Whispering Verse

While waiting, Xia De found an empty single sofa and sat down. Next to him, a group of strange men who seemed to have just met each other gathered together because of political issues.

Shad also listened sideways, and found that they were discussing the possibility of another all-out war between King Delarion in the north and the United Kingdom of Carsonrick in the south.

But after a while, the topic shifted to the nautical trade and piracy of the Old World and the New World. One of the middle-aged fat men who participated in the conversation seemed to be the manager of a trading company. He was very familiar with the situation in the New World and believed that as long as he had the courage to go by boat, adventurers could always win wealth.

The New World is rich in products. Although there are no aborigines, many civilization relics can be found. Lengshuigang City, the most important port city in the west of the Kingdom of Delarion, serves as a connecting point between the old continent and the new continent, and there is never a shortage of opportunities there.

After the middle-aged fat man was called to accept the appraisal, everyone's topic finally shifted to the Rhodes card. Men who don't know each other compare their decks, show off their newly acquired special cards, or laugh at the funny stories of the Rhodes collectors in the city.

Wearing a black top hat, the middle-aged man with a moustache and a golden cane next to the sofa is the leader of the topic among the group, because he has more special Rhodes cards, one of which is [Northern Country Artek City, City of Art]'s flower 13 even has special rules:

[When using it, throw a 20-sided dice, if the number of the dice is equal to 20, you can redraw the card unconditionally. 】

This is a real card that has been authenticated by the Prophet Association, so although the effect is very ordinary, it is still touted excitedly by many Rhodes card lovers.

The man with the moustache called himself Mr. Lavender. Seeing that the atmosphere was getting warmer and he had nothing to do now, he proposed:

"How about we play Rhodes, using the simplest rules. If I win, you need to give me 5p, and if I lose, you can give the winner 10p. Oh, gentlemen, let us play this boring Morning."

The so-called "simplest rule" means that each player draws three cards in a row and wins or loses according to the blackjack rule. If both players bust, then three more cards are drawn until one side wins.

The stakes were not very high, and chatting here was really boring, so the busybodies gathered and flocked around Mr. Lavender to watch the excitement.

Xia De also went over to watch the fun, but he always hated gambling, even for such a small bet, he would not participate, so he just watched (Note).

There were three men who were willing to play cards with Mr. Lavender.

The first is Mr. Luke who works at Chengnan Tobacco Company. He just mentioned the tobacco trade and taxation issues of De La Rion and Casilimo, but unfortunately he was directly out of the game with 25 points;

The second one is the old Mr. Ponton, who lives by collecting rents from local real estate. He has thick finger joints and a skewed right eye with glasses, but his Rhodes technology is top-notch. It took three rounds of fighting with Mr Lavender to finally win 10p, which won the applause of the onlookers.

Finally, there is the burly Captain Sewell. His ship travels to and from the water system of the Old World, mainly for inland waterway navigation. He was a regular here and was known to many, including Mr. Lavender.

It's a pity that Captain Sewell was really unlucky. The first two cards added up to more than 21, so he had to lose five pence regrettably.

"Anyone else want to play?"

Mr Lavender looked to be in high spirits, extending an invitation to onlookers after his victory over a third opponent. He often patronizes the local Prophet Association and various Rhodes Clubs, and is a well-known card player in the city, so the gentlemen who join in the fun are just booing, but no one wants to end.

Fivepence is money, after all.

Mr. Lavender looked around, and finally saw Shad's unfamiliar face in the crowd, and he also saw that it seemed that he had come to this kind of place for the first time:

"Sir, would you like to play cards with me?"

The middle-aged man extended the invitation kindly.

"Sorry, I don't gamble."

Xia De shook his head, but Mr. Lavender was not angry, but smiled and said:

"Then how about we don't gamble and just play one game? My waiting number is 21 and it will be my turn soon. Let's just play one game and see."

The people around were also booing, pushing Xia De to the front row.

Xia De thought for a while, since he doesn't gamble for money, it's okay to play one time, and treat it as a pastime of Dafa's entertainment time. So he took advantage of the opportunity to sit on the single sofa opposite Mr. Lavender, and handed out his business card to this very wealthy gentleman by the way:

"Shard Hamilton, detective."

"The profession of detective is said to be very good at playing cards."

Mr. Lavender took the business card and was taken aback when he saw the address of the detective agency. He obviously didn't expect the young detective to have the money to open an office in such a location.

"But I hardly played it much."

While talking, Xia De took out his own deck of cards ~www.readwn.com~ which was the one he picked up when he went to pick up Mia. Each player shuffles the cards for the other, then draws three cards from the top of their own deck.

Mr. Lavender opened his card with an excited expression. There were many special cards with exquisite cards mixed in his deck, and one of the three cards he drew was:

"Look, the sun is 5, the silver moon is 8, and the star is 4. It's 17 o'clock. It's really good luck."

The people behind him also whispered their congratulations.

Because he didn't gamble, Xia De didn't feel any pressure. He turned over the first card and threw it on the table. It turned out to be Sun 13, and the people around immediately made a sound of regret. Under the blackjack rule, if you draw two more cards, the probability of busting is quite high.

Xia De revealed the second card again, which was 7 stars, which added up to 20 points. But under the simple rules, he cannot stand and must draw three cards.

People were infected by the atmosphere and exchanged views on the detective's last card.

Xia De was also curious about his luck today, so he picked up the last card, stood it up and carefully looked at the number on the card. The people behind him also raised their heads to check, and then let out a collective exclamation, and even the woman in his head chuckled, reminding Shad that she was always there.

A smile appeared on Xia De's face, as if the pressure of last night's incident had disappeared at this moment, and playing cards was indeed a good way to pass the time.

Throwing Star 1 on the table, Mr. Lavender who was sitting opposite immediately stretched his head to look at the coffee table, and then showed exactly the same amazed expression as the onlookers:

"Oh, blackjack. Beginners always have such wonderful luck, but Detective Hamilton, do you want to play another game? I haven't been beaten by blackjack for a long time."