Chapter 236: Ten and a Half

"..."

Hearing Yan Jing's words, Shi Le took a deep breath behind the curtain.

He understood.

He was waiting for his opponent, but his opponent was waiting for him, too.

The only reason he hadn't been eliminated yet was that Luo Sheng was waiting for him to show himself.

Luo Sheng hadn't forgotten him after all.

Then again, no one whose family had been destroyed would ever have reason to forget.

The next instant, he took direct control of Xu Qiao'er's body.

Xu Qiao'er's eyes instantly turned pitch-black as she gave a sinister smile.

"Please tell Young Master Luo that he guessed right. This is exactly how his father lost everything at the gambling table."

"I remember the day he lost the family fortune. He frantically searched everywhere for a loan, begging every relative and friend until there was no one left to ask. Wouldn't you say that's ridiculous?"

Hearing this, Yan Jing felt his weird energy surge. His own eyes turned pitch-black. Shifting his posture and demeanor, he spoke in Luo Sheng's tone:

"Master Shi is a straightforward man. As for losing the family fortune, my father's skills were simply inferior, and you have to accept your losses when you gamble."

"However, as the saying goes, the son pays the father's debts. Master Shi, if you please!"

Yan Jing smiled and raised a hand.

"..."

Xu Qiao'er's—or more accurately, Shi Le's—eyes flickered.

According to the rules of this Special Grid, its Fourth Level status granted him the initiative. He could choose the type of gamble for the first of three rounds.

"Let's play cards. We'll play the simplest game of Ten and a Half. Eldest Young Master Luo went to study at the Lake; you should know how to play this, right?"

To "study at the Lake" meant going to the Lake to study.

As his voice faded, the dice cup and Pai Gow tiles on the table vanished simultaneously.

A line of text appeared before them.

[Sleight of hand or fortune?]

Sleight of hand meant they would take turns shuffling and cutting the deck while a phantom summoned by the Regional Grid dealt the cards. Both players could use tricks during this process.

If one side used a trick and was caught by the opponent, they would be barred from shuffling and cutting for the current round, and they could not fold for the next two rounds.

Competing in fortune was much simpler.

Neither player would touch the cards at all. The phantom summoned by the Regional Grid would handle all shuffling, cutting, and dealing. It was purely a contest of luck.

"Fortune."

Shi Le declared.

It was an unexpected choice.

It stunned the inner world residents watching from the sidelines.

Normally, as a gambling cultivator, Shi Le would be flawlessly skilled at sleight of hand, whereas it was debatable whether Luo Sheng knew any tricks at all. The vast majority of inner world residents had assumed Shi Le would choose sleight of hand; they never expected him to rely on fortune.

"Heh, at least he knows his limits."

Only Old Master Liu gave a cold snort.

If Shi Le and his young master were competing face-to-face, Shi Le undoubtedly would have chosen sleight of hand. But right now, both were borrowing human bodies. That woman across the table was more than a tier weaker than Advisor Yan. There were some tricks she simply couldn't execute, and they would be easily seen through.

In the art of sleight of hand, eyesight was equally crucial. Given the circumstances, it was better to compete in fortune.

A Fourth Tier Gambling Cultivator could not possibly have bad fortune.

"Then we will compete in fortune."

Yan Jing nodded and called out, "Master Liu! Huzi! Come check the cards!"

"Coming, Young Master!"

The Old Man and Tiger squeezed through the crowd to the front.

Naturally, the one checking the cards would be Tiger. The Old Man primarily served to protect him.

The Old Man took the lead, clearing away anyone standing at an angle where they could see the cards in Yan Jing's hands.

"..."

Shi Le's eyes flickered.

He knew the opponent's subordinates were far from simple; otherwise, they wouldn't have had such good luck rolling the dice earlier. But in all his years walking this path, if it really came down to a contest of fortune, he had never feared anyone.

Gambling cultivators were divided into two types.

One wagered on winning but not on losing; the other wagered on losing but not on winning. He was the latter.

The last time he had won was four or five years ago, when he beat Luo Wang—the father of the Luo Sheng sitting across from him.

