When Gu Tianqing turned eighteen, he found a bronze coin in his old swaddling cloth. It was a coin he could never spend.
The coin couldn't be spent, but he could use it as collateral against his own karma to borrow goods from merchants across the myriad realms. What he borrowed, what he would repay with, and when he would repay it all had to be agreed upon face-to-face.
He had just used this small stake to set up a little stall when the boat carrying his mother vanished without a trace, along with an entire stretch of river.
Above the Ruins of Creation, the Myriad Worlds Gambling City began a Sunken Ship game. The guests across the city were betting on which of the twenty-seven people aboard would survive to the end.
With a single coin in his pocket, Gu Tianqing entered the gambling city. He was going to bring his mother home.
From then on, a humble peddler traveled across the heavens, doing business, resolving perilous situations, and investigating the fates that others had put a price on. And the faceless bookmaker worshiped by all the myriad worlds sat at the other end of the gambling table.
“I do business, and I honor my debts.”
“But if you use my family to start a game, then we'll have to settle that debt differently.”
