Chapter 618: Captain and Lieutenant

When the poet finished singing this part, jumped off the high stool, and tipped his hat to the surroundings, Xia De, who was eating, touched his pocket and threw out two one-shilling coins. With fairly superb power control and good luck, the two coins fell directly into the red soft hat held by the poet.

Two shillings was considered very generous, and the poet immediately bowed to Xia De.

Xia De asked:

"I've heard too many legendary stories; do you have any fresh songs?"

"What would you like to hear?"

The poet asked politely.

"Do you have anything related to Rhoder cards?"

"Yes! The Dacheng Player in Tobesk ended last week; that final match that people talked about, and the controversial identities of both sides of the final, are the best topics."

After speaking, he didn't ask for Xia De's opinion, picked up his lute again, sat on the high stool, and started the prelude directly.

The people in Sikar Hotel were attracted by this fresh song, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the hotel was even livelier than before. Only Xia De was a bit uncomfortable; after all, although what the other party sang was all facts, the descriptive methods were truly too exaggerated.

By the time Xia De finished his meal, the poet's song about "Dacheng Player 1853" had not yet finished. Xia De turned to look at the restaurant and saw two men in Royal Army officer uniforms playing Rhoder cards at a table in the crowd, so he stood up and walked over.

Ordinary soldiers are not allowed to walk around in military uniforms when on vacation; only officers of the rank of lieutenant and above are allowed. The two playing Rhoder cards at the table at this time, the one with a rougher appearance was a captain, and the one who was a bit short but looked younger was a lieutenant.

Xia De pulled out a chair and sat at the table, and the two playing cards stopped immediately and looked at him.

"Do you mind if I play a game with you?"

Xia De took out his deck, wiped it on the table, and spread it into an arc.

Because of his conversation with the bard just now, this request was not particularly abrupt. The two officers looked at each other, and the older captain asked:

"How to bet?"

He meant betting money.

"We play ten games, drawing at least two cards and at most four cards per game, draws don't count. Half a shilling per game; even if you lose everything, it's just the price of a pair of ladies' stockings, but it can bring us some fun."

His metaphor made both officers laugh, and the rough-looking captain reached out to Xia De:

"Joel Joseph, Captain of the Royal Army at the Windy Path."

"John Watson, a writer here to collect material, occasionally doing some detective work to run errands for people."

Xia De also reached out and shook his hand.

With the lieutenant as the referee, the two checked their decks and started playing. The captain's deck only had two cards with special faces, while Xia De used a basic deck. Although ten games sounded like a lot, it ended in less than half an hour.

Not counting draws, Xia De won eight of the games, and the captain won two. This was a fair game, and the stakes weren't very high, so Captain Joseph didn't want to renege.

Just as he was about to pay the bet, Xia De waved his hand to tell him not to be in such a hurry:

"May I ask, do you know Captain Lades? I've heard of his deeds in Tobesk and want to talk to him."

Xia De first asked about his friend.

"I know, this captain can be considered a local celebrity. He is at the Red Water Camp and probably has vacation time next week. You can go into the mountain and find him at the traveler's camp next to the military camp; you'll always find him."

The Windy Path was the only way to walk through Sikar Mountain, so travelers spontaneously formed a relatively simple camp next to the military camp as a transit station for entering the mountain, and also did some commodity trading with the garrison of the Windy Path.

Xia De nodded; he naturally wouldn't go to find Captain Lades, he just wanted to know that the captain had arrived here safely:

"Speaking of Red Water Camp, do you know Captain Luo Nade?"

Captain Joseph raised an eyebrow and stopped the action of taking money, knowing that the man who claimed to be a writer had come up not just to play cards:

"There is indeed a Captain Luo Nade, but this one hasn't done anything that ordinary citizens would know about... Is he playing cards here and owes pounds?"

"No, no, a few days ago I ran into a strange person who asked me to deliver this gun to Captain Luo Nade, and for this, he gave me a reward of one pound."

Xia De placed the dead corporal's pistol on the table:

"I took someone else's money, so naturally I have to do things."

"I don't know when Captain Luo Nade is on vacation. Why don't I go find him, let him tell me his vacation time, and then come back to tell you."

Captain Joseph asked, and Xia De shook his head:

"I'm just delivering things, no need to see that captain. Please help me give this gun to him; I don't want the 3 shillings I won just now, and I can give you some more money."

He took out some coins and pushed them to the other party, about 5 shillings and more. This was found from the corporal who died in the 【Boundary of Life and Death】; Xia De only kept two shillings as his reward and took out the rest. As for the corporal's body, Xia De restored it from the toy state and buried it on Sikar Mountain, where the scenery was very good:

"In this way, my work is done."

Captain Joseph checked the gun, and seeing that Xia De didn't mean to probe into the secrets of the camp, he was not so vigilant:

"This is simple, I think it's no problem. Then, after delivering this gun, do we need to let Captain Luo Nade write a receipt to prove that the mission is completed?"

He looked like someone with a sense of responsibility.

"No need, I trust people in Royal Army uniforms."

Xia De gave a small compliment to the other party, and the captain couldn't help but smile:

"That's for sure, the Royal Army is trustworthy."

The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious, and Captain Joseph and his companion Lieutenant Hoyle happened to have nothing to do in the afternoon, so they invited Xia De to continue playing cards.

Xia De also had nothing to do in the afternoon. He had an appointment to meet Priest Ao Gu Si at four o'clock, and it was only one o'clock now, so it seemed good to spend time here.

So the three planned to start a three-person card game. When Xia De checked Lieutenant Hoyle's deck, they listened to the bard's lute and talked about the Dacheng Player far away in Tobesk. It had been nearly a week since the Dacheng Player 1853 ended last Wednesday, but the story of that legendary match could still make Rhoder card players around the world excited.

"How to bet this time?"

Lieutenant Hoyle took the deck from Xia De and asked. Seeing that none of them had special rule cards, Xia De shook his head:

"Actually, I don't bet under normal circumstances. How about we play a table game? The loser pays for their own drinks, half a cup per game, and we can get some low-alcohol, cheap fruit wine."

Xia De suggested, but Captain Joseph shook his head in embarrassment:

"Although we are on vacation now, it's best not to drink too much. I'm not unconfident in winning against you, but judging from the ten games just now, I'm afraid my luck is bad this afternoon, and if I really play, I will definitely be the one who drinks the most..."

Just at this moment—

Bang~

The originally lively hotel suddenly became quiet. Captain Joseph and Lieutenant Hoyle subconsciously reached for the pistols at their waists, while Xia De, like most people on the first floor, looked up.

It was a gunshot, and the gunshot came from directly above the hotel. ===== CHAPTER 619 =====