The Card Cultivation System
CCS-124

"Squeak!"

Xika placed two pairs of cards that had the letter k on them. He looked at Lang Jin, Lang Shu, and Lang Du to wait for what action they would take next. Lang Shu gave a shocked and depressed expression, Lang Du-wolf who had previously formed a dome to resist the poison-staring at Xika and his cards alternately and distrustfully, while Lang Jin looked at his card seriously and frowned.

In the end, the three shook their heads. And that means no one is against Xika. The boy smiled happily and took out the last card in his hand that was worth three.

The three wolves had different expressions, but the three stared at Xika. Xika was at a loss as to what to do when the three wolves were staring at her simultaneously. Lang Shu was the first to speak.

"Say. You cheated, didn't you? You picked a good card. Or are you peeking at our cards?"

"Why is everyone who plays with me accusing me of cheating?"

"Because you've won seventeen times!"

"But that doesn't mean I'm cheating! What part of it am I cheating anyway?"

"When you shuffle the cards maybe, or when we play you secretly peek at our cards."

"What's? Aren't you the one who previously shuffled and distributed the cards? You're telling me you're working with me to cheat? Or are you saying that Lang Jin, our friend, is not aware that I've been cheating? Hm? Hows it? Do you think he's really gonna let me cheat just like that?"

Lang Shu opened his mouth several times but did not find his voice. Lang Du was also about to speak but found himself experiencing the same thing as Lang Shu. Both of them admitted that Xika's words were true. Finally they turned to Lang Jin handing over all the decisions to the wolf.

The eldest son Lang Yan was silent for a while with a frown. Actually, he also wanted to agree with Xika's words. But somehow he believes that if Xika wants to cheat, the boy can do it without knowing himself. So he really did not know if Xika was cheating or not. And he was confused what to do.

"What's? You don't even trust me?" xika asked Lang Jin who had been thinking for a long time but still did not answer.

"I didn't mean to. How about this? We play one more round, this time I shuffle to be sure, and you have to play like us."

What Lang Jin meant by playing like a wolf was not touching his cards at all. Unlike humans, wolves cannot hold cards with their claws. So they floated their cards using qi and arranged them without touching them at all.

Xika pretended to display a hurt expression then nodded. Lang Jin also nodded then shuffled the card using qi. He distributed it to three other creatures, a thirteen.

It was a bit clumsy indeed, but Xika remained concentrated on her cards. His expression changed several times when he saw his card. Sometimes frowning, sometimes raising the corners of his lips. But in the end the expression plastered on his face was a wide smile.

"No need to smile like that. I'm sure this time I can beat you. Let's get started."

Xika's smile did not decrease in the slightest even though Lang Shu spoke so.

"Unfortunately, you lost before the game started."

Lang Shu frowned. What does Xika mean is mental? But this time he was confident in his cards.

Xika turned over all her cards so that the wolves could see her. His smile grew wider. He said, 'He said,

"I won."

Lang Shu glared at the Xika card. Lang Du opened his mouth, while Lang Jin was stunned while frowning as usual.

The cards shown by Xika are arranged in sequence. But that's not what surprised them. These are the numbers on the Xika card. He doesn't have the same card. And all the cards are in order from the smallest three to the biggest two. He has obtained Dragon*.

The three just stared at Xika and her card without saying anything. Finally Lang Jin sighed then tidied his card.

"We'll continue playing later. Let's look at the leaders' discussions."

His proposal was immediately greeted enthusiastically by Lang Shu and Lang Du, as they were also reluctant to play again with Xika. While Xika herself was confused and disappointed. But he also tidied up his cards and the others then kept them under his cloak.

They shifted their seats so that they were a little closer to the leaders. The old wolves were still arguing and had yet to find an agreement. It's a tough decision, plus they're short on time. This makes leaders more frustrated.

Both options have their own advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, the advantages and disadvantages of both options are quite balanced so it is very difficult to make a choice. The leaders appear to have taken a long time to reach an agreement.

Unlike the leaders of the minor, the three leaders of the major did not appear confused. They seemed to have agreed to choose the same side. But they still haven't revealed their decision. And their discussion seems to be unfinished.

Xika noticed that.

"Hey, why don't Heiliao and the other two leaders look frustrated? They look calm."

The other three noticed. And sure enough, the expressions of the three major leaders looked different from those of the other leaders. It seems that they discussed things differently with the leaders. Xika spoke again.

"Have they made a choice yet to announce it? They see discussing different things."

"Of course."

Before the others could reply, Heiliao, Xuehao, and Lang Yan looked at each other then nodded. They've made their decision. And will announce it now. Lang Yan walked forward.

"My brother! I'm sure we all have a hard time choosing. Incidentally, we have the same choice. But we need to discuss it with you guys again. Now, how about we just vote? You are all free to choose without fear of pressure. I'll guarantee that. We are all wolves, we are all equal.

I hope you can accept whatever decision you choose. But for those of you who feel you still disagree even if the decision is in sight, we will not force you to join. It's all your own decision. Now, let's start voting!"

