After Rebirth, the Heroine is Consumed by Overwhelming Regret Chapter 33

In the instant she reached out her hand, Qi Qing thought of many things.
First, she understood one thing very clearly: the other party had placed such a heavy bet to make her waver, preventing her from perfectly controlling her actions. This was an open scheme. Even if she figured it out, she couldn’t help but imagine the endless riches and glory that would come from winning this round.
Also, the other person was definitely very smart. The earlier trip on flat ground and the irrelevant answers were standard “playing the pig to eat the tiger.” Gambling sometimes wasn’t just about what happened at the table; what happened off the table also played a big part. By skillfully using the opponent’s mentality, one could achieve twice the result with half the effort.
By acting foolish to make her lower her guard, and then letting her choose the form of the gamble—these two seemingly concessional steps were all illusions to make her feel like she had control of the situation. And pride makes one fall behind; even elementary school students understood this.
But if one thought about it carefully, if the other person was truly a fool, could she own such a priceless enterprise?
The big shot behind the gambling den, even if they didn’t know how to gamble, absolutely couldn’t be ignorant about gambling. Gambling was half luck and half mentality. And when there was enough off-table information, the mentality part would rise to be infinitely close to one hundred percent.
What the other party was betting on was that she would hesitate.
And hesitation came from nervousness; nervousness came from her adrenaline surging. As long as she was a human, she couldn’t possibly fail to understand the value of the stakes, nor could she be unaffected by them.
In a game like rock-paper-scissors, once one hesitated, it was very easy to reveal the move one originally intended to make. This was an experience Qi Qing had gained over twenty years.
But the other party understood this principle in an instant.
And, made use of it.
What terrifying insight, and what terrifying self-confidence, to so quickly devise such a perfect tactic—so perfect that even if Qi Qing understood everything, she still couldn’t resist it.
But being unable to resist didn’t mean there was no way to solve it.
The opponent’s only loophole was their desire to win.
Having done so much, it certainly wasn’t to lose.
On the contrary, such elaborate scheming meant they desperately wanted to win, and this was the first point Qi Qing could use.
A competitive spirit is the great enemy of gambling.
Qi Qing had won three rounds in a row before by being indifferent. Precisely because she didn’t care about winning or losing, she could bet on major long shots without any psychological burden. Didn’t she know she might lose everything? Of course, she knew, but she didn’t care. If she lost it all, she would just leave.
To her, she never intended to take the money on the table.
So, when she consecutively won against the odds and everyone else was in a frenzy, Qi Qing, the person involved, was unusually calm. This led to her being able to fearlessly go all-in in this round too.
Thinking this way, it wasn’t strange that the other party schemed so much—they must have taken her for an expert. And when dealing with an expert, one could never be too cautious. Making heavy bets, playing off-table games—these were basic moves. Qi Qing even suspected that if she dared to win, the other party would cheat and detain her directly.
Qi Qing didn’t want to cause trouble.
She hadn’t come here to win someone else’s fortune. Even if she lost all the chips she had won, she was completely indifferent.
Then let’s lose.
Qi Qing made her decision.
Since the other party couldn’t afford to lose, she would let them win.
Wasn’t it just forty million spiritual stones? She never planned to take them anyway, and it wouldn’t affect her at all. She could lose money, but she couldn’t lose her composure and fall into the other party’s carefully designed trap.
The moment she made this decision, her chaotic breathing calmed down. This was a very inconspicuous change, but Hua Yayun noticed it. She also understood that all her preparations just now had become useless.
No greed. This person is truly different from others.
Perhaps, she is the one I’m looking for.
Hua Yayun couldn’t help but smile. Qi Qing saw her change and was a little confused—was the other party happy about the impending victory?
No, that smile wasn’t like greed, but rather appreciation.
Was the other party appreciating her calmness, or her foolishness?
After all, with such great riches and glory placed before them, who could truly remain unmoved? In the end, wasn’t the mentality of wanting to win still about wanting to win? How could winning a reputation be as useful as tangible spiritual stones?
Just then, the result was out.
Qi Qing lost.
