Chapter 657: The Great Defeat
"Property... certificate?" Qiao Jiajin had never heard the term. "You mean the 'deed of ownership'?"
"Exactly! Deed of ownership, title deed, land deed—anything works. My hand is absolutely stacked right now," Chen Junnan said. "If I pull out a Beijing property certificate right now, I could make Monkey Brother lose until his ass is red."
"Junnan, that fat monkey's ass is already red."
"Then I'll make him lose until his ass is pale."
The Ground Monkey glanced at Chen Junnan, a faint smirk curling at the corner of his mouth, revealing a trace of mocking coldness.
This cold smirk left Qi Xia feeling a bit puzzled. Chen Junnan had been playing mind games since the first round, but now it seemed the Ground Monkey was no longer affected. Was he really that confident?
Seeing Chen Junnan remain silent, the Ground Monkey spoke softly again: "If you don't have a property certificate, you can bet your life. I'll match it."
Hearing the Ground Monkey's declaration, Chen Junnan, who had been grinning all along, gradually turned serious. Even with his thick skin, he could sense a shift in the Ground Monkey's demeanor.
It seemed the other party truly no longer feared his bluffs and provocations.
"I bet my life... and you'd match?" Chen Junnan asked, expressionless.
"That's right. As long as you dare to bet, I dare to match."
Chen Junnan lowered his head and glanced at his cards. It was "Rain Water."
That year's Rain Water was "the 21st day of the first lunar month," "One Two One."
Added to the "Beginning of Spring" he had earlier, "One Six," and the community card "Spring Festival," "One One," he had a total of five "Ones."
With such good cards, the opponent was encouraging him to bet his life?
Chen Junnan racked his brain but couldn't figure out the Ground Monkey's motive. Did manna really fall from heaven?
If he bet his life here, would the Ground Monkey just be buried with him?
Things that seemed too simple always felt suspicious. Chen Junnan keenly sensed he might be walking into a trap, though he couldn't quite articulate why.
He never did things by the "rules," only by "instinct." This time, the Ground Monkey felt dangerous.
But when he looked at the Ground Monkey's "revealed cards," a puzzled expression hung on his face.
"Pure Brightness"!
He had a "Three Six" in hand and a "One One" on the table. What right did the Ground Monkey have to bluster?
Could he assemble five numbers?
Or could his "hidden card" be one that contained "Two Four Five," forming a "straight"?
"Are you kidding me?" Chen Junnan furrowed his brows and muttered to himself. "Where the hell is there a card with 'Two Four Five' all at once?"
After a few seconds of brief thought, Chen Junnan slowly raised his head. His expression didn't look like he had figured it out; rather, it looked like he had given up thinking.
"Too much trouble..." He scratched the back of his head. "I really can't handle this kind of game."
"Oh?" The Ground Monkey smiled. "So you don't dare to bet your life?"
"I'm a 'trusty general,'" Chen Junnan said with a smile. "The reason it's called 'general' is that 'provocation' works too well on me. Listen up, Ground Monkey. This life of mine—"
"Stop!"
Qi Xia suddenly let out a low shout, cutting off Chen Junnan's words.
Chen Junnan froze and turned to look at him.
"Not now..." Qi Xia said in a deep voice. "Chen Junnan... wait a little longer..."
"Old Qi..." Chen Junnan's voice softened. "You're really not looking right, man. You okay?"
"I'm fine... Focus on the game at hand," Qi Xia said. "You can't bet your life now... Wait a bit longer..."
"Alright." Chen Junnan nodded, then turned to the Ground Monkey. "Monkey Bro, sorry. Even if I'm a 'trusty general,' I still have to listen to my 'lord.' See ya."
The Ground Monkey knew that Qi Xia and Chen Junnan were probably the two hardest opponents at the table—one unpredictable, the other turning every sentence into a deception.
No matter how he looked at it, he had to tread carefully and avoid following their line of thought.
"If you don't bet your life this time, you might miss your chance to kill me," the Ground Monkey said.
"Then I'm real happy for you," Chen Junnan replied without hesitation. "You saved your monkey skin again. Have some dumplings tonight."
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. The Ground Monkey scanned the crowd again. "No one else wants to 'raise the stakes'?"
At this point, everyone could only shake their heads, waiting for the reveal this time.
Since many had already grasped the rules, they all had some confidence in their own cards—at least judging by the Ground Monkey's "revealed cards," the chance of losing seemed small.
First, Tian Tian flipped her "hidden card." In her hand was "Grain Buds," giving her a total hand of "Four of a Kind, Ones."
Then came Xiao Cheng's "Winter Solstice." His hand was also very strong, totaling "Five of a Kind, Ones," "One Pair of Twos," and "One Pair of Threes."
Chen Junnan's "Rain Water" gave him "Five of a Kind, Ones."
Qiao Jiajin's "New Year's Eve" gave him "Three of a Kind, Ones."
Finally, Qi Xia's "White Dew," "Major Snow," paired with "Spring Festival," gave him "Three of a Kind, Eights" and "Four of a Kind, Ones." By traditional gambling rules, this was even bigger than Xiao Cheng's hand.
Aside from Zheng Yingxiong, who had already withdrawn from this round, Qi Xia's hand was currently the biggest at the table.
Everyone then turned their gaze to the Ground Monkey's "hidden card." Based on their current understanding of the game, no matter what his hidden card was, it couldn't beat Qi Xia.
But why had the Ground Monkey suddenly changed his attitude?
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Ground Monkey flipped his hand.
"Spring Equinox."
Seeing this, everyone fell silent.
That year's "Spring Equinox" fell on "the 21st day of the second lunar month."
Thus, the Ground Monkey's hand consisted of "Three Six" from "Pure Brightness," "Two Two One" from "Spring Equinox," and "One One" from the community cards.
No matter how he combined these numbers, the best hand he could make was "Three of a Kind, Ones" and "One Pair of Twos."
There was no need to mention beating Qi Xia—he couldn't even beat Chen Junnan's "Five of a Kind, Ones."
Had Qi Xia... won?
This thought crossed everyone's minds, but the whole round felt far too strange.
From the very beginning, the Ground Monkey had seemed confident, even raising the stakes alone with Qi Xia and goading Chen Junnan to bet his life. And now he was showing such a weak hand? What was he thinking?
"Monkey Bro, messed up, huh?" Chen Junnan asked, tilting his chin up. "Did you mistake this 'Spring Equinox' for 'Ten Thousand Nines'?"
At that moment, Qi Xia sat up straight, leaned back in his chair, and touched his chin.
Yes, the Ground Monkey's demeanor was very strange.
Even if they changed the rules, it was still about comparing the size of three cards. No matter which rule they used, the numbers in his hand couldn't form a strong hand.
The Ground Monkey said nothing, merely glancing around at everyone lightly.
Seeing the puzzled looks on their faces, the corner of his mouth twitched upward slightly, and he said softly, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. I win this round."