On the field, [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Attendant Girl].
The moment she appeared, she pulled out an account book and began jotting down notes. Most of it… seemed to be Zhongli's tabs, like rare Noctilucous Jade and wild Glaze Lilies.
Hu Tao said calmly:
"I activate [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Attendant Girl]'s effect!"
"Sis~ time to work!"
As soon as Hu Tao spoke, the Attendant Girl took out a bill, walked up to Hu Tao, and fished into her pocket. A clatter of Mora spilled from Hu Tao's pocket.
Clatter clatter
Hu Tao's Mora burst all over the ground. On the Bluff Duel Stage, a flood of golden Mora glittered across the field, dyeing everything in a rich golden hue and giving the entire place a luxurious feel.
Who would've thought such a small person like Hu Tao could explode with so many coins?
Luya watched the scene and burst out laughing:
"Haha, I never thought Master Hu would… Have a day where she gets burst for coins!?"
Hu Tao didn't argue, only pointed helplessly at Zhongli.
"What's so strange about this~ This is just the daily life of your Master Hu, being drained for money by that guy every day. I'm already used to it…"
After all Hu Tao's coins burst out, her Life Points dropped by 2000…
This move stunned Xingqiu, Chongyun, and the watching guests.
"What's going on?!"
"Master Hu's playing that big…"
"Right off the bat, 2000 Life Points… almost half gone?"
"Master Hu is ruthless, really bold."
"Heh, Master Hu is the type who shines like a dying candle—the less Life Points, the stronger her plays."
"Everyone, no need to worry~ An effect worth 2000 Life Points must bring corresponding rewards."
"Indeed! Then let's wait patiently… no need to worry about Master Hu."
"This is the Bluff Duel Stage! Master Hu's domain…"
Luya hadn't seen this Attendant Girl before and didn't know what effect this card had. Though still, he chose to trust Hu Tao.
After all…
Dueling relies on bonds—not just bonds with one's Deck, but also with one's comrades. And all of it rests on mutual trust.
Once the coin-bursting ended, Hu Tao's voice rang out:
"When Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is not on the field, I can pay half my Life Points. Then add [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] from my Deck to my hand."
[Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Attendant Girl] pulled a [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] card out from beneath the bill and handed it to Hu Tao.
Hu Tao took the card and slammed it into the Field Spell Zone.
"Guard the boundary of life and death, aid the souls trapped in this fleeting world without release! Correct mortals' understanding of death and spirits. Appear! Wangsheng Funeral Parlor!"
The Funeral Parlor rose from the ground, and the heaps of gold coins scattered by the Attendant Girl vanished with its emergence. Countless pale ghosts floated around the field, even more eerie than the real Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. The spirits even lunged toward the audience outside the field now and then, the realism cranked to the max.
"From my Deck, I activate [Lost Ghostling]'s effect! When the Field Spell [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] is present, I can Special Summon this card from my Deck, Hand, or Graveyard!"
Hu Tao waved to the ghostling floating beside her with a smile. "Go on!"
[Lost Ghostling] Level 1│DARK│Zombie/Spirit│300+500 ATK│200 DEF
As Hu Tao Special Summoned [Lost Ghostling], the little ghost behind her wobbled onto the field. An Exorcism Counter was added as well.
"No wonder Master Hu was willing to pay 2000 Life Points to activate [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Attendant Girl]! She can actually add [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] from the Deck to her hand!"
"With this, Master Hu now has another way to get the Funeral Parlor…
"And in one go, two monsters hit the field!"
Once Hu Tao added [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] to her hand, the guests all understood why she'd willingly pay half her Life Points just to activate the effect. A Bluff-exclusive Duel Stage, plus an exclusive Field—Hu Tao had both time and place on her side. Winning would hardly be difficult.
Only thing was, her Life Points were low… Regardless, a Duelist's Life Points are either 0, or not! That was nothing to worry about.
Chongyun saw the Funeral Parlor and immediately got excited!
