn't speak.
He reached out and pulled a heavy bag from his robes.
He placed it on the table.
The mouth of the bag loosened, and the contents tumbled out.
Stellar Coins.
One, ten, a hundred, a thousand...
A pale blue luster flowed under the lights, reflecting a blue glow onto the faces of those around them.
The eyes of the onlookers went wide.
A single Stellar Coin was worth a hundred gold coins; a hundred coins made ten thousand.
The Stellar Coins he brought out were close to ten thousand, totaling a full million gold coins.
The surrounding people were shocked by Lin Gui’s wealth.
Yet, none of them noticed how he had actually pulled out this small mountain of Stellar Coins.
Pulled them from his robes?
How could that washed-out mage robe hold so many Stellar Coins?
While Stellar Coins were designed to be much smaller and more portable than gold coins, ten thousand of them were still difficult to hide on one’s person.
Across from him, the fat man’s smile froze.
Lin Gui looked at him and said plainly:
“Is it enough?”
The fat man’s expression turned very sour.
He gnashed his teeth and squeezed out a sentence:
“Lowly nouveau riche.”
He then pulled out a bank voucher and pressed it onto the table.
It was also for a staggering million gold coins.
After the gambling house manager verified the funds, the match officially began.
“Let’s start.”
The game began.
They were playing with cards.
The rules weren't complex; it was a contest of strategy and guts.
In the first round, Lin Gui lost.
Ten thousand gold coins.
In the second round, Lin Gui lost.
Twenty thousand.
In the third round, Lin Gui lost.
Fifty thousand.
A grin spread wider and wider across the fat man’s face.
“That’s it?”
“And here I thought you were someone impressive.”
“A nouveau riche is just a nouveau riche; money is useless without skill.”
As he spoke, he raked the stakes toward himself with exaggerated movements, intentionally making a loud noise.
The fourth round, fifth round, sixth round.
Lin Gui kept losing.
The fat man grew more and more excited as he played; the fat on his face wobbled, and he didn’t even bother to wipe the sweat rolling down his forehead.
“Hahaha—!”
“This is your level?”
“I actually expected something better.”
“A nouveau riche is just a nouveau riche. What use is more money? You don’t have the brains.”
While winning, he threw all sorts of mocking insults at Lin Gui.
Lin Gui remained expressionless, continuing to place his bets.
Five hundred thousand, lost.
A million, lost.
His stakes were dwindling.
The fat man’s chips were stacking higher and higher, forming a small mountain on the table.
Eventually, Lin Gui ran out of stakes.
The fat man laughed loudly and slapped the table:
“Out of money, are we?”
“Get out of here!”
“Don’t stay here and embarrass yourself further.”
Lin Gui didn't move.
He reached out and pulled another bag from his robes.
He dumped it onto the table.
Another thousand Stellar Coins tumbled out with a clatter, bouncing across the tabletop.
The fat man’s laughter caught in his throat.
Lin Gui looked at him, his tone flat:
“Continue.”
This time, he raised the stakes.
Fifty thousand a round, a hundred thousand a round, two hundred thousand, five hundred thousand.
There were wins and losses.
But every time, Lin Gui won slightly more.
The fat man won the small rounds, while Lin Gui won the big ones.
The fat man would win five hands, totaling less than a hundred thousand.
Lin Gui would win one hand, and it would be worth three hundred thousand.
The fat man’s expression began to change.
From excitement to tension, and from tension to anger.
His stakes were decreasing bit by bit.
Lin Gui’s stakes were increasing bit by bit.
The onlookers began to feel something was off.
Especially the gambling house manager.
He narrowed his eyes, staring at Lin Gui’s hands and the cards on the table.
Although there were wins and losses throughout the match, the initial string of losses combined with the current steady winning made it hard not to suspect a trap.
Letting the opponent taste sweetness first, then drawing them deeper and deeper into the hole.
Was he cheating?
But that mage was only at the High-tier High Rank.
Furthermore, they hadn’t heard any chanting from the man.
Forget sounds—when the cards were dealt, the man basically kept his mouth shut, his lips not moving even slightly.
The surrounding adventurers frowned.
The female mage beside the fat man was also staring intently at Lin Gui.
Her brow was furrowed deeply, several deep lines appearing on her forehead.
As the fat man gradually lost his head and prepared to pull out more money, she spoke.
“Young Master, that’s enough.”
Her voice was very quiet.
“Verify the cards.”
The fat man blinked, then nodded.
The female mage stepped forward and picked up the cards from the table, inspecting them carefully.
She turned them over and over, then brought them to her nose to sniff them.
Her magic perception swept over them repeatedly.
She also checked the dice cup and the tabletop.
After a full circuit, she found nothing.
She didn’t return to her spot but instead walked to Lin Gui’s side.
Her magic perception swept over him.
There was no magic fluctuation from Lin Gui’s body.
The female mage’s frown deepened.
She reached out, intending to touch Lin Gui’s body.
A slender hand grabbed her wrist.
Elvia had walked over at some point.
She stood beside Lin Gui, looking at the female mage with a smile.
“What are you trying to do to my man?”
Her voice was light and carried a hint of a smile.
“Could it be that you want to grope him?”
The female mage said coldly:
“I suspect your man used underhanded methods... and grope him? Who would want to grope him?”
Elvia chuckled.
“There are far too many beautiful girls who want to grope him.”
Lin Gui replied flatly:
“Have some self-awareness.”
The female mage frowned, ignoring Elvia as she turned to the gambling house manager and pointed at Lin Gui:
“I suspect he is cheating.”
The manager’s expression was troubled.
They couldn't afford to offend a registered mage of the Mage Guild.
However, they didn't dare offend this little mage who could pull out millions of gold coins on a whim either.
He couldn't afford to provoke either side.
Lin Gui spoke:
“Let her check.”
He looked back at the female mage.
“How about this: for the remaining rounds, you keep your hand on me to sense the mana flow in my body?”
His tone was flat, carrying an air of indifferent confidence.
This confidence made the female mage hesitate slightly.
But looking at the fat man’s increasingly ugly face, she gnashed her teeth.
She reached out, wanting to press her hand against Lin Gui’s chest.
That was the position closest to the core of the magic circuits.
Elvia reached out and blocked her.
Her voice turned cold:
“Hey, pick another spot.”
“He’s my man after all. That spot... I still need to use it tonight.”
Lin Gui rolled his eyes.
The female mage’s face reddened slightly, clearly understanding what kind of “use” Elvia meant.
She withdrew her hand and muttered a low “pardon me.”
Then she pressed her hand against Lin Gui’s shoulder.
Her magic perception surged inward.
She could sense the mana fluctuations within Lin Gui’s body.
Even if it were Novice Magic, as long as he cast it, she would be able to detect it from such a close distance.
Rate on N.U.
