Chapter 643: The Rules of the Lunar Month
Just then, a sentence that Earth Monkey had spoken before dealing the cards echoed in Qi Xia’s ears.
He had said that out of more than thirty cards, only one could secure his victory.
And that card was "Limit of Heat."
This meant that "Limit of Heat" was special—or at least special within this particular round of the game.
But what exactly made "Limit of Heat" so unique that this trait couldn’t be found among the other thirty-plus cards?
"No… I’m still thinking too narrowly…" Qi Xia looked at the scattered cards on the table; Earth Monkey was now gathering them up one by one.
One possibility was that all the other lethal cards had already appeared on the table. So it wasn’t that "Limit of Heat" had any special property, but rather that it was the only card that hadn’t yet been played and could beat Earth Monkey.
He quickly recalled the cards that Earth Monkey had been able to see at that moment.
First, he could see the community card in the center of the table, "Ghost Festival." Then, his own hand cards, "Summer Solstice" and "Dragon Boat Festival."
Next were everyone’s revealed cards: Zheng Yingxiong’s "Frost’s Descent," Tiantian’s "Major Snow," Xiaocheng’s "Pure Brightness," Chen Junnan’s "Start of Spring," Qiao Jiajin’s "Major Heat," and his own "Qiqiao Festival."
Qi Xia felt his mind was still a bit muddled, as if he was missing some important clue.
He squinted, visualizing all the cards in his mind. The faces of the cards transformed into a series of numbers in his head.
"Ah…" Qi Xia slowly opened his mouth. Indeed, a tiny clue had almost slipped his mind.
When Earth Monkey said that, it happened to be the moment Qiao Jiajin revealed his "hidden card."
So, could it be that Earth Monkey only came up with this idea after seeing Qiao Jiajin’s hidden card, "Start of Autumn"?
"In other words, 'Start of Autumn' is also one of the cards that could let me win…" Qi Xia closed his eyes and murmured to himself, "'Start of Autumn'… 'Limit of Heat'…"
What did these two cards have in common? Why could both lead to his victory?
Within a few seconds, Qi Xia opened his eyes. The clues in his mind, like suddenly connected circuits, were gradually becoming clear.
This year's "Start of Autumn" should be on the "eighth day of the seventh lunar month."
And "Limit of Heat" falls on the "twenty-third day of the seventh lunar month."
These two cards, apart from his own "Qiqiao Festival" and the community "Ghost Festival," were the only remaining cards from the "seventh month."
Other than these two, no other "solar term" or "festival" on any card came from the seventh month. So when Qiao Jiajin revealed "Start of Autumn," it was obvious that Earth Monkey would assume only one card of that kind remained.
But Qi Xia had already deduced that this game wasn’t much related to "lunar months." After all, Earth Monkey had dared to bet a card from the fifth month against Qi Xia’s seventh-month card. So where was the key point?
"The key isn't 'seventh month'—it's the number 'seven'…"
Qiao Jiajin had been watching Qi Xia lost in thought. He waited patiently until Qi Xia’s expression completely relaxed before asking, "Conman, have you figured out the rules?"
Qi Xia turned his head, thought for a few seconds, and said, "Earth Monkey's 'four fives' lost to my 'four sevens.'"
"Huh…?" Qiao Jiajin was startled. "Texas Hold'em? Four of a kind?"
"I don't know Texas Hold'em… but what exactly is that rule?" Qi Xia asked.
"It’s complicated to explain… Anyway…" Qiao Jiajin paused mid-sentence and suddenly froze. "Hey! Conman! This rule really does resemble Texas Hold'em!"
"Oh? Is it similar?"
"I mean, the format is somewhat similar…" Qiao Jiajin scratched his head and recalled, "But players get more cards, and there are more community cards on the table. If you say that 'four sevens' can beat 'four fives,' that fits Texas Hold'em even more. That’s a strong hand called 'four of a kind'—having four of the same number. When two people both have four of a kind, the higher number wins."
"I see." Qi Xia nodded. He had never participated in gambling games, so he naturally wasn’t familiar with poker rules.
"So do you think this game is just plain Texas Hold'em?" Qiao Jiajin looked thoughtful as well. "You combine numbers into various patterns to compare sizes with the opponent. It’s somewhat similar to mahjong rules—if you can form specific combinations like a 'straight,' 'four of a kind,' 'three of a kind,' and so on, you win."
"It’s not that simple…" Qi Xia shook his head. "It's just that because I won this round, I can only infer this much. But it should be quite different from what you call Texas Hold'em."
Qiao Jiajin leaned in and whispered, "Where's the difference?"
"If we convert every card into a number card, theoretically, each card gives us several numbers," Qi Xia said. "Take 'Major Cold,' for example. In the lunar calendar, it's the twenty-third day of the twelfth month. Converted into number cards, you get four: 'one,' 'two,' 'two,' 'three.' Do you see the problem?"
"No," Qiao Jiajin answered bluntly.
"The thing is, the number of cards each person holds varies greatly," Qi Xia explained. "For instance, 'Dragon Boat Festival' is the fifth day of the fifth month. Converted into number cards, it's just 'five' and 'five.' Two people each get a 'lunar month' card, but 'Major Cold' gives you four cards at once, while 'Dragon Boat Festival' only gives two. This means that when we finally show our hands, the number of digits each person can use is different. Some people have a large set of numbers to form various patterns to compare with the opponent, while others don’t."
"I think I get it a bit…" Qiao Jiajin said, thinking. "Conman, so in a way, the bigger the month, the stronger the card—that statement is correct from certain angles."
Qi Xia nodded in agreement. Earlier, Earth Monkey had questioned why Chen Junnan would bet with a "Start of Spring" card—because "Start of Spring" only had two numbers, 'one' and 'six,' which couldn’t form a 'pair,' and even a 'straight' was highly unlikely.
"Fist… right now I need to know…" Qi Xia turned to Qiao Jiajin. "In this Texas Hold'em rule, what’s the strongest hand combination?"
Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment and said, "That’s actually what I find confusing… and it’s also the biggest difference between this deck and regular Texas Hold'em…"
"Oh? What is it?"
"It's the 'Royal Flush.'"