Casino's Stunning Spectacle, Ice Eyes That Seize the Soul
Su Rui completely ignored Mu Xueyi's order to leave. With a casual flick of his hand, he shut the door behind him and strode quickly to the couch, plopping down right next to her without a shred of politeness.
"Darling wife, pushing your husband away like this hurts my heart too much."
The moment he sat, Mu Xueyi's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. She swiftly lifted her pert rear and scooted toward the edge of the couch, putting some distance between them.
Su Rui didn't mind her evasion in the slightest. A playful smile tugged at his lips. "Look, laozi has no one to turn to in this Black Abyss City, and now I'm flat broke. My dear wife, can you really bear to see your husband out on the streets?"
Mu Xueyi's brows furrowed slightly. "What about the spirit stones I gave you?" she asked coldly.
"Well..."
Su Rui touched his nose, feigning a trace of guilt. "Bad luck. Lost them all."
"You went gambling?"
Mu Xueyi finally looked at him squarely, her brows knitting even tighter. "That whole bag of high-grade spirit stones—hundreds of them—and you lost every last one in less than three hours?"
"Hand was ice-cold, luck was shit, and... I might've played a bit big."
Su Rui spread his hands, his tone as light as if he'd merely tossed away a few pebbles. "Why look at me like that, wife? As the saying goes, victory and defeat are commonplace in war. Wins and losses at the table are just part of the game."
Mu Xueyi's face filled with disdain, her voice icy. "A gambling fiend meets no good end."
As the saying goes, gamblers die ugly.
"But I'm curious—with your personality, you actually took the loss like a good boy and didn't flip the whole casino upside down?"
Su Rui neither confirmed nor denied it. "In your eyes, wife, am I some domineering brute who acts without reason?"
"Heh... Have you not been domineering and unreasonable enough with me?"
Mu Xueyi shot back, her voice chilled with suppressed fury.
Su Rui chuckled lowly, suddenly leaning toward her until their breaths mingled. He drawled slowly, "You're mistaken, wife. What I do to you is just the spice between husband and wife."
"As the classics say, 'Man is yang, woman is yin; yang firm, yin soft—that's the natural way of heaven and earth.' If at home the husband is suppressed by his wife at every turn, that's yin overpowering yang, disrupting the natural order. How could such a man stand tall outside and achieve great things?"
He spouted this twisted logic with utter conviction.
As he leaned in, Mu Xueyi retreated once more, nearly at the couch's very edge, her body taut as if facing a deadly foe.
She drew a deep breath, forcing down the surging anger and helplessness in her chest. "What utter nonsense! When did the way of yin and yang become an excuse for your barbarity? I won't argue with such sophistry."
Her ample breasts rose and fell gently with her quickened breaths. "And this husband-wife charade you keep up—calling yourself my husband, me your wife—how long do you plan to drag it out? It grates on my ears!"
Su Rui chuckled lightly, waving it off carelessly. "It grates on you, but rolls off my tongue easy. You'll get used to it in time."
"Incorrigible!"
Mu Xueyi shook her head and tossed him another bag of spirit stones with a flick of her fair hand. "Take it and get your own deluxe room! Stop bothering me!"
Su Rui caught the bag, weighed it in his palm, and grinned. "Thanks for the generosity, wife."
Only then did he rise leisurely and head for the door with light steps, even thoughtfully pulling it shut behind him.
The room fell silent once more. Mu Xueyi slowly exhaled a turbid breath and closed her eyes to meditate again.
Yet less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the door was shoved open without ceremony once more.
"What are you doing back here?"
Mu Xueyi opened her eyes, genuine irritation flickering in them now.
Su Rui spread his hands in mock helplessness. "Luck still sucks—lost it all again. Thought I'd turn it around..."
Mu Xueyi shot to her feet, her face beneath the veil as cold as iron. "You went gambling again? Fine! Take me there—let's see!"
She wasn't stingy with spirit stones. As Sword Sect's most lavishly nurtured prodigy, her wealth was naturally vast.
But Su Rui's repeated interruptions to her cultivation had kindled an inexplicable rage deep within her.
She needed an outlet to vent this pent-up frustration!
Su Rui seemed caught off guard by her sudden insistence, surprise flashing briefly in his eyes before he jumped in with undisguised excitement. "Wife's stepping up for her husband? Perfect! Let's go—I'll show you, and we'll make those bastards pay!"
