Chapter 226

Chapter 226
Bamboo gambling tiles.
The most frequent method of betting that people enjoyed.
Illustrations and numerals were etched onto slender slivers of bamboo, and victory or loss was determined by the hierarchy or classification of the matched sets.
At times, fraudulent psychics would claim to read fortunes using these tiles, but for the most part, they served as tools to wager currency and pilfer the belongings of others.
These tiles were common even within the Murim Alliance.
Typically, when four or five people congregated with nothing to occupy their time, someone would surface brandishing copper coins and these tiles.
In my past life, there had been a scoundrel in the Sojeong Squad who would appear with copper coins and tiles even when there was urgent business. He was the trickster known as the One-Eyed Ghost Sword, Seo Un-chang.
Whenever that rogue joined a session, there was never a day without a brawl erupting.
Because he constantly utilized sleight of hand, blades would be drawn, and there were many occasions where those present sustained grievous wounds.
That absurd scoundrel even carried his gambling gear during the Great Righteous-Demonic War later on.
Every evening, as we returned to the shelters dragging our frames, weary from combat, everyone would collapse into silence while waiting for the next day’s demise.
In such moments, Seo Un-chang would produce his tiles, declaring he would discern the fortune of the coming day.
There was no way a man who had dedicated his entire existence to exploiting others possessed any celestial power, yet once Seo Un-chang employed his tricks to draw a favorable tile for someone, everyone somehow found a restful sleep that night.
Naturally, no one harbored resentment toward him if the individual who secured a good tile perished the following day.
They merely approached Seo Un-chang once more to shake off the dread brought by the silence of night and had him interpret tomorrow’s fortune again.
While I was momentarily staring at the tiles and drifting into recollections, I caught a voice beckoning me.
“B-benefactor Jin…… P-please rescue me.”
No, just what in the world are you doing here?
Observing the beads of perspiration accumulating on his cranium, a sigh escaped my lips involuntarily.
“Are you planning to violate your vows?”
“T-that is not the case.”
Il-myeong was vibrating with such trepidation that even I found it peculiar.
Across both my previous life and this one, I had never witnessed this individual display such intense agitation.
“What transpired?”
“T-that is……”
The tale was roughly as follows.
He had wandered here and there to broadcast the Buddha’s noble teachings(?), but because folks kept relocating and would not grant him any opening, he had been unable to properly impart those lessons. Yet, the individuals gathered here, for some reason, had at least listened with partial interest.
While he was speaking, one person vacated their spot, and when the others attempted to scatter and depart, they informed him that if he took a seat, they would listen to his sermon. This naive man had then promptly occupied that chair.
The more I listened, the more ridiculous this became.
“Haa……. And then?”
“T-that is……”
“You handed over the Diamond Beads as security?”
“That is indeed the case…….”
I tilted my head.
“Are the Diamond Beads not one of the Seven Great Treasures of Shaolin?”
Il-myeong turned pale and frantically scanned the vicinity.
“B-benefactor Jin! If you declare such things loudly……”
Since he was on the verge of losing such an artifact, it was understandable that Il-myeong’s Immovable Mind had shattered.
“Can you not simply overpower them and reclaim it?”
“……How could a pupil of Shaolin commit such lawless acts……?”
“They are all ruffians anyway. For them, brawling is a daily occurrence.”
“……E-even so, that is……”
For a split second, Il-myeong gazed at the pilfered prayer beads as if drawn by a massive temptation, but perhaps regaining his senses, he shook his head.
“And that individual is not such a wicked man. My loss was also the result of a fair match.”
The individual who had seized Il-myeong’s Diamond Beads was a man with the refined demeanor of a Confucian scholar.
Perhaps he understood the Diamond Beads were an esteemed object, as he had placed a tiny piece of cloth at his feet and meticulously kept them atop it, as if demonstrating respect.
I gestured at the Diamond Beads with my chin and interrogated Il-myeong,
“If you forfeit the Diamond Beads through betting, you will descend to hell. Are you not terrified?”
“…….”
Il-myeong’s expression became truly grave. If I teased him any further, I might accompany him to the underworld.
“What is the extent of the debt?”
“T-that…… two hundred silver taels.”
“…….”
Wow…… He really squandered a fortune in such a brief interval.
I produced twenty gold taels from my garment and extended them to the man who resembled a Confucian scholar.
“I will settle the debt on his behalf. So, will you return those ancient prayer beads?”
