At this moment, a sentence Earth Monkey had spoken before revealing his cards echoed in Qi Xia’s ears.
He had said that among the thirty-some cards, only one could secure victory.
And that card was **”End of Heat.”**
This meant **”End of Heat”** was special—or at least, it was special in this round of the game.
But what exactly made this card unique compared to the other thirty-some cards?
“No… my thinking is still too limited…” Qi Xia glanced at the scattered cards on the table as Earth Monkey slowly gathered them one by one.
One possibility was that the other lethal cards had already appeared on the table. So it wasn’t that **”End of Heat”** had any special attribute—it was simply the only remaining unplayed card that could defeat Earth Monkey.
He quickly recalled the cards Earth Monkey could have seen at the time.
First, the community card at the center of the table: **”Ghost Festival.”** Then, his own hand: **”Summer Solstice”** and **”Dragon Boat Festival.”**
Next were everyone’s revealed cards: Zheng Yingxiong’s **”Frost’s Descent,”** Tian Tian’s **”Major Snow,”** Xiao Cheng’s **”Pure Brightness,”** Chen Junan’s **”Start of Spring,”** Qiao Jiajin’s **”Major Heat,”** and his own **”Qixi Festival.”**
Qi Xia felt his mind was still a mess, as if he were missing a crucial clue.
Squinting, he visualized all the cards in his mind, their faces transforming into strings of numbers.
“Ah…” Qi Xia slowly opened his mouth. There it was—a tiny detail he had nearly overlooked.
When Earth Monkey had uttered those words, Qiao Jiajin had just revealed his hidden card.
Could it be… that Earth Monkey only came to that conclusion after seeing Qiao Jiajin’s hidden card, **”Start of Autumn”?**
“So **’Start of Autumn’** is also one of the cards that could have secured my victory…” Qi Xia murmured silently, closing his eyes. **”Start of Autumn… End of Heat…”**
What was the connection between these two cards? Why could both of them lead to victory?
Within seconds, Qi Xia reopened his eyes. The clues in his mind suddenly connected like an electrical circuit, illuminating everything.
That year, **”Start of Autumn”** fell on **”the eighth day of the seventh month.”**
And **”End of Heat”** was **”the twenty-third day of the seventh month.”**
These two cards, aside from the **”Qixi Festival”** in his hand and the **”Ghost Festival”** at the center of the table, were the only remaining cards from the **seventh month.**
No other cards—whether festivals or solar terms—belonged to the seventh month. So when Qiao Jiajin revealed **”Start of Autumn,”** Earth Monkey would have logically assumed that only one such card remained.
But earlier, Qi Xia had already deduced that the game wasn’t strictly tied to **”months.”** After all, Earth Monkey had dared to bet against his seventh-month card while holding a fifth-month card. So where was the real key?
**”The key isn’t the seventh month—it’s the number seven.”**
Qiao Jiajin, watching Qi Xia deep in thought, waited patiently until his expression finally relaxed before asking, “Scammer, did you figure out the rules?”
Qi Xia turned his head, pondering for a few seconds before replying, “Earth Monkey’s **’four fives’** lost to my **’four sevens.’**”
“Wha—?” Qiao Jiajin blinked. “Texas Hold’em? Four of a kind?”
“I don’t know Texas Hold’em… What are the exact rules?” Qi Xia asked.
“It’s complicated, but basically…” Qiao Jiajin paused mid-sentence, then suddenly stiffened. “Hey! Scammer! This really does resemble Texas Hold’em!”
“Oh? That much?”
“The format’s similar…” Qiao Jiajin scratched his head, recalling. “But in that game, players have more cards, and there are more community cards. If you say **’four sevens’** beats **’four fives,’** that’s even more like Texas Hold’em. That’s one of the strongest hands—called **’four of a kind.’** If two players both have four of a kind, the higher number wins.”
“I see.” Qi Xia nodded. Having never gambled before, he was unfamiliar with such poker rules.
“So you think this game is just a simplified Texas Hold’em?” Qiao Jiajin also fell into thought. “Where you use numbers to form combinations and compare strengths? Kind of like mahjong—if you can assemble specific sets, you win. Like **’straight,’ ‘four of a kind,’ ‘three of a kind,’** and so on.”
“It’s not that straightforward…” Qi Xia shook his head. “Since I only won this round, I can only deduce part of the rules. There must be significant differences from Texas Hold’em.”
Qiao Jiajin leaned closer and whispered, “Where’s the difference?”
“If we convert every card into numerical values, theoretically, each card we draw would give us several numbers.” Qi Xia explained. “Take **’Major Cold’**—in the lunar calendar, it’s **’the twenty-third day of the twelfth month.’** That translates to four numbers: **’one,’ ‘two,’ ‘two,’ ‘three.’** Do you see the problem now?”
“Nope.” Qiao Jiajin answered bluntly.
“It means the number of ‘cards’ each player holds varies drastically.” Qi Xia elaborated. “For example, **’Dragon Boat Festival’** is **’the fifth day of the fifth month’**—just two numbers: **’five’** and **’five.’** Two players might both draw a **’lunar phase’** card, but **’Major Cold’** grants four numbers, while **’Dragon Boat Festival’** only gives two. This imbalance means, when revealing hands, some players have far more numerical combinations to form winning sets, while others don’t.”
“I think I get it now…” Qiao Jiajin mused. “Scammer, in a way, the saying **’the later the month, the stronger the card’** is correct.”
Qi Xia nodded in agreement. Earlier, Earth Monkey had questioned why Chen Junan would bet with **”Start of Spring,”** precisely because it only had two numbers: **’one’** and **’six.’** These couldn’t form a **’pair,’** let alone a **’straight.’**
“Fists… Now I need to know…” Qi Xia turned to Qiao Jiajin. “In Texas Hold’em, what’s the strongest possible hand?”
Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment. “This is where I feel confused… and where this game differs most from standard Texas Hold’em…”
“Oh? What is it?”
**”Royal Flush.”**
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