Chapter 11: The Gambler's Duel (Revised)

  Some chapters have no changes at all, after all, the plot is like that and can't be added randomly.

  This week, four chapters were revised and added more than 8,000 words. I think I've done what I should do, so I won't accept brickbats.

  As for some people who thus withdrew their collection of this book, I have nothing to say.

  Thank you for your support, whether it's reviewing or just reading.

  I still want to fix the article first (if I don't, I'll feel guilty), so I won't update for now. If you're looking forward to an update, please come back in at least three months!

  Is it that few readers of Starting Point have read Xi Wen?

  If it's really like that, I'll temporarily stop updating chapters for now and wait until I have inspiration to write new chapters before uploading them again.

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  "What are you going to do, Sorrowless?" He didn't even try to conceal his suspicion.

  You're really paranoid, aren't you? Hehe. "You, one of the famous Ghost Blade Seven, would you care about a single Kusunagi on a small Oni? I saw that Ren Not Zan seemed to be provoked by me and quickly said, "It's related to our gamble, why don't you bring out another Kusunagi as well? Or does Mr. Ren Not Zan not have two Kusunagis? Or are you going to use mine with confidence?" It's really troublesome to keep Ren Not Zan's emotions at an unpleasant but barely acceptable level.

  A sharp sword is heading straight for me, this is the only response that will not be cut down.

  I calmly watched as Sorrow shot towards me, and indeed it didn't have any water, the speed was about what I had expected.

  Do you want to kill me now? I'm looking at the trajectory of Konoe's attack, and I have to say that if I don't make a move soon, it'll be too late. As long as I leave my original position, Konoe will change his trajectory to attack me. However, as long as you can ignore the Konoe in front of you...

  The originally arrow-like bitter rain that was shooting towards the center of my eyebrows, after tearing through a small piece of skin on my forehead, fell straight down and landed in the palm of my right hand, which had been placed there waiting.

  "Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?" The kid had that look in his eyes again, and if he hadn't slightly trembled with a hint of fear, what was that familiar glint in his eyes?

  "Don't worry, I'm not afraid at all." No matter if it's being afraid of you breaking your promise, attacking me, or dying, I'm not afraid.

  "Let's get started early! It's already very late, and if we're any later, I'm afraid we won't be able to find the hotel." As soon as I finished speaking, I clenched my fists in frustration.

  Seeing the slightly guarded expression, it's really hard to tell from his appearance that he's actually such a cautious person. "Since we're both ninjas, let's compare our 'endurance'." The smile on my face at this moment is so bright it doesn't seem real.

  "I'll do it, and if Mr. Again doesn't follow my actions exactly, he loses! The rules are simple!"

  "Pediatrics! Is that all? Won't you play some tricks?" Movement? Could it be compared to Tai Chi or Ninjutsu? Or is it the Bloodline Limit?! How can someone without a bloodline possibly do this, unless this little devil wants to deceive me!

  Seeing Ren Tsurugi's furious face again, I knew he must have gotten it wrong. "The thing we're competing in absolutely won't use a single bit of chakra, so can't you relax now, Mr. Tsurugi?" Besides, didn't I say from the start that this was about ninjutsu? How could it possibly be about those things... and ninjutsu? Right now, aside from Sanjin no Jutsu, I haven't even touched on any other ninjutsu, let alone Kekkei Genkai. Are Kekkei Genkai something you can just see whenever you want?

  Without chakra, it wouldn't be ninjutsu or Bloodline Limit, at most it would only be taijutsu. Otherwise, start thinking if you're overestimating this kid too much, how could he possibly lose to something as low-level as this? Is there even a need to compare with this little devil on this kind of thing?

  I can feel the murderous aura on his body beginning to spread, and I let out a soft sigh in my heart. He's really an impulsive person!

  I drew a wound on my left arm with Ku Wu. "Let's start, or Mr. won't be able to do it like this!" A simple provocation, but sometimes it's still very useful.

