Chapter 1757: The Card Game at the Market

Although no black fog camp was visible beside the demon-haunted bonfire, actually walking twenty paces along the path brought them within the camp's boundaries.

The surrounding air grew colder; an eerie silence instilled in their souls an instinctive sense of danger and oppressive dread. Everyone fell silent, just as before—four of them lined up in single file, each person placing a hand on the shoulder of the one ahead for safety and to avoid accidental separation.

Once again, the witch Higgins Young Lady led the way, controlling the black scale that Xia De had taken an interest in; behind her came Lady Myers, then Xia De, and finally the boy.

Because their goal was clear this time, Higgins Young Lady led them directly into the heart of the camp, then moved cautiously along the narrow paths between the shadowy vendors.

This time, the direction the four took was entirely different from last time, meaning that although their previous experience still applied, what lay ahead on the path had become completely unknown.

The light from four torches illuminated only the goods on the stalls flanking the path; beneath the flickering flames, each traveler's face bore a different expression. Higgins Young Lady showed concern for herself and Lady Myers; the old woman displayed resolute determination; Xia De frowned as he pondered his inner confusion; the boy behind him wore a gloomy, troubled expression.

All was silent; save for the burning flames, even footsteps were swallowed by the black mist. A faint odor of decay hung in the air; the motionless shadow figures behind the stalls, lacking faces, nonetheless seemed to be watching them.

Observing as they walked, Xia De again confirmed that although these shadow figures assumed varied postures, their physiques were remarkably uniform. He had noticed this upon his first visit; now sensing it again, his suspicion that these entities were something other than demons felt more plausible.

Yet ahead, Higgins Young Lady suddenly slowed her pace as Xia De was lost in thought—not because they had reached their destination, but because the motionless shadows ahead had suddenly stirred, signaling that they had encountered another mandatory "camp activity."

It was a shadow on the left side of the narrow path between stalls; before it stood a rotting, peeling wooden table, upon which lay a stack of paper cards.

As Xia De looked over, the shadow picked up the cards—whose backs bore the golden scale motif—and selected five, placing them face-down before itself, then five more on the outer side of the table, finally placing three black coins beside its hand and gesturing invitingly.

"Is this… a card game?"

Xia De was startled; so too was Higgins Young Lady:

"Do you know how to play cards?"

She asked Xia De softly; the champion of Dacheng in 1853 was about to answer, then remembered the moment:

"But I don't know what kind of cards they're playing."

Higgins Young Lady then attempted to ignore the shadow and walk past the card table, but as soon as she took a step, a clattering of chains echoed from the darkness beyond the torchlight.

The young red-haired witch glanced at Xia De; Xia De nodded cautiously:

"We'll have to try. You go or me?"

Lady Myers, positioned between them, stepped back tactfully behind the witch; the boy moved closer to the old woman. Higgins Young Lady clearly feared this; Xia De read her thoughts:

"I'll go this time. You owe me a favor."

"I understand."

So Xia De stepped to the table and studied the shadow:

"I'll play with you."

It seemed winning would earn him the three black coins, but what losing meant remained unclear. Xia De suppressed his unease and reached out to flip the first card before him—the instant the face was revealed, his eyes widened:

"How is this possible?"

The card was unmistakably the Moon 4 of Luo De Pai.

Xia De was certain: in this era, Luo De Pai and its rules simply could not exist; even the Ten Thousand Changes Cards should have followed the "Game of Life" rules here.

"Because I flipped the card, all cards became Luo De Pai rules? This shadow… can tailor the type of cards based on my origins? Wait—"

He suddenly realized something and swiftly turned his head to survey his surroundings; his pupils contracted slightly, then he understood what he had just deduced:

"This is fascinating."

He glanced again at his first card, then asked the shadow before him:

"What are the rules?"

The shadow raised three fingers; Xia De, intimately familiar with Luo De Pai rules, understood at once:

"Five cards, three rounds?"

The shadow gave a slight nod.

This was a rare Luo De Pai rule: select a specific number of cards, then reveal them in sequence to complete designated rounds. Each card may be used only once, and must be played in order; only the next card may be previewed in advance. That is, if you preview three cards, you must play the first two.

