Liu Cheng was at a loss for words. It was true that he was gambling with his life, but now this person was using Wang Qiancheng's life as a stake. Who among those present would dare to gamble with him?
He thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, but..."
Nan Shiying didn't give Liu Cheng a chance to finish his sentence. She clapped her hands and laughed, "Perfect, I also intend to gamble with my life. Brother, if you don't mind, shall we do it together?"
Liu Cheng's words were stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken or swallowed. He glanced back at Sun Ming. Sun Ming kept his head down, staring at the birdcage in his hands, not daring to look up.
Liu Cheng suppressed the discomfort in his heart and glanced at the pale-faced Wang Qiancheng. Just then, a servant boy leaned in and whispered something in Liu Cheng's ear. Liu Cheng's tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and he suddenly laughed, "No rush, I'd like to go down and take a look first!"
He pointed to the stairs beside them and asked, "Brother, would you care to join me?"
"Very well!"
Nan Shiying turned and gave Wang Qiancheng a faint smile, "Young Master Wang, please!"
Seeing that this Feng Luan had approached Liu Cheng, Wang Qiancheng breathed a sigh of relief. Although his face was still ashen, he no longer felt so weak in the legs that he couldn't walk.
However, apart from Liu Cheng, Nan Shiying, and a few others, the rest of the onlookers who had come to watch the excitement had to remain in the stands. The servant boy led Liu Cheng and the other three downwards. Midway, the outer walls of the deep pit gradually became transparent.
The intertwined masses of snakes within the pit were clearly visible, their scales discernible. Even the stark white bones and severed limbs and arms, encased by the snake masses, could be faintly seen. The viscous, chilling aura seeped out through the transparent inner walls. The space carved out with the deep pit as the center was comparable in size to the first floor's outer area. The people who were absent from the second floor had all gathered here.
Wang Qiancheng's complexion could no longer be described as merely pale. The mere thought of being hung over the deep pit made him feel a surge of nausea from the depths of his heart. Fear, when it cannot be expressed, manifests physically.
Wang Qiancheng pushed away the servant boy's hand and leaned against the wall on the other side, gagging.
Liu Cheng's expression also turned somewhat grim. Viewing it from the top of the deep pit was different from observing it up close. Humans always harbored a degree of fear towards cold-blooded creatures like snakes.
Only Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo remained completely unfazed, their expressions as indifferent and calm as if they had seen such scenes countless times.
Even the servant boy couldn't help but cast an extra glance at the two of them.
Descending the stairs, they looked around.
Down here, people's expressions varied. Some clung to the legs of gambling tables in fear, tears and snot streaming down their faces, their bodies trembling as if thrown into the depths of a frigid潭. Others gritted their teeth with fierce eyes, their contorted features revealing a desperate madness. Still others sat calmly in chairs, watching the ugliness of human nature and the stripping away of one's character.
It was a panorama of human existence.
"Young masters, please this way!"
The servant boy led them to a nearby gambling table. It was still dice and pai gow, but the stakes had changed from silver to people.
As they walked, the servant boy introduced, "In fact, the life-gambling on the second floor isn't just limited to the snake pit. Over there..." the servant boy pointed to another area, "there's the oil pot, tongue extraction, dismemberment, and many other choices. Of course, if you don't want to play so big, we can also gamble hands and feet here, gamble..."
Wang Qiancheng wished he could clap a hand over the servant boy's mouth. The second floor of Yipin Ju was not a gambling den at all; it was clearly hell.
Nan Shiying glanced at Ji Jinmo.
To think that such a place existed in Lin Yuan Capital. This was not the black market, but the most prosperous Yunlan Street in the capital. For Yipin Ju to act with such impunity, it was no wonder that when she coerced Wang Qiancheng into gambling with his life, the people of Yipin Ju dared not report it to the authorities.
Ji Jinmo slightly lowered his gaze, his current thoughts unreadable.
The servant boy's voice still echoed in their ears, "However, most of us here choose the snake pit, because the snake pit is the only form of death that can be seen by the spectators in the stands. Therefore, the onlookers on the second floor can place their bets in advance, and the victor will naturally receive greater rewards."
"But some people..."
Before the servant boy could finish speaking, a shrill scream instantly pierced the sky. The tragic sound made the unprepared Liu Cheng and Wang Qiancheng's scalps tingle. Their bodies involuntarily turned towards the source of the scream. When their eyes registered the scene in the distance, Wang Qiancheng's legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground.
Liu Cheng bent over, his hand pressed against his chest, letting out dry heaves.
Nan Shiying's brows furrowed slightly. Her expression remained largely unchanged, but she turned and asked, "That young woman doesn't seem like someone who would gamble with her life."
The servant boy replied with a poker face, "The one gambling with her life is the person next to her. This young woman..." the servant boy knew some of the details, after all, not many people chose to gamble with their lives at the oil pot. "It should be said, this woman is the sister-in-law of the person next to her. However, she had an affair and colluded with her lover to murder her husband. But that lover seemed to have some influence, leaving her with no recourse. In her desperation, this woman had no choice but to..."
"Of course, I'm only repeating what I've heard, because if it were just for money, most people would choose the snake pit."
"So, Yipin Ju has become this person's backer," Nan Shiying found it somewhat absurd that a place as despicable as this, which didn't value human life, had actually become a place of righteous judgment for some.
However, such matters were not uncommon. Yet, watching the woman writhe in pain in the oil pot, her skin shriveling and peeling under the scalding hot oil, and the exposed flesh turning black and charred as it cooked, she felt a pang of discomfort.
It wasn't that she couldn't accept such a brutal scene, but rather that Nan Shiying was reminded of the food that needed to be fried.
Nan Shiying knew she shouldn't compare people to food, but she still felt that such an oil pot should not have been displayed so openly.
Nan Shiying turned away, suppressing her thoughts as much as possible. She turned to look at the retching Liu Cheng and took a step back.
The servant boy, seemingly unfazed, waved for someone to come and clean up.
Compared to Liu Cheng, Wang Qiancheng's psychological resilience was somewhat better. At the very least, he only gagged and didn't throw up anything.
But Wang Qiancheng's inability to vomit was purely because the food in his stomach had been completely digested, leaving nothing to expel.