The Confucian scholar carefully nudged the prayer beads marginally toward me and remarked,
“I did not accept this in exchange for currency. I accepted it in exchange for a ‘contest.’ If you desire it, you are welcome to win it back.”
Just look at this.
He must have explicitly overheard us state it was a Sacred Relic, yet he remained unfazed?
“I do not particularly enjoy gambling.”
In my former life, I had enjoyed betting too.
However, after Seo Un-chang passed away, I was the sole survivor who could utilize sleight of hand to interpret fortunes, and my appetite for such games gradually vanished.
Furthermore, for some reason, if I touched the tiles now, I felt as though I would recall the visages of the wretches who had perished after hearing their fortunes from me in my previous life.
The Confucian scholar retracted the Diamond Beads toward himself.
“In that event, I cannot surrender them.”
“I will offer you thirty gold taels. If it is thirty gold taels, you would gain a profit of ten gold taels.”
The Confucian scholar shook his head with a serene expression.
“I do not feel inclined to do so.”
I massaged my temples and stated,
“You must realize from what you just heard, but that is a Sacred Relic of Shaolin Temple. Not only are you prohibited from disposing of it carelessly, but you cannot remove it from this location under any circumstances. If I conclude there is no other path, I will subdue you through force and retrieve it.”
“I heard that the Great Hero Black Flame Dragon was quite a reasonable individual, but it appears that was incorrect. Perhaps the whispers of you being a rising star of the Black Path were accurate after all?”
“…….”
I cocked my head.
The presence of the Envoy Delegation had definitely not been officially announced. Yet this Confucian scholar was speaking as if he were familiar with not only Il-myeong, but me as well.
Who is this person?
While I was pondering.
“How about this?”
The Confucian scholar gingerly elevated the Diamond Beads and stated,
“Regardless of how much the Great Hero Black Flame Dragon loses, if you win two hundred taels from me, I will simply relinquish the Diamond Beads.”
“It appears four people are occupied at this table.”
“That is of no consequence. I will oversee the calculations, so if you secure only two hundred taels, I will hand this over to the Great Hero Black Flame Dragon.”
Had he been seeking an engagement with me from the outset?
“You seem to take quite a liking to wagering.”
The Confucian scholar shook his head.
“To be precise, I favor ‘contests.’ But as you can observe, I am rather frail.”
Among the folk of the Black Path, who practiced external arts extensively, the Confucian scholar’s frame appeared particularly slight.
Hmm, if he was going to such lengths to provoke me, there was no longer any motive to decline.
“Very well. But adhere to your word.”
A gentle smirk manifested on the Confucian scholar’s lips.
“Certainly.”
I addressed Il-myeong, whose countenance had turned so pale he looked as though he might soon become an octopus saturated with ink,
“Bald Senior, move aside.”
“U-understood. Please! Please!”
Il-myeong peered at me with eyes that pleaded and begged, as if imploring the Buddha.
Crack. Crunch.
I flexed my fingers and neck as I occupied the seat.
To think he dared utter the word “contest” against the Gambling God certified by the White Wolf Pavilion.
I shall make him regret it.
Dang Seo-hui’s anxious, wavering voice reached me from my side.
“You absolutely must win…….”
The crowd grew agitated at the escalating stakes.
Their eyes expanded at the mounting piles of gold and silver, and gamblers began converging like ants drawn by a sugary aroma.
The collective gaze was gradually narrowing in on the victor.
“B-benefactor Jin…… What is this…… Are you unfamiliar with how to handle these tiles?”
“……Why are you sitting there appearing composed? It is unsightly!”
Ah, certainly, that did not imply I was prevailing.
“……Do not fret. Gambling is primarily about deciphering the flow first.”
I extracted another promissory note from my robes.
“Then why are your hands quivering?”
Hm? My hands are quivering? Impossible.
In my previous life, this scenario occurred so, so frequently that it was challenging to remember each instance.
There were times I squandered my entire monthly stipend, and times I lost all my performance bonuses.
But ultimately, at the very, very end, was I not the one who emerged triumphant?
“……Benefactor Jin. You are breaking out in a cold sweat…….”
Naturally, it might appear alarming to observers who were oblivious.
Yes, of course it might.
If I alone had squandered twenty gold coins at this table, there would have been no way to secure victory.
It would clearly signify that I was the mark at this table.
However, among the four individuals seated at this board, three of us were all being cleaned out by that Confucian scholar.