She played paper, the opponent played rock.
This was the result of her careful calculation. Scientific research showed that although the chances of rock, paper, and scissors appearing were similar, rock appeared more frequently than scissors, and scissors more frequently than paper. Although the margin of error was only around six percent, it was enough for a beginner like the opponent to fall into her trap.
In this era, however, there was no probability theory.
Qi Qing felt she was cheating a bit, but to avoid trouble, using some extraordinary measures was necessary. Now that she had lost all the money she won here back to them, the other party had no reason to trouble her anymore.
“You won. The gamble is over.” Qi Qing stood up and said, “It was fun. I’m leaving. Goodbye.”
“Miss,” Hua Yayun called out to her. “May I ask if you’re in such a hurry because something happened? I have some connections in Fallen Wind City. Perhaps I can help you.”
“No need, I can handle it myself,” Qi Qing said.
“Then… how about this,” Hua Yayun said. “I’ll give you a sound transmission jade and a passage jade token. With this jade token, you can move freely through most parts of the city. For the places you can’t enter, you can contact me anytime.”
“To be honest, your performance was truly brilliant. It’s the first time I’ve met someone like you, without greed. Just one thing, you shouldn’t have let me win just now. I don’t think I would have lost.”
Qi Qing was a little surprised. For the other party to say this, she must have seen through her thoughts. This showed that the other party was smart enough, and many things only needed to be hinted at.
Qi Qing thought for a moment, then accepted the brocade pouch. “Thank you for your kindness, Palace Master. We’ll meet again if fate allows.”
After saying that, she pushed open the door and walked out.
A cool wind immediately blew onto her face.
Qi Qing sobered up a bit and suddenly felt that the recent experience was like a dream. If she hadn’t intentionally lost, she would have almost become the owner of this underground gambling city. Thinking carefully, did she really want to be that rich? Not necessarily. Seeing how tired the other person lived, being in that position must also be an ordeal.
But one thing, she saw very clearly.
No matter where one went, people were greedy.
This made her a little disappointed. She had thought it was a novel world, but it was always wrapped in the same core. It was the same in modern times, and the same in books. Very few people could truly transcend base desires.
She suddenly missed Yu Yan very much.
In this filthy world, only the other person was a unique stream of purity, and also her only haven where she could feel at ease.
Thinking this, she had already walked to the front of a large transportation array. In just an instant, she stepped into the light and was teleported out.
As soon as she came out, her mouth was filled with sand. It was still nighttime outside, and a terrifying tornado had kicked up.
The fierce wind swept countless grains of sand howling through the air. Everything around seemed so insignificant in the wind. The sound was extremely terrifying, like the shriek of a fierce ghost.
Even the pawnshop she was standing in was being blown about, rattling as if it could be uprooted at any moment and swept into the black vortex.
Qi Qing suddenly understood why the gambling city was located here, and why those who had lost everything were unwilling to leave. When the outside world was extremely terrible, people were very likely to feel that life was meaningless. And when they understood their own insignificance, they would more easily sink into gambling and pleasure.
This was quite in line with that Palace Master’s nature of liking to play psychological games. Frankly, Qi Qing didn’t dislike such people—smart, alert, decisive, and bold. It would be strange if such a person wasn’t successful.
She composed herself and, after circling the entire pawnshop, still couldn’t find Yu Yan. The sandstorm raged outside; the other person couldn’t be out there. But she still took out the sound transmission jade and tried to connect.
The other side still couldn’t be reached.
This was definitely not due to the weather, because the sound transmission jade relied on the spiritual energy within the earth’s ley lines. Spiritual energy was unaffected by weather. The only thing that could possibly affect it was a formation that isolated spiritual energy.
Qi Qing suddenly thought of something.
Just now, when she stood before the Palace Master’s door, she had seen many inscribed spells on it, some of which were to block outside prying. This itself was a design to protect privacy. The doors of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s discussion hall also had such spells; it wasn’t unique to this place.
Could it be that Yu Yan didn’t stay on the surface but entered such a secret room, which is why I can’t contact her?
Yes, that’s very possible.
