Chapter 1102: Raise the Bet

Zheng Yingxiong’s nose twitched slightly as he caught a faint whiff of “hesitation” in the air, emanating from Qi Xia’s direction.

But the scent vanished in an instant, replaced by nothing but caution.

Puzzled, Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t help but glance at Qi Xia. The phrase, “The one with the largest coverage area wins,” had once again stirred hesitation in him…?

Did he truly lack confidence in winning this game…?

Zheng Yingxiong recalled the previous round of the “Lunar Phases” game with Qi Xia. Based on his understanding of Qi Xia’s patterns, if the same rules were applied consecutively, Qi Xia should grasp the game’s mechanics in the first round, devise a solution in the second, and break the game by the third.

Now, as the third and decisive round approached, where did this trace of hesitation in Qi Xia come from?

Zheng Yingxiong turned his gaze toward Xuanwu, realizing the issue must lie with the referee.

After all, the more a question relied on common knowledge, the stranger Xuanwu’s judgments tended to be.

“Qinglong, your rules are getting more abstract by the minute,” Chen Junnan remarked, pointing at the slip of paper in Xuanwu’s hand. “How do we even measure ‘coverage area’? Does shared space count?”

The others also pondered the rule carefully, finding it no different from the second round. Since both players could only submit a single “character,” the concept of “area” remained inherently vague.

Zheng Yingxiong’s nose twitched slightly, and he actually caught a faint scent of “hesitation” coming from Qi Xia’s direction.

But this scent vanished in an instant, replaced only by caution.

Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t help but glance at Qi Xia in confusion. The phrase “the one with the largest coverage area wins” had once again made Qi Xia hesitate…?

Could it be that he still wasn’t confident about winning this game…?

Zheng Yingxiong then recalled the scene from earlier when he played the “Lunar Phases” game with Qi Xia. Based on his understanding of Qi Xia, if the same rules were applied consecutively, Qi Xia should have figured out the game’s mechanics in the first round, found a solution in the second, and by the third round, he should have been ready to break the game.

Now, with the third round being the decisive one, where did this trace of “hesitation” from Qi Xia come from?

Zheng Yingxiong turned to look at Xuanwu, realizing that the problem must lie with the referee.

After all, the more a question relied on common sense, the stranger Xuanwu’s judgments tended to be.

“Qinglong, these rules are getting more and more abstract,” Chen Junnan said, pointing at the note in Xuanwu’s hand. “How do you calculate coverage area? Do we include the shared space?”

The others also pondered the rule carefully, feeling that it wasn’t much different from the second round. Since both players could only provide one “character,” the concept of “area” remained vague.

For example, if one person wrote “hill” (丘) and the other wrote “forest” (林), both characters covered a large area, but there was no way to precisely quantify how much space they occupied or to prove that one’s area was definitively larger than the other’s.

Thus, the round would likely devolve into another debate like the second round, ultimately depending on how Xuanwu judged it. Whoever she deemed larger would win this round.

So, there were simply too many factors to consider in this “Cangjie Game.” Besides adhering to the rules, players had to account for the inclusion of “soldiers,” anticipate Xuanwu’s perception, and only by meeting all these conditions could they possibly win.

After thinking it over for a long time, Chen Junnan felt that the two would most likely end up writing “hill” and “forest.” After all, Qi Xia could find a way to form two “trees” (木), but Qinglong couldn’t. So, these two characters were probably the final answers.

Qinglong would write “hill,” and Qi Xia would write “forest”—these were the largest things Chen Junnan could currently think of.

As for whether a hill or a forest was bigger… no one could guess how Xuanwu would judge it. So, Chen Junnan decisively exchanged a glance with Qiao Jiajin, and the two immediately began organizing their arguments, preparing for a full-scale psychological battle at the critical moment.

Qinglong stepped forward, pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll go first again this time.”

“Figured as much,” Chen Junnan replied. “You really hate taking any losses, don’t you?”

Qinglong completely ignored Chen Junnan and instead turned to Qi Xia. “Dare to let me?”

“No problem,” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ve already let you go twice. If I don’t let you go the third time, it would be meaningless.”

“What’s the meaning you’re referring to?”

“I’ve said it before—I’m going easy on you,” Qi Xia replied.

“But I don’t think so,” Qinglong shook his head. “The ‘father’ (父) character from the second round was clearly something you came up with on the spot. Even though you said you were ‘going easy,’ you weren’t confident you could win, were you? I’ve never seen anyone go easy on someone when they themselves aren’t sure of winning.”

