Only Qin Fang and Ye Huan knew the situation inside out.

"Why didn't she take it?"

Chu Yunxuan, sitting across from Qin Fang, asked quietly. She knew Ye Huan was supposed to be very skilled, but didn't think it necessary to do so in the first round.

"Because she can't win this round! My hand ends up with two pairs, while she has only one pair. She's bound to lose, so why should she follow?" Qin Fang explained softly to Chu Yunxuan.

Chu Yunxuan suddenly realized what was happening. She now knew why and also learned that both Qin Fang and Ye Huan could see clearly what the cards on the table were, even before they were dealt.

"If both of them know what cards will be dealt, doesn't it come down to who has better luck?"

Chu Yunxuan wasn't foolish and immediately sensed that the situation might unfold in this way. Perhaps it would continue until the two-hour time limit was reached, and they would have to see who had more chips to determine the winner.

But looking at the expressions of Qin Fang and Ye Huan, she felt that this possibility wasn't very likely.

Of course, the two wouldn't simply rely on luck to decide the outcome. If that were the case, they wouldn't be worthy of being among the Thousand Skills practitioners.

The second round of card verification began, and Ye Huan was doing as usual, shuffling the cards with the Guanyin Hand from the Qianmen Illusion Technique, marking each card carefully, but...

"As expected, here it comes!"

Qin Fang appeared nonchalant, yet his eyes never stopped watching Ye Huan.

"Stealing the Beam Replacing the Pillar! A very clever technique..."

Without a doubt, Ye Huan's ace up her sleeve was clearly something beyond the Guanyin Hand; she, too, was exploiting a loophole in the rules.

Or rather, this rule wasn't a loophole at all but was specially made for their showdown of Thousand Skills.

While observing Ye Huan's card theft, Qin Fang also noticed the old supervisor at the scene, whose eyes flashed with a glimmer of understanding, and he immediately got it.

The on-site supervisor was also a member of the Thousand Skills faction!

This gambling game was less about luck than it was a contest of wits and Thousand Skills between Qin Fang and Ye Huan.

Stealing the Beam Replacing the Pillar was a commonly used technique among the Thousand Skills, especially in gambling, which is what cheaters refer to as palming cards.

However, the skills of experts from Thousand Gate were more refined. Those who didn't understand this technique would never detect it.

At least, from what Qin Fang could see, apart from him and the on-site supervisor, nobody else noticed Ye Huan palming the cards. None of the croupiers from the casino noticed it.

Ye Huan was dressed in a very casual long dress today, with her arms bare, seemingly without any possibility of palming or hiding cards. But these were all illusions, sufficient to deceive the uninformed spectators. Yet for a high-level Thousand Gate expert, they were too transparent.

"The Qianmen Illusion Technique is indeed remarkable!"

Without a doubt, Ye Huan used her profound skills from the Qianmen Illusion Technique combined with the Stealing the Beam Replacing the Pillar technique to secretly keep a card.

"You can steal cards, but do you think I can't?"

Qin Fang couldn't help but chuckle internally. When the playing cards reached his hands, he managed to intercept one in what seemed like an effortless motion.

Neither Ye Huan across from him nor the on-site supervisor noticed because Qin Fang's move was far too subtle.

The second round began, cards dealt!

This time Qin Fang's cards showed a 10, while Ye Huan's were a Jack. Ye Huan spoke first, "I bet ten..."

"PASS!"

But this time, it was Qin Fang who unhesitatingly chose to PASS. In this round, Ye Huan ended up with a small straight, and even with the card Qin Fang had palmed, the best he could get was three of a kind. He was still bound to lose...

So, the opening two rounds concluded with both sides passing once, their number of chips remaining equal.

This time Chu Yunxuan didn't ask further; she knew Qin Fang's voluntary PASS meant his cards were inferior to Ye Huan's. There was no point in calling, so conceding was the obvious choice.

