Chapter 738: The Card Game with the Earl

"Priest, you are truly experienced."

Xia De praised sincerely.

"Haha, people get old, and physical strength and spirit can't compare to you young people, but the life experience accumulated over a long time is not accumulated in vain."

Xia De nodded knowingly and reached forward. The red butterfly flying around landed on his finger automatically, and then melted into his skin.

He rang the bell on the fence gate. After waiting for a few minutes, the old butler carried an oil lamp that had been polished until it was shiny, walked through the courtyard where the white fog was scattered and which was not large, and arrived at the gate. After the person who called himself "John Watson" explained his purpose and showed the cards, the bald old butler in a black formal suit actually let the two in.

"You see, Luo De cards are sometimes really useful."

Following the old butler through the courtyard toward the mansion, Xia De whispered to Priest Augustus. The priest did not pay attention to him, but stared at the back of the old butler in front:

"He won't live long."

"What?"

"Heart disease; judging from the current medical level, it's already hopeless."

Priest Augustus shook his head, signaling Xia De not to be too loud:

"People will always die; this is very normal."

Earl Dalak was a very famous Luo De card player in the local area, and many people had come to challenge him. When the old butler led Xia De and the priest into the house, he even confirmed to the two that they wanted to use special cards as stakes.

"Does the Earl use special cards as stakes every time he gambles on cards with people?"

"In most cases, yes."

The old butler nodded, leading the two through the hall hung with artworks and antiques, and walking up the stairs toward the upper floor.

Although Xia De was not very good at antique appreciation, he had seen many mansions of great nobles. In his view, the Dalak family had indeed fallen. The decoration inside the mansion was old, and among the vases and oil paintings placed, some were clearly modern artworks. For example, that oil painting at the corner of the stairs looked like the "Brave Slaying the Evil Dragon" auction item Xia De saw at the Fire Festival banquet no matter how one looked at it.

The interior was very quiet; it seemed that apart from the old butler, the servants were all resting. But at least it was kept very clean here, and it could be seen that the maintainer of the house was still trying his best to maintain the decency here.

Xia De and Priest Augustus met Earl Dalak in the study on the second floor. Compared with the gaudy attire at the Fire Festival banquet, the Earl behind the desk at this time was wearing a normal black coat. If it weren't for a pink flower tucked into his hair, he would look even more normal.

The old butler introduced the purpose of the two guests, and Xia De felt the red butterfly that melted into his finger skin trembling, and Priest Augustus also touched Xia De's arm, looking at him sideways and nodding.

Xia De and the priest both understood that the third person who died and was resurrected they were looking for was the middle-aged noble in front of them.

"Mr. John Watson? Oh, I remember you; you are Miss Aurora's..."

The Earl raised his head in surprise.

"I am a friend of Miss Aurora; the lady from the Southern Kingdom last time was joking with you."

Xia De answered with a smile. At this time, the old butler left temporarily to prepare tea for the three, so it didn't matter what Xia De said. Since they found Earl Dalak, they must send him away.

"Ha, I knew you weren't an ordinary bodyguard. I heard that Miss Aurora has always been indifferent to men. And if an ordinary bodyguard has such good card skills, then my life is too much of a failure."

The Earl, who looked thinner than last time, put down the fountain pen in his hand with a smile; he was writing a letter just now:

"Mr. Watson, with your appearance, you can actually make money doing anything. I guess you are Miss Aurora's..."

"Cough cough!"

Xia De hurriedly coughed, preventing his image as a promising young man in the eyes of Priest Augustus from being further damaged:

"Earl, let's talk about business. After the card game last time, I heard from locals that you are a famous Luo De card player in the local area, so I want to play cards with you again. Last time, neither of us took out our special cards, so that can't count as a win or loss."

Earl Dalak looked even happier:

"Yes, neither of us used special cards last time, so it can't count as me losing to you."

Saying that, he stood up:

"Two gentlemen, the weather is strange today, and I happen to have nothing to pass the boring day. Come, please follow me; I have a dedicated Luo De card gambling table here."

The Earl walked toward the door, and Xia De and Priest Augustus also stood up from the chairs by the table.

"Observe first to see what his current state is. If we can send him away without fighting, then we will try to avoid fighting."

Xia De hoped that his eyes could express such complex meanings, and Priest Augustus, who saw Xia De's eyes, actually nodded.

Xia De was very curious about what Priest Augustus thought he wanted to do.

In short, under the guidance of the Earl, the three returned to the first floor again. The Earl even took a detour in the mansion to introduce the history of those antique collections and the traditions of the Dalak family.

