The King of Curses

Chapter 303: The Gambling House
An Zhizhen's stunningly beautiful face leaned on Cen Dongsheng's shoulder, with a charming smile on her lips, revealing a lazy charm that came from the upbringing of wind and rain.

An experienced person would know at a glance what had just happened in the room: a man and a woman were fooling around; and even those who couldn't see could sense something was amiss from the atmosphere.

When the snail girl saw her appear, her eyes widened and she was very shocked. She lowered her head again, as panic-stricken as a child who saw something he shouldn't see.

"Yes, sorry to bother you two."

"It doesn't matter. Are you here to look for Dongsheng? Just say whatever you want to say. Just pretend I don't exist."

Having said that, An Zhizhen had no intention of leaving the man at all.

"Okay, okay..."

The snail girl really agreed.

Cen Dongsheng was indifferent to the subtle interaction between the two people. He kept observing Luo Nu's expression.

She knew that her elder sister liked to joke, but Cen Dongsheng was not as relaxed as her.

The man was a little concerned. After all, they had just met yesterday and didn't talk much, but today she actually came to him on her own initiative.

Moreover, judging from his performance, the other party's liking for him was a little too high.

Or maybe this girl has simply never seen a man and is easily shy.

The latter is easy to understand, but the former is problematic no matter how you think about it.

Although his elder sister always teased him that he had the charm to attract strong women, he knew it was just a joke and he would be doomed if he took it seriously.

After An Zhizhen's action was tantamount to a declaration of sovereignty, the other party still showed no intention of leaving.

"I think……"

Under Cen Dongsheng's silent urging, a blush appeared on Luo Nu's face.

"I invite you to watch the game together."

Cen Dongsheng sighed.

"Sister Zhizhen..."

"Okay."

"I don't have that idea...wait, what did you say?"

An Zhizhen didn't seem to be worried at all. She answered with a smile, and even seemed to be encouraging her man to go out alone with other women.

Cen Dongsheng met the woman's eyes and quickly saw her thoughts from her deep gaze.

He scratched his hair and answered helplessly.

"Well, at least wait until I take a shower and change my clothes before I go out."

"Well, well, I don't mind..."

"I do mind."

The man said, closing the door.

"Please wait outside for a while."

*
Cen Dongsheng changed his clothes and left with Luo Nu who was waiting obediently outside the door.

The other person kept his head down the whole time, and his personality was easy to understand. He was obviously an introvert and shy type.

Along the way, no one spoke, maintaining a slightly awkward atmosphere of silence.

Cen Dongsheng could only take the initiative to find a topic. He couldn't really go on a date with a girl he had just met once.

"Your father asked you to come, didn't he?"

"Ah, yes."

The snail girl raised her head.

"But I don't hate it...!"

"I'll listen to Mr. Meng. The maids are responsible for entertaining the guests. As a princess, are you willing to do so?"

She froze for a moment.

"…Is there something different about Mr. Cen compared to other guests?"

"Yes. His strength and status are higher, there is no doubt about that."

The other party breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's no problem."

"no problem?"

"I heard that 'human' ..."

The Snail Girl used a very strange word, but she quickly corrected herself and added hurriedly:

"Well, what I mean is, wasn't there a princess in history who was sent by the emperor to reconcile with his relatives? Of course, I'm not saying that I'm really a princess, and this is not ancient times..."

The more she spoke, the redder her face became, and she lowered her head unconsciously.

"…It hasn't come to the point of marriage. He just wants us to get to know each other."

"Okay, I understand. You don't have to explain so much."

That means she doesn't object.

In her series of performances, Cen Dongsheng felt a sense of naivety; at the same time, her values ​​were also different from those of ordinary people.

Excluding Chen Jiu who only came in the last year, he guessed that the Luonu sisters may have never left this ship since their transformation was completed.

……

But no matter what Meng Huafan's intention was in this test, and no matter what Luo Nu herself thought, Cen Dongsheng really... had no idea at all.

