“You’re adding rules…?” Qinglong narrowed his eyes at Qi Xia. “You haven’t even played this game yet, and you’re already trying to interfere with the rules?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Qi Xia countered. “Let’s add a little more unpredictability to the game.”
After speaking, Qi Xia glanced at Xuanwu standing behind Qinglong and noticed she seemed distracted. Clearing his throat, he asked again:
“Referee, is that allowed?”
Qinglong’s expression darkened at the question. “I designed this game—*I’m* the referee.”
“No, you’re clearly a participant,” Qi Xia said. “Since when does a participant act as their own referee?”
Xuanwu, hearing Qi Xia’s argument, found it reasonable and nodded. “Being both player and referee… that’s against the rules.”
Qinglong paused, then conceded with a nod. “Fine. Since the referee has spoken, go ahead and add your rule.”
Qi Xia continued, “We’re still supposed to use all the previous ‘characters’ to assemble new ones, right?”
“Correct.”
“Then I have an idea,” Qi Xia said. “Each of us will designate one ‘character’ that can’t be used in the game. That character will be removed from play, but to keep things unpredictable, we won’t tell the other which one we chose.”
Silence fell over the room as everyone—including Qinglong and Xuanwu—stared at him in confusion.
“You don’t even know what ‘requirement’ is in that box, and you’re already adding this rule?”
“Yep,” Qi Xia nodded. “What do you think?”
Qinglong’s eyes flickered as he weighed the possibilities. Something about this felt like a trap, but rejecting it outright would damage morale.
Besides, the referee had already agreed.
“Fine,” Qinglong said coolly. “Go ahead. Which character do you want to remove?”
“I’ll take Xuanwu to pick,” Qi Xia said. “She might not recognize characters, but she’ll at least know it’s one. We’ll each choose from the pile separately and hand our picks to her.”
Qinglong considered the proposal. Since Xuanwu truly couldn’t read, even *she* wouldn’t know which characters had been removed. The request was fair.
“Alright,” Qinglong agreed. “You go first.”
Without another word, Qi Xia turned and walked toward the scattered pile of characters. Xuanwu followed silently, standing beside him like a statue.
Bending down with his back to Qinglong, Qi Xia rustled through the pile, the metallic clinking of chains filling the air.
Hidden from view, he selected a character, then held it up for Xuanwu.
After a pause, Xuanwu reached out from behind her dark hair and took it.
Watching this, Qinglong couldn’t help but sense a flaw in Qi Xia’s plan.
Since Qi Xia had picked first, Qinglong could theoretically check the pile afterward to see which character was missing.
Yet, even so, he couldn’t fathom why Qi Xia would introduce such a pointless rule.
Once Qi Xia stepped back, Qinglong approached the pile and quickly counted the remaining characters.
Then he froze.
The count didn’t add up.
“You’re adding rules…?” Qinglong narrowed his eyes at Qi Xia. “You haven’t even played this game yet, and you’re already trying to interfere with the rules?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Qi Xia retorted. “Let’s add a bit more unpredictability to this game.”
After speaking, Qi Xia glanced at Xuanwu standing behind Qinglong and noticed she seemed distracted. He cleared his throat and asked, “Referee, is that allowed?”
Hearing this, Qinglong’s expression darkened slightly. “I designed this game. I am the referee.”
“No, you’re clearly a participant in this game,” Qi Xia said. “What kind of logic is it for a participant to act as the referee?”
Xuanwu found Qi Xia’s reasoning persuasive and nodded. “Acting as your own referee is against the rules.”
Qinglong paused, then nodded. “Since the referee has spoken, go ahead and add your rule.”
Qi Xia then said, “We should still use all the previous ‘characters’ to break down and form new ones, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I have an idea,” Qi Xia said. “Each of us will designate one ‘character’ that cannot be used, removing it from the game. In the next character-forming round, the eliminated ‘characters’ cannot be used. But to add unpredictability, we won’t tell each other which ‘character’ we’ve eliminated.”
Everyone present fell silent, their eyes fixed on him. Even Qinglong and Xuanwu didn’t quite understand Qi Xia’s intention.
“You don’t even know what ‘requirement’ is in this box, and you’re already adding this rule?”
“Mm,” Qi Xia nodded. “What do you think?”
Qinglong’s eyes flickered rapidly as he pondered the possibilities. It felt like a trap, but if he refused now, it would dampen morale. Besides, the referee had already agreed.
“Whatever,” Qinglong said. “Let’s do it. Which ‘character’ do you want to eliminate?”
“I’ll take Xuanwu to choose,” Qi Xia said. “Xuanwu might not recognize characters, but she at least knows what a ‘character’ is. We’ll each go to the pile of ‘characters’ to pick one, then hand them to Xuanwu.”
