Gu Lingfeng’s fourth card was the Jack of Clubs.
Up to this point, the sequence of cards in his hand formed a straight flush from the Ace of Clubs to the Jack of Clubs.
As long as the final card revealed was the Ten of Clubs, it wouldn't matter even if my fifth card was the Jack of Diamonds.
Therefore, upon seeing that my fourth card’s sequence was incorrect, Gu Lingfeng, confident of victory, immediately let out a smug and arrogant laugh.
In his eyes, a card sharp’s memory could not afford the slightest error.
Since I had already gotten the sequence of the fourth card wrong, the fifth card… was highly unlikely to be the Ace of Diamonds.
This meant my hand could neither form a flush nor a straight flush.
“Kid, Mingxuan said you were very capable. I thought you were supposed to be that impressive? This is it!?”
As he spoke, Gu Lingfeng’s gaze towards me was filled with disdain.
Wang Mingxuan, who had been caught off guard by me earlier, was now even more impatient, saying, “Get two people over here to hold down his hands!”
The moment Wang Mingxuan finished speaking, several bodyguards in suits and ties rushed out from the surrounding crowd, closing in on me.
“Kid, are you going to do it yourself, or should we do it for you?”
Scanning his surroundings with an eager and fervent gaze, Wang Mingxuan said coldly, “A bet is a bet! That was the rule agreed upon before the game started.”
“With so many people watching, it’s no use even if you want to go back on your word!”
Upon hearing this, I immediately retorted, “The premise of a bet being a bet is that the outcome of winning or losing must be clearly determined first!”
“The cards haven’t all been revealed yet, so why do you assume I’ve already lost?”
Hearing my words, as if convinced I was making a last-ditch effort and quibbling, Gu Lingfeng chuckled and said, “Heh! Still talking tough even when you’re facing death!”
“Fine! Since you’re not convinced, I’ll make sure you lose so convincingly that you have no choice but to accept it!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Lingfeng, believing he had secured victory, snatched the crucial fifth card and revealed it before everyone, ahead of me.
While revealing the card, Gu Lingfeng chanted, “A straight flush capped by the Ace of Clubs – how could I possibly lose?”
The moment the fifth card was fully revealed, a wave of gasps erupted from the surrounding crowd.
Seemingly satisfied with the crowd’s reaction, Gu Lingfeng let out another booming laugh, “The only cards that can beat a straight flush with the Ace of Clubs are the Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Spades!”
“Unless you can conjure up five more Hearts or Spades, you’re guaranteed to lose this round!!!”
“Hahahahaha~”
Since the fifth card was revealed, Gu Lingfeng’s gaze had not strayed from the table; instead, he kept his head held high, basking in the attention of the onlookers!
Unfortunately…
At this moment, Gu Lingfeng was the only one in the entire hall laughing heartily.
The rest of the people, including Wang Mingxuan, wore expressions of extreme shock and disbelief.
Sensing that the expressions of those around him were not quite right, Gu Lingfeng’s laughter abruptly stopped, and he muttered, “What’s going on!?”
Hearing this, Luo Qiweng, who never liked to be outdone, immediately chimed in with a taunt, “Old Gu, I never thought you and your lackey Wang Mingxuan were so alike, so ridiculously confident!”
“However, before you get all self-assured, could you please sort out your own cards carefully?”
Hearing this, Gu Lingfeng was instantly infuriated and roared, “Luo Qiweng, you…”
Before Gu Lingfeng could lash out, Da Fei, who had been standing silently, immediately spoke up, “Old Gu, now is not the time for infighting! Hurry up and look at your cards!”
Seeing Da Fei, who was usually extremely cautious, his expression had changed. A sense of foreboding flashed through Gu Lingfeng’s heart.
Then, he instinctively looked down…
As he looked down, Gu Lingfeng froze on the spot.
A Nine of Diamonds.
Combined with the previous four cards, they formed a sequence of 9, J, Q, K, A.
Four Clubs and one Diamond, a mixed-suit hand.
The prominently revealed Nine of Diamonds had completely ruined the straight flush.
This cruel and merciless reality instantly turned Gu Lingfeng’s face ashen, and his legs felt suddenly weak, causing him to stumble.
“Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!!!”
“I clearly remember the sequence of the five royal cards from the Ten of Clubs to the Ace of Clubs!”
“There’s no way I could have gotten the cards wrong!”
Having regained his senses, Gu Lingfeng immediately cried out in distress.
Deep down, he could not and would not accept the reality before him.
But alas, facts are facts.
In the showdown of five cards, his final hand was reduced to a collection of scattered cards.
Moreover, he had revealed all the cards himself, one by one, leaving no room for any possibility of cheating.
After his exclamation, Gu Lingfeng immediately turned his contorted face towards me, his brows furrowed, and demanded, “Kid, you’re playing dirty! You cheated!!!”
From beginning to end, the only ones who had touched and handled the cards were himself, Wang Mingxuan, and me.
He himself would never have cheated to switch cards.
As for Wang Mingxuan, it was even more impossible.
Setting aside the fact that he didn’t know any sleight of hand, the key was that he had no reason to do so.
Because the Twelve Dark Lanterns shared honor and disgrace.
If Gu Lingfeng lost, it was equivalent to the Twelve Dark Lanterns losing.
Such an outcome would be an embarrassment to the Tiandu Casino and Ying Baolin, and Wang Mingxuan would never do such a thing.
Therefore, Gu Lingfeng knew very well that the Nine of Diamonds must have been my doing.
Although he guessed correctly, I absolutely would not admit it.
With a cold laugh, I directly retorted, “I’ll say it again, to catch a cheating spouse, you need proof; to catch a thief, you need evidence! You say I cheated, but where is your evidence?”
“What is your evidence?”
My words stunned Gu Lingfeng again.
Of course, he had no evidence. If he did, he wouldn’t have been so arrogant before the cards were even revealed.
In an instant, unable to produce evidence, Gu Lingfeng’s expression turned extremely grim.
Staring at me with eyes full of fury, Gu Lingfeng, with a dark expression, said resentfully, “Kid, don’t get cocky!”
“When drawing cards earlier, I also made arrangements! The sequence of your next two cards has already been messed up by me.”
“If you can still draw a Diamond card as your last card and form a flush in a situation where the sequence is scrambled… then I, Gu Lingfeng, will admit defeat!”
Hearing this, I remained silent, merely smiling enigmatically.
Seeing my silence, like a drowning person grabbing the last straw, hope rekindled in Gu Lingfeng’s eyes.
“Don’t you dare take the challenge?”
“Kid, I bet your last card is not a flush! Reveal your card!”