2
6.
The most common gambling enjoyed by people.
Pictures and numbers are drawn on thin bamboo pieces, and the winner is determined by the order or the height of the pairs.
While there are occasionally charlatans who use swords to tell fortunes, they are generally used as a means to wager money and win it from an opponent.
Even in the Murim Alliance, sword betting is a common form of gambling.
Usually, when four or five people gather with nothing to do, there is someone who appears holding coins and a sword token.
In his previous life, there was a guy in the Sojeongdae who would show up holding coins and sword tokens even when he had work to do; that was a swindler named Dokan Gwigeom Seo Un-chang.
Whenever this guy got involved, there wasn’t a single day that went by without a fight.
Because they were constantly playing tricks, there were knife fights, and there were many instances where people present suffered serious injuries.
This ridiculous bastard carried the sword badge even during the subsequent Great War of Righteousness and Demons.
Every night, when they returned to the barracks with their bodies exhausted from battle, everyone would fall into a deep slumber, awaiting the death of the next day.
Then, Seo Woon-chang drew his sword, saying he would read tomorrow’s fortune.
One might wonder what kind of supernatural powers a man who had spent his whole life living off others could possibly have, but whenever Seo Un-chang played a trick with his hands to draw a good hand, everyone somehow slept peacefully that night.
Of course, no one resented the guy who got a good hand dying the next day.
I simply approached Seo Woon-chang to shake off the fear brought by the silence of the night, and once again consulted him about tomorrow’s fortune.
While I was lost in memories gazing at the sword token for a moment, I heard a voice calling me.
“J-Jin Siju… P-Please spare my life.”
No, I mean, what are you doing here?
Looking at his scalp, beads of sweat glistening, I can’t help but sigh.
Are you thinking of breaking your vows?
“Th-that’s not it.”
Il-myeong was trembling with fear to the point where I was completely puzzled.
I have never seen this person express such intense emotions throughout their past and present lives.
“What happened?”
“Uh, that is.”
The story goes roughly like this.
Good words of the Buddha(?)
He tried wandering around here and there to convey his message, but he could not properly deliver it because people kept moving from place to place, giving him no opportunity; however, he said that the people sitting here, in particular, at least listened with a light ear.
While they were talking, one person left, and everyone was about to disperse and leave, but when told that they would listen to the Dharma talk if he sat down, this naive man readily sat down in that seat.
The more I hear it, the more ridiculous it is.
“Haa… So what?”
“Th-that is…….”
“You entrusted the Geumgangju as collateral?”
“exactly…….”
I tilted my head.
The seven of Shaolin in Geumgangju
Isn’t it a great treasure?
Il-myeong looks around hurriedly, dumbfounded.
“J-Jin Siju! If you speak so loudly….”
It is understandable that his unwavering resolve would be shattered at the prospect of losing such a treasure.
“Can’t you just subdue them and take it back?”
“……
How could a disciple of Shaolin commit such a wicked act…
They are all bad guys anyway. Fighting each other is just part of their daily routine.
B-but still, that is… … .”
Il-myeong looked at the prayer beads that had been taken from him, as if drawn by a tremendous temptation, then shook his head as if he had come to his senses.
“And he isn’t such a bad person. My loss was also the result of a fair game.”
The person who took away the so-called Geumgangju was a figure resembling a scholar with a gentle appearance.
As if aware that the Diamond Pearl was a precious item, he placed a small cloth at his feet and carefully stored it on it, showing respect.
I gestured toward Geumgangju with my chin and asked Ilgwang.
“If you gamble away the Geumgangju, you’ll go to hell. Aren’t you afraid?”
“…….”
Il-myeong’s face is getting really serious. If I tease him any more, I might end up going to hell with him.
How much is the debt?
“that, ……
Two hundred taels of silver.
Wow… you lost so much in such a short time.
I took twenty gold coins out of my bosom and handed them to a man who looked like a scholar.
“I will pay the debt on your behalf. So, would you return that old prayer bead set?”
