Chapter Thirty-Seven: Suspecting Old Zhou: He Hid the Cards in the Chip Stack

Underworld Poker: From Landlord to Six-Fold, Volume 2, Chapter 37: Suspecting Old Zhou: Did He Hide the Cards Among His Chips?

The Judge squatted on the ground, rummaging through his cloth bag three times, even picking out the crumbs of a half-eaten flatbread, but there was still no sign of the Supreme Straight. He straightened his back, but before he could even stand steady, his gaze landed on Old Zhou. Old Zhou was clutching his blue cloth bag tightly to his chest, his fingers digging into the opening, his eyes darting back and forth—the exact same look he had the last time he hid a bomb.

"Old Zhou, open that bag and let me see!" The Judge took a step forward, his three pairs of reading glasses sliding to the tip of his nose, his tone urgent. "When we were looking for the cards just now, you were the only one protecting your bag. Maybe you have them!"

Old Zhou shuddered in fear, hastily tucking the bag behind his back, his head shaking like a rattle. "They aren't with me! My bag is full of sunflower seed shells and chips, no straight cards of yours!"

"Do we have to search you ourselves?" The Judge made a grab for it, but Wang the Pockmarked hurriedly stopped him. "Judge, don't be hasty. Old Zhou isn't the type to steal cards. He cares more about underworld currency than anything else in life, and since you can't exchange straight cards for money, it wouldn't be worth it for him."

"But he was protecting that bag the whole time!" The Judge pointed at Old Zhou's hands. "Look at him. He looks exactly like he did when he hid those four twos last time. Maybe he hid the straight cards thinking they were chips!"

The surrounding ghosts crowded around, chiming in, "Old Zhou is stingy; he stuffs everything into that bag," and "Last time he even folded his winnings into little squares to hide them. Maybe he really did hide the cards." Hearing this, Old Zhou’s face turned bright red. Tears welled up and spilled over, and he squatted on the ground, hugging his bag. "I didn't steal them! My bag only has seed shells and 128 currency chips, nothing else! Search it if you don't believe me!"

"Search it is!" The Judge, overcome by anxiety, ignored proper etiquette and reached out to snatch the bag. Old Zhou quickly raised it high, crying out, "Grandpa Zhang from our neighborhood said you can't take other people's things! Even if I am stingy, I wouldn't steal something that's just a card! It can't be traded for currency, and if I get caught, I'll be punished with six months of washing cards—I wouldn't do that!"

Little Li squatted down next to Old Zhou and pulled out his yellow paper notebook, handing it to him. "Old Zhou, don't cry. We'll take a look. If we don't find them, it proves your innocence, and I'll even compose a 'Poem of Innocence' for you."

Old Zhou sobbed as he handed over the bag. The Judge grabbed it and dumped everything onto the stone table. The contents spilled out: crumpled underworld currency, golden sunflower seed shells, half an IOU note for "10 sunflower seeds" (from Old Zhao), and a few unpeeled seeds. There was no sign of the Supreme Straight.

The Judge sifted through the pile, inspecting the edges of every banknote, but still found nothing. "Are you sure? Did you hide them in a lining?"

"There is no lining!" Old Zhou wiped his tears and turned the bag inside out, revealing the shiny, worn blue fabric without a single stray thread. "I found this bag in the Underworld. It's just one pocket; it can't hide anything!"

Lady Meng walked over and handed Old Zhou a handkerchief. "Old Zhou, don't cry. Everyone was just anxious to find the cards, not deliberately suspecting you. You value your chips more than anything; you even save seed shells. If you had really hidden the straight, you would have shown it off as a treasure long ago instead of hiding it so tightly."

Old Zhou took the handkerchief, wiped his eyes, and sniffled. "Exactly! If I had hidden it, I would have put it with my chips, counted it three times, and written it down in my little notebook. I wouldn't have let you miss it!" He took a small notebook from his pocket and opened it for everyone to see. It was filled with crooked handwriting and little sketches of an abacus: "27 seed shells, 128 currency chips, 10 seeds owed."

Wang the Pockmarked patted Old Zhou’s shoulder. "Alright, stop crying. Everyone knows you didn't steal them. The Judge was just anxious; don't take it to heart." He turned to the Judge. "Judge, since we didn't find them here, let's think about other places. Did you drop them on the road when you left King Yama's palace this morning?"

The Judge frowned and scratched his head. "When I left this morning, I specifically checked my bag. I felt the hard edge of the straight cards then. I spoke to Ah Xiang at the kitchen door, and after that, I didn't pay attention..."

"Could they have fallen at the kitchen door?" Little Bai suggested. "Let's go look by the kitchen and ask Ah Xiang if she saw any stiff cards."

The Judge nodded, looked at the pile of Old Zhou's belongings on the ground, and said sheepishly, "Old Zhou, I'm sorry. I was too anxious earlier; I shouldn't have suspected you."

Old Zhou was still sniffling, but hearing the apology, he waved his hands. "It's fine, it's fine. As long as we find the cards and I don't have to wash them, it's okay." He began to squat on the ground, gathering his currency and seed shells, not missing a single one, even digging shells out of the cracks in the stone and carefully putting them back into his bag.

Little Li watched Old Zhou, took out his notebook, and composed a verse: "Old Zhou suspected, tears did flow, the bag was emptied, no cards to show, currency and seeds gathered with care, his stingy nature still very much there!" He showed it to Old Zhou after reading it, and Old Zhou couldn't help but laugh, tears still clinging to his face. "That poem is spot on. I can't lose my seed shells; they make good padding for my chips."

Seeing Old Zhou laughing through his tears, everyone chuckled. Wang the Pockmarked cleared his throat. "Alright, enough laughing. Let's get to the kitchen and look. If we're any later, we'll miss the semifinals. Old Zhou, come with us, and help us look for any stray seed shells on the way. If you find any, the cards might be nearby."

Upon hearing he could look for seed shells, Old Zhou immediately perked up. He tied his bag, followed the group, and kept his eyes glued to the ground, not missing even a small pebble. In his view, finding seed shells was just as important as finding the straight—after all, if you save enough shells, they become "treasures," too.