Free Web NovelChapter 324: Chapter 314: Green Rag
This old man was a sharp one.
Seeing that she couldn’t get any more information out of him, Wen Ying didn’t press the matter.
The old man’s technique was truly fast, precise, and ruthless. His movements were clean and efficient.
Not just from its two hands, but also from its two feet—he had removed and cleaned all the knucklebones.
Although Wen Ying disliked such a bloody scene, she didn’t show it.
The Sheep-legged Man, or monster, now lay forlorn and pathetic on the ground.
Blood flowed continuously from its body.
The ground, stained red, was exceptionally conspicuous.
Its eyes were fixed on Wen Ying, but she didn’t look at it. Instead, she put on a pair of white gloves as thin as a cicada’s wings. "I have a small quirk—I’m worried about germs. You don’t have a problem with that, do you, old man?"
The old man shook his head with a grin. "Shall we begin?"
A set of knucklebones consisted of five pieces. The old man had prepared two sets.
He and Wen Ying each took a set.
It had been a long time since she’d played with knucklebones; they felt unfamiliar in her hand.
The old man held his set of knucklebones and chuckled slyly.
He tossed the knucklebones in his hand and caught them again.
Playing knucklebones required a certain amount of practice. The game wasn’t unfamiliar to Wen Ying, but it had been a very long time since she’d last seen it.
"Little girl, it looks like you know how to play. You can decide what variation we play."
Wen Ying didn’t bother with false modesty.
She held the five knucklebones in her palm as if they were dice, then tossed them onto the ground.
The knucklebones would land upright.
A knucklebone has two distinct sides it can land on. You were to pick one from the smaller group of similarly-faced knucklebones and toss it into the air.
While that knucklebone was in the air, you had to quickly scoop up the larger group from the ground with one hand, then catch the falling one along with the others you had just grabbed.
The entire process had to be done with the same hand.
This was the simplest way to play knucklebones.
Later, people developed different variations, and the ways to play became more numerous.
Naturally, the two of them were playing a version with added variations and difficulty.
The old man felt Wen Ying was young, so he let her go first.
Just as Wen Ying tossed the knucklebones, a sudden gust of wind blew in. The wind specifically targeted Wen Ying and the knucklebones she had thrown. Watching this, the old man was thoroughly satisfied.
’If the little girl loses, taking this pretty face of hers to hang by my grandson’s bed seems like a good option.’
The things in the courtyard—it was unclear if they were people or some other creatures—all guessed the outcome when they saw this.
’This kind of human girl won’t even last a single round.’
’To dare play against this old man, she really doesn’t know what she’s up against.’
Seeing this, Wen Ying understood. ’I knew it wouldn’t be smooth sailing, but I didn’t expect this trick.’
From her seated position, Wen Ying snatched up the knucklebones on the ground—which the old man had inscribed with patterns using some unknown secret art—and then her body instantly vanished, heading in the direction the other knucklebone had been blown away.
She was so fast that the entire sequence took less than three seconds.
Wen Ying firmly grasped the knucklebones in her palm.
She looked at the old man with a smile. "Thanks for letting me win, old man~"
The old man’s expression stiffened for a moment. "Hmph! Just a blind squirrel finding a nut!"
When it was the old man’s turn, Wen Ying didn’t interfere. The old man easily gathered all the knucklebones in his hand.
He looked at Wen Ying with dissatisfaction. "Why didn’t you interfere?"
"Why would I interfere?"
"By making it so simple and easy, are you suggesting that I’m not capable? That I’m not worthy of a real challenge?"
This was the first time Wen Ying had ever seen someone so eager to get beaten.
"Fine. I promise I’ll interfere next time!"
The old man’s expression was stern and dissatisfied. "Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you didn’t interfere! I’ve taken a fancy to that face of yours."
[Oh my god! So he’s just an old pervert?!]
[Can’t Doctor Wen just punch him to death! This is so disgusting! I originally thought he was a decent old man, but it turns out he’s a creep!]
[This old creep is obviously a mid-level NPC. I’m afraid Doctor Wen can’t just punch him to death.]
Wen Ying began the second round, tossing the knucklebones skyward. "Everyone, you’ve misunderstood. This old gentleman is no pervert."
Though she was speaking, the movements of her hands didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
But this time, there was no strange wind. Just as Wen Ying threw the knucklebones from her hand...
Two heads suddenly appeared out of thin air, fighting to snatch the knucklebones in their mouths.
[This damn old man is too insidious! He can do that? If the knucklebones get swallowed, doesn’t that mean Doctor Wen loses?]
[What will Doctor Wen do? She’s not going to actually give in to him, is she?]
[Ahhhhhhh I’m losing my mind! Damn old man! Old pervert!]
"You’ve all misunderstood the old man. He’s not really interested in me; he’s just taken a fancy to my face."