"Wow! Master Hu's Funeral Parlor is so cool! So many ghosts, so many evil spirits!!! And they're not even affected by my Pure-Yang Body! I'm fired up~~"
Xingqiu felt the air grow restless around him. He realized… Chongyun's body was heating up, his Yang energy about to go berserk!
The Pure-Yang Body… not only a huge obstacle on Chongyun's path as an exorcist, but also a daily nuisance in life. He was extremely sensitive to the presence of Yang. If he wasn't careful, his Yang energy would rampage, drastically altering his temperament.
Once, Chongyun's family held a banquet at the Wanmin Restaurant. Though he deliberately waited for the dishes to cool before eating, it turned out the Sticky Rice Dumplings contained Jueyun Chilis. One bite, and… Chongyun himself couldn't recall what happened.
Albeit the victim, Wanmin's head chef Xiangling, still vividly remembered several classic scenes:
Even penniless, Chongyun leapt onto the shop's long table and shouted loudly that he'd cover all guests' meals.
He chatted up every table, arms around shoulders, bragging about his family's exorcist arts, and even took bites off other people's plates before leaving. Somehow, he also declared Wanmin Restaurant was haunted, slapped a talisman on Xiangling's forehead, and chased her around with his longsword.
Afterward, to make amends, Chongyun lived frugally for a whole month just to pay off Wanmin's bill, and even carved Xiangling a peachwood talisman by hand.
Hearing Chongyun now, Xingqiu quickly tried to stop another Yang-energy rampage from causing unnecessary trouble in Luya's shop. He hurriedly pulled out a light novel from his chest.
"Chongyun, look at this!"
Chongyun slowly turned his head at Xingqiu's words… Just seeing the book made the rampage signs ease a bit. He flipped a few pages, glanced at the table of contents—and his Yang energy outburst instantly vanished!!! Chongyun's mind and body returned to calm, his Yang contained.
This was thanks to Xingqiu… To prevent Chongyun's rampages, he had specially asked a friend to bring back a light novel from Inazuma's Yae Publishing House—Kamisato Boruto Chronicles.
When buying this novel, Xingqiu especially reminded his friend: Absolutely! Do not! Buy the wrong one!!! Especially not Raikage Warrior Shippuden.
Because the Bluff Duel Stage was four times larger than a normal one, when [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] was activated this time… it appeared even more enormous, with richer details. Compared to a normal Duel Stage, there were more little spirits, more ghostfires, even more wandering souls.
Hu Tao, seeing her Funeral Parlor even larger and grander, was delighted.
"Activating Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's second effect!"
[Wangsheng Funeral Parlor]
[Field Spell]
[Effect 1: Zombie monsters on this field gain 500 Attack.]
[Effect 2: Once per turn, you can send two Zombie monsters from your Deck to the
Graveyard.]
[Effect 3: Each time you Summon a Zombie monster, place one "Exorcism Counter."]
"Send 2 [King of the Skull Servants] to the Graveyard!"
Hu Tao's classic move appeared again. The guests were all familiar with this signature play.
"Next, I activate a Spell Card—[Boundary of Life and Death]!"
"Discard 1 Monster Card to add 1 Spell/Trap from the Graveyard to the hand… or discard 1 Spell/Trap to add 1 Monster from the Graveyard to the hand."
"I send [Skull Servant] from my hand to the Graveyard, and add [Graceful Charity] to my hand!"
As Hu Tao activated [Boundary of Life and Death], Wuwang Hill appeared on her field, and soon after… countless ghosts floated around her. An old woman appeared and handed [Graceful Charity] to Hu Tao.
After the sequence of plays, Hu Tao now had only 2 cards left.
"This Master shall once again activate [Graceful Charity]!"
The angel appeared again, bringing Hu Tao 3 new cards. She discarded [Skull Servant] and [Shiranui Samurai].
[Skull Servant] Level 1│DARK│Zombie│300 ATK│200 DEF
[Shiranui Samurai] Level 4│FIRE│Zombie│1500 ATK│0 DEF
She added [Lingering Spirit of the Butterfly] to her hand.
╵When you would take damage, reduce your Life Points to 1 instead, negate that damage, and draw 2 cards!!!