Among them, he stayed the longest in front of a rapier. Last time he also said that he was very good at using a rapier.

The so-called dedicated Luo De card gambling table was actually a table with squares drawn on the surface, convenient for placing card decks, drawing cards, and discarding cards. It was a room facing the sun on the first floor, which was arranged by the Earl specifically for playing Luo De cards with players.

Apart from the table in the middle, there were many signatures and photos hanging on the surrounding walls. Those were players who had come here and gambled on cards with Earl Dalak. According to the Earl's introduction, he had even played cards with the runner-up of "Dacheng Player 1850". It was just that the other party was unwilling to leave a photo, so he only left a signature.

Apart from the signatures and photos on the walls, there were neat glass display cabinets under the four walls, in which interesting souvenirs related to Luo De cards were displayed. For example, the copper commemorative coins used to calculate points during the semi-finals of "Dacheng Player 1853" that ended more than a month ago, and the news reports at the time, were all displayed here.

And after introducing those exhibits, the gambling game officially began.

The old butler served as the referee, and Priest Augustus dealt the cards for the two players. As for the stakes, Xia De bet his "only" special card 【Legend of the Brave · Bard Fletcher】 and laughingly claimed that if he won this time, he would go to the Red Water Camp on the Wind-Rising Path to challenge Brigadier Carter who possessed 【Legend of the Brave · Swordsman Sebalon】.

"No no, your news is outdated. Now 【Swordsman Sebalon】 is in the hands of a captain at the Red Water Camp; it is that captain who cracked the serial murder case at the Mibao Mechanical Academy."

The Earl reminded, and then took out and displayed his bet:

"【Ancient Fairy Tale · Sleeping Princess】 Suit: Sun 4. If you roll 10 or 20 on a 20-sided die twice in a row, you can adjust the card number within 4 or 5."

He read out the card information and let the butler hand the card to Xia De for inspection.

The Earl, who looked a bit proud, took off his gloves and shook his wrists, saying:

"The champion of this year's Dacheng Player, Hamilton of Rejiede, also has a special card from the Ancient Fairy Tale series, which is 【Ancient Fairy Tale · Match Girl】. I even plan to take a steam train specifically to Tobesk city in winter if I have nothing to do, to challenge that big player who has dozens of special cards."

He moved his fingers, and a look of anticipation appeared on his face:

"The trip to Tobesk must be very interesting; I can probably become friends with that young man."

Xia De kept a straight face and didn't show any expression.

If Earl Dalak was not a nail that died and was resurrected, he wouldn't mind having such a friend; this was the same as Baron Lavender who initially invited the Outsider to play cards and led Xia De into the world of Luo De cards.

But sometimes fate is not always smooth; what should go must go, and no one can defy this.

To make the card game interesting, this time the traditional best-of-three rule was adopted. Five rounds per game, and the first to win three rounds wins a game.

Both sides shuffled the cards, and after the old butler confirmed that there was no error, the card deck was placed on the left and right hands of Priest Augustus to deal the cards.

The long table was placed parallel to the window, and through the thick fog, the thin sunlight illuminated the tabletop and the side faces of the two.

Xia De got his first dark card, but did not open it, but directly signaled that he wanted a second card.

Then he said with a smile:

"Earl, I heard that you suffered from a serious illness at the beginning of this year? I wish you health."

"Yes, that illness really almost took my life."

The Earl also got his second card, frowned after looking at it, clearly not satisfied.

Xia De's second card was Sun 1; he signaled to continue dealing, and then warned:

"I have a doctor friend who often says that more exercise helps physical health."

He did have a doctor friend, but that was a psychologist.

"That's a good idea, but lung disease may have nothing to do with exercise... I stop, 18 points."

Earl Dalak showed his two cards.

Xia De got the third card, Moon 10, and after looking at the bottom card, he also announced to stop:

"Sun 1, Moon 10, Star 8, 19 points."

"Really bad luck."

The Earl shook his head and threw the cards in his hand to the side; the two cards spun and stacked together, looking like a veteran Luo De card player:

"However, my illness may have something to do with my unhealthy lifestyle. Mr. Watson, are you a local, do you know any interesting local drinks, blood brew?"

Xia De raised his eyebrows in surprise, took the cards handed by Priest Augustus:

"Of course I know, I even ran into a salesman promoting this drink at the Fire Festival banquet. But I have always kept blood products at a distance, and even steak must be cooked to medium-well before I eat it."

"Then your life really lacks a lot of fun." ===== CHAPTER 739 =====