Manager Qiu paced back and forth in the backroom of Lingbao Pavilion, his face pale and dripping with sweat.
Across from him sat Ye Zhaozhao, dressed in pristine white robes, her smile gentle and her voice sweet as honey.
"Manager Qiu," she said softly, "I hear you're struggling. Business isn't as good as it used to be, is it?"
Qiu's heart tightened. Lingbao Pavilion had indeed been losing customers lately, pressured by rivals. The last thing he needed was trouble with Lingxu Peak's beloved junior sister.
"Junior Sister Ye," he said nervously, bowing, "if there's anything I can do for you—"
Her smile widened slightly. "Actually, there is. I heard Senior Sister Li is planning to visit the market today."
Qiu froze.
"She's been flaunting herself a lot lately, hasn't she?" Zhaozhao continued, her voice dripping with false innocence. "Wouldn't it be a shame if she were… embarrassed in front of everyone?"
Qiu swallowed hard. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," she said, leaning closer, "if she were to lose all her spirit stones in a single gamble, wouldn't that be poetic? After all, pride comes before a fall."
Qiu hesitated. Targeting Li Shuang was dangerous. Even if she'd fallen from grace, she still carried the sect's name. But Zhaozhao's sweet smile turned sharp.
"Do it," she whispered. "Or perhaps I should remind the sect master about that little… discrepancy in your last report?"
Qiu's face went white.
"Good man," Zhaozhao said, patting his sleeve as though soothing a frightened child. "It's just a little stone-gambling game. Make sure she loses everything."
Outside, in the bustling sect market, Li Shuang walked calmly through the crowded stalls alongside Luo Mingyue. Vendors called out their wares—rare herbs, talismans, low-grade spiritual artifacts—while cultivators bartered animatedly.
Mingyue grinned. "Junior Sister, let's go try Lingbao Pavilion. They're famous for their stone-gambling. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky!"
Li Shuang's gaze flickered toward the pavilion.
A faint glow pulsed in her mind—the Heaven and Earth Furnace reacting.
"It's fine," she said evenly. "Lead the way."
Hidden in the crowd, Ye Zhaozhao watched from a distance, lips curling in delight.
"Go on," she whispered. "Lose everything."
The system chimed in her ear:
[System Notice: Host action successful. Anticipated negative emotional spike from target: +70 projected.]
Zhaozhao's eyes gleamed. Soon, Li Shuang would be humiliated in front of half the market, her spirit stones gone, her dignity in tatters.
She could already imagine it.
But when Li Shuang stepped into Lingbao Pavilion, her calm expression didn't waver. The Heaven and Earth Furnace pulsed again, brighter this time, as if mocking the trap laid before her.
She looked at the display of sealed stones stacked in neat rows.
And then she smiled faintly.
"So this is what you call a trap?"