  Is that it? This little devil is going to compare with me, then he's really dead meat next time. "Hmph!" Not cutting him down yet, I slashed a wound on his left arm, and deliberately made the wound very long, making it all bloody.

  Looking at him again, I couldn't bear his disdainful face, and the smile on my face became even more dazzling.

  "Continue." I raised my left arm, and with my right hand still gripping the knife, I followed the wound and slashed it again.

  The sharp blade tip slowly drew the next bright mark on my left arm's skin, and the slow-emerging red color made my icy left hand feel a hint of warmth.

  Although this warmth is like drinking poison to quench thirst for me.

  His expression changed a bit, if he could inflict the same damage in the same position on the same wound again, that pain would be much more painful than cutting many wounds on his own body, and still move as slowly and lightly as this child's action, then that suffering would be even deeper.

  "Why isn't it moving? Or should I continue?" I asked for opinions without stopping, but my right hand didn't show any signs of stopping, repeatedly carving in the same position.

  As I gaze at the vibrant blood, it dyes the accumulated snow on the bridge into beautiful red flowers. The corners of my mouth also bloom with an increasing number of flowers, and they continue to blossom more and more.

  The screeching sound of metal scraping against bone, the moment when hot blood drips down, the hissing sound of snow melting... Ah! How delightful it is!

  As expected, human blood is red, and my blood is also red, so I am not a monster.

  "You... " He didn't even bat an eye at the little demon's face, without any discomfort or unease, his hands didn't tremble in the slightest, just like he was carving and whittling a piece of wood.

  And then there's that smile, the child's eyes, making me feel more and more familiar, while at the same time, what's with the increasingly apparent fear in my heart!

  The more I try to ignore this feeling, the more it seems to cling to me like a parasite, following me everywhere.

  The icy cold wind was like an anaesthetic, reducing my sensitivity to my limbs. If it weren't for the warmth still flowing out, I might have lost all feeling in my left hand by now.

  Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and used too much force.

  "Ah, busted!" I ignored the painful wound on my left arm and habitually scratched my cheek with my left hand.

  "Is that better than some others?" I pulled out the bitter melon with a swift motion, as if pulling out a nail from a wooden board.

  I used my right thumb to pick up the un-dried bloodstain on my left arm and lightly touched it to the tip of my tongue.

  "What a familiar taste!" I let out a dissatisfied sigh.

  "It's almost dinner time anyway, so let's just do it like this!" I brought my left arm close to my mouth, licked the frozen blood ice on my left arm, and let it melt. After feeling that it was about right, I turned my head and tore off another piece of frozen meat with a bite, slowly chewing while looking at Zhan again.

  The bait has been laid out, now it's just a matter of whether the fish will take the hook or not.

  "Ah!" He hadn't expected a three-year-old child's tantrum to turn out like this. Unable to bear it any longer, he glanced at his own left hand, then looked over at the child's blood-soaked and partially exposed bone on their left hand, accompanied by an eerily clear chewing sound in the snowy wind.

  The child's smile made him feel for the first time that he was not cruel enough, at least not as cruel to himself as the child was.

  Why can a child this small be so cruel to himself? Even the Fog Village, infamous for its cruel training methods, couldn't produce someone like that. Which village's ninja teachings could have produced such a ninja?

  If he didn't realize it soon, his inner self would have already acknowledged that little devil as a ninja.

  Ninja, someone who can stab a knife in one's heart.

  I've seen so many bloody scenes over the years, I don't even know how many people I've killed - infants, children, old men, women, you name it.

  If he didn't cut it out and looked at that little devil who really swallowed the thing in his mouth, he would feel a hot rush rising up his throat for the first time.

  I was satisfied to see a faint glimmer of panic and fear in Zhen's eyes.

  As the first person to make a ghost feel this way, shouldn't I be a little proud?

  At seventeen, Zainuo was still not as strong-hearted as he would be at twenty-six, and his heart had not yet become numb to such things.

  He is just a human "ghost", not a real "ghost".