My elder sister did not blame or punish him too much for Song Yutang becoming her lover.

She had always indulged Cen Dongsheng, but even for him, this could be considered the most lenient treatment she had ever shown.

Cen Dongsheng still finds it hard to believe, because An Zhizhen's attitude seems to indicate that she agrees with him having a harem.

However, this kind of "indulgence" has a strict condition. If a woman is not a top-notch powerhouse or does not have the potential to become a top-notch powerhouse, she will never be able to climb into his bed.

If Cen Dongsheng violated even this point, then the elder sister's attitude might not be so affectionate.

An Zhizhen clearly said that this was her bottom line, so Cen Dongsheng certainly would not violate it. This would not only harm herself, but also others.

In addition, men do not think there is anything wrong with this - their sexual preferences may have been trained, and they will not have impulses unless the other party is strong enough.

Even now, although the image of the snail girl is beautiful, he does not have any desire for her.

……

"Here we are."

Under the guidance of the snail girl, Cen Dongsheng stopped at a door.

"Is this the sex parlor behind this?"

The man looked around. There were only the two of them in the wide corridor.

"Yes. Because we took the VIP channel and entered from the back door, so we couldn't see anyone else. In fact, there are a lot of people here..."

When Snail Girl introduced this place, there was a hint of pride in her expression, just like a child introducing her favorite toy.

Cen Dongsheng nodded.

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to ask. What should I call you, Princess?" "I'm Yi."

"One? Could it be one, two, three, four..."

"Yes."

The snail girl nodded slightly, as if she didn't think anything was wrong.

Cen Dongsheng realized that Meng Huafan didn't care about naming them at all, which reflected his emotional indifference.

To him, the Snail Girls might be really important, but this importance was of a "tool" nature. To say that there was really any father-daughter relationship between them was wishful thinking.

Perhaps this kind of warmth has never existed in that person's heart.

"I understand now. So you call your sister 'Xiao Jiu', which actually means 'Nine'."

Just a coincidence.

"Of course, is there anything else you mean?"

The Snail Girl tilted her head in confusion.

Cen Dongsheng did not answer. He put his hand on the door leading to the gambling house, ready to push it open.

"I have another question. Since this casino is a place for the curse masters to have fun, what do they gamble on? They are not like ordinary people who are crazy about money."

“You’ll see the answer soon enough.”

*
"This is really..."

Cen Dongsheng raised his head and looked at the spacious hall and the tall dome.

The scene inside had nothing to do with the buildings in the human world. He was in another demonic world.

This feeling was very similar to their experience on the lower deck. If most areas on the ship were understandable to ordinary people, then some of the remaining secret places were completely in the style of a curse master:

The main structure of the gambling hall is a dark red space supported by twelve rib-shaped pillars. The walls are covered with a translucent fat layer, and you can see the pus-yellow preservative fluid flowing inside.

In the blood vessel-like light tubes on the ceiling, glowing parasites swim around, acting as light sources and casting wriggling shadows on the gamblers’ faces.

The people in this devil's den were in a worrying mental state, with faces full of fanaticism, roaring, shouting, crying, and all mixed together. It was like the buzzing of mosquitoes in the hot and humid summer air, and the atmosphere was dull and irritable.

The gambling table and chips have undergone strange changes in this magical realm: the edge of the gambling table carved from dark green stone marrow is embedded with grotesque sharp teeth, and the dice are made of white bones.

The popular bets here are equally unusual:
When placing a bet, the gambler presses his palm into the groove of the table, and the table immediately protrudes with a suction cup with barbs, which draws the corresponding amount of blood from between the fingers, or peels off a piece of skin as a deposit.

The curse masters whose blood and flesh were stripped away were unaware of the situation and were only proud that they could participate in the next round of betting.

This is already the lightest flavor.

Cen Dongsheng noticed that there was a storage room on the west side. He could vaguely see a variety of glass jars hanging on the iron racks inside, which contained various organs that were still contracting and beating.

