He just broke up with his girlfriend and is already living with the devilish rich girl.

Youdu, the top floor of the hexagonal tower.

Logically speaking, this kind of place should be very quiet.

It was so quiet that guests dared not even breathe, for fear of disturbing the host's refined enjoyment.

But the sounds coming from this elegant room at this moment had absolutely nothing to do with the word "quiet".

"Pong! Three of Bamboo! Leave it here, don't move!"

"Wait, who fired the East Wind card? I just got one, this is my third one!"

"The player before me played that card, it has nothing to do with me, I just played a West Wind card."

"Do you want West Wind? If not, I'll take it back. Once I take it back, it's gone—"

"Hey you over there, why don't you draw a card already? You're dawdling and the oil in the pot is getting cold."

"What's the rush? Drawing cards is a skill, not something you do like picking radishes at the market!"

The only large square table made of rosewood in the room was moved to the very center.

A woman sat on each of the four sides.

The table was covered with a dark green velvet cloth, and a set of jade mahjong tiles was being rubbed on it with a rustling sound.

None of the four paid any attention to the pot of pre-rain Longjing tea on the table, which had gone cold, nor did anyone bother with the half-burnt ambergris incense burner in the corner.

All attention was focused on the mahjong set; the atmosphere was even more tense than the gambling dens in the ghost market downstairs.

Qingyao sat in the east seat.

She wasn't wearing that formal long dress today; instead, she wore loose-fitting cotton and linen casual clothes.

Her long hair was casually tied back with a jade hairpin, with a few stray strands hanging down beside her ears.

But what was revealed at the hem of her long dress was not her ankle, but a section of a bluish-green snake's tail.

At this moment, the Lord of the Ghost Market in Youdu was staring at the cards in front of him, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, and he held the card in his hand for a long time without being willing to play it.

"Venerable One."

"Um?"

"Aren't you worried at all?"

"What's the rush?" Luo Yao held a red dragon card, tilting her head to examine the card.

"Those people, those arrogant fools, treated your strength as a prize."

Qingyao played her cards and looked up at Luoyao across from her.

"Treating your power as a bargaining chip in a game is no small matter for you, is it?"

"Yes, it's definitely not a small matter."

"Then you—touch!"

Luo Yao scooped up the cards Qing Yao had just played, her movements fluid and seamless, and then pulled out two cards from her own hand and slammed them onto the table.

"Red center has been hit, four of them."

She arranged the cards in her hand before slowly continuing her previous conversation.

"Why should I be in such a hurry? They're the ones who are in a hurry."

"That group of people have been holding onto my power for so long, and I haven't been able to find a way to completely stabilize my authority."

"Now that the original owner of the power has awakened, things have become unstable. They are afraid, so they have created this so-called game. In essence, it is a desperate act."

Luo Yao picked up the teacup next to her, took a sip, and frowned slightly, probably because she thought the tea was too cold.

"They want to use this game to find a way to stabilize power, or to find someone who can completely devour power."

"No matter which one it is, they're all working for me."

"The more they cause trouble, the more obvious the fluctuations in their power become, making it easier for me to find them."

"The Venerable One is truly calm and composed in the face of adversity."

A glamorous woman sitting in the south seat chuckled and took over the conversation.

She was wearing a strapless red dress with a neckline that was so low it was almost bottomless, revealing a completely exposed, dazzlingly white chest.

Her features were extremely alluring, with slightly upturned eyes at the corners.

Her fox-like eyes were captivating and alluring.

Nine fluffy tails were wagging leisurely behind her.

In July, the leader of the fox demons of Qingqiu.

Nine-tailed Celestial Fox.

She is several generations older than Qingyao, but her temper is the most unreliable among them.

"We were just guessing among ourselves, wondering if you would just go straight to their door, twist their heads off, and use them as footballs."

"But you, sir, have come to play mahjong with us. Your character is truly exemplary."

"Hi."

Luo Yao waved her hand, drew another card, and put it into her hand without looking at it.

"I have no power now, and all I have in terms of connections are you few card-playing friends."

"If I were to rush in and fight them, I'd just be offering myself up as food. Rather than becoming someone's dinner table, I'd rather come here and take your money."

"July, you still haven't paid back the 30,000 spirit stones you owed me last time. Don't even think about getting away with it today."

"Oh dear, Venerable One, how do you still remember this? That happened more than a thousand years ago. Back then, it only had six tails."

"It's okay if you forgot, as long as I remember. Qingyao, if she owes money again today, you'll pay it for her—you'll go all in!"

Luo Yao drew a card, her eyes lit up, and she slammed all four cards onto the table.

"Sneak attack, take the money."

Qingyao's lips twitched.

"Venerable One, didn't you just say you have no power right now?"

"yes."

"So you took the card you were secretly playing from my hand? How did you manage that?"

"Just lucky."

Luo Yao smiled innocently.

"I came to play mahjong with you guys just to catch up."

"What's wrong with sisters reuniting after a long separation, playing a couple of rounds of mahjong and having a good time? Don't you miss me?"

July and Qingyao exchanged a glance, both reading the same meaning in each other's eyes.

I don't believe you.

Just then, the woman in the west, who hadn't said much, spoke coldly.

"If it weren't urgent, why would I have made a special trip to Youdu at this critical juncture, and even issued three tokens to summon me from the North Sea?"

She was a white-haired woman. Her long, silvery-white hair reached her waist and was loosely tied with a dark-colored ribbon.

His face was as cold and aloof as jade dug from the depths of a snow-capped mountain, with not a trace of human warmth in his eyes.

She was wearing a plain white robe with faint silver cloud patterns embroidered on the hem.

Compared to the other three, she had the most upright posture and the most indifferent expression.