——
——
Su Rui led Mu Xueyi through a maze of twists and turns to the casino hidden deep in a shadowy alley.
Inside, a crooked wooden sign hung on the wall: "Strictly forbidden to use spiritual power or divine sense for cheating. Violators will be severely punished."
Mu Xueyi's gaze swept over the sign, her lips curving in an icy arc.
In dives like this, rules only bind the weak. How else could the house guarantee profits without cheating itself?
The casino was dimly lit, smoky, and abuzz with voices—excited roars, frustrated curses, and the crisp clatter of dice.
The air reeked of sweat, smoke, and cheap spirit wine, enough to turn the stomach.
Someone soon spotted Su Rui's return, sparking a wave of malicious jeers.
"Yo! Isn't this the big spender from before? Still not giving up?"
"Brought a fairy this time? Haha, here to deliver more spirit stones?"
"Kid, play a few more hands—let the little lady turn your luck!"
Lecherous eyes locked onto Mu Xueyi. Though veiled, her aloof chill, graceful curves, and exquisite figure bloomed like a snow lotus in the muck, clashing with the filth around her. The gaudily made-up female cultivators nearby looked downright vulgar by comparison.
Su Rui seemed oblivious to the mockery. "Don't get cocky! My wife's here—you'll all be wiped out!"
His words drew even louder laughter; no one took him seriously.
Mu Xueyi ignored the din, striding straight to the largest table where they were betting on big or small—the simplest game.
Her cold gaze fell on the slick-faced dealer and his dice cup. One glance revealed the trick.
A faint spirit-control array was etched into the cup's base. The dealer could subtly alter the dice with a wisp of spiritual power.
Without a word, she pulled out ten high-grade spirit stones and tossed them on "big."
"Bets down, no changes!"
The dealer called out, shaking the cup into a blur before slamming it down.
The instant it hit the table, a faint spiritual fluctuation slipped inside.
Mu Xueyi's divine sense—Nascent Soul sharp—caught it instantly. He was aiming for "small."
Her eyes chilled. Her mighty Nascent Soul divine sense infiltrated silently, crushing and scrambling the dealer's feeble power like a precision tool. She "saw" the points clearly: four, five, six—fifteen, big!
"Open! Uh... four, five, six—fifteen, big!"
The dealer lifted the cup, face stiffening at the unexpected result.
He eyed Mu Xueyi suspiciously but paid out the stones.
Second round: She bet "small," all-in with her winnings.
The dealer tried for "big" again.
But the same happened—one, two, three, six points, small!
For the next seven or eight rounds, no matter how the dealer tweaked the array or his shakes, the dice always matched her bet.
Spirit stones piled up visibly before her.
Cold sweat beaded on the dealer's forehead; his arm trembled.
The jeers had died into dead silence.
The gamblers weren't fools—this veiled beauty wasn't lucky; she was something else.
By her tenth straight win, stones towered like a mountain—over ten thousand high-grade ones, excess bagged away.
The dealer's face was ashen, legs buckling. The casino steward rushed in to take over.
Futile.
In under an hour, the house had lost thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones to Mu Xueyi.
"Enough."
She spoke faintly, sweeping the last batch into her bag. Clearly bored of the game.
She rose gracefully, her ice-blue gown tracing a chill arc through the murk, faint cold fragrance trailing as she headed for the door.
"Halt!"
A thunderous roar exploded.
At the entrance, a nine-foot brute with a dozen thugs blocked the way.
His face was a slab of brutish flesh, Core Formation mid-stage pressure unleashed without restraint. A skull ornament at his waist oozed bloody menace.
"It's 'Bloodhand' Tu Gang!"
A stifled gasp rose from the crowd.
"Showtime. Last guy who used magic to win five thousand? His grave's three feet high already."
Gamblers whispered, shrinking to corners in fearful thrill.
Tu Gang cracked his neck with pops, snarling, "Win that much and just walk? Tell me—what spell did you cheat with?"
Mu Xueyi didn't stop, merely glancing indifferently at him.
That look—cold, detached, like eyeing an ant.
But the Nascent Soul terror within crashed down like an iceberg on his mind!
Tu Gang felt an indescribable chill surge from his soles to crown, blood freezing, soul quaking.
Mouth agape, no sound escaped. Legs buckled—"thud"—he crumpled, face paper-white, sweat soaking his back, eyes wild with dread.
