When the six people returned to the round table with their respective chips, Di Hou noticed something off about Qi Xia.
“What’s wrong, your constitution’s gotten worse now?” Di Hou asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips. His eyelids drooped, making him look even more exhausted than Qi Xia.
“‘Now’…?” Qi Xia forced his eyes open to look at him. “Was I better before?”
“Ha…” Di Hou shook his head. “I have to say… you’ve changed quite a bit. Almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Changed?” Qi Xia found the remark intriguing.
He had met many people in the “Land of the End,” but no one had ever mentioned his “change.”
“What exactly has changed?” Qi Xia asked.
“Hard to say.” Di Hou scratched his face. “Your ‘state of mind’? Your ‘attitude’? Your ‘thoughts’?”
“Sounds more and more abstract.” Qi Xia scoffed lightly. “Let’s begin.”
Di Hou nodded, reached for the deck, and was about to deal when Qiao Jiajin stopped him.
“Hold on.”
Qiao Jiajin gripped Di Hou’s wrist and said softly, “What’s the rush, Fatty Monkey?”
Di Hou slowly furrowed his brows. “What? Didn’t you say to start?”
“Shuffle the deck first,” Qiao Jiajin said. “Who just picks up the deck and deals without shuffling?”
“I already shuffled,” Di Hou shook off Qiao Jiajin’s hand. “But I don’t mind doing it again.”
He split the deck into two piles, swiftly interleaved them, then performed a few cuts before neatly placing the deck in front of everyone.
“Happy now?”
Qiao Jiajin stared at the deck and slowly smiled. He had seen countless shuffling techniques, and the man before him was no expert—just passable.
“We’ll shuffle too.”
“Oh?”
“Casino rules—everyone shuffles once,” Qiao Jiajin said. “Fatty Monkey, you run a casino. You should know this better than me.”
Only then did Di Hou sense that this man had some expertise—he seemed to know more about gambling than he did.
Hearing this, Qi Xia understood Qiao Jiajin’s intent. He decisively picked up the deck, quickly shuffled it a few times, then split it face-up into two piles. As he mixed them, he took the opportunity to glance at the cards. The deck was exactly as he had suspected—featuring both the 24 solar terms and traditional festivals.
But what exactly did “synodic month” mean?
After everyone had taken turns shuffling, the deck was handed back to Di Hou, who merely curled his lips slightly before placing it on the table.
“Now we can begin,” Qiao Jiajin said.
“Everyone, place one ‘Dao’ as the initial stake for this round.”
One by one, they placed their “Dao” on the table.
Once everyone had placed their stakes, Di Hou drew a card and revealed its face on the table.
“Zhongyuan.”
“Zhongyuan…?” Chen Junnan blinked. “The hell is ‘Zhongyuan’?”
“Zhongyuan Festival,” Qi Xia said solemnly. “The so-called ‘Ghost Festival.’”
“Oh… ‘Ghost Festival’ makes sense,” Chen Junnan mused. “July 15th!”
“Mm.”
Ignoring the others, Di Hou pointed at the “Zhongyuan” card and said, “This is the ‘community card’ for this round.”
Then, he drew another card, placed it in front of himself, and revealed it.
“Summer Solstice.”
“Next, I’ll deal clockwise. These are the ‘face-up cards’ for this round,” Di Hou added.
Moving clockwise, the first to receive a card was Zheng Yingxiong. Di Hou drew a card, flipped it, and handed it to him.
“Frost’s Descent.”
Next was Tian Tian, who received a “Major Snow” from Di Hou.
Then came Xiao Cheng, who was dealt a “Qingming.”
Chen Junnan got “Start of Spring.”
Qiao Jiajin received “Great Heat.”
Finally, it was Qi Xia’s turn.
Di Hou picked up Qi Xia’s card, then tossed it to him with a smirk.
Qi Xia caught it and saw the words “Qixi Festival” written on it.
Though everyone had smoothly received their cards, the situation was growing complicated. Barring any surprises, the betting would start soon—but how exactly were these cards supposed to determine the winner?
“Now, the player with the latest date will start the betting,” Di Hou said, tapping the table. “Major Snow.”
Tian Tian looked at her “Major Snow,” completely at a loss.
Though she couldn’t recall the exact date of “Major Snow,” she knew it must fall late in the year, deep into winter. Compared to Di Hou’s “Summer Solstice,” she couldn’t lose. After some thought, she said, “Bet one.”
Xiao Cheng frowned at his “Qingming.”
If he remembered correctly, “Qingming” usually fell in March or April. If the game was about comparing dates, his was far too early.
Since Di Hou had specified that the player with the latest date would bet first, it strongly hinted that the game’s “comparison” was indeed date-based. There was no way he should bet this round.
“I’m out,” Xiao Cheng said. “Not calling.”
He pushed his “Qingming” and his single “Dao” back, then straightened up and leaned back in his chair. The first round was no longer his concern.
Qi Xia glanced at Xiao Cheng and nodded.
With such an early date, losing just one “Dao” to bow out was the right move. The situation was still unclear—staying in would only lead to greater losses.
Next was Chen Junnan’s turn. He had been fidgeting under the table, seemingly preoccupied with something.
“Your turn, Handsome,” Qiao Jiajin reminded him.
“Coming, coming.”
Chen Junnan looked at his card, and within seconds, an awkward grin spread across his face.
“How the hell am I supposed to play with this…?”
Everyone turned to see his card—”Start of Spring.”
“If I remember right, ‘Start of Spring’ is the first of the 24 solar terms, right? Falls in January or February, yeah?” He waved the card around dramatically. “Monkey Bro, you know how to deal or what? Zero player experience here!”
“It’s gambling,” Di Hou said with a nod. “You win some, you lose some. Besides, you might not lose.”
“Alright! Just because you said that!” Chen Junnan nodded vigorously. “Honestly, Monkey Bro, I felt a connection the moment I saw you. Like we knew each other in a past life.”
“Oh? So you’re Bajie?” Di Hou smirked.
“I’ll be Bajie or even Friar Sand if it means being your sidekick,” Chen Junnan laughed. “Since Monkey Bro says I might not lose, I’m going all in this round.”
“What…?” Di Hou frowned. “You’re going all in with ‘Start of Spring’?”
“I’m all about trusting Monkey Bro!” Chen Junnan declared. “Watch me embarrass myself—here goes my entire fortune!”
“You—”
Before Di Hou could respond, there was a loud *slap* as two dark objects hit the table.
Everyone stared—it was a pair of filthy socks.
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