Qianliangfang

Li Banfeng couldn't understand why Dou Jiyan insisted on having him serve as her witness. "What exactly does this witness need to do?" Dou Jiyan said, "I have an agreement with my senior martial brother, Ding Liusan. In this match, he and I will have a fair contest. But my senior brother has terrible gambling etiquette—he's willing to play, but he can't bear to lose. If he throws a tantrum and tries to renege, I'd ask Brother Seven to speak a fair word on my behalf." Qiu Luoye sneered. "Make things clear. How could this be resolved with just a fair word? If Ding Liusan refuses to let it go, is our Old Seven supposed to fight him?" Dou Jiyan pursed her lips. Qiu Luoye was right; a fight truly was possible between the two sides. "Brother Seven, when we ran into Xiao Qianshou today, I didn't chicken out. You should know well what level of person Xiao Qianshou is. Just say the word, and I'd dare to charge up and risk my life against him. You can see this sentiment between us, right, Brother Seven?" Li Banfeng nodded. "I can see the sentiment, but we have to lay things out clearly. You're a local spirit ruling your own territory, and your reputation is well known. If you're looking for capable people, there are plenty out there. Why did you insist on coming to me?" Dou Jiyan pondered for a moment. "Because Lord Seven is upright and outspoken, helps the weak and resists the strong, and can't abide a grain of sand in his eye—" "Cut the crap!" Dou Jiyan sniffled and said, "Because Brother Seven is respected and of high standing, true to his word, and an undeniable hero in the eyes of all the champions across the land—" "Still crap!" Dou Jiyan hesitated again and again, finally speaking the truth: "Because my senior brother runs pawnshops. Forty percent of the pawnshops in Puluo Province are in his hands. Brother Seven is a powerful local titan in Puluo Province, and all the prominent families heed your command. If he falls out with you, his business won't be easy to run in the future." Li Banfeng nodded. These words seemed genuinely sincere. Although Ding Liusan's cultivation had left the ground level, his businesses were all rooted in the mortal world and required support across various territories. He would not lightly offend a local powerhouse like Li Seven. Not only would he refrain from rashly turning hostile at the gambling table, but it would also provide long-term security. However, while it was long-term security for Dou Jiyan, it would be a long-term burden for Li Banfeng. The price had to be settled properly. "I can serve as your witness, but we have to draft a covenant deed. If I encounter trouble in the future, you cannot shirk your duty." Dou Jiyan smiled gallantly. "What are you saying, Brother Seven? Why would we need any covenant deed between us? From now on, just say the word, and through fire and water—" "Don't talk about fire and water. If you speak too boldly, it'll be hard to wrap things up later. What we can do for each other must be laid out clearly, clause by clause." The group went to Li Banfeng's residence to draft the covenant deed together. Dou Jiyan was an elite among Gambling Cultivators, so she naturally calculated every account clearly. But because she was asking a favor of Li Banfeng, she dared not haggle over minor details, deferring everything to Li Banfeng's judgment. Critick walked up beside Dou Jiyan, studying this handsome, striking woman intently. "Beautiful lady, you are as lovely as an angel. Let me serve as your witness. I will give you a fair judgment." Dou Jiyan glanced at Critick. "We have no grievance between us. Could you not stand so close to me?" Critick looked rather innocent. "I haven't used any lesions on you. I merely wished to express my goodwill." Dou Jiyan pressed close to Li Seven's side. "Tuck that goodwill of yours away. I'm a woman taken. I'm sticking with Brother Seven." Critick shrugged and walked out of the bathhouse, looking at the streetscape of Qiqiu City. Shui Yongquan was on the street as well. The vast Qiqiu City was thriving, which made Old Shui rather melancholic to see. When they returned to the residence, Shui Yongquan said with an indignant look, "Old Qiu, this place of yours is far too good." Qiu Luoye snorted. "What of it? It's good, and you're unhappy about it?" Shui Yongquan shook his head. "I'm not happy. I'd love nothing more than to tear Qiqiu City down and turn it back into how the newland used to look." Qiu Luoye rolled up