Chapter 166: The Pai Gow Bane

Duan Rong paced over to an Eight Immortals table. In the Main Hall on the first floor, this table had the fewest people, with seven or eight gathered around betting on big or small.

The dealer was a lean man of about thirty with sharp eyes and high cheekbones. On the right shoulder of his black silk shirt was embroidered the character "Yang," clearly marking him as a man of the gambling house.

The lean man shook the dice cup in his hand, making it rattle against the tabletop. With a pair of sharp eyes, he scanned the gamblers at the table and called out, "Bet big or small, place your bets and keep your hands off. Once luck arrives, a small stake brings ten thousand times the profit..."

The man's call was rhythmic and modulated, his voice carrying quite a seductive edge...

At the very moment the man's dice cup stopped, Duan Rong's Divine Sense suddenly surged outward...

Some of the people at the table had already begun to bet. A guy with dark circles under his eyes counted the bits of silver in his hand, then suddenly hardened his gaze and bet it all on "Big." "Take a gamble! If gods block, kill gods; if Buddhas block, kill Buddhas!"

Duan Rong glanced at the man, then took out a few bits of silver and bet on "Small."

Seeing that everyone at the table had placed their bets, the lean man called out, "Good fortune is upon you, a small stake brings ten thousand times the profit! Open!"

"One, three, one! Small!"

Duan Rong had just played a few rounds and won a little money when Ximen Kankan walked over and pulled him away. "Jiang Qingyu just arrived. The private room is the Geng-character Room on the second floor. Let's go up first; he'll come once he's paid the silver."

As Duan Rong was being pulled away by Ximen Kankan, the lean man with the dice cup gave Duan Rong a deep look. He remembered very clearly that this man had bet five times just now, and won every single one!

Ximen Kankan led Duan Rong and pushed open the door to the Geng-character Room. The room's decor was quite luxurious, and there were many rare flowers of varying heights placed all around, filling the entire room with a faint, delicate fragrance...

As soon as Ximen Kankan entered the room, he skillfully took a set of Pai Gow from a cabinet by the wall, placed it on a square side table, and said, "Pushing Pai Gow, do you know how?"

Duan Rong searched the original owner's memories and realized that Pushing Pai Gow was a very popular game in this world. It wasn't just played in casinos; during holidays, people would often gather on street corners to play a few rounds for amusement.

Once Duan Rong searched the original owner's memories for the rules, he knew that the way Pai Gow was played in this world was similar to "Fried Golden Flower" on Blue Star in his past life, though Pai Gow only used two tiles.

With this kind of gameplay, for him, wouldn't releasing his Divine Sense be the same as playing with his cards face up? It was simply a dimensional strike!

Duan Rong sat down at the side table in a relaxed manner and said, "What do you mean 'do you know how'? I have a nickname on the streets where I come from: the Pai Gow Bane."

Ximen Kankan was amused by Duan Rong's words. He dumped a wooden box of Pai Gow onto the side table with a clatter, sat down, and said, "What a coincidence, I also have a nickname: the Pai Gow Ghost-Fear, specifically meant to counter banes."

Looking at Ximen Kankan's confident appearance, Duan Rong said sarcastically, "Young man, this world is very cruel! You'd better not be so arrogant, lest you find yourself unable to adapt when you get a sound beating later."

"Bullshit! Do I need to adapt?" Ximen Kankan said angrily. "I am just as fierce at the gambling table as I am in bed. Stripped bare, leaving not a single piece of armor! The person who can give me a sound beating hasn't been born yet, and you think you can?"

As Ximen Kankan spoke, he let out a cold, pretentious snort.

While the two were bickering, Jiang Qingyu flashed into the room.

Jiang Qingyu and Duan Rong hadn't seen each other for some days. As soon as Jiang Qingyu entered, he immediately greeted Duan Rong with enthusiasm. Duan Rong hurriedly returned the gesture, then looked at Ximen Kankan and said, "Look at Young Master Jiang, so gentle and polite. Now look at yourself."

Ximen Kankan laughed. "This is a gambling house. Can being gentle and polite win money? You don't know the occasion!"

Duan Rong shook his head with a wry smile; this guy's mouth was really...

