“Since the blood money can only be used as payment after you activate it, why keep it in your hand instead of divining immediately after activation?”
“blood money has another minor characteristic: each piece of blood money can sense other blood money. When I took out this last piece of blood money from my containment method, it sensed the existence of other blood money in Tobesk. But the sensation was very vague, and after activation, this sensation would be enhanced.”
She had Xia De and Miss Bei Ya Si try to touch the gold coins without gloves. Immediately, the vibrating sensation of the blood money passed from their fingers to their brains.
“That’s right, I’ve already found that the holder of the blood money is at the banquet. I invited Miss Bei Ya Si to this banquet, originally planning to find that batch of blood money with her and then immediately divine for her. I didn’t expect that just as I was about to tell her about it, you appeared.”
Miss Annette looked at Xia De:
“You see, Detective, don't worry about me.”
“Saying that makes people worry more.”
Miss Bei Ya Si said, somewhat at a loss for words. The woman sitting beside her had done such a crazy thing for her sake.
“There are 5 pieces of blood money in total, in the hands of Baron Cobol, who is attending the banquet. The Baron seems to believe those old coins are his lucky charms. The ball for this evening party starts after 9 o’clock. My plan is to take advantage of the ball to arrange a private meeting with him, then tell him I’m a coin collector and want to trade for those old pounds he has. If he refuses… then I’ll just have to use other methods.”
Other methods would probably not be legal.
“What is the market value of those five old pounds?”
Xia De asked.
“Since it’s unclear which era’s pounds those five pieces of blood money specifically transformed into, their market value is difficult to estimate, but the highest single value would not exceed 5 pounds. They won’t turn into overly expensive antiques, otherwise it would be difficult for them to be traded as currency.”
blood money only triggers its characteristic when it is traded as currency. If it is traded as an antique, then it is just an ordinary antique.
As she spoke, the brown-haired Diviner stood up:
“I’m going to carry out the plan. You two wait for me here. Once I buy them back, I’ll divine immediately.”
“No need for such trouble, please sit down, Miss Annette.”
Xia De extended his hand:
“Give me the pounds you’re going to use to buy the blood money. You two wait for me here for a bit, I’ll go get those antiques.”
“Do you know that Baron?”
Miss Annette asked, then handed the prepared banknotes to Xia De. She had prepared 30 pounds to prevent the other party from raising the price.
“Of course I know him, because of this.”
He showed his rhode cards to the two ladies.
An entire hour had passed from when he left the card game until he returned, but the game was still ongoing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the second-floor banquet hall.
When he left, Baron Lavende and Baron Cobol were playing, and upon his return, Baron Lavende was still sitting there, but his opponent had become Baron Rwanda. The two Barons had long-standing grievances and neither was willing to concede.
Baron Cobol stood behind Baron Lavende, watching the game, so Xia De invited the Baron to speak aside.
The Baron did not refuse and went with Xia De to a spot by the floor-to-ceiling windows, away from the crowd. Looking out from the second floor at the City, the yellow lights represented the power of this era.
Confirming that no one was around, Xia De rubbed his fingers at Baron Cobol:
“Baron, I heard you recently acquired some old pounds in good condition? Interested in selling them?”
The Baron himself was in the antique business, and the news of those coins was not hidden, so Xia De’s proposed trade request was not abrupt:
“As you know, that shooting incident a while ago…”
The young Detective awkwardly pointed to his chest:
“So I’ve been looking for some lucky coins recently, wanting to carry them with me, otherwise I always feel like I’ll be ambushed again. I have a friend who is a Psychologist, he said this is some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder, sorry, I don’t remember the professional terms clearly.”
Baron Cobol showed an understanding smile; this banquet was held precisely because of this matter:
“These are my lucky coins, but since you are asking to buy them, I think I can reluctantly part with them. Mr. Hamilton, do you want all five?”
“Of course.”
Xia De nodded, but the Baron did not agree immediately. Instead, he considered it for a moment and proposed:
“However, please allow me to change the method of transaction. Trading in pounds is simply too vulgar. I wonder if you are interested in an opportunity to acquire these antique coins for free.”
“What do you mean?”
Xia De hesitated, somewhat worried that the other party actually didn't want to sell those pounds.
“If you want these five coins, then let’s play rhode cards. If you win, these coins are yours.”
He took a small, tightly tied cloth bag from his pocket and shook it, and Xia De narrowed his eyes.
“If you lose, I’ll give you 50 pounds, and these five coins are also yours… but you must give me your 【Northern City · Coldwater Port City】.”
As a rhode cards with special rules, 【Northern City · Coldwater Port City】's auction price is approximately between 50 and 70 pounds. And the price of 50 pounds plus five old pounds is almost exactly equal to it. In other words, even if he loses, Xia De will not suffer any loss.
But the problem is, although the price of the special rhode cards 【Northern City · Coldwater Port City】 can be estimated by referring to the rhode cards trading market, in reality, such a card cannot be bought even if one wants to, and those old pounds are not considered very rare.
In other words, this transaction was not Xia De wanting to buy those five coins, but Baron Cobol wanting to gamble on Xia De's rhode cards.
“If I win, I save Miss Annette a large sum of money. If I lose, it’s equivalent to buying that blood money at face value… It seems like I can’t lose no matter what, so why refuse?”
Xia De pondered to himself, then gave the Baron a provocative smile:
“Of course, why not have an exciting game of rhode cards?”
Xia De’s return attracted people’s attention, and when he and Baron Cobol announced they would gamble on rhode cards, it made people even more excited. Compared to gambling for money, a game involving special rule cards was the most attractive.
“I notice the ball is about to begin, so let’s not make it too complicated. Basic rules, whoever wins three times first wins. Or the person who first empties their deck loses.”
Xia De did not want to waste time here.
He still maintained his good habit of not gambling, but this time it was also to save Baron Cobol. Those blood money would cause trouble sooner or later if they stayed with him, Captain Rades was a good example.
“Detective, are you really willing to gamble a card? Those antique coins are actually not worth much.”
As Xia De's friend, Baron Lavende also quietly advised him, but Xia De shook his head:
“Look, I received a knight title today. On such a memorable day, how can I not have an exciting game of rhode cards?”
Everyone who heard his words smiled. Such words perfectly suited the tastes of the gentlemen gathered there at the moment.
“I look forward to your luck.”
Baron Cobol said, rubbing his hands, his face flushed with excitement and anticipation for the game. For him, the worst outcome was simply losing those antique coins, which for him was a game where he would absolutely not lose out.
People gathered around in anticipation. Xia De, who had already sat down, looked up at Baron Lavende and Baron Rwanda:
“How about you two inspect the deck and deal the cards?”
“Of course, no problem.”
The people around became excited. Every card game where special cards changed hands was something everyone could discuss for a long time as a talking point.
“Then I will act as the notary, ensuring this card game maintains a spirit of fairness.”
An elderly gentleman in the crowd said, and those nearby introduced him to Xia De, saying that this was Viscount Conanberg, also a famous rhode cards player locally.
“There are twenty minutes left until nine o’clock, so it seems we should be a bit quicker.”
Xia De handed the deck to Baron Lavende, who excitedly walked to the table. The people then gathered slightly towards the center, fearing they would miss the exciting scene.
In this corner of the second-floor banquet hall, the atmosphere grew increasingly lively. A unique culture had created a special group of rhode cards enthusiasts. Such games, played by players of status, were generally considered “elegant games,” most suitable for high-class banquets like this.
Everyone wasted no time, and the game officially began. The two Barons dealt the hole cards to both sides, and neither of them looked at their cards immediately, instead signaling to continue dealing.
Baron Cobol’s second card was sun 7, so he flipped over his hole card and took a look. Xia De’s second card also happened to be sun 7, so he also checked his hole card.
“It seems my luck is still good.”
The Baron flipped over his hole card, Moon 13, totaling 20 points. He stroked his chin and nodded towards Xia De:
“Mr. Hamilton, what about you?”
“Continue to draw.”
Xia De said, and the next card was Flower 6. He shook his head regretfully, flipping over his hole card; 8+7+6, the points busted.
The onlookers whispered among themselves, and Baron Cobol showed a triumphant smile.
In the subsequent second round, neither of them looked at their respective hole cards, but Xia De’s second card was directly a Queen. The Baron, with a serious expression, continued to draw, wanting to gamble for twenty-one points, and as expected, he also busted.
So it was one-to-one. Xia De’s mindset was very calm; he wouldn’t invest too much passion in this kind of game. But Baron Cobol on the other side was already a bit nervous; this was about whether he could get a special card.
In the third round, the Baron first checked his hole card before deciding to draw again. He ultimately stopped at the third card, with a total of 19 points.
Xia De, however, continued until the fourth card. The first three were sun 1, sun 4, and sun 5, and when the fourth card was dealt by Baron Lavende, it was surprisingly sun 10, which caused exclamations from the crowd.
Xia De's sun 10 was 【Original Steam Engine · Mark IX】. When this card is drawn, if at least two cards are already held in hand, and all held cards are of the sun suit, the number of this card can be adjusted between 9 and 10.
“Oh, Mr. Hamilton, your luck is truly quite good.”
Even Baron Cobol, as his opponent, couldn't help but be surprised, but Xia De considered this bad luck:
“Regardless of whether it’s a special card or not, I can win this round. The effect of the special card was wasted here, consuming my luck for nothing.”
“Mr. Hamilton, do you also believe in the conservation of luck?”
A middle-aged military officer in uniform from the crowd asked. This was Captain Rades's friend, whom Xia De had just met.
“Of course not, I just regret that this card didn’t appear when I had 22 points.”
He joked, which earned him approving laughter from the people.