After appreciating the graceful dance of the Silla slave girls, drinking half a jar of yellow rice wine, and enjoying this luxurious meal, Huo Qi Lang took Yuwen Rang to a small tea house. After hearing half an episode of “Dead Zhuge Liang Frightens Living Zhongda,” Huo Qi Lang had already discovered the location of the cockfighting arena.

The two immediately rushed to the next venue.

Yuwen Rang came from wealth and had played cockfighting before, but that was the wealthy family way – raising prized roosters worth hundreds of gold coins and seeking opponents for competition. Today’s destination was where common citizens gathered. Unable to afford their own fighting cocks, they merely watched the house birds fight and placed small bets on the outcomes. Though called cockfighting, it was really gambling.

Huo Qi Lang bought several cups of turbid wine here, sharing them with Yuwen Rang while laughing and shouting as they watched “Golden Feather” battle “Iron Spur.” The crowd below roared like thunder, while feathers flew in the ring above. Win or lose on the bets was half and half – it was all for fun.

Yuwen Rang normally had excellent alcohol tolerance, which was precisely why he’d been assigned this mission. Earlier drinking high-grade yellow rice wine at the tavern hadn’t affected him much, but after downing considerable inferior turbid wine, his stomach began churning uncomfortably.

He observed coldly that for every cup he drank, Huo Qi Lang could drink three or more without changing expression.

After losing a big bet, they left the cockfighting arena for the dog racing track to watch fierce dogs compete. This wasn’t simply betting on winners and losers, but guessing ranking order. When gamblers got excited, they’d clutch their money and chase after the betting dogs while running.

Unlike Huo Qi Lang’s genuine holiday, Yuwen Rang’s “leave” actually carried a mission – he couldn’t indulge freely and had to constantly watch her movements. From early morning wandering until now without a moment’s rest, having drunk a belly full of alcohol, being led around by Huo Qi until his legs went soft, Yuwen Rang eagerly awaited the sun’s westward slant, calculating the time while forcing himself to continue accompanying her.

When she finally emerged from the dog racing arena, evening drums began beating to announce the impending closure of ward gates. Yuwen Rang suggested kindly: “If we return now, we can still make it for dinner.”

Huo Qi Lang grinned: “What’s the rush? The day is just beginning, isn’t it?”

Hearing this, Yuwen Rang’s back went numb with rising panic. His superiors’ instructions were to have her return to the royal mansion before nightfall, but seeing her current high spirits, she obviously hadn’t had enough fun.

Yuwen Rang deliberately showed weakness: “The city has curfew – ward gates open at dawn and close at night. Night wandering gets you arrested by patrol soldiers. You can escape by climbing walls, but I can’t keep up. I really don’t want to get beaten with boards.”

Huo Qi Lang replied: “So we need to find lodging before dark.”

While playing in the wards, she’d quietly discovered gambling locations. Though these illegal establishments had strong backing, they couldn’t operate openly on the streets – they needed regular customers as guides to enter. Gamblers who frequently bet on cockfighting and dog racing were the best guides.

Led by an extremely suspicious-looking scabby-headed man through winding alleys to the depths, Yuwen Rang couldn’t help feeling nervous. He whispered to her: “Are we really staying out all night? What if this is a kidnapping trap?”

Huo Qi Lang said carelessly: “A day’s leave means a full day – no discounts. The mansion has so many people serving – they won’t miss us two for one night. Don’t worry, if anyone tries anything, since you came out with me, I’ll naturally protect you.”

She mocked: “Were you a pampered young master at home? Actually afraid of kidnapping and extortion?”

Provoked by her words and with alcohol rising to his head, Yuwen Rang puffed out his chest, planning to declare something like “My Yuwen clan also descends from Northern Zhou royalty – how could we fear this lowly little gambling den?”

But just as “Yu” left his mouth, Huo Qi Lang turned and pressed his head, covering his mouth with her hand, laughing: “Brother Yu Liu, this is your first time out playing. You don’t know the rules – if you give your real name and then have bad luck with people coming to collect debts, what then?”

She immediately renamed the descendant of Northern Zhou royalty Yuwen Rang as Yu Liu Lang.