“I确实没有把握, but I still have to go easy on you,” Qi Xia said. “Don’t you want to win against me fair and square through strategy in a game? If I let you have three rounds in a row and you still don’t win, what will you do then?”

“Heh…” A faint vein throbbed on Qinglong’s forehead. “That’s a nice way to put it—’letting me have three rounds in a row.'”

“That’s what it looks like,” Qi Xia nodded.

“But in this world, no one remembers the process—only the outcome,” Qinglong said. “In your eyes, you’re letting me have three rounds, but if you lose, all that ‘going easy’ will become a joke. People will only remember that I won; they won’t care about how it happened.”

“So this is also a gamble,” Qi Xia said. “‘Going easy’ is just my way of raising the stakes. If I win, these bets will make your defeat even more humiliating. Everyone will know that you, the mighty Qinglong, lost the game even after I went easy on you three times in a row.”

“Using ‘going easy’ as a stake…?”

“And just as you said, no one remembers the process. Even if I really lose, no one will care that I lost because I went easy on you. To the world, it will just be an ordinary win for you. Because you’re Qinglong, you’re supposed to win anyway,” Qi Xia said. “But if I win, I’ll get a better reward. That’s my bet.”

Qi Xia left unsaid the latter part—that even Xuanwu was part of his gamble.

After hearing this, Qinglong paused. “As expected of you… For normal people, the outcome of a gamble is usually decided at the end. But for you… the game can be set up from the moment the bets are placed.”

“Perhaps even earlier,” Qi Xia replied. “I can set things up even before placing the bet.”

“Is that so…” Qinglong knew Qi Xia was hinting at something. “I know you’ve always been up to your little tricks. No matter how early you started planning this time, it doesn’t matter. As long as you kill Tianlong, I can even forgive all your disrespectful behavior.”

“I’m working on it,” Qi Xia replied.

“I’ve reminded you countless times—you must tell me before you kill Tianlong,” Qinglong said with an angry smile. “I don’t want any last-minute surprises in this deal.”

“But you’re currently trying to kill me,” Qi Xia said. “If I die…”

“Based on my understanding of the current situation, even if you die, the plan won’t stop,” Qinglong said. “As long as the remaining people follow the instructions, that’s enough. Both of us want Tianlong dead—that’s the only connection between us.”

“We’re both using others to do our dirty work,” Qi Xia said. “Let’s see who ends up holding the knife in the end.”

After a moment of silence, Qinglong said nothing more and walked straight behind the massive wall.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin looked up intently at the screen, but Qinglong took a long time to present his “character.”

Qinglong looked down with a heavy expression, holding a “hill” (丘) in his hand.

His mind was in turmoil. When he had designed the life-and-death rules, he had considered every possible scenario—so why hadn’t he anticipated that the referee would be Xuanwu?

How could a referee who didn’t even understand what a “father” (父) was make a judgment in the next round?

To win this game, using “hill” would be difficult, especially since Qinglong couldn’t predict what Qi Xia would create.

“The only way is to start from Xuanwu’s background…” Qinglong narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. “What is the largest thing in her memory…?”

Thus, the round would inevitably devolve into the same debate as before, hinging entirely on Xuanwu’s subjective judgment. Whoever she deemed larger would win.

This “Cangjie Chess” game involved too many factors—not just adherence to the rules, but also considerations like incorporating “soldiers,” predicting Xuanwu’s perception, and meeting all these conditions to secure victory.

Zheng Yingxiong’s nose twitched slightly, and from Qi Xia’s direction, he actually caught a faint scent of “hesitation.”

But this scent vanished in an instant, replaced only by caution.

Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t help but glance at Qi Xia in confusion. The phrase “the one with the largest coverage area wins” had once again made Qi Xia hesitate…?

Could it be that he still wasn’t confident about winning this game…?

Zheng Yingxiong then recalled the scene from his earlier game of “Lunar Phases” with Qi Xia. Based on his understanding of Qi Xia, if the same rules were applied consecutively, Qi Xia should have figured out the game rules in the first round, found a solution in the second, and by the third round, he should have been able to break the game.

Now, with the third round being the decisive one, where did this trace of “hesitation” in Qi Xia come from?

Zheng Yingxiong turned to look at Xuanwu, realizing the issue must lie with the referee.

After all, the more a question relied on common sense, the stranger Xuanwu’s judgments tended to be.

“Qinglong, these rules are getting more and more abstract,” Chen Junnan said, pointing at the note in Xuanwu’s hand. “How do you calculate the coverage area? Do we include the shared area?”

