When Lu Jianmin stood up to give up her seat, her legs were still a bit weak, but her expression was unconsciously filled with a trace of dissatisfaction.
Lu Bingkun ignored her and directly signaled his two sons to push him over.
Facing the empty chair, his desire for longevity at this moment directly overwhelmed his fear of the unknown.
That ruthless drive from decades of fighting in the business world instantly returned.
“Let's begin.”
He spoke, tossing the two pieces of jewelry and the imperial green ring on his hand onto the table.
“Clatter, clatter, clatter—”
The dice cup floated up again.
The sound of the dice hitting the inner walls echoed back and forth in the empty entertainment room.
Lu Bingkun leaned to the side, his right ear tilting slightly toward the tabletop.
This was a skill he had practiced in his youth.
Back when he was a lackey in Hong Kong's underground casinos—pouring tea, keeping watch, guarding the premises—he had spent every day soaked in the atmosphere of the gambling tables.
After hearing it enough, he slowly developed the skill of listening to dice.
With three dice, he could guess where each one rolled and whether the total was high or low with nearly ninety percent accuracy, even with his eyes closed.
“Thud.”
The dice cup landed. Lu Bingkun's tone didn't change as he said casually, “I bet... low.”
Lu Jianmin reached out to lift the cup.
But the three dice lay there silently: four, five, and six.
Fifteen points. High.
Lu Bingkun had lost.
On the tabletop, the set of imperial green jewelry Lu Jianmin had just bet—the necklace and the bangle—along with the ring Lu Bingkun had just put down, all vanished instantly without a trace.
Lu Jianmin subconsciously looked at him, but there wasn't a single ripple of emotion on his face.
It was as if what he had just lost wasn't some rare treasure, but a few pieces of glass.
“As long as... the underworld messenger... is having a good time, these little things are nothing.”
Lu Bingkun's tone was full of indifference.
“Jianye, Jiancheng, go up and bring down... the things from the study safe and the bedroom's secret room.”
“Antiques, calligraphy, paintings, jade, gemstones—bring everything you can.”
“Also, the items in the jewelry boxes in the walk-in closet, the property deeds in the study drawers, the equity certificates, and the offshore bond stubs—bring them all.”
Lu Jianye froze for a moment, a look of pain for the lost wealth appearing on his face.
“Dad, those are treasures you've collected for half your life. Many of them are one-of-a-kind...”
They say a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and the Lu family members had many luxury villas under their names. But this specific collection was what the old man had accumulated over decades.
He was going to use them all as gambling stakes?
And why would an underworld messenger want property deeds?
“Treasures?”
Lu Bingkun gave a sinister laugh. “If my life is gone, who will be left to look at these treasures?”
His tone suddenly sharpened. The two didn't dare to talk back and turned to go upstairs to move the items.
One trip, two trips, three trips.
During this time, the confused Special Investigation Bureau agents tried to lend a hand, but they were all rejected.
...
Soon, the collection from this luxury mansion was being moved down in a steady stream, piling up in a heap next to the gambling table.
Song Dynasty porcelain, Yuan blue and white porcelain, famous calligraphy and paintings, Hetian jade ornaments, ruby and sapphire sets, stacks of real estate certificates, Kunsheng Group equity certificates, bond stubs for offshore companies...
Taking any single item out would represent wealth that an ordinary person couldn't earn in several lifetimes.
Lu Bingkun glanced at them and casually pointed at a Song Dynasty Guan ware porcelain vase on top. “Bet this. Continue.”
The dice cup shook again.
“Clatter, clatter, clatter.”
The rhythm was neither fast nor slow, perfectly steady.
Lu Bingkun focused his mind to listen, his finger lightly tapping the table as he silently counted the points in his head.
“Thud.”
The cup landed.
“Low,” Lu Bingkun said, feeling confident.
But when the cup was lifted, it was five, five, and six—a total of sixteen points. High again.
He lost once more.
The porcelain vase vanished accordingly.
