Chapter 72 : The Descent of the Gambling God (2)

Chapter 72: The Descent of the Gambling God (2)

"Is this the gambling house?"

"Yes, sir."

The one in silk clothes was, of course, Wi Yeonho.

Just to get in here, Wi Yeonho had to open his usually sealed coin pouch—something that rarely ever happened—and spend an entire tael of silver just to buy those silk clothes.

"Ugh."

However, Wi Yeonho kept fiddling with the clothes with an obviously uncomfortable expression.

"Please stay still!"

"How can I stay stil when it's this uncomfortable?"

"Is this your first time wearing silk?"

"Yeah."

"......"

"You sound like someone who used to wear it before?"

"I wore it often when I was young."

"Must’ve been nice, being born into a wealthy household."

As Wi Yeonho grumbled, Jin Soa simply shut his mouth. If the two of them kept bickering like this, things were bound to get out of hand soon.

"By the way, are you sure you don’t need to cover your face?"

"I’ve never run into these people before. Hiding my face would only draw more suspicion."

"Really? Well, that’s a relief then."

"More importantly, would you please stop gawking around!"

Jin Soa was currently dressed up as a servant accompanying Wi Yeonho. Even though he was younger, his undernourished appearance—unlike what one might expect from a physician—suited the servant’s outfit far too well.

"Ahem! You fool! Are you not going to guide me properly?"

"...Yes, sir."

Jin Soa wiped away the tears that kept welling in his eyes.

'What on earth am I doing with my life…?'

No matter how much money was involved, was this really the right way to go about it?

More than anything, he couldn’t bring herself to trust this guy.

His father had ruined himself gambling, and now he wanted to pay off the debt through gambling? No sane person would come up with such an idea.

He had vehemently objected, but Wi Yeonho’s one drowsy remark had shut him up completely.

"Is it your money?"

Well, no.

Even if he wanted to help him with seeding money, he didn’t have a single coin to spare. In the end, if someone was going to be ruined, it would be Wi Yeonho, and if someone was going to blow the money, it would also be him.

So for Jin Soa, it was best to just sit back and eat rice cakes while watching the ritual. If Wi Yeonho won and paid off their debt, nothing could be better. If he lost, they had nothing to lose anyway, so it didn’t change a thing.

Which meant it was definitely a profitable situation...

'Then why do I feel so uneasy?'

His chest felt stifled, as though something was pressing down on it. It was like he had indigestion.

Even after taking a specially made digestive pill, his stomach still felt as heavy as if a rock were sitting inside it.

"Ugh..."

Jin Soa let out a sigh and braced himself.

'I have to trust him.'

Even if he couldn’t bring herself to trust him, he was clearly capable. Otherwise, how could someone this young be acting as a Royal Inspector and have a letter of recommendation from Uncle Mun Yuhwan?

By resume and title alone, he was someone he should trust implicitly—but getting to know him personally made that almost impossible. It was a rare and baffling experience.

"What are you staring at so hard?!"

"N-no, it’s nothing."

As he looked at Wi Yeonho immersed in his rich-boy role, Jin Soa quietly ground his teeth.

"Anyway..."

Wi Yeonho kept glancing around curiously.

It was his first time in a gambling den, and everything looked strange and fascinating to him.

"This place is crazy."

Since it was a gambling den, hardly anyone was walking around. Most people were seated, either gambling or watching others gamble. And yet, there was a strange heat hanging in the air.

"Oh my, Young Master!"

Just then, someone came rushing over after spotting Wi Yeonho looking around.

"Oh dear, Young Master. What brings you to such a humble place?"

Wi Yeonho stared blankly at the rat-faced man who suddenly acted like they were close.

"Do I know you?"

"Of course! You’re here today for a bit of fun, aren’t you?"

"Heh."

Wi Yeonho just smiled.

"So, what do people do here for fun?"

"Oh dear, Young Master! Please, speak with more refinement!"

"Ahem."

Wi Yeonho let out an awkward cough.

"A-as you say. What sort of entertainment does this place offer?"

"Ah, Young Master, you’ve come seeking new delights! Then you’ve come to the right place. Here at Golden Flower Manor, you can enjoy every form of gambling known to man."

"Every form?"

"Yes. From Tile Pushing Nine to bone tiles, dice, Paired Chess, Tiger Wolf Tiles—regional games from all across the land—as well as noble pastimes like xiangqi and go... If it involves betting and winning money, we offer it."

"Hmm, go, huh…"

When Wi Yeonho nodded slightly, the man smoothly nudged closer.

"Go! Yes, go is wonderful! A true pastime for the immortals, wouldn’t you say? But this is a gambling house! Rather than something you can enjoy anywhere else, wouldn’t you prefer a game you can only find here?"

Wi Yeonho scratched his chin, looking troubled.

"I’d like that, but... I don’t really know the rules."

"That’s no problem at all! We have games that even a three-year-old or an eighty-year-old elder could enjoy!"

"Oh?"

Seeing that Wi Yeonho seemed intrigued, the man grabbed his arm and started leading him away.

"This way! Come this way! You have to see this game with your own eyes."

"Ahem."