The others also pondered the rule carefully, feeling it wasn’t much different from the second round. Since both players could only provide one “character,” the concept of “area” remained vague.

For example, if one person provided “mound” (丘) and the other “forest” (林), both characters covered a large area, but there was no way to specify exactly how much area they occupied or to prove that one’s area was definitively larger than the other’s.

Thus, the round would likely devolve into another debate like the second round, ultimately depending on how Xuanwu judged it. Whoever she deemed larger would win the round.

So, this game of “Cangjie Chess” involved too many factors. Not only did players have to follow the rules and consider the inclusion of “soldier” (兵), but they also had to anticipate Xuanwu’s perception. Only by meeting all these conditions could they possibly win.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Junnan felt that the two would most likely provide “mound” and “forest.” After all, Qi Xia could find a way to form two “trees” (木), while Qinglong couldn’t. So, these two characters were probably the final answers.

Qinglong would provide “mound,” and Qi Xia would provide “forest”—these were the largest things Chen Junnan could currently think of.

As for whether a mound or a forest was larger… no one could guess how Xuanwu would judge it. So, Chen Junnan decisively exchanged a glance with Qiao Jiajin, and the two immediately began organizing their arguments, preparing for a full-scale psychological battle at the critical moment.

Qinglong stepped forward, pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll go first again this time.”

“Figured as much,” Chen Junnan replied. “You really hate taking any losses, don’t you?”

Qinglong completely ignored Chen Junnan and instead turned to Qi Xia. “Dare to let me?”

“No problem,” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ve already let you go twice. If I don’t let you go the third time, it would be meaningless.”

“What’s the meaning you’re referring to?”

“I’ve said it before—I’m going easy on you,” Qi Xia replied.

“But I don’t think so,” Qinglong shook his head. “The ‘father’ (父) from the second round was clearly something you came up with on the spot. Even though you said you were ‘going easy,’ you weren’t confident you could win, were you? I’ve never seen anyone go easy on someone when they’re not sure of winning.”

“Heh…” A vein twitched slightly on Qinglong’s forehead. “That’s a nice way to put it—’letting me have three rounds in a row.'”

“That’s what it looks like,” Qi Xia nodded.

“But in this world, no one remembers the process—only the outcome,” Qinglong said. “In your eyes, it’s letting me have three rounds, but if you lose, all that ‘going easy’ will become a joke. People will only remember that I won; they won’t care about the process.”

“So this is also a gamble,” Qi Xia said. “‘Going easy’ is just my way of raising the stakes. If I win, these stakes will make your defeat even more humiliating. Then everyone will know that you, the mighty Qinglong, lost the game even after I went easy on you three times in a row.”

“Using ‘going easy’ as a stake…?”

“And just as you said, no one remembers the process. Even if I really lose, no one will care that I lost because I went easy on you. To the world, it’ll just be an ordinary win for you. Because you’re Qinglong, you’re supposed to win anyway,” Qi Xia said. “But if I win, I’ll get a better reward. That’s my bet.”

Qi Xia left unsaid the latter part—that even Xuanwu was part of his gamble.

After hearing this, Qinglong paused. “As expected of you… For normal people, the moment a gamble is decided is usually at the end. But for you… you can start setting up the game from the moment you place your bet.”

“Perhaps even earlier,” Qi Xia replied. “I can start setting things up even before placing the bet.”

“Is that so…” Qinglong knew Qi Xia was hinting at something. “I know you’ve always been up to your little tricks. No matter how early you started setting things up this time, it doesn’t matter. As long as you kill Tianlong, I’m even willing to forgive all your disrespectful behavior.”

“I’m working on it,” Qi Xia replied.

“I’ve reminded you countless times—you must tell me before you kill Tianlong,” Qinglong said with an angry smile. “I don’t want any mishaps at the last moment of this deal.”

“But you’re currently trying to kill me,” Qi Xia said. “If I die…”

“We’re both using others to do our dirty work,” Qi Xia said. “Let’s see who ends up with the knife in their hand in the end.”

After a moment of contemplation, Qinglong fell silent and walked straight behind the large wall.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin looked up intently at the screen, but Qinglong took a long time to present his “character.”

Qinglong looked down solemnly, holding a “mound” (丘) in his hand.

His mind was in turmoil. When he had designed the life-and-death rules, he had considered every possible scenario—so why hadn’t he anticipated that the referee would be Xuanwu?

How could a referee who didn’t even understand what “father” (父) was make a judgment in the upcoming round?

