Chapter 39: There Are Playing Cards in A-Xiang's Pot, They Fell In While She Was Cooking

Underworld Card Games: From Fighting the Landlord to the Six-Punch Combo, Volume 2, Chapter 39: Ah Xiang’s Pot Contains a Card: Dropped in While Cooking

The group hurried after Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai toward the Underworld kitchen. Old Zhou panted as he clutched his blue cloth bag, muttering, "I hope it hasn't boiled to mush. If it has, we'll lose the semi-finals for sure, and if we lose, we might have to spend half a year washing cards..."

Xiao Li followed behind, clutching his yellow paper notebook to his chest. He was running so fast that the pages were fluttering. "Slow down, Old Zhou! If the card really is in the pot, Ah Xiang couldn't have boiled it that badly. Last time she made cabbage, she turned it into mush, and cards are much tougher than cabbage!"

Wang Er-Ma, leading the pack, caught the scent of food the moment he reached the kitchen door. Ah Xiang was squatting by the stove, tossing cabbage leaves into a large iron cauldron while chanting, "Stir-frying a 3-7 sequence!" The water in the pot bubbled vigorously, filling the kitchen with thick white steam.

"Ah Xiang! Stop throwing things in!" Wang Er-Ma shouted. Startled, Ah Xiang dropped the cabbage leaf she was holding into the pot with a splash. She turned to see the crowd surging into the kitchen and blinked, dazed. "Master Ma? Why are you all here? Are you here to eat my 'Sequence-Card Cabbage'?"

The Judge squeezed toward the stove, peering into the pot through his three pairs of spectacles. The surface was covered with cabbage leaves and the Underworld’s unique "Black-Beard Greens." He poked at his glasses for a long time, stomping his feet in anxiety. "Ah Xiang! Did you throw a stiff piece of paper into the pot this morning? Not a leaf, but the Supreme Sequence Card with the spider lily print!"

"A stiff piece of paper?" Ah Xiang scratched her head, still holding half a head of cabbage. "I did pick up a piece of paper this morning. It was dark, with patterns on it. I thought it was just a dead leaf that had fallen on the floor, so I tossed it in... What’s wrong? Was that not a leaf?"

"That was the Supreme Sequence Card! The key card that can substitute for any sequence!" The Judge’s voice cracked with panic. He reached out to fish it out, but Meng Po quickly stopped him. "Judge, if your three pairs of glasses fall in there, it’ll turn into 'Spectacle Soup.' Let me get it for you!"

Meng Po grabbed a long wooden ladle from the side of the stove and stirred slowly. The water bubbled, and the ladle hit something at the bottom with a *clunk*. Her eyes brightened. "Got it! It’s firm—it’s not cabbage!"

She carefully lifted the ladle, revealing a sodden card. It was printed with the spider lily design, and though it was covered in cabbage leaves and black-beard greens with slightly curled edges, the four characters "Supreme Sequence Card" were clearly visible. It was exactly the one the Judge had lost!

"Found it! We found it!" Xiao Bai jumped up, reaching for the card, but Ah Xiang quickly blocked him. "Don't touch it! It just came out of the pot, it's hot!" She grabbed a rag from the counter, wrapped the card, and wiped it off. Cabbage leaves fell to the floor, leaving a few soup stains on the card.

The Judge leaned in, staring at the card for a long time, his face twisting in heartache. "My Supreme Sequence Card... it's all wrinkled from the boiling. Thank goodness it didn't fall apart, or we wouldn't have been able to play the semi-finals!" He took out his rulebook, tucked the card inside to flatten it, and kept muttering, "Pressing it down will make it flat... just press it down..."

Old Zhou leaned in to look, pointing at a soup stain on the card. "Ah Xiang, what did you put in this broth? The card smells just like the cabbage soup I had last time."

Ah Xiang scratched her head, embarrassed, hiding the cabbage behind her back. "I just added some salt and Underworld 'Spicy Grass.' I was planning on making 'Sequence-Card Cabbage' and didn't realize I’d tossed the wrong thing in... I'm sorry, Judge. I didn't mean to."

"You silly girl!" The Judge glared at her, but seeing her guilty expression, his anger faded. Ah Xiang was always scatterbrained; this wasn't the first time she had mistaken cabbage for cards or vice versa.

Xiao Li pulled out his yellow notebook, his pen flying across the page. A moment later, he recited: "Ah Xiang's cooking is in a haze, she mistook a sequence for a leaf. The card was fished out of the soup, luckily intact to bring relief!" He held the notebook up for Ah Xiang to see, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Xiao Li, that poem is spot on! I’ll definitely look closely before I throw anything next time!"

Wang Er-Ma patted Ah Xiang on the shoulder. "It's alright, we know it was an accident. Just look carefully before you throw things away next time—don't confuse cards with cabbage again. Let's get back to the card hall; the semi-finals are starting soon, and we shouldn't keep Old Zhao waiting."

"Right! Okay!" Ah Xiang nodded, quickly turning off the stove. She grabbed a few clean heads of cabbage from the counter and shoved them at Old Zhou. "Old Zhou, take these as an apology. You can use them as a mat for your sunflower seed shells so they don't dig into your hands."

Old Zhou's eyes lit up. He took them and stuffed them into his blue cloth bag. "Thanks, Ah Xiang! These cabbages are softer than shells—they'll be a comfortable cushion!"

As the group headed back, Ah Xiang tagged along to watch the semi-finals. On the way, she couldn't help but ask, "Master Ma, can I be a spectator for the semi-finals? I promise I won't throw cabbage or cards—I'll just watch!"

"Of course!" Wang Er-Ma said with a smile. "It's good you're coming. If Old Zhou gets scared to dismantle a bomb again, you can just yell 'Stir-fry a sequence!' to help him find his courage!"

Old Zhou waved his hands frantically. "No, no need! I’m not afraid of dismantling bombs anymore. I just dismantled a pair of 6s to win a round—I can do it myself!"

Everyone laughed. The white steam still hung around the kitchen door, carrying the savory scent of cabbage soup. Even though the Supreme Sequence Card was a bit wrinkled, it had been recovered, and the semi-finals could proceed as planned. The Judge led the way, clutching his rulebook with the card inside, patting it occasionally to ensure it was still there. Old Zhou hugged his blue bag, where seeds and cabbage leaves sat side-by-side, grinning from ear to ear. Ah Xiang followed behind, still whispering to herself about "looking carefully next time." Sunlight filtered through the clouds of the Underworld, casting warm shadows on everyone. Even with the occasional mishap, these Underworld card games were always lively—far more interesting than playing in a neighborhood back on Earth.