Such a rule rarely appears in formal matches; it is more common in banquet games. Under this system, the most critical rule is that you must retain at least one card in hand during the final round—so to win under such rules, you must not only calculate your own points but also track the number of remaining rounds and cards in hand.

Understanding this, Xia De covered the Moon 4 again and pushed it forward:

"First round—I play one card."

The shadow pushed forward its first two face-down cards and revealed them together—Xia De's "Moon 4" indeed lost to the combination of "Sun 5" and "Flower 3."

Xia De examined his remaining cards: the second was Star 7, the third was Sun 5. He considered briefly, then skillfully used the third card to lift a corner of the fourth—revealing it as Star 8.

He exhaled slightly and prepared to push all three cards forward, but the witch beside him stopped him:

"Though I don't understand the rules, isn't it too risky to leave only one card for the end?"

"I've already lost one round—I cannot lose the second."

Xia De explained, and together with Higgins Young Lady, they watched as the shadow pushed forward two cards, leaving only one remaining.

"If it plays only one card this round, I have other options—but now I must play all three."

He spoke, then flipped his cards. Xia De totaled 20 points; the shadow revealed Moon 9, Flower 1—10 points—and lost the second round.

Thus, the final victory hinged solely on comparing the size of the last remaining card each side held.

There was no hesitation—the shadow flipped its final face-down card: the Sun 11's value made Higgins Young Lady inhale sharply; though she didn't know the 21-point limit, she clearly understood they were comparing card values.

"This is bad…"

Xia De placed his hand on his final card, drew a deep breath, stared at its back, then closed his eyes and flipped it onto the table with a sharp *pam~*—an oddly loud sound in the silent camp. He was certain he would not lose—not because of the Gambler's Blessing, but because—

"Flower 12."

The card face was unmistakably the 【Origin·Earth】 he had obtained from Stone Ausenfort. His ability to reveal any of the five Ten Thousand Changes Cards at will, beyond 【Origin·Silver Moon】, stemmed from the inexplicable "new power" granted after each Selected Event concluded—and this special power had never been restricted, and could certainly be used in the Fifth Epoch.

Xia De felt the witch beside him hold her breath; all other cards had no face, but this one did—so Higgins Young Lady could tell Xia De's final card was unusual. Of course, had she examined the card back, she would have noticed even more anomalies.

Xia De knew this, so he remained silent, watching the shadow behind the table, waiting for its judgment.

After several seconds, the shadow did not point to Xia De's revealed card and accuse him of cheating—it slowly pushed the three black coins toward him.

Xia De smiled—not because his coin count had risen to four, but because he had confirmed a hypothesis. Though Ten Thousand Changes Cards were miraculous, they must be recognized as such; otherwise, they were merely ordinary paper cards. And if they were ordinary cards, the shadow had no reason to accept such a blatantly cheating play.

Therefore, the current situation meant this card had clearly been recognized—otherwise, the shadow would have accused him of cheating.

"Which entities are capable of recognizing Ten Thousand Changes Cards?"

He finally understood what the Tree Father truly wanted him to do—the demons, the shadows, all merely distractions. The god of wealth and trade really had a sense of humor.

At this point, Xia De had increased his coin count to four. After exhaling in relief, the group once again linked shoulders in a line and set off.

In the following minutes, they encountered no more special stalls in the marketplace; such stalls were rare here.

Only after they had walked a hundred steps away from the card-playing shadow did Miss Higgins stop again, for the black balance had restored its equilibrium here.

Just now, the demon said the boy's merchant lay along the path of the merchant Lady Myers sought—thus, they had reached the boy's destination.

Miss Higgins, at the front, stepped aside to let the boy approach the stall; as the boy passed behind Xia De, he suddenly reached out and pressed his trembling shoulder.

"Do you know what's most important to consider before doing anything?"

"Whether you can succeed?"

The boy stood there without turning to look at Xia De; Xia De always felt he dared not meet his gaze.

"No. Before doing anything, the most important thing is to consider whether you should do it."

Xia De gave his answer. The boy nodded, broke free from Xia De's hand, and stepped up to the stall. Miss Higgins stared at Xia De in surprise; Xia De shook his head slightly and joined the boy's side.

(End of Chapter)