To win this game, using “mound” would be difficult, especially since Qinglong couldn’t predict what Qi Xia would create.

“It has to be based on Xuanwu’s background…” Qinglong narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. “What is the largest thing in her memory…?”

Zheng Yingxiong’s nose twitched slightly, and he actually caught a faint scent of “hesitation” coming from Qi Xia’s direction.

But this scent vanished in an instant, replaced only by caution.

Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t help but look at Qi Xia with confusion. The phrase “the one with the largest coverage area wins” had once again made Qi Xia hesitate…?

Could it be that he still wasn’t confident about winning this game…?

Zheng Yingxiong then recalled the scene from his previous game, “Lunar Phases,” with Qi Xia. Based on his understanding of Qi Xia, if the same rules were applied consecutively, Qi Xia should have figured out the game rules in the first round, found a solution in the second, and by the third round, he should have been able to break the game.

Now, with the third round being the decisive one, where did this hint of “hesitation” from Qi Xia come from?

Zheng Yingxiong turned to look at Xuanwu, realizing that the problem must lie with the referee.

After all, the more a question relied on common sense, the stranger Xuanwu’s judgments tended to be.

“Qinglong, these rules are getting more and more abstract,” Chen Junnan said, pointing at the note in Xuanwu’s hand. “How do you calculate the coverage area? Do we include the shared area?”

For example, if one person wrote “丘” (hill) and the other wrote “林” (forest), both characters covered a large area, but there was no way to precisely measure how much area they occupied or to prove that one character’s area was definitively larger than the other’s.

Thus, the round would likely devolve into another debate like the second round, ultimately depending on how Xuanwu judged it. Whoever she deemed larger would win this round.

So, there were simply too many factors to consider in this “Cangjie Game.” Besides adhering to the rules, players had to account for the inclusion of “soldiers,” anticipate Xuanwu’s perceptions, and only by meeting all these conditions could they possibly win.

After thinking it over for a long time, Chen Junnan felt that the two would most likely end up writing “丘” (hill) and “林” (forest). After all, Qi Xia could find a way to form two “木” (trees), but Qinglong couldn’t. So, these two characters were probably the final answers.

Qinglong would write “丘,” and Qi Xia would write “林”—these were the largest things Chen Junnan could currently think of.

As for whether a hill or a forest was larger… no one could guess how Xuanwu would judge it. So, Chen Junnan decisively exchanged a glance with Qiao Jinyong, and the two immediately began organizing their arguments, preparing for a full-scale psychological battle at the critical moment.

Qinglong stepped forward, pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll go first again this time.”

“Figured as much,” Chen Junnan replied. “You really hate taking any losses, don’t you?”

Qinglong completely ignored Chen Junnan and instead turned to Qi Xia. “Dare to let me?”

“No problem,” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ve already let you go twice. If I don’t let you go the third time, it would be meaningless.”

“What’s the meaning you’re referring to?”

“I’ve said it before—I’m going easy on you,” Qi Xia replied.

“But I don’t think so,” Qinglong shook his head. “The ‘父’ (father) from the second round was clearly something you came up with on the spot. Even though you said you were ‘going easy,’ you weren’t confident you could win, were you? I’ve never seen anyone go easy on their opponent without being sure of victory.”

“I’m indeed not confident, but I still have to go easy on you,” Qi Xia said. “Don’t you want to win against me fair and square through strategy in a game? If I let you have three rounds in a row and you still don’t win, what will you do then?”

“Heh…” A vein twitched slightly on Qinglong’s forehead. “That’s a nice way to put it—’letting me have three rounds in a row.'”

“That’s what it looks like,” Qi Xia nodded.

“So, this is also a gamble,” Qi Xia said. “‘Going easy’ is just my way of raising the stakes. If I win, these stakes will make your defeat even more crushing. By then, everyone will know that you, the mighty Qinglong, lost to me even after I went easy on you for three rounds.”

“Using ‘going easy’ as a stake…?”

Qi Xia left unsaid the latter part—that even Xuanwu was part of his gamble.

After hearing this, Qinglong paused. “As expected of you… For normal people, the outcome of a gamble is usually decided at the end. But for you, the game can be set up from the moment the bets are placed.”

“Perhaps even earlier,” Qi Xia replied. “I can set things up even before placing the bet.”

“Is that so…” Qinglong knew Qi Xia was hinting at something. “I know you’ve always been up to your little tricks. No matter how early you started planning this time, it doesn’t matter. As long as you kill Tianlong, I’m even willing to forgive all your disrespectful behavior.”