his sleeves. "Listening to you talk just keeps stoking a fire in my gut." Shui Yongquan rubbed his head. "I know I shouldn't be saying this to you, but that's truly what I think. I've wanted to tear Qiqiu City down for a long time, but I really can't bring myself to do it." Qiu Luoye pondered for a moment, then looked toward Li Banfeng. "I think I know what's going on with him." Li Banfeng said to Dou Jiyan, "Little sister, go take a stroll outside for a bit. We brothers have some business to discuss. Old Cui, go prepare your hospital. Once you pick a plot, give me word." Dou Jiyan happened to want to look around the city, and Critick was busy seeing to the hospital matters as well. That left only the three brothers in the room. Li Banfeng asked Shui Yongquan, "Brother Shui, have you become unable to lie?" "Who said I can't!" Shui Yongquan averted his gaze from Li Banfeng. "My thoughts run deep. None of you could ever guess them." Qiu Luoye leaned close and said, "Did you take a fancy to Zhu Chunhua too?" "I didn't take a fancy to her, but I just don't want you getting yourself a wife!" Qiu Luoye wanted to beat him again. Li Banfeng held Qiu Luoye back and asked Shui Yongquan, "Brother Shui, for each layer of cultivation above the clouds, one only learns a single technique. So why have you learned three above-the-clouds techniques?" "Do I have three above-the-clouds techniques?" Shui Yongquan indeed could no longer lie, and could only feign ignorance with great effort. Li Banfeng said, "How about I count them for you? Throw Water into Water—you can use that technique, right?" Shui Yongquan nodded. "I can." Li Banfeng said again, "Spilled Water Can Be Gathered—that's an above-the-clouds technique too, isn't it?" "It is!" Shui Yongquan still had no choice but to speak the truth. Li Banfeng asked further, "And what about Wash the Heart and Purify the Thoughts?" Shui Yongquan said, "What about it?" Qiu Luoye said, "Old Shui, stop playing dumb. We're asking you what happened! With your cultivation at the second layer above the clouds, where did you get three techniques?" Shui Yongquan endured it for a long while before bursting into loud laughter. "Qiu Daxiang, bet you never expected it! My cultivation is higher than yours! And I won't let you marry a wife, and I want to bully you at every turn!" Qiu Luoye rolled up his sleeves. "Old Seven, step outside for a bit." A quarter of an hour later, Shui Yongquan was bruised and battered, yet he was still laughing out loud. "Qiu Daxiang, I've got you beat for the rest of our lives!" Qiu Luoye still couldn't quite fathom it. "How could your cultivation be higher than mine? Weren't our territories about the same? Relying on just those few anomalies, how could you have reached the third layer?" Shui Yongquan didn't want to say, but he truly couldn't control himself. "Do you still remember back then when the two of us hosted a feast, inviting dozens of local spirits from all around to our territory for a banquet?" Qiu Luoye nodded. "I remember. You said getting along with neighbors would give us someone to look out for each other. Those bastards talked sweet, eating and drinking at our place and carousing for three full days. But later, when trouble struck and we called on them for help, not a single one showed up!" Shui Yongquan shook his head. "I knew what kind of scum they were; I never counted on them in the first place! I hand-picked every one of them. I invited them because I knew where their local spirit seals were hidden! By day, we drank and dined with them; by night, I went to their lands to steal human presence! The human presence of dozens of territories was stolen away by me!" Qiu Luoye said in astonishment, "I'm genuinely impressed with you. You even calculated that? But over three days, consuming the human presence of dozens of territories—how could you possibly have survived that?" Consuming too much human presence would lead to major disaster; Li Banfeng understood this deeply. Shui Yongquan said, "I survived it. I spent a fortune to buy two Profound Accumulation Pills, swallowed them in one breath, and weathered it through sheer force!" "Bullshit!" Qiu Luoye waved his hand. "Profound Accumulation Pills can't be taken in large quantities! Given our cultivation, at most half a pill can be taken at a time. Downing two would kill you outright!" Shui Yongquan chuckled. "Profound Accumulation Pills are intensely nourishing; taking too many indeed claims lives. But I truly could withstand it—because I knew where to find Xuanqing Flowers!" Qiu Luoye was left tongue-tied. Li Banfeng was rendered speechless for a long while. Shui Yongquan looked at Li Banfeng. "You know about this! Back then, to get a Xuanqing Flower from me, you even had a fight with Old Qiu!" Li Banfeng said, "That doesn't make sense. That means back then you had already advanced to the third layer. But later when you fought Brother Qiu, why did you lose?" Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan had clashed at the border, and back then Shui Yongquan had indeed lost to Qiu Luoye, which subsequently triggered the war. Remembering that, Shui Yongquan sighed. "It really makes no sense. I was at the third layer, yet I still couldn't beat Qiu Daxiang. Later, when I heard Chu Shaoqiang couldn't beat Qiu Daxiang either, and he was at the third layer as well, I immediately felt much better." Qiu Luoye gave a smug grin. "Mark my words from now on. Don't think that just because your cultivation is higher, you can act brazen in front of me. Forget a third layer—even if someone beyond the clouds shows up, I'll beat them just the same." Shui Yongquan snorted. "Give you a couple compliments and you don't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. There are plenty beyond the clouds—how do you know who is shallow and who runs deep? A fledgling who just reached beyond the clouds and a veteran who has cultivated for years are separated by hundreds of thousands of li!" "You rascal hid it truly deep." Qiu Luoye thought it over, seemingly figuring out Shui Yongquan's intention. "Back then, did you want to advance beyond the clouds and use that to break free of your territory? That's why you weren't in a hurry to turn your newland into proper land." Shui Yongquan nodded. "I did consider it, but things weren't so simple. Reaching the third layer above the clouds is still quite far from reaching beyond the clouds. It requires heaps of human presence, and getting that isn't easy. Besides, advancing beyond the clouds is very much like going from nine to ten—you still have to undergo a shedding of the mortal frame. If the Inner States intervened, I might not make it through that step. So I thought about it and decided playing it safe was better. I planned to advance to the fourth layer above the clouds." Qiu Luoye was stunned for a moment, then looked at Li Banfeng. "Old Seven, his head is still scrambled. There's no such thing as a fourth layer above the clouds. Cultivation above the clouds caps out at the third layer." Shui Yongquan chuckled. "Hehehe, that's why they say you don't know a thing! There is a fourth layer above the clouds, and even fifth and sixth layers! The truly ruthless characters don't take the path of going beyond the clouds; they stay above the clouds. It's just that I haven't figured out this path yet." Qiu Luoye said, "Then take your time figuring it out." With that, Qiu Luoye glanced at Li Seven. "This old bastard doesn't even know what he's saying. In all my life, I've never heard of anyone being at the fourth layer above the clouds." Shui Yongquan sneered. "There are plenty of things you've never heard of. Shall I tell you some more fresh novelties?" From Shui Yongquan's expression, he didn't appear to be talking nonsense. Furthermore, in his present state, he truly could not lie. Qiu Luoye muttered softly, "Could there really be such a thing?" Li Banfeng believed Shui Yongquan was telling the truth, because the peddler had once said that Mr. Kongfang was not beyond the clouds, and Sun Tiecheng was not beyond the clouds either. Which path to take depended on one's own choice. Continuing to ascend above the clouds might itself be a path. Dou Jiyan returned. "Lord Seven, the gambling match is arranged for the day after tomorrow. Qianliangfang is not close to here, so it's about time we set out." Li Banfeng said to Qiu Luoye, "Eldest Brother, chat with Brother Shui over these couple of days and see what other fresh matters you can dig up." Qiu Luoye didn't dare dawdle and went off to coax Shui Yongquan into conversation. "Old Shui, let's not bring up the past anymore. There are plenty of fine maidens in Qiqiu City. If you want to settle down and start a family, how about I introduce you to one?" Shui Yongquan decisively refused. "I've never thought about starting a family. I just want you to stay a bachelor with me for the rest of your life." Qiu Luoye rolled up his sleeves. "Old Shui, you'd better hurry up and learn how to lie. I'm afraid my hands will slip and I'll beat you to death." Critick stood on the hillside, watching Dou Jiyan's departing silhouette, murmuring with a smile, "Beautiful lady, you are truly lovely. You must stay alive." *Rattle-clack-clack!