Frankly speaking, Jin Yan's sleight of hand, palming and concealing cards, was not particularly rare or unusual. Many seasoned gamblers and addicts knew how to do it.
It wasn't difficult for ordinary people to learn either.
With practice in their spare time, they could achieve some proficiency after a year or so.
The truly difficult part was multitasking!
While performing the palming and concealing actions, she simultaneously marked the backs of the cards in a way that was identical to my own markings. This required a high level of skill and hand speed.
Most importantly, Jin Yan executed this entire series of actions in one fluid motion.
Such skill was only possible for a professional cheat.
In an instant, I began to harbor strong suspicions about the identity of this beautiful woman in the qipao.
At the same time, an indescribable premonition arose in my heart.
I had a feeling that Jin Yan was like an examiner, deliberately testing me.
Honestly, if I hadn't considered the five or six armed bodyguards guarding the house outside, I would have been tempted to retreat on the spot!
My purpose in coming to Gezhuang Village was singular: to arm myself.
As for any other messy affairs, I wanted no part of them.
However, my current predicament, trapped like this, made it impossible for me to stay out of it.
To protect myself, I had to follow Jin Yan's instructions first.
At this moment, I finally understood what it meant to be caught in the currents of the martial world, unable to control my own fate.
As if not noticing the subtle changes on my face, Jin Yan had already begun shuffling the cards.
Her shuffling technique was very peculiar, so peculiar that I had never seen anything like it before!
I don't know how to describe Jin Yan's shuffling technique precisely, so I'll just describe everything I saw.
Jin Yan shuffled the cards very quickly. The method of splitting the deck was the most common one among gamblers and addicts: splitting the deck in half. She held a stack of cards in each hand and continuously shuffled them back and forth.
Speed was one thing; if it were just that, I would only need to lock onto the three Aces I had secretly marked.
As for the Ace of Spades that was hidden, as long as I vaguely hinted to her that I had seen through her scheme, and prepared a way out for her,
then the rule-breaking that had occurred earlier would be completely overlooked.
But Jin Yan not only shuffled quickly but also made subtle movements with her hands.
Take the half-deck of cards she held in her right hand, for instance. Before quickly interspersing them with the other half of the deck, Jin Yan would use the little finger of her right hand to firmly grip the bottom few cards of the deck.
Then, in the instant her hands crossed, while shuffling, she would use her right little finger to draw out the gripped cards and quickly insert them into the stack in her left hand.
When the cards in both hands were completely merged, she would then use the thumb of her right hand to similarly grip and draw a few cards from the top of the stack in her left hand.
Throughout this process, the stacks of cards in Jin Yan's left and right hands were constantly and rapidly being swapped.
At such a high frequency, even the eyes of a seasoned cheat, honed through countless trials, could easily make a mistake.
After all, human eyes, in the end, are not electronic eyes that can perform 360-degree surveillance and then replay everything to perfection.
Moreover, each time before Jin Yan finished shuffling and merging the cards, she would cleverly use her hands to block my line of sight, deliberately preventing me from seeing clearly and maximally restricting me.
After the cards were shuffled, Jin Yan looked at me and said, "I'm done. You cut the cards!"
With that, she extended the deck of cards towards me, smiling at me with her eyes.
But the moment my gaze met Jin Yan's smiling eyes...
The smile in Jin Yan's beautiful eyes rapidly receded like a tide, replaced by an extremely cold and chilling gaze that sent shivers down my spine.
My state of mind wavered, and my prepared action to cut the cards was also affected.
As soon as I picked up a stack of cards, before I could even make my subtle move, my hand, due to the fluctuation in my mood causing a delay in my movements, froze in place with the cards I was holding!
By the time I snapped back to reality, Jin Yan had already put on a smiling face and retrieved the cut cards from my hand.
This attempt to cut the cards... had utterly failed!
To be at a disadvantage before even drawing cards was extremely rare in previous gambling matches.
I awkwardly followed Jin Yan's smile, then stared at her intently, without saying a superfluous word.
It was unbelievable! It was uncanny!
Up to this point, the preceding sentence was the most fitting evaluation of Jin Yan that came to my mind!
Not only was her skill comparable to mine, if not superior, but she was also filled with mystery and eeriness!
The speed and fluidity with which Jin Yan changed her expressions, her gaze, her demeanor, and her aura were likely more polished than those of most professional actors!
It perfectly embodied the saying, "Eyes can kill." At such close proximity, one could easily be intimidated by the fierce aura emanating from her gaze.
As the smile gradually faded from her face, Jin Yan looked at me and said, "You can draw the cards now, Liang Kuan!"
"As long as you can find the four Aces, all the minor friction between us will disappear!"
When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head!
Since Jin Yan told me to draw the cards, I had to comply.
Taking a deep breath, I focused all my attention on the deck of cards in front of Jin Yan.
After about four or five seconds.
I extended my right hand, my fingers spread open, and touched the deck of cards as lightly as a dragonfly touching water.
Without any hesitation or pause, I drew four cards from the deck and quickly flipped them face up on the table.
The moment the four playing cards were revealed, the entire room fell silent.
At such close proximity, the faint, fragrant breath of the qipao beauty, mixed with a hint of floral perfume, silently wafted and quickly entered my nostrils.
"That's a very nice perfume!"
My heartfelt exclamation was met with... Jin Yan's soft gasp.
"Impossible!!! There's no reason for it!"
"How can you still smell my perfume? You clearly already..."
As if realizing something, Jin Yan suddenly stopped speaking at the most crucial point.
Her lively eyes seemed as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, wide open.
Seeing this, I smiled calmly.
"Heh heh~ From the moment you didn't let the bodyguards follow you into the room, I knew there was something wrong with this room!"
"Such amateurish tricks, daring to show off in front of me?"
"Did you think I didn't know that the slim ladies' cigarette you're holding, the one rolled with something other than tobacco, is actually a hallucinogen?"