After the three sat down, they began to play. They shuffled the tiles with a clatter, stacked them in piles of three, and rolled the dice, which resulted in Ximen Kankan being the dealer.

Ximen Kankan picked up the dice, rolled them two more times, then, according to the points on the dice, took out two stacks of tiles, arranged each stack on the side table, and dealt them to everyone in a counter-clockwise order.

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

The three of them each touched their own tiles to look at them, then placed them back down. Duan Rong couldn't help but smile at the way Ximen Kankan looked like a thief while checking his tiles. Duan Rong's Divine Sense swept over, and he already knew the points of all three sets of tiles.

After Ximen Kankan checked his tiles, he rubbed his mouth hard with his chubby hand and said, "I'm the dealer, I'll speak first: ten taels."

"I'll match ten taels," said Jiang Qingyu.

"I'll match ten taels." Duan Rong glanced at Jiang Qingyu; Jiang Qingyu's hand was larger than both of theirs.

"Ha, you both have goods!" Ximen Kankan laughed. "Then let's blast it. Five hundred taels!"

Jiang Qingyu's expression changed, and he hesitated.

Duan Rong had already known the hands; all three of their hands were actually pitifully small. Although Jiang Qingyu's hand was also small, it was already the largest among the three.

Jiang Qingyu watched Ximen Kankan's face for a while, hesitated, pushed his tiles away, and said, "I fold!"

Ximen Kankan's expression remained unchanged as he looked at Duan Rong and said, "You?"

Duan Rong smiled inwardly, thinking: Playing well! The momentum is quite strong, isn't it?

"I'll match five hundred taels," Duan Rong said in a flat tone.

Ximen Kankan smiled, threw another five hundred taels in silver notes into the middle of the side table, and said, "Another five hundred taels."

"I'll match five hundred taels." Duan Rong didn't even blink.

Ximen Kankan's eyes flickered. He remained expressionless and said, "One thousand taels."

"I'll match one thousand taels." Duan Rong still maintained his cold, indifferent look.

Ximen Kankan swallowed and asked, "Open?"

"Not opening!" Duan Rong glanced at Ximen Kankan.

Ximen Kankan's hand was very small; he had originally intended to bluff Duan Rong, but clearly, he hadn't succeeded. Now he was in a dilemma; he wanted to fold but was afraid Duan Rong was bluffing him.

Ximen Kankan stared at Duan Rong for a while, his mouth twitched, and he said, "I'll match one thousand taels, open!"

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan flipped their tiles over. The two men's tiles were actually the same: both were Copper Hammers, six points.

As soon as Ximen Kankan saw Duan Rong's tiles, he was dumbfounded. With the same points, whoever opens is the loser.

"You two have six-point Copper Hammers, what were you bluffing about?" Jiang Qingyu said, annoyed, as he flipped over his own tiles. His tiles were a Sharp Seven, seven points.

Ximen Kankan's expression was very ugly. Duan Rong had held a six-point Copper Hammer and yet dared to keep matching without changing his expression, as if he had known from the start that he was bluffing.

Although Jiang Qingyu was angry, Pushing Pai Gow was a game of psychological warfare; since he had folded himself, who could he blame?

Ximen Kankan looked at Duan Rong and mocked, "Rookies always have better luck in the first few rounds. It's normal!"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Young man, I said it before: this world is very cruel! You still haven't truly understood that sentence, have you?"

Ximen glared at Duan Rong and said, "A sow rooting in the dirt—all talk and no substance."

After four or five rounds, Duan Rong had beaten them both until they had no temper left. Ximen Kankan finally wilted, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Duan Rong had changed!

He now believed that Duan Rong's nickname of "Pai Gow Bane" was definitely not just bragging, and by comparison, his own "Pai Gow Ghost-Fear" had become "Pai Gow Self-Fear."

"No more Pai Gow. I'm cursed by Pai Gow today. Let's play the simplest game: rolling dice, comparing big and small!" said Ximen Kankan.

The saying goes that when poor, one changes; when one changes, one finds a way. He wouldn't hang himself from one tree. He didn't believe that Duan Rong could be a bane at everything; wouldn't that make him the King of Hell in the casino?

(End of chapter)