CLS-Chapter 80

Chapter 80

“Don’t sleep!”

“What a shock!”

Wei Yan-ho, who had been half-asleep, jumped in surprise.

“I would have been grateful if you had woken me up a bit more quietly.”

“Grr.”

Dokbi simply couldn’t understand the fellow in front of him.

Having rolled around gambling tables for decades, this was the first human he’d ever seen who would sleep after starting a match—he swore on it.

This guy seemed to have absolutely no sense of tension whatsoever.

Thud!

Dokbi slammed the dice cup he’d been spinning onto the floor.

“First, place your bet.”

“What?”

“Place your wager, I said.”

“Ah…”

Wei Yan-ho took one silver coin from the pile beside him and placed it in front of Dokbi.

“One nyang?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to finish quickly?”

“I did. But I’m rather timid.”

Dokbi quietly studied Wei Yan-ho’s face. No matter how seasoned a gambler might be, subtle emotions usually show on their face, but Wei Yan-ho’s expression was completely unreadable.

“…Very well.”

Perhaps Dokbi was now gambling with a very dangerous opponent, he thought.

In this world of competition, skilled veterans often lose to complete novices.

When both sides understand the rules and strategize for victory, skill usually determines the outcome. But when facing a complete beginner, that doesn’t work.

From the experts’ perspective, beginners often make moves that defy common sense. This makes it impossible to counter, and they often lose while panicking.

And the boy in front of him now perfectly fit that description.

He was a beginner who barely knew the rules, his emotions were unreadable, and his actions defied common sense.

‘Have I dug my own grave?’

Dokbi tightened his grip on the dice cup.

But he just needed to stay sharp. No matter how unpredictable Wei Yan-ho might be, there was no way he could lose. As long as he didn’t get careless and underestimate his opponent.

‘I’ll take him seriously.’

Dokbi opened the dice cup.

Three, four, four, three, four, three.

“Oh, impressive.”

One of the watching spectators exclaimed in admiration.

“What’s impressive about that? It’s only eighteen.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you think someone of Dokbi’s caliber would just casually shake and set it down? He may not know exactly, but he can probably create somewhat close to the number he wants.”

“No way… that’s really possible?”

“Tsk, tsk, you’re the one who doesn’t know. What’s the highest number on dice?”

“Six.”

“Six dice means thirty-six. But Dokbi just made exactly eighteen. Since it’s the first round, he’s letting his opponent win if they get just over half. It’s a way to gauge the opponent’s skill while showing off his own.”

“Now that you mention it, that does seem right. But no matter how skilled someone is, they can’t control dice numbers at will.”

“Keep watching and you’ll see.”

Unlike the others’ admiration, Wei Yan-ho had no interest in the hidden meaning behind Dokbi’s number.

“My turn.”

Wei Yan-ho grabbed the dice cup and swept the dice into it.

“Hmm.”

Looking at the dice in the cup, Wei Yan-ho flipped the cup and spun it twice before slamming it down.

Thud!

“…You should spin it three times at least.”

No matter how bothersome, wasn’t that too half-hearted?

“Is there a rule that says I must spin it three times?”

“Well, not really, but…”

“Then that’s fine.”

Wei Yan-ho opened the dice cup.

One, three, two, six, one, two.

“Fifteen.”

Dokbi smiled subtly.

“I won the first round.”

“Now I understand how it works.”

“Good that you understand.”

At Dokbi’s signal, an attendant who’d been waiting nearby collected the gold coin Wei Yan-ho had bet and pushed it toward Dokbi.

“The next round is two silver nyang.”

“Yes, I know.”

Wei Yan-ho answered nonchalantly.

But the situation soon became quite serious.

“…Ten straight losses?”

“That’s right.”

“P-please focus!”

“Right.”

“Isn’t there some way?”

“I suppose.”

“At this rate, you’ll go bankrupt.”

“I suppose.”

“Hey, you blockhead!”

Jin So-ah grabbed Wei Yan-ho’s collar in desperation, and the watching crowd rushed over to gang up on Jin So-ah.

“Has this servant gone mad!”

“How dare you raise your voice at your master!”

“Ah! Ah! That’s not it! Ah!”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head watching Jin So-ah getting beaten.

“I’m sorry. I’ve raised this servant, but he’s naturally so ill-mannered.”

“Then he deserves a beating!”

“Beat him! Beat him!”

Wei Yan-ho raised his sleeve to cover his mouth against the dust rising in the room.

“Go easy on him. He’s good-natured by nature.”

“How can he be so kind-hearted?”

“Indeed.”

Jin So-ah felt like he’d collapse from injustice even while being beaten. Actually, at this rate of beating, he might collapse regardless of the injustice.

“P-please spare me…”

“This wicked fellow!”

“You should know that your master isn’t an idiot because he’s kind-hearted!”

Jin So-ah shouted indignantly.

“That’s not true!”

“This guy still won’t come to his senses?”

Once again, people rushed to trample Jin So-ah.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho sighed watching the scene. Whether it was stupid to get riled up in that situation, or admirable that even in such circumstances he never said he wasn’t a servant…

He was quite an interesting and foolish friend.