* He gently shook the rattle drum in his hand, a hint of pity and reluctance in his eyes. *** Dou Jiyan was a Gambling Cultivator—swift with her hands and quick on her feet. She and Li Banfeng walked in the newland for nearly a full day before arriving at Qianliangfang. Stepping out of the newland, Li Banfeng saw a brick wall over two meters tall. The brick wall stretched out to both sides, disappearing into the distance without an end in sight. "Brother Seven, we've arrived at Qianliangfang." "Is Qianliangfang a city?" "It's not a city." "Then why does it have city walls?" "Brother Seven, those aren't city walls. They are ward walls." Was there any difference? Following along the base of the wall for a while, Li Banfeng saw two large gates. The gates stood open, people entering and leaving from time to time. Before the gate were five guards: one in charge of registering destinations, one inspecting credentials, one holding a bronze gong on watch to sound the alarm, and the remaining two gripping weapons, ready for unexpected incidents. "Brother Seven, these are all bailiffs I hired. There are plenty more inside the ward." As Dou Jiyan approached the gate, the five guards promptly bowed. Yet even for her, entering Qianliangfang required presenting a tally token. The tally token was the identification card of Qianliangfang. Its contents were simple: Dou Jiyan's name was carved on the front, while the back bore the three characters "Qian Liang Fang." Li Banfeng held the tally token and looked it over. "A token like this—couldn't any random blacksmith forge it?" "It can't be forged," Dou Jiyan said, pointing to the guard checking tally tokens. "His name is Jin Jinliang, an apprentice of my senior brother. He's an Appraiser Cultivator of no low layer. Anything counterfeit can hardly escape his eyes. "The tally token looks simple, but the mold used to cast it was jointly crafted by high-layer Literary Cultivators and Illusion Cultivators whom I hired. Every stroke of the characters contains techniques. Besides, even if someone forged a token, they wouldn't be able to stay in Qianliangfang. The wards here are vastly different from the outside world; an outsider would find it hard to last even a day." Li Banfeng looked at the bailiff inspecting tokens. He appeared around sixty years old. "This man must have cultivated for quite a few years?" Dou Jiyan thought for a moment. "I heard him say that counting from when he entered the Appraiser pathway, it's been around thirty-odd years." "Appraisers have no medicine powder. How did he enter the pathway?" "My senior brother gave him some medicinal pills, which are said to serve a purpose similar to medicine powder. Jin Jinliang is very diligent. In thirty-odd years, he has already cultivated to the seventh layer. The four supreme arts of an Appraiser Cultivator—Appraise, Guide, Discourse, and Settle—he has mastered them all. His attainments in the art of appraisal in particular are deeply admired even by my senior brother." Appraiser Cultivators had pills, layers, and supreme arts resembling techniques. "They've already reached this point, and it still doesn't count as a pathway?" Dou Jiyan sighed softly. "That's the rule in Puluo Province. Any pathway not recognized by the peddler isn't considered a proper pathway." Li Banfeng looked back at Jin Jinliang. "This man is your senior brother's disciple. Aren't you worried he and Ding Liusan will team up to scheme against you?" Dou Jiyan shook her head. "If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them. I trust his character." Li Banfeng followed Dou Jiyan down the ward road. On both sides ran two rows of identical compounds, their layouts entirely uniform: one main house, two wing rooms, one storeroom, and one latrine. All the houses shared the same style, the same size, and the same color, and even the alleys between the residences were of the exact same width. Li Banfeng walked for a full five li, the scenery flanking the road repeating endlessly without the slightest variation. "No wonder people say outsiders would find it hard to last even a day. Walking around here for half a day would get anyone lost. Was building all these houses identically