"Heh, then let's begin."

The rules of Ten and a Half were very simple. All cards were divided into two categories: cards from Ace to 10 represented their respective face values, with the Ace counting as one point. The remaining Jacks, Queens, Kings, and both Jokers each counted as a half-point.

Both players would start with one face-down hole card that only they could see. They would then take turns asking for cards, trying to get their total hand value as close to ten and a half points as possible.

If the sum of the cards exceeded ten and a half points, it was called a bust, which was the smallest possible hand.

If both players busted, the dealer won.

Aside from that, if a hand had nine cards without busting, it was called a Nine-Small, the absolute highest hand. Below that was the Eight-Small, followed by Seven-Small and Six-Small. When it came to five cards, there was a special hand: if all five cards were half-point cards, it was known as the Five Small Figures, which sat just above the standard Five-Small.

If the hand had fewer than five cards, the point totals were compared directly, with ten and a half being the highest.

If both players had five or more cards and the same number of cards in hand, they compared the number of half-point cards. If those were also identical, the dealer won.

If both players had fewer than five cards and identical point totals, they compared the number of cards, with the higher card count winning. If the card count was the same, they compared the number of half-point cards. If that was still a tie, the dealer won.

After winning, the dealer would continue to act as dealer in the next round.

Yes, this was a gamble where the dealer held the advantage.

And because this was a Fourth Level Regional Grid, the dealer role was automatically assigned to Shi Le.

"Begin dealing."

Two playing cards were dealt into their respective hands.

"The dealer sets the ante, which can be at most one-tenth of the assets of the player with fewer chips. A Fourth Level Regional Grid is equal to two Third Level Regional Grids, a Third Level equals two second levels, and so on. If exchanged for cash, it equals the mortgage price."

"The game may end by choice when Faction No. 7 goes bankrupt or when Faction No. 4 loses one-third of its assets."

The phantom acting as the dealer spoke.

"Five Third Level Regional Grids."

Shi Le placed a massive ante.

"The player acts first."

The dealer phantom stated.

Yan Jing looked at the card dealt into his hand, turned back to Tiger, and blinked.

"Huzi, do we hit?"

"You have to look at the card first, Young Master."

Tiger scratched his head.

"Oh, right."

Yan Jing pressed his hands together, squeezed the card, and carefully peeked at its face.

Holy shit!

Ten points.

Now it was Yan Jing's turn to scratch his head.

He looked at Tiger.

Tiger quickly waved his hand from an angle where Shi Le couldn't see.

Ten points wasn't actually a bad card.

Although starting with a ten typically meant you couldn't hit again, and in a showdown it lacked a high card count and wasn't ten and a half, it was actually very safe. First, there was no risk of busting. Second, aside from ten and a half, ten was the highest possible score.

"I'll stand."

Yan Jing casually raised a hand.

"Heh."

Shi Le chuckled coldly from across the table.

Standing on a single card simply meant he had an eight, a nine, or a ten.

"Dealer's turn," the phantom announced.

Shi Le glanced at his card. Eight points.

"Heh."

He smiled and raised his hand.

"Hit. Two cards."

The onlookers—whether players or inner world residents—who understood the rules of Ten and a Half all widened their eyes.

Who on earth asks for two cards straight away?!

In Ten and a Half, if the previous card made you bust, the rules dictated that you couldn't ask for another.

Furthermore, if the previous card happened to hit exactly ten and a half, only an idiot would hit again!

"Taking two cards requires an extra bet."

The phantom stated.

This was clearly a more thrilling variant played Across the Lake, and the phantom acknowledged it.

"Double the ante."

Shi Le laughed softly.

Quickly, two cards were dealt in front of him.

Shi Le lifted them for a peek and began to laugh.

Just as he had anticipated.

He raised his hand again.

"Hit."

He really hadn't busted!

Some people in the crowd analyzed the situation, figuring that Shi Le's starting hand was likely very small, which was why he took a gamble and requested two cards at once.

"Heh, what do you know..."

An inner world resident spoke up from the crowd. He was an old man who seemed unsteady on his feet, clad in tattered rags and straw sandals, trembling with every step.