But now wasn’t the time to enjoy such a spectacle. Wei Yan-ho looked at the gambling table again and rested his chin on his hand.

‘Let’s see…’

The tower of silver coins that had been piled in front of him had somehow shrunk to about a thousand nyang.

Considering he’d started with twenty gold nyang—that is, two thousand silver nyang—he’d lost roughly half.

Thinking coldly, the money he’d originally had was ten gold nyang. The remaining ten nyang were borrowed from Gang Cheon-rip, so he’d already lost virtually all his stake money.

“This seems like it’ll be the last round.”

Dokbi’s face now showed considerable leisure.

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho leaned back in his chair and scratched his cheek.

“You… you can win, right?”

Jin So-ah, whose face had swollen up blue-green, crawled up behind the chair.

“You’re alive?”

“Watching you lose right now, I feel like I might die of a heart attack.”

“That’s not as easy as it sounds.”

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue.

Yin-yang had been a perfect gambling game for Wei Yan-ho.

There was no room for skill or tricks, and Wei Yan-ho’s exceptional hearing could determine the number of beads. But dice were different.

No matter how numbers were carved on dice, it was impossible to determine what would come up on top just by sound.

“Your sister.”

“Yes.”

“Is she good at singing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well… she’d have to sing if she went to a giru.”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Is that something to say!”

Jin So-ah grabbed Wei Yan-ho’s collar again and got dragged away by the people. He shouted something loudly, but Wei Yan-ho let it go in one ear and out the other.

“That young fellow has quite a nasty temper.”

Dokbi watched Wei Yan-ho quietly, as if enjoying his final moments, not starting a new round.

“Aren’t we starting?”

“Shall we?”

“Isn’t it supposed to continue until one of us runs out of money?”

“Originally, yes, but if you wish, I’m thinking of stopping here.”

Dokbi and Gang Cheon-rip exchanged glances.

Taking twenty nyang right now would certainly be profitable. But there was a high probability this thoughtless fellow wouldn’t frequent the gambling house afterward.

If they sent him back on condition of returning the borrowed ten nyang, he’d likely visit the gambling house regularly with bundles of stake money. In the long term, that would be more profitable.

Even with a debt of ten nyang, there was no guarantee they could collect the money.

If he were just rich, they could apply pressure, but if he were the son of a high official, trying to collect debt carelessly could overturn Geumhwa House.

Rather than take risks, creating a sucker who’d frequent the gambling house long-term wasn’t a bad method.

“Why would I do that?”

But Wei Yan-ho seemed to have no such intention.

Dokbi looked back at Gang Cheon-rip.

Receiving Dokbi’s question, Gang Cheon-rip nodded heavily.

“If that’s what you want.”

They’d given him a chance to go in a good direction, but if the person himself declined, there was nothing they could do. Dokbi smiled bitterly and said:

“This round’s stake is a thousand nyang.”

“Whoa, is it already that much?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at his remaining silver coins.

If he lost this round, he’d have no money left. This was a round he absolutely had to win.

“I’ll ask one last time. Are you really going to continue?”

“Can’t you hurry up? Why so much chatter?”

Veins bulged on Dokbi’s forehead.

“If you insist.”

He’d tried to be nice, but this brat was running wild without knowing heaven from earth.

With the thought of showing him proper bitter medicine, Dokbi began plotting.

‘I’ll show you hell.’

The spectators began looking at Wei Yan-ho with pitying faces.

‘He’s ruining his family.’

‘If he loses again, won’t he just have a debt of ten gold nyang? To get ten gold nyang in debt in just one day.’

‘This is why youngsters shouldn’t gamble.’

But whether he knew their feelings or not, Wei Yan-ho seemed composed. No, rather than composed, he seemed preoccupied with fighting off drowsiness even now.

Dokbi steeled himself and handed the dice to Wei Yan-ho.

“Roll them.”

“Is it my turn?”

“That’s right.”

Dokbi urged Wei Yan-ho with a confident face.

Wei Yan-ho swept the dice into the cup and began shaking it above his head.

Being on his tenth round, his dice-shaking technique seemed to have improved a little.

Thud!

Wei Yan-ho, who’d set the cup on the floor, looked up at Dokbi.

“Opening it.”

“Open it.”

Wei Yan-ho opened the dice cup without delay.

Six, five, five, six, four, three.

“Twenty-nine.”

“Wow!”

“Finally a decent number!”

Exclamations burst from all directions. Twenty-nine was a very high number. Compared to the numbers Wei Yan-ho had produced so far, it was truly a good roll.

“A high number.”

But Dokbi showed no agitation and collected the dice into the cup. Then he began shaking it brilliantly.

Rattle-rattle-rattle! Rattle-rattle-rattle!

The dice began making pleasant sounds as they spun. After shaking the cup for a while, Dokbi set it on the floor and opened it immediately without hesitation.

“T-that!”

The spectators rushed over to check Dokbi’s number.

“How is this possible!”

Exclamations filled the gambling house.