Flower Chase

Huang Xiaowen followed the woman's gaze and glanced beneath the table. The greatsword rested by her feet, its scabbard thicker than her own calf. If it struck someone, it probably would not need a second blow.

"Don't worry." Huang Xiaowen placed both hands on the table and smiled innocently. "I'm a very rule-abiding person."

Squid Ball stood behind her and nearly choked on her own saliva.

She silently turned her face away.

Anyone else saying that would have been fine, but coming from Huang Xiaowen, it was a little shameless.

The Tiefling woman nodded in satisfaction and swept her gaze over the cards on the table.

"An ordinary Golden Goblet Card Game relies entirely on luck. It's not very interesting. Since this is your hundredth game, let's play something more interesting—Flower Chase. What do you say?"

Huang Xiaowen had never heard of that format. "What is Flower Chase?"

A few laughs immediately rose from the crowd, though most were not malicious.

Golden Goblet was one of the most common gambling games on Black Reef Island, while Flower Chase was a relatively unusual variation. It was not played often, so it was perfectly normal for visiting gamblers not to have heard of it.

Seeing that Huang Xiaowen truly did not know, the dealer patiently explained.

"Flower Chase uses only twelve cards. They always include the three special cards, [Golden Goblet King], [Golden Goblet Queen], and [Golden Goblet Knight], while the other nine are randomly drawn from the ordinary cards. Before the game begins, all twelve cards are displayed face-up, and both sides may inspect them."

"Once both sides confirm the cards, all twelve will be turned over. I will then shuffle and shift them for three rounds. Neither side may touch the table during the shuffling. The challenger chooses three cards