Earth Monkey didn’t raise the bet in this round, so Zheng Yingxiong proceeded to deal the second round of cards.
He dealt each player a card face down, finally reaching Earth Monkey.
As Zheng Yingxiong climbed onto the table to hand Earth Monkey his card, he suddenly paused mid-motion, his nose twitching slightly.
Earth Monkey, who had reached out to take the card, frowned. “What? You don’t want to give me my card?”
Zheng Yingxiong looked around in confusion before fixing his gaze back on Earth Monkey, sniffing the air again.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Earth Monkey demanded.
“Uncle…” Zheng Yingxiong seemed puzzled, hesitating before sniffing once more, his expression softening slightly. “It’s nothing… must’ve been my imagination…”
After handing Earth Monkey his **hidden card**, Zheng Yingxiong returned to his seat with a troubled look, scratching his head absentmindedly.
A trickle of blood slid from his nose, yet he seemed completely unaware.
Beside him, Tiantian gasped and quickly wiped the blood away, staining her palm.
“Hero, you’re bleeding again!”
Zheng Yingxiong turned to her blankly, his lips parting slightly as he murmured, “Just now… it smelled so bad.”
“Bad…?”
Tiantian immediately sniffed the air. If there was any “bad” smell, it wasn’t unusual—**the Endgame** was already saturated with the stench of decay. The room, having just witnessed death, reeked of sticky blood, making the air even more foul than outside.
But Zheng Yingxiong had said it was only for a **moment**. Tiantian suspected the “stench” he referred to was tied to his **Resonance**—a scent only he could detect.
“What kind of smell was it?” Tiantian leaned in, whispering almost inaudibly. “Was it… a **Resonance**?”
“Hard to say…” Zheng Yingxiong shook his head, replying just as quietly. “Sister, most **Resonances** smell fragrant to me. Only the really strong ones carry a hint of rot… but what I smelled just now was different…”
“How?”
“It was like… **Heaven**.” His face paled. “I think I smelled something far worse than any ordinary **Zodiac**… but I don’t know where it came from.”
“Where else could it—”
Tiantian recalled how **Human Monkey**, when giving them Earth Monkey’s address, had specifically said, *”I want to know if Earth Monkey has a Resonance.”* That hadn’t been an idle remark.
“Hero,” she whispered. “If you smell it again, tap my arm, okay?”
He nodded.
Earth Monkey, oblivious to their exchange, lifted his hidden card and glanced at it. A fleeting, complicated expression crossed his face—subtle enough to go unnoticed by most. After a moment of contemplation, he set the card down and addressed the table.
“Anyone raising?”
Qi Xia caught the minute shift in his expression but couldn’t decipher its meaning. What kind of card had Earth Monkey drawn to provoke such a reaction?
Currently, the strongest visible cards on the table were Earth Monkey’s **”New Year’s Eve” (12-30)** and Zheng Yingxiong’s **”Winter Solstice” (11-23)**.
Since the community card was **”Start of Summer” (4-6)**, both players had a chance to form a **”straight” (1-2-3-4-5-6)**—though unlike the five-card straight Qiao Jiajin had described, this one required six cards.
If either Zheng Yingxiong or Earth Monkey drew a **”5″**, they could complete the sequence.
Qi Xia had already calculated that forming a straight in this game was exceptionally rare—rarer than flushes, three-of-a-kind, or even pairs—almost on par with four-of-a-kind. Thus, straights should carry significant weight.
In theory, Qi Xia had no reason to stay in this round. But if he stopped strategizing, Zheng Yingxiong might lose despite holding a strong hand.
The pressing question now was: **What was Earth Monkey’s hidden card?**
What could’ve made his expression so unreadable?
“If no one’s raising, I will,” Earth Monkey declared, tossing a **Dao** onto the table. “One more.”
He scanned the group.
Tiantian and Zheng Yingxiong exchanged uneasy glances—they were out of chips and had no choice but to fold.
Seeing this, Qi Xia turned slightly. “Fists.”
“Got it.”
Qiao Jiajin and Chen Jun’nan exchanged a look before standing.
“Ah, Tiantian,” Qiao Jiajin said casually, “I can return the **Dao** you lent me earlier.”
Chen Jun’nan dug into his pocket. “Kid, I found this bead by the door earlier. Yours?”
Without hesitation, they slapped their chips onto the table, glaring defiantly at Earth Monkey.
Earth Monkey sneered but couldn’t stop them from pooling their resources.
Xiao Cheng hesitated, staring at his **”Summer Solstice” (5-21)**. With only one chip left, he was about to fold when Qi Xia spoke.
“Call him. No need to fear—your hand is strong.”
“Strong…?” Xiao Cheng frowned, then nodded and pushed his last chip forward.
Qi Xia had nearly overlooked Xiao Cheng’s cards earlier. In fact, his hand stood a better chance than Zheng Yingxiong’s or Earth Monkey’s.
His **”Summer Solstice” (5-21)** combined with the community card **”Start of Summer” (4-26)** meant he was only missing a **”3″** to complete the straight.
And unlike Earth Monkey and Zheng Yingxiong’s missing **”5″**, the **”3″** was far more common.
In the lunar calendar, all second-half **solar terms** fell on the **8th or 23rd**, meaning at least six terms had **”23″** in their dates. The first half included two terms from March (**”Qingming”** and **”Grain Rain”**), plus the March festival **”Shangsi Festival”** and the **”New Year’s Eve” (12-30)** with its **”3″**, totaling **ten cards** featuring a **”3″**.
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