Chapter 241.3: Life and Death Casino (13)

  The young man in front of him clearly intended to gamble with playing cards, but the man didn’t know how to do anything except fight.

However, he wanted to give him gold coins.

From the moment he saw the young man, he felt very happy and wanted to give him gold coins.

He wanted to follow him.

The man racked his brains for a while and finally blurted out, “Fight the Landlord*.” 

(T/N: A popular Chinese card game where three players compete to be the first to get rid of all their cards. One player is designated as the “Landlord,” while the other two are “Farmers.” The Landlord plays alone against the Farmers, who work together to beat the Landlord by playing higher-ranked cards or card combinations.)

Ruan Qing didn’t expect the man to say “Fight the Landlord,” but he had no objections.

There were gambling tables everywhere in the Life and Death Casino, even in Area Two, to allow gamblers to gamble anytime, anywhere.

And there was a gambling table just three meters away from here.

The man followed Ruan Qing and sat down at the gambling table.

When two people play Fight the Landlord, it’s easy to guess each other’s cards, so usually, three people were needed.

The players and gamblers looked at each other but didn’t dare step forward to join.

After all, once the gambling game on Su Zhen’s side ended, the stakes would not just be about numbers but potentially their lives.

“Can I join?” a female voice asked from the side, sounding a bit apprehensive and embarrassed.

Ruan Qing looked up and saw the woman who had prayed to the gods earlier.

Obviously, she had won the gamble.

When Li Ruoshi saw Ruan Qing looking over, she became a bit nervous and clutched her clothes uneasily.

She was afraid that something might be inappropriate.

Li Ruoshi didn’t know why, but the moment she saw the young man, she felt inexplicably joyful and happy.

It wasn’t just happiness; it was a more complex feeling.

She wanted to be close to the young man, yet she seemed to revere him.

It was like facing a strict grandfather when she was a child.

Under Li Ruoshi’s nervous gaze, Ruan Qing shook his head and directly rejected the woman.

Although Fight the Landlord was very fast and could be finished before Su Zhen and the boy maid were done, and those players and gamblers didn’t even dare to speak to Su Zhen, let alone tattle, there was still a risk of Su Zhen finding out in the end.

Earlier, he had already watched her on the tablet for over ten minutes. If he gambled with her and Su Zhen found out, Su Zhen would definitely kill her.

When Li Ruoshi saw Ruan Qing shaking his head, her expression dimmed, her eyes reddening instantly with a surge of grievance that almost made her cry.

But Li Ruoshi held back her tears, forced a polite and gentle smile at Ruan Qing, and then stepped aside.

Even though she felt like crying, she didn’t want this person to see her weakness.

It was just being refused a gamble, yet she couldn’t help but feel like crying.

With only two players, they couldn’t gather three people for the game, but two could still play.

Ruan Qing cut the cards again, placed them on the table, and looked at the man. “I want to raise the stakes. Is that okay?”

“Of course, you can raise the stakes too.”

The man clutched the gold coins in his hand, and after a long silence, he spoke. “I want to follow you.”

Ruan Qing’s eyes curved slightly, “Alright.”

“If you can win against me.”

The man’s lips pressed even tighter. He regretted it now.

Regretted suggesting playing Fight the Landlord.

He was clumsy, didn’t know how to play Fight the Landlord or any card games.

But since he had spoken, he couldn’t back out now.

Ruan Qing continued with his terms, “If I win, you help me with a gamble.”

The man didn’t ask what the gamble was, just agreed, “Alright.”

The players nearby exchanged glances and finally gathered around discreetly.

After all, it seemed that Su Zhen’s game wouldn’t end anytime soon, and they were curious about the outcome of this game.

When two people play Fight the Landlord, there’s no need to guess the cards; they could directly figure out each other’s cards through their own.

For Ruan Qing, it was just like playing house.

But this time, he didn’t want to win.

If he guessed correctly, the man in front of him was likely a manifestation of the system.

The man’s combat ability wasn’t low. Although he wasn’t as strong as Su Zhen and the boy maid, he should be able to hold his own for a few minutes against them.

That’s why Ruan Qing wanted the man to help him in a gamble.

However, after hearing the man’s stakes, Ruan Qing changed his mind.

If the man followed him, he would belong to him. It wouldn’t be just one game; they could be together for every game.

Knowing the man’s cards made it easy to win or lose intentionally.

What Ruan Qing didn’t expect was that the man didn’t know how to play Fight the Landlord at all.

He played his cards in a complete mess.

Even with Ruan Qing’s attempts to let him win, he still lost.

The game ended quickly, and Ruan Qing won.

Looking at the man still clutching his cards tightly, Ruan Qing chuckled, “Let’s play another game.”

The man, who had been downcast, quickly nodded, afraid that Ruan Qing would change his mind if he hesitated.

The gold coins on the table had already been lost to Ruan Qing, so the man grabbed another handful from his pocket.

However, the second game showed no improvement.

Neither did the third game.

Initially, it could be excused as not knowing how to play, but after several rounds, the man showed no progress.

The spectators could see the frustration. Clearly, with such good cards, winning should have been easy.

When two people play, they could see each other’s cards, but it also eliminated the possibility of cheating since any additional card would be immediately noticeable.

It came down to pure skill and luck.

The man’s luck wasn’t bad, but his skill was virtually nonexistent.

It was as if he was missing a crucial part of his brain.

Holding the best cards, he made the worst plays.

The players could easily understand why Ruan Qing kept gambling with the man; they would have done the same.

It was like finding a foolish sheep to fleece for gold coins—who wouldn’t be happy?

However, they couldn’t understand the man. Knowing his own lack of skill, he still insisted on gambling.

Perhaps he was blinded by beauty.

Ruan Qing grew increasingly silent as he played, eventually staring wordlessly at his cards.

Too foolish.

How could someone be so foolish?

If it weren’t too obvious and easily noticed by the onlookers, Ruan Qing would have considered not playing his cards at all.

He even thought of outright surrendering.

But if he made it too obvious, the onlookers would notice, and everyone would see his favoritism towards the man.

At that point, the man might not survive the night.

The man seemed to sense the tense atmosphere as well. He pressed his lips together and lowered his head silently, as if he had done something wrong, or perhaps feeling inferior.

The game was nearing its end, and Ruan Qing had a small joker, a big joker, four aces, and a three.

The man likely had four twos and a four.

Ruan Qing thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and played a pair of aces.

This way, the man could play his pair of twos, and Ruan Qing could then use the jokers to bomb, allowing the man to win.

Ruan Qing’s blatant favoring of the man was now obvious, even to the players watching.

The players looked at Ruan Qing in astonishment.

What did this mean?

Had he taken a liking to the man?

No way!

Wasn’t this a death wish?

Unless both in the gamble perished, whoever survived wouldn’t allow it.

This was pure self-destruction.

The players swallowed hard, but before they could feel tense for more than a few seconds, they saw the man bomb with his four twos.

Leaving him with just a four.

The players: “...” Got it, got it.

Turns out, it was a blatant mockery of the man being an idiot.

They were scared to death, thinking he had taken a liking to the man.

Ruan Qing: “...” Ha ha.

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