Heiliao and Xuehao opened their mouths and both fired qi to form two options. Heiliao let out Shu Mang's word while Xuehao let out the Purple Hand word. Each has a 0 below it.

Some leaders who were already convinced of their decision immediately shot out qi from their mouths and made the number 0 grow. While the other leader who was still hesitant decided to discuss it with the other wolves before making a decision.

And the results of the current vote show a comparison of the two options of 70:30, with a majority voting Shu Mang. So even if the three wolves chose the Unman's Hand side, it wouldn't make a difference. Lang Yan returned forward.

"Well! The result is out. Like it or not, many chose the young man's side. It seems we quite agree that our honor is more important. Now we'll discuss the next steps. Are we going to cure the young man completely? Or just some? And how are we going to get into that mine? How are we gonna get him?

Unfortunately, we have to postpone this discussion for a while. We need to talk to our new children and families about this further. You can all go back now and spread this news to your families. Also, please give me a list of wolves willing to enter the mine.

We haven't discussed how we're going to get in, but we need the number of wolf troops that are going to enter the mine. Keep in mind, there is a possibility that the wolf that was sent will never come back again. But again, we will not force. Your decisions can change once we decide how we're going to get in. This list will only be used as a rough estimate.

Well, fine! Just for today's meeting. Thank you, brothers."

Lang Yan lowered his head slightly then walked back to Heiliao and Xuehao. While the other leaders, some were still chatting and discussing the matter earlier, there were also those who immediately returned and spread the results of this meeting to his family.

The three leaders of the major spoke for a while before walking towards Xika.

Lang Jin, Lang Shu, Xika, and Lang Du were quite bored waiting for the results of this meeting. And because they don't want to play cards anymore - after knowing it turns out Xika is also good at other games - so they are confused what to do. They finally decided to share their stories. Lang Shu was the first to propose the idea. Others followed. Then when mid-voting, they felt quite tired, so decided to go to sleep.

It started with Xika falling asleep while Lang Shu was talking, followed by Lang Jin, then Lang Du, and finally Lang Shu being forced to sleep as well because there was no interlocutor. When the three leaders walked over, the first Lang Jin woke up.

He was always alert to his surroundings, even in his sleep. So he immediately realized as soon as someone approached. He saluted the three, then woke the others up. Xika was the first to sleep, but she was the hardest to wake. Lang Shu was ranked second. He was also quite difficult, although not as difficult as Xika. Lang Du woke up after Lang Jin. He looked at the three leaders before greeting and going home.

Fortunately, Heiliao was already frequently faced with Xika's sleeping habits so she was not as confused as Lang Jin had been when trying to wake Xika up. He walked closer and put his tail to cover Xika's nose.

Normally, humans wake up when they cannot breathe. It may also take a few seconds to realize what is happening. But not with Xika. The boy took a minute to realize that he could not breathe. Or maybe he was conscious, just still sleepy so hold his breath in order to sleep a little longer.

"Hoi, kid! We need to talk."

Xika looked at Lang Yan with her eyes half closed.

"Then it's a monastery. No need to wake me up." He rubbed his eyes and got ready to sleep again.

"With you, boy! We need to talk to you!"

"Hm? But I didn't. Can I talk later-hoahmmm-only, after I wake up?"

This time Heiliao spoke. He stepped forward.

"Xika, if we talk after you wake up, there's a chance that the spatial crack has disappeared."

Xika rubbed her eyes again. He thought about what Heiliao said and unfortunately it was true. It means he can't sleep.

"alright. What do you want to talk about?" tanya Xika tried to finish this conversation as soon as possible and went back to sleep.

Xuehao stepped forward. Xika became a bit confused as to how to behave to the wolf, considering that the one wolf had shown her emotional side, but it seemed that she had to put that aside for now. Xuehao did too. He acted as if nothing had happened and started talking.

"It's about the kid's healing."

"Isn't that your decision? Why do you need my help?"

"We need to know his identity."

"I remember I said that. His name is Shu Mang. It's from dar-"

"Not that. We need to know if he's an enemy or a friend. Or not both. It'll affect how we'll cure him."

"Friends or enemies? I want to know too."

"What do you mean?"

"I still don't know if he's an enemy or a friend. It's too early to judge."

"What is your relationship with him then?"

"For now it is not both. Only a stranger happens to meet again."

"What about the wolves?"

"I'm not sure. But he seemed to be somewhat afraid of Lang Jin. I don't know if that fear will turn into respect or hatred."

"Which one do you think is more likely to be?"

"Why do I feel like I've heard that question? I still don't know. That young man is as confused as we are. He is still fumbling, whether we are friends or opponents. And before he can decide, he will continue to act gray."

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Dragon, a situation where thirteen cards are owned by one player in sequence. Nothing is the same. Players will win without playing again. But the conditions in which all our cards are in sequence and none are the same are very rarely obtained. I've only got it once so far.

In capsah games, three cards have the least value while two cards have the most value. So the order is like this: 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K,A,2. Totally thirteen. This is what Xika is like when he wins.