Chapter 74 : The Slacker Makes Money (2)

Chapter 74: The Slacker Makes Money (2)

Kang Cheonrip barely mustered strength into his legs, which had almost given out, and shouted desperately.

"Why! Why are you refusing?!"

Wi Yeonho responded with a face that seemed to have no idea why Kang Cheonrip was yelling.

"...We just need to win one more round. Why bother starting another match? It’s a hassle."

Kang Cheonrip's expression went blank for a moment.

Win one more round? What was he talking about?

"Don’t you want to make more money?"

"I do."

"Then you need to move to a bigger game!"

"But I’m doing fine here. No reason to push it..."

Wi Yeonho let out a drawn-out yawn and slumped into the chair.

"Besides, I’m getting tired."

Tired?

Kang Cheonrip looked at Wi Yeonho, utterly unable to understand.

What had he done since arriving here that he could claim to be tired? Others might assume he had exhausted his mental energy, but with a face that slack and lazy, what kind of mental energy could he possibly have burned?

"Young Master, please take this!"

Seeing that Wi Yeonho looked a little fatigued, Jin Soa gently placed a special vitality pill into his mouth from his sleeve.

"Water!"

"Here it is!"

It was a special vitality pill handed down in their clan through a secret recipe. The ingredients were so rare and precious that it couldn’t be made freely, but who would hesitate in a situation like this?

Wi Yeonho did not reject the pill.

After starving for five years, he had learned to put anything that looked remotely nutritious into his mouth before even considering the taste.

Watching Wi Yeonho’s behavior, Kang Cheonrip trembled all over.

Yin-Yang gambling was not something where one could cheat.

But winning ten rounds in a row couldn’t be explained by luck alone. Statistically, wasn’t that a one-in-a-thousand probability? And there was no guarantee that such odds wouldn’t come up again.

"You... you can’t gamble here anymore."

"Why not?"

"You plan to bet all that money again in the next round, don’t you?"

"That was the plan."

"In public games, you’re not allowed to bet a thousand taels of silver."

"Why not?"

Wi Yeonho tilted his head.

"Our rule here at Golden Flower Manor is that gambling above a certain amount must be done privately."

"Huh?"

Wi Yeonho looked around, confused.

"Is that so?"

The other gamblers around them also wore uncertain expressions.

"...Well, I suppose we’d only know if we had actually tried a thousand-tael bet before."

"Considering there’s never been a match for that amount, it does sound plausible. I’ve heard stories of big games before, but never in places like this."

"Guess that’s how it is."

Wi Yeonho, seeing the reactions around him, nodded in understanding.

"Then how about me and my servant each bet five hundred taels, splitting it?"

"That won’t work. The total stake is what matters."

"That’s a weird rule."

Kang Cheonrip let out a quiet sigh internally.

‘As if such a rule really existed.’

No, to be precise, there was no need for such a rule.

Who would’ve imagined someone would bet something as outrageous as ten taels of gold in a small game meant to spook a few gamblers?

It was unthinkable unless one were completely insane.

"So, what will it be? Will you go for a real game in a higher tier, or walk away and regret it?"

Wi Yeonho, with eyes half closed as if contemplating, finally opened his mouth.

"I’ve decided."

"Oh, as expected?"

"I’m going home."

Wi Yeonho quietly stood up from his seat.

Kang Cheonrip’s jaw dropped open.

Go home?

The man who just won ten taels of gold was going home?

Normally, even earning a tenth of that would get people so drunk on gambling fever that they'd lose all reason and keep going until they lost everything.

If gamblers could just walk away after winning a bit, all the gambling houses in the Central Plains would’ve gone bankrupt long ago.

And yet, it was precisely such a person who had taken home ten taels of gold—that was Kang Cheonrip’s misfortune.

"You’re leaving?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

It was a stupid question, but others around them were staring at Wi Yeonho with the same expression. To people entrenched in gambling, Wi Yeonho’s actions looked like something out of a demon in human skin.