Beside him, Lu Jianmin and her brothers were breaking into a cold sweat from anxiety, but Lu Bingkun remained calm and composed, his eyes narrowed.
“The messenger arrived suddenly, our preparations were rushed, and our hospitality was lacking... This time, I bet this authentic work by Tang Yin.”
“Again.”
Lu Bingkun kept losing.
In the third round, he bet an authentic work by Emperor Huizong of Song and lost.
In the fourth round, he bet a set of pigeon blood ruby jewelry and lost.
He lost four rounds in a row.
The treasures around him were fewer, but Lu Bingkun's mental state was visibly improving.
Standing nearby, Lu Jianmin finally saw the pattern.
This underworld messenger wasn't good at gambling, but it was greedy for wealth and loved to play. Lu Bingkun had guessed correctly every single time but intentionally lost to "feed" the opponent.
But as she looked at the dwindling pile of antiques and paintings on the floor, her face twitched. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of items were just gone.
...
After losing more than a dozen rounds in a row, the chips by Lu Bingkun's hand were completely gone.
Even the property deeds for three buildings in Hong Kong's city center and sixteen percent of the equity in a Kunsheng Group subsidiary had been "given" to the other side.
Although Lu Jianmin knew Lu Bingkun's plan, she really couldn't tolerate him being so reckless.
She leaned forward half a step and lowered her voice. “Dad, how about we stop for a bit?”
Lu Bingkun didn't even look at her, coldly continuing to throw stakes onto the table.
“Either don't gamble at all, or gamble until the very end.”
His tone was very calm, but those who knew him understood that this was a sign of his anger.
“Continue.”
Lu Bingkun spoke again, pointing at the remaining assets on the floor. “In this round, I'm betting everything...”
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of his three children changed.
The items on the floor, added together, were worth at least over a billion, not to mention many out-of-print collections and overseas assets.
This was going to cut the Lu family to the bone.
“Dad! You can't!”
Lu Jianye grew frantic, ignoring the ghost sitting opposite them. “Are you really going to give away the entire group?!”
“The group?”
Lu Bingkun's smile was a bit chilling. “Son, if I'm dead, what does the group have to do with you?”
“If my life is gone, who am I leaving the family property to?”
“As long as I am alive, the Lu family exists, and the group exists. If I die, can you useless bastards hold onto it?”
His words were so sharp that the three children's faces turned pale.
Lu Jianye and Lu Jiancheng exchanged a look, both reaching a decision in their hearts.
...
This time, Lu Bingkun still bet high.
One, one, two. Four points. Low.
He lost again.
The mountain of antiques, paintings, property deeds, equity, jewelry, and bonds on the floor vanished instantly.
The vast floor was empty, with only a bit of dust remaining.
Over a billion gone in a single round.
Lu Jianmin's face turned deathly pale, her body swaying.
Even if Kunsheng had a market value of a hundred billion, withdrawing so many core assets at once would be a major blow.
“Dad...” Her voice trembled, wanting to say something more.
But when she looked up, Lu Bingkun was extremely calm, as if everything was under his control.
The dice cup on the table kept spinning; the underworld messenger seemed extremely satisfied.
“Again!”
He suddenly looked up, his voice rising sharply with a dark sense of determination. “I still have things to bet!”
The three children's hearts skipped a beat, an ominous feeling instantly welling up.
They saw Lu Bingkun slowly turn his head, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.
His eyes were icy, without a hint of warmth.
“These three are my biological children.”
He spoke word by word toward the empty chair opposite him, as if quoting a price to the underworld messenger.
“Three biological children. I bet all of their remaining lifespans.”
“If I win, their lifespans will all be transferred to me.”
“If I lose, you take their lives, and all the remaining industries of the Lu family will belong to you.”
As the words fell, the entertainment room immediately plunged into a deathly silence.
The three of them were completely stunned.
They never imagined that their biological father had decided to use them as gambling stakes from the very beginning.
He first used gold, silver, and treasures to pave the way and make the underworld messenger happy before starting the round he truly wanted to play.