“I’m working on it,” Qi Xia replied.

“I’ve reminded you countless times—you must tell me before you kill Tianlong,” Qinglong said with an angry smile. “I don’t want any mishaps at the last moment of this deal.”

“But you’re currently trying to kill me,” Qi Xia said. “If I die…”

“We’re both using others to do our dirty work,” Qi Xia said. “Let’s see who ends up holding the knife in their hands.”

After a moment of contemplation, Qinglong fell silent and walked straight behind the massive wall.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jinyong looked up intently at the screen, but Qinglong took a long time to place his “character.”

Qinglong lowered his head with a heavy expression, holding a “丘” (hill) in his hand.

His mind was in turmoil. When he had designed the life-and-death rules, he had considered every possible scenario—so why hadn’t he anticipated that the referee would be Xuanwu?

How could a referee who didn’t even understand what “父” (father) meant make a judgment in the upcoming round?

To win this game, using “丘” (hill) would be difficult, especially since Qinglong couldn’t predict what Qi Xia would create.

“The only way is to start from Xuanwu’s background…” Qinglong narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. “What is the largest thing in her memory?”

Between a hill and a forest… no one could guess which Xuanwu would consider larger. So Chen Junnan decisively exchanged a glance with Qiao Jiajin, and the two immediately began preparing their arguments, ready to launch a psychological offensive at the critical moment.

Qinglong stepped forward, pausing briefly before declaring, “I’ll go first again.”

“Figured as much,” Chen Junnan retorted. “You never take a loss gracefully.”

Ignoring him, Qinglong turned to Qi Xia and challenged, “Dare to let me?”

“No problem,” Qi Xia replied with a nod. “I’ve conceded twice already. A third time would be meaningless if I didn’t.”

“And what’s your definition of ‘meaning’ here?”

“I’ve said it before—I’m going easy on you,” Qi Xia answered.

Zheng Yingxiong’s nose twitched slightly, and he actually caught a faint scent of “hesitation” coming from Qi Xia’s direction.

But this scent vanished in an instant, replaced only by caution.

Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t help but look at Qi Xia with confusion. The phrase “the one with the largest footprint wins” had once again made Qi Xia hesitate…?

Could it be that he still wasn’t confident about winning this game…?

Now, with the third round being the decisive one, where did this trace of “hesitation” from Qi Xia come from?

Zheng Yingxiong turned to look at Xuanwu, realizing that the problem must lie with the referee.

After all, the more a question relied on common sense, the stranger Xuanwu’s judgments tended to be.

“Qinglong, these rules are getting more and more abstract,” Chen Junnan said, pointing at the note in Xuanwu’s hand. “How do we calculate the footprint? Do we include the shared area?”

For example, if one person provided “丘” (hill) and the other provided “林” (forest), both characters had a large footprint, but there was no way to precisely quantify their areas or prove that one was definitively larger than the other.

Thus, the round would likely devolve into another debate like the second round, ultimately depending on how Xuanwu judged it. Whoever she deemed larger would win the round.

So, too many factors had to be considered in this “Cangjie Game.” Besides adhering to the rules, players had to account for the inclusion of “soldiers,” guess Xuanwu’s perception, and only by meeting all these conditions could they possibly win.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Junnan felt that the two would most likely provide “丘” and “林.” After all, Qi Xia could find a way to form two “木” (trees), but Qinglong couldn’t. So, these two characters were likely the final answers.

Qinglong would provide “丘,” and Qi Xia would provide “林”—these were the largest things Chen Junnan could currently think of.

As for whether a hill or a forest was larger… no one could guess how Xuanwu would judge it. So, Chen Junnan decisively exchanged a glance with Qiao Jinyong, and the two immediately began organizing their arguments, preparing for an all-out psychological battle at the critical moment.

Qinglong stepped forward, pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll go first again this time.”

“Figured as much,” Chen Junnan replied. “You really hate taking any losses, don’t you?”

Qinglong completely ignored Chen Junnan and instead turned to Qi Xia. “Dare to let me?”

“No problem,” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ve already let you go twice. If I don’t let you go the third time, it would be meaningless.”

“What’s the meaning you’re referring to?”

“I’ve said it before—I’m going easy on you,” Qi Xia replied.

“Heh…” A vein twitched slightly on Qinglong’s forehead. “That’s a nice way to put it—’letting me have three rounds in a row.'”

“That’s what it looks like,” Qi Xia nodded.

