Meng Qiuqiu let out a helpless sigh and turned to Zhao Mu.
"Just play a few rounds."
"You should at least give the local merchants some face."
Zhao Mu shrugged.
"Fine."
"We're only killing time anyway."
"Let's play."
Someone immediately cleared a seat for him at the card table.
After taking his seat, Zhao Mu looked at the cards spread across the table and asked honestly,
"So... what are the rules?"
"Can someone explain them to me?"
Seeing that Zhao Mu genuinely had no idea how to play, Li Xiang and Qi Chengyu exchanged amused glances.
The smiles on their faces grew even wider.
---
Li Xiang briefly explained the game.
"This is called Jiangnan Poker."
"It originated in Jiangnan Province and has become very popular throughout the Xuanfeng Empire."
The deck consisted of four standard suits.
Each player was dealt nine cards.
From those nine cards, each player selected the best five-card hand.
The player with the strongest hand won.
Before revealing their hands, however, each player had two opportunities to exchange cards.
They could discard up to five cards each time and draw replacements from the deck.
The hand rankings, from lowest to highest, were:
- High Card
- One Pair
- Two Pair
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Flush
- Full House
- Four of a Kind
- Straight Flush
If two players had the same hand, the higher card values determined the winner.
After listening once, Zhao Mu nodded.
"I understand."
Then he looked at the two men opposite him.
"So..."
"How much are we betting?"
Li Xiang smiled casually.
"We're only playing for fun."
"Let's keep it small."
"Ten thousand Xuanfeng Coins per round."
For merchants dealing in Ember Remains every day...
Ten thousand coins was indeed a trivial amount.
Qi Chengyu immediately frowned.
"What kind of joke is that?"
"This gentleman is the partner of Young Master Meng."
"The Meng Family is the richest family in Jiangnan."
"If we only bet ten thousand coins..."
"Wouldn't that be insulting them?"
Zhao Mu quickly waved his hands.
"This is my first time playing."
"I'd rather not gamble for too much."
He wasn't pretending.
He genuinely meant it.
Li Xiang nodded indifferently.
"Fine."
"Ten thousand per round."
The two men exchanged another subtle glance.
Hidden beneath their smiles was obvious mockery.
---
Jiangnan Poker had only become popular during the past two years.
Most people learned it in gambling houses.
At Zhao Mu and Meng Qiuqiu's age...
It was almost impossible for them to have much experience.
Li Xiang and Qi Chengyu, on the other hand...
Had been playing together for years.
Today's goal was simple.
Cheat these two inexperienced youngsters out of a large sum of money.
Naturally...
They had omitted one small detail while explaining the rules.
During the card exchange phase...
Players could raise the stakes.
Anyone unwilling to match the raise automatically forfeited the round.
---
Zhao Mu lightly tapped the table.
"You two are the seniors here."
"Why don't you shuffle the cards?"
Qi Chengyu laughed.
"You really don't play cards, do you?"
"No serious gambler shuffles the cards himself."
"If the players handled the deck..."
"A cheater could easily manipulate it."
"Fortunately..."
"We're honest people."
He looked toward a middle-aged man standing nearby.
"Old Chen."
"You'll be the dealer."
Old Chen blinked in surprise.
"Me?"
"But..."
"I don't even know how to play."
Qi Chengyu nodded.
"Exactly."
"That's why you're perfect."
"If you don't know the game..."
"No one can accuse us of cheating."
Zhao Mu laughed.
"That makes sense."
"Though I wasn't suspicious of either of you to begin with."
In reality...
He couldn't have cared less.
With his eyesight, he could spot a tiny hole in a copper coin from two hundred meters away.
Cheating in front of him?
That would be nearly impossible.
---
Old Chen shuffled the deck and dealt nine cards to each player.
Zhao Mu picked up his cards.
His opening hand was terrible.
Only a single low pair.
Without hesitation, he chose to exchange five cards.
At that moment...
Li Xiang suddenly spoke.
"I raise."
"Twenty thousand Xuanfeng Coins."
