“Hahaha.”
Tang Guanglie laughed as he looked at Ho Cheon-an. Indeed, Ho Cheon-an’s gambling skills were extraordinary. Tang Guanglie himself had been neatly fooled.
Tang Guanglie acknowledged that Ho Cheon-an’s gambling skills had reached a high level.
And he roughly understood what Ho Cheon-an wanted to say.
There were words he didn’t want to hear about gambling addiction, but in the end, the main point was that he needed to start again with a fundamental mindset.
“It seems you look down on me, Tang Guanglie. I suppose this Family Head will have to go all out now.”
However, Tang Guanglie had no intention of accepting Ho Cheon-an’s argument.
He needed to retrieve the hidden weapons from Tang Do-gyeong as soon as possible. It was hard to accept a proposal to take things slow by laying the foundation.
Moreover, he had his own pride in his gambling skills, having enjoyed it his whole life. Although Ho Cheon-an was a gambling master, it could not be overlooked that he was being belittled to this extent.
He had to prove his level to that outcast and quickly acquire the technique to defeat Tang Do-gyeong.
Thinking this, Tang Guanglie accepted Ho Cheon-an’s proposal.
“Let’s play by the general gambling rules. The stake is a bet of 100 nyang, and we’ll play only one round. So when the Family Head’s assets reach 51 jeon, you win, and I win when they reach 100 nyang. Do you agree?”
“I agree.”
“Good. The usual payout should be three times, but considering the difference in skill, let’s make it four times.”
The gambling game between Ho Cheon-an and Tang Guanglie was a gambling trick using one die and four cups. Generally, in civilian gambling, the basic is three cups with the player doubling their stake if they guess correctly. In professional gambling, the base payout is three times for guessing correctly with four cups. A payout of four times meant it was a very favorable situation for Tang Guanglie.
“Well then, let’s begin.”
Tang Guanglie concentrated and gathered his inner power. For him, it was a game that would end if he won just once, so he naturally tried to exert the best concentration he could.
However, Tang Guanglie couldn’t help but open his mouth, wide-eyed.
The moment it started, he lost the die, and the game ended without finding the appearance of that die.
“T-This is…”
He hadn’t seen any trace of the die after seeing it enter the cup first!
“Haha, since the Family Head said he would go all out, I must also do my best, though I’m not as skilled.”
Ho Cheon-an wholeheartedly put in the effort, just like he did when facing Tang Do-gyeong. That effort meant fully utilizing his hand skills.
But, did gambling skills only rely on hand skills? Under the framework of gambling, hand skills were undoubtedly important, but that wasn’t everything. Ho Cheon-an’s gambling tricks, seamlessly linking remarkable techniques, were something else entirely.
“This is the second cup.”
“Wrong.”
The die was inside the fourth cup. Tang Guanglie swallowed hard. He concentrated for the next round. But while he was lifting his concentration, wasn’t the second cup slightly moving? In that moment, Tang Guanglie’s attention was divided.
And at that moment, the cup and die began to spin.
Tang Guanglie then realized that even the two-die trick he had been playing was being done in a way that Ho Cheon-an was allowing. It was, in fact, a test to gauge Tang Guanglie’s level.
Tang Guanglie had thought he was perceiving the movement of the die all this time, but it dawned on him that was far from the truth.
Ho Cheon-an had merely operated it at a level he could comprehend.
“…The fourth one.”
After ten rounds, Tang Guanglie hadn’t been able to trace even a hint of the die. He smiled wryly.
A wall.
Tang Guanglie was feeling the wall that was Ho Cheon-an.
He couldn’t even stretch out his hand or foot, just getting his nose cut!
Yet, Tang Guanglie didn’t lose focus. After all, he believed gambling was a battle of concentration.
‘There!’
Was it possible because he had raised his concentration to the point of his head throbbing? He managed to glimpse the die, however faintly. It was just for a moment, but he had perceived Ho Cheon-an’s skill.
‘Ah, there’s still hope. There’s still stake left! No matter how divine the gambling skills, they cannot be unbreakable forever!’
Once. Twice. Thrice.
Tang Guanglie placed one bet at a time, striving to grasp Ho Cheon-an’s skills. The more they repeated their gambling tricks, the more he began to catch glimpses of the die.
“Cough. I’m parched. Can I have a drink before we continue?”
“Ha ha, of course, Outcast Ya.”
Tang Guanglie tried to maintain a serious face while looking at Ho Cheon-an. It seemed he wanted to break the flow, as he was beginning to comprehend the technique. Tang Guanglie’s inner power could sense Ho Cheon-an’s expression hidden beneath the black rib.
Even catching sight of a sense of crisis and breaking the flow, Ho Cheon-an’s face was perfectly calm. However, Tang Guanglie felt a hint of disturbance in Ho Cheon-an’s demeanor itself. No matter how skilled at gambling he was, Ho Cheon-an was still in his early twenties. His ability to manage his expression was flawless, but…
‘The difference of lived years cannot be ignored.’
As the short break concluded, Tang Guanglie could solidify that thought.
‘It’s shaking a bit more.’
