Guo Dalu shouted, "What? You sold the soles of your boots to pay off gambling debts?"

  Yan Qi nodded. "That's right."

  Guo Dalu asked, "How much gambling debt do you have?"

  Yan Qi replied, "About seven or eight thousand taels."

  Guo Dalu asked, "How much did you sell the soles for?"

  Yan Qi answered, "The two soles sold for a total of 1,300 taels."

  The more Yan Qi spoke, the more nonsensical it sounded. Guo Dalu decided to just listen and see what absurdity he'd say next, holding back his ughter and asking, "So you're still short 6,700 teeth?"

  Yan Qi said, "Exactly. That's why I'm thinking of other ways."

  Guo Dalu asked, "Since you're a robber, why don't you just rob someone?"

  Yan Qi said seriously, "You think I, a robber, will rob just anyone?"

  Guo Dalu asked, "You even pick who you rob?"

  Yan Qi replied, "Not only do I pick, but I pick very carefully. I don't rob corrupt officials, I don't rob dishonest merchants, I don't rob other robbers, I don't rob the wrong person, and I don't rob in the wrong pce."

  Guo Dalu said, "So, you're a robber who even robs other robbers?"

  Yan Qi said, "Exactly, this is called 'bck eating bck.'"

  Guo Dalu asked, "So your pn was to target those mayis?"

  Yan Qi replied, "That's right. I happened to know that they had just made a big deal, so I went to borrow 10,000 taels from them."

  Guo Dalu asked, "Did they agree?"

  Yan Qi replied, "They agreed, but with a condition."

  Guo Dalu asked, "What condition?"

  Yan Qi said, "They wanted me to sleep in a coffin and be buried underground for a couple of days to see if I could survive."

  Guo Dalu said, "Haven′t you done that before?"

  Yan Qi replied, "I have, but the experience is truly unbearable."

  Guo Dalu asked, "So you didn′t agree?"

  Yan Qi said, "I did agree, because you can owe all kinds of debts, but gambling debts are the one thing you can′t avoid."

  Guo Dalu said, "You agreed, but then you refused to honor it, so they came after you?"

  Yan Qi nodded. "Exactly."

  Guo Dalu asked, "What′s your name?"

  Yan Qi said, "Yan Qi."

  Guo Dalu asked, "Do you have six older brothers or sisters?"

  Yan Qi replied, "No."

  Guo Dalu asked, "If you′re not the seventh in your family, why are you called Yan Qi?"

  Yan Qi said, "Because I′ve died seven times."

  Guo Dalu chuckled, "If you die once more, will you change your name to Yan Ba?" (Ba is eight)

  Yan Qi smiled bitterly. "The name Yan Qi is fine. I don′t want to change it again."

  Guo Dalu suddenly bent over, ughing so hard that tears and snot streamed down his face. He pointed at Yan Qi and said, "You′re not a monster. You′re a full-blown braggart."

  Yan Qi asked, "You don′t believe a word I say?"

  Guo Dalu said, "Not a single word. What you′re saying wouldn′t even convince a three-year-old."

  Yan Qi sighed. "I never intended to tell the truth anyway, because I′ve always known that lies are easier to believe than the truth."

  Guo Dalu ughed. "If what you′re saying is true, I′ll crawl on the ground."

  Suddenly, a voice interrupted, "Then crawl."

  The voice was sharp and thin, not loud, but it pierced the ears like a needle.

  Guo Dalu looked up and saw a person.

  This person stood on the windowsill, yet still wasn′t as tall as the window.

  He wore a glittering golden outfit, and if it weren't for the beard on his face and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, anyone would mistake him for a five- or six-year-old child.

  Guo Dalu stared bnkly for a moment before exhaling deeply and saying, "You are the Jin Mayi?"

  The Jin Mayi replied, "That's right, so I can guarantee that everything he said is the truth; not a single word is false."

  Guo Dalu exhaled again, a bitter smile on his face. "Since the Jin Mayi is here, where's the Yin Mayi?"

  Before he could finish his sentence, another person appeared at the window. This person was at least a little taller than the Jin Mayi, but barely by two or three inches.

  He wore a glittering silver outfit and a silver mask on his face, making him look like a little demon made of silver, truly eerie and unsettling.

  Even Guo Dalu felt a chill down his spine, murmuring, "Looks like the Hong Mayi must be wearing red clothes."

  Then a delicate ugh rang out, "You guessed right."

  The ugh was both clear and sweet, a voice so enchanting that no one would hear it without imagining the person must be beautiful.

  Hong Mayi was indeed beautiful.

  Dwarfs' bodies are typically not very well proportioned, but she was an exception.

  She wore a tight-fitting red outfit, where the thin parts were not too thick and the fuller parts were not too slim. Her face was a perfectly shaped oval, with brows like distant mountains, eyes like spring water, and a sweet smile that was so charming it was impossible to ignore. If she were twice her size, she would be an unparalleled beauty.

  If she were really twice her size, even a man like Guo Dalu might be willing to commit a crime for her.

  Even without being twice her size, Guo Dalu couldn't help but stare at her.

  Her eyes, as clear and flowing as spring water, gnced at Guo Dalu with a teasing smile. "Your eyes are quite restless."