How could someone just get up so calmly after winning ten taels of gold? Who knew how much more that stake could multiply?

"I’m sleepy."

"..."

"I’m tired today, so I’m heading back. Gambling? I can do it again tomorrow. I’ll just bring one tael of silver and keep going."

Kang Cheonrip shook his head—not because he was dumbfounded by Wi Yeonho’s behavior, but to shake off the overwhelming shock in his mind.

‘If this guy leaves now, I’m finished!’

"Young Hero!"

Kang Cheonrip hurriedly ran up and grabbed Wi Yeonho’s arm.

"Oh no, Young Hero! You can’t leave like this!"

Wi Yeonho looked at him with a blank face.

"If I’m going to leave, how else would I leave?"

"You could make a fortune, a real fortune!"

"Well, I don’t need that much. I’m a pretty efficient person."

Jin Soa nodded unconsciously.

Give him a small room and a few meals, and he’d be perfectly fine. Even putting up a beggar would probably cost more than this man. His sister might be laying out feasts every day, but that was Jin Yeran’s issue, not Wi Yeonho’s.

“Then why did you even come to the gambling house?”

“I was just curious, and thought it might be fun. But it doesn’t seem all that entertaining…”

Kang Cheonrip felt like foaming at the mouth.

Ten taels of gold! A thousand taels of silver earned, and he had the nerve to say it wasn’t fun?

If not for the many eyes watching, he would’ve loved to slam this dull-faced fool into the ground.

“This time will really be fun, I swear!”

“Hmm, should I believe that?”

“It’s true. Please, trust me—Kang Cheonrip!”

“When have I ever even seen you before?”

Sensing Wi Yeonho starting to waver, Kang Cheonrip pushed harder.

“What kind of fun can ten taels of gold buy you anyway? Now that we’re here, we’ll lend you twenty more taels! Interest-free!”

“What?”

Just as Wi Yeonho looked like he was about to say something, Kang Cheonrip cut in first.

“Of course, you’ll have to repay it before you leave. You can’t take it with you and return it later.”

“Ah, so close.”

Wi Yeonho looked at Kang Cheonrip with a dull face.

“But it doesn’t sound like I’m gaining anything here. I don’t need much to bet with, I’m getting bored of gambling, and honestly, I just want to go home and take a nap…”

‘This guy, seriously…!’

Kang Cheonrip thought Wi Yeonho was playing him, but Jin Soa, who knew the truth, could only feel sorry for Kang Cheonrip.

‘He means it…’

Having lived with him for a few days, Jin Soa could read the weariness etched into Wi Yeonho’s face.

One side was telling the truth while the other refused to believe it—no wonder the conversation was going nowhere.

“Fine!”

A spark lit in Kang Cheonrip’s eyes.

“Five taels!”

“Huh?”

“If you agree to join the high-stakes match, I’ll throw in five more taels.”

“What?”

Wi Yeonho looked at him as if to say, Are you insane?

“You’re just giving me five taels?”

“Yes!”

“How about ten?”

“…”

What kind of lunatic was this?

Any normal person would’ve asked why even five—but this one? He was already trying to raise the amount.

With a twitching face, Kang Cheonrip forced himself to nod.

“Of course. I’ll give you ten more! But!”

Kang Cheonrip nearly spat the words.

“The match doesn’t end until one side runs out of money. Agreed?”

“Hmmm?”

Wi Yeonho made a small sound through his nose and went into thought.

'Coming back tomorrow sounds like a pain…'

He knew himself well. He might have said he’d return tomorrow, but once he lay down in his room, he wouldn’t move again for at least half a month.

And he still had ten taels of gold to earn. At this rate…

“Huh, I’m rich.”

Now that he thought about it, he had ten taels of gold in his pocket. That was enough to live the rest of his life without working. Even without Jin Yeran, he could hire servants and feast every day.

Grip.

At that moment, Jin Soa clamped down on his shoulder.

“You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking… right, Young Master?”

“…You’re practically a mind reader.”

