“Good job.”
As I exited the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, Wi Seoryeon, who had been watching my gamble with the Heavenly Demon, spoke up.
“It looks like you made it through another day safely.”
It wasn’t particularly good news that the Heavenly Demon was aware I was testing his resolve. But then again, I didn’t suggest the gamble thinking it would end easily from the start, so I had to brace myself for this much.
How could I lure out the Heavenly Demon’s weaknesses?
While I was pondering this, Wi Seoryeon continued.
“It’s truly surprising.”
“Pardon?”
“Your father. He genuinely seems to enjoy competing with you.”
“Really?”
Indeed, the Heavenly Demon hadn’t hidden his enjoyment during our gambling match.
The very fact that the Heavenly Demon enjoyed gambling seemed to fascinate Wi Seoryeon.
“Surely the Heavenly Demon can have some fun with gambling, right?”
At my words, Wi Seoryeon chuckled softly.
“Well, how should I explain this?”
As if she was organizing her thoughts, Wi Seoryeon unconsciously slowed her pace. I matched her speed, waiting for her to gather her thoughts.
There might be a clue in Wi Seoryeon’s story about Wi Ji-cheon.
“My father was a figure of profound loneliness.”
Wi Seoryon’s story began somewhat suddenly.
“From a young age, I sensed the solitude my father bore. Apart from the warmth of our family, there was… Hmm. Right. There was no one to match him.”
It was entirely understandable.
It would have been difficult for another extraordinary martial artist to be born in this Demon Sect, far away from the Central Plains.
“Perhaps because of that, I naturally sought the position of the Heavenly Demon by observing my father’s back. I thought standing beside him might alleviate his loneliness even a little. Sure, the position of Heavenly Demon is coveted by any demon martial artist, so naturally, I became greedy.”
“You might not know this, but the successor of the Heavenly Demon Arts is not inherited; it’s selected. Competitors include all the martial artists of the Demon Sect. After a fierce selection process, I succeeded in inheriting the Heavenly Demon Arts, and I thought I could stand alongside my father to some extent.”
Wi Seoryon concluded with a tinge of bitterness in her voice.
“However, it wasn’t to be. Though I didn’t think inheriting the Heavenly Demon Arts alone would heal my father’s loneliness, once I inherited them and learned to wield the Black Dragon Qi, I realized I had made a poor choice.”
“Hm.”
A poor choice, huh?
I understood what Wi Seoryeon was trying to convey.
By mastering the Heavenly Demon Arts, Wi Seoryeon had positioned herself as an equal to the Heavenly Demon Wi Ji-cheon.
Thus, a completely vertical relationship had formed. If both held equal conditions, the gap between Wi Seoryeon and Wi Ji-cheon wouldn’t easily be bridged.
“My father was proud of me, the Heavenly Demon, and while I never regretted mastering the Heavenly Demon Arts, I had to admit there was no way to alleviate my father’s loneliness.”
Wi Seoryon regarded me with a complex gaze.
“But you managed to do it. Your father recognized you as an opponent.”
“Hm.”
I halted my steps. Wi Seoryeon also awkwardly stopped at my movement.
“Extend your hand.”
“…?”
As Wi Seoryeon hesitated to extend her hand, I placed something into it.
It was, of course, the dice.
With a look of confusion, Wi Seoryeon stared at me.
“Go roll the dice with the Heavenly Demon.”
“…What?”
As I watched Wi Seoryeon’s dazed expression, a thought crossed my mind.
To the person holding a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
That was precisely how Wi Seoryeon seemed right now.
Since both Wi Ji-cheon and she were martial artists, she likely believed she had to polish her martial arts to match him.
She was probably thinking that way.
Anyway, these martial idiots…
This was all a remnant of the bizarre martial world thinking.
If you want to know someone, it’s common sense to introduce yourself and have a conversation. But these martial artists seem to indulge in weird behaviors like releasing their energy, throwing stones, mixing their internal energy into drinks, and engaging in chopstick battles.