He began catching on to the minor slip-ups. Yet, it was still not sufficient to grasp the gambling techniques.
The stakes had already diminished to just over 25.
‘Did I see… something?’
Tang Guanglie barely held back the frown that was about to form. If he provided a clue that his techniques had been uncovered, Ho Cheon-an’s skill would change again, so he had to snatch it up at once.
There was still a chance. This game was, after all, infinitely favorable for Tang Guanglie. If he just surpassed 51 in stakes, and with a payout of four times, it meant that once he comprehended the gambling trick, he could reclaim the game with just a stake of 13.
The stakes that Ho Cheon-an had seized through dozens of tricks could be balanced back if Tang Guanglie won just one round with a stake of around 7-8.
When he thought this way, Tang Guanglie felt easier.
With that ease, his concentration peaked. He was beginning to predict not just the die, but also Ho Cheon-an’s hand movements and intentions, just slightly.
‘Ha ha, you’re getting anxious.’
Ho Cheon-an, sensing that Tang Guanglie was slowly catching up to his skill, intensified his movements. More dazzling and intricate techniques emerged. Tang Guanglie felt the flow he had managed to grasp slipping away again, but he didn’t feel anxious.
He was confident he could catch up again.
Ho Cheon-an had become the one retreating, and Tang Guanglie was the one pursuing. He thought he could grab Ho Cheon-an’s neck before he ran out of his fuel, the stakes.
The stakes had dropped to 17.
Tang Guanglie was still losing track of the die. He recognized the gap in skill. It wasn’t a technique that could be fully grasped just by focusing on one or two moments. However, there were times when the die caught his eye intermittently.
‘There!’
Luck was also part of gambling. Tang Guanglie realized that the last movements of the die were made up of few traces he could perceive.
The third cup.
After deep thought, Tang Guanglie stacked his stakes. One. Two. Three… With every stack, he felt Ho Cheon-an’s eyes slightly tremble.
“Ho, are you willing to stake it all?”
Ho Cheon-an’s mocking voice sounded to Tang Guanglie like the trumpet of victory.
The stakes before the third cup totaled 12. Both Ho Cheon-an and Tang Guanglie straightened their postures.
“It seems you’re confident about the outcome, but why haven’t you staked everything?”
“Haha, this game is to have my skills recognized by you, so there’s no need to overdo it unnecessarily.”
“Indeed.”
Ho Cheon-an nodded and turned his head. As he swallowed dryly, his eyes met those of Feng Ying Hall Master, who had been watching the gambling competition between the Family Head and the Outcast.
“It’s quite a big game, so could you please reveal it?”
“…Let’s do that.”
Feng Ying Hall Master raised the first cup. Naturally, no die was present. The second cup was opened without hesitation. Similarly, no die was found.
Feng Ying Hall Master swallowed hard and placed his hand over the third cup. The trick Ho Cheon-an was demonstrating was undeniably extraordinary. If he lost here, it would be difficult to grasp that technique within five rounds.
This was the actual pivotal moment.
Feng Ying Hall Master lifted the third cup in one motion.
“…It’s not here?”
Tang Guanglie muttered without realizing it.
Tang Guanglie’s gaze turned to Ho Cheon-an. The calm smile on Ho Cheon-an’s face instantly unraveled Tang Guanglie’s mind. Instead of the stunned Feng Ying Hall Master, Ho Cheon-an moved and lifted the fourth cup.
The die was there.
“Sadly, it seems.”
Tang Guanglie’s thoughts raced back through the gambling rounds. The hand skills he thought he was gradually catching up with. The way Ho Cheon-an tried hard to hide his trembling. His own regained composure and rising concentration. And the anxiousness he felt while watching his own performance reflected in Ho Cheon-an’s demeanor.
Seeing Ho Cheon-an’s lips curl upward, Tang Guanglie felt that what he had thought was the flow of the gambling match had been shattered into pieces. Since when? From where? Tang Guanglie couldn’t estimate the moment but realized that he had been played by Ho Cheon-an’s design.
‘It can’t be, it can’t be…’
Tang Guanglie turned his eyes back to the revived gambling match. He was definitely familiar with the skill now. He could follow the gambling flow with greater ease than before. Though his eyes were open, in his heart, he was sighing and cursing himself internally.
He should have taken the gamble when he felt 100% confident. He had taken the risk, believing in something he had caught just a moment before.
The shock of losing twelve stakes shook Tang Guanglie’s spirit, and his five remaining stakes disappeared like snow melting away.
As the last stake vanished, Tang Guanglie exhaled a sigh of regret. If only he had been a bit more cautious… If he had twelve more chances, surely the right moment would have come.
“It seems like you have a lot of regret.”
Tang Guanglie laughed at Ho Cheon-an’s words.
“Now that the game has ended, even if I feel regret, what can I do about it?”
“Then would you like to continue?”
“What can I stake now that all my assets are gone?”
Ho Cheon-an extended a single stake towards Tang Guanglie. He smiled while gesturing with his thumb and index finger. Giving a gesture that seemed to imply money, Ho Cheon-an said,
“I’ll lend you ten stakes for a single slap.”
