[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world":3,"chapter-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-319":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Survival Guide in a Mysterious World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2299288,4497,"Chapter 319: A Thousand Knots in the Heart","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-319",319,"\u003Cp>Drawing two cards in a row that perfectly match cards already in hand—what does that even mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A full deck has 54 cards; excluding the jokers, there are 52, divided into two colors and four suits. Hearts and diamonds are red; spades and clubs are black. In this game of drawing the joker, a successful match requires two cards of identical number and the same color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is: the Ace of Hearts can only pair with the Ace of Diamonds; the Ace of Spades can only pair with the Ace of Clubs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are only four Aces total in the deck—two red, two black—meaning every single card in the game has exactly one matching card of the same color, and that matching card exists only once among all players’ hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gambler drew two cards in a row that perfectly matched his own hand—those two cards had been dealt directly to A Lun  during the initial deal, and then randomly drawn by the gambler. If this were mere luck, Xia Yubing could only say the gambler’s luck was truly extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yubing glanced sideways and saw the gambler still held six cards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A player may leave the game once all their cards are discarded—leaving is not winning. The game of drawing the joker has only losers, no winners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was A Lun ’s turn to draw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yubing watched A Lun  across the table, silently observing him slowly extend his hand toward I Kesi , who sat beside him, pale from blood loss in his thigh. She remembered correctly—this man named “A Lun ” was apparently I Kesi ’s attendant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had previously learned from Ning Zhe about certain European noble traditions: those who entered the opera house with a master and participated in such an intensely private “auction” were rarely ordinary servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This A Lun  was likely a trusted confidant raised from childhood, with at least two generations of his family serving the I Kesi  household, having grown up alongside I Kesi ; their bond resembled friendship, even brotherhood, more than master and servant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Xia Yubing’s thoughts drifted: two close childhood friends, participating in the same game, seated side by side—given the circumstances, could they not be colluding to cheat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would the gambler allow cheating in its game?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yubing wandered aimlessly in thought, while at the same time, A Lun  drew a card from I Kesi ’s hand:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spade 4\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the card was drawn, Xia Yubing noticed A Lun ’s expression turned strange—surprised, then frustrated—finally, he clenched his lips and added the Spade 4 to his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Lun  had no card to pair with the Spade 4.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words: “The Club 4 is not in his hand,” Xia Yubing thought silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then why did he just show such a complex expression? Did he have another 4 in his hand—but because the color didn’t match, he couldn’t pair it, hence his reaction?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yubing glanced down at her own hand—there, clearly visible, was: Heart 8.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If A Lun  truly had a 4 to begin with, it must have been the Diamond 4.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thought had barely formed when Xia Yubing noticed the gambler, seated motionless to her left, seemed to be glancing deliberately—or perhaps unintentionally—at A Lun ’s cards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be…” a ludicrous idea surfaced in Xia Yubing’s mind, making her hesitate to believe it: “No… that can’t be possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If her guess was correct, then from the very beginning of this game, no one could possibly win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drawing continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I Kesi  drew a Spade 6 from the God of Wealth; the God of Wealth drew a Spade 9 from Sally Sally. Neither had a matching card, so each added the drawn card to their hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Sally Sally drew a Diamond 10 from Xia Yubing’s hand; since she had no matching card, she added it to her own hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this round of drawing, everyone except the gambler seemed to have terrible luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yubing took a deep breath, turned her head—the gambler had already lifted his hand slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was her turn. Without hesitation, she reached out, drew a card: Heart 8.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yubing looked down—her hand held no Diamond 8 to pair with the Heart 8. She had followed Ning Zhe’s advice precisely, yet her luck today showed no sign of improvement; she added the red 8 to her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second round of drawing ended; the third round began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again starting with the gambler, proceeding clockwise, it would draw from A Lun ’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the gazes of all four living people in the room converged on the gambler. Xia Yubing tensed her body, eyes fixed as the gambler’s gray-white hand, speckled with cadaverous spots, reached toward A Lun  and drew a card from his fanned-out hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Spade 4]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she saw the suit, Xia Yubing’s pupils shrank sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, the gambler drew a card from its own hand—the suit clearly displayed: [Club 4].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suits matched. The gambler discarded both cards into the central pile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gambler’s current card count: 4\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s it!” Xia Yubing was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Club 4 had been in the gambler’s hand all along; the only card that could pair with it—the Spade 4—had originally been in I Kesi ’s hand, separated from the gambler by A Lun .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the clockwise drawing order, the gambler should not have been able to draw directly from I Kesi —but A Lun  drew the Spade 4 from I Kesi , then the gambler drew that same Spade 4 from A Lun  and paired it with its own Club 4, discarding both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only three rounds in, the gambler now held only four cards—clearly the player with the fewest cards on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless something unexpected happened, the gambler would be the first to leave the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But could such coincidence truly exist?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only card that could pair with the gambler’s Club 4—the Spade 4—was in I Kesi ’s hand, drawn by A Lun , then drawn again by the gambler from A Lun ’s hand. And every player shuffled before drawing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could such perfect coincidence really happen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Either the gambler cheated, or its luck is truly extraordinary,” Xia Yubing thought: “Better than mine, even after praying to the crucifix.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gambler needed only four more draws to leave—but how could she determine whether it was merely lucky or cheating?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The situation demanded different responses depending on the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After endless speculation with no conclusion, Xia Yubing’s head ached. She stole several furtive glances toward the gambler, gritted her teeth, made up her mind, and pulled a leather-bound notebook from her robe, placing it on the table and opening it—inside, a blue ballpoint pen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside her, Sally Sally turned her head, curious, blinking at the black-and-blue Chinese characters on the notebook. She recognized Chinese characters—but Xia Yubing didn’t notice; her full attention was fixed on the gambler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gambler glanced briefly in her direction, then made no further move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So long as I don’t peek at other players’ hands, it won’t be counted as cheating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relieved, Xia Yubing seized the moment while A Lun  and I Kesi  were drawing, quickly picked up her pen and began scribbling hurried Chinese characters onto the notebook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1220,"2026-06-20T06:29:22.815Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3eddc88043fa418f924b95ad6a7f97029076b4a230c62da8f50a68fdad2babaf","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-320","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-318",353,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurvival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-cover.jpg"]