“Oh…”
Jiang Ke’er let out a soft groan, then stumbled to her feet.
She looked extremely weak; just barely managing to pull herself up by leaning on the gambling table, she immediately collapsed back to the ground, clutching her injured shoulder and gritting her teeth.
“Officer Jiang, how are you?” A participant immediately asked with concern.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Ke’er’s lips were pale from the pain, but she forced a smile, “What a cunning thief, but in the end, I forced him to reveal his true colors… How about it? Have they caught the thief?”
“Those seventeen people have already been taken by the yamen for interrogation, it’s just…” The participant hesitated,
“It’s just that a major event just occurred in Aolai Kingdom, and their forces are stretched thin, so the yamen probably won’t have time to interrogate them for a while.”
“That’s alright, as long as they’re caught and can’t continue to harm people,” Jiang Ke’er breathed a sigh of relief,
“The truth will come out eventually… won’t it?”
“Officer Jiang is brilliant!”
“What about the results of the competition?” Jiang Ke’er asked curiously,
“I remember you and another person were left in the arena. Which of you two finally got what you wished for and won the grand prize?”
When Jiang Ke’er asked this, the participant gave a bitter smile: “Officer, you don’t know, after you fainted, that thief actually set fire to both our clothes, and all our chips turned to ashes in the big fire. Now both of us have been eliminated… According to the rules, we can only get the first and second prizes.”
“Strange, logically speaking, you two were the last to be eliminated, so you should clearly be getting the first and grand prizes,” Jiang Ke’er furrowed her delicate brows,
“Could it be that someone else hasn’t been eliminated? Could it be… er…”
Jiang Ke’er seemed to recall something, and she blankly opened her palm, staring at the last chip in her hand in a daze.
“No way?!” Jiang Ke’er looked at the chip, not knowing whether to laugh or cry,
“I only have one chip! I only kept one to stay and manage the overall situation… This…”
“Sometimes, things are just this coincidental,” The participant’s face showed both envy and admiration, but no jealousy.
Jiang Ke’er’s performance in this competition was evident to all.
She eliminated a famous great thief, Green Hat Man, at the beginning, and later worked tirelessly to ensure everyone’s interests.
It was precisely because of her that a fair competitive environment was provided for the participants.
Otherwise, even if they starved for half a month and lasted for thirty days, they would only have been played by that thief and would not have escaped the fate of returning empty-handed.
Given the same outcome of returning empty-handed, they would rather see the people’s good officer – Jiang Ke’er, win this precious grand prize.
Of course, some people also suspected if this was a self-directed drama by Jiang Ke’er…
But the Green Hat Man who was previously arrested could not be faked, and Officer Jiang being attacked and injured could not be faked.
Most importantly – Officer Jiang always stood still, but everyone’s chips disappeared.
This shows that she was not the thief; the thief was someone else.
If Officer Jiang had directed this herself, then this thief must have been Officer Jiang’s accomplice to complete such a plot with her…
But, if that were the case, wouldn’t Officer Jiang have literally sold out her own accomplice?
If one absolutely had to sell out an accomplice, why go through all that trouble? It would be simpler to just have the accomplice steal everything, and after they won the grand prize, hand the prize over to Officer Jiang.
Wouldn’t that be much easier?
In conclusion, Officer Jiang must be a kind-hearted and wonderful person! The people’s good officer!
“This, I, am undeserving…” Jiang Ke’er held the chip in her palm, filled with shame.
“Just go! You deserve this!” The participants laughed, pointing toward the prize redemption area,
“Officer Jiang, when you get to the Ancient Realm of Learning, don’t forget to catch more thieves!”
“Absolutely, absolutely!”
Jiang Ke’er’s face was flushed with shyness and excitement as she slowly, unsteadily made her way towards the prize redemption area inside the casino.
“Grand Prize winner Jiang Ke’er, please follow me.”
A neatly dressed, very capable-looking female wolf demon attendant approached Jiang Ke’er, bowed, and led the way for her.
“The proprietress is already waiting for you; she will personally present you with the prize.”
The wolf demon attendant led Jiang Ke’er through an ornate corridor, finally stopping before a door and gesturing for Jiang Ke’er to enter.
Jiang Ke’er didn’t stand on ceremony; she was in a hurry, so she opened the door and walked straight in.
The office had a peculiar decorating style, reminiscent of the exotic flair of Xiniu Hezhou.
The walls were carved with various rare and exotic beasts; Jiang Ke’er recognized most of them, only recognizing the shapes of dragons and foxes.
The owner of the office turned around, arms crossed, and looked at Jiang Ke’er.
She was a woman with a strong Jianghu presence, crossing her long, fair legs, a pipe in her mouth, a hint of roguishness on her face, and a lazy demeanor, perfectly fitting the persona of a casino proprietress.
She scrutinized Jiang Ke’er for a long time, her sharp gaze seemingly able to see through Jiang Ke’er completely.
“Heh…”
Suddenly, she let out a cold laugh.
Jiang Ke’er’s heart tightened involuntarily.
The woman turned back around, took a deep drag from her pipe, and said, “Awesome.”
“…”
The casino proprietress didn’t seem to want to comment on the competition, even though it was the fastest-ending session in the history of the establishment.
She tossed two black cards to Jiang Ke’er, then turned away, lazily waving her hand and speaking sparingly: “Prize, take it.”
Jiang Ke’er took the cards, not rushing to put them into her inventory, but temporarily hiding them in her bosom—to avoid exposing her personal space in front of a powerful individual.
She bowed slightly to this senior, then turned and opened the door.
“If you have trouble, come find me…”
The proprietress’s soft, sleepy voice drifted from behind Jiang Ke’er.
“…Officer Jiang.”
The proprietress’s lips curved into a smile as she looked up at the sky, seemingly full of anticipation for the future.
Jiang Ke’er turned, bowed once more to this senior, and then departed.
Leaving the casino, her steps became lighter.
She pulled on her black hooded cloak, stashed the two cards, and ran swiftly along the wide road heading northwest.
“Ancient Realm of Learning, here I come!”
“Stinky dragon! Go eat farts! Goodbye! See you never!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.