Chapter 663: A Sharp Turn for the Worse
"Huh?" Qiao Jiajin was taken aback. "There are rules for getting a haircut in the inland too?"
"You bet there are!" Chen Junnan explained patiently. "You can't cut your hair in the first month of the lunar year, or your uncle will die. You have to wait until the Dragon Raises its..."
"Hey!" Ground Monkey slapped the table. "Are you two ever gonna shut up? Deal the cards."
Chen Junnan's train of thought was interrupted, but he didn't really mind. He just turned back calmly and said with a light smile, "No rush, Brother Monkey. How's your uncle doing?"
Seeing that Ground Monkey wasn't going to respond, Chen Junnan casually picked up a card and slapped it down in front of him.
"Brother Monkey, I haven't even looked at this card, but I already know my chances of winning are pretty good. Wanna chat?"
Ground Monkey slowly raised his head, met Chen Junnan's eyes for a moment, then finally shook his head. "Don't make a fool of yourself. Your skills aren't up to par yet. Just look at your card."
"Oh?" Chen Junnan smiled. "What if I flip this card and it's absolutely massive? What would you do then?"
"Then wouldn't you just lose?" Ground Monkey said with a frown. "You guys already figured out the rules. If you go over 'sixteen', you 'bust'. If you draw a 'massive' card, you're out in the first round."
Chen Junnan paused for a moment, realizing Ground Monkey actually had a point. Everyone had a chance of failing the moment they drew their first hand.
But then, didn't that mean this game had a huge loophole...?
He slowly looked at the community card in the center of the table—"She Day"—feeling like he was starting to get an idea.
"Hey, are you gonna reveal your card or not?" Ground Monkey asked. "The card in your hand is a 'face-up card'. What's the point of keeping it hidden?"
Chen Junnan snapped back to attention and glared at Ground Monkey. Seeing the guy acting all cocky, he wasn't about to back down.
"Damn it, fine, I'll reveal it. Little master's gonna scare the shit out of you."
With that, he flipped his hand card over and slammed it hard on the table.
Everyone fell silent for a brief moment when they saw the card.
"Beginning of Spring."
Another "Beginning of Spring."
"Oh, come on..." Chen Junnan felt like he'd thrown his back out. "Why the hell is it 'Beginning of Spring' again? Is your deck all thirty-six cards of 'Beginning of Spring'?!"
"Do you even hear what you're saying?" Ground Monkey laughed dryly. "You guys not only saw the deck, you even reshuffled it. Who are you gonna blame?"
"Damn it... 'Beginning of Spring' it is, then..." Chen Junnan scratched his head. "Better than 'busting', I guess."
Chen Junnan's hand now had the "Beginning of Spring" value of "first day, first month," plus the "second day, second month" from the community card. The total sum instantly hit "eleven."
"Next round, the card I draw can't have a total sum exceeding 'five'..." Chen Junnan quickly calculated in his head, but for a moment, he couldn't think of any card with a sum under five. Aside from "Spring Festival" (first day, first month), the only other one would be "She Day's" second day, second month.
"Shit..."
"Hey!!" Ground Monkey was getting fed up. "Deal the damn cards already!"
"Alright, alright." Chen Junnan quickly drew a card and pushed it over to Qiao Jiajin. "Old Qiao, this round's probably on you."
Qiao Jiajin took the card nervously, then flipped it over to reveal its face.
"Shangsi!"
"Nice one, Old Qiao!!" Chen Junnan was overjoyed. "You didn't bust outright!"
"Yeah!" Qiao Jiajin was also pretty excited. "It's the 'Shangsi Festival'!!"
Their excitement lasted all of three seconds before Qiao Jiajin asked blankly, "So, Junnan... what's the date of the 'Shangsi Festival'?"
"Uh...?" Chen Junnan's smile froze on his face, then he blinked a couple times. "How the hell should I know?"
They both fell silent, the atmosphere a bit awkward.
"Third day, third month..." Qi Xia said weakly from the side. "Fist, it's a great card."
"Huh?" Qiao Jiajin finally relaxed when he heard Qi Xia speak. "I knew it! Third day, third month! My card's definitely fine."
Qiao Jiajin did a rough calculation. His "third day, third month" plus the community card's "second day, second month" added up to "ten." The next card he drew couldn't have a total sum exceeding "six."
Next was Qi Xia's card.
Chen Junnan placed a card in front of him. Qi Xia slowly raised his right hand and flipped the card.
The little finger on his right hand had already turned a dark purple-black, and his whole hand was trembling, but he didn't pay it any mind as he revealed the card.
"Yuanxiao."
"Fifteenth day, first month..." Qi Xia looked pale after seeing the card.
Just that single card gave him "one-one-five," a total of "seven points." Like Chen Junnan, his hand plus the "She Day" on the table added up to "eleven."
Now the only path to victory was to see who between him and Chen Junnan could draw "Spring Festival." If they could get "Spring Festival," there might still be a glimmer of hope.
But luck often plays cruel tricks. When Chen Junnan dealt Ground Monkey his hand card, Ground Monkey flipped it over with a slap.
The two fierce characters on the card were none other than "Spring Festival."
"Ha... hahaha!" Ground Monkey couldn't help but burst out laughing. "What a coincidence... gentlemen. This card ended up with me."
Chen Junnan froze for half a second, then grabbed Ground Monkey's card. "Sorry about that, the deck wasn't shuffled properly. Let me give you another one."
Ground Monkey froze too, then quickly grabbed Chen Junnan's wrist. "Hey! What do you mean, 'wasn't shuffled properly'?! Who plays like that?!"
"It's obvious it wasn't shuffled right!" Chen Junnan said. "What kind of crappy shuffle was that?! I keep getting 'Beginning of Spring', and now 'Spring Festival' ended up with you. I don't think this round counts. Let's just start over."
"Don't push it!" Ground Monkey tightened his grip on Chen Junnan's hand slightly. "Didn't you guys do the final shuffle? I have my limits."
Chen Junnan, now restrained by Ground Monkey, backed off a little and just looked back at Qi Xia.
Qi Xia could only sigh helplessly, giving no instruction.
This round wasn't completely hopeless, but the odds were slim. All three of their hopes rested on Qiao Jiajin alone.
After all, next round, both he and Chen Junnan would definitely exceed "sixteen." But Qiao Jiajin was different. He had a certain chance of "surviving."
Unfortunately, Ground Monkey had drawn "first day, first month," so his hand total was only six points—safer than anyone else at the table.
"I'm not the one with the biggest hand, am I?" Qiao Jiajin held his "Shangsi" card and looked at the others in disbelief. "My 'third day, third month' can actually talk now?"
Ground Monkey shrugged and made a "go ahead" gesture.
"I'll add one chip," Qiao Jiajin said. "Fat Monkey, the man I used to respect most once told me, 'When your hand is small but you can still talk, even his old man ain't got nothing on you.'"