Qi Qing felt she had been muddled by worry and hadn’t thought of this possibility. There must be many such places in Fallen Wind City. She had only been focused on whether the other person had come down, which had actually narrowed her perspective.
She found the spot on the floor where Yu Yan had stood earlier and knocked three times.
Soon, she was teleported to the place Yu Yan had teleported to earlier. The layout here was also similar to where she had just landed, opulent everywhere.
She thought for a moment, then hurried towards the city center.
Yu Yan had once said that those few items were quite valuable; a place qualified to accept them would definitely not be a small pawnshop.
And the largest pawnshop wasn’t hard to find.
In less than half a day, she found the largest one in the city—Fuxiang Pawnshop. Like other pawnshops, it was frighteningly deserted inside. This wasn’t strange; if treasures were everywhere, they would have no value.
Just like how all luxury stores are very quiet, it was located at the busiest and most convenient crossroads in the city, which was enough to indicate its status.
Qi Qing walked in and ordered a pot of tea.
This time, she was much more at ease than last time. She knew that all places of business here had their entry thresholds. If people could just come and go as they pleased, it would be irresponsible towards the customers.
A place like a pawnshop, full of treasures, required even more caution. Because there were too many people wanting to fish in troubled waters, to steal and defraud. Even Qi Qing’s act of inquiring about others was, nine times out of ten, a violation of the rules.
In the worst-case scenario, she would be thrown out.
Holding her teacup, she drank while thinking about how to discreetly obtain information. She wasn’t sure which pawnshop Yu Yan had entered, nor did she know how many exits the pawnshops had. The waiting process could be very agonizing. Moreover, so much time had passed, and Yu Yan still hadn’t come out, which couldn’t help but make one anxious.
She sat for a short while, then said, “Waiter, the bill.”
The waiter accepted the spiritual stones, and Qi Qing took the opportunity to ask, “I have a treasure that requires the most skilled master to appraise. I wonder how many secret rooms you have here, and which one is the best?”
“This humble one doesn’t know,” the waiter said. “When you get to the place, take out your treasure and let the appraiser at the counter take a look. She will determine which room you should go to.”
He was very tight-lipped. Qi Qing could only think it was a pity.
But this was also normal. If he had a loose tongue, he would have surely been fired long ago.
If only I had a token to prove my identity.
Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered something.
Right, that Palace Master gave her a jade token.
Although she didn’t know if it would be useful, it was worth a try. She took the token from her sleeve and said, “What if I have this?”
The waiter took it and looked at it for a long while, then immediately said respectfully, “My lord, please forgive me! This humble one didn’t know someone from the Palace Master had graced us with their presence. Please wait a moment, I’ll take you in right now!”
I didn’t expect it to actually be useful, Qi Qing thought.
She followed behind the waiter, watching him bow and scrape, guessing that the identity represented by this jade token must be very high.
When the two of them entered the back hall, she found it was empty again. She didn’t know if it was intentional, but anyway, at a glance, there wasn’t even a shred of useful information.
Only a very cute little girl with a sweet and soft voice stood behind the counter and greeted her.
This greeting had no hint of flattery; it seemed the girl didn’t take her seriously. Qi Qing suddenly had a very strong sense of déjà vu—wasn’t this the attitude of sales assistants when she went shopping in luxury stores?
In a place like this, flattery was probably meaningless.
Seeing the girl’s cold attitude, the waiter was immediately frightened and hurried forward. He said something to her, and anyway, when the waiter separated from her, she had run out from behind the counter and was respectfully awaiting Qi Qing’s orders.
This feeling is quite satisfying.
Qi Qing coughed twice and said, “In the past few days, has a very beautiful woman carrying three treasures come here to pawn them?”
The little girl replied, “Honored guest, the person you mentioned did indeed come, but she didn’t make a transaction with us. I can help you check the records of other shops. More than half of the pawnshops in Fallen Wind City are under our command.”
Qi Qing nodded in agreement. In a few breaths, the girl said, “Sorry, honored guest, she didn’t go to other shops. I’m afraid she has left.”