done to guard against outsiders?" Dou Jiyan said, "It's also to guard against locals." "Guard against locals doing what?" "Gambling." "Gambling?" Li Banfeng peered into the courtyards of the various homes. "Isn't Qianliangfang the largest gambling parlor in Puluo Province? Gambling isn't allowed here?" Dou Jiyan explained, "Those living in Qianliangfang are forbidden from setting up private gambling matches within Qianliangfang. That is Qianliangfang's rule." "Do a lot of Gambling Cultivators live here?" Dou Jiyan nodded. "Apart from the bailiffs I hired and a portion of merchants, the rest are all Gambling Cultivators." "An entire city, inhabited by Gambling Cultivators?" Dou Jiyan corrected him once more: "This isn't a city; this is a ward. Over a hundred thousand Gambling Cultivators live here." Li Banfeng expressed deep doubt. "That number is probably greater than the counts of Literary Cultivators and Martial Cultivators combined. By that calculation, the number one pathway in Puluo Province should be the Gambling Cultivators." Dou Jiyan calculated seriously. "If you count incomplete cultivators, the pathway with the most cultivators in Puluo Province is indeed the Gambling Cultivators." "What does 'incomplete cultivators' mean?" "Cultivators who never ingested proper medicine powder—" Just as they were speaking, two bailiffs dragged a woman out of a house, heading toward the main gate. The woman struggled and screamed all the way, "I've been wronged! I wasn't gambling! I was just messing around with pai gow tiles for fun with him! We weren't betting money!" Li Banfeng asked, "You're not going to look into it?" Dou Jiyan shook her head. "Nothing to look into. Since she broke the rules, she must be driven out of the gambling quarter!" Li Banfeng felt there was something wrong with Dou Jiyan's thinking. "Gathering Gambling Cultivators together yet forbidding them from gambling—isn't that far too difficult?" Dou Jiyan said, "Forbidding private gambling matches doesn't mean forbidding them from gambling. They can gamble in the gambling houses. Qianliangfang has thirty-six gambling parlors, all established for them. Come, I'll take you to see, and you'll understand." The two walked another two-odd li, and finally an architectural structure that looked somewhat different appeared ahead. A large compound, a row of single-story rooms; a rough glance revealed around a dozen rooms. While still a hundred-odd meters away from the compound, Li Banfeng could already hear the clamor from within. "This is a gambling parlor?" Dou Jiyan nodded. "It looks crude from the outside, but it's quite nicely arranged inside." Before the gambling parlor, people came and went in a ceaseless stream. Li Banfeng was somewhat puzzled. "What difference is there between gambling here and private gambling matches?" Dou Jiyan said, "The stakes in the parlor are very low, and rules have been established. Winning or losing here won't exceed one silver dollar a day. It won't leave them bankrupt, and at least leaves them enough money to survive." "Gambling Cultivators come to Qianliangfang just to survive?" Dou Jiyan nodded. "People of the world love to gamble. Countless desire to become rich overnight through the Gambling pathway. But the peddler rarely sells Gambling Cultivator medicine powder, so those who wish to enter the Gambling pathway must seek other avenues." Li Banfeng recalled Shui Yongquan's words—that the flesh and blood of Gambling Cultivators was living, literal gold and silver. "The avenue you speak of is consuming the flesh and blood of Gambling Cultivators?" Dou Jiyan nodded. "Most could never obtain an entire body's flesh and blood. One jin of a Gambling Cultivator's flesh and blood is far more expensive than a jin of gold. When entering the pathway, they might have only eaten a tiny morsel of flesh, and then began cultivating according to the rules of Gambling Cultivators, becoming incomplete Gambling Cultivators." Li Banfeng asked, "Can incomplete Gambling Cultivators also advance their layers and learn techniques?" "They can, but once they reach a certain stage, they'll face limitations. Even so, countless people have initiated into the pathway through this method." Li Banfeng furrowed his brows. "Is the Gambling pathway really that popular?" "It truly is popular. Let's go in and take a look!" Dou Jiyan led Li Banfeng into the parlor. The gambling parlor was originally boisterous, the din ringing in Li Banfeng's ears. But