Chapter 148: An Old Grudge
Thud!
Two bamboo dice shakers clattered roughly onto the floor.
A gambler from the Man Geum Trading Post stared at
with tense eyes, beads of cold sweat forming on his face.
After five consecutive losses, his composure had long since worn thin.
“...Which shaker would you like to open?”
“Mine.”
Here at the Man Geum Trading Post, the ga started by opening one party’s shaker and placing bets accordingly.
When the gambler opened mine, the three dice revealed themselves: six, five, five.
If soone unfamiliar had walked in, they might’ve wagered a fortune on such a high roll.
But not .
Srrrk.
A red palm slipped past the screen concealing the opponent’s shaker and gestured discreetly at .
‘Six... Six... Five...’
A razor-thin margin. The opponent’s total was just one point higher than mine.
In other words, he’d rigged the round to bait . Like a ga of Seotda, he'd handed
a “Nine” to inflate the pot, only to sweep it all with his “Ten.”
Typical of the seasoned tricksters at Man Geum Trading Post.
“Mujin, those are good numbers. Why aren’t you betting?” Jo Harang whispered eagerly beside , eyes sparkling. It seed the rare dice roll had stirred her impatience.
I’d brought her along wearing a human-skin mask to play the crowd, but she wasn’t proving all that helpful.
Definitely the type who should never gamble. She’d co back stripped clean like that sucker from the Peng Clan.
“I’ll pass this round.”
I grinned as I folded instead of betting.
“Tch.”
The gambler clenched his jaw in frustration, as if he knew I’d seen through his trap.
“What’s wrong? You should open your shaker too.”
With reluctance, he lifted the lid in front of everyone, revealing his dice.
The spectators erupted with astonishnt.
“Whoa, just one point difference?”
“Would’ve been a disaster if he went in!”
“That guy’s got insane self-control.”
By now, a crowd had gathered like clouds to watch our gamble.
Seeing a Man Geum gambler get wrecked was a rare spectacle.
Especially when I’d borrowed money from Eun Hwaran to raise the stakes—no wonder people flocked to watch.
“Alright, let’s shake again.”
“...Hmm.”
Maybe convinced now that I wasn’t so clueless noble, the gambler groaned and hesitated.
This wasn’t luck anymore—it was a battle of skill.
Pressured by jeers from the crowd to get on with it, he reluctantly began shaking the dice again.
Clack-clack.
The dice rattled inside the bamboo tube.
But perhaps due to his nerves, he made a mistake—the dice inside spun one extra turn.
And that one last spin turned a six into a one.
“Shit.”
He stared down at the shaker he’d slamd down too late, hoping I hadn’t noticed.
But I already had.
Because, well, I had sothing ghost-like clinging to , after all.
‘That bastard... ssed up.’
This dice ga was like blackjack—a player versus the house.
So, players didn’t fleece each other; it was one-on-one against the dealer.
And the Man Geum Trading Post’s pro gambler was now sweating bullets.
“I’m all in.”
I crushed his hope with a clean, ruthless declaration.
I shoved a mound of silver and gold coins forward with both hands.
Gasps rang out from the crowd, and the gambler’s face turned pale.
“W-Wait a second!”
“Wait for what? The dice are already cast.”
Once the shaker’s down, the rules forbid backing out.
That illusion of 50-50 odds was what lured so many into ruin in this ga.
But today was different. Bring in all the tricksters you want.
No matter how expertly you fiddle those dice, it’s all useless in front of Salsung.
Being able to see through the shakers—that’s the ultimate con.
‘Heh heh.’
‘Huh... hehe.’
The two of us couldn’t help but laugh as we watched the gambler turn ghost-white.
At first, he’d smirked, thinking I was just so ignorant noble. Now, his face was full of dread.
“Hey! What do you an wait! The shaker’s already down!”
“Yeah, open it already! That’s the rule, ain’t it?”
“What, are you saying he can see inside the shaker or sothing?! What the hell?!”
Anyone who’d gambled at this place had been scamd by one of Man Geum’s pros at least once.
So naturally, no one in the crowd was on his side.
Instead, they raised their voices, urging him to reveal the dice.
“Tch...”
In the end, the gambler had no choice but to lift the shaker with trembling hands.
And in front of everyone, the result was revealed.
Six, one. Versus six, five, five.
His final mistake cost him dearly. A one-point difference—and I’d won.
“Whoooo!”
“He actually did it! Beat that damned gambler!”
“When’s the last ti anyone saw this happen?!”
The gambling hall erupted. Cheers and chaos exploded all around.
These were all people who had once lost big here. Addicts who returned night after night, knowing they’d lose.
All the frustration they’d bottled up burst out with my victory.
“Boss! Are we rich now?!”
“Is it true?! Are we eating at dumplings every day from now on?!”
I’d told them to hype the crowd, but the office workers were losing their minds like the rest.
Just watching seed to flood them with dopamine. Seriously, those two must never gamble.
“Bring the money! Right now, Man Geum bastards!”
“Yeah, your warehouse is stuffed with gold, ain’t it?!”
People shouted furiously.
Using
as their champion, they were venting their long-held grudges against the Man Geum Trading Post.
“You, you! What scam are you pulling?! How could you act like you saw inside the shaker...?!”
The gambler, overwheld by the shock of defeat, shot to his feet and grabbed
by the collar, shouting his denial of reality.
“Do you have proof?!”
The sa cry of "cheater!" that losers always scread in the gambling den.
But every ti that happened, Man Geum Trading Post would just scoff and slam the poor sap to the ground.
Now, that very sa cry was coming from one of their own gamblers.
The surrounding spectators wore schadenfreude-filled grins.
“I-I may not have proof, but I’m sure he saw inside the shaker...!”
