CLS-Chapter 82

Chapter 82

“Keuuuuu.”

Jin So-ah grabbed the back of his neck.

This was a danger signal.

Quickly reaching into his chest, Jin So-ah stuffed a vitality pill into his mouth and staggered as he stood up from his seat again.

Was it a dream?

Or had he seen something wrong?

He rubbed his eyes several times and looked up at the board again, but what he saw was the same number.

One, one, one, one, one, one.

“Good heavens.”

Jin So-ah simply couldn’t believe this situation.

A six-one!

In gambling where you compete by throwing six dice, a six-one!

He was confident that even if he threw the dice with his foot, he would get a higher number than that.

“Truly remarkable.”

“To think I’d see a dice game where six-one and six-six came out at the same time in my lifetime.”

“What a sight for sore eyes.”

The boisterous crowd’s eyes held a mixture of mockery and pity.

There was pity for Wei Yan-ho, who had incurred a debt of ten nyang of gold, but they also couldn’t hide their mockery of Wei Yan-ho for creating such a tremendous losing hand of six-one with dice.

And six-one at such a crucial moment, no less.

“You were unlucky.”

Dok-bi had already returned to her initially expressionless face. As if all the emotions she had shown until now had been lies.

“Keung.”

Wei Yan-ho reached out as if frustrated, grabbed some cold water, and gulped it down.

“Strange. Six-six should have come out.”

“Damn it, you crazy bastard!”

Jin So-ah lost his reason and rushed forward, but Wei Yan-ho kicked Jin So-ah away with a thud! and tilted his head while looking at the board. In his eyes too, he could clearly see six dice standing proudly with their one-dot faces pointing upward.

“It may be disappointing, but a loss is a loss. That’s how gambling originally is. It feels natural to win, but gambling is something that never lets you win.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his cheek.

“So… then how much is my debt?”

When the money issue came up, Kang Cheon-rip, who had been jumping around in the back, hurriedly ran over and shouted.

“Since you have no betting money, you just need to repay the ten nyang of gold we lent you initially. How will you repay it?”

“I don’t have money though?”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

Kang Cheon-rip looked at Wei Yan-ho as if looking at a pitiful person, then smiled and said.

“If you can’t repay it, your family should repay it. Joint guarantees are also fine. Don’t worry. Our Geumhwa-jang has the policy of definitely recovering the principal no matter what happens.”

“Tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho smacked his lips.

“Then I guess I have no choice but to repay it…”

“Do you have some money at home?”

“Of course there’s plenty of money at home.”

It was the Guangdong Wei Family that had put a bounty of one hundred nyang of gold on the Hao Clan to find Wei Yan-ho. There was no way the Guangdong Wei Family, called a prestigious family of Guangdong, would lack the money to repay ten nyang of gold.

But that wasn’t the problem.

“I’ll repay the money, but there’s a high risk my life will end.”

If word spread that the son who returned after five years had gambled away ten nyang of gold, Wei Jeong-han would shout ‘Since you left home anyway, just leave for good!’ and strike him from the family register, and Wei San-ho would devour him while lecturing about a gentleman’s principles.

‘That absolutely cannot happen!’

Wei Yan-ho shuddered.

He had just barely escaped from his master and gained a new life; he couldn’t return to a life of eating humble pie again.

“Then what will you do? Even if you work as a laborer for your entire life, you wouldn’t be able to repay all that money.”

“…This is quite a predicament.”

As Wei Yan-ho slumped down, Jin So-ah slowly approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“No, Young Master.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve ruined your life because of me, Young Master. I have no face to show you.”

“Why are you acting like this? It’s not like you.”

“I will definitely repay this debt even if it takes my entire life. If you had quit earlier, you would have become rich, but because of my debt…”

Jin So-ah hung his head low and sobbed quietly.

“Tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his face and sighed.

“Why are you being so serious? You’re making me embarrassed.”

Kang Cheon-rip tilted his head.

‘They don’t seem to have a master-servant relationship?’

Kang Cheon-rip, who had been quietly observing Jin So-ah’s face, clapped his hands and nodded.

“Now I see you’re the young master of Sacred Hand Hall. It seems you set up this game to repay debts, but you’ve done something useless.”

“You wicked scoundrels!”

“Tsk tsk, there’s nothing more foolish than losing money in a gambling house and blaming others. Did I come begging you to gamble? You came here on your own feet. Your father was the same.”

“Uuuu…”

“What was the point of struggling? We don’t turn anyone away. As long as there’s betting money, whether emperor or beggar, anyone can gamble – that’s the law of Geumhwa-jang. Of course, the results are regrettable. Kekeke.”

Kang Cheon-rip rubbed his hands together and asked Wei Yan-ho.

“It seems someone from a wealthy family was showing off, but gambling houses aren’t such easy places. Now, if you could decide how you’ll make repayment, I’d be grateful.”

“May I ask something?”

“Of course.”

“From what I heard, his father also lost a lot of money here, right?”

“That’s right. He lost thirty nyang of gold. We collected ten nyang by confiscating his building and assets, leaving twenty nyang.”

“How can someone who doesn’t have thirty nyang lose thirty nyang?”

“It’s the same case as yours. He borrowed thirty nyang to gamble and lost it all.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho raised his head and said.

“Then can I borrow money too?”