If her father looked lonely, couldn’t she just go play with him?
Why was there talk of lacking martial arts cultivation or the Heavenly Demon being involved?
Did the martial law state that martial artists must seek joy solely through martial skills?
People drink, make money, fall in love; they can also roll dice with their daughters and have fun.
Handing the dice to the bewildered Wi Seoryeon, I gently turned her towards the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
“No, wait…”
“It’s alright. It’s fine! Anyway, the Heavenly Demon is just a week into gambling as well! And the Heavenly Demon has been watching gambling for a week, so it’s about the same level!”
“B-but, there’s no way I can match my father… it would just be a waste of time…”
“Ah! Are you disregarding the words of the world’s greatest gambler? When it comes to gambling, I’m the expert! Yes? Just follow my lead!”
“U-what?”
“All part of the strategy! As a guest, aren’t I here to help you? You’ve been watching the Heavenly Demon battle every day, right? Since you’re helping, why not take a more active role? I want you to understand the Heavenly Demon’s tendencies through gambling with him!”
“Such…”
I pushed the Heavenly Demon’s back, urging her forward. Wi Seoryeon, who was usually so composed and confident, was now hesitating, but eventually found herself moving towards the Heavenly Demon Pavilion due to my insistence.
Though I felt uneasy about her fiddling endlessly with the dice, I figured she would manage well enough with the setup I had laid out.
* *
“What brings you here again?”
Wi Seoryeon recalled the inquisitive gaze of Wi Ji-cheon, reminiscent of Ho Cheon-an.
The Demon Sect was centered around martial artists.
Thus, those living in the Demon Sect aspired to be martial artists and looked up to them.
“Of course, this isn’t just a story about the Demon Sect.”
Pursuing strength and admiration is a primal human instinct.
One of the best means to satisfy that raw instinct is martial arts, so martial artists who have mastered such skills are often respected anywhere.
But what about gamblers?
Unlike martial artists, proclaiming oneself a gambler and showing off gambling skills has always been a tough sell.
Martial arts techniques versus gambling techniques.
Which one earns more respect is painfully obvious without needing examples.
Still, that day, Ho Cheon-an boldly claimed,
“My gambling skills are the best in the world, and I will trade them for the Heavenly Demon’s efforts.”
His martial prowess and my gambling skills held equal value.
That sight was quite shocking for Wi Seoryeon.
After all, Ho Cheon-an was an expert martial artist.
Before the Heavenly Demon, Wi Seoryeon seemed less impressive, but an expert martial artist of peak stage had a social status that would stand out even by name alone within their region.
Ho Cheon-an was notorious, with no one in Sacheon City—or now even in Sacheon—who didn’t know about the Brain Knife Outcast.
One would feel embarrassed to neglect martial arts and immerse themselves solely in gambling, but instead, Ho Cheon-an equated the value of both gambling skills and martial arts.
As six months of gambling contests came to a climax, Wi Seoryeon believed Ho Cheon-an would not hold out much longer.
No matter how adept he was at gambling, she figured the Heavenly Demon could subdue such trivial challenges in an instant if he chose to.
However, the Heavenly Demon had not bested Ho Cheon-an in a week.
Had it merely been about losing?
No, within the realm of gambling, he recognized Ho Cheon-an as a rival—not just any opponent but one to challenge.
As she recalled the Heavenly Demon’s attitude, Wi Seoryeon shook off her hesitation and spoke up.
“Would you care to roll some dice with me?”
The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened a little. Seeing that, Wi Seoryeon felt a rush of heat flooding her cheeks.
What nonsensical craziness was this?
To propose mere dice rolling to the Supreme Being of the Demon Sect!
Just as Wi Seoryeon, unable to overcome her embarrassment, was about to say anything and escape, he replied,
“Let’s do it.”
Wi Seoryeon froze in her tracks, wanting to flee.
The two of them sat facing each other at the table.