after Dou Jiyan entered, many caught sight of her, and the room gradually fell quiet. Everyone respectfully bowed to Dou Jiyan. Dou Jiyan smiled. "Keep playing, everyone. Pay no mind to me." The crowd returned to the gaming tables. No one yelled or shouted; each minded their own game. In the room were a dozen-odd gaming tables, all playing pai gow. A woman rolled the dice, and the players drew their tiles one after another. They were playing small pai gow, with each person getting only two tiles. Before revealing their tiles, bets were placed. Two players discarded their tiles without even looking at them. Li Banfeng asked Dou Jiyan, "Is that just guessing blindly?" Dou Jiyan shook her head. "That is the Gambling Cultivator technique, Blossom in Due Season. A flower naturally blooms when its time has come; when its time has not come, it keeps its petals tightly shut and doesn't stir. Those two cultivators saw that the timing was off, so at this moment they simply didn't look at their tiles, saving themselves distress. Either way, they only lose their ante, so the loss isn't great." Li Banfeng still didn't understand. "If they looked at the tiles and didn't bet, wouldn't they only lose the ante as well?" "That's different. Knowing full well it isn't time to bloom, yet insisting on stirring the petals—that dampens one's spirit and ruins one's luck." "Is there a connection between spirit and luck?" "Of course there is. Gambling Cultivators anchor their lives on luck. When spirit is vigorous, luck naturally follows. Look at the man at that table—his bets are confident, his hand steady when revealing tiles. Over the next dozen rounds, no one will likely be a match for him." Dou Jiyan was referring to the table by the window. Li Banfeng watched from afar for a while. Dou Jiyan was right; the man's momentum remained strong, winning a dozen rounds in succession. But Li Banfeng also noticed something amiss. The man drew two 8-dot tiles. In pai gow, this was called Double Men, an exceptionally strong hand. Relying on the Double Men, the man won this round. While the tiles were being shuffled for the next round, Li Banfeng kept his eyes locked on those two Man tiles. With Li Banfeng's eyesight, even though the tiles were face down, he could see with utter clarity that those two Man tiles were drawn by two women, one each. Yet when revealing hands, the man once again showed Double Men. Was this man cheating? Stranger still, when those two women revealed their hands, neither held a Man tile. Were the two of them confederates? Dou Jiyan explained beside him, "Stakes this small aren't worth cheating for. For a Gambling Cultivator, cheating ruins one's cultivation. The man used the Gambling Cultivator technique Grafting Flowers onto Trees. The tiles were swapped through unnameable power." "How is that any different from cheating?" "The difference is that he didn't violate the rules of the game. He didn't deliberately arrange the tiles during the shuffle, he didn't tamper with the dice during the roll, and he didn't swap tiles after drawing. He relied purely on technique to manifest a pair of Man tiles in his hand. As long as it is done through genuine skill, it cannot be considered cheating." Put that way, there was some logic to it. Cultivation was invisible; in outside gambling dens, doing this truly couldn't be counted as cheating. The man won a few more rounds, the eyes of the surrounding onlookers filled with envy. Dou Jiyan said, "This is called Stars Revolving around the Moon. The more others admire and flatter them, the better a Gambling Cultivator's luck becomes. But this admiration cannot be forced; it must be genuinely earned!" The onlookers were indeed envious, yet after the man won, hardly anyone spoke in the parlor. The man wasn't particularly thrilled either, because the stakes were simply too small. Adding all those rounds together, he had only won a few dozen coins. Li Banfeng asked, "Is this man a complete Gambling Cultivator?" Dou Jiyan shook her head. "Incomplete, and his layer isn't high either. But his spirit is good today, so winning a hundred-odd coins won't be a problem. If he were in an outside gambling match playing against a bunch of raw beginners, making several hundred silver dollars overnight wouldn't be difficult at all. As long as one is a Gambling Cultivator, one definitely takes huge advantages at the table. But once a Gambling Cultivator makes some money and gains a bit of reputation, their flesh