“So, this is also a gamble,” Qi Xia said. “‘Going easy’ is just my way of raising the stakes. If I win, these stakes will make your defeat even more humiliating. Everyone will know that you, the mighty Qinglong, lost the game even after I went easy on you three times.”

“Using ‘going easy’ to raise the stakes…?”

Qi Xia left unsaid the latter part—that even Xuanwu was part of his gamble.

After hearing this, Qinglong paused. “As expected of you… For normal people, the outcome of a gamble is usually decided at the end. But for you… you can start setting up the game from the moment you place your bet.”

“Maybe even earlier,” Qi Xia replied. “I can start setting things up even before placing the bet.”

“Is that so…?” Qinglong knew Qi Xia was hinting at something. “I know you’ve always been up to your little tricks. No matter how early you started setting things up this time, it doesn’t matter. As long as you kill Tianlong, I’m even willing to forgive all your disrespectful behavior.”

“I’m working on it,” Qi Xia replied.

“I’ve reminded you countless times—you must tell me before you kill Tianlong,” Qinglong said with an angry smile. “I don’t want any last-minute surprises in this deal.”

“But you’re currently trying to kill me,” Qi Xia said. “If I die…”

“Based on my understanding of the current situation, even if you die, the plan won’t stop,” Qinglong said. “As long as the remaining people follow the instructions, everything will proceed. Both of us want Tianlong dead—that’s the only connection between us.”

“We’re both using others to do our dirty work,” Qi Xia said. “Let’s see who ends up holding the knife in the end.”

After a moment of silence, Qinglong said nothing more and walked straight behind the massive wall.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jinyong looked up intently at the screen, but Qinglong took a long time to present his “character.”

Qinglong looked down with a heavy expression, holding a “丘” in his hand.

His mind was in turmoil. When he had designed the life-and-death rules, he had considered every possible scenario—so why hadn’t he anticipated that the referee would be Xuanwu?

How could a referee who didn’t even understand what “父” meant make a judgment in the upcoming round?

To win this game, using “丘” would be difficult, especially since Qinglong couldn’t predict what Qi Xia would create.

“The only way is to start from Xuanwu’s background…” Qinglong narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. “What is the largest thing in her memory…?”

“I may lack certainty, but I’ll still go easy,” Qi Xia said. “Didn’t you want to defeat me fairly through strategy in this game? If I concede three times in a row and you still lose, what then?”

“Hah…” A vein pulsed faintly on Qinglong’s forehead. “Such pretty words—’conceding three times in a row.'”

“That’s how it looks,” Qi Xia affirmed.

“But in this world, people seldom remember the process—only the outcome,” Qinglong countered. “To you, it’s three rounds of concession. But if you lose, all that ‘going easy’ becomes a joke. People will only remember that I won, not how it happened.”

“Hence, this is also a gamble,” Qi Xia said. “‘Going easy’ is my wager. If I win, that bet will make your defeat even more humiliating. Everyone will know Qinglong lost despite my three rounds of concessions.”

“Using ‘going easy’ as a wager…?”

“And as you said, no one remembers the process. Even if I lose, no one will care that it was because I went easy. To the world, it’ll just be another routine win for you—because you’re Qinglong, and you’re supposed to win,” Qi Xia explained. “But if I win, the reward is far greater. That’s my stake.”

Qi Xia left unspoken the latter part—that even Xuanwu was part of his gamble.

Qinglong fell silent for a moment. “No wonder… For most, the climax of a gamble is the end. But for you… the game begins the moment the stakes are laid.”

“Perhaps even earlier,” Qi Xia replied. “I can set the stage before the stakes are even placed.”

“Is that so…” Qinglong knew Qi Xia was hinting at something. “I’m aware you’ve been scheming all along. It doesn’t matter how early you started this time. As long as you kill Tianlong, I’ll even overlook your insolence.”

“I’m working on it,” Qi Xia said.

“I’ve reminded you countless times—you must tell me before killing Tianlong,” Qinglong sneered angrily. “I won’t tolerate any last-minute disruptions to our deal.”

“But right now, you’re trying to kill me,” Qi Xia pointed out. “If I die—”

“From what I know of the current situation, the plan won’t stop even if you die,” Qinglong interrupted. “As long as the others follow through, that’s enough. We both want Tianlong dead—that’s the only link between us.”

“We’re both using others to do our dirty work,” Qi Xia said. “Let’s see who ends up holding the knife in the end.”

Qinglong fell silent, then strode behind the massive wall without another word.

Meanwhile, Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin stared intently at the screen, but Qinglong took an unusually long time to present his “character.”