His thugs fared worse: weaker ones foamed and fainted; the rest groveled, heads unliftable.
The casino went pin-drop silent.
Gamblers' souls fled in awe, gazes reverent and terrified.
They finally got it—this "delicate" woman was beyond their reach forever.
Mu Xueyi glided forward; the crowd parted like a path.
Su Rui hurried after, face beaming with unabashed pride—like showing off his wife's might to the world.
On the way back, he chattered nonstop beside her. "Wife, your gambling skills are god-tier! You should've seen their faces when you left—green, white, priceless! The dealer's hands shook like palsy; couldn't even hold the cup..."
He leaned closer, voice dropping. "Best part? You saw through their scam but played it cool. That poise, that calm—laozi's in total awe."
He stepped forward; she retreated a step.
Her tone iced over. "Drop the grinning fool act. If I spotted the trick, you think you didn't?"
"Really didn't." Su Rui shrugged.
True enough—he'd gone for fun, wins irrelevant, too lazy to probe the cheats.
Mu Xueyi glanced sideways, seeing no lie, and chilled further. "So you deliberately fed them spirit stones? Just to... share my room? Fine. Excellent!"
Back at Youquan Pavilion, she marched Su Rui to the counter. "Give him the best deluxe room."
She slammed stones down, peach-blossom eyes lancing Su Rui. "I've arranged your stay myself. Step one foot in my room again..."
She trailed off, but her sharp gaze finished it. Skirts swaying, she left without looking back.
Yet back in her room, about to resume cultivation, the door creaked open again.
Mu Xueyi eyed Su Rui sauntering in, brows tight, impatience clear. "What do you want?"
Su Rui shut the door, grinning shamelessly. "What laozi wants—you said it clear enough. I want to share this room with you."
"You're my fated calamity."
Mu Xueyi closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, breasts rising subtly.
Eyes snapping open, she pointed like a sword, slashing the air!
A razor-sharp sword qi streaked out with a soft chi, carving a clear line on the floor three meters from the couch.
"Stay if you want. This is the line—don't cross it. Agree, and stay. Can't? Room's yours; I'll find a quiet spot outside. Better than tangling with you here."
To her surprise, Su Rui agreed readily. "Deal, all per wife. Last night was plenty fun anyway—laozi's not some desperate horndog who can't live without bed sport."
"Aren't you?"
Mu Xueyi sneered mockingly. "You and Yu Wan'ning in your cave—fucking like beasts, depraved for a whole month! Am I wrong? Bet that cave still reeks of your... nauseating lust!"
"Oh?"
Su Rui arched a brow, intrigued. "Wife jealous?"
Mu Xueyi's face frosted over. "You think that's possible?"
Su Rui laughed low, teasing. "Hard to say. Laozi's the only man who's ever fucked you. Old saying: shortest path to a woman's heart is her pussy. You came so hard, screaming in ecstasy—maybe deep down... heh heh heh, you've got messy feelings for laozi."
"Shut your mouth!!"
The roar shattered like thunder!
So loud it stunned even Su Rui silent; Mu Xueyi herself jolted, shocked at her own outburst.
Her lips quivered faintly before she iced over harder. "Not another word from now on. No more talking to me!"
Ignoring him, she formed a calming mudra, forcing her mind steady, eyes closing in meditation.
Spiritual qi gathered slowly around her, forming a faint halo that shrouded her chill figure, as if severing her from the mortal world.
Su Rui stood there, rubbing his chin, eyes probing and amused at her flustered recovery.
That intense reaction... Did he accidentally hit the mark?
He itched to ask, but one more word might truly enrage her.
Thinking it over, he said nothing—just dragged a chair beyond the sword mark, sat comfortably.
Then propped his chin, grinning as he stared at the cultivating Mu Xueyi.
His gaze burned hot, intense—like admiring a priceless treasure, or a predator patiently stalking prey.
Mu Xueyi's mighty divine sense and senses caught it clearly: that tangible stare locked on her, unwavering.
It carried scorching heat, piercing her ice-blue gown to caress her skin, stirring an indescribable restlessness.
Yet she sat unmoved as a mountain, breaths even, spiritual power cycling ceaselessly.
She repeated to herself: As long as he doesn't cross the line, as long as he keeps the deal, let him stare.
She wouldn't waver from mere looks.
In the room, time slipped quietly by.
One a still lotus in meditation, the other a blazing torch of a gaze—locked in strange, taut equilibrium.