With [Lingering Spirit of the Butterfly], she effectively gained another chance to survive. Even with only 2000 Life Points left, it was no problem.
Hu Tao chuckled. "It's not over yet! I activate [King of the Skull Servants]' effect! By banishing 1 [Skull Servant] from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon [King of the Skull Servants]!"
Since Hu Tao had 1 Skull Servant and 2 Kings in the Graveyard, its ATK increased by 3000, and thanks to [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor]'s effect, it gained another 500.
With a chilling scream, [King of the Skull Servants] appeared on Hu Tao's field, and another Exorcism Counter was added.
[King of the Skull Servants] Level 1│DARK│Zombie/Spirit│3500 ATK│0 DEF
After Hu Tao's combo, her and Luya's field now had 3 monsters:
[King of the Skull Servants] 3500 ATK
[Lost Ghostling] 800 ATK
[Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Attendant Girl] 1200 ATK
And also the Field Spell [Wangsheng Funeral Parlor].
"Set one card… My turn ends."
Seeing Hu Tao's explosive opening, Luya praised: "Solid, solid—this round is in the bag~ Master Hu's plays are getting better and better."
Hearing Luya's praise, Hu Tao beamed with pride.
Next came Xingqiu and Chongyun's turn. Since this was a Tag Duel, they couldn't attack this turn either.
Xingqiu said to Chongyun, "I'll take this turn first."
Chongyun nodded: "Do your best!"
Xingqiu moved his right hand to the top of his Deck, smiling confidently:
"My turn! Draw!!!"
"[Brain Control]!"
[Brain Control]
╵Pay 800 Life Points to gain control of 1 of your opponent's face-up monsters until the End Phase.
Seeing this card, Xingqiu grinned. "Good, good… perfect!"
With this, Xingqiu could use [Brain Control] to steal Hu Tao's monster and Tribute it to Summon his own. Not only that—Xingqiu had a Xiao in his hand, and the conditions for its Special Summon were met.
Hu Tao and Luya's field had 3 monsters, while Xingqiu and Chongyun's had none. Therefore! The conditions for [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao]'s Special Summon were fulfilled.
[Conqueror of Demons – Xiao] Level 7│WIND│Yaksha/Adeptus│2500 ATK│1400 DEF
╵During your Main Phase, if you control no monsters while your opponent controls 2 or more, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
"I Special Summon [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao]!"
A breeze swept by, and the deep voice of a youth rang through the Duel Stage:
"Three-Eyed, Five-Manifested Adeptus Xiao, summoned to guard…."
Wielding a cyan spear, a youth with a turquoise oni mask descended from the heavens! Behind the mask, his eyes shone like stars, his lips red, his teeth white. Not wholly human, like a being between immortal and demon—
It was none other than the Conqueror of Demons, Xiao!
"This card is amazing!"
"It came out instantly."
"And it doesn't even use up the Normal Summon."
Next, Xingqiu held out another card. "I activate the Spell Card—[Brain Control]!"
As Xingqiu activated it, he and Chongyun's Life Points dropped by 800, falling to 3200. Above Hu Tao's [King of the Skull Servants], a pair of giant hands appeared, as if performing surgery on it.
"Whoa! That's a Yu-Gi-Oh! card for real!"
"I've seen it—it lets you control an opponent's monster until the End Phase!"
"This is bad…"
"Master Hu's pride and joy, King of the Skull Servants… is about to betray her…"
Hu Tao closed her eyes, completely unconcerned…
However, after Xingqiu activated [Brain Control], [King of the Skull Servants] remained unfazed. No response at all.
Xingqiu was baffled, and the spectators were dumbfounded. Everyone knew this card's effect, yet it had failed!
"What just happened???"
"How come… Xingqiu paid 800 Life Points, yet didn't gain control of [King of the Skull Servants]?"
Hu Tao opened her eyes and explained:
"King of the Skull Servants is just bones, a skeleton!? It has no brain!!! So how could you brainwash it?! Your [Brain Control] is useless on the King of the Skull Servants!"
...
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