Qinglong considered Qi Xia’s proposal. Since Xuanwu truly didn’t recognize characters, even she wouldn’t know which ‘characters’ were eliminated. Overall, the request seemed reasonable.
“Fine,” Qinglong nodded. “You go first.”
Without another word, Qi Xia turned and walked toward the pile of ‘characters’ not far away. Xuanwu followed closely, standing beside him like a statue.
Qi Xia then bent down with his back to Qinglong, rustling through the pile with a series of rustling sounds.
Under the watchful but unclear gaze of the others, Qi Xia selected a ‘character,’ held it up in his hand, and suspended it in front of Xuanwu.
After a brief pause, Xuanwu reached out from behind her dark hair and took the ‘character’ from Qi Xia’s hand.
Qinglong watched all of this, feeling that there seemed to be a flaw in Qi Xia’s idea.
Since Qi Xia chose first and he would choose later, theoretically, when he went to examine the pile, he would know which ‘character’ Qi Xia had taken.
Even so, Qinglong still couldn’t understand why Qi Xia would add such a useless rule.
After Qi Xia finished his selection, Qinglong also stepped forward. He bent down and quickly counted the ‘characters,’ soon noticing something strange.
The number of ‘characters’ didn’t seem to have decreased.
Aside from the ‘soldier’ that had been taken, there were still thirteen ‘characters’ here.
Qinglong immediately sensed something was wrong and reached out to examine the pile more closely.
At that moment, Qi Xia turned his head and gave Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin a meaningful look.
The two instantly understood Qi Xia’s intention.
“Woooooooo~~~~~~”
The sound of a wild goose cutting through the sky followed.
“Handsome guy! What’s wrong?! Are you in too much pain? Stay strong!”
“Little Ye might be going blind, Old Qiao, help me check!” Chen Junnan cried out. “Some old fool is afraid of losing too badly and is now digging through a pile of ‘characters’ for clues. Am I blind?!”
“Handsome guy! You’re not blind!” Qiao Jiajin also shouted. “He really is looking at the ‘characters’!”
“Oh my god!” Chen Junnan slapped his forehead. “Little Ye really wishes he saw wrong. The great Qinglong is actually playing for real with us? Not only is he blowing a biased whistle and cheating, but now he’s actually playing for real! Old Qi, you’re so confused!”
“So confused!”
Hearing Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan’s remarks, Qinglong couldn’t help but frown, his mood growing increasingly agitated.
Why hadn’t the number of ‘characters’ decreased?
The various ‘characters,’ broken down into radicals and tangled in messy chains, only added to Qinglong’s confusion.
If the number of ‘characters’ truly hadn’t decreased, it meant that before Qi Xia selected one to give to Xuanwu, there had been a full fourteen ‘characters’ here.
When did an extra one appear?
He had overseen the entire game from the high platform, but as ‘Ling Wen’ rather than ‘Ling Shi,’ had he missed some crucial information?
He had亲眼 seen that even Zhang Lijuan hadn’t successfully created a ‘character’ on the spot—the ‘character’ in front of her had been swapped by Qi Xia. So what was going on…?
“Old Qi! Go in peace!!” Chen Junnan wailed hysterically. “We’ll pass down your heroic spirit for generations to come!”
“Stay strong, handsome guy!” Qiao Jiajin added. “You still have to tell them about Qinglong’s heroic spirit!”
“Can Little Ye even talk about it?!” Chen Junnan retorted. “He’s a god, after all.”
“Of course! A heroic god who bullies us!”
The noisy voices continued to ring out in the distance, and Qinglong felt his composure crumbling.
Although these two were being unreasonable, they weren’t entirely wrong.
What was he so afraid of…?
Afraid that Qi Xia had somehow produced an extra ‘character’ out of nowhere?
Afraid that Qi Xia would defeat him?
Or afraid that Xuanwu could actually kill him?
Even if he lost this game and Xuanwu went berserk, there was no way her武力 could suppress him.
“Ridiculous,” Qinglong said. “Without realizing it… I’ve actually gotten serious.”
He casually picked up an ‘elephant’ from the ground and handed it to Xuanwu.
“This one.”
Xuanwu paused for a moment before reaching out to take the ‘character.’
At that moment, Qi Xia curled the corners of his lips upward. All the ‘setup’ was complete. Now, it was time to see the ‘rule.’
He and Qinglong stood before the display screen as Xuanwu reached into the wooden box, rummaged around for a moment, and pulled out a slip of paper.
This slip of paper contained the rule for the first round of character formation.
Xuanwu examined the slip of paper with a puzzled expression for a long while before helplessly handing it over to Qinglong.
