CLS-Chapter 73

Chapter 73

“Is this the gambling den?”

“Yes.”

The man in silk clothing was naturally Wei Yan-ho.

To enter this place, Wei Yan-ho’s purse, which would rarely open under normal circumstances, had to be opened, and only after paying the hefty sum of one silver nyang could he buy and wear silk clothing.

“Ugh.”

However, Wei Yan-ho kept fidgeting with his clothes with a clearly uncomfortable expression.

“Please stay still!”

“But it’s uncomfortable, so what can I do?”

“Is this your first time wearing silk?”

“Yeah.”

“……”

“You speak as if you’ve worn it before?”

“I wore it often when I was young.”

“Lucky you, being from a wealthy family.”

When Wei Yan-ho grumbled, Jin So-ah just shut his mouth. If the two of them continued bickering like this, trouble would arise soon.

“But you, don’t you need to cover your face?”

“I’ve never encountered these people before. So deliberately covering my face would actually arouse more suspicion.”

“Really? Well, that’s fortunate then.”

“More importantly, please stop looking around so much!”

Jin So-ah was currently disguised as a servant attending to Wei Yan-ho. Not only was Jin So-ah younger, but unfortunately, contrary to his profession as a physician, his poor nutrition made the servant’s outfit suit him all too well.

“Ahem! You fool! Can’t you guide me properly!”

“…Yes.”

Jin So-ah wiped away the tears that kept welling up in his eyes.

‘What have I become…’

Even though this was work to earn money, was it right to go this far?

Moreover, he simply couldn’t trust this guy.

His father had been ruined by gambling and they’d ended up in this state, yet here they were trying to get revenge through gambling—no one in their right mind would think of such a thing.

He had opposed it vehemently, but thanks to one drowsy-eyed remark from Wei Yan-ho, he had no choice but to accept it cleanly.

“Is it your money going out?”

No, it wasn’t.

Even if he wanted to contribute seed money, he didn’t have a single coin to spare. So ultimately, even if they were ruined, it would be Wei Yan-ho’s ruin, and even if they lost everything, it would be Wei Yan-ho losing it.

So for Jin So-ah, he just had to watch the show and eat the rice cakes. If Wei Yan-ho won money and paid off their debts, nothing could be better, and even if Wei Yan-ho lost money, they wouldn’t lose anything, so ultimately nothing would change.

So surely this was profitable work…

‘Why am I so anxious?’

It felt stuffy as if something was weighing on his chest, like he had indigestion.

Even after taking specially prepared digestive medicine, his stomach felt heavy as if stones had been placed inside.

“Ugh.”

Jin So-ah sighed and steeled his resolve.

‘I have to trust him.’

He desperately didn’t want to trust him, but surely he had ability—otherwise, how could he be carrying out inspector duties at such a young age and have received a letter of introduction from Uncle Moon Yu-hwan?

Judging by his career and position alone, he should be the most trustworthy person, but getting to know him person to person made him untrustworthy—this was truly an experience one could rarely have.

“What are you staring at!”

“Oh, no, nothing.”

For a moment, watching Wei Yan-ho possessed by the role of a wealthy family’s son, Jin So-ah quietly gritted his teeth.

“That aside…”

Wei Yan-ho kept looking around.

Since this was actually his first time in a gambling den, everything he saw was fascinating.

“This is no joke.”

Since it was a gambling den, there were hardly any people moving around—most were sitting on mats gambling or just watching those who were gambling—yet there was a strange heat in the air.

“Oh my, young master!”

Then someone came running over, seeing Wei Yan-ho looking around.

“My goodness, young master! How have you graced this humble place with your visit?”

Wei Yan-ho looked bewildered at the rat-faced man who was suddenly acting friendly.

“Do you know me?”

“Of course I do! Aren’t you a guest who’s come to enjoy yourself today?”

“Haha.”

Wei Yan-ho just smiled.

“What should I do for fun here?”

“Oh my, young master! Please don’t lower your speech!”

“Ahem.”

Wei Yan-ho coughed awkwardly.

“Right, right. What does one do for entertainment in this place?”

“Yes, young master. You’ve come seeking unusual pleasures. Then you’ve come to the right place. At our Golden Flower Hall, you can enjoy every type of gambling that exists in the world.”

“Every type?”

“Yes. Starting from Chupaegu to bone tiles, dice, Donggi, Horyangpae and other regional gambling games, as well as immortal games like chess and Go… If it involves betting money to win money, you can do anything here.”

“Hmm, Go…”

When Wei Yan-ho nodded, the man slyly approached him.

“Go! Yes, Go is good! Truly the game of immortals, isn’t it? But this is a gambling den! Rather than playing games you can enjoy elsewhere, how about trying games you can only enjoy here?”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his chin as if troubled.

“That would be nice, but I don’t really know how to play them…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. We have games that everyone from three-year-old children to eighty-year-old elders can enjoy.”

“Oh?”

When Wei Yan-ho seemed interested, the man grabbed his arm and led him to one side.

“This way! Come this way! You must see this game in person.”

“Ahem.”

Wei Yan-ho coughed quietly, then followed behind the man with a dignified gait as if his dignity was damaged.