The scholar carefully pushed the prayer beads toward me and spoke.
“I didn’t receive this in lieu of money. I received it in lieu of a ‘game.’ If you wish, you may take it back.”
Look at this. You must have heard us tell you it was a sickness. And you act like it’s nothing?
“It’s because I don’t really like gambling.”
In my previous life, I also liked gambling.
However, after Seo Woon-chang died, I was the only one left who could tell fortunes by playing tricks, so I gradually lost interest in gambling.
Moreover, for some reason, if I touch the sword token right now, I feel like the faces of those guys who died after hearing my fortune in their past lives will come to mind.
The scholar takes the Geumgangju back toward himself.
“In that case, I suppose I can’t return it.”
“I will give you thirty taels of gold. With thirty taels of gold, you are making a profit of as much as ten taels.”
The scholar shakes his head with a calm expression.
I am reluctant.
I pressed my temples firmly and said.
“As you just heard, that is a sacred artifact of the Shaolin Temple. Not only can it not be disposed of arbitrarily, but it cannot be taken out of here in the first place. If all else fails, I will subdue it by force and retrieve it.”
“I heard that the Great Hero Black Flame Dragon was quite a reasonable person, but it seems that wasn’t the case. Was the saying that he is a divine being of the Black Path really true?”
Clearly, the existence of the delegation is not yet known to the outside world. However, this scholar was speaking as if not only Il-myeong but even I knew about it.
Who is this person?
While I was wondering.
How about doing it like this?
The scholar carefully held the Geumgangju and spoke.
“No matter how much you lose, Great Hero Black Flame Dragon, if you take two hundred taels from me, I will simply return the Diamond Pearl.”
It looks like a total of four people sit in this seat.
“It doesn’t matter. I will pay the bill, so if you win just two hundred taels, I will give this to Great Hero Black Flame Dragon.”
Did they even have business with me in the first place?
“It seems you like gambling quite a bit?”
The scholar shook his head.
“To be precise, I like ‘competition.’ However, as you can see, I’m such a weakling.”
Among the Black Daoists who practiced many external martial arts, the scholar’s physique looked unusually small.
Hmm, since they’ve gone this far to challenge me, there’s no reason to back down anymore.
“Very well. But keep your promise.”
A gentle smile played on the corners of the scholar’s lips.
Of course.
I spoke to Il-myeong, whose face had turned pale as if he were about to turn into an ink-covered octopus.
“Bald senior, get out of here.”
“Ah, I understand. Please! Please!”
Il-myeong, who looks at me with eyes that earnestly wish and long, as if bowing to Buddha.
Crunch. Crack.
I sat down, stretching my fingers and neck.
Dare to be the Baekranggak Official God of Gambling
To think you would utter the word ‘match’ against them.
I’ll make you regret it.
Dang Seo-hee’s voice, trembling as if anxious, was heard from beside me.
“I absolutely have to win…….”#People are agitated by the rising stakes.
With their eyes wide open at the piling up gold and silver, gamblers begin to gather like ants drawn by a sweet scent.
People’s eyes were increasingly turning toward the winner.
“J-Jin Siju…… What is this…… You don’t know how to use the sword shield?”
Why are you sitting so stylishly? It looks unsightly!
Ah, of course, I wasn’t saying that I was winning.
Don’t worry. In gambling, you are supposed to look at the flow first.
I took out another slip from my pocket.
“But why are you trembling?”
Huh? My hands were shaking? No way.
There were so many things like this in my past lives that it is hard to even recall them all one by one.
There were times when my entire monthly salary was cut, and times when I lost all my performance bonuses.
But in the end, wasn’t it I who won?
Master Jin. You are sweating profusely… …”
Of course, it might be concerning to those who don’t know.
Of course.
If I had been robbed of twenty taels of gold by myself here, there would have been absolutely no way to win.
It clearly means I’m the sucker in this place.
However, three out of the four people sitting at this table were all being robbed by that scholar.
