When Di Hou saw this “Dragon Boat Festival” card, for a moment, he felt as if the heavens and earth were spinning.
“Winter Solstice”—one, one, two, three.
“Summer Begins”—four, six.
“Dragon Boat Festival”—five, five.
The hand Zheng Yingxiong revealed not only had “one, two, three, four, five, six” but also included “two ones” and “two fives.”
Compared to Di Hou’s final hand of a “straight” with “a pair,” Zheng Yingxiong’s hand was a “straight” with “two pairs.”
“What…?”
Countless questions exploded in his mind, making him feel utterly fooled.
“How could you possibly have the ‘Dragon Boat Festival’?!”
Qi Xia slowly straightened up, crossing his arms. “Di Hou, I think you’re right. You really didn’t cheat—there’s only one ‘Dragon Boat Festival’ in this deck.”
Hearing this, Di Hou whipped his head toward Qi Xia. “What kind of tactic is this? You deliberately made me think you had the ‘Dragon Boat Festival’ in your hand?”
Even though Di Hou had spent years in the gambling world, he had rarely encountered such a situation.
He had seen people collude to cheat, but never before had he seen someone who, just moments after learning the rules of the game and without any communication, could coordinate such a deception.
Moreover, the other party was just an eight-year-old child—how on earth could he have been convinced to play along in this staged argument?
“Is there a problem?” Qi Xia smirked. “Who said beating you had to rely on ‘gambling skills’? Sometimes, ‘deception’ works just as well.”
“Deception…?”
“Oh, I haven’t had the chance to introduce myself.” Qi Xia wiped the blood from his face. “My name is Qi Xia. I’m a swindler. You can only believe half of what I say.”
This brief self-introduction struck Di Hou like a thunderbolt, shaking him no less than the appearance of the “Dragon Boat Festival” card.
“What the hell…? A swindler?” Di Hou scratched his head, eyes wide. “You’re saying you’re a swindler…?”
Seeing Di Hou’s expression, Qi Xia became even more certain of one thing—he truly hadn’t been a swindler before.
At the very least, those who knew him in the past didn’t think of him as one. Like Chen Junnan.
So, his identity as a “swindler” couldn’t have lasted more than seven years, and it was highly likely tied to becoming a “Zodiac.”
“So… you’ve been lying to me this whole time…?”
“Yes.” Qi Xia nodded. “We finally had a chance to beat you, so we made sure the stakes were high enough—this time, we’re taking seven from you.”
“But how the hell did you pull this off…?” Di Hou was genuinely baffled. “None of you knew the rules beforehand, so how could you and that kid put on such a convincing act?”
“What are you doing?” Qi Xia sneered. “The game’s only in its second round, and you’re already asking me to reveal my strategy?”
Di Hou’s expression darkened. He took the cigarette from his lips, pinched it between his fingers, and slowly sat back down, lost in thought.
“Di Hou, I’m disappointed in you.” Qi Xia picked up the cards on the table and tossed them aside. “Did you really design this ‘game’?”
“What…?”
“Never mind.” Qi Xia’s face remained cold. “I was going to invite you into a ‘game’ of my own, but it seems you’re not qualified.”
Qi Xia’s words stabbed into Di Hou’s heart like needles, causing his expression to twist.
“I’m not qualified…” Di Hou lowered his head, his eyes dimming. “So, this is the kind of person you’ve become…?”
“Oh?”
“Only those who can beat you… are worthy of entering this ‘game’?” Di Hou asked.
“Not necessarily beating me, but at least showing me you have the skill.” Qi Xia rapped his knuckles on the table. “But right now, you’re just an ordinary ‘Earth-level.’ Zodiacs like you are a dime a dozen. I don’t know if you’ve always been like this, or if you’ve just been a ‘casino boss’ for too long.”
Di Hou’s dull yellow eyes fixed on Qi Xia. After a long silence, he finally put the cigarette back in his mouth. “Qi Xia, if I win, you won’t have enough to buy your life.”
“That’s not a good line.” Qi Xia shook his head. “It makes it sound like our earlier wins were just luck, and you’ve been going easy on us.”
“What if that’s true?”
“Then I’d feel underestimated.” Qi Xia replied. “I only get stronger by facing formidable opponents. I want every adversary I meet to be exceptionally skilled, but you claim you’ll go easy on me? That’s just insulting.”
Every word from Qi Xia seemed to plunge Di Hou deeper into thought.
He blinked repeatedly, mulling over the meaning behind Qi Xia’s words.
“So… all these years, you’ve been challenging stronger opponents?” Di Hou asked.
“What else?” Qi Xia said. “Should I open a casino too and nap behind the counter every day?”
Di Hou’s heart was pierced once more by Qi Xia’s words. He lowered his head, his spirit dimming.
Meanwhile, Zheng Yingxiong tugged at Tian Tian’s sleeve uneasily. “Sis…”
Tian Tian immediately tensed up. She knew Zheng Yingxiong must have smelled that strange “stench” again. She quickly scanned the room before locking eyes with Di Hou.
Di Hou’s demeanor was off—he no longer seemed as carefree as before.
“Qi Xia, I did underestimate you.” Di Hou admitted. “From now on, I’ll take this seriously. Let me show you what kind of opponent I really am.”
“Be my guest.”
Di Hou discarded his hand, and the others passed their cards to Tian Tian, who would be the next dealer.
After collecting all the “chips” from the table, Qi Xia redistributed them.
They had won four “Dao” from Di Hou in the first round and seven in the second, totaling eleven.
Originally, the distribution among Qi Xia’s group of six had been uneven, but now, everyone seemed capable of holding their own. He first topped up Tian Tian, Zheng Yingxiong, and Chen Junnan’s chips to four each, then split the remaining six evenly.
Everyone except Xiao Cheng now had five “Dao” as their base funds—enough to handle any situation. Xiao Cheng, of course, didn’t object.
Given his minimal contribution so far, it was only fair he didn’t receive as much as the others.
But Di Hou’s mention of “straight” and “pairs” during the reveal had suddenly unlocked Xiao Cheng’s understanding.
If he wasn’t mistaken, he now fully grasped the winning strategy for this game. From here on out, it was just a matter of luck.
His ultimate goal differed from the others. Besides surviving this game, he needed to awaken his “Echo.” But the man named Qi Xia was far too sharp—hardly requiring him to think, their chips kept growing.
“Everyone, the third round—begins now!”
Once again, Di Hou declared this in a firm, resounding voice.
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