The Way of a Thousand Doors: The Only Way to Win Is Not to Gamble

When Lin Qi was six, his world shattered into rubble.

His father, Lin Dahai, took his own life after falling into a fatal trap, leaving no body behind. His mother disappeared after being humiliated, and her whereabouts remained unknown.

For a five-thousand-yuan referral fee, his own maternal uncle sold him to a blind old man on a freezing winter night.

Fourth Master took his hand and said, “To earn your keep in this line of work, you have to tuck your pride between your legs. Once you step into this game, you'll never be able to wash the stain off for the rest of your life.”

Clutching the half-deck of playing cards his father had left behind, Lin Qi entered a shadowy underworld woven from lies, desire, and greed.

From a lowly cleaner at a glittering bathhouse to a shadow operator moving among the richest and most powerful;

from an innocent boy bent on revenge to a top-tier card sharp commanding the Eight Generals of the Thousand Gates and controlling the action aboard high-seas gambling ships.

“Nine out of ten gamblers cheat. The only way to win is not to gamble. In this well-dressed world, people are often more monstrous than ghosts.”

This is a story of redemption and ruin.