Volume One, Chapter Seven: The Phantom Hand Princess, Yuki Ren

The onlookers were exceptionally excited, as they had never had it so easy before. "What? Is there really such a good deal?"

"He looks like a mere brat who hasn't even dried behind the ears yet. I wonder why he's here to join in the fun."

"I'll go first! Let me go first!"

"...Oh, Ji, my dear Ji, you have truly brought me misery!"

Ye Fusang took a few deep breaths. This was no time to show weakness in such a dire situation. Brushing back a stray lock of dark hair, she lowered her gaze with the composed air of a master. "Does the Cloud Pavilion have a rule about judging people by their appearance?"

"I, Ji Rongxue, shall declare this today: none of you here are worth a fight."

"How dare you be so arrogant, you young scoundrel!" A man with a bulging belly and a string of prayer beads around his neck leaped onto the fighting platform, tossed ten gold pieces to the man in black, and said, "I'll go first."

As they sat at the gambling table, Ye Fusang glanced at the fierce, bald, pot-bellied man and twitched her lips slightly. "Monk, does your master know you're like this?"

"Enough talk. Since you are still young, you set the rules."

"Ah... very well. Shall we guess the cards?" Ye Fusang glanced at the bulging pocket of the monk's trousers.

The monk sneered, "Fine. Let's compare the sizes of the dice."

Ye Fusang feigned surprise, "Monk, you're playing dirty." She sighed, "Alas, this is the burden of being a master—one has to endure so much. I will reluctantly agree to your terms."

"Feng Ji, what do you make of this?" the man on the upper floor asked indifferently.

Feng Ji was stunned. What to make of it? Use his eyes, of course. But he dared not answer that way. "He actually agreed to compare dice with that notorious card shark. My Lord, I believe this young master will be defeated in the very first round."

"If that is truly the case, then I suppose I have lived in vain," the man said, his brow darkening.

"That's not so bad, My Lord. You’ll be eighteen forever," Feng Ji nodded.

"Get out."

"I'll go first." The monk looked at Ye Fusang and began shaking the bamboo tube with such speed that it became a blur.

Ye Fusang stared intently at the monk's hands. He had skill—wasn't this just bullying her?

"Six! Three sixes!" As the monk lifted the tube, the crowd marveled, "As expected of the master of the Buddhist gate!"

The Buddhist gate... as if any proper monk would be gambling in these back alleys.

"Kid, your turn!"

Ye Fusang sighed, "You’ve already rolled three sixes. Could there be anything higher than that?"

"Then you might as well admit defeat," the monk laughed.

"Bring me four dice," Ye Fusang said calmly. "I have always been low-key, but remember this for the future—"

Ye Fusang began to shake the tube with simple, unadorned movements. The dice rattled melodiously inside. After a moment, she lifted the tube to reveal four sixes standing in a perfect row. "I am the Ghost-Hand Ji Rongxue."

"...This kid, what a strong desire for revenge." Ji Rongxue wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

"Four sixes!! It’s actually four sixes! This brat really does have some skill!"

The man upstairs chuckled softly. "...He certainly has a talent for tossing cups."

To achieve such speed without using any internal energy—how could that not be considered real skill?

Seeing that Ye Fusang was undefeated in comparing dice, the man said coldly, "Switch to guessing cards."

The young man opposite Ye Fusang looked at his cards and felt confident, only to hear his opponent casually name a number: "Seven of Hearts."

Seeing Ye Fusang reach out to take the card, the young man felt a rush of joy—he had won!

Ye Fusang spread the cards in her hand; it was indeed the Seven of Hearts!

"This... this is impossible! He's cheating! I clearly have the Two of Spades in my hand!" The young man stared at the cards in shock. "He's cheating! Cut off his hands!"

"Alas, brother... the world is a dangerous place. If you can't handle it, just retreat. If you catch someone, it's called cheating; if you can't, it's called being a master, understand?" Ye Fusang leaned in close to the man, then stood up and cupped her hands. "Everyone, my apologies! This brother came to compete even when he couldn't see his own cards—isn't he just a bodhisattva of charity?"

