Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Explosively Popular Lemon Tea, Is the Golden Reward the Old City Lord’s Blood?

The moment the Gambling Ghost arrived at the Blood Red Casino, all the ghosts at the card tables looked at him and laughed.

One of them shouted, "Hey, old timer, you here to lose more money?"

He didn’t answer, instead saying to a casino attendant, "Chips for 50 Ghost Coins."

He took the last of his money from his pocket.

They deliberately shouted again, "Don’t lose your whole life savings!"

The Gambling Ghost’s eyes widened when he heard this, but he ignored them.

All because of the Lucky Dice hanging around his neck.

Even now, the Gambling Ghost hadn’t recovered from the shock.

This priceless Dark Red Ghost Artifact!

He’d gotten it from a milk tea raffle that cost him just one Ghost Coin!

The return on investment was staggering!

It was more absurd than the highest-payout game in the casino!

After that, he had bought another ten cups of lemon tea in a row.

Unfortunately, he didn’t win anything.

If he hadn’t been too full to drink any more and hadn’t wanted to test out the dice, he might have spent these 50 Ghost Coins on even more lemon tea.

And he had to admit it.

That lemon tea, sweet with a hint of bitterness, made his mouth water just thinking about it.

He could never get tired of it!

Never!

He even found his desire to gamble waning.

’I have to save one Ghost Coin for later.’

’Even if I lose everything, I have to go buy another cup!’

With that thought, the Gambling Ghost took a deep breath, silently praying the Lucky Dice would work, and pushed all his remaining money forward.

"Fifty in chips, on high!"

He had chosen the simplest game: dice.

The dealer glanced over, seeing it was this hot-headed Gambling Ghost again. The guy loved to go all-in whenever he got excited. He was the casino’s favorite type of customer—practically a walking donation.

But when the dice were thrown, they landed on exactly eleven. High!

"Hmm?" the ghost dealer murmured in surprise.

The player wins!

He’d doubled his money in one go!

The Gambling Ghost’s heart pounded wildly, as if he’d been shot full of adrenaline!

But he was cautious this time. He controlled his greed and didn’t go all-in again, instead playing a mix of winning and losing hands.

In just about an hour, his stake had grown from 50 Ghost Coins to 5,000!

This was no small sum for him!

He had won back all the money he’d lost over the years, and then some!

’These Lucky Dice really work!’

But for some reason, the Gambling Ghost felt it was all a bit pointless.

Utterly tasteless, you could say.

’Why?’

’This is supposed to be my favorite thing—gambling.’

’It’s my one true love, so why does it feel like I’m cheating on it?’

Compared to the raffle at that milk tea shop, this casino was just child’s play.

Even the biggest prize was only a few thousand Ghost Coins, which was less than the milk tea shop’s blue-tier prize!

And that didn’t even include the purple and gold-tier prizes!

’I can’t even imagine how much those would sell for...’

The Gambling Ghost eagerly left the casino.

This scene left the countless gambling addicts in utter shock.

They couldn’t believe that the ghost with the worst gambling addiction was actually quitting. That was more unlikely than the sky falling!

A few of his old gambling buddies followed him out of curiosity.

They took the Gambling Ghost to a tavern and, after plying him with several bowls of strong liquor, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and told the truth to the one he knew best.

"See this?"

"These are the Lucky Dice I won. Thanks to these, I was able to clean house back there."

"You guys have no idea... *Hiccup!* This thing... it only cost me one Ghost Coin..."

"And that lemon tea is way better than this liquor. This stuff is just horse piss."

...

Soon, the news spread.

Because the news was so explosive, it spread from its origin at the Blood Red Casino until nearly half the ghosts in Ghost City had heard it.

But thanks to how sensational the news was, no one was interested in the Gambling Ghost’s dice anymore.

After all, it was just a blue-tier prize.

"Did you hear? A milk tea shop opened at the entrance to the slums. You buy one cup of tea and you get a chance at a raffle."

"Yeah, and it’s only one Ghost Coin! You can win a Dark Red Ghost Artifact!"

"Not only that, there’s a purple-tier prize that they say can completely cure any illness."

"And the gold-tier prize... legend says it’s a drop of the old City Lord’s blood!"

"What?! The old City Lord’s blood? Is that shop owner insane?"

"Who knows? But that’s the old City Lord’s blood we’re talking about. A single drop is enough to make me a Crimson-robed Ghost."

You have to understand, there was a long-standing rumor in Ghost City.

