According to Ibn, there was more than one game of this type in Parthia.
The Good Masters were happy to promote games of this type. Some city-states' Good Masters even held Card Competitions—the winner not only received generous rewards, but in some places, the Good Masters would also grant the other party a chance to make a "wish." In places that allowed slaves to participate, the prizes even included Free People status, houses, and contracts for female slaves.
Only by coming into contact with these games could one truly understand how deeply "slavery" had permeated the cultural Bottom Layer of Parthia.
Every poem, every painting, and every game was another shackle of thought. How easy could it be to break free from such a culture?
"5*2*3—30, that's enough. I'll take one-third."
Ibn played the carpet, book, and slave cards in succession, casually remarking, "Many Parthians believe they must offer blood and flesh to this hungry, thirsty desert. Otherwise, sandstorms will eventually swallow the hard-won oases.
"That's also why cities destroyed by sandstorms attract sandstorms... They use this to explain why every city's Good Master holds sacrifices."
As a true Parthian, Ibn understood these matters far too well.
He said sarcastically, "And likewise... this means that being swallowed by those man-eating sands isn't uncommon on this accursed land. Otherwise, the Good Masters wouldn't use it as an excuse. One of their reasons is that Holy Spring City, as the former Royal City, hasn't experienced a single sandstorm in ten thousand years—and no supernatural power has intervened here.
"It's precisely this inexplicable, miraculous trait that became evidence for the theory that 'the desert possesses consciousness and life.'"
"Offering blood and flesh... is that to appease the desert?"
Hai Na threw the three gold coin cards in her hand back onto the table