Lin Shen had spent quite a bit of money on the streets before, and he had seen plenty of shocking tricks. All those goods on display were definitely fake.
Lin Shen hadn't set his mind on winning, because he didn't understand Go, and he was also bad at Gomoku. If the Shaggy Old Celestial was out there setting up a stall, he must have some tricks up his sleeve, so Lin Shen was basically just handing over his money without any intention of winning.
When he was a child, no one played Gomoku on the streets, and it was only later that Lin Shen even learned such a game existed. He wasn't very familiar with it, and he'd never studied it.
Lin Shen handed over ten dollars to the Shaggy Old Celestial, then took a seat opposite him and started playing by the book.