"Special rule cards?"
Xia De looked at the man across the table in surprise:
"Of course I'm interested."
But he didn't think that the person he met in the slum hotel on the dock would be able to easily pull out a special card.
The man lowered his voice and spoke with a strong accent, preferring to press down on the last note. He touched his scalp:
"I heard your conversation with the boss here just now, and I saw that you were able to patiently look at your notebook for half an hour. I bet that you are definitely a Rhodes player, and an experienced one at that. This kind of temperament cannot be faked. Are you interested in a bet with me? Betting with special cards?"
"Sorry, I don't have any special cards."
Xia De shook his head, not wanting to cause any trouble during the investigation.
"That's okay, let's bet on something else. If you win, you can buy my cards for a cheap price of 20 pounds. If I win, you have to give me 20 pounds directly."
This is a huge sum. Xia De wanted to refuse, but the man had already placed the card on the table. The corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes were bright:
"Look at this."
Xia De glanced down and his expression changed.
Demon Soul Stealer Bishop, Flower Moon 9.
When you draw this card, if your opponent has not stopped, you must draw two cards in the next round. If the two cards are of different suits, your opponent can choose to give up one of the cards. If the two cards are of the same suit, you must accept the numbers of both cards at the same time.
"Is this.....the Demon Series?"
Xia De lowered his voice and held the table. Even the outsiders were surprised at this moment.
The prosperity of Rhodes cards has a history of several centuries. Except for the founding series, the other five special cards in Shad's hand are actually series within the past one or two hundred years.
In fact, when the Rhodes deck was first released, the Prophet Guild preferred to use folk tales and legends to select themes for the series of cards. It was only in modern times that they tended to prefer series based on nature and civilization.
The Demon series is one of the famous early Rhodes series. This set of cards was later reprinted many times, but each special card was only issued once, and the next edition was a new Demon card. The logo on the top of the front of this card shows that this is the first edition of the Demon series Rhodes.
Shad couldn't tell the exact date when the first edition of the Demon series was released, but he was sure that if this card was real, its value would definitely not be less than 1,000 pounds.
In addition to the founding series, demons, angels, saints of various churches, and legendary heroes of ancient legends are all very valuable Rhodes cards.
"Are you sure this is authentic?"
Xia De asked hesitantly, and the long-faced man smiled and asked back:
"If I can confirm it, do you think I will bet you 20 pounds? Sir, I got this by coincidence. Although I am a Rhodes player, I always avoid the devil, so I will not keep this card. I just happened to meet you, so I might as well bet with you."
This is very much like what happens in a classic scam.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm a demonologist. Sean Asmon, and I've been in Coldwater Harbor recently investigating the ancient rumors here."
As he said this, he stretched out his hand to Xia De.
Xia De shook hands with him and got the reply that he was just an ordinary person:
"Demonologist?"
The kerosene lamp between the two of them was dimly lit, and a black insect had flown into the lampshade at some point. It crashed into the flame, causing the light to flicker, and light and shadow intertwined on the stranger's face.
"Yes, I don't teach at the university. Instead, I accept commissions from nobles to investigate ancient legends that interest them. In fact, I mainly study demonology. Oh, of course there is no such subject. I made up the phrase myself. Although I study demons, I personally avoid things related to demons and will never carry anything related to them with me."
Mr. Asmon said, still looking at Shade. He touched his bald head again, which was his habitual action.
Xia De nodded to show his understanding. He had heard Dr. Schneider mention this kind of professional. They were mystics among ordinary people. Most of them served the nobles, and a few were private researchers. They were a group that even the ring masters hated.
Only God knows what damn things these people who have no fear have come into contact with.
"So did you find the demon in Coldwater Harbor?"
Shade asked with great interest.
"Of course not. And I'm not looking for demons. I'm looking for knowledge and stories about demons. But this harbor only has the stinky fishmen in the rumors and the mermaids that were said to be seen by fishermen."
The long-faced man shook his head regretfully.
"Well then, I'm John Watson, Detective."
Xia De continued to lower his voice and introduced himself:
"I am doing a commissioned task here, please keep quiet."
"Of course, I knew you were not from the slums."
Mr. Asmon said politely, and then asked:
"Want to play a round of Rhodes? I know it's risky, but for a true Rhodes player, it should be worth it for a Rhodes card that looks like it's genuine."
Xia De didn't want to play. If it was confirmed to be true, he might be very interested, but the other party looked like a liar, and professions like demonologists did not have a good reputation.
Seeing Xia De's hesitation, the long-faced man said:
"Since you are doing an investigation, how about this? Regardless of whether you win or not, I can tell you about the situation of this hotel. Since you are doing a commission here, you must be interested in this place. Although I don't live here, I met a guest upstairs and stayed there for the whole morning, so I am very familiar with the situation upstairs."