Zheng Yingxiong’s nose twitched slightly, and he actually caught a faint scent of “hesitation” coming from Qi Xia’s direction.

But this scent vanished in an instant, replaced only by caution.

Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t help but look at Qi Xia with confusion. The phrase “the one with the largest footprint wins” had once again made Qi Xia hesitate…?

Could it be that he still wasn’t confident about winning this game…?

Now, with the third round being the decisive one, where did this scent of “hesitation” from Qi Xia come from?

Zheng Yingxiong turned to look at Xuanwu, realizing that the problem must lie with the referee.

After all, the more a question relied on common sense, the stranger Xuanwu’s judgments tended to be.

“Qinglong, these rules are getting more and more abstract,” Chen Junnan said, pointing at the note in Xuanwu’s hand. “How do you calculate the footprint? Do we include the shared area?”

For example, if one person provided “hill” (丘) and the other “forest” (林), both characters had a large footprint, but there was no way to precisely measure their areas or prove that one was definitively larger than the other.

Thus, the round would likely devolve into another debate like the second round, ultimately depending on how Xuanwu judged it. Whoever she deemed larger would win the round.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Junnan felt that the two would most likely provide “hill” and “forest.” After all, Qi Xia could find a way to form two “trees” (木), while Qinglong couldn’t. So, these two characters were probably the final answers.

Qinglong would provide “hill,” and Qi Xia would provide “forest”—these were the largest things Chen Junnan could currently think of.

As for whether a hill or a forest was larger… no one could guess how Xuanwu would judge it. So, Chen Junnan decisively exchanged a glance with Qiao Jiajin, and the two immediately began organizing their arguments, preparing for a full-scale psychological battle at the critical moment.

Qinglong stepped forward, pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll go first again this time.”

“Figured as much,” Chen Junnan replied. “You really hate taking any losses, don’t you?”

Qinglong completely ignored Chen Junnan and instead turned to Qi Xia. “Dare to let me?”

“No problem,” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ve already let you go twice. If I don’t let you go the third time, it would be meaningless.”

“What’s the meaning you’re referring to?”

“I’ve said it before—I’m going easy on you,” Qi Xia replied.

“But I don’t think so,” Qinglong shook his head. “The ‘father’ (父) from the second round was clearly something you came up with on the spot. Even though you said you were ‘going easy,’ you weren’t confident about winning, were you? I’ve never seen anyone go easy on their opponent without being sure of victory.”

“Heh…” A vein twitched slightly on Qinglong’s forehead. “That’s a nice way to put it—’letting me have three rounds in a row.'”

“That’s what it looks like,” Qi Xia nodded.

“So this is also a gamble,” Qi Xia said. “‘Going easy’ is just my way of raising the stakes. If I win, these bets will make your defeat even more crushing. By then, everyone will know that you, the mighty Qinglong, lost to me even after I went easy on you for three rounds.”

“Using ‘going easy’ as a stake…?”

Qi Xia left unsaid the latter part—that even Xuanwu was part of his gamble.

“Perhaps even earlier,” Qi Xia replied. “I can set things up even before placing the bets.”

“Is that so…” Qinglong knew Qi Xia was hinting at something. “I know you’ve always been up to your little tricks. No matter how early you started planning this time, it doesn’t matter. As long as you kill Tianlong, I’m even willing to forgive all your disrespectful behavior.”

“I’m working on it,” Qi Xia replied.

“I’ve reminded you countless times—you must tell me before you kill Tianlong,” Qinglong said with an angry smile. “I don’t want any last-minute surprises in this deal.”

“But you’re currently trying to kill me,” Qi Xia said. “If I die…”

“We’re both using others to do our dirty work,” Qi Xia said. “Let’s see who ends up with the knife in their hand.”

After a moment of contemplation, Qinglong fell silent and walked straight behind the giant wall.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin looked up intently at the screen, but Qinglong took a long time to present his “character.”

Qinglong looked down with a heavy expression, holding a “hill” (丘) in his hand.

His mind was in turmoil. When he had designed the life-and-death rules, he had considered every possible scenario—so why hadn’t he anticipated that the referee would be Xuanwu?

How could a referee who didn’t even understand what a “father” was make a judgment in this round?

To win this game, using “hill” would be difficult, especially since Qinglong couldn’t guess what Qi Xia would create.

“The only way is to start from Xuanwu’s background…” Qinglong narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. “What is the largest thing in her memory?”

