Cultivation by Trial and Error

Hu Zhiyong, Li Ying, and Zhang Yong were still playing cards, completely oblivious to the anomaly on the table.

"Stop, just stop for now!"

With utmost seriousness, Chen Hai quickly waved his hand, halting their actions.

"Chen Hai, what do you mean? We were playing nicely, why all of a sudden do you want us to stop?"

Zhang Yong and Hu Zhiyong were only slightly stunned.

Sitting atop Chen Hai, Li Ying was even more dissatisfied and complained directly.

"Don't ask so much, I told you to stop for a reason!" He glanced at her and said calmly.

"Always trying to act mysterious, it's just a game of mahjong, I don't believe you can pull anything fancy out of it!"

Pouting, Li Ying retorted indignantly.

A woman's curiosity could kill a cat.

It was precisely because she didn't know what Chen Hai was up to that she was so dissatisfied with him at this moment.

"Lan, keep an eye on your Chen Hai, stop him from always bullying us!"

After muttering to Chen Hai, she teasingly said to Lin Lan, who was standing behind Chen Hai.

"Zhang Yong, do you remember which two cards you just played?"

Ignoring Li Ying, Chen Hai turned his gaze directly to Zhang Yong, who sat beside him.

Ever since the last incident, Zhang Yong had always been somewhat fearful of him.

Whenever Chen Hai spoke, he wasn't exactly obedient but generally wouldn't refuse as long as the request wasn't too excessive.

"I played two cards, one West Wind and one Nine Character!"

It was just the beginning of the game, and Zhang Yong remembered very clearly the cards he had played.

As soon as Chen Hai finished speaking, he responded immediately.

"Okay!" nodding his head, Chen Hai picked out the two cards Zhang Yong had played and placed them back in front of Zhang Yong.

The two cards he had played were also taken back by him.

"Hu Zhiyong, what about you? The two cards you played?"

"One Circle and Green Title!"

Not knowing what exactly Chen Hai was scheming, Hu Zhiyong hesitated slightly and then cooperatively placed the two cards he had played back in front of himself.

"Taking back the cards you played, Chen Hai, you must have eaten too much and have nothing better to do, acting so idle…"

Only Li Ying was still unclear about the situation, continually prattling on.

Yet she didn't notice that Hu Zhiyong, who had just taken back his two played cards, not only had trembling hands but also a pair of shaking hands under the table.

"Li Ying, there are still four cards on the table, all played by you…"

His face turning pale, Hu Zhiyong's voice trembled noticeably.

"What four cards?" Li Ying's attention wasn't on the table at all.

Even now, she hadn't figured out what Hu Zhiyong meant by his words.

"Li Ying, look at the table, which two of those four cards did you play?"

It was only when Chen Hai spoke and pointed directly at the table that Li Ying realized something might be off.

"Li Ying, I remember you played a one bird and a two circle," said Zhang Zhi, who was standing behind Li Ying.

This guy, compared to the others present, clearly had a lot more guts.

He had been standing behind Li Ying the whole time and was well aware of the cards Li Ying had played.

While speaking, Zhang Zhi had already imitated the others and taken back the two cards that Li Ying had played out, placing them back in front of himself.

"Who would be so bored in the middle of the night to start playing pranks?"

Looking at the remaining Nine Circle and White Title on the table, Li Ying, who was rather obtuse, fiercely scanned everyone present and demanded,

No one responded or spoke, and in that moment, everyone fell silent.

"Aren't we playing mahjong? Let's continue, everyone pay close attention, how did these extra cards end up on the table?"

Chen Hai took a deep breath and spoke again, finally breaking the silence.

In fact, during the seemingly silent moment, he had experienced "soul departure" once, but unfortunately, even in that state, he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

"Let's do it, who's afraid!"

Zhang Yong quickly replied, always boasting invincibility but lacking when it came to action.

Despite his scalp tingling and his body shaking continuously, he still remained stubborn.

Although Li Ying and Hu Zhiyong did not nod, they also did not outright refuse.

Silence, often times, meant consent.

Whether they thought the same, Chen Hai wasn't sure, but that's what he believed.

"It's my turn to draw. Here, I play Nine Character!" He drew a card and then smoothly played another card.

Seeing Chen Hai lead, the other three at the table reluctantly followed suit.

Lan, Yang Hua, and others who were idle deliberately gathered behind Chen Hai, keeping a slight distance from the mahjong table.

Among all the people present, it was Chen Hai who appeared the most composed.

Yang Hua and Sun Fang, standing behind him, perhaps found it a safer spot.

Because everyone paid close attention, in this round, everyone clearly saw the cards played by the four players.

There were clearly four players, yet five cards were played out.

"Zhang Yong, what are you playing at? Why did you play two cards?"

"I didn't, don't falsely accuse me, I clearly saw Hu Zhiyong play two cards!"

"Stop talking nonsense, the extra card was clearly played by Li Ying."

...

There were different claims all over the table, and each person was seeing a different scene.

"Lan, Sun Fang, you were behind me, tell me, who played that extra card?"

Furrowing his brows, Chen Hai turned and asked the people behind him.

As the saying goes, the spectators see the game better than the players.

He questioned Lan and the others to see what the bystanders, from their perspective, witnessed.

"Chen... Chen Hai... I saw... saw it was from your... your seat, suddenly a hand reached out and played... one... one more card..."

Sun Fang was the one speaking, stuttering as she did so.

Lan, Yang Hua, and others did not speak, but after Sun Fang spoke, they all turned pale and nodded.

"Ghost..."

At this time, anyone could see that something was off.

Suddenly, someone screamed out.

Zhang Yong, who mastered the best of "thirty-six strategems," truly perfected his technique.

Before others could react, he sprang up and dashed towards the outside of the cabin, all in one swift movement.