  I will throw the bitter words in front of him again, I turned around to look at Bai, I know that Bai has seen everything that just happened, Bai's attitude is my first test for him.

  What would you do then? Ba. Don't disappoint my expectations, don't disappoint sister's expectations.

  Bai stood up to my right, carefully hanging my right hand over his shoulder and propping me up. The whole process was done without a hint of hesitation, Bai avoiding touching the injured parts of my body.

  I stared into her white eyes, with no negative emotions inside, only filled with trust in me and regret for her own inadequacy.

  It's really a very clean gaze! Is this kind of cleanliness the reason why sister can't forget?

  I saw what I wanted to see, but it's just that, and that's not enough, okay?

  Bai stretched out his hand to wipe the bloodstain from the corner of the person he had identified, but was almost scorched by his face. The unusual temperature made Bai unable to help but open his mouth: "You………"

  Ah! I've been discovered. It seems that the weather and physiological factors have indeed slowed down my reaction, otherwise I should have been able to dodge that move just now.

  I held up my left index finger vertically in front of my mouth, making a silencing gesture. "Hehe, it's over, let's go!" Now is not the time to mind my body.

  I turned around and said to Zai Bu Zhan: "It's late at night, let's part ways here, Mr. Zai Bu Zhan!"

  "Do you think you've already won?" Suddenly appeared right in front of me and Bai.

  I shook my head, what a stubborn person! "You've already admitted defeat!" Next, I ignored the thick killing intent on his body and tried to walk past him.

  Zai Bu Zhan's hand was still grasping my neck, and just as he was about to say something, "You little brat... huh? You...", Zai Bu Zhan discovered that the thing in his hand had an abnormally high temperature, almost making him let go. "You're sick!" Zai Bu Zhan said this with certainty.

  "Found out again!" I knew it, every time I try to hide something related to my physical condition, I get found out. It was the same with the Third Hokage that time, don't I have the talent for hiding secrets?

  As for the fever, just think about it with your knee cover, a three-year-old child, after three months of day and night running around, not stopping to eat or sleep, it's strange if he didn't get sick.

  But if he had found out about this from the start, he would have definitely taken me down directly, since I looked like a harmless little sick kid, so I could only pretend to be fine.

  It's fortunate that it was only discovered now, when everything has already been settled, so even if Zhen doesn't know, it won't be a big deal. However, I'm still afraid that Zhen will become enraged and use this as an excuse to kill someone. With his contradictory nature, it's hard to predict what he'll do next.

  Look at his face changing colors, one moment blue and the next red. If his emotions fluctuate just a bit more, I'll really die under this bridge. Alas, what a nuisance!

  "Physical discomfort can't be a reason for a ninja to give up on a mission, right?" I came up with a decent excuse to placate him again, but unfortunately, he wasn't very satisfied.

  His face still looked a bit ugly, probably comparable to when he got angry last time with Jiǔ Yuè.

  There's no other way.

  I fell silent for a moment, staring at him with my eyes that seemed to pierce through his soul, until his gaze began to waver. I slowly opened my mouth and said, "Your eyes have already told me that you've given up."

  Then, he no longer paid attention to Zai and left with me, supporting me quietly.

  Again, Zai did not cut down a person standing quietly on the bridge, and the snowflakes that stayed on him were like the doubts of Zai's hesitation, one by one very light, falling continuously, making Zai gradually feel heavier and heavier, whether physically or mentally.

  Reflecting on the entire process just now, the child's eyes kept disturbing his mood, so familiar, yet so strange, and so terrifying to himself!

  Ah! Just as another flash of insight burst forth in his mind, it was the gaze of a dead man.

  Every time he kills someone, he sees that look in the corpse's eyes, the dead person's eyes gradually settling from fear and panic at first to emptiness and nothingness, as if pulling himself into the abyss of death.

  Even if it's not cut again, I won't be afraid of this thing, but I will always subconsciously forget it, so I feel both familiar and strange.

  That... that child... what is it?