“She was very anxious to sell those items. If not here, where else could she have gone?” Qi Qing’s words were half-truth, half-false, as if she was asking a question while already knowing the answer. This was a very common leading phrase, intended to make the other party think she knew a lot, and that she was just testing them with the question.
“Among the pawnshops in Fallen Wind City, Fuxiang and Chilei have the largest capacity. If it’s something even we can’t take, then it could only be Chilei Pavilion. They specialize in peculiar and ingenious items; their bottom line is a bit lower than ours.”
Qi Qing pondered for a moment and said, “I understand. I’ll go there now.”
She hadn’t thought there was anything strange about her words, but the little girl said suspiciously, “Did you just say you’re going to Chilei Pavilion personally?”
“Yes, what’s wrong?”
“…You’re not an honored guest! Where did you steal this token?” The little girl’s expression changed instantly. From somewhere, she summoned several high-level cultivation guardians who seized Qi Qing.
“Audacious scoundrel! Daring to impersonate an honored guest to trick information about customers here! Speak, are you a spy from Chilei Pavilion? Where did you steal this token?!”
A very thick and savage horsewhip suddenly appeared in her hand. She raised it high threateningly, as if Qi Qing would be beaten until her skin split and flesh tore if she said a single wrong word.
The change happened too quickly. Before Qi Qing could react, she was pinned down by two giant wolves. Their cultivation levels were both above hers; she had no strength to fight back.
Actually, she didn’t even know which sentence she had said wrong to be instantly judged a fraud. Of course, she had told a small lie, but she definitely hadn’t stolen anything.
“The Palace Master gave me this token! If you don’t believe me, ask her!”
Qi Qing saw the electric light coiling around the whip and knew this person must be a demon cultivator with a lightning spiritual root. If she, with her wood spiritual root, was hit by that, she would really lose half her life.
“Stop spouting nonsense here! Our Palace Master and Chilei Pavilion are mortal enemies. Let alone paying them a visit, even mentioning them in her presence is a capital offense! She would never send you there. You don’t even know this, so what are you if not a spy?”
…
How would Qi Qing know this?
Even so, there’s no need to tie me up, right?
“What do you understand? That thing is very important to the Palace Master. When I said I’d go, I meant to infiltrate secretly with a hidden identity. What are you presuming here? Do I have to explain everything to you in minute detail?”
Her words made some sense, and the little girl indeed wavered a little. Qi Qing struck while the iron was hot, “If you release me now, I can pretend nothing happened. If you really tick me off, I’ll make you regret it!”
The little girl hesitated for a moment, then said, “You say the Palace Master gave you this token. Then tell me now, how many whiskers does the Palace Master have on her face?”
…
Qi Qing was even more speechless. How could she have observed so closely to know how many whiskers someone had? Besides, do whiskers grow and never fall out? Isn’t that ridiculous?
Seeing her not answer for a long time, the little girl became assertive again, “You can’t answer, which means you haven’t seen the Palace Master! Men, tie her up for me, throw her into the dungeon, and torture her severely!”
Just as the two guardians were about to act, someone outside the door said, “All of you, stop!”
The voice was somewhat familiar. Qi Qing looked back and saw the Palace Master pushing the door open and entering, her face as cold as ice. “Who did this?”
The little girl stammered, “Palace Master, she…”
“She what? You’re incredibly audacious, daring to treat my honored guest like this! If I hadn’t arrived in time, were you planning to torture her?”
The little girl didn’t dare reply further, only timidly walked over and untied Qi Qing. The two guardians, who had been merciless just moments ago, were now prostrated on the ground, trembling like chaff in a sieve.
“Take them away and execute them.”
The Palace Master didn’t give them much chance to explain and directly pronounced the death sentence. Hearing this, the little girl immediately burst into tears, and the two guardians also kept begging for mercy, saying they were just following orders.
“Forget it. This isn’t their fault. I wanted to know my friend’s whereabouts, so I used this jade token to sneak in and ask questions. I was in the wrong first. Please, Palace Master, don’t take your anger out on them,” Qi Qing quickly explained. She hadn’t expected this person to be so ruthless and decisive, not even giving a chance for explanation.