“It’s not that I’m doing something wrong, but that guy is doing a good job. Heh heh.” “Ah! That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing, though!” “You’re pretty good.”
The scholar smiles broadly. His bright smile brightens the mood of even the viewer.
The more I see him, the more I like him, except for the teasing.
I used my head to make a living, and it just naturally turned out this way.
Is that so? You must use your head a lot.
“Aren’t most matters in the martial arts world resolved by force? However, I realized long ago that I have limits when it comes to brute force.”
As I talk with the scholar, the previous editions that swept through like a storm come back to mind once again.
Swordsmanship is a battle of numbers.
A game in which the winner and loser are determined by comparing the numbers on the cards each person holds.
I have a perfect memory that is close to a curse, so I never forget the cards that come out on the board.
And the story is that you can calculate the outcome to some extent based on those.
Even so, losing so overwhelmingly… ‘This bastard is counting the numbers.’ It was close to certainty… no, I felt that kind of certainty.
There is no way I could lose this unilaterally in any game.
I also use a method of counting based on memory, but seeing myself being pushed back so unilaterally, it seemed his counting skills were superior. ‘What should I do…’ I had already figured out just how excellent his counting skills were through the previous rounds.
Even if I continue gambling like this, it will probably be difficult for me to beat him.
Since the number of sword tiles is limited, the number of possibilities is also reduced.
Furthermore, since the scholar has accumulated a great deal of experience, he must be counting the numbers while recalling most possible hand combinations based on the numbers his opponents discard.
It is difficult for me to gain an advantage solely through memory.
“Let’s lower the stakes a bit. It’s too brutal, I can’t do this.”
The Black Sage, who was losing money just like me, spoke disgruntledly.
I spoke without even looking at him.
If you don’t have money, stay out of it.
“what?”
“If you don’t have the money, stay out of it. I have something I need to get back.”
“Look at the way this bastard talks!”
The Black Sage reacts sharply to my words. It is a perfectly natural reaction, given that he is losing money.
Even so, I couldn’t stop.
Because we have to get the Geumgangju back.
He still stared only at the card in my hand and shouted at me.
Did I say something I shouldn’t? If you don’t have money, you shouldn’t gamble. Why are you being so sleazy as to suggest lowering the stakes?
Il-myeong and Dang Seo-hui were actually flustered by my attitude and tried to stop me.
“Ji, Jin Siju…….”
It seems like it would be best to stop.
The Black Daoist, his face flushed bright red, threw a punch at me as if he had nothing left to hold him back.
I was struck by a fist without realizing it, and I overturned the table next to me, instantly creating chaos.
The Black Daoist still huffs and puffs as if he is angry.
“That cocky brat is talking like crazy. Bring it on, you bastard!”
I didn’t hear such ridiculous provocations.
On the contrary, after getting hit, I feel like my dizzy head has become much clearer.
“If you’re done venting, get lost. You beggar bastard.”
I was about to sit back down after shouting at the Black Daoist who had punched me.
The Black Daoist threw a punch at me again.
Vroom
-widely.
“Siju, you have already thrown a punch once, so it would be best to stop.”
“Hey, aren’t you going to let go of this?”
However, this was blocked by Il-myeong in an instant.
“We are currently engaged in important work. Please return as Master Jin instructed.”
Heukdoin wore a look of incomprehension as to how Jungki’s nickname could so easily subdue his fist, but he eventually snorted in disbelief at the overwhelming divine power and left the place.
“Master Jin, are you alright?”
“Ah, yes. It’s fine.”
As I tidied up the sword tokens and began dividing them again, Il-myeong and Dang Seo-hui, who had been examining my wounds, stepped back.
Another person participating in the game also sensed that the atmosphere was ominous, so they gathered their stakes and left the table.
Now only the scholar and I remained at the table.
The scholar checking his hand stares at me blankly.
Why don’t you go get some treatment? I won’t run away.
Are you thinking of me in the midst of all this?
