The two men stared at each other, their intense competitive aura leaving the others frozen in place, swallowing nervously.
“I… don’t believe it,” Earth Monkey said. “You only knew about ‘September 23rd.’ If you had guessed all the solar terms, I could understand, but claiming you figured out six different rules for comparing cards is absurd.”
“Oh?”
Qi Xia found Earth Monkey’s argument intriguing—it touched on something he had never considered before.
“Earth Monkey, in your mind, do you really think I’m incapable of such a thing?” Qi Xia asked.
“I can’t say it’s completely impossible,” Earth Monkey replied. “But this goes beyond what a normal person could do. In just one minute, are you saying you not only came up with six ways to compare the cards but also guessed what I was holding and tested my cards against all six methods?”
“Basically, yes,” Qi Xia said. “Though I should correct you—I considered more than six methods. I just discarded the unreasonable ones.”
“I don’t believe you,” Earth Monkey repeated. “So now you have a five-in-six chance of beating me?”
“Exactly,” Qi Xia nodded. “If you don’t want to raise the stakes, we can reveal our cards now.”
Earth Monkey thought for a few seconds before finally picking up his hidden card.
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
He flipped his card over—it read “Dragon Boat Festival.”
At the same time, Qi Xia frowned slightly upon seeing it.
Earth Monkey’s hand now consisted of “Summer Solstice,” “Dragon Boat Festival,” and the community card, “Ghost Festival.”
“Your turn.”
Upon hearing this, Qiao Jiajin flipped his cards as well—there was no point in hiding them now.
His hand was “Great Heat,” “Start of Autumn,” and the community card, “Ghost Festival.”
“And you?” Earth Monkey looked at Qi Xia. “You already know the tattooed guy’s hand won’t make a difference. This round is still between you and me. He’s just here to fatten the pot.”
“True. I admit, if you had ‘Dragon Boat Festival,’ it was slightly unexpected,” Qi Xia said as he revealed his own cards. “But upon reflection, even if your hand is strong, the odds are still in my favor.”
He placed “Qixi Festival” and “End of Heat” in front of Earth Monkey, whose face instantly darkened.
Out of the thirty-plus cards, only one could have given Qi Xia the win—and he had drawn it.
“End of Heat.”
“Your expression is priceless,” Qi Xia remarked. “I win, right?”
Earth Monkey pressed his lips together, silent for a moment before wordlessly pushing all four of his “Dao” tokens toward Qi Xia.
“Still bitter?” Qi Xia took the tokens. “You should be grateful you didn’t bet more this round. Otherwise, I’d have staked my life.”
After a long pause, Earth Monkey finally spoke. “You won this round, but what about the next? Do you plan to bet your life every time, you madman?”
“You know how this works, Earth Monkey,” Qi Xia replied. “Even though seven people are playing, all six of us need to take ‘Dao’ from you. Winning sixty ‘Dao’ from you in eight rounds is nearly impossible. So, at some point, I’ll have to put my life on the line.”
“Are you threatening me with your life?”
“Yes, it’s a threat—and I mean it.” Qi Xia picked up his two cards and tossed them back to Earth Monkey. “I told you, if you ever raise the stakes beyond what we can cover, I’ll immediately bet my life.”
Earth Monkey’s expression shifted slightly, a vein throbbing faintly beneath his wrinkled forehead.
“Earth Monkey,” Qi Xia continued, “if you can exploit ‘loopholes in the rules’ to hide the winning conditions, so can we.”
“You—”
“So you already knew,” Qi Xia said. “Your game is ‘enter with two Dao, leave with ten.’ But ‘betting lives’ in ‘Lunar Phases’ isn’t part of your rules. Even if we lose our lives, we’re still safe.”
“Then why say it out loud?” Earth Monkey asked as he gathered the cards. “You could’ve caught me off guard.”
Qi Xia smirked. “Because I need to ensure you lose sixty ‘Dao’ to us steadily. So listen closely—if your raises exceed our limits, or if you try to forfeit mid-game, the moment I sense anything unfair, I’ll bet my life. Even if I lose, the six of us will take turns betting our lives against you. Unless your hand can beat everyone, we *will* find a way to kill you.”
A chill ran down Earth Monkey’s spine.
The man before him was nothing like the one in his memories—not only was his intellect far sharper, but his ruthlessness had also reached new heights. What had happened to him?
“If you can pull it off… be my guest.”
As everyone returned their cards to Earth Monkey, he began shuffling again.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia pieced together the game’s rules based on the information Earth Monkey had revealed.
When Qiao Jiajin showed his hand, Earth Monkey’s expression remained unchanged—meaning the outcome matched his expectations.
Qiao Jiajin’s hand—”Great Heat,” “Start of Autumn,” and “Ghost Festival” (June, July, July)—was weaker than Earth Monkey’s “Summer Solstice,” “Dragon Boat Festival,” and “Ghost Festival” (May, May, July).
And Earth Monkey’s hand was weaker than Qi Xia’s “Qixi Festival,” “End of Heat,” and “Ghost Festival” (July, July, July).
The first possible rule was comparing the sum of the months on the cards—but that didn’t make sense.
Earth Monkey had been confident in his victory even when Qi Xia’s hand was already two “July” cards. Under that rule, Earth Monkey’s odds weren’t favorable.
“So the month isn’t the deciding factor…”
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