Corpse Retriever

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the stack of money in front of Grandpa Shan... well, it was already too shallow to be called a “stack.”

The game began. Grandpa Shan, cigarette dangling from his lips, fished around for his cards while chatting half-heartedly with Runsheng.

Li Zhuiyuan stood quietly at the side, observing.

Not long after, Grandpa Shan lost three hands—two as the landlord, one as a peasant.

With so few rounds, Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t yet say whether Grandpa Shan’s luck was truly bad, but one thing was clear: the old man wasn’t much good at cards.

Friends like him—bad at cards but eager to play—were always welcome at any table.

However, Li Zhuiyuan had no intention of joining in. Dou dizhu was too slow-paced and required coordination. It just wasn’t efficient for winning money.

Li Zhuiyuan tugged on Runsheng’s arm, and Runsheng took the hint. “Gramps, I’ll take Little Yuan back first.”

“Mm, go on.” Grandpa Shan waved a hand without turning around. He was too engrossed in his losing streak.

Runsheng pedaled his tricycle and brought Li Zhuiyuan to a larger gambling den. A canopy had been erected outside a residential house, with eight tables bustling inside. Some were playing dou dizhu, others bridge. At the biggest round table, nine people were in the middle of a game of zha jin hua.Zha jin hua—three-card brag—was the kind of gambling that thrived on numbers. The more people, the better the bluff.

“Runsheng ge, remember what I told you earlier?”

“Yeah, I remember.” Runsheng patted his chest, then walked over to an open seat at the round table and sat down. “Count me in.”

The others at the table hesitated, sizing him up.

Xiting Town was a crossroads. The smaller dens usually hosted locals, but this bigger one drew players from nearby villages. So, many didn’t recognize Runsheng.

And Runsheng’s age was awkward—too big to be a kid, too young to be a man.

Card players didn’t like gambling with children. It didn’t look good, and besides, kids usually didn’t have much money.

The den owner, a squat, chubby man, waved at Runsheng. “Runsheng Hou, don’t make trouble. Your grandpa’s not here. Try somewhere else.”

“I said—I’m playing!”

Runsheng put on a cold face and slapped down all the money Li Zhuiyuan had given him.

Seeing his posture and the cash, the others nodded silently. The owner stopped protesting and turned to pour tea, muttering, “If the beam’s crooked, the rafters won’t be straight.”

Runsheng was nervous, but kept his face stiff.

The round wasn’t over yet—three players still hadn’t shown their cards.

Li Zhuiyuan swept his gaze over all nine faces at the table, committing them to memory.

Zha jin hua involved only three cards. Compared to dou dizhu, it required less skill and more luck.

On paper, it wasn’t a smart choice for consistent winnings.

But Li Zhuiyuan had his own method. With everyone’s faces locked in his mind, no twitch escaped his eye when they peeked or picked up cards.

Savvy old gamblers might be good at hiding or faking tells—but that didn’t matter. The Comprehensive Treatise on Yin-Yang Physiognomy had seared an enormous library of facial cues into Li Zhuiyuan’s brain.

No one could disguise themselves completely. Maybe some master could—but they wouldn’t be wasting time in a village den to make money.

The round ended, and Runsheng placed the opening bet.

Three consecutive hands—he looked and folded immediately, not even pretending to play. Each time, he flipped his cards face-up before discarding.

That was Li Zhuiyuan’s request. He needed more samples—what micro-expressions went with different card strengths?

Naturally, Runsheng’s hands were trash. None worth following.

Good, data collected—plenty of it, too. The table’s players also liked to show their cards when folding.

Li Zhuiyuan scooted closer to Runsheng, who shifted slightly to make room.

This time, the cards were dealt practically right in front of Li Zhuiyuan.

Several players noticed and frowned. Runsheng barely qualified as a young man—but the kid next to him was clearly still a child.

Still, they said nothing. After all, plenty of dads let their sons help draw cards.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the cash and tossed in a small blind.

“Whose kid is this? Fair-skinned little fella.”

“Nice clothes too—pretty stylish.”

The table started commenting on him.

Li Zhuiyuan gave a bashful smile.

What they didn’t know was that from this moment on, everyone at the table was playing “open hand” against the boy.

It wasn’t cheating. “Reading faces” was part of the game in zha jin hua.

After a round of blinds, some folded after peeking, others stayed in.

Li Zhuiyuan peeked—pair of fives. An awkward hand.

But of the two who peeked and stayed, one was bluffing with a weak hand, the other had nothing stronger than him.

Three stayed in. The rest folded after checking.

Li Zhuiyuan relaxed. He had the best hand at the table.

In the end, the last opponent tried to bluff him with a raise, but Li Zhuiyuan didn’t fold. When cards were revealed, he won. Runsheng collected the money, asked the next player to shuffle, and had the one before him cut and deal.

That way, they’d avoid any post-win drama. Also, Runsheng’s clumsy hands made dealing hard, and Li Zhuiyuan was too small to do it himself.

Next round.

Li Zhuiyuan peeked—pair of aces.

He watched each face as they peeked—four rounds later, five players remained.

To his surprise, all four had pairs higher than ten—but he stayed calm. He had the best.

The pot grew fat. After a few more rounds and reveals, Li Zhuiyuan’s pair of aces beat the rest.

Runsheng stood up to collect the winnings, his breath visibly trembling from excitement.

Third round—same opening, peeked.

Flush—straight flush.

What more was there to say?

But as the game unfolded, things got interesting. Among the five still in: two had straights, three had flushes.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t help marveling: such convenient opponents?

Bets came faster, stayed longer—inevitably, he won again.

As he revealed his cards, he asked with wide-eyed innocence:

“Do I get a lucky money bonus too?”

Runsheng stood up, practically shouting in his heart: So much money, so much money!

Of course, having a good hand didn’t guarantee huge wins. If no one followed, you’d only get the blind.

Big pots needed multiple good hands and a brutal face-off. Only then did the winner feast.

Next round. Peeked.

Li Zhuiyuan kept his shy smile, but inside, he was stirred.

Triple sixes.

He was seriously on a streak today.

As everyone peeked, he “saw” it: two straight flushes, two flushes, one straight.

This...

Unavoidable. A bloodbath.

In the end, he faced off with the last player bold enough to reveal.

Everyone around the table was dumbfounded—even players at neighboring tables left their seats to watch.

Triples weren’t rare—but this kind of showdown was.

“Newbies always burn hot, huh?”

“This kid’s really got the luck today.”

“Whoa, how much has he won already?”

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