“Does anyone want to be the dealer?”
Both parties took their seats, and the onlookers gradually quieted down, so Mrs. Sangmei called out.
Then, an elderly gentleman raised his hand from behind the crowd:
“Let me do it!”
He squeezed to the front of the crowd to introduce himself. He was also a regular customer of the Three Cats Inn, the owner of an antique shop nearby.
“So what rules do we want to play? Best of three with basic rules? Draw all cards and compare victory points? Or do you have any other ways to play?”
Xia De asked, holding the deck in his left hand, and pulling his right hand upwards, making the 54 cards oscillate back and forth between his hands. Then, he smoothly shuffled the cards with a rustling sound, which sparked lively discussions among the people.
Because of the Miracle power of the Treasured Possessions, he could now easily perform shuffling techniques that could only be seen in films and television shows from his hometown. This made him look more professional and caused the Miss Vitter behind him to raise an eyebrow, probably wondering if Xia De was truly a gambler.
“Since we are playing with a new opponent, why don’t we try something new?”
Mrs. Sangmei was also shuffling the cards, her technique equally skilled. Then, she pulled a die from her pocket and tossed it onto the table. It was a six-sided metal die, and her very spirited eyes looked at her opponent across the table:
“Detective, since you also brought a companion, how about this: you and I each choose our representatives, and before each round, we roll the die once. The sum of the two numbers divided by two will be the number of cards we draw for that round, rounded down if it’s an odd number. Best of three is too boring; the number of rounds will be decided by the two who roll the dice. Whichever side rolls a 6 during the dice-rolling process, that round will be the final round. After the final round, the side with more card game victories wins. How about it?”
Although it sounded a bit complicated, it was just an added step of rolling dice to determine the number of cards drawn. And since the number was jointly decided by both sides’ dice rolls, it was quite fair.
This was the first time Xia De had encountered this way of playing, and he was happy to try it:
“Then my assistant, Miss Tifa Servett, will help me roll the dice.”
Although traditional superstition held that having a woman deal cards would bring bad luck, there wasn't much said about rolling dice.
“Alright then, little James, you come and help me roll the dice.”
The female innkeeper called the young helper, who had come from the kitchen to watch the excitement, to her side. He was a tall, thin young man who looked about sixteen or seventeen. Although dressed as an inn servant, by any aesthetic standard, he was a very handsome young man.
“Mr. Hamilton, what number do you need me to roll?”
Before the game began, Miss Servett bent slightly behind Xia De and whispered in his ear.
Xia De turned his head in surprise, meeting her bright eyes that were so close:
“You mean you can—no, no need, anything is fine.”
He was still very confident in his card-playing luck, and when special cards were involved, he was unwilling to cheat others.
So the game officially began. The dice were not thrown directly; the female innkeeper, Mrs. Sangmei, brought a brown wooden dice cup. First was the young man called “little James.” He picked up the dice cup, shook it a few times, then put it down. When opened, the number was three.
Next was Miss Servett. She picked up the dice cup with her fair hands, then glanced at Xia De and winked at him. Gently shaking the utensil in her hand, letting the die hit the inner wall of the container and make a sound, she then put it down and opened it with an expectant expression.
The number was 1.
She looked at Xia De again and winked at him. Xia De understood that this was a number she had deliberately rolled.
So, the number of cards drawn for the first round was two. The game had just begun, and neither side had drawn any special cards. Mrs. Sangmei had 1+9 = 10 points. Xia De had sun 5 and flower 10, winning the first round.
“Detective, it seems your luck is quite good today. But people always believe that the side that wins first in a gamble rarely achieves the final victory.”
People whispered among themselves. Mrs. Sangmei spoke a superstition she heard from who knows where, tossing the two cards in her hand aside and motioning for little James to continue shaking the dice cup.
The first die rolled in the second round was 5, while Tifa, smiling with pursed lips, rolled a 2 after winking at Xia De again.
People marveled at the pretty girl's luck. She still maintained that expression of a slight smile with pursed lips. Xia De also looked at her, not expecting that the Miss Vitter following him could even play a role in a gamble by rolling dice.
So, in the second round, both sides each drew three cards.
Mrs. Sangmei carefully took the cards dealt by the antique shop owner and smiled as she revealed them one by one.
star 7, moon 5, sun 4. Although it was 16 points, with Xia De also only drawing 3 cards, this already had a very high chance of winning.
Perhaps Tifa’s dice “luck” had exhausted Xia De’s card luck. Even after removing the Founding series from the deck, there were still 6 special cards in the deck, but Xia De still didn't draw any of them.
This round was a draw. All three of Xia De’s cards were flower suits: flower 13, flower 2, and flower 1, also totaling 16 points.
The onlookers sighed together. This made the situation a bit more complicated, but it also made the card game more entertaining.
“I'm still leading by one round.”
Xia De said with a smile to Mrs. Sangmei, holding the cards between his right index and middle fingers, and flicking them aside.
“It’s fine, it’s just one round.”
She was still very confident, and the onlookers discussed the card game last week where Mrs. Sangmei won even when trailing by two.
However, at the beginning of the third round, little James, who was shaking the dice cup for Mrs. Sangmei, actually rolled a six.
Not only the onlookers, but even Xia De was quite surprised.
The young man helping in the kitchen looked at his boss with a troubled expression, but Mrs. Sangmei’s expression didn't change:
“It’s alright. If I win this round, then it’s a draw. We can add a deciding round to determine the winner.”
“But it could also be my win or another draw.”
Xia De said, motioning for Tifa to shake the dice cup.
The black-haired girl’s smile became more pronounced. She gently shook it, and glanced at Xia De as she set the dice cup down.
Xia De suddenly guessed what number she would roll.
“Oh, it’s also a six!”
The crowd erupted in an uproar again. This meant that both sides would draw 6 cards. And under the rules of 21 points, the possibility of drawing six cards without busting was probably lower than the probability of both people rolling a six.
And if both sides busted, which would be a draw, then Xia De would win directly.
At this, Mrs. Sangmei’s expression finally became a little troubled.