Zhao Mu looked genuinely surprised.
"We can raise the bet?"
Ten thousand coins already seemed plenty to him.
If these people insisted on increasing the stakes...
They would regret it later.
Qi Chengyu chuckled.
"Of course."
"Being able to raise is basic card game etiquette."
"I'll match the twenty thousand."
Zhao Mu exchanged a helpless glance with Meng Qiuqiu.
He sighed dramatically.
"Old Meng..."
"What should we do?"
"I really don't dare gamble for that much."
Meng Qiuqiu hurriedly nodded.
"Even if we can raise..."
"There should still be a limit."
Before Li Xiang or Qi Chengyu could answer, Meng Qiuqiu continued,
"Let's cap the betting."
"No more than ten million Xuanfeng Coins in a single round."
"If anyone wants to bet more than that..."
"We're leaving."
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone stared at Meng Qiuqiu in disbelief.
"Ten million?"
"As expected of the Meng Family."
"What kind of person sets a limit that high?"
"Has he never played cards before?"
Even Li Xiang and Qi Chengyu were stunned.
Originally...
They intended to lure Zhao Mu and Meng Qiuqiu into gradually increasing the stakes.
Instead...
Meng Qiuqiu had casually raised the ceiling to ten million right from the start.
Still...
Both the Quenching Weapons Shop and War Hammer Weapons Shop were large businesses.
Ten million was painful...
But affordable.
Qi Chengyu smiled.
"If Young Master Meng has spoken..."
"We'll naturally give him face."
"Ten million it is."
Li Xiang nodded.
"I have no objections."
Yet both men secretly became more cautious.
Could this Zhao Mu actually be pretending to be inexperienced?
Was he setting a trap for us?
Very quickly...
They realized they had been overthinking.
---
Although Zhao Mu's decisions were surprisingly logical for a beginner...
It was obvious he lacked experience.
Round after round...
He kept losing.
In ten consecutive games...
He only won once.
And even then...
Only because he got lucky.
After carefully adding everything together...
He had already lost thirty-five million Xuanfeng Coins.
That amount represented more than half a month's revenue for Tiangong Hall.
Meng Qiuqiu wiped the sweat from his forehead before forcing a smile.
"It's fine."
"It's fine."
"As long as everyone's having fun."
"It's only a few dozen million."
"It's nothing."
His appearance perfectly matched that of a wealthy but foolish young master.
At that moment...
Li Xiang and Qi Chengyu completely relaxed.
The surrounding merchants looked on with burning envy.
Thirty-five million...
For many small and medium-sized weapon shops...
That represented nearly half a year's net profit.
If we'd known money was this easy to earn...
We would've joined the game too!
Li Xiang and Qi Chengyu couldn't hide the smiles on their faces.
Kids really are easy to fool.
A little provocation...
And they jumped right into the trap.
Looking at Zhao Mu again...
Although he continued losing...
He never became angry.
Nor did he look frustrated.
He merely frowned thoughtfully after each round, as though quietly analyzing the game.
Li Xiang suddenly pretended to be concerned.
"Young Master Zhao..."
"I think you've played enough."
"If you lose much more..."
"How will you explain it to your family?"
Qi Chengyu burst into laughter.
"Today's simply my lucky day."
"The God of Wealth must be standing behind me!"
Zhao Mu smiled calmly.
"It's alright."
"You know how luck works."
"It always changes."
"Maybe next time..."
"It'll be on my side."
Then he looked toward Meng Qiuqiu.
"But..."
"The money..."
Meng Qiuqiu proudly patted his chest.
"What money?"
"Our Meng Family has plenty of it."
"As long as my brother enjoys himself today..."
"It doesn't matter how much we spend."
Hearing those words...
Li Xiang and Qi Chengyu nearly laughed out loud.
They truly believed they had found the biggest fool imaginable.
Neither of them noticed...
Floating quietly beside Zhao Mu's right shoulder...
Was a translucent panel visible only to him.
[Demon Clown]
Jiangnan Poker — Gambling Skill
Proficiency: 62
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)