Chapter 658: Losing Myself

"You... won?"

Chen Jun-nan was the first to stand up and carefully examined the cards in front of Di Hou.

"Hou Ge, forgive my stupidity—did you look at the cards correctly?" Chen Jun-nan said. "Did you win with this hand? Is it because of your sharp-faced, monkey-like expression?"

Everyone looked at Di Hou's cards with some confusion, their minds filled with the same pile of questions. Why would this hand win? It wasn't easy for Di Hou to secure a victory, as his hand had to beat everyone else's at the table. Even if the rules were changed, everyone's hands could form all sorts of different combinations, yet among the five players, not a single one could beat Di Hou's.

Qi Xia was also quickly pondering all sorts of possibilities. Why would "Qing Ming" and "Chun Fen" plus "Chun Jie" be the biggest hand on the table? Where did this hand get its strength?

Seeing that Di Hou didn't answer, Chen Jun-nan slowly sat back in his chair. He felt a wave of fear—if Qi Xia hadn't stopped him earlier, his life would have been forfeit for nothing.

"Fat Horse!" Qiao Jia-jin slammed the table and stood up. "Are you just a sore loser, trying to cheat us?"

"Oh?" Di Hou let out a cold laugh. "I don't understand."

"Your hand is clearly the smallest at the table!" Qiao Jia-jin said. "Did you realize you were about to lose and just declare yourself the winner? After all, this is your 'casino'—whatever you say goes."

"That really is a shame." Di Hou pushed his cards forward. "Before the game started, I said there wouldn't be any 'false reporting.' If you win against me and I don't acknowledge it, that's a game violation, and 'Xuan Wu' would already be at my side."

Di Hou's words rang with conviction, as if he weren't lying. Qi Xia also believed that Di Hou wouldn't suddenly fabricate a lie at this critical moment—it would make the entire game meaningless. Not only the "Shuo Wang Yue" hands, but even the wooden box that had been glowing on the table had turned into a useless prop.

Di Hou stood up and took away the chips from everyone. In this round, Qi Xia had put in five "Dao," and the others each put in three, so Di Hou won a total of fourteen "Dao" in one go. Now, Qi Xia was completely out, Xiao Cheng had only one "Dao" left, and the others each had two "Dao"—the situation was even worse than at the start.

But Qi Xia wasn't disheartened by losing his "Dao." He just kept scrutinizing Di Hou's cards, considering all possibilities.

"Di Hou..." Qi Xia pushed all his chips in front of Di Hou, his expression growing somber.

"Don't ask—I won't tell." Di Hou said. "But this does seem a bit unfair and takes away from the fun of the gamble. How about this, Qi Xia..."

Di Hou leaned in slowly, gathering the chips on the table into his arms, and said in a low voice, "I'll give you a 'life-saving straw.' What do you say?"

"A life-saving straw...?"

"You can ask me one question, but you can't ask directly about the 'rules.' I'll answer truthfully, and then it's up to your own skills."

Qi Xia placed his hand under the table, gripping his already broken pink finger tightly—he knew Di Hou was offering an opportunity! This wasn't just Qi Xia's chance; it was the only opportunity for the six of them to win. In this round, Di Hou had won almost all their chips, and there were still four rounds left until the game ended. There was no time left for trial and error. If they couldn't deduce the rules right here, none of the six would survive.

But that persistent fog made Qi Xia clench his teeth tightly. The situation was dire—his pink finger had turned a dark red, clearly completely shattered. Even this pain couldn't dispel the fog. Was his condition worsening?

Qi Xia was out of ideas, but then he suddenly thought of something. He turned his head to look at Zheng Ying-xiong. At that very moment, Zheng Ying-xiong seemed to sense it too, turning his face to meet Qi Xia's gaze. He immediately lifted his nose, trying to catch some "feeling," but the next second, Qi Xia saw blood gushing from his nose.

Zheng Ying-xiong felt something and quickly covered his mouth and nose with his hand, but the fresh blood kept seeping through his fingers. This nosebleed wasn't like a normal one; it was as if his body had been cut open with a large gash. The blood wasn't trickling out in streams but spreading in broad patches.

"Little brother!" Tian Tian hurriedly pulled Zheng Ying-xiong aside and reached out to press his nose, while Zheng Ying-xiong tilted his head back. But tilting his head back made the blood flow backward, instantly causing him to cough uncontrollably. In no time, he was coughing up blood, and spots of it splattered on the table. Remembering what Qi Xia had told him about not tilting his head back, Zheng Ying-xiong quickly bent forward and pinched his nostrils shut.

Seeing that the blood was still seeping from Zheng Ying-xiong's fingers, Qi Xia knew his "external brain" was no longer an option. Zheng Ying-xiong had done enough; it was just that he himself wasn't strong enough.

Qi Xia looked around for any handy tools. Now, Di Hou wouldn't let him use the wooden box in the center of the table to attack himself, so he had to find something else—something that could cause him more pain.

After scanning the area and finding no tools, Qi Xia slowly stood up, then pressed down on the back of his chair, lifting the front legs off the ground. He placed his entire right hand underneath. Yes, sacrificing just a finger wasn't enough to keep him alert anymore. He needed a stronger stimulus now. For example, crippling his whole hand.

Qi Xia knew that over the years, he had lost far more than just a hand, so there was no need to hesitate. Just as he was about to slam the chair down hard, Qiao Jia-jin and Chen Jun-nan both reached out and grabbed the chair.

"Lao Qi! What the hell are you doing today—are you crazy?!"

Chen Jun-nan quickly flung the chair aside, and Qiao Jia-jin took the opportunity to pull Qi Xia's right hand away.

"Cheater! What the heck are you up to?"

The two helped Qi Xia up and looked at him with faces full of bewilderment. Qi Xia still seemed like the same Qi Xia—cool-headed, quick-witted, able to handle all sorts of problems on the spot. But today, he kept engaging in this bizarre and vicious self-harm, making Chen Jun-nan and Qiao Jia-jin feel uneasy.

"I need to wake myself up..." Qi Xia said with a look of despair. "I'm losing myself..."

"What?"

The two noticed that Qi Xia's eyes seemed to have changed—he appeared to be afraid.

"Fist... Lao Chen... I can't lose myself here..." Qi Xia said in a trembling voice. "My brain isn't under my control anymore... We're not going to win..."

After hearing this, the two exchanged glances, first smiling bitterly, then slowly letting their smiles spread across their faces.

"Little bro, I thought it was something serious..." Chen Jun-nan laughed heartily. "Lao Qi, are you tired?"

"What...?"

"Exactly." Qiao Jia-jin nodded, glancing at Chen Jun-nan again. "Cheater, if you're tired, just rest. Leave the game to us two."

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