Though Yuwen Rang was firmly restrained and Huo Qi Lang immediately released him after explaining the reason, being stared at by her unfathomable eyes while she half-jokingly made threatening remarks somehow made his heart pound. He thought he must have drunk too recklessly.

The scabby-headed man exchanged signals with the doorkeeper. The keeper demanded to verify gambling funds. The two opened their silk-carrying bags to show him, and he smiled broadly, producing two cups of wine and greeting: “This is new wine gifted by the master – drink it before going in to have fun.”

Yuwen Rang muttered: “Why must we drink before entering?”

Huo Qi Lang laughed: “How can the house make money without getting people dizzy and confused?” She lifted her cup and drained it in one gulp. Not to be outdone, Yuwen Rang finished his in several swallows.

After nightfall when ward gates closed, this underground gambling den hidden in residential houses truly came alive. Those who came to gamble tactfully wore plain civilian clothes, but observing their behavior and bearing revealed clues.

Some were pot-bellied with greasy faces, appearing to be wealthy merchants. Others were imposing and upright with fierce temperaments – clearly city soldiers and generals. There were also individuals like Huo Qi with distinctive appearances – though female, with scars on her face and a three-foot horizontal sword at her waist, none dared underestimate her.

As for thugs, rogues, and marketplace idlers – countless numbers. Truly all walks of life flocked here, with every sort of demon and monster gathered in one hall.

Huo Qi Lang and Yuwen Rang exchanged one bolt of silk for bamboo chip tokens from the house, sitting cross-legged before a liubo game board. This game used five wooden dice, so it was also called “Five Wood.” After both gambling parties threw the five pieces, they moved pieces according to random numbers – a game where luck outweighed skill, making it especially thrilling.

Yuwen Rang, bearing his mission, dared not act rashly. Using the excuse of unfamiliarity with the game, he sat beside Huo Qi as backup in an attendant’s role. Soon a strange man sat opposite. After both sides stated their bet amounts and felt they could bear the stakes, they rolled up sleeves and began battling with loud shouts.

Gambling had the saying of “beginner’s luck” – new customers always had better fortune. Huo Qi Lang’s luck was exceptionally strong tonight, winning three straight games before her opponent sighed and walked away, abandoning his chips. The house runner approached with a beaming face to take the winner’s cut while opportunely hawking wine and midnight snacks.

These were all house money-making methods. Huo Qi Lang spent lavishly, tossing out a bamboo chip for new wine and boiled eggs. Counting this round, it was already the fourth drinking session of the day. Yuwen Rang could no longer endure it, declining with a bitter smile. He thought there were always higher mountains and greater people – he’d never seen such capacity for alcohol. Originally sent to supervise Huo Qi Lang to prevent drunken loose talk, who would have thought he’d be dizzy and about to collapse first.

The losing opponent had come with six or seven companions, all young men around twenty. Seeing their partner retreat while the wandering knight used winnings to feast and drink, they felt unwilling and sent another person to sit down for battle.

Who would have thought Huo Qi Lang would again win three straight victories. The gambler flew into embarrassed rage, cursing wildly: “Unlucky woman, you’ve defiled this entire venue! If you’re capable, buy more wine to drink!”

Huo Qi Lang laughed: “As a woman, where would I get balls? It’s money I won myself – I’ll spend it however I want. You don’t look like a castrated eunuch either – since you have balls in your crotch, can you afford to play but not lose?”

Her insult was extremely harsh. The other party’s face immediately flushed red, nearly ready to fight, but was forcibly restrained by a tall companion. That person smiled without warmth: “Good luck shouldn’t mean constant winning – you must make us lose convincingly. I’ll play with you. Don’t say we’re ganging up on a woman – win or lose, we’ll exchange chips for wine to treat you.”

Huo Qi Lang slapped the table laughing: “What auspicious day is today’s calendar? From morning to night, people compete to pay for me!”

This round was best two out of three. The opponent indeed produced chips to exchange for wine. This seemingly generous behavior actually harbored ill intent – seeing Huo Qi had already drunk considerably, they wanted to watch her get completely drunk and make a fool of herself. Who would have thought Huo Qi Lang treated alcohol like water, draining three more cups without changing expression.

