The ship swayed, and Xia De squinted at the captain across the table:
"You're cheating. You moved the tattoo after I announced the answer."
"No, I'm just using the rules. This doesn't violate the rules I stated."
The captain of the pirate ship, whose face was so ugly it could almost scare an adult into fainting, pointed at the white bread:
"Now, eat them, and we'll continue with the second round. If you don't eat, I'll assume you and your companion want to stay on the ship. She will become food for my Lord, and you will be with us forever. Don't worry, the food isn't poisoned. I'm not trying to poison you; that would be too boring!"
The evil pirates roared with laughter, and the one closest to the plate of white bread enthusiastically pushed the plate in front of Xia De.
The soft white bread looked incredibly tempting, but in this damp cabin where human bones and jewels covered the floor and the walls were covered with fungal mats and foul blood, it was clear this was not normal food.
Xia De took a deep breath. Gambling with this kind of person, he should have expected them to cheat. But since that was the case, he wouldn't abide by the so-called rules later. He would eat this bread and then see the second round of the gamble. If the other party cheated in the second round as well, Xia De would have no choice but to flip the table. Of course, if there were other ways, he would try to avoid doing so, as losing Divine Radiance would mean the disappearance of Divine Radiance, and such a loss would be too great:
"What is this food?"
Xia De asked, expecting the other party not to answer, but unexpectedly, the captain gave him one:
"This is desire, the desire to eat, the greed for wealth, the desire to live. This ship captures souls, digests flesh, and extracts desire. This is our food. I think you'll like it."
As he spoke, his narrow eyes narrowed further:
"Of course, I'll give you a chance. If you're willing to abandon your companion behind you and hand her over to me, this round won't count, and we'll gamble in another way."
Xia De looked down for a moment, then reached out and grabbed the bread, subconsciously swallowing.
"I cannot tell you what this truly is, but if it truly is pure desire, even in your current Divine Radiance state, your mind will still be affected. The craving to eat will become even stronger."
"How strong?"
"It won't make you collapse, but it's close."
The "captain" was watching Xia De, and Xia De knew what he was hoping for. But since Xia De had already decided to take the Golden-haired girl with him, he would never go back on his word.
"Xia De—"
The girl behind him tried to snatch the bread, but Xia De grabbed her hand and shook his head, refusing:
"You promised to treat me to food, not the other way around."
He said, then tore off a piece of the large bread, enough for two breakfasts, and ate it bit by bit.
Although he couldn't smell it, it tasted like real white bread. The texture was very soft; even by the standards of his hometown, it was quite delicious.
"When we get out, remember to tell me who you really are. Although I've already guessed, I hope you'll admit it yourself."
He said to the Golden-haired girl behind him, clutching his stomach, which was aching from hunger. Her face was pale as she tried to say something, but Xia De stopped her, staring into Miss Princess's eyes, afraid she would do something foolish:
"What you need to do now is stand behind me and watch me gamble with this captain. When I can't hold on anymore, I'll tell you."
Miss Princess bit her lower lip.
"What are we gambling on in the second round?"
The bread, purely formed from desire, gave Xia De more Ling, even giving him the illusion that he could obtain Ling Runes like "bread" in the next moment. But at the same time, the surging hunger was making him want to bite off his lower lip.
In his two lives, he had lived for over twenty years, yet he had never missed the days when food could fill his stomach so much, and he had never felt that the ordinary foods of daily life were so precious.
After this adventure, he at least fully understood the preciousness of food.
"Second round?"
The skull lamps hanging overhead swayed violently, and the eerie green light and shadows flickered alternately across Xia De's face.
The captain narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, then extended his right hand and put it into his mouth. His hand opened his throat, and after his elbow, his entire forearm entered his mouth.
He rummaged around in his stomach for a long time before pulling out a small pure gold box.
Although it was a "small box," it was still larger than his mouth, so when it passed through his mouth, it directly stretched the lower half of his head to more than twice its size.
The box, covered in disgusting white-green mucus, was casually thrown onto the table. Its design was extremely intricate, like a jewelry box used by noblewomen. The box was locked with an old-fashioned small copper lock, and the lock was engraved with Ling Runes, whether for sealing or anti-theft purposes, he didn't know.
This wasn't all. After pulling out the first box from his stomach, he immediately used the exact same method to pull out two more identical boxes from his stomach and threw them onto the table.
After all this, he even rather elegantly wiped his mouth with a white handkerchief from his pocket, which was adorned with a medal, like a gentleman wiping his mouth after a meal:
"How strange. You don't seem surprised by my actions at all. Aren't you curious about what I am?"
The captain asked Xia De, who, clutching his stomach with one hand, said impolitely:
"If you had pulled them out from below, I probably would have been surprised. Stop talking nonsense, what are we gambling on this time?"