“That won’t work.”

“Huh, his father could do it, so why can’t I?”

“The Sacred Hand Hall Master could borrow thirty nyang because he had Sacred Hand Hall as collateral. But you don’t have collateral, do you? If you reveal your identity and status, we’ll consider it.”

‘Then I’m dead.’

If rumors spread that the second son of the Guangdong Wei Family gambled forty nyang of gold in Hubei… whether he won or lost, he’d be dead.

It was absolutely impossible.

“Uuum…”

Wei Yan-ho alternately looked at the gambling table, Jin So-ah, and Kang Cheon-rip, then asked.

“Uh, how much do I need to play the next round?”

“Forty nyang.”

“It was twenty nyang just a moment ago…”

“You have to bet double, so it’s forty nyang.”

“Forty nyang of gold…”

This was an amount that even a high-ranking official would need to empty their entire fortune to produce. Even if you ransacked all of Middle Kingdom, there wouldn’t be many who could provide such money.

“So if I bring forty nyang of gold, I can play the next round?”

“Of course. But we can’t keep waiting indefinitely. If you can’t arrange the money right now, you’ll have to write a document inside guaranteeing to repay the remaining ten nyang of gold.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho asked once more.

“So you’re saying if I just have the money, even a forty nyang game is possible?”

“Of course.”

“Are even bigger games possible?”

“Haha, that would be breaking the rules, wouldn’t it? But we’ll do it. The next round will be for whatever amount you bring. But where would such money come from?”

Kang Cheon-rip was confident that Wei Yan-ho wouldn’t be able to bring money. And even if he did bring money, he was also confident he could definitely win.

So what was there to worry about?

“Promise me.”

“I already promised you, didn’t I? A gambling house is a place that can’t survive without trust. With all these people watching, if I went back on my word, who would trust me and spend money at the gambling house?”

“Right!”

“Exactly! Well said!”

Wei Yan-ho nodded seeing the atmosphere ripening.

“So-ah.”

“Yes, Young Hero.”

Jin So-ah seemed to think there was nothing left to hide and changed his form of address.

“Do you have anything valuable at home?”

“Please sell me.”

“…I guess not.”

“That’s about right.”

“Your sister…”

“Shall I cut out your tongue?”

“No matter how I look at it, you’re not cut out to be a physician. You’re perfect for being a wastrel or a scoundrel.”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head and looked at Kang Cheon-rip.

“Remember those words.”

“Hahaha, but what will you do? If you can’t arrange money right away, you’ll have to write the document now.”

“I have money.”

“Are you saying you have more money, Young Master?”

“No.”

Wei Yan-ho waved his hand.

“I don’t have money. But there’s plenty of money in the world. I just need to borrow it.”

“Borrow?”

Kang Cheon-rip openly sneered.

“Are you saying there’s someone in the world who would lend you forty nyang of gold? Even if there were, they wouldn’t be here right now. You can’t leave until you write the document.”

“That’s not necessary.”

A triumphant smile spread across Wei Yan-ho’s lips.

Seeing that expression, Dok-bi’s eyes wavered slightly.

‘That’s it.’

A smile full of inexplicable confidence.

That smile was exactly what had kept Dok-bi tense throughout the match. What did it mean to be able to smile like that even while falling into the abyss?

Perhaps Wei Yan-ho really had prepared something – Dok-bi was the only one in this place thinking such thoughts.

“Dragging out time won’t change anything.”

“I hate dragging out time the most.”

Wei Yan-ho turned his head without delay and raised his voice.

“Come in.”

The crowd’s gaze turned toward the door Wei Yan-ho was looking at.

“The game’s set up, so come in.”

Everyone looked at the door with slightly tense faces.

…

But in the end, no one entered.

“Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho shouted toward the outside several times, saying to come in now, stop fooling around, but no one entered.

“…What are you doing?”

When Kang Cheon-rip sneered, the emotion of anxiety appeared on Wei Yan-ho’s face for the first time. Jin So-ah watched this scene and just sat down on the floor.

“Strange? They should come in when I do this?”

“We can’t keep playing along with your antics anymore, so please get up.”

“This isn’t right?”

Just as Wei Yan-ho, sensing his life was rolling into ruin, was fidgeting, a loud voice was heard from behind.

“Can’t you move aside a bit?”

“No.”

“People are really heartless.”

“Gambling houses are originally heartless. And…”

Kang Cheon-rip turned his head to glare at Jin So-ah.

“Not repaying the money you owe and pulling tricks – you seem to have leisure time. I’ll tell Heukji-jubang to quickly collect your money. You have to pay the price for your tricks.”

Jin So-ah’s face began to turn pale.

They say you shouldn’t poke sleeping dogs, so why did he create such a situation when it would inevitably end up like this?

“You, you even make threats scary.”

When Wei Yan-ho spoke sullenly, Kang Cheon-rip gestured for documents to be brought without answering.

“Shouldn’t you worry about yourself first?”

“That’s a fair point. What should I do?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

Wei Yan-ho let out a deep sigh and muttered.

“This old man… should I just ditch him?”

Just then, an urgent voice was heard from the main gate.

“Oh my! I’m a bit late, Young Master!”

The large curtain hanging at the gate parted left and right, and a middle-aged man with an imposing build walked inside.

“Who, who is that person?”