‘Look how skilled he is.’

Wasn’t that clearly a wealthy family’s son who had just come from a great house?

Jin So-ah couldn’t help but admire Wei Yan-ho’s composed acting ability.

‘No, maybe he really is one.’

If he was born into a poor family, he couldn’t be like that. If a person is poor, isn’t it the way of the world that they must be diligent or starve to death?

But Wei Yan-ho was incredibly lazy, so it would be more correct to view him as born into a wealthy family where he could be so lazy and still have food enter his mouth.

While Jin So-ah was deducing Wei Yan-ho’s identity, the man had already guided the two of them to one side.

“This is it.”

“Hmm?”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head while looking at the gambling table unfolding before him.

“What’s this? It looks like dice?”

“This is a game called Yin-Yang.”

“Yin-Yang?”

“That’s right. It’s the most popular game in our establishment. The method is very simple. We put those metal balls in that container and shake it. Those small metal balls will rattle around inside the container and fall to the bottom. Then, when we set the container down on the floor, you guess whether the number of metal balls inside the container is odd or even.”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

“Is that difficult?”

“How could it be! It’s easy. People like it because it’s easy, don’t they? Various gambling games with complex rules have their own fun, but this is about betting quickly and winning quickly! Plus, the probability of guessing correctly is a full half. It should suit your hot-blooded temperament perfectly, young master.”

He didn’t know when he’d seen enough to assess his temperament, but Wei Yan-ho was reasonably convinced.

‘I don’t like things that take too long.’

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Then shall I try playing this once?”

“Yes! Hey, what are you doing! Bring a chair here!”

“Yes!”

A chair painted in gleaming gold was quickly brought over, and Wei Yan-ho sat on it naturally.

“…What about me?”

When Jin So-ah stood there dumbly looking for a chair, the man glared at him and immediately struck the back of his head.

“Ahhh!”

“Where does a lowly thing think he can sit in the same place as the young master! You sit on the floor beside him.”

“Ugh…”

Jin So-ah realized his position and sat down on the floor.

“Right! You sit on the floor!”

When Jin So-ah glared at Wei Yan-ho with narrowed eyes, the man struck the back of Jin So-ah’s head again.

“Ahhh!”

“Such an ill-mannered wretch!”

“Tsk tsk, leave him be. I raised this lowly thing like a younger brother, so he occasionally acts rudely like that.”

“Scoundrels need to be beaten to come to their senses. Hehe.”

“You seem to be right. Ugh.”

When Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue, Jin So-ah was so angry he could barely breathe.

How could they turn a perfectly normal person into a scoundrel?

But there was nothing he could say in this situation.

Jin So-ah quietly closed his mouth and looked down at the floor, engraving the character for patience in his heart.

“Now then…”

When Wei Yan-ho looked ahead, a large Taiji pattern board was placed with the center split.

“If you think it’s odd, place your money on this side; if you think it’s even, place it on that side.”

“I see.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“So I take all the money bet on the opposite side?”

“That’s not how it works. Then if money was only bet on one side, no one would lose or win. We calculate and return exactly double.”

Just listening to it sounded reasonable, but the real intention was different.

If it was a format where players took each other’s stakes, they could only take a commission, but if they returned double the bet amount, when they made the side with less money win, the house could take more money.

“I see.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded and slowly took out his money pouch.

“Then shall I enjoy myself once?”

A smile bloomed on Wei Yan-ho’s lips.

“He’s doing well.”

Gang Cheon-rip sat in his chair watching Wei Yan-ho and kept nodding.

“Kekekeke.”

Even though he tried to hold back, laughter kept coming.

The method for hooking a mark when they come in is simple. Make them alternately lose and win moderately, then make them win a huge amount all at once.

Then, while the mark is intoxicated with that feeling, gradually nibble away at their money again, then make them win big again—repeat this process.

Why would gambling be gambling?

It’s gambling because it becomes addictive.

What happens when someone who gambles with one nyang and increases it to five nyang loses three nyang?

People watching who don’t gamble would think they have two nyang left, so they made one nyang profit, but absolutely not.

In the minds of those who gamble, five nyang already becomes the principal. So they think they lost three nyang.

When gamblers talk about “breaking even,” they’re not referring to the money they initially invested, but to the maximum amount they had won.

Those watching from the side might think it’s foolish and strange, but everyone who falls into gambling shows the same reaction.

That’s the demonic nature of gambling.

“Hooking one mark is no work at all.”

Moreover, wasn’t Golden Flower Hall a gambling den with a long history of hooking countless marks? Every single one of those guys working the floor right now were skilled players from Hubei bought with expensive money.

Working one naive guy like that was no work at all.

Just as Gang Cheon-rip was having pleasant thoughts about how much of today’s earnings he should skim off without causing trouble, cheers of “Wow!” began to be heard from the front.

“Huh?”

Gang Cheon-rip focused on Wei Yan-ho’s side again.

“How, how much is that?”

Gang Cheon-rip rubbed his eyes and looked toward Wei Yan-ho’s side again.

“Is that now?”

Cold sweat began to flow down Gang Cheon-rip’s forehead.