Chapter 658: Losing One’s Way
“You… won?”
Chen Junnan was the first to stand up, carefully scrutinizing the cards in front of Earth Monkey.
“Brother Monkey, forgive me for being dense, but are you sure you’re reading your cards correctly?” Chen Junnan said. “Where exactly did you win with that hand? Did you win because of that smug, pointy-faced expression of yours?”
Everyone else looked at Earth Monkey’s hand with similar bewilderment, their minds full of questions.
Why did this hand win?
It wasn’t easy for Earth Monkey to secure a victory, after all, his hand had to beat everyone else at the table.
Even if the rules changed, the other players’ hands could be rearranged into countless different possibilities. Among five players, was there truly no combination that could beat Earth Monkey?
Qi Xia was also rapidly calculating every possibility.
Why were “Clear Bright,” “Spring Equinox,” and “Spring Festival” the strongest hand on the table?
What made this hand so powerful?
Seeing that Earth Monkey hadn’t answered him, Chen Junnan slowly sat back down, a wave of fear washing over him. If Qi Xia hadn’t stopped him just now, he would have already thrown his life away for nothing.
“You damned monkey bastard!” Qiao Jiajin slammed the table and stood up as well. “Are you a sore loser trying to trick us?”
“Oh?” Earth Monkey let out a cold laugh. “I don’t understand.”
“Your hand is clearly the weakest here!” Qiao Jiajin said. “Are you feeling like you’re about to lose, so you just declared yourself the winner? After all, this is your ‘gambling den.’ Whatever you say goes.”
“Then I’m truly sorry.” Earth Monkey pushed his cards forward. “I said before the game started that there would be no ‘false declarations.’ If you win and I refuse to acknowledge it, that would be a violation of the rules. Now, ‘Black Tortoise’ is standing right beside me.”
Earth Monkey’s words carried weight, sounding nothing like a lie.
Qi Xia also believed that Earth Monkey wouldn’t suddenly fabricate a lie at this critical juncture. Doing so would render the entire game meaningless.
Not only the “Synodic Month” cards, but even the ever-glowing wooden box on the table had become a useless prop.
Earth Monkey stood up and took the chips from in front of each person. In this round, Qi Xia had bet five “Dao,” while the others had bet three each. Earth Monkey had won a total of fourteen “Dao” from them in a single round.
Now, Qi Xia had lost everything. Xiao Cheng had only one “Dao” left in her hand, while the others had two each. Their situation was even worse than when the game began.
But Qi Xia wasn’t discouraged by the loss of “Dao.” Instead, he kept examining Earth Monkey’s cards, pondering various possibilities.
“Earth Monkey…” Qi Xia pushed all the chips in front of him toward Earth Monkey, his expression dark and contemplative.
“Don’t ask. I won’t tell.” Earth Monkey said. “But this seems a bit unfair, and it takes some of the fun out of the game. Alright, Qi Xia…”
Earth Monkey leaned forward slightly, gathering the chips on the table into his arms, and said in a low voice, “How about I give you a ‘lifeline’?”
“A lifeline…?”
“You can ask me one question, but you can’t directly ask about the ‘rule.’ I’ll answer truthfully. The rest is up to your own skill.”
Qi Xia placed his hands under the table, gripping his already broken little finger tightly—he knew Earth Monkey had given him an opportunity!
This wasn’t just an opportunity for Qi Xia; it was the only chance for the six of them to win.
In this round, Earth Monkey had taken almost all of their chips. There were only four rounds left until the game ended.
They had no time left for trial and error. If they couldn’t deduce the rules in one go from here, none of the six seated here would survive.
But that lingering fog of confusion made Qi Xia grit his teeth again.
The situation was dire. His little finger had turned a dark red, clearly completely shattered by now. The pain wasn’t even enough to dispel the fog. Was his condition worsening?
Qi Xia was at a loss, but then something came to him. He turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong.
At that same moment, as if by some telepathic connection, Zheng Yingxiong turned his head and met Qi Xia’s gaze.
He immediately raised his nose, trying to catch some “feeling,” but the next second, Qi Xia saw blood gush from his nostrils.
Zheng Yingxiong sensed something and quickly covered his nose and mouth with his hand, blood seeping through his fingers.
This nosebleed wasn’t like a normal one. It was as if a large gash had been cut in his body, the blood not flowing in tiny streams but spreading in patches.
“Little brother!” Tiantian quickly pulled Zheng Yingxiong aside and pressed on his nose. Zheng Yingxiong instinctively tilted his head back.
But tilting his head back caused the blood to flow backward, making him cough violently. In no time, he was coughing up blood, and specks of red splattered across the table.
Remembering Qi Xia once told him not to tilt his head back, Zheng Yingxiong quickly bent over and pinched his nostrils with his fingers.
Seeing that blood was still seeping from Zheng Yingxiong’s fingertips, Qi Xia knew his “external brain” was gone too.
Zheng Yingxiong had already done more than enough. It was just that Qi Xia himself wasn’t strong enough.
Qi Xia looked around for a suitable tool. Earth Monkey wouldn’t let him use the wooden box in the center of the table to attack himself anymore. He had to find something else—
Something that could cause him even more pain.
He scanned the room and found nothing useful. Slowly standing up, he pressed down on the back of his chair, lifting its front legs off the ground, and placed his entire right hand underneath.
Yes, sacrificing just a finger was no longer enough to keep him awake. He needed a stronger stimulus now.
Like crippling an entire hand.
Qi Xia knew he had lost more than just a hand over the years. There was no need for hesitation. Just as he was about to slam the chair down hard, Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan simultaneously grabbed the chair.
“Old Qi! Have you lost your damn mind today?!”
Chen Junnan quickly lifted the chair and threw it aside, while Qiao Jiajin took the opportunity to pull Qi Xia’s right hand free.
“Trickster! What the hell are you doing?!”
The two helped Qi Xia up, staring at him with confusion.
Qi Xia seemed like the same Qi Xia—calm, sharp, able to handle any problem at the table. But today, he had been repeatedly engaging in bizarre, violent self-harm, making both Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin uneasy.
“I need to wake myself up…” Qi Xia said, a look of despair on his face. “I’m losing my way…”
“What?”
The two noticed a change in Qi Xia’s eyes—
He seemed to be afraid.
“Fist… Old Chen… I can’t lose my way here…” Qi Xia’s voice trembled. “My brain is out of control… We won’t win…”
The two exchanged a glance, let out a bitter laugh, and then let the smile spread across their faces.
“I thought it was something serious…” Chen Junnan laughed heartily. “Old Qi, are you tired?”
“What…?”
“Exactly.” Qiao Jiajin nodded, glancing at Chen Junnan again. “Trickster, if you’re tired, get some rest. Leave this to the two of us.”