After drinking and wiping her mouth, she called out loudly: “Anyone else want to buy me drinks?”

Yuwen Rang lowered his voice to tell her: “Know when to stop – don’t cause trouble.”

But Huo Qi Lang said: “Let me be honest with you – this is one of gambling’s pleasures. Without these amusing people, just throwing dice would be quite boring.”

Seeing that buying wine hadn’t achieved the expected effect, the tall man deliberately asked with sarcastic undertones: “Seems you’re used to doing business with men – how much for one night?”

Yuwen Rang’s expression changed dramatically. He braced his knees to stand but felt top-heavy, clearly not in fighting condition.

Huo Qi Lang wasn’t angry at all, instead smiling pleasantly: “You’ve really asked an expert! My sect specializes in complete funeral services. Vigil-keeping is one string of cash per night, add five hundred for wailing, music extra. Is the corpse already stiff? Are burial clothes on? Small and great encoffinment each have prices. Sit down for detailed discussion – I’ll give you an honest price, handling killing and burial, satisfaction guaranteed. So exactly how many people died in your family?”

Her voice was high-pitched and rhythmic. This speech made the gambling den erupt in laughter, with many laughing so hard that wine spurted from their nostrils.

Yuwen Rang covered his face and sighed, knowing he’d soon have to endure nausea and accompany this gambling demon while drunk. Though Huo Qi Lang seemed to be joking around, one hand had quietly moved under the table, ready to flip it and start fighting at the slightest movement from the other party.

Unexpectedly, though the group she’d mocked looked furious, none actually made a move. Instead they comforted each other and went to the other end of the gambling den to play leaf cards.

This was truly unexpected. Huo Qi Lang clicked her tongue in disappointment. Yuwen Rang breathed a sigh of relief, supporting himself on the table to sit down with a bitter expression: “I’m about to vomit.”

Huo Qi Lang laughed and scolded: “Useless! The holiday still has half a day left.”

Yuwen Rang felt complete despair and slowly collapsed onto the mat.

For him, this night passed especially slowly. Huo Qi Lang lost money, won money, laughed loudly and made noise – he truly didn’t know where she got such abundant energy for unlimited pleasure.

While throwing the five pieces, Huo Qi Lang coldly observed the group that had nearly caused conflict earlier, suddenly telling Yuwen Rang: “Those people are probably about to head to battle.”

Yuwen Rang asked drowsily: “How can you tell?”

Huo Qi Lang said: “Looking at their eyes and gestures, they should be bottom-level soldiers of one ‘huo’ unit who shouldn’t have so much money for gambling. Suddenly getting a large sum must be pre-battle subsidies. When they have missions, they’ll try to avoid conflicts with others. Because they might die in battle, those with families will give money to relatives, while those without burdens will use this life-buying money for wild gambling and pleasure, regardless of winning or losing, just seeking momentary happiness.”

Yuwen Rang held his head and mumbled: “By this logic, you seem most like someone about to go to battle – playing desperately for immediate pleasure as if you’ll die tomorrow.”

Huo Qi Lang was startled by her companion’s perceptiveness, then smiled carefree and said no more.

Gambling dens always operated all night. Huo Qi played Five Wood for an entire night, only pausing twice to help Yuwen Rang outside to vomit, never stopping otherwise. When settling accounts at dawn, she’d actually won considerably – exchanging chips for copper coins weighing over twenty pounds.

Yuwen Rang staggered from his hangover. Huo Qi Lang forced him to drink vinegar to sober up, then deliberately teased: “Bringing you out really brought good luck. Shall we partner again for next leave?”

Yuwen Rang’s face was ashen as he weakly begged for mercy: “I can’t… spare me…”

Huo Qi Lang burst into laughter.

As the sun rose and ward gates opened, she carried her winnings on her back, shouldered the half-dead Yuwen Rang, and hummed Silla slave girl tunes while leisurely walking back to Prince Shao’s mansion.

Author’s Note:

The “how much for one night” response inspiration comes from internet memes. I could never find who first created it, so I can only cite – clever netizens.

This response really suits the Canyang Academy funeral stars.