This implied that I was not performing poorly. That scoundrel was simply performing exceptionally well. Hehe.
‘Ah! That does not mean this is a positive development!’
“You are quite proficient.”
The Confucian scholar flashed a radiant smile. His artless grin made even those who witnessed it feel pleasant.
The more I inspected him, the more likable he appeared, barring the fact that he was inciting me.
“As I utilized my intellect to earn a living, I naturally evolved in this manner.”
“Is that so? You must utilize your intellect quite frequently.”
“Most affairs of the martial world are resolved with physical force, are they not? However, I realized ages ago that there was a limit to what I could achieve through combat.”
As I engaged in conversation with the Confucian scholar, the preceding rounds that had washed over me like a tempest began replaying in my consciousness once more.
The tiles were a war of arithmetic.
It was a game where victory and defeat were settled by comparing the numerical values of the tiles each participant possessed.
I possessed a flawless memory akin to a curse, so I did not misplace the tiles that surfaced on the surface.
And based on those, I could compute victory and loss to a certain degree.
Yet for me to be losing this overwhelmingly meant……
‘This scoundrel is calculating the numbers.’
A thought bordering on certainty…… no, I was certain.
Because there was no way I would succumb this one-sidedly in any competition.
I also employed a method of calculating based on memory, but observing how one-sidedly I was being pushed back, it appeared his method of calculation was superior.
‘What course of action should I take……?’
Through the initial rounds, I had already grasped how extraordinary his skill at computing numbers was.
Even if we continued betting in this manner, it would likely be arduous for me to defeat him.
The values on the tiles were finite, so the potential combinations also diminished.
Moreover, the Confucian scholar had accrued endless experiences, so he was likely computing based on remembering the majority of tile combinations depending on the numbers his adversaries discarded.
It would be challenging for me to secure an advantage through memory alone.
“Let us diminish the stakes somewhat. This is too ruthless to endure.”
A Black Path operative who, like me, was losing his deposit spoke in dissatisfaction.
I remarked without even glancing in his direction,
“If you lack the currency, depart.”
“What?”
“I stated leave if you lack the currency. I have something I am required to retrieve.”
“Observe the manner in which this scoundrel speaks!”
The Black Path operative reacted sharply to my words. Since he was losing capital, it was a perfectly natural response.
Even so, I could not desist.
Because I had to recover the Diamond Beads.
Still focusing solely on the tiles in my grip, I snapped at him.
“Did I utter something inappropriate? If you lack funds, you should not participate in games. Why are you acting dishonorably and requesting that we lower the stakes?”
At my demeanor, Il-myeong and Dang Seo-hui were instead flustered and attempted to intervene.
“B-benefactor Jin……”
“I-it appears wiser to cease.”
The Black Path operative’s visage turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and as if he had nothing more to restrain him, he swung his fist in my direction.
Struck by the blow before I could detect it, I flipped the table beside me and instantly transformed the setting into disarray.
The Black Path operative still fumed as if enraged.
“You insolent little whelp, you certainly talk like a disrespectful scoundrel. Face me, you bastard!”
Such a pathetic provocation did not penetrate my ears.
Rather, after being struck once, my dizzy cranium felt even more organized.
“If you are finished venting, vanish, you beggar scoundrel.”
After barking at the Black Path operative who had swung his fist at me, I attempted to take my seat again.
But the Black Path operative once again swung his fist toward me.
Whoosh—
Tap.
“Benefactor, you have already swung your fist once, so it would be prudent to desist.”
“L-let go of this!”
However, it was intercepted immediately by Il-myeong.
“We are conducting something significant at this moment. Please depart, just as Benefactor Jin requested.”
The Black Path operative appeared as if he could not comprehend how the medium-height Il-myeong had so effortlessly restrained his strike, but in the presence of that overwhelming celestial power, he eventually snorted and retreated.
“Benefactor Jin, are you unharmed?”
“Ah, yes. I am well.”
After reorganizing the tiles, we began dealing them again, and Il-myeong and Dang Seo-hui, who had been inspecting my injury, stepped back.
The other individual who had been partaking in the game also appeared to perceive that the atmosphere was unusual, so he gathered his deposit and vacated the table.
Now only the Confucian scholar and I remained at the table.
The Confucian scholar, who had been inspecting his tiles, peered at me quietly.
“……How about seeking medical attention first? I shall not flee.”
