The time for gamblers to operate is at night.
Considering that most entertainment occurs at night, it wasn’t particularly special. Gilu usually begins operating at night, and most gambling takes place here.
However, there are places where one can gamble even during the day.
A gambling house.
A space specifically for those who enjoy gambling without the addition of drinking and dancing.
“Hmm.”
Sajeok tossed down his cards and clicked his tongue. Recently, a large number of well-known gamblers had been caught all at once.
Unlike modern times, gambling is not illegal in this Martial World. But there are hardly any gamblers who are proud of their activities in front of the law. While gambling itself isn’t illegal, the practice of gambling often leads to charges of fraud.
Anyway, those caught were released after a few days, all looking as if their souls had been drained.
“Bro! How long are you going to stay like that?”
Sajeok shouted at Cheong Seo, who looked half-dead, but Cheong Seo remained silent.
“Oh dear! Did they torture you in the government office or something? What crime could it be to touch those cards to make you look like this! Hak Jo hasn’t shown his face since that day, and Heukjeo only clings to the tavern after leaving the gambling table!”
Hak Jo kept his mouth firmly shut. The events at Cheonsangru were something that couldn’t be disclosed to anyone. Since a classmate had warned him directly, if the matter were to escape his lips, it could very well cost him his head without anyone knowing.
Even without the classmate’s warning, Cheong Seo had no intention of speaking.
Famous gamblers in Nangyang. Nearly a hundred individuals gathered their heads together. With Cheonsangru providing the location and cooperation from a classmate, they faced off against just one person…
And lost an astonishing sum of three hundred nyang.
How could someone speak about such a humiliating defeat?
The memory of that day flashed in Cheong Seo’s mind.
[Die.]
Just thinking about that day made his hands tremble. The relaxed posture and icy gaze of that person flashed vividly in his mind, chilling his spine and causing cold sweat to break out.
Sajeok noticed Cheong Seo’s trembling hands and kept quiet. He was curious about what had happened that day, but he had no intention of pressing someone who was shaking like that.
“Alright. I won’t ask.”
To give Cheong Seo some time to rest, Sajeok stood up from the table. As he looked around the gambling house for another game to join, he found nothing suitable.
Sajeok smacked his lips. Nearly a hundred gamblers had gotten caught all at once, and after being released, they all became strange. Whether they had actually been tortured at the government office or not, no one was speaking about that day, and those with drained looks were numerous.
As a result, he couldn’t find anyone suitable to socialize with in the gambling house.
Unlike Gilu, the gambling house hardly attracted light gamblers. The gambling at Gilu is much more stimulating. Since you can drink there, the gambling becomes even more exhilarating, and there are also spectators. Most importantly, the probability of winning at Gilu is higher than at the gambling house.
Those who waited for the night to go to Gilu instead of coming to a gambling house where they couldn’t drink and had no spectators were those who were truly serious about gambling. Given that they were a more specialized group of gamblers, the average level was far higher than at Gilu.
The gambling house could be considered a gathering place for gamblers. And Sajeok, who could hardly find an opponent even in such a gambling house, was remarkable.
‘That guy isn’t here either… my brothers are all in bad shape… I should focus on catching some easy prey at Gilu for a while.’
The fact that all the suitable opponents had become strange made Sajeok smirk, but upon further thought, it also meant that the gambling scene in Nangyang had become empty land. What a great opportunity it would be to make a big score.
‘I should get a good night’s sleep and work hard at night.’
Feeling he had no suitable game to join, he thought about rolling up a cigarette and going inside when he suddenly felt a commotion at the entrance and lifted his head.
Three figures were entering the gambling house.
“Whoa.”
A seemingly ordinary martial artist. A young noble who looked like he came from a rich family. And…
A breathtaking beauty stood there.
Even wearing a veil, her beauty was such that it couldn’t be concealed. Just like a scent of musk that can’t be masked even when wrapped in paper, her beauty seemed to radiate despite the veil covering everything except her eyes.
He had seen many flowers of beauty while wandering around various Gilu as a gambler, but even those pale in comparison to her appearance.
‘Even with her face covered, I’m thinking this way. She’s an astonishing beauty.’
The seemingly ordinary man, Ho Cheon-an, spoke.
“Rather than such a dreary gambling house, wouldn’t it be better to stop by the Wind Pavilion and enjoy the scenery of Nangyang while letting the breeze in…”
“I want to see Senior’s gambling skills, so let’s sit quickly. I believe you will show your true abilities.”
Ho Cheon-an gulped at the icy gaze of Heuk Myo. Her eyes revealed a resolute intent to witness Ho Cheon-an’s gambling performance, putting him in a difficult position.
‘What a situation this is.’
Ho Cheon-an had no way of knowing what Heuk Myo and Hyeok Gi-rin had discussed, making this scenario feel like a bolt from the blue.
Regardless of what Ho Cheon-an thought, Heuk Myo grabbed his shoulder as he fidgeted and pushed him down onto an empty chair at the gambling table. She then took out a pouch from her clothes and flipped it upside down.
Shwaaar!
“Whoa!”
“Gold coins…”
The money for Heuk Myo’s Nangyang tour—a stunning amount of thirty nyang—shone brightly.
The eyes of the gamblers focused entirely on Ho Cheon-an and Heuk Myo.
“I will give these gold coins entirely to the person who wins against this man.”
