I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 165: Pai Gow Star of Calamity

Duan Rong strolled over to a large table in the center of the first-floor hall, where the fewest people were gathered, about seven or eight, playing a game of chance.

The dealer was a lean man in his thirties, with sharp eyes and prominent cheekbones. He wore a black silk robe with a character stitched on the right shoulder, indicating he was someone from the casino.

The lean man shook the cup in his hand, producing a loud clattering sound, his sharp eyes scanning the gamblers around him, shouting, "Bet big or small, place your bets. When fortune strikes, you’ll make a fortune..."

The cadence of his voice was high and low, carrying a tempting undertone...

Just as the man stopped shaking the cup, Duan Rong suddenly unleashed his Divine Sense...

Some of the people around had already started to place their bets. One guy with dark circles under his eyes tapped his stack of Broken Silver and suddenly looked fierce, placing all of it on big. "Take a chance, defy gods and buddhas alike!"

Duan Rong glanced at the man, then took out a few taels of Broken Silver and placed them on small.

The lean man, seeing everyone had placed their bets, called out, "Good luck to everyone, let’s open!"

"One-three-one! Small!"

Duan Rong had only played a few rounds and won a small amount when Ximen Kankan came over and pulled him away. "Jiang Qingyu just arrived. The private room is in Box G on the second floor, let’s go up first, he’ll come after settling payment."

As Ximen Kankan was dragging Duan Rong away, the lean dealer took a deep look at Duan Rong, remembering clearly that this man placed bets five times and got them all right!

Ximen Kankan led Duan Rong, pushed open the door of the luxurious Box G, and inside, rare flowers were arranged all about, filling the room with a subtle fragrance...

As soon as Ximen Kankan entered, he expertly retrieved a set of Pai Gow tiles from the cabinet by the wall, placed them on a square table, and said, "Play Pai Gow, do you know how?"

Duan Rong searched his original self’s memory and found that Pai Gow was a popular game here, not only played in casinos but also in the streets during festivals, as a pastime.

Using his original self’s memory to quickly learn the rules, he realized the rules of Pai Gow here were quite similar to a two-card version of the Three-Card Poker game from Blue Star.

With his Divine Sense, it was like playing with open cards, an absolute advantage!

Duan Rong sat casually at the table and said, "What do you mean, know how? On our streets, they call me the Pai Gow Killing Star."

Ximen Kankan chuckled and poured the Pai Gow tiles from a wooden box onto the table with a clatter. He sat down and said, "Really unfortunate for you, I have a nickname too, ’The Ghost that Haunts the Killing Stars in Pai Gow.’"

Duan Rong looked at Ximen Kankan’s confident demeanor and said sarcastically, "Young man, this world is quite ruthless! You’d better not act so arrogant; it’ll be tough to adapt when you get thrashed later."

"Bullshit! Do I need to adapt?" Ximen Kankan retorted angrily. "Whether at the gambling table or in bed, I’m ruthless. Not a single stitch left! There’s no one born yet who can thrash me, much less you!"

Ximen Kankan snorted disdainfully with an air of seniority.

As the two were trading barbs, Jiang Qingyu slipped into the room.

Having not seen Duan Rong for some time, Jiang Qingyu entered cheerfully and greeted him courteously, to which Duan Rong hastened to respond, looking at Ximen Kankan, "See how polite Young Master Qingyu is? Now compare yourself."

Ximen Kankan laughed, "This is a casino; can being polite help you win? Know the setting!"

Duan Rong chuckled, shaking his head. This guy’s mouth is really something...

After the three sat down, they quickly shuffled the tiles, stacked them in piles of three, and rolled the dice, designating Ximen Kankan as the banker.

Ximen Kankan picked up the dice, rolled them twice more, and then, based on the numbers, dealt two tiles to each person in a counterclockwise order.

This way, everyone had two tiles face down in front of them on the table.

The three each discreetly viewed their tiles before placing them back. Ximen Kankan peeked at his tiles as if he were engaged in some secretive activity, prompting a smile from Duan Rong. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Duan Rong already knew all three sets of Points.

Having checked his tiles, Ximen Kankan wiped his mouth vigorously and said, "I’m the banker, I’ll start, ten taels."

"I’ll call ten taels," Jiang Qingyu said.

"I’ll call ten taels," Duan Rong eyed Jiang Qingyu, seeing that his tiles were higher than the others’.

"Ah, everyone has something!" Ximen Kankan laughed. "Let’s up the ante. Five hundred taels!"

Jiang Qingyu’s expression changed, and he hesitated.

Duan Rong, already aware of the tile values, knew all three of their hands were pitifully small, but Jiang Qingyu’s was still the highest.

Jiang Qingyu observed Ximen Kankan’s expressions for a moment, hesitated a bit, then slid his tiles aside, saying, "I fold!"

Ximen Kankan’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at Duan Rong and asked, "What about you?"

Duan Rong chuckled internally, thinking: Nice play! Your swagger is certainly impressive!

"Call five hundred taels," Duan Rong stated calmly.

Ximen Kankan gave a small smile, tossed another five hundred silver notes onto the table, and said, "Another five hundred taels."

"Call five hundred taels," Duan Rong didn’t even bat an eyelash.

Ximen Kankan’s eyes flickered, his face expressionless, "A thousand taels."

"Call a thousand taels," Duan Rong remained unfazed.

Ximen Kankan swallowed and asked, "Reveal?"

"No reveal!" Duan Rong glanced at Ximen Kankan.

Ximen Kankan’s tiles were very low. He initially intended to bluff Duan Rong, but it clearly didn’t work. Now he’s in a dilemma, wanting to fold but fearing Duan Rong might be bluffing him.

Ximen Kankan stared at Duan Rong for a while, twitched the corner of his mouth, and said, "Call a thousand taels and reveal!"

Both Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan flipped over their tiles, revealing identical Copper Hammer six-point hands.

Ximen Kankan was dumbfounded upon seeing Duan Rong’s tiles. With identical Points, whoever reveals is the loser.

"Why were you two bluffing with six-point Copper Hammer hands?" Jiang Qingyu grumbled as he flipped his own tiles, revealing a seven-point Ace Seven hand.

Ximen Kankan’s expression turned sour. Duan Rong, with six-point Copper Hammer tiles, dared to maintain his calm as if he had known Ximen Kankan was bluffing all along.

Although Jiang Qingyu was upset, the essence of Pai Gow lies in psychological warfare, and having folded, he had no one else to blame.

Ximen Kankan glanced at Duan Rong and sarcastically remarked, "Rookies have good luck in their first few rounds. It’s normal!"

Duan Rong chuckled, "Young man, I told you, this world is very harsh! You still haven’t truly understood that, have you?"

Ximen glared at Duan Rong, "An old sow rooting in the dirt - all bark and no bite."

After four or five more rounds, Duan Rong left the other two with no fight left in them. Ximen Kankan’s perception of Duan Rong had completely shifted!

He now believed Duan Rong’s ’Pai Gow Killing Star’ nickname wasn’t just talk. Meanwhile, Ximen Kankan’s own ’Ghost of Pai Gow’ reputation seemed more like ’Grief of Pai Gow.’

"No more Pai Gow. Today I’m just cursed against it. Let’s play something simpler, dice games for high-low!" Ximen Kankan said.

When in dire straits, one must change to survive and not get stuck in a rut. He couldn’t believe that Duan Rong could be a star in every game; otherwise, he’d be the King Yama of the casino!