Chapter 641: All In

“Oh…?” Chi Xia slowly furrowed his brows. “You want to raise the stakes…”

“That’s right,” the Earth Monkey said, glancing at Chi Xia’s cards. “I’m raising by two ‘Dao’. Does anyone dare to call?”

With just this one sentence, he nearly cut off everyone else’s escape routes.

At the beginning, everyone had to place one ‘Dao’ as an initial bet. Then during the first betting round, someone had already raised by one ‘Dao’. Now, with another raise of two ‘Dao’, the stakes had already climbed to four ‘Dao’ in just the first round.

Whether it was premeditated or merely a test, the two ‘Dao’ the Earth Monkey had just added represented everything that Chi Xia and Qiao Jiajin had brought to the table. The others could only choose to fold. Although four ‘Dao’ was nothing to the Earth Monkey, for the rest of them, it was already an all-in move.

After all, no one else could afford such a massive raise, unless they were ready to bet their lives.

Without waiting for the others to decide, the Earth Monkey had already pulled out two ‘Dao’ from beneath the table and tossed them onto the surface. Now, four translucent and crystalline ‘Dao’ sat in front of him, like eyes staring at everyone, silently warning them to back down.

Seeing this, Chen Junnan and Sweetie immediately covered their cards and resignedly withdrew from the round. Zheng Yingxiong also pushed his cards forward with a hint of frustration.

They simply no longer had enough ‘chips’ to keep up with the betting.

From the very beginning, this game had been far from fair. The Earth Monkey not only knew all the rules, but he also dealt the cards and declared the winners. Moreover, he possessed wealth far beyond anyone else at the table. Under these circumstances, anyone daring to gamble against him would need more than just luck and intelligence to stand a chance—less than one percent probability, to be exact.

“You two still want to call?” the Earth Monkey asked, turning to Chi Xia and Qiao Jiajin.

Qiao Jiajin slightly flipped his hole card, revealing the words “End of Heat.”

Currently, he held one card marked “Major Heat” and another reading “End of Heat,” while the Earth Monkey’s face-up card was “Summer Solstice.”

After a moment’s thought, Qiao Jiajin spoke up. “Do you know something, fatty monkey?”

“What?”

“I grew up on the streets,” Qiao Jiajin said slowly, running his fingers over his cards. “Every gang we had would check the almanac before any group activity. We never looked at Western methods. So, the ‘solar terms’ are just as important to us as anything else.”

“Oh?”

“If you say ‘Frost’s Descent’ is the 23rd of the ninth month, then my ‘Major Heat’ must be the 21st of the sixth month, and your ‘Summer Solstice’ the 21st of the fifth month, right?” Qiao Jiajin asked.

“That’s correct,” the Earth Monkey nodded.

“Just looking at our face-up cards, my date is later than yours, so I’ll call.” Qiao Jiajin tossed his last two ‘Dao’ onto the table and revealed his hidden card, “End of Heat.” He continued, “I don’t believe the card I have left can’t beat yours.”

Chi Xia saw Qiao Jiajin’s hidden card: “End of Heat,” corresponding to the eighth day of the seventh lunar month. If they were simply comparing dates in traditional fashion, Qiao Jiajin’s card wasn’t particularly strong, nor was it especially weak—it was uncertain territory.

Of course, there was another possibility: this was just one of Qiao Jiajin’s tactics.

Then Qiao Jiajin turned to Chi Xia and whispered, “Hey trickster, if it’s just you and him showing your hands, you won’t have enough information. If all three of us reveal, you can compare all the cards and better understand what counts as ‘big.’ If I lose everything, it’s no big deal.”

“Alright,” Chi Xia understood Qiao Jiajin’s reasoning and looked back at the Earth Monkey.

“Will you call?” the Earth Monkey asked. “As an experienced gambler, let me give you some advice: I recommend you fold now.”

“Oh? Why?”

“Because after you call, I’ll raise again, and you won’t have the chips to match. You’ll have no choice but to lose,” the Earth Monkey said.

“That sounds pretty boring,” Chi Xia replied. “Your logic from that sentence onward doesn’t really hold up.”

“Oh?”

“You said you’ve been waiting a long time for a ‘Lunar Month’ game, yet now you’re already playing your strongest cards in the first round, trying to defeat me immediately. That doesn’t make sense,” Chi Xia said.

“I didn’t plan to go this far originally,” the Earth Monkey’s lips curled slightly. “Unfortunately, your current state feels dangerous to me. I prefer to play it safe and take you down here.”

“Too bad you’re lying,” Chi Xia said. “I don’t think your hand can beat mine.”

Chi Xia’s face was now pale and flushed by turns, like a demon with battle markings, making the Earth Monkey feel a chill.

“You also know,” the Earth Monkey said, “that winning isn’t just about the cards. I can also beat you with chips. If I keep raising, you won’t be able to keep up. The outcome will be decided before anyone even shows their hands.”

“Then let me make myself clear too,” Chi Xia said, tapping the table. “From this moment on, no matter what chips you throw at me that I can’t match, I will bet my life without hesitation.”

“What?!” The Earth Monkey’s eyes widened slightly. “You’re actually this crazy?”

“So chips won’t stop me,” Chi Xia said calmly. “And I don’t think I’ll lose.”

“Have you figured out the game’s rules?”

“More or less. Now it’s just waiting for you to speak.”

The remaining players kept watching the three—Earth Monkey, Chi Xia, and Qiao Jiajin—who had yet to fold, holding their breath for them all.

This was only the first round, yet they had already bet everything they had. If Chi Xia and Qiao Jiajin lost, they would all perish together.

After all, the Earth Monkey had already locked the casino doors. There would be no new customers today, and they had no extra resources to gamble again with the Earth Monkey. Such an outcome would be no different from death itself.

“Fine…” the Earth Monkey nodded. “I just hope you don’t regret this.”

“Why would I regret it?”

“Looking at the known cards on the table right now, only you have a chance to challenge me. But I think your chances of beating me are slim.”

“How so?”

“This deck only has thirty-six cards,” the Earth Monkey smiled. “Your visible cards and the community cards already determine your hand. Right now, only one card could possibly make your hand bigger than mine, but I don’t believe I’d be that unlucky.”

“Is that so?” Chi Xia’s lips slightly curled. “Then let me tell you something too.”

“I’m all ears,” the Earth Monkey said.

Chi Xia raised his hidden card and slowly moved it toward his left cheek, leaving only his flushed right side visible to the Earth Monkey, like a true demon.

“This card is too deadly for you. Just now, I thought of six different ways to compare the cards, and only in one of them would I lose to you.”

“Six different rules…?” The Earth Monkey slowly furrowed his brows, as if trying to determine whether Chi Xia was telling the truth.