"That man across the table is a monster... Why would he only gamble when his card is small, and hold back when it's large? I've been to Baile Manor no fewer than five times and saw him gamble once. It happened to be Ten and a Half. At the time, he already had ten points in his hand, yet he still asked for another card."

"Did he hit ten and a half in the end?" someone asked.

The old man shook his head.

"It was an Ace."

"Wouldn't that be a bust? You're just talking nonsense!"

Someone in the crowd scoffed in disbelief.

The old man's expression darkened, and then, as if recalling something, he gave a relieved smile.

"Before he threw his cards down, he said it was a pity, that he should have asked for the fourth card in the deck."

"After he left, someone counted down to the fourth card. It happened to be the first half-point card in the deck. It was a Queen."

"..."

"..."

The crowd's eyes went wide.

"He cheated, didn't he..." someone whispered.

A portion of the crowd immediately agreed.

As an entity at the Transcendent Tier, he might just possess x-ray vision.

"Do you know who he was gambling against?"

The old man raised his eyes and cast a cold glance at the person who claimed he cheated. Then, recalling the scene from back then, he shivered, stark terror bleeding into his gaze.

"It was Heaven... He was gambling with Heaven..."

"..."

The surrounding inner world residents' eyes instantly bulged.

Someone stared at the old man in front of them, feeling an icy chill shoot from the base of their spine straight to the crown of their head. Their voice trembled:

"You saw that scene, so how did you..."

Seeing the master of Baile Manor gamble against New Heaven and still managing to survive? It sounded like a horror story.

This person in front of them might not even be human.

"Me?"

The old man chuckled and extended his arms, rolling up his sleeves to reveal skin as fair and tender as an infant's.

Then, he gave a bashful smile.

"I am sixteen this year."

"I gambled until I had no money left. No money, no way out. To turn it around, I could only wager my lifespan, and in the end, I lost that too... I was just a little bit short! Just a little bit!"

He raised both hands to cover his face and began to sob.

"If only... if only I had a little more money. I was just a tiny bit short..."

His expression looked deeply agonized as his whole body trembled. But everyone present knew he wasn't agonizing over the money he had lost, but over that 'tiny bit short' he was wailing about.

For a moment, the crowd couldn't help but step back. The entire area fell silent.

...

"This is bad, Old Man! It's time to work your magic!"

Seeing Shi Le raise his hand again after taking three cards, Tiger felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of crisis. He immediately reached out and nudged Old Master Liu beside him.

Old Master Liu understood instantly. Suddenly, weird energy surged around his body as he threw a heavy punch toward the sky!

Boom—

One punch, shaking the heavens and the earth, parting the clouds to reveal the sun!!!

The crowd, who had been staring intently at the sky, was startled by this sudden commotion, as was Shi Le at the card table.

Taking advantage of this exact moment, Tiger hurriedly closed his eyes and frantically prayed in his heart:

'Give him a bad card, give him a bad card, I beg of you...'

Yes, it was just that simple and unadorned.

Even he himself didn't notice that as he prayed, something intangible surged from his body, bloomed behind Yan Jing, and vanished in an instant.

As Shi Le withdrew his gaze from the sky, he caught the very last lingering trace of that intangible entity around Yan Jing.

His eyes instantly went wide.

He couldn't help but reach up and rub his eyes.

But when he opened them again, it seemed as if absolutely nothing had happened around Yan Jing.

"Master Shi staring at me like that makes me a little shy."

Yan Jing smiled.

"..."

Shi Le's face darkened. "Tell your people to behave themselves!"

Then, he looked down at the cards in his hand.

His starting card was an eight.

The next three cards were all half-points.

The current sum of his hand was nine and a half points.

He didn't know what Yan Jing's single card was, but even if it was a ten, as long as this new card in his hand didn't make him bust, he would win.

If it was a half-point card, he would have a higher card count, forming a Five-Small. If it was a one-point card, he would hit exactly ten and a half.

As for busting...

He chuckled.

Then he directly flipped over the card in his hand.

But the next instant, his eyes widened.

T-Ten points?!!!