Her card-drawing movements were also the most efficient, as if each card owed her eight million.

But what's most striking is the side of her neck.

There were a few faintly visible silver scales, gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the candlelight.

A pure and aloof dragon clan.

He was a little younger than the other three people present, and also the most serious one.

"Qinghan, you still have such an unpleasant way of speaking."

Luo Yao sighed.

"I just really missed you guys."

"You think about it? When was the last time we all got together for a game? Was it during the Eastern Han Dynasty? We didn't have mahjong back then; we played Liubo."

July still had a fawning smile on her face, then casually pushed the cards onto the table.

"I find it quite interesting to play cards with you all. I won this hand, a pure suit of pairs. You're too kind, everyone."

"You cheated!"

Qinghan suddenly stood up, pointing at the cards in Luo Yao's hand, so angry that she could barely speak.

"When did you win this hand?! You already had it when I was on the seventh round, were you waiting to draw it yourself?? You waited a round and a half?? Are you even human?!"

"I'm not even human to begin with~"

July smiled and arranged the cards, then beckoned to the three people.

"Give me the money, give me the money! This hand is going to be big. A pure suit with three points, a pair with two points, Qingyao, don't even think about escaping. I see your snake tail sticking out the door. Pull it back in."

Qinghan was quite angry at this hand of pure suit pairs.

She slammed the cards on the table, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

A faint blush appeared on that cold, aloof face.

"July, if you keep cheating like this, I won't let you play cards next time."

"Qinghan, you always say you won't bring it next time, but you're always the first one to arrive when I call you."

"Last time you were recuperating in the East Sea, Qingyao only sent you a transmission talisman, and you flew directly from the East Sea and crashed into the gate tower of Youdu City."

"I've never seen a dragon with a bigger gambling addiction than you."

"That's right, that's exactly where I'm going! I'm in Youdu on business!"

Qinghan's ears turned visibly red, creating a stark contrast with the faintly visible silver dragon scales on the side of her neck.

If the Special Administration Bureau saw these four people playing mahjong together, they'd probably be trembling with fear.

Qingyao is the master of the Ghost Market in Youdu, a thousand-year-old snake immortal. Her power is so great that even the Special Administration Bureau has to give her some respect.

July is an elder of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan of Qingqiu, whose charm is unparalleled in the world.

In those days, countless emperors and generals were captivated by her beauty, even at the cost of a single glance.

The poverty is even more outrageous.

The Celestial Dragon Clan has lived for countless millennia, their cultivation unfathomable. The Special Administration Bureau's internal files describe her as "not to be provoked."

Luo Yao is even more extraordinary.

The Venerable One who once sat high in the heavens.

As Luo Yao laughed, she suddenly pushed the cards onto the table.

She rested her elbows on the dark green velvet, her fingers interlaced on the bridge of her nose, and remained silent.

"Do you think... I've been pushing too hard?"

The table was silent for about ten seconds.

Then all three women turned their heads toward Luo Yao.

The sunflower seeds in July's mouth fell onto the table with a thud.

"Well... whether it's tight or not, well, we...we don't know anything about this, haha, haha..."

The fox's tail slowly curled up, wrapping around its shoulder and obscuring half of its face.

Qinghan's face turned red to the tips of her ears: "What are you saying all of a sudden...! Shameless... vulgar!"

Even those few dragon scales started to turn pink.

"And...I...I'm still a virgin, don't look at me—"

Qingyao coughed twice.

"Um, sis, we have no way of verifying whether you're tight or not..."

"Get lost."

Luo Yao finally came to her senses.

"I mean, have I been pushing him too hard? You know what I mean? Putting too much pressure on him? Constantly urging him to do this and that?"

The three women exchanged glances.

The room was quiet for a few more seconds.

Then July leaned over and whispered to Qingyao.

"That's not right. She never used to worry about others."

"She can just switch her retainers who've been with her for hundreds of years without even flinching. Why is she suddenly starting to care about a human now?"

"She just said it wasn't that tight."

"I know it's not that tight, I just find it strange, I've seen that man before."

"The last time I came to Youdu to ask me for that snake, it even took a bath in the same wooden tub as me."

"What?!"

July's fox-like eyes widened.

"You took a bath with him?! Qingyao, why didn't you say so sooner?!"

"Keep your voice down! There's a reason for that! It's to help him plant that snake—"

July grabbed Qingyao's arm, her eyes gleaming with gossip.

"What does he look like? Is he in good shape? Are his muscles well-defined? And that... is he imposing enough? Is he strong enough?"

boom--

Luo Yao stood up and smashed the entire card table with a single punch.

The jade mahjong tiles were scattered all over the floor with a clatter.

"Oh my, oh my—"

In July, she raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, her fox tail sticking up behind her, laughing so hard she was shaking.

"Sisters, we were just joking, don't be angry. We've been friends for thousands of years, can't you even take a joke?"

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Luo Yao withdrew her fist, stood up from the scattered debris and mahjong tiles, and patted the wood chips off her skirt.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. I've called you here today because I want your help."

"Yo—"

July raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you just say you didn't care about this competition? How come you're changing your mind now?"

"Alright, July."

Qinghan put down the teacup she had been holding and looked up at Luo Yao.

"Luo Yao, you should know that we are all powerful demons that even the Special Administration Bureau cannot do anything about."

"You've invited several of us to come out of retirement all at once, regardless of who the opponent is, which means you've started to use your last trump card."

"Of course I know."

Luo Yao leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs.

"That's why I offered you a very generous reward."

She took a small cloth bag out of her pocket and casually dumped it on the ground.

Three tokens slid out of the bag.

"You three, if any of you can take care of the other participants for me—"

Luo Yao's fingers lightly traced between the three tokens.

"I will set your entire clan free."