Wi Yeonho let out a low cough and followed behind the man with a swagger, clearly trying not to lose face.

'Now that’s some finesse.'

No matter how one looked at him, he was the very image of a rich noble’s son just out of the house.

Jin Soa couldn’t help but admire Wi Yeonho’s nonchalant acting.

‘No, maybe he really is like that.’

If he’d been born into a poor household, he couldn’t possibly be that way. Isn’t it the natural order of the world that if a person is poor, they must be diligent to avoid starving?

But Wi Yeonho was the very definition of lazy. So lazy, in fact, that it made far more sense to assume he was born into wealth—how else could someone so indolent still have food going into their mouth?

While Jin Soa speculated about Wi Yeonho’s background, the man had already led them to one side of the hall.

"This is it."

"Hmm?"

Wi Yeonho tilted his head as he looked at the gambling setup in front of him.

"What is this? Looks kind of like dice?"

"This is a game called Yin and Yang."

"Yin and Yang?"

"Indeed. It’s our most popular game here. The rules are very simple. Those metal balls are placed inside that container, which is then shaken. As the balls rattle around inside, they eventually fall to the bottom. Once the container is set down, you bet on whether the number of balls inside is odd or even."

Wi Yeonho tilted his head again.

"That sounds easy."

"Of course it is! That’s exactly why people like it. Complicated games have their own charm, but this one is quick to bet, quick to win! And the odds are fifty-fifty, aren’t they? I daresay it suits your bold temperament quite well, Young Master."

Wi Yeonho didn’t know how the man figured out his temperament on such short notice, but it all made enough sense to him.

'Long games are annoying.'

He nodded.

"Alright, let’s try this one."

"Yes, sir! You there, what are you doing? Bring a chair, quickly!"

"Yes, sir!"

A chair painted in gleaming gold was quickly brought over, and Wi Yeonho sat down with perfect composure.

"...What about me?"

As Jin Soa looked around for his own seat, the man’s eyes flared, and he suddenly smacked him on the back of the head.

"Agh!"

"What kind of lowly servant thinks they can sit next to the Young Master! You sit down right there on the floor."

"Ugh..."

Jin Soa sank to the ground, suddenly keenly aware of his role.

"Yes, stay on the floor where you belong!"

When he glared daggers at Wi Yeonho, the man smacked him on the back of the head again.

"Agh!"

"You insolent brat!"

"Tsk tsk, leave him be. I raised that lowborn boy like a younger sibling, so he acts out from time to time."

"Yes, yes, such lowlifes only learn manners after getting smacked a few times. Heh heh."

"You might be right. Hmph."

As Wi Yeonho clicked his tongue, Jin Soa was so enraged he could hardly breathe.

What kind of nonsense turns a perfectly normal person into a lowborn brat?

But he had no choice in this situation. He stayed quiet, stared at the floor, and engraved the character for patience in his heart.

"Now then..."

As Wi Yeonho looked ahead, he saw a large board marked with a Taiji symbol, split cleanly down the center.

"If you think the result will be odd, place your money on this side. If even, place it on that side."

"I see."

Wi Yeonho nodded.

"And if I win, I take all the money bet on the opposite side?"

"Not exactly. If all the money is placed on one side, no one would lose or win. In that situation, we calculate the odds and return exactly double the amount you bet."

On the surface, that sounded fair, but the real structure was different.

If they were just exchanging bets, the house could only take a commission. But if they paid out double, it meant that if the side with fewer bets won, the house could claim a larger profit.

"I see."

Wi Yeonho nodded again and slowly pulled out his coin pouch.

"Let’s see how much fun this’ll be."

A smile played at his lips.

"Doing well, he is."

Kang Cheonrip nodded repeatedly as he watched Wi Yeonho seated in the chair.

"Kehehehe..."

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

When a fool walks in, the method is simple: make them win and lose just enough to get hooked, then give them a big win to make them greedy.

After that, you slowly nibble away at their winnings while letting them win again from time to time. Repeat the cycle.

That’s what gambling was.

It was gambling because it created addiction.

If someone started with one tael and increased it to five, what would happen if they lost three?

To those watching from the outside, they’d still have two taels left—they gained one tael overall. But gamblers didn’t think like that.

In their minds, the five taels had become the new baseline. So losing three meant they were already in the red.

What gamblers called "breaking even" wasn’t about the amount they initially bet—it was about the highest amount they had reached.

To outsiders, it might seem foolish or irrational, but every gambler who got hooked showed the same reaction.

That was the demonic pull of gambling.

"Hooking a fool like him is nothing."

Besides, wasn’t Golden Flower Manor a time-honored gambling den with a long history of ensnaring suckers? Each one of the men operating the floor right now had been scouted at a high price from all over Hubei.

Trapping a naive kid like that was barely even a job.

While Kang Cheonrip amused himself thinking about how much of today’s earnings he could skim without raising suspicion, a loud cheer suddenly erupted from the front.

"Hm?"

He refocused his gaze on Wi Yeonho.

"How much is that...?"

He rubbed his eyes and looked again toward Wi Yeonho.

"Is that... right?"

A cold sweat began to form on Kang Cheonrip’s forehead.

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