Qi Xia took a step forward and leaned in to look. The slip of paper clearly read:
“The one with the most strokes wins.”
A sinking feeling hit him. He crouched, ready to inspect the pile more closely—
Just then, Qi Xia turned and shot Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin a meaningful glance.
They understood immediately.
*”Hoooooooo—”*
The sound of wild geese echoed theatrically through the air.
“Pretty Boy! What’s wrong?! Are you hurt? Stay strong!”
“Damn, I think I’m goin’ blind, Lao Qiao! Help me out here!” Chen Junnan cried. “Some old bastard’s so scared of losin’ he’s diggin’ through the characters for clues—am I hallucinatin’?!”
“Pretty Boy! You ain’t blind!” Qiao Jiajin shouted back. “He’s *really* checkin’ the characters!”
“Holy *shit*!” Chen Junnan smacked his forehead. “I *wish* I was seein’ things! The great Qinglong actually playin’ dirty? First riggin’ the game, now straight-up cheatin’! Lao Qi, you *idiot*!”
“*Idiot*!”
The taunts made Qinglong’s brow twitch, his focus unraveling.
Why hadn’t the count decreased?
The tangled chains and scattered character components only deepened his confusion.
If the total hadn’t changed, that meant there had been *fourteen* characters *before* Qi Xia removed one.
When had an extra one appeared?
He’d overseen the entire game from above—but as *Lingwen* (Spirit of Hearing), not *Lingshi* (Spirit of Sight). Had he missed something crucial?
He’d *seen* Zhang Lijuan fail to forge a character on the spot. The one she’d used had been swapped in by Qi Xia. So how—?
“Lao Qi! Rest in peace!!” Chen Junnan wailed dramatically. “We’ll pass down your heroic legacy for generations!”
“Stay strong, Pretty Boy!” Qiao Jiajin added. “You gotta tell ‘em all about Qinglong’s *heroic* deeds too!”
“*Can* I?!” Chen Junnan retorted. “He’s a god, y’know!”
“Sure! A *heroic* god who bullies mortals!”
The relentless jeering gnawed at Qinglong’s composure.
As much as they were provoking him, they weren’t wrong.
What was he *afraid* of?
That Qi Xia had somehow conjured an extra character out of thin air?
That Qi Xia might actually *win*?
Or that Xuanwu could truly kill him?
Even if he lost this game and Xuanwu went berserk, her strength alone couldn’t subdue him.
“Ridiculous,” Qinglong muttered. “Without realizing it… I’ve gotten too invested.”
“You’re adding rules…?” Qinglong narrowed his eyes at Qi Xia. “You haven’t even played this game yet, and you’re already trying to interfere with the rules?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Qi Xia retorted. “Let’s add a few more variables to this game.”
After speaking, Qi Xia glanced at Xuanwu standing behind Qinglong and noticed she seemed distracted. He cleared his throat and asked, “Referee, is that allowed?”
Hearing this, Qinglong’s expression darkened slightly. “I designed this game. I am the referee.”
“No, you’re clearly a participant in this game,” Qi Xia said. “Since when does a participant act as their own referee?”
Xuanwu found Qi Xia’s reasoning sound and nodded in agreement. “Serving as your own referee isn’t compliant with the rules.”
Qinglong paused for a moment before nodding. “Since the referee has spoken, you may add a rule.”
Qi Xia then said, “We should still use all the previous ‘characters’ to dismantle and reassemble into new ones, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I have an idea,” Qi Xia proposed. “Each of us will designate one ‘character’ that cannot be used, removing it from the game. The designated ‘characters’ cannot be used in the upcoming character-assembly phase. But to add variability, we won’t tell the other which ‘character’ we’ve removed.”
Everyone present fell silent, their eyes fixed on him. Even Qinglong and Xuanwu didn’t quite grasp Qi Xia’s intention.
“You don’t even know what ‘requirement’ is in this box, and you’re already adding this rule?”
“Mm,” Qi Xia nodded. “What do you think?”
Qinglong’s eyes flickered rapidly as he pondered the possibilities. It felt like a trap, but if he refused now, it would dampen morale. Besides, the referee had already agreed.
“Fine,” Qinglong said. “Let’s designate. Which ‘character’ do you want to remove?”
“I’ll take Xuanwu to choose,” Qi Xia said. “Xuanwu might not recognize the characters, but she at least knows what a ‘character’ is. We’ll each go to the pile of ‘characters’ to pick one, then hand them to Xuanwu.”
Qinglong considered the proposal. Since Xuanwu truly didn’t recognize the characters, even she wouldn’t know which ones were being removed. Overall, the request seemed reasonable.
“Alright,” Qinglong nodded. “You go first.”