This person feels quite different from other gamblers.
Should I say that the money isn’t the goal, but rather that I find pleasure in the gambling itself?
I shook my head.
I’ve warmed up, and I think the excitement will die down if we stop here.
If that is the case.
As the two of them proceeded with the game, the speed increased even more.
If the outcome has been lopsided until now, things have changed a little now.
If the student won three games, I won one, and after a little more time passed, if the student won two games, I won one.
The only problem is that the stakes are too small in every game I win.
The amount of money to be won from him was two hundred silver coins, but the amount won so far was only thirty, and the amount he had won had now reached five hundred silver coins.
The people who had been bustling around watching just moments ago suddenly closed their mouths tightly and began to observe the match.
As if that were not a burden at all, the scholar distributed the sword tokens and continued the game just as before.
“People say that among the divine sages of the Jianghu, Young Master Jin’s strategic brilliance is the most outstanding, so the character ‘Yeom,’ meaning ‘to think,’ was attached to his nickname.”
Rumors are bound to be mixed with a lot of exaggeration.
You are humble.
The scholar smiles gently once again.
“I hear you have a fascinating talent for never forgetting anything you see once?”
“I do think of it as a curse rather than a talent, though.”
My defeat once again.
The scholar swept up the money that had accumulated in the middle.
Eventually, they divide the cards again.
“If that were a curse, Young Master Jin’s name wouldn’t have spread this far.”
Do you really think so?
This time, it’s my victory.
He weakly took less money than the scholar had taken.
He shuffled the cards without delay and dealt them.
“That is correct. I believe that without that talent, neither the Taeeul Sect nor Young Master Jin would have been able to fly so freely.”
I suppose you could look at it that way.
In that respect, I was very curious about Prince Jin. I am also similar to him.
“Do you have a good memory?”
The scholar shook his head.
“That is not the case. The calculation worked for me even when I didn’t want it to.”
“Calculation… Wasn’t it difficult?”
“It would be a lie to say there wasn’t. Since the outcome of things is predictable even when I don’t want it to be, I suppose you could say life is boring. At least this kind of gambling has become my only pleasure.”
I thought it would be my victory this time, but the scholar swept up the money once again.
As expected, it seems he is better at counting numbers.
So there was a reason I was losing money.
“Well… it’s not necessarily like that. Come to think of it, doesn’t luck play a big role in gambling?”
“Luck… The difference in amount is too great to be called mere luck.”
The scholar ended up smiling broadly.
Anyway, I won this time.
Maybe my mind has loosened up a bit, too.
I am gradually matching his win rate.
Ever since I became convinced that he was counting, I also gradually reduced the amount of money I bet on games I was going to lose.
At some point, we continued to be in a state of losing a little from each other and gaining a little.
And perhaps because the scale had shrunk, people started leaving one by one.
At that moment, the scholar spoke while shuffling the sword tokens.
Do you know that some people tell their fortune using sword tokens?
I’ve played a lot.
There probably isn’t anyone who has read their fortune with a sword token more than me, across all my past and present lives.
After exchanging the sword tokens, the scholar checked his token and made a proposal.
“How about we try our luck with this round and have one last showdown?”
“Speaking of the final round?”
“When this round ends, I will return the Diamond Orb regardless of the outcome. However, if you lose, you must give me the Black Dragon Sword in exchange for returning the Diamond Orb.”
I examined the scholar’s hand.
Although there were small calluses on both hands, they were not the hands of a swordsman.
“It doesn’t even look like you are using a sword as a weapon, so why do you need one?”
I wanted to use it as a token.
“A token?”
When I asked back, he looked at me and grinned.
A token that the Black Flame Dragon was defeated.
“Why would you need proof of victory from someone like me?”
“Hmm, it’s just… I thought it would be nice to have.”
I examined my hand.
Then he nodded.
“great.”
At that moment, a desperate telepathic message was heard.
“-Ji, Master Jin… isn’t it difficult to guarantee a sure victory with that defeat?”
