Chapter 52: Lamper Club (Part Two)

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Online Culture Business License: Internet Culture License [2010] No. 128

“This is not cheating. It is a form of wisdom.” Xiu Yi cheerfully paid Count Strias one hundred gold wint.

“Do you place bets on all kinds of possible and impossible things while at sea?” Count Strias asked with interest as he accepted the money.

“In truth, it is more complicated than that.” Xiu Yi took a sip of the juice beside him. “We bet on storms and waves, on sea monsters, on who can swim farther or dive deeper. Sometimes we even gamble with our lives. For instance, we might bet on who can approach a certain sea monster more closely. We wager on whether the other person will live or die.”

“That is far too dangerous.”

“It is also far more thrilling—much more thrilling than the dull little wagers people make now.” Xiu Yi smiled and looked at Count Strias. “Would you care to play for higher stakes?”

Count Strias frowned slightly. “What would you consider high stakes?”

“It is very simple.”

Xiu Yi set down the juice in his glass, then had a maid bring him two more glasses. From inside his robe, he drew a bottle of potion and poured a little into one of the glasses.

After putting the potion away, Xiu Yi pointed to the three glasses. “I believe I should warn everyone that what I just brought out is a very interesting drug called belladonna. I am sure many of you have heard of it. Yes, it is refined from the root of a rather interesting plant. Belladonna itself has no particularly remarkable effect, but when mixed with certain special mediums, it produces an entirely different result. For instance, if a few drops are added to fruit juice, it will create a most peculiar poison. Anyone who drinks it will become completely numb and paralyzed, and will die without immediate treatment. Most importantly, once it enters the juice, it has no effect whatsoever on the liquid—not on its color, nor on its taste. When you drink it, all you will notice is a glass of juice. Nothing will have changed.”

The nobles’ faces paled.

Xiu Yi smiled. “Of course, now that everyone has seen which glass I put the drug into, no one would willingly drink it. But what if we do this?”

He suddenly placed the three glasses of juice on a tin tray, covered them with a round lid, and casually spun the tray.

The tray revolved several times across the tabletop. When the lid was lifted, no one knew which glass contained the poison.

Xiu Yi beamed at Count Strias. “Your Excellency, would you like to play another round? I wager that whichever glass I choose, it will certainly be free of poison.”

“That is impossible.” Count Strias’s expression turned exceedingly grim.

“We will not know until we try.” Xiu Yi’s manner was completely casual.

“You are making a joke of your own life.”

“That is precisely what makes the game exciting.”

Count Strias gazed at the three glasses of juice and slowly shook his head. “This is madness, Lord Dardaniel.”

“Every member of a seafaring family must learn from birth to struggle against wind and waves, wrestling with death itself. We regard life and death far more lightly than you imagine.”

Count Strias swallowed with difficulty. He did not know when it had happened, but the center of the game had gradually shifted onto him and Xisier Dardaniel.

Now this young lord was speaking lightly of choosing one of three glasses and drinking it, completely unafraid of the consequences. Yet Count Strias himself was the one being intimidated.

As the warden of the renowned Spark Prison, Count Strias was a prominent figure in Royo City. He had no intention of being frightened by some inexperienced young man.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he cried out, “Oh, damn it! I nearly let you deceive me. You have an antidote, don’t you?”

Xiu Yi burst out laughing and began to applaud. “Excellent, Lord Strias. You have seen through the heart of the matter.”

“Do not try such petty tricks in front of me,” Count Strias said smugly.

“Then I shall add one more condition. If I choose the poisoned glass, I will take no antidote. But if I win…” Xiu Yi paused. “Count Strias, I have heard that you are a lover of famous paintings and that your collection contains many masterpieces. Interestingly, I am also very fond of collecting them. For years, I have been particularly devoted to the works of Alec Doltery and have searched everywhere for them. I hear that your collection contains one of his paintings—the Saint at Sunset?”

The moment the name of the Saint at Sunset was spoken, everyone’s heart began to pound.

“You want the Saint at Sunset?” Count Strias found the request almost unbelievable. “Last year, someone offered me eight thousand gold wint for it, and I refused to sell.”

“Then I will offer ten thousand.”

Everyone drew a sharp breath.

Ten thousand gold wint—if converted into modern currency, that would be two million.

“Have you gone mad, Lord Dardaniel?” Viscount Radur urged Xiu Yi from the side. “You are taking this too far.”