The third round began, and both players likely showcased their skills, secretly retaining a card each. In the end, Qin Fang's hand was stronger and won, while Ye Huan passed again.

The fourth round, Ye Huan won, Qin Fang PASSED.

The fifth round...

The sixth round...

Just like that, one round followed by another, the audience below the stage had already gone numb.

They'd thought that a gambling game involving bluffing would be very interesting, but they hadn't expected it to be this boring, with each round ending with just two cards dealt and one of the players opting to PASS.

If it were a case of having high cards, that would be one thing, but sometimes it was the one with the obvious advantage who would bet first and then just give up... not even allowing the opponent a chance to place a bet.

Time passed in this way for nearly an hour, with Qin Fang and Ye Huan each having their wins and losses, but the difference between them wasn't great, at most only about ten or twenty chips.

The N-th round began.

This time, there was a real sense of tension in the air.

Or rather, it was that Qin Fang and Ye Huan were truly starting their gambling match.

Why?

Ye Huan had already stolen twelve cards, and given the clothes on her body, that was the limit of how many cards she could hide. She couldn't continue stealing cards anymore.

The beautiful croupier dealt the cards, and Qin Fang's hand was a 9 on the table with a 9 as his hole card, making a pair.

As for Ye Huan, she had an 8 face-up, and a 10 face-down; simply based on the face-up cards, Ye Huan had the bigger hand so she spoke first.

"Ten!"

As usual, Qin Fang had the slightly better hand, so he threw down ten chips without hesitation.

"Call ten, and raise you another ten..."

This time, Ye Huan didn't back down; not only did she call, but she also raised the bet directly.

The audience, who had been nearly dozing off, suddenly perked up upon seeing the two start to bet.

Qin Fang appeared very "surprised," and without understanding why Ye Huan would do such a thing, he still didn't hesitate and quickly made his decision, "Call..."

Of course, Ye Huan knew why Qin Fang was surprised because in the end, Qin Fang would have three 9s, while she would have a pair of Js and 10s, still leaving Qin Fang as the winner.

"Ten..."

"I call!"

"Another ten..."

"I'm still calling!"

So the pattern for the next few cards went like this: Ye Huan would bet, and Qin Fang would call; and whenever Qin Fang bet, Ye Huan would also call.

After five cards were dealt, both players had put in more than sixty chips each, exceeding half of what was on their hands. One could say that whoever won this round would have virtually secured an early victory.

Looking at the table, Qin Fang's hand showed a pair of 9s, along with an 8 and a 7, all low cards. But including the hole card, he had three 9s.

On Ye Huan's side, she had a pair of Js, and a 10 and an 8 — a slightly better hand on the surface.

Normally, with a hand like this, Ye Huan would definitely choose to go all-in, but since her hand was a bit stronger, she was concerned that going all-in might frighten Qin Fang away, so instead of going all-in, both players just revealed their hands.

Anticipating that Ye Huan might be cheating, Qin Fang calmly flipped his hole card first, his face showing great excitement, "Haha, my hole card is a 9, three of a kind..."

It must be said that Qin Fang's acting skills were seriously lacking; Chu Yunxuan, who was watching from the sidelines, felt that Qin Fang's performance seemed a bit too stiff, not at all in keeping with his usual style.

But the problem was that Ye Huan didn't understand Qin Fang and thought he was just that kind of spoilt young master who gets easily carried away. She just looked at Qin Fang and gave a cold laugh.

"Sorry, my hole card is a J, three of a kind..."

Ye Huan revealed her hole card with a smile brimming with confidence. It turned out to be a J, not the 10 that Qin Fang was aware of.

Ye Huan had three Js, while Qin Fang had only three 9s, ultimately losing this round...

"How... how is this possible?"

As they say, the show must go on, and although Qin Fang's acting was poor, he had to keep up the act.

Upon seeing the J in Ye Huan's hand, his eyes almost bulged out, filled with incredulity, as if he were utterly shocked by when Ye Huan had switched her hole card. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, your support is my greatest motivation.)(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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