The area in the center of the hall belongs to the guests who are betting their skin and flesh, while in the private rooms inside, what are betting are all kinds of organs.

He saw a dealer wearing a bronze mask, stretching out six arms to deal cards, two of which were mechanical prostheses. Whenever someone enthusiastically bet on an important organ, a mixture of old people, children, and soprano voices would come from under the mask:
"It's open, it's open!"

……

Cen Dongsheng only took a look and completely lost his enthusiasm for participating.

Even though the spell-breakers here can still maintain some sanity, their thinking and mental state have become completely abnormal due to the atmosphere.

“Because the competition starts tomorrow, we are still open today.”

The snail girl beside him explained softly.

"I think Mr. Cen should understand now. The bargaining chips in circulation here are the flesh and organs of the curse masters, as well as the rare treasures from all over the world that people flock to."

"You want their body tissues, are you planning to do experiments?"

Yi nodded slightly.

"Then why do these curse masters want to get involved?"

"In addition to the trade and circulation of curses and forbidden objects, the meat gambling house has a specialty that can increase the amount of true energy of the curse master, and even have the possibility of breaking through the rank. People call it 'treasure meat'. The guests of the gambling house were attracted by it in the first place, and only came here."

Cen Dongsheng frowned.

"Didn't they notice anything unusual?"

It is obvious at first glance that this place is a den of dragons and tigers. The bold and greedy ones were deceived, and the rest of the people are probably bewitched by ghosts?
"Because you took the VIP channel, you can see the true face of this casino. But in the eyes of ordinary guests, it is a completely different scene."

"If there is a spell-binding ...

The "precious meat" is obviously the result of research on body tissues peeled off from casino guests. This in turn becomes bait to attract guests and a driving force for them to continue placing bets, thus achieving the perfect cycle of "wool coming from sheep".

But in any case, its value and effectiveness are unquestionable.

For a spell-binding master who is eager to improve his own strength, this is a huge temptation.

……

Cen Dongsheng looked down at the enthusiastic guests and asked in a low voice.

"Why do you think your father did all this? Including the upcoming competition."

“…I’ve never thought about this question.”

The snail girl looked bewildered.

"Then let me change the question. In your eyes, what kind of person is Meng Huafan?"

"He was a great and distinguished man."

This time, the girl answered without hesitation.

Cen Dongsheng did not comment, he just whispered the fact:

"You should know that you used to be a human being, and you had another life. You might have had your own relatives and friends... and now, you can't even remember them. Am I right?"

This statement seemed to be profound, but Yi answered without hesitation.

"I have gained a new life, and everything in the past has nothing to do with who I am now."

"So, what about curiosity? You would rather live your life as it is now, but have you never been curious about the past?"

The snail girl fell silent for a moment.

After Cen Dongsheng waited patiently, he heard her say:
"When I first woke up, Mr. Meng explained everything to me. Including my past and my future mission."

The snail girl stood beside him, holding on to the railing with her hands.

"I was indeed confused and thought about escaping. But later I gradually realized that the minor troubles in my carefree life now are insignificant compared to his ideals. If you are willing, you can talk to Mr. Meng directly, and I believe he will tell you."

"Mr. Cen, my memory always stays on this ship. I have long been accustomed to some things, but I can see that you are not in a good mood. For you, what happened here should be a little... difficult to accept? So, you may not believe me, but-"

"No, I believe it."

Special spell-casting masters often have deep obsessions, and these obsessions often transcend personal desires. They try to change the world by their own power, either shocking the world or extraordinary.

Even the King of the Underworld has some lofty ambitions and goals in his heart, he is sure of this.

But Cen Dongsheng is completely different.

He seems to have a dream of "becoming the strongest in the world", which is reasonable, but in fact it was given by his elder sister.

However, precisely because Cen Dongsheng had no obsession in his heart, he was able to make his choice - choose the person he yearned for, was willing to accept, and had resonance with.

And King Ji Le...is obviously not among them.

(End of this chapter)