Chapter Thirty-Four: Let Us All Play Pai Gow

In the mysterious, labyrinthine realm, the toxic mist had ceased its relentless advance, and night had already fallen. Beneath a towering cactus in the barren desert, Jiang Lin sat on one side, with three girls on the other. Between them, a small campfire flickered, and atop it rested a glowing golden egg that had somehow appeared—surely the legendary Dragon Soul.

Jiang Lin held his life-bound flying sword over the flames, skewering several thoroughly dead lizards, their tongues still hanging out in grotesque defeat.

No one spoke; an awkward silence pressed down upon them. Only the crackle of roasting lizard flesh broke the stillness as their split bellies blistered in the fire.

He brushed on a layer of oil, sprinkled some salt, and finally dusted the meat with cumin. The fragrance of roasted lizard began to drift, faint but enticing.

“Um… how about some food?” Jiang Lin offered, holding out the sword with the skewered lizards towards the three girls. All three snorted in unison, turning their heads away with remarkable synchrony.

Watching them stubbornly avert their gazes as if sulking, Jiang Lin’s brow twitched. “Even though cultivators at the Cave Abode stage can forgo food, you should still eat a little something. You need to keep up your strength… Besides, this roast lizard might look a bit off-putting, but if you take off the head and tail, it’s just protein—quite delicious, really. Bear Grylls eats it all the time.”

“Bear Grylls? Who’s that? And what’s protein?” At last, Xiao Xueli was the first to turn back and ask.

Relieved that at least someone had broken the silence, Jiang Lin smiled inwardly. As long as someone talked, the awkwardness would be halved. “Well, Bear Grylls is the world’s greatest survivalist! And protein is a basic building block of the body—no need to worry about that detail.”

“The world’s greatest survivalist? Is he a famous monster hunter? Junior Brother, how do you know him?” Perhaps emboldened by Xiao Xueli’s question, Lin Qingwan joined in, curious.

Jiang Lin scratched his head. “Uh… Senior Sister Lin, you could see it that way. As for how I know him, it’s not important.”

“Don’t mind him,” Chen Jia chimed in, her lips pursed in a pout as she turned to Jiang Lin. “He’s always saying strange things about weird people—just ignore it. Give me one! I, your young master, am not like these two delicate girls, who’d get blown away by a breeze. No matter how gross it is, I’m not afraid!”

“Young master?”

“Not like us delicate girls?”

Lin Qingwan and Xiao Xueli both glanced at Chen Jia, who, despite her boyish disguise, looked nothing like a man except for her lack of a chest. Although both girls were tempted to retort, they held back, remembering that she had dug them out of the sand.

“What’s with those looks, you two?” Chen Jia jumped to her feet, hands on hips, pouting fiercely in a way that was hardly intimidating.

“It’s nothing, nothing. Senior Sister Lin and Miss Xiao are just admiring your manly spirit, Brother Chen,” Jiang Lin hastily mediated, pressing Chen Jia back down and holding out a lizard. “Would you care for one?”

Staring at the dead lizard, its tongue lolling, Chen Jia hesitated for a moment. But recalling her earlier bravado, she reached out her pale hand to take it from the sword, though she couldn’t bring herself to take a bite.

“You need to take off the head and tail first.” Jiang Lin gently took Chen Jia’s hand and, with practiced ease, snapped off the lizard’s head and tail. “There. Now you can eat it.”

Watching Jiang Lin hold Chen Jia’s small hand, Lin Qingwan and Xiao Xueli instinctively glanced down at their own hands.

“Junior Brother, I… I’d like to try one too.”

“Jiang Lin… I’m hungry as well…”

“Heh, I told you—food is the people’s first priority. Even cultivators have to eat.” Jiang Lin grinned, handing each of the girls a lizard. “Be careful, it’s hot.”

“Um… Junior Brother, could you help me take off the head and tail? I don’t know how…” Lin Qingwan spoke softly, her cheeks tinged pink, perhaps from the firelight.

“Of course, no problem.” Jiang Lin gently took her hand and deftly removed the head and tail from her lizard.

“Jiang… I…” Xiao Xueli clutched her roast lizard, wanting to say something but lacking the courage.

The sword spirit within her sighed softly, finally unable to bear it any longer, and took control of her body for a moment. “Jiang Lin, could you help me as well?”

“Of course, no problem.” When Jiang Lin took her hand, the sword spirit promptly ceded control, and the fire’s glow seemed to spread from her cheeks down to her delicate collarbone.

After the girls each took a tentative bite and their eyes lit up, they quickly began nibbling away at their lizards. Jiang Lin let out a sigh of relief—the tension had finally eased.

Ever since Chen Jia had dug herself and the others out of the sand, there had been a natural friction among the three girls. Jiang Lin understood; after all, two tigers can’t share a mountain—let alone three protagonists.

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared about their rivalry; in fact, he was already planning when he might quietly slip away from the secret realm. Being caught between three main characters was far too dangerous.

But ever since the three of them had met face to face, especially after he had introduced himself to each, their notoriety scores had only gone up, leaving Jiang Lin deeply unsettled. He couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong.

After eating, the girls dabbed at their lips with handkerchiefs. The faint sheen left on their lips only made them more alluring, and Jiang Lin quickly averted his gaze.

“All right, now that we’ve eaten, let’s discuss the real matter at hand.” Lin Qingwan clapped her hands, rising to her feet. “There are only four of us left. What do you all think about the final ownership of the Dragon Soul? Let me be clear: I have no personal obsession with it, but for Junior Brother Jiang’s sake, I must fight for it. If he wins the Dragon Soul, when we return to Longmen Sect, the elders will have nothing more to say.”

“What? Jiang Lin, that scoundrel, is clearly one of us from the Sun and Moon Cult! Why should he go back to Longmen Sect with you? I don’t care about the Dragon Soul either—let Jiang Lin have it if he wants. But there’s no way he’s going back with you!” Xiao Xueli ran her hand along her sword, glancing at Jiang Lin. “I’ve already obtained the sword I wanted, so I have no attachment to the Dragon Soul. But Jiang Lin, if I help you win it, will you grant me a request?”

“Junior Brother Jiang.”

“Jiang the beast!”

“Jiang Lin…”

“Which will you choose?”

Suddenly, all three girls stood, fixing their eyes on Jiang Lin.

Their gazes left him utterly bewildered.

This isn’t right. Just take the Dragon Soul for yourselves—why drag me into this?

“Well, actually…” Jiang Lin stood up, his expression grave.

“Why don’t the three of you join me for a game of pai gow?”