“No.” Xiu Yi shook his head. “Viscount Radur, even a rough and barbaric seafaring family understands the meaning of a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold. Once I have given my word, I will honor it. Count Strias, are you willing to make this wager with me? If I win, I want the Saint at Sunset. If I lose, I will pay you ten thousand gold wint. What do you say? As far as the odds are concerned, I have nearly a seventy percent chance of winning. If you believe that is unfair, I can raise the stakes.”

“No, it is perfectly fair. If you lose, you will be losing more than money. I accept the wager.” Count Strias was somewhat furious. He had not expected the boy before him to challenge him so boldly. Since the young man was so confident, he wanted to see exactly how Xisier Dardaniel intended to ensure that he would not select the poisoned glass.

“Thank you for your generosity.”

Xiu Yi casually picked up one of the glasses and drank the juice.

The card game resumed.

Yet everyone felt uneasy.

Belladonna took time to take effect. Until then, no one could know whether Xiu Yi had drunk poison or ordinary juice.

They could only wait.

Though the game continued, every dignitary present was now watching Xiu Yi’s expression with extreme caution.

Xiu Yi remained perfectly calm.

“I must admit, Lord Dardaniel, that you are an extraordinary person. Among young men of your age, I doubt there is anyone who can compare with you. At the very least, I have never seen anyone remain so composed while uncertain whether he is about to live or die.” Count Strias sighed in admiration.

“After my father died, my uncle devoted himself to training me. The burden of the family rests upon my shoulders, so I have often had no choice but to study and work hard. The Dardaniel family will need many years of struggle before it can secure a position of its own within the Empire. I therefore dare not relax for even a moment.” Xiu Yi answered with complete seriousness.

“Then you ought to take greater responsibility for your own life.”

“The storms at sea are fierce, and dangers abound. Every member of a seafaring family grows up amid wind and waves and learns early to regard life and death with indifference. When faced with enormous rewards, we are even willing to risk our lives. The Saint at Sunset means a great deal to me. I am more than willing to take a gamble with favorable odds in order to obtain it.”

“But if you lose…”

“I will not lose.” Xiu Yi answered with absolute certainty.

Count Strias was startled.

What gave this young man such confidence that he could be certain of victory?

“I can tell you why I am so certain that I will not lose,” Xiu Yi said, “but I hope you will not use my explanation as an excuse to deny the wager.”

“Of course not. I would also like to hear why you are certain that the glass you drank from was free of poison.”

“It is very simple.” Xiu Yi replied, “As I said, once this poison enters the juice, it produces no change in color or taste. So how could I ensure that I would not choose the poisoned glass?”

He smiled at the several dignitaries beside him. “There is a way. Earlier, I drank from one of the glasses by itself. Naturally, it was later filled again, and on the surface it was no different from the juice in the other glasses. But we must not forget one thing: fruit juice contains sediment. Since the sediment is heavier than water, it usually settles at the bottom of the glass. After a glass has been drunk from and refilled, it will contain slightly more sediment than a glass that has only just been poured.”

Xiu Yi slowly raised the glass in his hand. A little sediment remained at the bottom.

He continued, “There is something else. The rim of the glass I used still bears a trace of oil. It came from lip balm, which I applied before arriving to keep my lips from cracking. As everyone saw, I did not put the poison into the glass I had already used. So all I had to do was find the glass I had drunk from and drink from it again. I can therefore be certain that this is the glass I used earlier—and that it is not poisoned.”

“Oh, damn it.” Count Strias groaned.

After saying this, Xiu Yi looked at him. “That is why I was certain I could win, Your Excellency. The Prophet’s Game is really a game of traps. We set all kinds of snares and lure our opponent into them. Whether they win or lose, they cannot go back on the result. Of course, you may also set false traps. But if I see through them, you will still be the one to lose. This is the game seafaring families love most. I imagine you are beginning to enjoy it now.”

Count Strias’s voice was dark. “Yes. I am beginning to enjoy it. It truly is an interesting game.”

“Then our wager…”

“Come to my office tomorrow. I will give you the painting.”

“At Spark Prison?”

“Yes, Spark Prison.” Strias reached into his robe and placed an identification pass in Xiu Yi’s hand. “This is a pass. With it, you may come to Spark Prison and find me.”

“Of course, Your Excellency.” Xiu Yi answered courteously, a mysterious smile appearing on his face.

Beneath the dim light, Count Strias stared fiercely at the young man before him. No one knew what was going through his mind.

Arrange the cloth.

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