Was he actually thinking of me even amid all this?
This individual truly felt distinct from other gamblers.
Should I say he did not covet currency, but discovered joy in the game itself?
I shook my head.
“My body has warmed up, and if we pause here, I fear the momentum will dissipate.”
“If that is your preference.”
With only two individuals playing, the pace accelerated further.
Until now, victory and defeat had leaned entirely to one side, but circumstances shifted marginally.
If the Confucian scholar secured three rounds, I secured one. After a bit more time elapsed, if the Confucian scholar secured two rounds, I secured one.
The dilemma was that the stakes exchanged whenever I emerged victorious were too meager.
The capital I had to win from him was two hundred silver taels, but the capital I had recovered so far was only thirty taels, while the capital he had extracted had now reached five hundred silver taels.
The individuals who had been congregating noisily to observe until just moments ago had at some point clamped their mouths shut and begun scrutinizing the match.
As if that did not burden him at all, the Confucian scholar continued dealing the tiles and sustaining the game as before.
“Folks claim that among the rising stars of the martial world, Young Master Jin’s ingenuity is the most profound, and that is why your title includes the character ‘Yeom,’ signifying thought.”
“Rumors tend to contain excessive embellishment.”
“You are being humble.”
The Confucian scholar flashed a radiant smile once more.
“They claim you possess a mysterious gift, never forgetting anything you have witnessed once.”
“I perceive it more as a malediction than a gift.”
This time, as well, I succumbed.
The Confucian scholar swept up the currency accumulated in the center.
Then he dealt the tiles again.
“If that were a curse, Young Master Jin’s reputation would not have spread so extensively.”
“Do you honestly believe so?”
This time, I prevailed.
I listlessly gathered the currency, which was less than what the Confucian scholar had extracted.
He immediately shuffled the tiles and dealt them.
“I do. Were it not for that talent, neither the Taeul Sect nor Young Master Jin could have soared so high.”
“One could perceive it in that light.”
“In that regard, I felt a great deal of curiosity about Young Master Jin. I am also similar to Young Master Jin, you see.”
“Is your memory exceptional?”
The Confucian scholar shook his head.
“No. For me, calculations simply manifest whether I desire them to or not.”
“Calculations……. Was there nothing arduous regarding that?”
“It would be a fabrication to claim there was not. Since I can foresee the consequences of events even when I do not wish to, should I say existence is not intriguing? At least wagering like this has become my solitary pleasure.”
I had anticipated I would prevail this time, but once again, the Confucian scholar swept up the currency.
As predicted, his proficiency at computing numbers appeared superior.
“So there was a rationale for me losing currency.”
“Well…… it is not necessarily so. If one investigates it, does luck not play a significant role in gambling?”
“Luck, is it……. The disparity in the amounts is too immense to label it mere luck.”
The Confucian scholar simply smirked.
Regardless, I emerged victorious this time.
Perhaps my brain was loosening up a fraction.
I was gradually matching his win frequency.
After becoming certain that he was computing numbers, I had also gradually reduced the currency I wagered on rounds I was destined to lose.
At some point, we continued in a condition where each of us lost a little and won a little.
And as the scope of the game contracted, some individuals apparently grew weary and began exiting one by one.
At that instant, the Confucian scholar shuffled the tiles and stated,
“Are you aware that some people interpret their own fortunes with gambling tiles?”
“I have performed it on numerous occasions.”
Across both my former life and this one, there was likely no scoundrel who had interpreted fortunes with tiles more frequently than I had.
After the Confucian scholar dealt the tiles and verified his own hand, he proposed,
“How about we interpret our fortunes with this round and declare it the final match?”
“When you say the final round?”
“Once this round concludes, regardless of the consequence, I shall surrender the Diamond Beads. However, if you succumb, in exchange for the return of the Diamond Beads, you will hand over the Black Dragon Sword.”
I inspected the Confucian scholar’s hands.
There were faint calluses on both palms, but they were not the hands of someone who gripped a sword.
“You do not appear to utilize a sword as a weapon, so why do you require one?”
“I desire to possess it as verification.”
“Verification?”
When I inquired in return, he gazed at me and grinned.
“Verification that I bested the Black Flame Dragon.”
“Why would you require verification that you defeated someone such as me?”
“Hmm, simply…… I thought it would be pleasant to possess.”
I inspected my tiles.
Then I gave a nod.
“Very well.”
