Chapter 666: Forcing a Retreat in the Gambit
"Is that so..."
After hearing Chen Junnan's answer, Qiao Jiajin was silent for a few seconds, then revealed a look of relief.
So this cycle had also come to an end?
Thinking about it, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, everyone had already "Echoed." When they woke up next time, they could all sit together again in one piece—that was naturally a good thing.
"Ha." Qiao Jiajin shook his head and said softly, "Liar boy, don't worry, I'll always consider you a brother."
With that, he slapped the "Dao" that Qi Xia had given him onto the table, his expression like that of a man going to his death.
"What...?" Di Hou couldn't quite understand Qiao Jiajin's move. "Are you giving up completely?! Under these circumstances, you still choose to 'call'?!"
"What do you know?" Qiao Jiajin grinned. "I just want to call. If you don't like it, hit me."
Di Hou's expression gradually darkened, looking very angry. "Are you sure you've finished placing your bets?"
"No..."
Qi Xia interrupted Di Hou softly, then extended his right hand. With eyes that had lost all light, he stared straight at Di Hou and asked, "How many 'Dao' can one right hand be exchanged for?"
"What...?" Di Hou couldn't believe his ears.
"Di Hou... I'm giving you a handicap..." Qi Xia forced a cold smile. "I bet my right hand. You can offset it with 'Dao.' After the cards are revealed, I'll give you my right hand."
"How could I possibly agree to such a rule?!" Di Hou roared. "That's completely different from what we agreed on at the start!"
"Then you can also bet your right hand..." Qi Xia said coldly. "If my right hand can't be converted to 'Dao,' then put up your right hand too."
"You..." Di Hou thought it over, then decided not to entangle with this madman. "Your right hand is only worth one 'Dao.' Take it or leave it."
"One 'Dao'...?" Qi Xia nodded. "Then I'll bet a bit more."
"Bet... more?"
"I bet my hands and feet, plus my head. Does that count as five 'Dao'?"
"You're fucking crazy... Do you know what you're doing?" Di Hou said incredulously. "Are you planning to have me dismember you right here?"
"That's not impossible..." Qi Xia said. "You just need to tell me, does this count as five 'Dao' or not?"
Di Hou pursed his lips, then turned to look at Qiao Jiajin. "Damn it, you saw his cards just now, right? Are you sure you want to 'call' even with this kind of bet?"
Qiao Jiajin didn't answer. He just frowned and asked, "First answer the liar boy: does this count as five 'Dao' or not?"
"Damn it..." Di Hou muttered under his breath. "Neither of you have any brains..."
"Does it count?" Qi Xia asked again.
"Fine." Di Hou nodded. "I'll put out five 'Dao.' You bet your limbs and head. 'Dao' is worthless to us Earth-level Zodiacs anyway. I'll take it as buying your life!"
He bowed his head and fiddled, scattering a pile of round objects on the table. Counted carefully, they were exactly five.
Including Di Hou's "entry ticket" and the two "Dao" he had bet earlier, he had now put out a total of eight.
Di Hou arranged the "Dao" and looked at Qiao Jiajin again.
"What, do you want to bet your limbs and head too?"
Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment, then decisively placed his hand on the table. "Fat Monkey, you might not know my personality..."
He slowly revealed a smile, his eyes extremely clear.
"If the liar boy tells me to call, even if I know the outcome is death, I'll still call. After all, he's already let me live much longer. Every day now is a debt I owe him."
Di Hou slowly furrowed his brow, his expression becoming complicated. After a few seconds of thought, he spoke slowly: "Fine, if you're done, then... I'm going to add..."
"I'll keep adding." Qi Xia interrupted him. "Di Hou, just now it was only limbs and head. My 'organs' haven't been allocated yet."
"What...?"
"I mean... the 'organs' of both of us." Qi Xia said expressionlessly. "I wonder if you can accept an even bigger bet? For example, my sanity, my wisdom, my life in every future cycle. As long as you can take it, I'll put it all on the table."
"You... you mean..."
"I plan to win enough in this round to buy the lives of all six of us." Qi Xia said softly. "I'm just afraid you won't dare to call."
Qi Xia's few words made Di Hou shiver repeatedly.
He felt completely seen through. Before Qi Xia, he was laid bare, like a child playing a trickster game with an adult.
"You..." Di Hou slowly swallowed. "You know?"
"I don't know anything. I just want you to 'call.'" Qi Xia said. "You can put up the same things, or exchange them for 'Dao.'"
Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan, standing by, also looked at Qi Xia upon hearing this. Although he and Di Hou hadn't revealed their cards yet, Di Hou already seemed somewhat flustered.
"What a terrifying person..." Di Hou was a bit dazed. "It's only the fifth round..."
"So, do you call or not?" Qi Xia asked. "Di Hou, you've shown a huge flaw. So I intend to bet everything I have and can offer on this table. I'll gamble everything I own with you. Tell me, which one can you match?"
Di Hou fell into silence.
He slowly opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but tried several times and swallowed it back.
Outside the house, a foul wind slowly rolled in, stirring the old light bulb, causing shadows to sway.
After a long time, Di Hou slowly pushed his cards forward and said softly, "I concede."
This series of moves left Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin completely baffled. Even Tiantian and the others in the distance widened their eyes.
What had happened... to make Di Hou concede directly here?
Di Hou slowly turned over his "hidden card."
It wasn't Zheng Yingxiong's "Great Heat" at all—it was clearly "Lesser Heat."
"Lesser Heat," "Fourth Month, Twenty-First."
Di Hou's "Spring Festival" was "one-one," "Lesser Heat" was "four-two-one," plus "She Day" was "two-two," totaling only thirteen points.
Although Qi Xia and Chen Junnan's hands had "busted," Qiao Jiajin's hand had fourteen points.
They had won.
Everyone at the table fell into a long silence.
Their thoughts were different, yet they were all filled with countless questions.
Di Hou had been holding such a card all along?!
"What flaw did I reveal...?" Di Hou spoke first.
Qi Xia, relieved, slowly leaned back into his seat, then pointed at Di Hou's "hidden card."
"Blood spots." Qi Xia said weakly. "You thought you were clever, deliberately putting blood spots on a small card to impersonate Zheng Yingxiong's card from the previous round, then using 'raising' to persuade everyone to fold. That did seem like a kind of 'gambling technique,' but you still lost to me."
"How is that possible..." Di Hou gritted his teeth. "How could you know that I made those spots myself?"