The old man was so ruthless.
“Dad, are you crazy?!”
All the color drained from Lu Jianmin's face. “How can you bet our lives?!”
“I'm not betting! I'm not playing! I want to leave!”
Lu Jiancheng had the fastest reaction, screaming as he turned to run toward the door.
Lu Jianye also realized what was happening and rushed out after him.
If they didn't run now, their lives would be gone!
Family property and equity weren't as important as their lives!
The three of them pushed and shoved each other as they reached the door, frantically trying to turn the doorknob.
But the handle wouldn't budge, as if it were welded to the door.
The entire entertainment room had become an airtight cage.
“Open the door! Let us out!”
“Dad! You can't do this! Open the door!”
“Master Zhang! Master Zhang, save us!”
“Where are the people from the Special Investigation Bureau? Help!”
They pounded on the door, crying for help, but Lu Bingkun had cleared the area to ensure the ritual went smoothly.
Now, there were only the four of them and that invisible thing in the entire main building.
Even if they screamed their throats raw, no one would hear them.
Despair flooded them like a tide.
Lu Bingkun watched their panicked state without any expression.
“What are you shouting for? I gave birth to you and raised you. Your lives belong to me in the first place.”
He turned back to the other side, his tone carrying a bit of temptation. “Are we betting or not?”
The air was silent for a few seconds.
Immediately after, the dice cup floated up again.
“Clatter, clatter, clatter!”
The shaking sound was louder and more urgent than any time before.
It was as if the "person" opposite him had excitedly accepted this high-stakes gamble with human lives on the line.
“Clatter, clatter, clatter—”
Lu Bingkun held his breath, tilting his ear to listen with extreme care.
One, two, three...
Heavy sounds, light sounds, the number of collisions, and the landing positions.
His brain worked at high speed, breaking down every collision sound and matching it to each die.
It was a bit fast and a bit messy.
But the pattern hadn't changed.
It was still the same trick.
After these few rounds, he had already figured it out.
“Thud!”
With a muffled sound, the dice cup slammed heavily onto the table.
The dust had settled.
“Low.”
Lu Bingkun spoke with absolute certainty, staggering as he climbed onto the table, pressed down on the cup lid, and suddenly flipped it up.
The three dice lay quietly at the bottom of the cup.
One, two, two. Five points. Low.
He had won.
“Hahahaha!”
Lu Bingkun suddenly burst into a hearty laugh, laughing so hard he doubled over, tears almost coming out.
“I won! I won!”
He was indeed just like before—everything went his way, and everything was smooth sailing!
Before the laughter even subsided.
Three gusts of pitch-black underworld wind appeared out of thin air in the room, swirling and whistling toward the three people at the door.
The underworld wind carried a bone-chilling cold, and wherever it passed, the air seemed to freeze.
“Aaaah—!”
The three of them screamed in agony at the same time.
The icy sensation dug into their skin, seeped into their bones, and merged into their souls.
Following that was a massive suction force.
It felt as if something was being forcibly ripped from the depths of their bodies.
Vitality, youth, vigor, lifespan... intangible things were being continuously drained away.
Visible changes occurred on their faces.
Lu Jianmin's originally black hair turned white at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Her originally tight and smooth skin quickly loosened, with wrinkles constantly crawling over the corners of her eyes, cheeks, and neck.
In just a few seconds, a woman in her early forties turned into an old lady in her seventies or eighties.
Her skin shriveled, and large patches of age spots rapidly surfaced.
Lu Jianye and Lu Jiancheng were even worse off.
The two brothers were in their prime, and their bodies, maintained over the years, were by no means obese.
At this moment, their hair turned white instantly, their teeth loosened, and their backs hunched over severely.
Two men in their forties turned into two stubs of candles about to go out in the blink of an eye.
Their oil was exhausted, and their lamps were dry; they were at death's door.
They didn't even have the strength to scream anymore and could only let out weak moans.
“Dad... save me... save me...”
“Dad...”
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