The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng nodded and smiled. “Well, forget the beer. I only wish to play a few rounds to satisfy that craving I keep feeling.”

With that said, Fangzheng pulled Zheng Jiaxing in. Wang Laosi beckoned for Wang Qingzhi, who immediately ran over. He whispered, “Remember to give him some perks in the beginning, before… Ok? Got that? I have something going on. I’ll be making a trip. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Watch the place well for me.”

“Got it. We can’t cast a long line for this punk or he’ll run.” Wang Qingzhi chuckled before entering the house.

Wang Laosi took a few breaths of fresh air as he cursed. “I f**king hate smoking.” With that said, Wang Laosi left.

Fangzheng entered the room and was inundated by a waft of smoke. He subconsciously frowned. He could not figure out why so many people would willingly come to a god forsaken place like this. Indeed, the kind of place attracted the kind of people. Such a foul atmosphere was indeed most suitable for devils to congregate.

“Jiaxing is here!”

“Jiaxing, you brought a new friend? Is he playing?”

“Beginners really have good luck. He’s gonna wipe us out.”

…

After all that he had experienced, Zheng Jiaxing now knew that it was all a scam. He no longer felt in high spirits like in the past, and instead he felt irked by it.

Fangzheng wore an innocent and eager expression to try his hand. He was indeed curious for he had never played card games despite his age! He had no idea how to play either. But that didn’t matter.

Upon seeing Fangzheng who looked like a tender and plump lamb, everyone revealed greedy looks. Previously, Zheng Jiaxing only felt that these people were rather friendly, that they were easy to talk to. But now when he looked at them again, he felt that all their faces were gruesome. They wore looks of desire and greed on their faces! Apart from disgust, there was only fear in his heart! He really could not figure out why he found these people nice in the beginning. Furthermore, he had mixed with them, thinking of them as brothers! Suddenly Zheng Jiaxing recalled the saying that birds of the same feather flock together. Perhaps the past him was no different from these people.

Fangzheng took his seat and smiled. “Dear Brothers, I don’t really know how to play. Can you teach me?”

A fierce-looking man replied hospitably, “Haha, that’s fine. It’s really simple. See this guy here? He’s in charge of handing out the cards. He’s the dealer forever. After he deals, we compare whose cards are bigger. You can place a bet without looking at your cards, but if you look at them, you have to bet double or more. You can get a full hand yourself, or you can just bet on whose cards are better with a person you designate. The one with the weaker hand is eliminated. Of course, you can also choose to fold. The person who finally wins walks off with all the money on the table. It’s just that simple!”

Fangzheng nodded. It was quite similar to the movies he had seen, so he knew a little. Then he asked, “What hands are big?”

“To put it simply, three of a kind is the biggest. Then there’s the straight flush, flush, straight, pair, and the high card. It’s that simple. But don’t write it off because it’s simple. It’s really fun.”

Fangzheng nodded in satisfaction. “So does this mean that having three of a kind is the biggest?”

“No. Three As are the biggest, followed by three Ks, all the way down to three 2s, which is the smallest,” explained the man patiently.

“Got it. Let’s begin.”

Zheng Jiaxing turned anxious watching this. The motorcycle was a borrowed one, yet Fangzheng had sold it in exchange for gambling capital. He thought that was because Fangzheng was good at gambling, but he realized that Fangzheng did not know a thing. Zheng Jiaxing was gripped by anxiety. If Fangzheng were to lose, he would be no different from him. Zheng Jiaxing even secretly reminded Fangzheng, but Fangzheng ignored him, which turned him even more anxious.

He heard Fangzheng say, “Jiaxing, I’ll be playing for a while before we leave. Don’t mind this bit of money whether it’s a win or a loss.”

Fangzheng looked casual and relaxed, lessening Zheng Jiaxing’s worries. However, he was afraid Fangzheng would succumb to gambling.

At that moment Wang Qingzhi, who was sitting opposite Fangzheng, said, “Jiaxing, what nonsense are you up to when someone else is playing? You can’t break the rules.”

Zheng Jiaxing immediately shut up, but he kept secretly tugging at Fangzheng to signal for him to leave.

Fangzheng scratched his head. “Then, what happens if I don’t have enough money when all of you put too much money in? I don’t have much money. If that counts as my loss, I’m not playing.”

How could they allow the plumpest lamb to escape? Wang Qingzhi said, “That’s fine. On account of Jiaxing, we will play only as much as you have. When you are out of money, we will show our hand and see who has the strongest hand.”

Fangzheng immediately smiled when he heard that. “Thank you, you are really a nice person.”

Nice person? This was really the first time Wang Qingzhi heard someone describe him as a nice person. He chuckled as the greed in his eyes turned more intense.

Fangzheng sat down and smiled. “Shall we begin?”

“Alright, let’s begin!” Wang Qingzhi laughed as well. It was a dark and sinister laugh. From his point of view, Fangzheng was a fat lamb for the slaughter which he had no reason not to slaughter! Besides, Fangzheng had taken 2000 bucks from him. He could not let him walk away with that. He had to win it back several times over.

After Wang Qingzhi said his piece, the croupier began handing out the cards. As the cards landed in his hand, Fangzheng leaned back into his chair and began chuckling. He did not say a word, nor did he look at his cards.

The rules indicated that each additional bet had a 300 yuan minimum. Wang Qingzhi looked at the straight flush in his hand and immediately threw a thousand yuan into the table. He then chuckled. “My hand today is pretty alright. Please call.”

A long-faced man beside him did not hesitate to call. He had three Qs! He refused to believe that anyone would have a better hand than his! 2000!

When it was Fangzheng’s turn, everyone subconsciously looked at Fangzheng. Only then did they recall that he was a rookie. Would he be scared off if they started with such high stakes? Zheng Jiaxing immediately broke out into cold sweat. The stakes were raised to more than a thousand from the very beginning. That was way too much!

But before Zheng Jiaxing even said a word, Fangzheng fished out 2000 yuan and threw it onto the table without looking at his cards. Then he said a little embarrassed, “Sorry. I only have this bit of money. If you add more, I won’t be able to play.”

Upon hearing Fangzheng say so, everyone was immediately overjoyed. Wang Qingzhi smiled. “Don’t worry. We agreed beforehand. We shall play up to 2000 for this round. Everyone, add to 2000 and we will show our hands to see who has the strongest hand. How about that?”

Everyone laughed and said with kind expressions, “Sure. Let’s do that.”

“Hehe, this is my first time playing in a such a manner despite being so old. Alright, let’s do it. We should take care of our new friend,” said the fierce-looking man.

Wang Qingzhi also laughed. He had already forgotten Wang Laosi’s reminder to let Fangzheng win a few times before pulling in the net. All he could think of was his 2000 yuan.

Wang Qingzhi immediately flipped his cards. “My luck is pretty good today! A straight flush!” His hand was revealed to be a JQK straight flush!

But before Wang Qingzhi could laugh, the long-faced man beside him smiled. “Wang Qingzhi, your luck sucks. I just happen to beat you. A Queen three of a kind!”

“F**k!” Wang Qingzhi immediately cursed. He thought that he would definitely win, but he never expected to lose.

The fierce-looking man also rolled his eyes. “How can anyone beat that? You guys are crazy. Sigh… But, I have a King three of a kind.”

The long-faced man’s smile immediately froze.

Then, everyone looked at Fangzheng who wore an innocent and naive smile on his face. He scratched his head and said, “I don’t know what I have. Let’s look at it together.”

Upon seeing Fangzheng’s adorable look, Long Face, Fierce Face, and Wang Qingzhi laughed in unison. This was such an adorable and silly fat lamb ripe for the slaughter! If they were not to win his money, who else would they win it from?

But before their smiles fully formed, they froze. They saw Fangzheng flip his hand, revealing 3 As!

“F**k!”