He continued to seduce Xia De.
But his words meant that he was not Mr. Darkness's companion.
"In addition to the information about the inn, I would also like to ask you some knowledge about demons."
After thinking about it, Shade decided that this was appropriate, as Darkness's information was worth the price. But even if he won, he still had to pay twenty pounds, so he made another request.
Deep down he didn't believe that the card was genuine.
"No problem, we can ask while playing cards. I like to share those strange knowledge. Let's play some interesting rules. Draw four cards each time. It's not about the size of the points, but who can win three times without busting. If you draw the kingdom and the queen, no matter what the other points are, it is considered a non-bust."
The long-faced man suggested.
"Can."
Xia De has never played this kind of game before.
Mr. Asmon took out his deck, and Shade also took out his deck.
He shuffled the cards and spoke cautiously:
"Mr. Asmon, what do you think demons are? Are they the alien creatures rumored to exist, like elves and murlocs, or are they the product of people lumping together weird and evil things?"
"Mr. Watson, this is a very interesting question. My research shows that both of your answers are correct. Demons do exist, but demons also include some evil beings that people cannot determine their true existence, those that the country folk call evil spirits, or the nobles call foreign objects."
Xia De nodded. Miss Feliana mentioned these things in her notes. It seems that Mr. Sean Asmon is quite capable.
He continued to shuffle the cards:
"Do demons live on people? Just like the rumors say, they live on beautiful women and require male demon exorcists to use special methods to remove them."
"Those people are all liars, greedy and lustful liars."
Mr. Asmon smiled. Under the light of the kerosene lamp, his smile looked normal, but it also made people feel uncomfortable:
"How about I tell you a story about a demon?"
"OK."
Mr. Shade and Mr. Asmon simultaneously slapped their decks of cards on the table, and both of them pulled gently, causing the cards to stretch out in an arc on the table.
Shade used the treasure to control the Rhodes cards to ensure that the deck would not be scattered this time. From this point of view, this ability derived from greed is really useful.
You also said that you chose this ability not for playing cards.
She chuckled.
Shade ignored the voice in his ear, because Mr. Asmon's story had already begun. His hoarse voice sounded very impressive in the dim yellow kerosene lamp and the intoxicating smell of alcohol:
"I have forgotten which ancient book I read this story in. It was a very long time ago, so long ago that the sun was brighter than it is today, and so long ago that three moons did not appear in the sky at the same time."
Xia De was not surprised, because there were indeed some documents available to ordinary people that recorded the number of moons.
"A strange existence, born from lies, deception, betrayal, hatred, and death. People don't know what it is, so they call it a demon. Because of people's thoughts, it really possesses the power of a demon."
Both of them drew four cards. After turning them over, Mr. Asmon had Moon 9, Star 2, Star 7, and Flower 13, so he busted without having to count.
For Xia De, it is Sun 1, Moon 13, Flowers 2 and Flowers 5, which is exactly 21 points.
"You are really lucky... That strange demon has no name, because it was not even a demon. It has traveled to many places, and every time it stops, there will be a conspiracy of deception and betrayal."
The second set of four cards, the long-faced middle-aged man is Sun 3, Sun 7, Star 3, Flower 7, 20 points.
For Xiade, it is Sun 7, Moon 1, Star 4, Queen.
"Tsk tsk, Queen, it seems I have really met a very formidable opponent."
Mr. Asmon shook his head and skillfully selected the cards for the third round:
"It is evil by nature and enjoys the disasters it brings. It prefers to sign contracts with people under the pretext of helping them realize their wishes, and then exploit loopholes in the contracts to take away everything they have."
This is consistent with the common people's view of "devil".
"But according to rumors, this demon failed once."
Mr. Asmon stopped talking and opened the third set of cards with Shade.
The former's first card turned out to be the Devil Soul Stealer Bishop, which made him smile. Shade's first card was Sun 4, Sun 5, Sun 6, Moon 5, and twenty points.
Xia De didn't bust in three games, so he won.
"How did it fail? Did someone see through its contract trap?"
Shad threw the cards casually onto the table; he was very interested in the story.
"No, the man said—I have no wishes."
Mr. Asmon looked at the cards on the table, shook his head and laughed. Shade also laughed and took out 20 pounds from his pocket:
"It's yours."
"Aren't you afraid that I'm using fake Rhodes cards to trick you?"
He stretched his head slightly with an inexplicable smile on his face, and his bald head seemed to be reflecting under the kerosene lamp.
"If you can tell me what's going on on the third floor, then the twenty pounds for the information will be well worth it."
Shade said with narrowed eyes.
"I like people like you."
Mr. Asmon took the note, put it in his notebook, then passed the cards to Shad across the kerosene lamp.