and blood will be targeted by others." Li Banfeng nodded. "That can be considered fair. Back then, they ate the flesh and blood of others to enter the pathway, and now they themselves end up on the butcher's block." Dou Jiyan agreed wholeheartedly. "Brother Seven is right. Those insatiably greedy people end up on the butcher's block sooner or later. But some who know when to advance and when to retreat can still find a way to live. The people who come to Qianliangfang all want to find a way out for themselves. They've made enough money, endured enough suffering, and their cultivation will never advance higher in this lifetime. Relying on their prior savings, they could have lived out their lives. Yet Gambling Cultivators find it hard to change their nature. Setting up private matches in Qianliangfang, squandering fortunes on a single throw, they gambled away their savings, gambled away their wives and children, right down to pledging their own flesh and blood for cash. In earlier years, there were many Loan Cultivators in Qianliangfang. They carried boning knives on them at all times. When broke Gambling Cultivators couldn't repay their debts and used their flesh and blood as collateral, they slaughtered and carved them on the spot, treating Qianliangfang like a meat market. Ever since I became the local spirit, I laid down the rules: from then on, private gambling matches are forbidden in Qianliangfang. Cultivation can be practiced in the gambling parlors, but daily winnings and losses cannot exceed one silver dollar. Whoever breaks the rules must leave Qianliangfang—there is absolutely no room for discussion." The two exited the parlor. Before long, they saw another enclosing wall. Li Banfeng asked, "Is Qianliangfang just this big?" Dou Jiyan shook her head. "Qianliangfang is divided into twenty-eight wards. Areas of this size number twenty-eight in total, each with a gambling parlor and a market. The wards are separated by enclosing walls; people can move between them by day, but at night, the ward gates are shut and residents can only move within their own ward. In the center of Qianliangfang, there are eight large gambling parlors, along with teahouses, theaters, taverns, and restaurants. Everything that should be provided, I've provided. As long as they are willing to live properly, Qianliangfang lacks for nothing—" Before Dou Jiyan finished, her voice was drowned out by an eruption of clamor. The clamor came from the gambling parlor. Ever since Dou Jiyan left, the parlor had gradually grown boisterous again. Dou Jiyan felt a bit awkward. She glanced at the iron railing outside the parlor. "These railings are getting old; it's about time to repaint them." Li Banfeng asked, "What color?" Dou Jiyan said, "Red paint, of course. In Qianliangfang, the railings of gambling parlors are always painted red." Li Banfeng gave a slight nod, but in truth he wasn't speaking to Dou Jiyan. He was reminding the projector to observe the colors inside the gambling parlor. The projector had been observing all along. Walking ahead a bit further, Li Banfeng went to the latrine. The projector whispered into his ear, "Director Seven, the colors of the gambling parlor are very intricate, but very striking. Before you went in, around the parlor there was the gray of loss and dejection, and also the red of joy and excitement, with gray being somewhat more prevalent." Nine out of ten gamblers lose; those walking out being more dejected was only natural. The projector continued, "After you entered the gambling parlor, the colors inside changed. There was an oppressive black, a fearful green, and an even brighter red." "Brighter? You mean they grew even more joyful?" The projector answered cautiously, "A red so dazzling might not be joy; it could also be rage." Arriving beside the ward wall, Dou Jiyan explained, "Passing through two more wards brings us to the grand gambling parlors at the very center of Qianliangfang. Tomorrow's gambling match is at the grand parlor. Brother Seven, let me take you to see it." Li Banfeng was in no rush to see the grand parlor. First, he asked a crucial question: "You brought me here to be your witness. If you lose tomorrow, should I act according to fairness?" Dou Jiyan gave a slight nod. "Accepting defeat willingly is the duty of a Gambling Cultivator. But I won't lose. I won't surrender Qianliangfang to Ding Liusan." Li Banfeng said nothing. P.S.: As for who will win, that is truly far from certain.