A roar of laughter erupted from below. They had seen enough by now to realize this fellow was truly a ghost-handed master.

"Feng Ji, did you see clearly?"

Feng Ji shook his head. "My Lord, I don't think he cheated."

His own sword style focused on speed, yet he hadn't even caught a glimpse of how it was done.

"Get out." The man rubbed his temples in frustration.

How did he end up with such a fool?

Feng Ji was used to it; his master was likely calling him stupid again. He wasn't as clever as Zang Qing, but he was certainly smarter than Jing Zhi.

Feng Ji said, "Oh." Halfway out, he heard the man say coldly, "Get back here. Do you want to leave me alone in this dark pit?"

Feng Ji curled his lip. Who knew his master was afraid of the dark, yet chose to build the Cloud Pavilion underground? He didn't know who was being scared in the end.

"I'll do a good deed," the man stood up and looked down at Ji Rongxue, who was propping his chin up and watching the show with great interest. "Notify the Prince Consort at the Qingwu Mansion."

"Yes, My Lord," Feng Ji bowed. His master was truly ruthless; being entangled by that thing would be a nightmare.

When the girl was brought before Ye Fusang, her fox-like eyes were full of aggression, like a wolf-girl raised among beasts, her face a mask of unease and defiance.

Ji Rongxue looked at her and remarked, "This girl must have been raised by wolves."

Ye Fusang stared, lost in the girl's bright, emerald fox eyes. Neither her defiance nor her wildness could hide the innocence of someone untouched by the world. She reached out to gently stroke the girl's ruffled hair. "You are so beautiful. From now on, you shall be called Ningzhen."

Ye Fusang removed the chains from Ningzhen.

Ji Rongxue watched this scene, moved. He hadn't expected this kid, who seemed so unreliable, to be so compassionate.

"Let's go, little Ji. Let's go find a dog."

"Find a dog? Why?"

"As the saying goes, the sounds of chickens and dogs herald the sunset; one needs both to have a home." Ye Fusang gave Ji Rongxue an indifferent look. "Little Ji, I trust you so much, yet how do you treat me?"

"Alright, alright, let's just go find a dog." Ji Rongxue gave a guilty laugh. "I was just thinking of being a step ahead of the others."

"Indeed, you almost ended up a step ahead of everyone to meet the King of Hell," Ye Fusang nodded.

The three of them walked to the dog market. Ye Fusang waved a gold piece around until she grabbed a dog with the brightest eyes. "Ah... this dog catches my eye—and my gold! This is the one!"

Ji Rongxue twitched his lip. "Forget it, it's just a pet."

"This is your partner, not a pet," Ye Fusang slapped his hand away as he reached to pet the dog.

"Ah, the customer has a great eye! This is a Persian dog from foreign lands. It only costs one hundred taels of silver."

"Wait, in this day and age, do you provide a dog when you rob someone?" Ye Fusang hissed.

"Don't say that, sir. Look at its eyes—emerald green, see? It's the only one in my shop."

"Little Ji, pay the man," Ye Fusang said, glancing at the idle man beside her.

"Wait, why am I the one paying?"

"You pushed—"

"I'll pay, I'll pay..." Ji Rongxue quickly covered her mouth and painfully fished out one hundred taels to throw at the owner.

"There, that's better." Ye Fusang picked up the fluffy white dog and placed it in Ningzhen's arms. She glanced upstairs, then teased the dog with a small gold coin. "Since you love gold so much, I'll call you Shenjin."

Ningzhen... Shenjin... Heh, he had actually thought this kid was compassionate!

Feng Ji stood on a high building, following them out of the Cloud Pavilion before returning to report. "My Lord, who was she insulting?"

The man tossed aside a scroll of calligraphy and said indifferently, "It suits you quite well. Get out."

"Oh."

Meanwhile, the dog by Ye Wanqing's side returned to the Ye estate. "You say she won the fighting platform and bought a dog?"