His mind was in turmoil. When he’d designed the life-or-death rules, he’d accounted for every scenario—so why hadn’t he anticipated Xuanwu being the referee?

Zheng Yingxiong’s nose twitched slightly, and he actually caught a faint scent of “hesitation” coming from Qi Xia’s direction.

But this scent vanished in an instant, replaced only by caution.

Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t help but look at Qi Xia with confusion. The phrase “the one with the largest coverage area wins” had once again made Qi Xia hesitate…?

Could it be that he still wasn’t confident about winning this game…?

Now, with the third round being the decisive one, where did this faint scent of “hesitation” from Qi Xia come from?

Zheng Yingxiong turned to look at Xuanwu, realizing that the problem must lie with the referee.

After all, the more a question relied on common sense, the stranger Xuanwu’s judgments tended to be.

“Qinglong, these rules are getting more and more abstract,” Chen Junnan said, pointing at the note in Xuanwu’s hand. “How do we calculate the coverage area? Do we include the shared area?”

For example, if one person provided “丘” (hill) and the other provided “林” (forest), both characters covered a large area, but there was no way to specify exactly how much area they occupied or to prove that one’s area was definitively larger than the other’s.

Thus, the round would inevitably devolve into another debate like the second round, and it would ultimately depend on how Xuanwu judged it. Whoever she deemed larger would win the round.

So, there were simply too many factors to consider in this “Cangjie Game.” Besides adhering to the rules, players had to account for the inclusion of “soldiers,” anticipate Xuanwu’s perceptions, and only by meeting all these conditions could they possibly win.

After thinking it over for a long time, Chen Junnan felt that the two would most likely provide “丘” and “林.” After all, Qi Xia could find a way to form two “木” (trees), but Qinglong couldn’t. So, these two characters were likely the final answers.

Qinglong would provide “丘,” and Qi Xia would provide “林”—these were the largest things Chen Junnan could currently think of.

Qinglong stepped forward, pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll go first again this time.”

“Figured as much,” Chen Junnan replied. “You really hate taking any losses, don’t you?”

Qinglong completely ignored Chen Junnan and instead turned to Qi Xia. “Dare to let me?”

“No problem,” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ve already let you go twice. If I don’t let you go the third time, it would be meaningless.”

“What’s the meaning behind it?”

“I’ve said it before—I’m going easy on you,” Qi Xia replied.

“I’m indeed not confident, but I still have to go easy on you,” Qi Xia said. “Don’t you want to win against me fair and square through strategy in a game? If I let you win three times in a row and you still lose, what would you do?”

“Heh…” A vein twitched slightly on Qinglong’s forehead. “That’s a nice way to put it—’letting me win three times in a row.'”

“That’s what it looks like,” Qi Xia nodded.

“But in this world, no one remembers the process—they only remember the outcome,” Qinglong said. “In your eyes, you’re letting me win three times in a row, but if you lose, all that ‘going easy’ will become a joke. People will only remember that I won; they won’t care about how it happened.”

“So, this is also a gamble,” Qi Xia said. “‘Going easy’ is just my way of raising the stakes. If I win, these stakes will make your defeat even more crushing. By then, everyone will know that you, the mighty Qinglong, lost the game even after I went easy on you three times in a row.”

“Using ‘going easy’ to raise the stakes…?”

Qi Xia left unsaid the latter part—that even Xuanwu was part of his gamble.

“Perhaps even earlier,” Qi Xia replied. “I can set things up even before placing the bet.”

“Is that so…” Qinglong knew Qi Xia was hinting at something. “I know you’ve always been up to your little tricks. No matter how early you set things up this time, it doesn’t matter. As long as you kill Tianlong, I’m even willing to forgive all your disrespectful behavior.”

“I’m working on it,” Qi Xia replied.

“I’ve reminded you countless times—you must tell me before you kill Tianlong,” Qinglong said with an angry smile. “I don’t want any mishaps at the last moment of this deal.”

“But you’re currently trying to kill me,” Qi Xia said. “If I die…”

“We’re both using others to do our dirty work,” Qi Xia said. “Let’s see who ends up with the knife in their hand.”

After a moment of silence, Qinglong said nothing more and walked straight behind the massive wall.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin looked up intently at the screen, but Qinglong took a long time to place his “character.”

Qinglong looked down with a heavy expression, holding a “丘” in his hand.

His mind was in turmoil. When he had designed the life-and-death rules, he had considered every possible scenario—so why hadn’t he anticipated that the referee would be Xuanwu?

How could a referee who didn’t even understand what “父” meant make judgments in the upcoming rounds?