Chapter 661: Sixteen

"Wait a moment..."

Xiao Cheng lowered his head to look at his cards, then raised it to carefully examine Di Hou's cards, quickly spotting the issue.

He had never imagined that this game could be so simple yet so complex at the same time.

The words Qi Xia had spoken, the questions he had asked, the wooden box in the center of the table that was growing brighter, "Shuo Wang Yue," the solar terms, festivals—all the information connected together.

Clang!!

A distant bell tolled, and in that instant, Xiao Cheng's thoughts suddenly became clear.

He could hardly believe that the man named Qi Xia had been engaged in such intricate thinking all along. If he had been playing this game alone, let alone eight rounds, he might not figure out the rules accurately even after playing for a day under these ever-changing conditions.

The hardest part of this game was that the rules changed in the fourth round.

Normally, a player couldn't deduce the rules of these cards as quickly as Qi Xia did in just one or two rounds. The number four was likely carefully designed; most people would need four rounds to understand the game.

Just as everyone was about to grasp the rules, the box in the center of the table reached its brightest state, and the rules quietly changed.

At that point, everyone would think they had the upper hand and increase their bets, only to fall into Di Hou's second trap.

"Now do you understand?" Qi Xia said in a low voice beside him. "When you rely too much on those around you and stop thinking for yourself, you end up weaker than usual."

Xiao Cheng nodded, realizing that his earlier thinking had indeed been off track.

If he kept relying on others, how could he survive in a place like this until the end?

If he had started using his brain earlier, he might have figured all this out sooner.

"Everyone, I know the rules now." Xiao Cheng lifted his head, his eyes now carrying a hint of confidence.

Although this game followed the rules of "Twenty-One," it wasn't really "Twenty-One"—it should be called "Sixteen."

"Now we're in the 'Man Yue' phase. During 'Man Yue,' the points can't be calculated individually anymore; it's about whose total points are closest to 'Man Yue,' and the one closest to it wins." Xiao Cheng pointed to Di Hou's cards and patiently explained to everyone. "The current rules are a bit more complex than before. Not only do you have to calculate the points and months for each card, but you also have to add all the points together."

"For example, Di Hou's hand this time is 'Qing Ming' with 'three six,' 'Chun Fen' with 'two two one,' plus 'Chun Jie' with 'one one.' Adding all these numbers together gives 'sixteen.'" Xiao Cheng explained further to make sure everyone understood. "It's like in 'Twenty-One,' where 'twenty' isn't the highest—'twenty-one' is. I guess Di Hou borrowed the saying 'the moon on the fifteenth is full on the sixteenth,' so he set 'sixteen' as the cap for this game. Any total over 'sixteen' is a bust, and exactly 'sixteen' is the highest."

"Originally, we wouldn't have figured out the rules this quickly, but Qi Ge's question just now confirmed it directly."

Xiao Cheng pushed his cards forward.

"Everyone, I have 'Xiao Xue' with 'one zero two three,' 'Dong Zhi' with 'one one two three,' plus 'Chun Jie' with 'one one.' Adding up all my numbers gives 'fifteen.'" Xiao Cheng said seriously, "And thanks to Qi Ge's question, we directly figured out whether 'fifteen' or 'sixteen' is higher in this game. That's the rule during 'Man Yue.'"

After hearing this, everyone lowered their heads to look at their own cards and quickly confirmed that Xiao Cheng was right.

Tian Tian's hand—"Xiao Han" with 'one two eight,' 'Xiao Man' with 'four two one,' plus 'Chun Jie' with 'one one'—added up to 'twenty,' which exceeded 'Man Yue,' so it was a bust.

Zheng Ying Xiong's cards totaled 'twenty-six,' Chen Jun Nan's totaled 'thirteen,' Qiao Jia Jin's was 'twenty-one,' and Qi Xia's was 'twenty-eight.'

In this round, the one closest to victory was Xiao Cheng's 'fifteen.'

If it weren't for Di Hou's hand being 'sixteen,' they might have won another round.

"I give up..." Qiao Jia Jin scratched his head, feeling that this game was increasingly beyond his comfort zone.

The cards scattered on the table were clearly full of Chinese characters, yet everyone had been performing complex calculations in their minds from the start, and now the calculations had gotten even deeper.

Not only did they have to calculate the "date" of their cards based on Di Hou's initial clue of "September twenty-third," but they also had to add up all the numbers in those "dates." But that was just to know their own hand.

To win, they needed to estimate the probability of the cards their opponents had based on the ones already revealed, convert the opponents' cards into numbers, and then add them up.

Once they deduced their own and their opponents' hands, they could engage in psychological warfare through betting and calling—that was "Shuo Wang Yue."

Though the rules weren't complicated, the heavy calculations left everyone silent during the game, as one slip-up could mean miscalculating their own hand.

Qi Xia pressed his forehead and turned to look at Xiao Cheng. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly said:

"Is that all the rules?"

Xiao Cheng glanced at Qi Xia, not quite sure what he meant, and thought for a moment before replying:

"Yes, that's all I can think of."

Qi Xia nodded slightly and withdrew his gaze.

He knew Xiao Cheng had omitted an important rule.

From his expression, it seemed he genuinely hadn't thought of it, but there was no need for him to point it out here.

After all, besides their group, Di Hou was listening too.

Once Di Hou heard that Xiao Cheng had left out such a crucial rule, he would try to exploit it, and Qi Xia could turn that around, using his own deception to win the next round.

Although Di Hou had the advantage of timing, location, and people, he wasn't a sheep after all.

"Since you've all figured out the rules, let's get started quickly." Di Hou turned to Qi Xia after speaking. "All of your chips are gone, and you're left with nothing. Do you really think you can walk out of my territory?"

Qi Xia slowly raised the corners of his mouth and said:

"Di Hou, you're a gambler, so you should know that the person who's lost everything is the most dangerous."