Chapter 669: Deadly Gamble

Tiantian was shuffling the cards, mimicking Di Hou's style by splitting them into two stacks. She then interleaved the stacks, but due to nervousness or unfamiliarity, her hands trembled, and all the cards scattered across the table.

Everyone turned to look, seeing the cards lying face up for all to see.

Realizing the situation was bad, Tiantian quickly gathered all the cards, turned them face down on the table, and prepared to deal.

“Wait,” Qiao Jia Jin frowned and extended his hand.

“What…?” Di Hou questioned. “Your person is shuffling, and you still don't trust her?”

“Regardless of whether I trust her or not,” Qiao Jia Jin replied, “you saw the faces, so I need to reshuffle.”

“What kind of rule is that…?” Di Hou said. “We specifically got a 'dealer' this time to avoid us shuffling ourselves, didn't we?”

“We're talking about six lives here, Fei Ma Tiao,” Qiao Jia Jin said without backing down. “With six lives on the line, don't I at least deserve the right to shuffle?”

“Fine, then after you shuffle, I get to shuffle too,” Di Hou said.

“Is that how we're playing? Okay, Monkey Brother, after you shuffle, I'll shuffle too,” Chen Jun Nan chimed in. “Let's see if I don't shuffle you to death.”

Di Hou shrugged, not objecting.

Qiao Jia Jin took the cards and shuffled them in his hands, feeling Di Hou staring at the cards the whole time.

“Fei Ma Tiao… In our movies, there's often this scene where someone skilled in gambling can figure out where the cards are just by watching the opponent's shuffling hands.”

“Oh?” Di Hou nodded. “But do you think such gambling techniques really exist in reality?”

“Just to be safe.” Qiao Jia Jin finished speaking, then placed the deck under the table and shuffled loudly before picking it up and handing it to Di Hou.

Di Hou took the deck, glanced at the edges to check for any marks, gave it a perfunctory shuffle, and then passed it to Chen Jun Nan.

Chen Jun Nan followed Qiao Jia Jin's example, putting the deck under the table and shuffling casually. Just as he was about to hand it to Tiantian, Di Hou called out to stop him.

Di Hou picked up the deck again, examined it for a while to ensure no tricks were played, shuffled it a few more times, and only then let Tiantian start dealing.

No matter what the other two were planning, this round only involved himself and Qi Xia in the gambling; everything else was just a series of distractions.

But perhaps Chen Jun Nan had put too much pressure on Di Hou earlier, because now Di Hou felt irritated just looking at Chen Jun Nan's carefree expression, making it hard for him to stay calm.

Tiantian took a deep breath and flipped the top card, placing it gently in front of herself.

“Xiao Xue.”

“October 23rd.”

“One zero two three…” Chen Jun Nan murmured to himself before looking away.

The people around knew this wasn't a good sign—the card that was flipped was too high.

The total on that single card alone added up to “six” points, so the combined totals of Qi Xia and Di Hou's next two cards couldn't exceed “ten” points.

Tiantian lightly covered her lips with her hand. She had clearly heard Qi Xia and Di Hou set new rules earlier—that a tie would count as Qi Xia losing.

But with the first card being so high… didn't that greatly increase Qi Xia's chances of losing?

Qi Xia sat there swaying, completely ignoring the cards on the table, as if he was about to pass out.

Tiantian picked up a card and hesitated, unsure who to give it to.

Chen Jun Nan reached out to support Qi Xia and signaled to Tiantian with his eyes: “Even though Lao Qi isn't feeling well, give it to Monkey Brother first. Let's respect the elders and care for the young.”

Tiantian nodded and dealt the card to Di Hou.

Di Hou slowly turned it over, revealing the text on it.

“Yu Shui.”

“January 21st.”

“One two one, totaling four points…” Chen Jun Nan shook Qi Xia. “Lao Qi, wake up, it's your turn.”

Qi Xia barely opened his eyes and took a card from Tiantian's hand.

He took a deep breath and flipped it over, his expression turning grave.

“Chu Xi!”

“Damn…” Chen Jun Nan almost jumped up, but then thought of something.

Though this card seemed high, its digits—“one two three zero”—only added up to “six.”

“Old, old Qi, pull yourself together, we're not out yet,” Chen Jun Nan shook him again. “If you're going to faint, wait until we're dead first.”

Qi Xia nodded weakly.

Since both sides had already placed their bets at the start of this round, there was no need for mid-game wagers. Tiantian was about to deal the “hidden cards.”

As in the previous round, she first gave one to Di Hou, then lightly picked up another and handed it to Qi Xia.

Qi Xia looked at his card and furrowed his brow slightly. He had just placed it on the table when he suddenly slumped forward as if losing consciousness, his head landing right on the hidden card.

“Shit!”

“Lao Qi!”

The people nearby quickly helped him up, seeing that his eyes were almost completely lifeless.

The wound on his forehead had reopened from the impact, spilling fresh blood that left a grotesque red blotch on the back of the hidden card.

Chen Jun Nan sensed trouble and hurriedly took the hidden card, wiping the blood off under the table. Unfortunately, the cards were matte and not waterproof; the small spots were okay, but this large area of blood had seeped in and couldn't be cleaned.

He quickly shoved the card into Qi Xia's hand and patted him on the shoulder: “Lao Qi! Wake up! Look at this card!”

Qi Xia glanced down at the card, his face ashen.

Yet he seemed to be deep in thought, refusing to place it on the table.

“Qi Xia, what's wrong?” Di Hou looked at his own hidden card, then slowly placed it on the table and said, “Is that card going to make you win?”

Gripping the card tightly, Qi Xia kept his head down, the bold calligraphy on it looking like a sinister grin, leaving him speechless.

“You said you knew my two hidden cards, but why didn't you do anything about it?” Di Hou laughed. “Is that your skill?”

Qi Xia slowly shook his head at Di Hou's words.

Seeing Qi Xia's expression, Di Hou became even more arrogant: “You're holding a 'Chong Yang'—how exactly are you going to beat me?!”

Chen Jun Nan and Qiao Jia Jin, hearing Di Hou's words, both glanced down at the hidden card Qi Xia was hiding under the table.

It was indeed “Chong Yang.”