Wine, sex, wealth, and rage—humanity's greatest desires.
And in a special environment like a gambling house, a person's desires could be magnified many times over. No matter how rational and clear-headed one was, they might unknowingly fall into a maze from which they could not break free.
At such times, one's will became weak.
And most susceptible to demonic thoughts.
The same went for lust.
Guessing dice, playing pai gow, and playing military chess—Wang Chen gambled his way from the first floor of Hundred Victories Pavilion to the third, joining games of increasingly higher stakes.
A single round could see thousands, even tens of thousands, of taels won or lost!
Wang Chen was not victorious in every battle. At one point, he lost most of his chips. But once he became familiar with the rules, his win rate steadily climbed.
By the time he reached the third floor, Wang Chen had accumulated over a hundred thousand taels' worth of chips!
But he had not come for winnings or losses.
Sitting in a cushioned chair and idly playing with the ivory tiles in his hand, Wang Chen casually tossed out two pale-gold chips. "I'm in."
The chips of Hundred Victories Pavilion were distinguished by color according to their value. The ones he had thrown out were each worth a thousand taels of silver.
Just one tiny chip like that could support a family of five in comfortable living for ten years!
The middle-aged man with a rat's whiskers seated after Wang Chen shook his head and gathered his cards. "Too fierce. I'm folding this round. Not following."
Since the player before Wang Chen had folded as well, only Wang Chen and the dealer across from him remained in this round.
The woman across the table gave Wang Chen a long, deep