Walking out of the gambling house, the sunlight was so bright it made eyes blur.
Elvia was linked to Lin Gui's arm, the smile on her lips irrepressible.
After a few steps, she finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She turned her head, leaned into Lin Gui's ear, and lowered her voice:
"Tell me."
"What was your cheating method?"
Lin Gui glanced at her.
"Could it not be that my gambling skills are superb and I won through pure strength?"
Elvia laughed.
That laughter was very light, but it carried a sense of "You've got to be kidding me."
She stopped walking, turned around, and faced Lin Gui.
"Superb gambling skills?"
"You didn't even know the cards. In the first round, you were still secretly asking me how to play."
"You call that superb gambling skills?"
Lin Gui's mouth twitched.
"That was a strategic concealment of skill."
Elvia rolled her eyes.
"Concealment of skill?"
"When you were losing consecutive rounds at the start, others thought you were setting a trap."
"But what those people never would have imagined..."
"Was that you simply didn't know how to play, so you kept paying beginner's fees one after another."
"Can that be called concealment of skill?"
Lin Gui fell silent.
Elvia was actually right.
The reason he lost consecutive rounds at the beginning was simply because Lin Gui didn't know how to play.
Elvia raised her chin triumphantly.
"So, spill it."
"How did you do it?"
"That female mage kept her hand on your shoulder; the mana sensing never broke once."
"You didn't cast any spells at all."
"How did you manage to win so much that the other party didn't even want their treasures anymore?"
Lin Gui did not answer.
He held out his hand.
"Give me the money."
Elvia blanked.
"What money?"
Lin Gui looked at her.
"The money won."
Elvia's expression became subtle.
She looked down at the bulging bag in her arms.
Then she looked back up at Lin Gui's expressionless face.
Then, she reluctantly handed the bag over.
Lin Gui took it and weighed it.
The clinking sound of Stellar Coins was crisp and pleasant.
This money was all the capital he had exchanged at the bank using Dalton's voucher.
Now, the capital was back.
But...
Lin Gui counted the vouchers in the bag.
One, two, three...
Some were missing.
He looked up at Elvia.
Elvia's gaze drifted elsewhere, and she began whistling a tune out of key.
"Where's the last one?"
Lin Gui asked.
Elvia pretended she didn't hear.
"Elvia."
Lin Gui's voice grew heavier.
Elvia grumbled.
"I was the one who took you to the gambling house so you could win that money."
"And with your abilities, you can make money just by opening a random box."
"Don't fight me for this..."
She hadn't finished.
In her mind, a voice suddenly rang out.
It wasn't Lin Gui's voice.
It was Shadow Blade Lynn's.
"Little girl, that prize money belongs to me."
"If it weren't for that money, I wouldn't have been willing to help that guy cheat."
Elvia's expression froze.
She stood there in a daze, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes wide and round.
Shadow Blade Lynn's voice continued to echo in her mind.
It carried a lazy, natural arrogance.
"How do you think he managed to hide it from that female mage?"
"He didn't use any magic at all."
"It was me. I looked at that fatty's cards and then sent him a soul transmission."
"In every round, I was the one telling him the other party's cards."
Elvia's mouth twitched.
She finally understood.
No wonder Lin Gui could win even while that female mage's hand was on his shoulder.
Even under full mana sensing coverage, he still won.
It turned out he hadn't cast any spells at all.
The one cheating was Shadow Blade Lynn.
Elvia sighed helplessly.
It seemed Shadow Blade Lynn and Lin Gui had reached a deal.
She didn't dare say a single word against Shadow Blade Lynn.
That was the peak of High-tier Epic, the pinnacle of physical classes.
Even if she was just a wisp of a soul now, she was an existence Elvia couldn't even dream of looking up to.
What's more, Shadow Blade Lynn was currently her mentor.
Even if this mentor's teaching method was just having Lin Gui use wind blades to beat the life out of her.
But...
A mentor was a mentor.
Elvia obediently took out the voucher she had secretly pocketed.
Lin Gui took it and put it into his storage space, along with the other vouchers and Stellar Coins.
Elvia watched him put the things away and then leaned in again.
"What about the last round then?"
"The high-low one."
"Did Lady Shadow Blade Lynn help you cheat on that one, too?"
Lin Gui's expression became strange.
He was silent for a moment.
Then he said:
"No."
"That round, his luck was just that bad."
He had actually intended to cheat through his storage space.
He could have just taken a high card out of the storage space to swap it.
But...
Lin Gui's right hand was already hovering over the card at that time, ready to act.
But then, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the card the fat man had flipped over...
His mouth twitched, and he silently pulled his hand back.
When someone's luck was that bad, he didn't even have the heart to swap cards.
After hearing this, Elvia blanked for a good while.
Then, she burst out laughing.
The laughter echoed through the streets, drawing sideways glances from passersby.
"Hahaha..."
"That stupid fatty..."
"He thought you were cheating and rushed to swap cards..."
"Only to end up with a three..."
She bent over with laughter, tears practically coming out.
Lin Gui looked at her and smiled helplessly.
"Yeah, who would have thought."
"Let's go."
He reached out and grabbed Elvia's wrist.
"There's still time. Let's wander around some more."
Elvia wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded with a smile.
The two continued along the street.
The streets of Withered Wood Town weren't wide, but they were very interesting.
Because most of the people coming and going were Gold Rank adventurers and members of transport teams, they had money in their pockets and weren't afraid to spend it.
Thus, the town had many strange shops and entertainment facilities.
There were all kinds of rare ornamental demons from the Withered Wood Wasteland.
There were also some special snacks; though they couldn't compare to Lin Gui's craftsmanship, they were refreshing in their novelty.
Lin Gui and Elvia tried almost every single one.
There were also many other fun things.
Elvia had a great time, and Lin Gui was also very happy.
Busy as he always was, even he managed to show a genuine smile.
However, happy times were always short.
Dusk soon arrived.
And they were prepared to leave this small town standing within a forbidden zone.
The setting sun dyed the entirety of Withered Wood Town in shades of orange-red, as if it were plated with a thin layer of gold.
They returned to the post office.
Elvia still hadn't had enough and stood at the entrance, not wanting to go in.
But Lin Gui had already begun packing and tidying up.
He put the letters from the counter into his storage space.
He put the tables and chairs back in their places and flipped the sign on the door.
Elvia's gaze landed on the backyard.
Those four huge wooden boxes still stood there quietly.
"What about them?"
she asked.
Lin Gui sighed.
"Let's leave them here for the time being."
Elvia secretly thought it was a pity.
That was two million gold coins.
But with no one to sign for them, they couldn't get the final payment, so there was nothing she could do.
After finishing his preparations, Lin Gui straddled his oak staff.
Elvia sat on it, wrapping both hands around his waist.
The staff drifted up, levitating off the ground and hanging at the post office entrance.
Lin Gui reached out and flipped the "Open for Business" sign on the door.
The back read...
"Out for delivery, return date uncertain."
Then, he controlled the staff to drift toward the back door.
Every time he left, he never took the front door because quite a few people were watching the post office.
He didn't want anyone to figure out the timing of his departures.
He controlled the staff as it drifted through the back door and out.
A random glance, however, caused Lin Gui to stop his flight immediately.
He looked up at the area directly opposite the back door.
On a wooden shop sign, four words were written.
Muduo Tavern.
Rate on N.U.
