Catastrophe Card King

Chapter 741: 240

Vera Williams listened, and although she found the words pleasing, her Song Family was already wealthy, so the prediction wasn’t particularly surprising.

Elder Clinton’s shrewd little eyes twinkled as if he noticed his guest wasn’t fully satisfied. He spat on his palm and rubbed it together, then said, “Miss, you can draw another card. An extra one will make the divination more accurate.”

Vera was open to advice and drew another card. She turned it over to see a “Heart 8.”

Elder Clinton couldn’t help but exclaim, “Double eights. It’s just like the Poker Round ‘a pair,’ foretelling great wealth in one’s life pattern! Oh my, miss, you’re going to be tremendously powerful…”

Another round of flattery ensued.

“…”

Vera listened without much emotion, her brow arched.

Although she didn’t know why she had drawn two eights, her current state with the Rose Chamber of Commerce already seemed to align with the divination words.

She wasn’t foolish; no matter how she heard it, these words seemed like a scripted routine.

Elder Clinton saw her unfazed reaction and, with a twitch at the corner of his eye, suggested, “How about drawing one more card?”

Vera thought that sounded good and casually flipped another card, revealing a “Club 8.”

Seeing this card, Elder Clinton looked at Vera and inhaled sharply, “Hiss… This is like the arrangement ‘Meeting the Empress,’ foretelling immense wealth! Miss, your future wealth could rival that of nations…”

“Oh?”

It was only upon hearing this that Vera’s interest piqued.

Even though she knew it was meant to flatter her, she liked hearing it.

Without thinking much, she asked casually, “Can I draw one more card?”

Seeing his customer get excited, Elder Clinton readily agreed, “Of course.”

Vera drew another poker card, and a “Diamond 8” was revealed on the black cloth.

Four draws, four eights.

Even Vera found it magical. Divination words could be made up, but the cards were drawn by her own hand. How had she managed to draw four eights?

Elder Clinton’s expression also became strange as he muttered, “This is a top-tier hand, ‘Meeting the Empress.’ If you’re not aiming for ultimate power, it’s already extreme wealth.”

“…”

Witnessing this, even Leonard Churchill, who was standing by, felt a slight jump in the corner of his eye.

This was something that couldn’t be explained by mere good fortune.

Besides, he knew about the Song Family’s situation a hundred years later—describing it as ‘extreme wealth’ wouldn’t be too far off.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The words from the Old Man for the first three cards were all fulfilled.

This kind of finesse, upon close inspection… truly indescribable.

However, upon examining the four poker cards, Elder Clinton’s brows furrowed as his tone suddenly shifted, “Although…”

Normally, this is where a hustler would shift their patter.

Start with pleasing words, then abruptly change the topic, implying: it’s time to fork over more money.

Usually, diviners don’t just babble nonsense; they have the skill of reading expressions and can surmise certain things about their clients.

This method often works without fail.

Vera, curious, asked, “Elder sir, although what?”

She realized she might be getting scammed, but she still wanted to hear it.

Glancing at Leonard Churchill, she inferred his mood and pulled out a piece of black bread.

Leonard said nothing, silently observing.

In any other place, casually taking bread from a Storage Ring would be met with suspicion.

But no need to be discreet with this respected elder.

Elder Clinton looked at the black bread, grinned revealing his yellow teeth, and then said, “The cards are top-notch, but everything in the universe is flawed—that’s the law. This ‘Meeting the Empress’ hand, also known as ‘A Dream’s Wish’… In other words, even if you attain tremendous wealth, there will always be a touch of regret, only to be fulfilled in dreams.”

“Ah?”

Vera didn’t quite understand what he was saying.

Right now, she could have everything she wanted, and she didn’t know what regret was.

Elder Clinton continued, “Miss, you won’t lack wealth in your life. But should you seek power, you’ll always fall one step short, akin to the hand ‘The Crown of Emptiness’; if you seek a marriage, it’ll be ‘The Wedding in Dreams’… Your life pattern ensures wealth and long life… It can only be one of those two.”

He spoke, his eyes briefly flicking towards Leonard by her side, but he said no more.

Vera frowned slightly, not quite grasping the deeper meaning of his words.

She wasn’t interested in power at the moment; as for marriage, that seemed ages away.

However, something struck her, and a glint flashed in her crystalline eyes.

Leonard, who had been silent the whole time, became engrossed in thought after hearing this.

The Old Man had foretold a hundred-year fate.

Elder Clinton, noting the sudden silence, quickly pocketed the two pieces of black bread, thinking he might have misspoken. He tried to make amends by saying, “I’ll give you one more divination phrase, miss. Remember: Time stretches endless, flowers bloom wildly; there’s a time for blossoming and withering. In this mortal world, regrets are a part of everything, yet everything is also worth it.”

“…”

Vera blinked at the words.

For a moment, she felt as if her destiny was intertwined with certain cause and effect due to this encounter.

An ineffable sensation washed over her.

For the first time, she thought there might be truth in the Old Man’s words.

….

The card-drawing was over, the divination concluded.

Suddenly, Vera lost her enthusiasm.

She liked hearing those words, but now she had heard enough.

Turning towards Leonard Churchill, who wore an expressionless face, she felt she might have gotten carried away and wasted time, showing a hint of apology, “Mr. Leonard Churchill…”

Leonard seemed to snap out of a daydream, his gaze focusing.

Looking at Vera, he smiled faintly.