Wi Yeonho looked at Jin Soa with his usual dull face, then turned his head away.

“Tch, being too kind really isn’t good…”

Even so, watching that fairy-like woman be sold to a pleasure house was not good for one’s mental health. People who do things that weigh on their conscience never sleep soundly at night.

“Just once, because of Uncle Yuhwan.”

“Of course!”

As Jin Soa rubbed his hands together, Wi Yeonho grinned slyly.

“And in exchange, you owe me a personal favor.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’ll only ask something you can actually do. So, will you do it or not?”

His older sister was on the verge of being sold to a brothel—what favor could possibly outweigh that?

“I’ll do it!”

And just like that, Jin Soa naively bit the bait Wi Yeonho had tossed out.

“Well then…”

Wi Yeonho looked at Kang Cheonrip and gave a small nod.

“If you give me ten taels, I’ll do it.”

“Oh!”

Kang Cheonrip’s face lit up.

‘You stupid bastard.’

Whether the seed money was ten or twenty taels didn’t matter. As long as the match started, he’d win it all back anyway—so what did it matter?

“Let’s head inside!”

“Let’s just do it here?”

“Sorry?”

“What if something happens in there? I might look like this, but I’m actually really delicate.”

“…”

Jin Soa shuddered at Wi Yeonho’s shamelessness.

Was this the same delicate person who had sent Black Land Manor’s Jwa Geol flying with a single strike?

“That’s why we should do it where everyone can see. That way, no one can pull tricks, and it’ll be fair, don’t you think?”

“Hmm…”

Kang Cheonrip seemed to ponder it, then eventually nodded.

“Alright!”

“Nice and bold.”

Wi Yeonho trudged back to his original seat and sat down.

“So… what do I do?”

“That’s not the question.”

“Huh?”

“It’s not about what you’ll do—it’s about who you’ll face.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

As Wi Yeonho tilted his head, Kang Cheonrip chuckled and shouted loudly.

“Come forth!”

Before he had even finished speaking, the back door creaked open, and a man fully draped in black robes slowly walked out.

Gasps erupted from those who recognized him.

“P-Poison Rain!”

“Poison Rain has appeared!”

In an instant, the gambling hall swelled with heat and excitement.

Within that peculiar atmosphere, only Wi Yeonho and Jin Soa tilted their heads in confusion, unaware of the situation.

“What’s with these people?”

“Beats me.”

Wi Yeonho leaned back in his chair as he watched the one-armed man approach.

“He looks like he knows a trick or two. What should I do?”

“You shouldn’t be asking me that.”

“…I want to go home.”

Jin Soa let out a deep sigh as he looked at Wi Yeonho, who seemed to have not a shred of motivation.

Thus began the Golden Flower Manor Riot Incident, a story that would be passed down for generations in Hubei.

*         *         *

“Who is it?”

The man’s voice was so cold it made the listener instinctively grasp its chill.

“We’ve yet to determine his exact identity.”

Gwak Dosan, the Head of Black Land Manor, bent so deeply it looked as if his waist could bend no further.

It was partly out of fear of the man before him, but more than that, he was desperate to avoid meeting his gaze.

“A young master of unknown origin…”

The man gently brushed his blood-red lips and spoke in a tone so sharp it felt like blood would drip from his words.

“Kill him.”

“…Pardon?”

“There’s no need to leave variables. Kill him.”

“B-but we still haven’t gauged how skilled he really is.”

“Pathetic.”

The man didn’t wait for Gwak Dosan’s excuses and spoke sharply once again.

“I’ll assign some useful men to you. Don’t drag this out. Go now, and kill him.”

“Understood.”

As Gwak Dosan bowed deeply and exited, the man furrowed his brow and stared at the ceiling.

“To think I’ve sunk to the point of speaking with insects like that.”

He knew he had to endure this kind of filth for the sake of their grand plans—but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“I may crawl in the dirt for now, but in the end, I will stand atop the martial world.”

A low laugh echoed through the grand hall.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.