Chapter 112: Ties of Karma

After finishing their meal and agreeing on a departure time for the next day, Gu Ning’an and his companions retired to their respective rooms for the night.  

Surprisingly, Ying Du, who still had some money left after paying for the meal, chose not to stay at the overpriced inn. His reasoning was simple: while the money had been easily earned, he didn’t want to waste it on accommodations.  

When Gu Ning’an returned to his room, night had fully fallen.  

From outside, faint sounds of clashing blades echoed sporadically from various directions.  

This didn’t surprise Gu Ning’an; after all, Lingwu County had gathered a considerable number of martial world swordsmen. Among such people, it was common to get along when words sufficed, and to settle disputes with swords when they didn’t.

Lighting an oil lamp, the weak flame flickered to life from the dry wick.  

Placing the lamp on the desk, Gu Ning’an picked up the slightly dusty ink stick on the table. He poured a few drops of clean water into the inkstone and began grinding the ink stick slowly in circular motions.  

In no time, the water turned a deep black, releasing a faint fragrance of ink.  

“The accommodations may be poor, but the quality of this ink is excellent,” Gu Ning’an remarked. Picking up a wolf-hair brush, he lightly dipped it in ink and wrote the character “赌” (gamble) on a piece of xuan paper.  

Thud!  

Setting the brush down, Gu Ning’an stared at the written character, his thoughts drifting to his early years traveling the world after leaving the mountain.  

He couldn’t quite recall whether it was in the third or fourth year of his travels—or perhaps even earlier.  

One night, while walking along a forest path, he had come across a malicious ghost about to devour an old man.  

Without hesitation, Gu Ning’an stepped in and obliterated the ghost, scattering its spirit entirely.  

The old man, saved from imminent danger, turned out to be none other than the master Ying Du often mentioned—a man known in the martial world as the “Gambling Demon.”  

Terrified by the encounter, the old man insisted on accompanying Gu Ning’an on his journey.  

Gu Ning’an didn’t mind.  

Having witnessed Gu Ning’an slay the ghost with a single strike of his finger, the old man began addressing him as “Immortal.”  

The appearance of both Gu Ning’an and the ghost had shattered the old man’s understanding of the world, leaving him full of questions. He incessantly bombarded Gu Ning’an with inquiries, often cleverly phrased to elicit answers indirectly.  

Most of the time, Gu Ning’an ignored him. It wasn’t because of the man’s curiosity, but because Gu Ning’an had noticed the heavy aura of hostility and karmic entanglements surrounding him.  

Later, through the old man’s self-disclosure, Gu Ning’an learned that he had once been a legendary gambler in the martial world.  

With that knowledge, it became clear to Gu Ning’an where the man’s hostility and karmic debts stemmed from.  

Their time together was brief, lasting less than a day. Before parting ways, the old man pleaded with Gu Ning’an to gamble with him just once.  

Gu Ning’an flatly refused.  

Who could have predicted the old man’s next move? Driven to the brink of madness, he pulled out a blade and severed one of his own fingers right in front of Gu Ning’an.  

He even threatened that if Gu Ning’an didn’t gamble with him, he would continue cutting off his fingers one by one!  

The belief that “Immortals are inherently benevolent” was deeply ingrained in most people, especially after Gu Ning’an had saved the old man. This conviction made the old man assume Gu Ning’an would never refuse such a plea.  

But the old man had made a grave miscalculation.  

Gu Ning’an had never considered himself an “immortal.” As a mortal man, he had his own emotions and judgments.  

If not for his naturally calm temperament, he might have sent the old man to the afterlife right then and there for uttering such a threat.  

In the end, Gu Ning’an simply faded from sight, disappearing before the old man’s eyes.  

At the time, Gu Ning’an didn’t think much of it. To him, the world was filled with all kinds of people. He had wanted to save someone, so he did. If the outcome wasn’t ideal, there was no need to dwell on it.  

What surprised Gu Ning’an the most was that during his time of “returning to silence,” among the Worldly Qi that “saved” him, he clearly saw the shadow of that old man!

Through the Worldly Qi, he also vividly saw what the old man did after Gu Ning’an left.

At that time, after watching Gu Ning’an disappear, the old man, looking almost deranged, shouted hysterically for a while.

When he couldn’t find any trace of Gu Ning’an, he hurriedly removed his long robe and, using his bleeding severed finger as a brush, sketched a portrait of Gu Ning’an from memory!

Once he finished, he held up the blood-soaked garment and howled toward the heavens:

“Immortal! I will find you, and I will make you gamble with me!”

“If my lifespan isn’t enough, I’ll train a disciple! I’ll make him gamble with you!”

“I have no rivals left among mortals… From this day forward, as the Gambling Demon, I will seek an immortal to gamble with!”

Recalling this, Gu Ning’an couldn’t help but sigh.

“I saved your life, and you threatened me… In the end, you saved me in return.”

“And now your disciple, driven by your obsession, has encountered me again…”

“Karmic ties, indeed…”

With a long sigh, Gu Ning’an folded the dried xuan paper, placed it into his sleeve, and raised his left hand to calculate Ying Du’s whereabouts.

In a corner of Lingwu County, Ying Du was squatting by the wall of a small alley.

Before him sat a young beggar, no older than ten. The boy held two meat buns in one hand and a bowl of lamb soup in the other, devouring his meal ravenously, alternating between bites of the buns and sips of the soup.

Before long, the boy had finished all the food.

After letting out a satisfied burp, he wiped the grease from his mouth with the back of his hand and kowtowed to Ying Du.

“Thank you, Brother Ying!”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Ying Du quickly helped him up, laughing.

“It’s not New Year’s or a holiday. What are you bowing for?”

The boy smiled, his soot-covered face revealing only his still-white teeth.

“You’ve been good to me. I don’t know how else to thank you, so I figured I’d bow.”

Looking at the boy, Ying Du chuckled.

“Alright, save the bowing for when you’re begging for a living. No need to bow to me.”

The boy hesitated before speaking again.

“Brother Ying, I saw you during the day. You were gambling with those rich shopkeepers and won a lot of money. Your gambling skills are amazing! Can you teach me?”

Ying Du waved his hand dismissively.

“Forget it. Gambling isn’t an honorable skill. One wrong step, and you’ll end up dead faster than you can imagine.”

“But I want to be like you,” the boy said, his tone lowering. “I want to be able to treat people to good food and drinks at the inn with a grand gesture, so everyone respects me.”

Hearing this, Ying Du ruffled the boy’s messy hair vigorously.

“You silly kid, listen up!”

“The money I won is ill-gotten gains, you could say. Such wealth comes at a cost—it shortens your lifespan. In severe cases, it could even lead to a violent death!”

“I used up plenty of that kind of money when I was young, so it doesn’t matter anymore. But you’re still clean, so don’t even think about it. When you grow up, find an honest job, even hard labor. It’s better than relying on gambling to survive.”

The boy, being young, was easily frightened by words like “shortened lifespan” and “violent death.” Panicking, he stuck his fingers into his throat, trying to vomit.

“Ugh!”

“Hey!”

“What are you doing now?”

“Don’t waste good food!” Ying Du yanked him up, frowning as he scolded.

Looking aggrieved, the boy replied, “Brother Ying, didn’t you just say that using that kind of money shortens your lifespan? But I ate the food you bought with it!”

Thud!

Ying Du knocked the boy lightly on the forehead and scolded with a laugh, “You brat!”

“The money for the buns and lamb soup came from honest labor I did myself!”

“All thirty copper coins of it went to feeding you, and now you want to spit it out?”

“Relax… That money is clean!”