The wild joy of surviving disaster, the exuberant celebration of victory-the man and dog had embraced like comrades, their surging emotions yet to subside... only to have a bucket of bone-chilling "cold water" dumped over their heads.
Shock, bewilderment, a thunderbolt from the blue...
Big Fat Dragon stared blankly at the Witch Spirit Ghost Child and stammered, "Is... is this necessary? Why do this? Why?!"
The Witch Spirit Ghost Child looked at him and clasped his hands behind his back like a little adult. "You can give up."
Whoosh!
As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, holding a glittering golden tome, and added with a smile, "Since you won the first round, I can give you a chance to quit. If you don't want to sacrifice Snake Dog, we'll just play ordinary games, and our earlier wager will end. You won't have to risk your life for this anymore. Of course... this tome of Earth Dragon Six Jia will have nothing to do with you, either. It will simply have to await the next destined person."
[Congratulations on winning the first minigame. The Witch Spirit Ghost Child has decided to give you a chance to quit. If you quit, the game will return to normal difficulty, but if he finds it boring, he may patrol the entire Spirit-Communicating Tunnel at any time. This could cause considerable trouble for you all. If you continue, whether you receive another chance to quit in the next round will depend entirely on the Witch Spirit Ghost Child's mood.] [Special reminder: although the Witch Spirit Ghost Child is mercurial, he cannot alter the order of the Heavenly Dao. All his actions must also follow the rules of the game.]
The Star Gate's notifications gradually faded from Big Fat Dragon's ears.
His