In Yanhuang County, a remote village, the law-abiding villagers had all turned off their lights and gone to sleep. However, in one window, there was darkness too, but it was the darkness of drawn curtains.
Within the black curtains, a dim lamp illuminated a room where four people were engaged in gambling. Three of them were overweight, and the other was a skinny man. This was a secret gambling den hosted by a bachelor named Huang San.
The three overweight men were regulars here, each known as a prominent gambler from three different towns nearby. They had no idea where the skinny man came from; he wasn't a local.
This skinny man had arrived in Yanhuang County and announced that he wanted to gamble big. The three overweight men had heard about it and met with him. Initially, they were skeptical of him, and they demanded to see his funds. What they found astonished them—inside the skinny man's clothing and pants were pockets filled with bundles of cash.
As a result, the three overweight men invited him here. They had conspired in advance to trick this skinny man into losing all his money.
When they arrived, Huang San was not at home. However, this was no issue because they all had keys. They were playing traditional gambling with Mahjong at a table specifically set up for their gambling activities, where each side had a wooden box for storing money.
The skinny man was incredibly thin, like a bamboo pole, with a pale complexion. He sat there, expressionless.
The room had a musty smell, perhaps from the excessive smoking of cigarettes.
The skinny man's money flowed like water into the pockets of the three overweight men. He remained silent and played cards with his eyes downcast.
The four of them sat on old chairs, with the overweight men causing their chairs to creak and groan due to their weight. Yet, the skinny man's chair remained completely silent.
As the night grew later, the room filled with the smell of cigarette ash.
Eventually, the skinny man lost all his money, becoming even thinner in the process. One of the overweight men straightened his back and tauntingly asked the skinny man, "Are you going to keep playing?"
"No, I'm done," the skinny man replied, seemingly unconcerned.
This left the three overweight men puzzled. They had assumed that this fellow was a skilled gambler, yet he had meekly lost all his money, and what's more, he decided not to gamble further, showing no interest.
Another one of the overweight men said, "According to our local rules, you have one more chance. Do you want it?"
The skinny man appeared uninterested and replied, "What chance?"
"You can gamble using your life."
The skinny man sighed and said, "Last summer, I gambled with someone using my life as a stake, and I lost already."
The three overweight men nearly shook in unison. Just then, the door creaked open, and they all swiftly turned their heads. It was Huang San.
Huang San grinned and asked, "What are you guys gambling here?"
Before anyone could respond, the room plunged into darkness.
One of the overweight men quivered and said, "There were four of us!"
"Clearly, there were only three," Huang San replied.
"Right," the skinny man muttered.
The three overweight men exchanged nervous glances. They believed they had encountered something supernatural. Then, Huang San finally found a candle, struck a match, and lit it.
The empty chair where the skinny man had been sitting remained empty.
The three overweight men were horrified, and their money, along with their own gambling funds, had turned to ash. In a daze, they realized that the skinny man had vanished.
Afterwards, they frantically searched the room, but there was no trace of the emotionless skinny man.
They all gazed at Huang San, who sat there silently, expressionless. He appeared to be someone entirely different from before.
The two overweight men seated on either side of him trembled and recoiled.
It seemed as though he was being influenced by some mysterious force. With an eerie calm, he extended his hands, shuffling the cards while saying, "Now, I will continue gambling with you—this time, we will wager your three lives."
In a panic, the three overweight men leaped from their seats, knocking over their chairs, creating a cacophonous crash as they fled the room.
In the end, it was a skilled pickpocket who had robbed the three gamblers blind. He gave Huang San a small portion of the stolen money.