Chapter 651: Deception Prevails

Di Hou saw the card "Duanwu" and suddenly felt his head spin.

"Dongzhi, one one two three."

"Lixia, four six."

"Duanwu, five five."

Zheng Yingxiong's hand wasn't just "one two three four five six"; it also contained two ones and two fives.

Compared to Di Hou's final hand of a "Shunzi" and a pair, Zheng Yingxiong's was a "Shunzi" and two pairs.

"What...?"

Countless questions exploded in his mind, making him feel completely played.

"How could you possibly have 'Duanwu'?!"

Qi Xia slowly straightened up, crossing his arms over his chest. "Di Hou, I think you're right—you didn't cheat. There's only one 'Duanwu' in this deck."

Hearing that, Di Hou abruptly turned his head to look at Qi Xia. "What kind of tactic is this? Did you deliberately make me think you had 'Duanwu' in your hand?"

Even though Di Hou had spent years in the gambling world, he rarely encountered situations like this.

He had seen people collude to cheat before, but never anyone who could do it right after learning the rules, without any prior communication.

And besides, the other person was just an eight-year-old child—how could he have coordinated to act out a fake argument?

"What's wrong with that?" Qi Xia smirked. "Who said the only way to beat you is with 'gambling skills'? Sometimes 'deception' works just as well."

"Deception...?"

"That's right, I haven't properly introduced myself yet." Qi Xia wiped the blood from his face. "I'm Qi Xia, a con artist. You can only believe half of what I say."

This brief introduction hit Di Hou like a shock, no less than the "Duanwu" card had moments ago.

"What the hell... A con artist?" Di Hou scratched his head, his eyes wide. "You're saying you're a con artist...?"

Seeing Di Hou's expression, Qi Xia became even more certain of one thing—that he really hadn't been a con artist in his past life.

At least, the people who knew him before, like Chen Jun Nan, didn't think of him that way.

So, this "con artist" identity had lasted at most seven years, and it was probably connected to becoming a "Shengxiao."

"So, you... were you lying to me the whole time just now...?"

"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "It was tough to finally beat you once, so we made sure the stakes were high. This time, we went straight for your seven."

"But how did you pull it off...?" Di Hou was truly baffled. "Before the game started, you clearly didn't know the rules in advance, so how could you coordinate with that child to act?"

"What are you doing?" Qi Xia asked with a cold laugh. "The game's only in the second round, and you're already asking about my secrets?"

Di Hou's face changed, and he took the cigarette from his mouth, holding it between his fingers as he slowly sat down, deep in thought.

"Di Hou, I'm disappointed in you." Qi Xia picked up the cards on the table and threw them out. "Is this 'game' really your design?"

"How...?"

"Never mind." Qi Xia's expression remained icy. "I was thinking of inviting you into a 'bureau,' but now it seems you're not qualified."

Qi Xia's words pierced Di Hou's heart like a needle, causing his expression to shift.

"I'm not qualified..."

He slowly lowered his head, his eyes dimming. "So, you've become that kind of person now...?"

"Oh?"

"Only someone who can beat you... is qualified to enter this 'bureau'?"

"Not necessarily that they have to beat me, but at least they need to show me their capabilities." Qi Xia tapped the table. "But your performance right now is just that of an ordinary 'Di Ji.' There are plenty of 'Shengxiao' like you. I don't know if that's just how you are, or if you've been a 'casino boss' for too long."

Di Hou stared at Qi Xia with his dull eyes, pondering for a while before putting the cigarette back in his mouth. "Qi Xia, if I win, you won't have the money to buy your life back."

"That's not a good thing to say." Qi Xia shook his head. "It sounds like our win just now was pure luck, and you've been holding back the whole time."

"What if that's true?"

"Then I'd feel underestimated." Qi Xia said. "Only by constantly competing against strong opponents can I get stronger. I expect every rival I face to be incredibly powerful, but for you to claim you'd hold back is really looking down on me."

It seemed every word from Qi Xia made Di Hou fall into deep thought.

He just kept blinking, mulling over the meaning behind Qi Xia's words.

"So, all these years... you've been competing against even stronger people?"

"Otherwise, what?" Qi Xia replied. "Did you think I'd open a casino and just sit at the counter sleeping all day?"

Once again, Qi Xia's words struck Di Hou to the core, and he lowered his head lifelessly.

At that moment, Zheng Yingxiong felt something was off and reached out to pull at Tian Tian beside him. "Sis..."

Tian Tian immediately became alert. She knew Zheng Yingxiong must have smelled that strange "stench" again, so she quickly scanned the room and fixed her gaze on Di Hou.

Di Hou's state was odd—he no longer seemed as carefree as at the beginning.

"Qi Xia, I have underestimated you." Di Hou said. "From now on, I'll get serious and show you what kind of opponent I am."

"Go ahead."

Di Hou threw his cards down, and everyone handed their hands to Tian Tian, who was responsible for shuffling and dealing next.

After Qi Xia collected all the "chips" on the table, he redistributed them.

They had won four "Dao" from Di Hou in the first round and seven in the second, for a total of eleven.

Originally, the six of them didn't have an even distribution of "Dao," but now it was clear each could hold their own. So, he first topped up Tian Tian, Zheng Yingxiong, and Chen Jun Nan to four each, then divided the remaining six, giving one to each person.

Everyone except Xiao Cheng now had five "Dao" to work with, enough to handle various situations, and Xiao Cheng didn't refuse.

So far, his contributions to the game had been low, so it wasn't right for him to have the same chips as the others.

But the "Shunzi" and "Dui Zi" that Di Hou had mentioned when revealing his cards had suddenly opened Xiao Cheng's mind.

If he guessed correctly, he now fully understood how to win this game—it was all about luck from here on.

His goals differed from the others'. Besides surviving the game, he needed to find a way to awaken his "Hui Xiang." But the leader, Qi Xia, was so sharp that he barely needed to think; the group's chips kept increasing without much effort.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third round officially begins!"

Di Hou announced this with his strong, clear voice once again.