Ho Cheon-an’s mouth dropped open, and the gamblers eagerly jumped up from their seats, their eyes shining. One gambler, sitting closest at the side, nearly dove across the table and plopped down on the opposite chair of Ho Cheon-an, while exclamations of disappointment echoed around.
The gambler grinned broadly and said,
“Hahaha! No softies, miss!”
“No need to say it twice.”
“Alright, what shall the rules be?”
“The gambling type is up to you, choose whichever method you both want.”
“In that case, let’s make it that whoever first takes the opponent’s chips wins, using chips as the stake. How about playing the card game?”
The gambler quickly laid out favorable conditions. If real money were on the line, losing would lead to immediate loss, but if they used chips, losing would only amount to breaking even. Additionally, the gambler mentioned playing the card game, the game he was most confident in.
The gambler waited for Ho Cheon-an’s agreement, but Ho Cheon-an was instead looking at Heuk Myo.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“I just want to see your gambling skills.”
Seeing that Heuk Myo showed no signs of backing down, Ho Cheon-an sighed deeply as he turned to persuade Hyeok Gi-rin.
But for some reason, Hyeok Gi-rin was looking at him with anticipation? Receiving Ho Cheon-an’s incredulous gaze, Hyeok Gi-rin mumbled,
“I also just wanted to see you gamble at least once…”
Hyeok Gi-rin had no idea why Heuk Myo was acting this way, but in Hyeok Gi-rin’s eyes, it wasn’t a bad situation for Ho Cheon-an to be gambling now. Sometimes, just by observing his deftness, people would naturally be amazed. If he could showcase his abilities in a real gambling match, just how awesome would that be?
After such a spectacle, one’s spirits would surely lighten… Hyeok Gi-rin clung to the hope that by witnessing Ho Cheon-an’s gambling skills, Heuk Myo’s anger might dissipate.
Receiving Hyeok Gi-rin’s earnest gaze, Ho Cheon-an sighed. Alright, there’s no getting out of this now.
“Let’s get started. We will each have twenty-five chips. The game type is up to you. However, there’s a condition.”
“What is it?”
“Have some decency. If you win, you get this money, but what if you win without putting anything on the line? If you lose, a slap on the cheek.”
“…Alright.”
It was a condition that the opponent could not refuse. To have a bet of thirty nyang on the line, losing with a slap was practically a gift.
The game began.
As the gambler started shuffling the cards, Heuk Myo watched from a distance and thought.
‘I need to learn more about my senior.’
What had only been a passing thought, a mere intuition from seeing a hustler at a gambling den, now had some clarity as she stood at the gambling house, placing bets.
Is Ho Cheon-an truly the martial artist he presents to be? Heuk Myo couldn’t help but shake her head at that question. The path of Ho Cheon-an as a martial artist was fraught with complications. His unique constitution had forced him to bend, and he had been stalled for a long time until recently, when he could finally stretch his wings.
Yet, even if he had spread his wings, challenges remained ahead. Due to his constitution, he struggled with managing his Qi, and nothing meant that new obstacles wouldn’t appear in the future.
‘As a martial artist, Senior Ho can’t reflect his true self because of the harshness of his environment.’
Hezk Myo recalled that it had already taken one elixir to reach the first rank, and now he would have to consume seven more elixirs just to try to reach the peak. Needing to consume eight elixirs to reach the peak was no small struggle.
And what about gambling?
Heuk Myo recalled Ho Cheon-an’s deft hand skills. A flashy style different from other gamblers. Perhaps a bit flamboyant. His gambling skills had the ability to dazzle the eyes and create illusions, setting him apart from the others.
‘Senior’s gambling techniques clearly reflect his disposition. So, surely, the way Senior gambles will follow the same inclination.’
Heuk Myo had always thought that simply being alongside Ho Cheon-an was sufficient. That belief hadn’t changed even now. But that belief alone wasn’t enough to move forward.
‘The senior understood me, but I never made an effort to understand him.’
Heuk Myo thought back to how Ho Cheon-an had earnestly listened to her meaningless ramblings and tried to solve the issues she had been facing.
But Heuk Myo had never made a special effort to understand Ho Cheon-an.
Why does he know about realization? It wasn’t something to explore about each other’s untouchable secrets.
The questions needed to understand the person Ho Cheon-an. Why does he so love martial arts novels? Why doesn’t he want to make a name for himself as a gambler? Why does he share the gambling skills he has painstakingly learned so easily with others?
There were countless matters that shared space for inquiry, yet Heuk Myo had never probed deeply.
‘So, I need to understand now.’
Listening to Hyeok Gi-rin’s heartfelt confession stirred an emotional storm inside her, but what remained in Heuk Myo’s heart in the end was a deep, lingering question.
Why did things end up this way? Giving realization to Hyeok Gi-rin was a considerable risk. It was a risky maneuver, especially since Heuk Myo, as an outsider, didn’t know the emotional interplay of the three.
The reason.
Heuk Myo could not grasp the reasoning behind Ho Cheon-an’s judgment. And only after considering it did she realize. She had never made an effort to understand Ho Cheon-an. So how could she decipher his thoughts?
That was why she had pulled Ho Cheon-an into the gambling den. To witness Ho Cheon-an’s true self, which would best reflect in his skills, she had come here to throw money on the table.
Watching Ho Cheon-an pick up his cards, Heuk Myo murmured softly.
“Please show your true self, Senior.”
