Cicero seemed to truly believe his luck had improved. In one go, he placed twenty chips on the table.
Tull first reached out to take the chips, then suddenly let out a howl and unconsciously placed his hand on his knee.
"What's wrong?" Cicero asked, rolling his eyes.
"My legs are a little sore from sitting."
Tull rose slightly, pounded his thigh, and gave Zhou Yun and Cicero an apologetic smile.
"I'm getting old. My knees aren't what they used to be. You two should take care of your knees too."
"I'm better at maintaining my luck." Zhou Yun smiled and nodded at Tull, casually shuffling and cutting the cards in his hand.
Tull smiled faintly. Gamblers who placed too much faith in luck were good prey. In one go, he set thirty chips before Zhou Yun.
Especially an inexperienced card player like Zhou Yun—he was exceptional prey... Ow, why did this damned knee suddenly hurt so much...
It wasn't just his knee. Tull felt his stomach beginning to ache too...
Zhou Yun quickly dealt himself two cards, one face-up and one face-down according to the rules.
"Whew—" Tull whistled. Zhou Yun's face-up card was a Q, a highly dangerous card that could easily push his total over twenty-one and make him bust.
Zhou Yun's fingers moved slightly as he dealt Cicero his cards as well.
Cicero rubbed his hands together and nervously flipped over his first card.
J... Cicero could not help smiling. Then he flipped over the second card... Q!
Cicero immediately stretched out both hands and applauded in the air.
His hand totaled twenty, so he did not even need to draw another card.
If Zhou Yun's hole card was a 7, 8, or 9, he could not draw again under the rules and would lose directly to Cicero. If it was a 10, Q, K, or J, it would be a tie. Only an A would let him win.
If Zhou Yun's hole card was a 2, 3, 5, or 6, he would have to keep drawing. With so many high cards remaining, the odds of Zhou Yun busting were extremely high.
"Your method really works. My luck really has gotten better." Cicero flashed Zhou Yun a brilliant smile.
In Cicero's eyes, Zhou Yun had almost no chance of winning... Could his remaining card really just happen to be an A?
"J." Tull also flipped over the first card Zhou Yun had dealt him.
Then the second card... "K!"
"My brother!" Tull copied Cicero and clapped in the air, the delight at the corners of his mouth nearly impossible to suppress.
His hand also totaled twenty. He was beginning to believe the method Zhou Yun had just mentioned for getting rid of bad luck.
Inwardly, he could not help cursing that... what were they called... Yellow Skin, Lame Khorne, Stuttering Tzeentch, Clean Nurgle, and Chef Slaanesh again.
Oddly enough, after cursing them, Tull really did feel a little different.
Somewhere deep down, he felt as though his body had become heavier.
Tull could not help moving his shoulders.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Yun looked at Tull, his gaze becoming slightly strange.
"I suddenly feel weighed down." Tull said, pounding his back a few times.
"...It must be fortune. Fortune must be weighing you down." Zhou Yun fell silent for two seconds, then nodded heavily.
"Oh! Hahaha, good, good, good! What a fine 'fortune weighing me down.'" Tull burst out laughing.
Using the Qi Observation Technique, Zhou Yun glanced at the bad luck on Tull's back, which had suddenly grown much larger.
That mass of viscous, tar-like black bad luck had expanded to half a man's size. It sprawled over Tull's body like a pustule attached to him.
Most disgusting of all, eyes and mouths had begun growing from that pustule of bad luck, hissing and whispering...
Ugh... disgusting...
Zhou Yun shifted his gaze away from the bad luck, which was nearly developing into some sort of Warp entity, and looked at his own cards.
This game held no excitement for him. His Doom Technique had greatly reduced Tull and Cicero's luck, while the Strange Luck he had cast upon himself had improved his own.
And his precognitive ability had already told him what his card was...
Zhou Yun flipped it over. It was a 2.
His total was now twelve.
Seeing that it was not an A, Cicero and Tull both let out heavy sighs of relief. Zhou Yun's bizarre luck had already placed a psychological burden on them.
Then, seeing it was a two, they exchanged glances and smiled at the same time.
Now, Zhou Yun had to draw another card.
If he wanted to win, he could only draw a 9, 2, or 3.
Drawing a 9 would win him the game outright. Drawing a 2 meant he would need another 7, while drawing a 3 meant he would need another 6.
The latter two possibilities were nearly impossible, while as for a 9... only one 9 remained in the deck.
Zhou Yun's chances of winning were already extremely slim.
The two were already rubbing their hands together, eager to celebrate their victory.
Tull had suffered terribly from losing so much today, while Cicero... Cicero's debts had become quite a burden even for him.
Win!! Cicero clenched his fists, and then—
Zhou Yun drew a card. Zhou Yun drew a 9. Zhou Yun reached twenty-one. Zhou Yun took the chips in front of Cicero and Tull.
"Looks like my luck still can't compare to yours." Tull laughed as he rubbed his head a few times.
Cicero, meanwhile, was practically frozen in place. He no longer wanted to calculate exactly how much money he had lost.
No, this would not do... He could not keep going like this.
Cicero gritted his teeth. He had to seek outside help.
"It's your turn to deal." Zhou Yun smiled and handed the remaining twenty-five cards to Cicero.
"Wait." Cicero hurriedly raised both hands and said to Zhou Yun, "I need to use the bathroom."
Without giving Zhou Yun a chance to react, Cicero slipped out of the private room in a flash.
He quickly walked deeper into the bathhouse and knocked on the narrow door inlaid with gold and gemstones.
"Come in." The witch's voice sounded.
Cicero pushed the door open. He saw the Blind Witch and Libo, a priest of the Semuneta Temple, apparently discussing something in low voices.
After Cicero entered, neither the Blind Witch nor Libo immediately looked up at him. Instead, they continued their quiet conversation.
"I'll tell you again: without the holy remains of the beautiful Semuneta, the moans of the God of First Cry cannot descend upon Macragge. You must find a way to bring out the remains," the Blind Witch said in a shrill voice.
"You think I don't want to? That old bastard Tatius occupies the position of high priest. After the Time of First Cry, only the high priest knows the location of the holy tomb. And that old man is on excellent terms with the War King and the high priest of the Broken Lighthouse Temple. With my seniority, I simply can't force him out."
"We still need Cicero to get close to Conor Guilliman, spread our influence to him, and borrow his authority and power..."
"Then give me sixty-six sacrifices, and I can curse that Zhou Yun to death directly," the Blind Witch whispered.
"If you could curse Tatius to death directly, forget sixty-six—I'd scrape together a hundred," Libo said, impatience creeping into his voice.
"Impossible. Semuneta has yet to submit to the God of First Cry. That bitch still has power and can still protect Tatius... I wouldn't dare provoke a god, even a crippled, dying Semuneta."
The Blind Witch lowered her voice, hissing like a venomous snake.
"Libo, aside from Tatius; Jarlan and Conor, who are protected by the War King; the high priests of the War King, Shattered Lighthouse, Talassa Gods, Lax Clean Garden, and Flying Spaghetti Monster; and that bishop from Catholicism, give me sixty-six sacrifices and I can curse any of the others to death."
"It hasn't come to that yet." Libo snorted and looked at Cicero. "Cicero, my friend, I heard from the attendants that the Scholar named Zhou Yun has already arrived at the casino. So? Have you come to report good news?"
"Actually..." Cicero carefully considered his words, just about to speak, when—
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
A piercing wail rang out. The Blind Witch suddenly kicked off her red leather shoe and hurled it at Cicero's face.
"Harbinger of disaster!!!"
Before you continue