“Simply rolling dice might be a bit dull; how about we put them in a cup and roll it?”
“Is that what Ho Cheon-an showed yesterday?”
“Exactly. Since you have to guess, I thought it would be interesting to try.”
As Wi Ji-cheon wore an awkward expression, Wi Seoryeon picked up the cup and dropped the dice into it.
Clatter clatter.
With her clumsy hands shaking the cup erratically, she eventually stopped.
“Hmm… I’ll bet on 3.”
Wi Seoryeon nodded and lifted the cup. Since she too was a novice gambler, she had no way of knowing the numbers in the cup.
“It’s 4.”
“Now it’s my turn.”
The Heavenly Demon shook the cup. Initially awkward, his mixing technique soon became smoother with each flick of the wrist.
Thud.
When the cup stopped, Wi Seoryeon suddenly became curious.
“Did you get the number you wanted?”
“Hm. I had a wish, but I’m not sure.”
“Then I’ll bet on 3. What number were you hoping for, Father?”
“I wanted to draw a 6.”
The Heavenly Demon said this while lifting the cup. Inside the cup, the die showed a 1.
Both Wi Seoryeon and Wi Ji-cheon looked at the singular die and broke into laughter simultaneously.
“Well, it seems even you can’t escape the odds. Let me try drawing a number now.”
“Alright.”
And thus began their chaotic gamble. Sometimes they guessed correctly, sometimes incorrectly. There were no stakes in this shaky, cup-shaking contest.
“It’s not easy, is it?”
“Indeed.”
Wi Ji-cheon observed Wi Seoryeon shaking the cup and thought,
‘He was trapped.’
Having devoted a lifetime to climbing the mountain of martial arts, it seemed his perspective had narrowed.
He had started pursuing joy and fun solely through martial arts.
‘This is enjoyable.’
He felt a smile forming on his face as he gazed at his daughter.
The once stern and rigid expression Wi Seoryeon wore, wherein she had promised to catch up with her father, grew softer.
Clatter. Clatter.
“If we compare the realm of martial arts to a mountain, it would be Taishan.”
Wi Seoryeon listened attentively as she shook the cup.
“I climbed Taishan, yet I looked down upon the lesser mountains too much.”
Wi Seoryeon nodded, empathizing with Wi Ji-cheon’s words.
She acknowledged the disdain she had had for the gambles she once viewed as beneath her.
The endeavor of shaking the small cup to draw the desired number was far more challenging than she presumed.
Ho Cheon-an had proudly pointed toward the mountain of gambling.
The mountain of gambling was not a small hill easily conquered overnight.
“Only after seeing the other mountains that he pointed out did I realize I had been trapped in Taishan.”
Wi Seoryeon sensed the message Wi Ji-cheon was trying to convey.
She felt a similar revelation deep inside.
As she turned her gaze from the peak of Taishan to the other hills, the world widened before her eyes.
Martial arts were incredibly hard to find atop Taishan.
The joy of being with her father was easily accessible away from the towering mountain of martial arts.
Suddenly, Wi Seoryeon felt grateful toward Ho Cheon-an.
Had he not pointed to the mountain of gambling, and had he not showcased his skill to prove that mountain wasn’t lowly, she might never have recognized that stepping away from the towering peak would allow her to see the world.
“No matter how vast and high Taishan is, can it ever compare to the world?”
Wi Seoryeon thought.
Ho Cheon-an had opened her perspective, and now it was time for her to walk forward on her own.
“Now that I know, why not experience it piece by piece?”
Thud.
Wi Seoryeon set the cup down and declared.
“Shall we ascend the mountain of gambling together, my lady?”
Confidently, Wi Seoryeon invited Wi Ji-cheon.
The Heavenly Demon raised two fingers, signaling he had chosen 2.
“That is not a bad offer.”
Together, they shook the cup and made their promise.
Roll. Roll.
The sound of the rolling dice echoed continuously from the Heavenly Demon Pavilion for quite a while.
