Chapter 642: July
The two stared at each other, the powerful aura of their confrontation leaving the others rooted in place, swallowing nervously.
"I... don't believe it," said the Ground Monkey. "You only know about 'September 23rd.' If you said you could guess all the solar terms, I could understand that. But guessing six different rules for comparing hands is just too absurd."
"Oh...?"
Qi Xia found the Ground Monkey's claim intriguing, as if it touched on a question he had never considered before.
"Ground Monkey, in your impression, am I incapable of doing such a thing?" Qi Xia asked.
"I'm not saying you're completely incapable," the Ground Monkey replied. "It's just that this exceeds the realm of what a normal person can do. Just a minute ago, are you saying that within that single minute, you not only thought of six methods for comparing hands but also guessed what cards I held, and then substituted my cards into each of those six scenarios to compare?"
"Basically, yes," Qi Xia said. "But I need to correct one point... I actually considered more than six methods, but those rules for comparing sizes didn't make sense, so I discarded them."
"I don't believe you," the Ground Monkey reiterated his stance. "So you're telling me that you now have a five-in-six chance of beating me?"
"Yes," Qi Xia nodded. "If you don't want to raise the stakes, we can reveal our cards now."
The Ground Monkey thought for a few seconds, then finally picked up his "hidden card."
"Then let's reveal."
He flipped his card over, showing the word "Dragon Boat Festival."
Upon seeing this card, Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly.
Now the Ground Monkey's hand consisted of "Summer Solstice," "Dragon Boat Festival," and the community card in the center, "Zhongyuan."
"Your turn."
Qiao Jiajin reached out and flipped his own cards; after all, there was no need to hide anything at this point.
His hand was "Great Heat," "Start of Autumn," and the center's "Zhongyuan."
"And you?" The Ground Monkey looked at Qi Xia. "You should know that the tattooed man's hand can't cause any trouble, so this round is ultimately a contest between the two of us. His presence just makes the prize pool look fuller."
"Yes. I have to admit, if you're holding 'Dragon Boat Festival,' it's a bit beyond what I imagined," Qi Xia said, revealing his own cards. "But if I think about it carefully, while your hand might be strong, there's a very high chance it's not stronger than mine."
Qi Xia placed his "Qixi" and "End of Heat" in front of the Ground Monkey, whose face instantly darkened.
Out of over thirty cards, only one could guarantee Qi Xia's victory, and he had drawn that exact one.
"End of Heat."
"Your expression is quite interesting," Qi Xia said. "I win, right?"
The Ground Monkey pursed his lips without speaking, just stared blankly for a moment, then silently pushed all four of his "Tao" toward Qi Xia.
"So reluctant?" Qi Xia took the "Tao" from the Ground Monkey's hand. "You should be glad you didn't bet more in this round, or I would have definitely wagered my life."
The Ground Monkey was silent for a long time before finally speaking: "You won this round, but what about the rest? Do you, madman, plan to stake your life every single round?"
"You know, Ground Monkey," Qi Xia replied, "although this table has seven players, the six of us all need to get 'Tao' from you. Winning sixty 'Tao' from you in eight rounds is a very difficult task no matter how you think about it. So it's highly likely I'll put my life on the table at some point."
"Are you threatening me with your own 'life'?"
"Yes, that's a threat, and I absolutely mean what I say," Qi Xia said, picking up his two cards and tossing them back to the Ground Monkey. "I also said that if at any point your bet exceeds our total chips, I will immediately stake my life."
Hearing this, the Ground Monkey's expression shifted slightly. The veins hidden in the wrinkles of his forehead twitched faintly.
"Ground Monkey..." Qi Xia continued, "You can exploit 'loopholes in the rules' by not telling us how to win this game. We can do the same."
"You—"
"It seems you already knew," Qi Xia said. "Your game is 'enter with two Tao, leave with ten Tao,' so 'betting life' in this 'Shuowang Month' isn't included in your game rules. Even if we really lost our lives, we would still be safe."
"Then... why did you say it out loud?" the Ground Monkey asked as he gathered the cards from the table. "You could have caught me off guard."
Qi Xia smirked at this: "Because I need to ensure that you steadily lose sixty 'Tao' to us. So listen carefully... whether your bet exceeds ours or you try to 'concede' midway through a round, if I find anything unreasonable, I will resolutely bet my life. Even if I lose, it doesn't matter. The six of us will take turns betting our lives against you. Unless your hand can beat everyone else every single time, we will find a way to make you die."
The Ground Monkey felt a chill creeping up his spine at Qi Xia's words.
The man before him was worlds apart from the person he remembered—not only far more intelligent but also far more ruthless than before... What had happened?
"If you can do it... be my guest."
At that moment, everyone handed their cards back to the Ground Monkey, who began shuffling the deck again.
Qi Xia, meanwhile, started deducing the rules of the game based on all the information the Ground Monkey had provided.
When Qiao Jiajin revealed his hand, the Ground Monkey's expression didn't change, meaning the situation aligned with his expectations.
Qiao Jiajin's hand—"Great Heat," "Start of Autumn," plus "Zhongyuan"—was weaker than the Ground Monkey's "Summer Solstice," "Dragon Boat Festival," and "Zhongyuan."
And the Ground Monkey's three cards were weaker than Qi Xia's "Qixi," "End of Heat," and "Zhongyuan."
By month, Qiao Jiajin's hand—"Great Heat" (sixth month), "Start of Autumn" (seventh month), "Zhongyuan" (seventh month)—added up.
The Ground Monkey's three cards were fifth month, fifth month, and seventh month.
And Qi Xia's cards were all from the seventh month.
The first method of comparing hands was to add up the months of the cards; the highest total wins, but that clearly wasn't reasonable.
After all, the Ground Monkey's demeanor before revealing cards indicated everything. When he only held a "fifth month" and "seventh month," he thought he could beat Qi Xia.
But at that time, Qi Xia had already shown "seventh month" and "seventh month." Under this rule, the Ground Monkey's chance of winning wasn't high.
"That means the 'month' isn't the crucial condition..."