Wow! They say you’ve become a gambling expert before we knew it.
I ignored the bald man who was a gambling expert and continued to stare at the scholar.
“Although the Black Dragon Sword is an artifact, it is no match for the Diamond Pearl. Are you sure that is alright?”
“I’d rather hear the story of defeating the Black Flame Dragon than the story of defeating the so-called Monk.”
“I don’t know if I should be happy about this. Who am I?”
We each took one more card and started organizing our cards.
Each time, a silver coin was placed on the table, but it was merely a formality.
After all, the stakes for this round were the Diamond Pearl and the Black Dragon Sword.
The scholar began to stroke his chin.
“When I first heard the rumors about the Black Flame Dragon, I was so shocked that I trembled all over. I never imagined that someone of this caliber existed.”
Is that so?
He slowly nods his head.
I think I empathized even more because I, too, am carrying the burden of my sect alone.
I am not bearing this burden alone, though.
“Even so, in the end, the one carrying the heaviest burden is…….”
Ten
A scholar who discards a card with a number written on it and picks up a new card.
It’s exactly people like us.
Soon, the scholar grins, showing his teeth.
“Anyway, I think my fortune is a little better.”
You’re kidding me.
You went all out on luck when you were the one who bet after seeing the hand from the start?
Then, shall we open it?
A scholar placing Geumgangju on the table.
I also untied the Black Dragon Sword and placed it on the table.
The scholar slowly placed his card on the floor.
“Unfortunately, it looks like I won this match.”
A chain sword with five consecutive numbers
As the card appeared, a deep gasp echoed throughout the area.
Ten in the world
I couldn’t believe it when I discarded the card!
“A Chain Sword…! In the end, that scholar won.”
“I suppose so. I’ve only seen that hand three times myself.”
It’s ridiculous.
I can’t believe a real Chain Sword appeared.
It’s such an implausible parody that even the One-Eyed Ghost Sword wasn’t often brought out when cheating.
And that at the very last round, where the most important thing was at stake?
In the end, it meant that he had anticipated the Chain Sword would come out from the moment he first received the hand.
I had been struggling spectacularly within his calculations.
The scholar reached out his hand to the Black Dragon Sword and spoke.
“I’ll have to brag to my comrades in the sect. That I defeated the Black Flame Dragon. Hehe.”
Yusaeng reached out to the Black Dragon Sword with a grinning expression, as if he were no longer interested in the Diamond Pearl.
Stop right there.
I grabbed the wrist of the scholar holding the Black Dragon Sword.
“How dare you wield your hands so carelessly.”
Despite the stark difference in martial arts skills, the scholar keeps grinning as if he is completely at ease.
“Do you ultimately intend to use force?”
“What are you talking about?”
I don’t know where things went wrong.
Things probably went wrong from the moment that bald guy sat in this seat.
Even so.
I am saying that I am not sitting here confidently when I am unable to solve the problem myself.
“I haven’t even revealed my hand yet.”
“Hmph, it’s no use looking at it anyway…….”
widely
– Tak
I placed the cards on the table one by one.
“……?”
Every time I lay down a card, the smiling face of the scholar stiffens.
“Th-what is this…….”
Haven’t you heard the saying, “It ain’t over till it’s over”?
Every time I laid out a card, the eyes of the gamblers around me kept widening.
“Uh… uh?! Uh uh!”
Eventually, when all the cards were revealed.
Groans of pain erupted from all directions.
“Good heavens… I can’t believe I’m seeing that.”
“Is that card normally supposed to come out?”
One
King on four cards
One card.
It was the Five Heavenly Kings, the strongest card of the Sword Cards.
“Oh, why the Five Heavenly Kings?!”
The scholar stared intently back and forth between me and my hand with a look of disbelief.
I guess I was lucky.
I grinned at him.
Why, what?
Why do you think he is the God of Gamblers? He is the God of Gamblers because he wins no matter what.
You little brat!