"Three boxes, two empty, one containing a bottle of merman's elixir of immortality, which can grant eternal youth. This is a treasure I obtained at sea before this ship was blessed by my Lord. Now tell me, where is the elixir? If you answer correctly, the elixir is yours. If you answer incorrectly, choose a dish and keep eating. This is the second round. If you lose, this dish can be considered your initiation meal."
The evil spirits laughed again. Xia De felt the girl behind him sway slightly, as her hair brushed against his head.
"Eternal youth—"
"Yes, this is an ancient elixir, very precious in any era."
The nine rings on the captain's fingers reflected the terrifying green light from above:
"I swear by my Lord's name, the stakes will not be faked."
Xia De nodded and looked at the three boxes. This time it was an elixir, not that strange tattoo from before, so "she" couldn't tell Xia De the answer either.
"Can I observe them up close?"
"Of course you can."
So the pirate who had just dueled with Xia De brought the three boxes over and placed them on the table in front of Xia De.
Xia De placed one hand on the table and looked at the captain:
"You didn't say I couldn't open the boxes to confirm just now, so if I open the boxes and look before giving the answer, it doesn't count as breaking the rules."
This was the inspiration Xia De got from the other party's cheating by exploiting the rules.
The middle-aged pirate captain, who was some unknown entity at the other end of the wooden table, laughed:
"It certainly conforms to the rules, but do you think I wouldn't have thought of that? If you're not afraid of the curses on the boxes, which are enough to harm souls, you can try."
Xia De raised his hand and placed it on the middle box. The golden light from the cracked skin of his palm slightly illuminated the metal box beneath his hand. Xia De looked up and said:
"Looks like it's ineffective on me."
If the box was coated with poison that would kill upon touch, Xia De would be worried.
"You absolutely cannot open that lock. This is a lock made by an extraordinary being from an era even older than when I lived. It's also a treasure I plundered before this ship was blessed by divine grace."
The captain said again.
Xia De, who was so hungry that he was literally seeing stars, and also Xia De, whose Ling was incredibly vast, extended his right index finger and tapped the lock.
Click~
The spell 【Key of the Door】, although its effect sounds like just "unlocking," is actually an extremely precious spell, because even a Mystic Lock can be considered a type of lock. Of course, its actual use is still limited by the amount of Ling Xia De possesses, his understanding of the lock, and his Ring術士 level.
In the current situation, this lock was no different from a noodle tied into a knot from Tobesk braised pork noodles.
Xia De didn't wait for the captain to express any other opinions. He directly lifted the lid of the box; the first one was empty. So he used the same method to open the one on his left. Inside the small pure gold box, a flat glass bottle lay quietly, containing a dreamlike purple liquid elixir.
Of course, to prevent the third box from also containing something, Xia De opened the third box as well; it was empty.
"My answer is, the elixir is here."
Xia De said, reaching out to take the elixir and putting it into his pocket. Although the other party's gamble was full of malice, at least they weren't so despicable as to poison the bottle. He didn't expect Xia De to be able to open the box so easily:
"I won the second round. What are we gambling on in the third round?"
Xia De spoke very quickly, not giving the other party a chance to refute.
"Good, you won the second round."
The captain narrowed his eyes at Xia De, his lips curving into a smile, then he spoke.
He rested his right hand on the table, then waved it at the surrounding evil spirit sailors. Swaths of green light flew from them into the captain's hand, and then a full deck of rhode cards appeared in the captain's hand:
"We'll play your era's card game. If I'm not mistaken, you call it rhode cards (Note)."
The back was indeed the rhode cards pattern, and then he fanned the deck, separating the overlapping cards inside so that Xia De could see the card faces. Each card came from the power of a different evil spirit, so the face of each card was the true appearance of those monsters that could drive people mad.
Fifty-four cards, fifty-four different card faces. Xia De tried to find the captain's card among them, but the other party only showed it briefly, not giving Xia De a chance to look closely.
Xia De reached into his pocket and took out his own deck.
He extended his hand to the evil spirit sailor sitting closest to him. The other party's right hand was an iron hook, and besides that, his entire lower body was like an octopus, constantly secreting disgusting mucus. Most of the black stains on the corner of the table came from this thing.
"Check it."
Xia De said.
"No need."
The captain said, slapping the deck of rhode cards in his hand onto the table, then gently pulling it open evenly, arranging it in an arc in front of him.
He looked up at Xia De:
"As long as you're not caught cheating, it's not cheating. Let's play something simple. Each person draws nine cards from the deck, without revealing them, and makes three sets of three. You choose the order of revealing the cards. The nine cards will be revealed in three sets, and the one who wins more sets wins."