At that instant, Il-myeong’s desperate telepathic communication reached me.
-B-benefactor Jin…… You cannot ensure absolute victory with those tiles, can you?
Good grief. When did you become a gambling expert?
I disregarded the commentary from the gambling-expert bald man and continued scrutinizing the Confucian scholar.
“The Black Dragon Sword is a treasured item, but it is not comparable to the Diamond Beads. Are you comfortable with that?”
“I would prefer to hear that I vanquished the Black Flame Dragon rather than that I defeated Monk Il-myeong.”
“I do not know whether I should be gratified. What exactly am I?”
We each drew one additional tile and began organizing our hands.
Each time, we deposited one silver coin on the board, but it was nothing more than a formality.
After all, the stakes in this round were ultimately the Diamond Beads and the Black Dragon Sword.
The Confucian scholar began rubbing his chin.
“When I first heard the rumors of the Black Flame Dragon, I was so stunned that my frame trembled. I had never imagined an individual of such caliber could exist.”
“Is that so?”
He slowly nodded.
“Perhaps because I, too, am bearing the weight of my sect alone, I became even more emotionally invested.”
“I am not bearing it alone.”
“Even so, in the end, the individual bearing the heaviest burden is……”
The Confucian scholar discarded the tile marked with the number ten and drew a fresh tile.
“Someone like us.”
At length, the Confucian scholar smirked, exposing his teeth.
“Regardless, it appears my fortune is marginally superior.”
Nonsense.
He had scrutinized his initial hand and decided to make the wager, yet now he was speaking of luck?
“…….”
“Shall we unveil them, then?”
The Confucian scholar deposited the Diamond Beads on the board.
I also unfastened the Black Dragon Sword and deposited it on the board.
The Confucian scholar slowly revealed his tiles on the board.
“Unfortunately, it appears I have emerged victorious in this contest.”
When the Linked Sword hand, featuring five consecutive numerals, surfaced, profound exclamations echoed throughout the area.
“Good heavens. When he discarded the ten tile, I wondered if perhaps……!”
“A Linked Sword……! In the end, that Confucian scholar prevailed.”
“I suppose so. Even I have only witnessed that hand on three occasions.”
How preposterous.
A genuine Linked Sword hand had surfaced.
It was such an improbable hand that even the One-Eyed Ghost Sword had rarely employed it while engaging in fraudulent play.
And in the concluding round, with the most critical item at stake?
Ultimately, it signified that from the moment he received his initial tiles, the scoundrel had predicted that a Linked Sword would emerge.
And I had thrashed beautifully within his calculations.
The Confucian scholar reached for the Black Dragon Sword and stated,
“I should boast to my sect peers. That I bested the Black Flame Dragon, that is. Hehe.”
With a grinning face, the Confucian scholar reached for the Black Dragon Sword as if he no longer cared for the Diamond Beads.
“Cease right there.”
I seized the wrist of the Confucian scholar who had grabbed the Black Dragon Sword.
“Where do you believe you are carelessly moving your hand?”
Although the disparity in our martial prowess was evident, the Confucian scholar remained grinning as if he possessed all the leisure in the world.
“Do you intend to utilize force after all?”
“What are you babbling about?”
I did not know where occurrences had gone awry.
Perhaps it had gone awry from the moment that bald man occupied the chair at this table.
Even so.
That did not signify that I had remained here arrogantly without being able to resolve the difficulty.
“I have not even revealed my tiles yet.”
“Heh, even if you inspect them, they will be……”
Tap. Tap.
I deposited the tiles on the board one by one.
“……?”
Each time I laid down a tile, the smiling Confucian scholar’s expression hardened.
“W-what is this……”
“Have you never heard that it is not finished until it is finished?”
Each time I laid down a tile individually, the surrounding gamblers’ eyes grew wider.
“Huh…… Huuuh?! Huuuh!”
At length, when every tile was revealed.
Groans like moans erupted from every direction.
“Good heavens…… To think I would witness that.”
“Is that hand even supposed to be possible?”
Four one tiles and one king tile.
It was the supreme hand in the game, the Five Heavenly Kings.
“W-why the Five Heavenly Kings?!”
The Confucian scholar stared alternately at me and my tiles with an expression of disbelief.
“I suppose I was fortunate.”
I grinned at him.
Why, what?
Why do you believe the Gambling God is the Gambling God?
Because the Gambling God prevails no matter what.
You scoundrel!