Someone had once seen the old City Lord reward a subordinate.

With just a single drop of his blood!

He had elevated that ghost from a low-level Fierce Ghost to a Crimson-robed Ghost!

Due to their admiration and absolute reverence for the old City Lord, the ghosts of Ghost City believed this news without a shadow of a doubt.

The old City Lord’s blood!

It had been voted the most valuable item in Ghost City by its inhabitants!

It was just a shame the old City Lord rarely used his blood as a reward.

And since his disappearance, it had become completely unobtainable.

And now they were being told they had a chance to get it for just one Ghost Coin?

Of course they were going to lose their minds!

In less than half a day, the entire Ghost City was in an uproar!

Nearly every ghost in the city was buzzing with excitement, dreaming of being the lucky one.

Even the paupers in the slums ought to have at least one Ghost Coin in their pockets, right?

This was a chance to gamble for a whole new life!

Many ghosts brought their entire families and took out all their hoarded Ghost Coins!

They had little interest in the lemon tea itself!

Even if it tasted awful, the chance to win was all that mattered!

Many powerful bosses from outside Ghost City—Crimson-robed Ghosts and even Evil Stars—heard the news from their underlings and made a special trip to Ghost City!

They had long heard of the old City Lord’s power!

’Since everyone’s saying it, it must be true, right?’

This one drop of blood!

It could even help an Evil Star break through to the next level!

It was like a great migration was happening across Ghost City!

Ghosts from the east, south, and west all flooded toward the north!

The roads of the slums were nearly trampled to ruin by the horde of ghosts!

In an instant, the milk tea shop was swarmed with a sea of ghosts!

Countless ghosts lined up to buy lemon tea!

The line snaked from the glass door for several kilometers!

"Owner, I’ll take three cups!"

"Ten cups for me! Hurry up and let me draw!"

"Me! I’m buying a thousand cups! I have to win the gold-tier prize!"

"Everyone get out of the way! I’m a Crimson-robed Ghost! I’m buying fifty thousand cups for fifty thousand draws!"

"So what if you’re a Crimson-robed Ghost? I’m an Evil Star, so get to the back of the line!"

At that moment, Si Qin stared at the dragon-like queue, her eyes wide.

’I can’t believe the City Lord actually managed to revive this milk tea shop!’

’Have all these ghosts gone mad?’

’They came from all over just to buy a cup of lemon tea?’

’The recipe isn’t even complicated.’

’It’s just ghost honey mixed with ghost lemon!’

’What on earth did the City Lord offer them?! To make them this crazy?’

’The Ghost Artifacts she provided were enough to trick Fierce Ghosts and lesser beings!’

’But they shouldn’t have been enough to attract Crimson-robed Ghosts and Evil Stars, right?’

Not until Si Qin sent someone to investigate did she learn that Yun Zhenyue had actually put up the old City Lord’s blood as the grand prize. She was completely stunned.

"A drop of his blood..." Si Qin subconsciously covered her slightly parted lips with her slender fingers, her eyelashes trembling violently. "No wonder..."

She finally understood!

No wonder all these ghosts were acting so insane!

It was like giving an ordinary person a chance to win a Ginseng Fruit for just one dollar!

Would you take that chance or not?

Everyone would probably bankrupt themselves trying to win!

In comparison, the lemon tea was practically just a freebie.

"Mm, it’s actually pretty good."

However, after Si Qin took a sip of the lemon tea, she also understood Yun Zhenyue’s deeper meaning.

’This lemon tea doesn’t taste bad at all! It’s quite addictive!’

’They’ve bought the lemon tea, so they’re not going to just throw it away. They’re bound to taste it.’

’Once they get used to the taste, maybe they’ll come back to buy it even without the prizes?’

’As for the raffle system, that can continue as well.’

’In any case, the cost of acquiring the prizes is far less than the money they’re making.’

’Once this whole process is established, the City Lord can step back and hand it over to the residents of the slums.’

’From growing lemons to selling lemon tea, this entire industry chain... is enough to revitalize the entire slum!’

Thinking of this, Si Qin couldn’t help but be amazed by Yun Zhenyue.

’To think that a sudden brainstorm from the City Lord could solve such a major problem!’

’Also, if I remember correctly, that rebel organization called Embers recruits many of its members from the slums, right?’

’If they start earning enough money, will they remain so loyal?’

’The City Lord’s move is tantamount to cutting them off at the roots!’

’Some people are probably going to be furious about this.’