Lu Ze Joins

"BANG!!!"

A deafening gunshot echoed through the teahouse.

Xu Hao's head was pierced by a crossbow bolt, slamming heavily onto the gambling table.

Wang Tianjing claimed the final victory as the bloodstained table reset, and the three figures reappeared in the teahouse once more.

"Hahaha! Brother Xu, seems your ‘eight characters’ aren’t as unbreakable as you thought, eh?"

Wang Tianjing patted Xu Hao’s shoulder with lingering satisfaction.

"Tch. I’ve already figured out your tricks. From now on, I won’t even glance at you during a match!"

Xu Hao gritted his teeth in frustration.

Though he had completed his initial evolution from an honest man to a budding demonic cultivator—learning the art of deception—he was still leagues behind Wang Tianjing in this regard.

Especially when bluffing, he couldn’t help but falter under direct eye contact.

"Enough post-game analysis! Let’s start another round already!"

Chen Yiyun urged impatiently, her fingers twitching with restless energy.

Her addiction had fully taken hold. Dying from the second shot last round had left her deeply unsatisfied.

Wang Tianjing, however, wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, his gaze settled on Lu Ze.

"Brother Lu, care for a duel?"

At this, the other two suddenly remembered—they hadn’t entered this illusion for mere amusement.

They were here to compete for ownership of a hidden treasure!

Earlier, Lu Ze had merely asked them to familiarize themselves with the rules, yet somehow, they’d already played seven rounds.

"Oh right, Brother Lu’s still here!"

Xu Hao’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as he turned to Lu Ze.

"I think I’ve got the rules down now… Brother Lu, shall we make this official?"

"I agree! I’m sick of being sandwiched between you two anyway."

Chen Yiyun nodded vigorously.

"Oh?"

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Are you sure you don’t need more practice?"

"No need! Come on—I’ve always heard Brother Lu’s intellect surpasses ordinary men. I’ve been itching to test myself against you!"

Wang Tianjing’s eyes burned with fighting spirit.

"Hah! Even if you designed this illusion, that doesn’t guarantee victory, right? Let’s go, Brother Lu! Fight me with everything you’ve got!"

Xu Hao extended a hand toward Lu Ze, his heart swelling with admiration.

He’d completely forgotten his earlier disdain for this so-called "nepotism hire" mere hours ago.

"Brother Xu’s right! Brother Lu, let’s settle this in one round!"

Chen Yiyun chimed in.

Secretly, she was thinking back to her days playing Cultivator’s Descent, where she’d often fantasized about one day "putting the old devil Lu in his place."

Now, it seemed her dream was within reach.

As for Lu Ze being the illusion’s creator?

None of them cared.

To them, The Con Artist’s Teahouse was unlike other illusions.

After a few rounds to overcome the initial learning curve, the game boiled down to pure instinct.

Skill? Deduction? Strategy?

Nothing compared to guts and luck!

Even someone as sharp as Wang Tianjing had only won 2 out of 7 rounds.

Sure, his reads were frighteningly accurate at times—but the man had terrible luck!

Half the time, he’d get eliminated by the first or second shot.

No matter how skilled you were, bad luck meant an early exit.

Even Lu Ze wouldn’t be exempt from that.

By now, all three were convinced they’d mastered the game.

Even if Lu Ze joined, victory wasn’t guaranteed for him.

"Since you’re all so eager… I’ll gladly oblige."

Lu Ze narrowed his eyes, smiling as he took the last remaining seat.

Having observed their matches closely, he’d already deciphered their habits.

Technically, Wang Tianjing was the strongest among them.

Deception, observation, strategy, deduction—he used every tell in the book to discern real cards from bluffs.

He had all the makings of a true card shark.

But to Lu Ze, that was merely the baseline for sharing a table with him.

Ironically, the straightforward Xu Hao posed the bigger threat.

As the saying went, "The amateur’s reckless strikes often slay the master."

This guy played purely on instinct—sometimes stubbornly targeting his upper player repeatedly. Such opponents were the hardest to predict.

The game began.

Seats were randomized.

Lu Ze’s upper player was Xu Hao, his lower was Chen Yiyun, and across from him sat Wang Tianjing.

Noticing Xu Hao wasn’t his immediate lower player, Lu Ze allowed himself a faint, hidden smirk.

His odds had just improved.

"Ugh, why am I stuck between you two?!"

Chen Yiyun groaned, eyeing Lu Ze and Wang Tianjing with dismay.

This was like being stripped naked under a spotlight.

"Who cares? Let’s see whose fate holds stronger!"

Xu Hao roared with the fearless audacity of a newborn calf.

[This round’s target card: Heaven.]

A single Heaven card spun atop the table before merging into the deck.

Instantly, four hands of five cards were dealt.

Lu Ze glanced at his hand, then swiftly placed it face-down, his expression unreadable as still water.

As the illusion’s creator, he was the center of attention.

The move didn’t go unnoticed.

"Ho! Brother Lu’s got tricks up his sleeve already!"

Wang Tianjing remarked, subtly angling his face to study the others.

At the start of every round, he’d habitually analyze micro-expressions to form early deductions.

But Lu Ze’s flawless, instantaneous card placement unnerved him—an invisible pressure.

"Likewise."

Lu Ze smiled, his eyes crinkling as he scanned the trio in a split-second sweep.

Internally, however, he was annoyed.

Because…

His hand was five Human cards!

Not a single target card—pure bluffs!

Starting at such a brutal disadvantage made him wonder if the Heavenly Dao’s remnant spirit was mocking him: "Try being human for once."

Or had Senior Brother Zhou’s spirit possessed him?

"Two Heaven."

After a pause, Xu Hao played two Heaven cards.

Almost instantly, Lu Ze calmly picked up the first, second, and fourth face-down cards from the table and played them.

"Three Heaven."

He rubbed his nose, then grinned at Chen Yiyun, his lower player, mimicking Yu Ji’s tone:

"Care to guess~?"