Killing at the drop of a hat—Qi Qing really couldn’t accept it.
“If I hadn’t arrived in time just now, they would have already thrown you into the dungeon. You don’t know how terrible the dungeon is… forget it, I won’t say more. Anyway, Fellow Daoist, you don’t need to persuade me. They committed a capital offense. Even if you forgive them, I definitely won’t!”
“No, no, I’m fine, aren’t I?”
Qi Qing had no choice but to continue persuading. Although she was also a little angry, it had completely dissipated by now. She wasn’t such a tyrannical person, nor could she do such extreme things.
In the end, the other party compromised, saying the death penalty could be spared, but they couldn’t escape punishment. Since they made a mistake, they had to pay a price. At the very least, they had to be beaten and driven out.
Qi Qing was helpless and could only concede a step and agree.
The Palace Master also wanted her to supervise the punishment, but Qi Qing refused.
Her current priority wasn’t beating people, but finding Yu Yan. Since this side had a feud with Chilei Pavilion and it was inconvenient to intervene, she would just wait nearby for Yu Yan to come out.
“This Miss Yu you mentioned, how long has she been inside?” Seeing how much she cared, the Palace Master also showed a curious expression.
“We came in on August 29th. Now…” Qi Qing didn’t know the current time. This place saw no daylight, and day and night weren’t obvious. She felt like a long time had passed, yet it also felt like only a few hours.
The other party was silent for a moment, then said, “Miss, forgive my bluntness, but I’m afraid things aren’t as simple as you think. It’s already September 1st; three days have passed. If Miss Yu was merely pawning items, it wouldn’t take this long. Chilei Pavilion’s reputation is well-known. Of course, I’m not saying it’s definitely like this, but in the worst-case scenario, perhaps… she might have been detained by them.”
The other party spoke very euphemistically and carefully, but Qi Qing understood her meaning.
“You mean, Yu Yan has been locked up by those people?” Qi Qing said anxiously. “Just because Yu Yan was unwilling to pawn the items, they detained her and won’t let her go?”
“That’s not necessarily the reason,” the Palace Master said. “Let me be nosy and ask you one thing: this treasure, is it your own, or was it… obtained through other means?”
Qi Qing’s heart immediately sank.
She remembered what that old wolf had said: he claimed to have found them, and the original owners’ clothes were very luxurious, like those of wealthy demon cultivators. If, just if, this item was something Chilei Pavilion had lost, then Yu Yan would have walked right into trouble.
This was the real reason she couldn’t contact her.
Qi Qing couldn’t help but curse herself inwardly. She should have been the one to buy this thing, but in the end, it implicated Yu Yan. Although Yu Yan’s cultivation was profound, she wasn’t omnipotent. Those people ran pawnshops; their inventory was full of all sorts of treasures. Perhaps there were even a few immortal relics. Magic artifacts of this caliber, on par with Yu Yan’s level, could potentially deal with a Divine Official. It wasn’t impossible.
What should she do now?
Qi Qing clenched her fists. She suddenly realized how weak and alone she was. With Yu Yan around before, and without Yu Yan now, were completely different situations.
“Fellow Daoist, I and the one surnamed Jin are old rivals. Speaking of which, we haven’t fought for over a hundred years. If you trust me, right now, I am willing to fight for you.”
The Palace Master spoke slowly, evidently somewhat hesitant. If it were any other time, Qi Qing would never trouble others. But now, seeing how intricate and powerful the factions in the city were, with her current status and information, rushing in recklessly would be like an egg hitting a rock.
She was very anxious, but being anxious didn’t mean she wasn’t using her brain.
To save Yu Yan, she had to borrow strength.
However.
“Thank you very much for offering your help, but I imagine you’re not helping me for free.” Qi Qing said, “What do you need me to do for you?”
Hua Yayun was a little surprised, hesitated for a moment, then said, “To be honest, your intelligence exceeds my imagination. Yes, I do have something I’d like to ask of you. It’s not anything difficult. I want… to borrow your strong luck for a while.”