“What the hell…?” Di Hou instantly furrowed his brow. “You’re betting with this?”
“Can’t I?” Chen Junnan asked with a serious expression. “Brother Monkey, I’m giving you my heart and soul here. Why aren’t you taking it seriously? A lot of people wanted these socks, and I didn’t even give them out.”
“I don’t want them either!” Di Hou snapped. “We’re betting with ‘Dao’ here. What’s the point of betting with a damn pair of socks?!”
“Can’t I?!” Chen Junnan shot back, refusing to back down. “I’ve seen Hong Kong movies where they bet like this—besides chips on the table, they wager hands, eyes, legs, even lives! I’m betting a pair of socks. You can match with a pair too!”
“I… I match with a pair of socks?!”
“Can’t afford it?” Chen Junnan raised an eyebrow, his face breaking into a cheeky grin. “So you’re admitting defeat, huh?”
Before Di Hou could respond, Chen Junnan quickly shot a glance to Qiao Jiajin on his left. “Old Qiao, he’s conceding. Collect the money.”
“Got it!”
Qiao Jiajin lunged at all the ‘Dao’ on the table with lightning speed. Their seamless teamwork left Di Hou momentarily stunned.
“Hold on!”
But Di Hou was, after all, a high-ranking player. He immediately shielded the chips on the table, staring at the two of them blankly for a few seconds before frowning and asking, “Are you two here to cause trouble?”
“Oh?” Chen Junnan flashed an odd smile. “Brother Monkey, why don’t you clarify—can we bet with things other than ‘Dao’?”
Only then did Di Hou realize the true intention behind this cheeky man suddenly tossing out two socks.
He wanted to set the rules of the gambling table here and now.
The appearance of the socks was perfectly timed, forcing Di Hou into a dilemma. If he ruled that only ‘Dao’ could be bet, it would be difficult to make the others suffer later in the game. But if he allowed non-‘Dao’ bets now, this man would have genuinely gotten away with using a pair of socks in the first round.
What should he do?
“Conceding, huh?” Chen Junnan continued, fanning the flames. “If you can’t match the bet, just say it outright. What, didn’t wear socks today? Can’t afford it?”
Di Hou, still guarding the chips on the table, thought for a moment before suddenly breaking into a faint smile.
Got it.
“Young man… this game does allow betting with things other than ‘Dao,’ but there’s a condition…” Di Hou said.
“Lay it on me. I was worried you wouldn’t have one.”
Di Hou pondered briefly before speaking. “Once someone bets something other than ‘Dao,’ everyone else must also put up the same item—or something of equal or higher value. If even one person doesn’t have the same or a more valuable item, the first person’s bet is invalid.”
“Unacceptable.” Qi Xia, pressing a hand to his forehead, immediately objected. “Those with ‘Dao’ can bet ‘Dao.’ Those without ‘Dao’ can mortgage items. But forcing everyone to match the same item, even when they have ‘Dao,’ is unreasonable.”
Di Hou turned to Qi Xia, his lips curling slightly as the wrinkles on his face relaxed.
“I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not happening…” He pushed Chen Junnan aside and said to Qi Xia, “This is my casino’s rule. You can bet anything. For fairness, I and everyone else will match the same item—no exceptions. Since we didn’t clarify beforehand, this round won’t count. The rule starts next round.”
Qi Xia’s brow furrowed deeper.
Using items as substitutes for ‘Dao’ was indeed a problem they had to face, but forcing everyone to match the same item cut off many escape routes.
If one person bet their life, the others would have no choice but to do the same to continue gambling.
“Too dangerous…” Qi Xia muttered, shaking his head. Not only were the rules perilous, but his mind itself was now at risk.
He had to start thinking fast…
Closing his eyes, he mulled over Di Hou’s proposal. If everyone had to bet the same thing, wouldn’t that affect Di Hou too?
Even he had to match the bet. Why was he so calm about it?
Allowing item bets also posed a major disadvantage for the group. Their goal wasn’t like ordinary gamblers—winning material goods meant little to them. What they needed now was to gather sixty ‘Dao’ to buy back their lives.
If Di Hou started betting items every round, they might go eight rounds without earning a single ‘Dao.’
“If you don’t accept it, we’ll all take back our items. I’ve got plenty of capital to spare.”
Qi Xia thought quickly for a few seconds before responding, “We agree. Starting next round, we’ll include items.”
“Oh…?” Di Hou narrowed his eyes slightly. “Bold.”
Hearing this, Chen Junnan retrieved his socks, put them back on, and tossed a ‘Dao’ onto the table. It didn’t matter which round it started—his goal was psychological warfare.
Di Hou scoffed when he saw Chen Junnan’s bet. “You’re ‘Start of Spring.’ Really adding a bet?”
“Can’t ‘Start of Spring’ add a bet?” Chen Junnan smirked. “Does the game say ‘Start of Spring’ automatically loses?”
Di Hou gave a slight nod before turning back to Qi Xia. “Your teammate’s not bad.”
Qi Xia said nothing. Beside him, Qiao Jiajin, holding ‘Major Heat,’ pondered briefly before decisively choosing to raise.
Now, Qi Xia studied his own ‘Double Seventh,’ the ‘Ghost Festival’ in the center of the table, and Di Hou’s ‘Summer Solstice,’ running through possible scenarios.
His mind spun rapidly for a moment before slowing again. He distinctly remembered reading about lunar phases and the twenty-four solar terms, but those memories were buried deep, shrouded in fog—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall them.
“I… I’ll raise too…” Qi Xia said, rubbing his forehead.
Di Hou nodded expressionlessly, watching as Qi Xia tossed a ‘Dao’ onto the table before doing the same himself.
Next was Zheng Yingxiong.
He held a ‘Frost’s Descent.’
The others couldn’t help but sweat for him. The boy looked no older than a first or second grader—likely unfamiliar not just with gambling, but even with reading the characters for ‘Frost’s Descent.’ In this situation, though no one said it aloud, Zheng Yingxiong was essentially cannon fodder. His presence was merely to give the group more room for trial and error.
“I’m ‘Frost’s Descent,'” Zheng Yingxiong said earnestly, looking at Di Hou. “Uncle, I’ll call.”
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