Chapter 338: Straw Man
Chapter 338: Straw Man
"…What on earth are you talking about?"
Seeing that the other people's eyes were visibly turning hostile, the man couldn't help but feel uneasy. He said in a trembling voice, "Mortals, bets, the principle of fairness...what do these mean?"
The man carefully glanced at the gambler sitting motionless on the sofa, and then quickly looked away, his eyes full of fear: "Could it be that... if I lose this game, I will lose my life to this devil?"
Meilin's eyebrows twitched and a strange look appeared on her face.
Still pretending to be stupid...
Aren't their words clear enough? This person's identity has been exposed. Whether he is the one who ascended or the one who granted the title, he should have understood the current situation, right?
Or did he think that we hadn't actually seen through his flaws, and that what we just said was just a trick?
...If that's the case, the acting is really too good.
Meilin looked at the man sitting on her right. The expression on his face was half doubtful and half fearful. There was a tiny hope hidden in his slightly timid eyes. He hoped that they could deny his guess and tell him that this game with the devil would not cost him his life...
His lips were trembling slightly, and a little pale because he bit his lower lip subconsciously. From the expressions on his face to the complex meanings in his eyes to the subconscious body language of his limbs, all of his reactions were so natural. There was no trace of acting. Even if the best actor was sitting here, he might not be able to perform such magical and seamless acting skills.
——But the facts are here. If this man is really an innocent mortal who knows nothing as he appears to be, then why, why does he have the ability to pay more than one copper coin?
Ning Zhe crossed his arms, his eyes looking amused.
To be honest, even if I have the power of "Tai Yi", it is difficult to play an expression and attitude that is completely different from my own so perfectly after stealing someone else's identity, memory and self-awareness. And all the reactions of this person in front of me are so real, without any trace of disharmony, that he may be real, so real that Ning Zhe even doubts his own judgment.
Ning Zhe thought for a moment, then took out a withered yellow straw man the size of a palm made of wheat stalks from his arms and gently placed it on the table.
"Is this enough?" he asked the gambler.
As everyone looked at him in unison, the gambler nodded, stretched out a hand and hooked the straw man in front of him.
The gambler approved the bet.
"Sure enough." Ning Zhe nodded slightly.
This straw man was an initiation tool originally belonging to Van Dyke. When Ning Zhe stole Van Dyke's identity and took on Lan Shiwen's spy mission, he obtained all the initiation tools that this man carried with him during his lifetime, and this straw man was one of them.
The straw man doesn't have any fancy name, it's just called a straw man. Some granters like to call it a "stand-in straw man". By writing their name on it with their own blood, they can establish a mysterious connection with the straw man.
After the blood pact is concluded, all physical injuries suffered by the person will be automatically transferred to the straw man, and the substitute will bear it instead - but the contract is two-way, and the damage suffered by the substitute straw man will also be transferred back to the granter who concluded the blood pact with it, and the contract will not end until one party dies completely.
By signing a contract with a straw man, you will not only gain a substitute to bear the consequences for you, but you will also have an extra handle on your body. If the straw man is not properly kept and falls into the hands of others, the consequences will be disastrous.
Therefore, Van Dyke did not write his name on it during his lifetime. Anyway, the blood contract could be signed at any time, so he just carried the straw man with him in case of emergency. At that time, the Marquis did not expect that Lan Shiwen would not give him the opportunity to find a temporary substitute.
"Stand-in straw man..." Pétain's eyes flickered. Both he and Marylin recognized the identity of this thing.
The source ghost of the substitute straw man is in the hands of the 'Flimmisret' family. Unlike the Dyke family's soul-calling doll, this enchantment item is circulated in small quantities. Many enchanters know about it, and those who don't know it have heard rumors about it.
"The gambler accepted the 'straw man' as the stake for this game."
Meilin took a deep look at the bewildered man beside her, and became even more alert. "According to the fair principle of gambling, the value of each player's bet on the table is equal. In other words, this man is carrying at least one item of equal or higher value than the 'Stand-In Straw Man'!"
Even to make a more extreme guess, there might be a real ghost in him.
Ning Zhe glanced at Pétain and Meilin silently. The two men were indeed well prepared. "It seems that they both carry more than one empowerment tool."
It is still unclear what specific props of empowerment Pétain and Méline were carrying, and Ning Zhe has no time to confirm it. He returned to the opera house just to get the Snake God's almanac back from the gambler, and everything else is just an episode.
"I designate you as the next person to toss the coin."
Ning Zhe pointed at the man across the table. The last person to put in the coins can designate who will put in the coins next. This is the rule of the game, even if he loses.
"Why are you targeting me like this!" The man gnashed his teeth and defended himself with red eyes: "I don't understand what you are suspicious of, but I really don't know anything. It is definitely not what you think. I didn't even know you until just now! I just..."
The gambler raised a pale hand covered with corpse spots and interrupted his appeal. The man who was about to argue suddenly stopped, picked up a copper coin from the table in a frustrated manner, and carefully held it above the wine glass.
Ning Zhe watched the man's flawless acting skills with great interest, wondering how on earth this guy did it.
He didn't dwell on this issue for too long. Taking advantage of the brief freedom after becoming a 'loser', Ning Zhe left the sofa, walked to the stands and pulled down the curtain, allowing the satin curtain to block himself from the crowd - as long as he did not leave the casino, which was this room, the gambler would not meddle in his affairs.
Taking advantage of the cover of the curtain, Ning Zhe leaned against the guardrail and took out his notebook. While thinking about the current situation, he opened the notebook and habitually looked to see if Xia Yubing had left him a message.
"Ok?"
Seeing the new content on the paper, Ning Zhe's eyes became solemn.
After reading carefully, not long after, a charming smile gently appeared on Feng Yusu's mature and beautiful face, like a red plum tree swaying in the wind and shaking off the fresh snow on its branches, so beautiful.
(End of this chapter)