Without another word, Qi Xia turned and walked toward the nearby pile of characters, with Xuanwu following closely behind, standing beside him like a statue.
Qi Xia then bent over, his back to Qinglong, and rustled through the pile with a series of soft clinks.
Under the watchful but unclear gaze of the others, Qi Xia selected a character, held it up, and suspended it before Xuanwu.
After a brief pause, Xuanwu reached out from behind her dark hair and took the character from Qi Xia’s hand.
Qinglong observed everything, feeling that there seemed to be a flaw in Qi Xia’s plan.
Since Qi Xia chose first and Qinglong would choose afterward, theoretically, when Qinglong went to examine the pile, he would know which character Qi Xia had taken.
Even so, Qinglong still couldn’t understand why Qi Xia would add such a useless rule.
After Qi Xia made his selection, Qinglong stepped forward and quickly counted the characters. He soon noticed something strange.
The number of characters didn’t seem to have decreased.
Aside from the one “soldier” (兵) that had been taken, there were still thirteen characters left.
A sense of unease washed over Qinglong, and he bent down to take a closer look.
At that moment, Qi Xia turned his head and gave Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin a meaningful glance.
The two immediately understood Qi Xia’s intention.
“Woooooooo~~~~~~”
The sound of a wild goose crying out echoed across the sky.
“Handsome guy! What’s wrong?! Are you in too much pain? Hang in there!”
“Old Qiao, I might be going blind! Quick, check for me!” Chen Junnan cried out. “Some old fool is afraid of losing too badly and is now digging through a pile of ‘characters’ for clues. Am I seeing things?!”
“Handsome guy! You’re not blind!” Qiao Jiajin shouted. “He really is looking at the ‘characters’!”
“Oh my god!” Chen Junnan slapped his forehead. “I really wish I were mistaken. The great Qinglong is actually taking us seriously? Not only is he blowing a biased whistle and cheating, but now he’s actually playing for real! Old Qi, you’ve lost your mind!”
“Lost your mind!”
Hearing Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan’s remarks, Qinglong frowned, his mind growing increasingly unsettled.
Why hadn’t the number of characters decreased?
The characters, disassembled into various radicals and tangled with chaotic chains, only added to Qinglong’s confusion.
If the number truly hadn’t decreased, it meant that before Qi Xia selected a character to give to Xuanwu, there had been a full fourteen characters.
When had an extra one appeared?
He had overseen the entire game from the high platform, but as the “Spirit of Hearing” rather than the “Spirit of Sight,” had he missed some crucial detail?
He had witnessed even Zhang Lijuan failing to successfully create a character on the spot—the character in front of her had been swapped by Qi Xia. So what was going on…?
“Old Qi! Go in peace!!” Chen Junnan wailed dramatically. “We’ll pass down your heroic spirit for generations to come!”
“Hang in there, handsome guy!” Qiao Jiajin added. “You still have to tell them about Qinglong’s heroic elegance!”
“Can I even talk about that?!” Chen Junnan retorted. “He’s a god, after all.”
“Of course! A heroic god who bullies us!”
The noisy voices continued to echo in the distance, and Qinglong felt his composure wavering even more.
Though these two were being deliberately obstructive, they weren’t entirely wrong.
What was he so afraid of…?
Afraid that Qi Xia had somehow produced an extra character out of nowhere?
Afraid that Qi Xia might actually defeat him?
Or afraid that Xuanwu could truly kill him?
Even if he lost this game and Xuanwu went on a rampage, there was no way her strength could suppress him.
“Ridiculous,” Qinglong muttered. “Without realizing it… I’ve actually gotten serious.”
He casually picked up an “elephant” (象) from the ground and handed it to Xuanwu.
“This one.”
Xuanwu paused for a moment before reaching out to take the character.
At that moment, Qi Xia curled the corners of his lips upward. All the “setup” was complete. Now, it was time to see the “rules.”
As he and Qinglong stood before the display screen, Xuanwu reached into the wooden box, rummaged around for a moment, and pulled out a slip of paper.
This slip of paper contained the rule for the first round of character creation.
Xuanwu examined the slip of paper in confusion for a long while before helplessly handing it over to Qinglong.
Qi Xia took a step forward and leaned in to look. The slip of paper clearly read:
“The one with the most strokes wins.”
“This one.”
Xuanwu blinked, then accepted it.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia allowed himself a faint smirk.
All the *setup* was complete.
Now, it was time to see the *rule*.
As he and Qinglong stepped before the display screen, Xuanwu reached into the wooden box and pulled out a slip of paper—the rule for the first round of character assembly.
She stared at it blankly for a long moment before sighing and passing it to Qinglong.
Qi Xia leaned in.
Written clearly on the slip were five characters:
*”The one with the most strokes wins.”*
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage