After confirming Shad's identity, Mr. Walker spoke to him warmly, but was rudely interrupted by Miss Louisa:
"Stop, Walker. There's no reason for Shade to help you. Besides, he only has the title of knight, but he can't help you get that trainload of contraband out. We won't get involved in your bootlegging business. Okay, okay, let's continue talking about the matter. Can we lower the price?"
Miss Louisa was delayed here not only because of the arrival of the police just now, but also because when she received the goods, she learned from Mr. Walker that the price of the parchment made from the skin of wild antelopes that she ordered would be increased temporarily.
It was not that Mr. Walker wanted to make a profit from Miss Zai Luisa, but an unexpected incident on Thursday night caused a significant change in the cost price of these rare materials shipped from other places to Tobesk:
"A 20-inch sheet of parchment used to cost £12 3s. Now I've only raised it to £17, which isn't much."
"But the price increase happened before Miss Louisa placed the order. This was an unexpected event. You are not respecting the spirit of the contract."
Xia De started to help, but the middle-aged man shrugged:
"I admire the spirit of contract, but I also need money to spend. No one's gold pounds fall from the sky, and I can't let myself suffer a loss."
"Oh, Walker, don't think I don't know that the price you pay for goods from other places will never exceed 11 pounds 7 shillings. Listen, the most I can pay you is 13 pounds, otherwise forget this business."
Miss Louisa frowned and said, pretending to turn around and leave with Shade:
"15 pounds, that's the lowest price."
The middle-aged man shook his head and said, without any intention of stopping Miss Louisa:
"Recently, because of those damn lunatics, the prices of all materials in the Tobesk area have increased. I know it's wrong to inform you of the price increase only when you deliver the goods, but I also need money to support my family."
"How can a bachelor like you support a family? I see you're going to the club to play Rhodes."
The blonde girl said sarcastically:
"I also know your team leader. He has told me about your bad hobbies."
"Playing Rhodes is as important to me as eating."
Mr. Walker responded with a smile. Shade beside him suddenly raised his eyebrows. He had an idea:
"Want to play Rhodes?"
Miss Louisa looked at him in surprise, but Mr. Walker smiled and showed an interested expression. Shade was very familiar with this expression. The other party was definitely a Rhodes player.
"Mr. Hamilton, what do you mean?"
"Let's play a game of cards. If I win, Miss Louisa will buy the parchment for 13 pounds. If you win, we will buy your goods for 15 pounds."
"Do you have any special cards? I don't play with players who use regular decks."
Mr. Walker narrowed his eyes, and Shad laughed.
He pulled out the cards from his suit pocket. Seeing Miss Louisa's expression of "Why do you carry this thing with you?", he sorted them out a little, put away the two founding series cards, and then pulled out five cards: Ancient Fairy Tale · Match Girl, Northern City · Coldwater Harbor City, and Old World Eastern Scenery · Lake Tis Original Steam Engine · Mark 9 Carsonrick Southern Folklore · Moon Dance Festival for the other party to check.
Although he carried the deck with him, it was impossible for him to carry the identification documents with him.
Mr. Walker stared at the five cards with wide eyes, obviously not expecting the young detective to have so many good things. Shade noticed his expression, the middle-aged man didn't seem to notice the special thing on the Moon Dance Festival card.
"How about it? You want to play a game with me?"
Shade asked again, thinking that the other party would definitely agree. But this time he was wrong. Mr. Walker reluctantly handed the card back to Shade and shook his head:
"You have so many special cards, you must be an experienced player. And you took the initiative to ask me to play cards this time, so your chances of winning are very high. In this case, what reason do I have to play cards with you?"
It was the first time that Shade encountered someone refusing to play Rhodes. He signaled the blonde girl to stop talking for the time being, and then asked in a low voice:
"Aren't you confident in your Rhodes skills?"
This simple provocation would definitely not work, so Xia De added:
"As a Rhodes player, if you refuse a game when someone asks you to play, can you still call yourself a real poker player?"
The middle-aged man hesitated with a tense face, listening to the opera music coming from afar. He thought for a long time before speaking:
"I can bet with you, but we can't just bet on Rhodes. We'll bet three times, best of three. The last round is Rhodes. In the first two rounds, each person will propose a bet. I'll go first."
Xia De glanced at Miss Louisa, and when she nodded, he said:
"Okay, so what do you want to bet on first? Draw a card to see the size? The number of the dice?"
"Of course not. We are racing. The one who moves 30 feet (about 9 meters) from his current position without attracting the attention of ordinary people wins."
"Oh, that's not fair!"
Miss Louisa pulled Shade's hand and frowned. She knew Shade's Raglan jump:
"I know your magic, and Shade can't defeat you."
"It's not unfair, it's best of three anyway."
Mr. Walker smiled confidently, then snapped his fingers, with a subtle crackling sound. He rushed forward, and appeared 30 feet away as if he had turned into a flash of lightning. He smiled and looked back at Shad, indicating that it was his turn.
Xia De looked at Miss Louisa, who couldn't hide her smile, took out the extract and put it on the tip of his tongue, then said to Mr. Walker:
"Don't blink."
He took a step forward and appeared next to Mr. Walker. The latter opened his mouth in surprise:
"Space-related abilities? Louisa, when did your team have a ringmaster who could master this ability?"
"Walker, don't pry into other people's secrets."
Miss Louisa smiled and said:
"We won the first game, Shade, what do we play in the second game?"
"I want to bet..."
Shade wanted to say that whoever draws 4 first would win. But Mr. Walker interrupted him immediately. Under the current circumstances, he couldn't let Shade make a question:
"Let's play Rhodes in the second round!"
"The third game is Rhodes."
Xia De will not do useless things. If he can win easily, he will not play cards.
The middle-aged man knew that he was not in the right, so he proposed other conditions and waved his hands and said:
"You and Louisa really tricked me just now. Don't be so quick to refuse. I want to say that the race just now doesn't count. We should still use Rhodes cards as you originally proposed. If I win, I will still sell you the parchment for 15 pounds. If you win, not only can I sell you the materials at a low price, but I can also give you a message."
He looked at Shade with a serious expression.
"What news?"
Xia De asked, actually there was nothing wrong in agreeing to it.
Seeing Xia De asking the question, Mr. Walker smiled. He knew that Xia De was moved:
"Did you know that the Thirteenth Ring Warlock originally stationed here, Mr. Sari Pirot, the 'Iron Right Hand', has not been in this city for two months?"
"I even know that he led a team to a rural town to deal with an angel-level (level 1) relic that got out of control."
Shad said that he heard the news from Miss Beas (Chapter 177), when they talked about the returning president of the Prophet Association.
"You know? Yes, but do you know what that angel-level relic is specifically?"
Mr. Walker asked again, and Shade shook his head, so the middle-aged man in a black suit laughed:
"Additional information is about the angel-level relic. Note that the Orthodox Church almost wiped out Mercury Blood, but did not find the Sage-level relic God's Gift Box in the underground ruins. Now the information about that relic can reach 100 pounds on the black market. So the angel-level one is probably higher, and you won't lose out on this bet. Oh, you must agree, otherwise you are not a true Rhodes card player."
He used the words that Shade had just used.
"No problem, I'll play cards with you."
Shade hesitated, then agreed softly. The blonde glanced at him. She knew how good Shade was at playing Rhodes cards:
"Shadow, there's no need to take this risk."
The tone was very worried.
"Louisa, Mr. Hamilton has already agreed, and he can't go back on his word!"
Mr. Walker said hurriedly, then pulled out his deck for Shad to check. This gentleman had two special cards and the deck looked a little old, and it was obvious that it was used frequently.
"By the way, when I was doing business in Carsenrick, I was known as the 'Gambling King of Xikar Mountain'."
The Sikar Mountains are a mountain range that stretches across the east coast of the central part of the continent, serving as an important dividing line between Carsenrick and Delarion. The front line of the Wind Rising Trail where Captain Rades won the Gun of Kindness is at the northern foot of the Sikar Mountains.
Mr. Walker's words are an important part of the "tough talk" phase before strangers play Rhodes. On the one hand, it shows that he is an old player, and on the other hand, it intimidates the opponent and overwhelms him in momentum.
Shade smiled:
"I don't mean to brag, but I haven't lost a single round since I started playing Rhodes. Yes, I can swear to Mr. Dawn that what I, Shad Sulen Hamilton, just said is absolutely true."
Mr. Walker was startled:
"Never lost a game? Oh, no, you can't scare me, knight. Tonight is the night you will lose. Come this way."
The three of them walked to the window at the end of the corridor. Outside was the night view of Tobesk. Under the warm yellow gas light, Shade and Mr. Walker shuffled the cards against each other, and then put their respective decks on the windowsill together:
"One round will decide the outcome."
Shad proposed:
"But I am still thinking of the opera."
"no problem."
Mr. Walker nodded, his eyes narrowed as he looked at his deck.
But no one suggested that Miss Louisa, who was watching, should act as the dealer. According to the unwritten rules of Rhodes cards, the dealer can only be a man.
They each drew their first card, which was the bottom card according to convention, and they could choose to reveal it last. Shade's card was 13 of a flower, and Mr. Walker looked at his bottom card for a moment, then smiled and turned it over:
"You see, I'm lucky tonight."
Modern girl·Flower shop girl, Flower Moon 7.