Qi Xia’s words were like a massive battle-axe, cleaving straight from the top of Earth Monkey’s skull down to his heels.
A bone-chilling cold spread through Earth Monkey’s entire body.
After so many rounds of this game… had he ever… won even once?
As if his bones had been yanked out, Earth Monkey slumped into his seat with a dazed expression.
Looking back, how terrifying was this? It seemed like he had been completely dominated by Qi Xia, without even a chance to fight back.
The other man wasn’t even an expert in “gambling”—he was a master of “human nature” and “deception.”
“No… that can’t be…” Earth Monkey forced himself to focus, his panicked eyes darting to Qi Xia. “You definitely cheated… I-I caught you red-handed…”
“Sorry,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I wasn’t the one who stole the cards.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Qiao Jiajin to his left and Chen Junnan to his right each pulled out a card, waving them in their hands.
Chen Junnan held the “Double Ninth” card.
Qiao Jiajin held the “Ghost Festival” card.
“Hey, Monkey Bro, we’re the ones who took ’em,” Chen Junnan said. “But what’re you gonna do? We didn’t bet, didn’t even use these cards—just held ’em for a look. Your game only uses five cards, right? Us grabbing one doesn’t mess with the game, does it?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “Fat Monkey, your cards are real nice, y’know? I kinda wanted one as a souvenir. Been admiring it this whole time.”
“You’re full of shit!” Earth Monkey slammed the table. “You just handed those cards to Qi Xia! I saw it with my own—”
At that, Qi Xia abruptly stood, his icy gaze locking onto Earth Monkey. “You saw it with your own eyes?”
“I… I…”
“Did you see it or not?”
“You—”
“Say it!” Qi Xia’s eyes flared with a mix of madness and amusement. “Earth Monkey, come on, say it! Who… caught who cheating?”
Qi Xia’s words cut off every possible escape route for Earth Monkey.
He could only swallow the words already on his tongue.
Yes—if he hadn’t seen those two cards, he wouldn’t be in this mess.
After all, Qi Xia had smeared blood on his own card from the start, and in the end, he revealed the same one.
Even if he’d swapped cards midway, it didn’t change his final hand—the card he drew initially and the one he revealed were both “Great Snow.”
Had even that blood-red blossom been part of the plan?
Just how terrifying was this man?
He had foreseen everything, yet instead of revealing it outright, he laid one trap after another atop these truths until Earth Monkey stumbled right in.
In this game, who was really the prey?
“You…” Earth Monkey had too many questions, not even knowing where to start.
“Don’t lose heart, Earth Monkey. I told you—you didn’t lose because of any one thing I said. You lost because of everything I said.”
“So… you knew from the start that the ‘Full Moon Rule’ didn’t require using the ‘community card’…”
“Of course,” Qi Xia nodded. “After all, the ‘community card’ could instantly ‘bust’ the game. If a ‘Double Ninth’ was drawn, everyone’s hand would hit ‘eighteen’ instantly, making all players lose. That doesn’t just violate the rules you Zodiacs designed—it doesn’t even make sense as a gambling rule.”
Earth Monkey pressed his lips together in silence.
“So I took a gamble: even if the ‘community card’ busted, the game would continue, because each player still had a hidden card no one could predict. That’s why the rule had to allow ‘discarding the community card.’ Even in blackjack, players stop taking cards once their hand is strong enough.” Qi Xia smirked. “We could’ve figured this out sooner, but whether by luck or misfortune, every ‘community card’ drawn in these rounds was small, neatly avoiding the issue.”
Earth Monkey rubbed his forehead and muttered, “Incredible… Qi Xia…”
He never imagined the tool of his defeat would be a “trump card” he himself had kept hidden.
“Giving up already?” Qi Xia grinned, glancing at Tiantian. “Tiantian, tell him where he lost.”
Tiantian offered a wry smile and shook her head. “Earth Monkey… even me being here to shuffle was part of Qi Xia’s plan.”
“What…?”
Earth Monkey suddenly remembered—when he suggested finding someone to shuffle, Tiantian had volunteered from across the room. Immediately after, he lost the game.
“I was helping Hero’s little brother stop his nosebleed when Qi Xia suddenly grabbed me,” Tiantian explained. “He told me that if you ever asked for a shuffler, I had to take the chance—and then scatter the cards on the table.”
Earth Monkey had never imagined Qi Xia’s scheme had begun that early.
“Once the cards were scattered, Qiao Jiajin would offer to reshuffle, and you wouldn’t object. That’s when he could sneak a card away.” Tiantian met Earth Monkey’s eyes. “You assumed no one would steal so brazenly, so you’d only check for marks, not count the cards. Then Chen Junnan could take one too.”
Earth Monkey exhaled shakily. “All this trouble… just to mess with my head…”
“Yep, Monkey Bro,” Chen Junnan nodded. “You thought we were just helping Old Qi every time he ‘fainted’? Nah—we were handing him cards! So your ‘all-seeing eyes’ could get a real good look!”
“Earth Monkey,” Qi Xia added coolly, “not only did I know you likely had an ‘ability,’ I also guessed you couldn’t fully unleash it. You’re careful with it—only revealing tiny hints each time. That’s why you couldn’t monitor all three of us under the table. You only watched me. And that was your biggest mistake.”
Earth Monkey slowly lifted his gaze, realizing he hadn’t just lost to Qi Xia.
That man Chen Junnan had been messing with his mind from the start, and in the final moments, he’d tricked Earth Monkey into admitting he’d “allowed cheating.” Every word, every move had been calculated.
And that tattooed guy? Just as dangerous. If his mind games weren’t enough, his final “Don’t cheat” line had completely shattered Earth Monkey’s “Spirit Vision.”
Then there was the kid with the nosebleed, the girl dealing cards, the college student…
“**The Sheep Effect**,” Qi Xia murmured. “Once one person starts lying, the rest become lying sheep too.”
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