“Oh ho! You accuse a man of cheating with no evidence?”
“This gambling den’s no damn good!”
“Take a win from them, and suddenly you’re a scamr?!”
Sharp jeers flew from all directions, and the gambler was left floundering, speechless.
Even the treasurer from the Trading Post, who normally handled payouts, was visibly flustered, glancing back and forth between us.
When he hesitated and failed to bring out the money, the gamblers surrounding him began to rage like a stormy sea.
Overwheld by the growing anger, the treasurer finally gave in and dropped double the original sum in front of .
Thud.
“Whoa...”
A soft glow radiated from the pile of gold and silver before —it looked like a small hill made of treasure.
The sight alone drew gasps of awe from .
Gulp.
Envious stares poured in from every direction.
The mont they saw the cash, even those who had taken my side began to shift. Their eyes flickered, no longer warm with support but tinged with jealousy and envy.
‘Yeah... this is it…’
The air of the gambling den churned with raw malice and sticky greed.
Salsung seed pleased, his ghostly hand twitching with mirth at the sight of these filthy human emotions.
That thing getting excited only made
feel worse.
“Everyone, don’t worry. Do you really think I’d just keep it all for myself?”
After all, this was money won by cheating the cheaters.
And today, I’d co here with the goal of bringing this gambling den down. So, I declared I’d only take half and began passing out small shares to the crowd.
When I added that I’d cover drinks and food in my na, smiles blood across their faces.
“Ahaha, that young man! He knows what he’s doing!”
“A real man of principle, that one!”
“With that kind of character, he should be the one winning big!”
The crowd's sentint fully turned to my favor. Though the gambler continued trying to paint
as a scamr, no one paid him any mind.
Instead, they fiercely defended , telling him to shut his mouth.
anwhile, Salsung grew visibly annoyed by my generosity.
He probably wanted
to lean harder into greed.
“Boss, can I get a share too?”
“Mujin, I’ve been down bad lately…”
“Snap out of it, you fools.”
Did they think we were actually here to gamble? We ca here for a job, rember?
These two were way too susceptible to the mood.
“Stop right there—!”
Suddenly, shouts rang out amidst the commotion.
Man Geum Trading Post’s martial artists ca rushing over, along with a middle-aged man whose goat-like beard made him stand out.
Clearly alard at the sight of the hefty payout, the goat-bearded man rushed between
and the gambler.
“Hmm...?”
Sothing about his face felt familiar. I narrowed my eyes.
Then, a vague mory began to surface.
“Ah!”
The very first day I arrived in Beijing—he was the wretched rchant who taught
how cruel the Central Plains could be.
That was the day I headbutted him like a wild roe deer and pretended to be his son to swindle money out of him.
“You’re Chief Steward Bang?”
“What’s he doing here…?”
Judging by the murmurs around , he wasn’t just so rchant—he was the Chief Steward of this place.
Apparently, his na was Bang Sobyuk.
“What’s the aning of this! Who are you, and why are you causing such chaos?!”
But the man didn’t seem to recognize , even though I was standing right in front of him.
Back then, I’d been a filthy-haired street brat. Now I was a clean-cut youth wearing the Headband of Heroes—understandable he wouldn’t connect the two.
“Are you the one overseeing this gambling hall, Chief Steward Bang?”
Suddenly, I understood why fate had led
here.
Despite his high position, this bastard had been preying on vagrants out of sheer malice.
What a twisted piece of work.
“Yes, I am Chief Steward Bang. And who exactly are you?”
“Just a passing noble with ti to kill.”
I kept up the act of a young master from a wealthy family, shrugging with nonchalance.
“Hmph, unlikely. I heard our gambler claim you were cheating. Confess your tricks! Otherwise...”
As always, the tip of his goat beard trembled when he got angry.
No sooner had he spoken than the Man Geum martial artists closed in around us with nacing expressions.
And the crowd—seeing this—erupted in fury.
“You bastards! So now every win is cheating?!”
“When we called out dice scams, you all just sneered!”
“But when we win money, it’s suddenly ‘not ours’?! Is that it!?”
Seems those small shares I handed out had the desired effect.
Everyone who’d received my money or drinks now turned into loyal attack dogs, tearing into him.
Each one voiced their own long-harbored complaints.
A storm of jeers echoed from every corner.
“Silence! No one said we wouldn’t pay up!”
The folks in this gambling den might be gamblers, but they weren’t broke. So had serious wealth and influence.
If they started spreading rumors like “Man Geum Trading Post cheats winners,” the establishnt’s reputation would nosedive.
Knowing that, Chief Steward Bang clenched his teeth and shouted:
“We’ll pay! But that man’s conduct is suspicious! In order to clear any doubts, he must play a few more rounds!”
He jabbed his finger at
with eyes blazing.
Determined to expose
as a cheater. Laughable, considering they were the ones cheating first.
“I’ve got nothing to hide. But are you ready? Your gambler’s luck hasn’t been so great, you know?”
I hadn’t used a single trick. There was nothing they could catch
on.
And with Salsung on my side, they had no chance of winning my money back.
“You arrogant brat... No need to worry. I’ve brought in a new gambler.”
A man stepped forward from behind Chief Steward Bang, having kept his head lowered until now.
A sallow complexion, hollow eyes like a wraith, and a gleaming, sinister gaze.
“Th-The Gambling Ghost (Do-Gwi)! It’s the Gambling Ghost!”
“Why’s he with the Man Geum Trading Post...?!”
The crowd buzzed in stunned murmurs. Seed he was infamous in these parts.
The Gambling Ghost smirked at
and motioned to the martial artists nearby.
“Boys, better prep the cutting board.”
After all, the rule here was—anyone caught cheating loses a hand.
And now, a cruel chopping device was being brought between the two of us.
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